Wow Has it really been this long.....

Since I have posted?!?! What a slacker I am huh!!! Well, things have been going pretty well. I have had my breakdowns here and there, and at times life has seemed to hard to even get out of bed. But, Doug will be home in two to three weeks. YAY!!!! We have had our share of problems during this deployment (i.e. washer breaking, water heater breaking, Doug's mom passing away, couple of car problems, going to the emergency room to find I have to have emergency surgery to take my appendix out) I could probably go on for a lot longer. I have learned a valuable lesson during this deployment, if you are looking for the negative you WILL find it. Hard times will always arise. I have spent a lot of time during this deployment feeling bitter towards the world and the Army, I also spent a lot of time crying. It is so hard to have someone you love with all that you are, and have life be so great and all of a sudden you find out that they have to leave you and your family for a year. I would never be able to describe the way it feels to everyday wonder if your husband is okay, or when a phone call is late you are on your knees praying nothing has happened to him or his unit. All I can say is it is hard.

I must say that I have had blessings galore. The blessings I have had far out weigh all of the tough times and problems that I was faced with on my own. Doug only has like I said earlier two to three weeks left and he has remained unharmed through it all so far, also I never knew two people could be so close from so far away. I have a wonderful friend who says that deployment doesn't make a weak marriage stronger, but it does make a strong and healthy marriage stronger. I know with all of my heart that Doug and I are meant to be. This deployment has brought us so close it is just unreal. Next, Doug was able to come home for leave in September, my oh my was that a blessing in itself. As many of you know we had been working on Doug adopting Olivia for 1 1/2 to 2 years and it just so happened that our court date was during Doug's leave and Olivia became a York. Olivia and I continued to stay safe here on our own. It was very sad that Doug's mom passed away, but that made it so he was home for Christmas. Less than a week before Doug was on his way home we got his sealing clearance, the weekend after his mother's funeral we were able to be sealed in the Salt Lake Temple, and since the adoption was final Olivia went to the temple with us. This is more than a mere coincidence it is a blessing. I see God's hand in my life always sometimes without even looking, but most of the time I have to seek it. It is a choice whether we see all the negative that happens or choose to remember our blessings.


This has been a VERY long journey and I am glad that it is almost over.