Conquering the Mountain

In case you are wondering how I'm really doing. [I started this post on a rough day, but decided to put it aside for awhile so the emotions of the day didn't take over the post.]

An early morning "see you later"

Y'all let me tell you. Military life is not for the faint of heart. This isn't the first time Gabe has left, and yeah we spent around half of our first year apart. BUT this was different. Oh so different. Deployment is no joke. There is a given end date, but from what I've heard there is a small chance that will stay the date. I am not a fan. My planner mentality has been shaken over and over and over again in the last year. But I'm getting better at rolling with the punches. OH, by the way we just celebrated our ONE YEAR anniversary...and Gabe was on the other side of the world. I know we aren't the first, nor the last couple to do that, but it sucked.

Kimberly went to dinner with me to celebrate our 1st anniversary!

One thing the Navy has given us that has been really sweet is some good friendships. Not many, yet, but quality ones. I wouldn't be surviving this thing without them. Nala even has a best dog friend who she plays will ALL the time!

Headed to the dog park!!

ALWAYS playing!

So this mountain I finally feel like I'm conquering...its been rough. Crying has become way more norm than I'm used to...and a lot of times it's over ridiculous things. Like a 90 year old getting the golden buzzer on America's Got Talent, or Nala not letting me put her harness on. Ridiculous. The first few days I counted it as a win to get out of my house to get food. Then I started running normal errands, however the house became a MESS. Like the sink full of dishes, things everywhere, and clothes not in the hamper. I only worked 2 days after Gabe left so then I had no commitments. So I lost track of days and spent alomst every evening on the couch. It was rough.

BUT things have changed.

I wouldn't say I'm good (like normal good), but I'm getting there. I try to leave my house to have some kind of interaction at least once a day. Nala and I have gotten more active...Kimberly and I are training for a 5k...so Nala is training for a 5k. HA! The house is ALMOST clean. Currently there are dishes in the sink...but Gabe who normally cleans after I cook isn't here. At least I remember to take out the trash! I'm loving volunteering at Rethreaded (if you havent checked them out, do it NOW! ...well after you finish reading this... http://www.rethreaded.com/) AND I'm about to start quilting. But like I said, it's been rough, including getting my supplies to quilt. Remember how I said crying has become part of the norm. Well, this is the first time I've quilted without my mom around to help out when needed. The thread on my machine KEEPS breaking, AND after I had cut some fabric I realized my ruler was crooked! Are you kidding?? Bring on the tears. So I've been "about to start quilting" like all summer. But really, nothing has been done. Maybe one day.

A peek into Rethreaded!

I'm hopeful that in this next month there will be even more improvement! I'm not sure I'll ever feel normal, I mean I wouldn't really think its possible since my best friend is not here. But we shall see. I'm visiting Texas for a little bit and that will be a much needed break from here. I love living in Jacksonville, but being at our place, by myself is hard. So I am looking forward to going to Texas to visit with family and friends! After my trip to Texas, school will be back in session, so that means I can start subbing again! YAY! I am thinking and hoping that once I start working, time will go faster and it will take a lot of focus and energy. Which will be oh so good.

Let me take this moment to say, I am incredibly proud of Gabe, and the crew aboard the ship. And Gabe and I feel like this is where God has us for this season of life. So we are doing our best to be positive, and really looking at this as another part of this adventure we are on as husband and wife. Gabe is working hard to be successful, and while things are hard for him too, I mean he is the one deployed, he is better at being positive than I am. He leads us well and I know that if he can lead well from the other side of the world, I know for a fact he can lead well at home.

So there is a pretty good glimpse into life currently. Seeing as I haven't been blogging often, hopefully they next one will be more joy filled! But this is where we are, its rough, but we are seeking out the positive and doing our best to enjoy the adventure set before us!

Ups and Downs and Ups and Downs

Real Talk. Life lately has been emotional to say the least. Highs, lows, and everything in between. 

The ship has been busy, which means Gabe has been busy. A crazy schedule that changes almost daily. My planner personality is not a fan. Pretty much anything involving Gabe's schedule is written in pencil because it will change. It's basically guaranteed.

Let's go back to the beginning of the year, when we got to go home, to both of our homes for some fun, family time! We flew into San Antonio to celebrate New Years and then we headed down to Portland for a few days! After time with my family we flew up to Dallas to spend some time with Gabe's family! We got to go to our nephew's soccer game, and even made a day trip down to Waco! It was a great time overall, and the most time in a row Gabe and I had spent together in awhile. I mean 24 hours together for 10 days in a row. That's a big deal! 

After we got home we got our sweet pup Nala! We have been wanting to get a puppy pretty much since we got married so she was the perfect 6 month anniversary gift to ourselves! ha

I mean look at that cutie! She is 9 months old and is the sweetest, snugliest (it's a word!), cavapoo you will meet! We are pretty smitten with her. 

Thankfully I had Nala because pretty much right away Gabe's schedule got busy. He was here and then he was gone, and then he was back, but had to work late. It was never ending. We thought we were going to have a long weekend so we planned to go somewhere... but surprise surprise it didn't happen. 

We have learned how to make the most of the time we do get together though. We did a stay cation that weekend (the one where we thought Gabe was going to get some extra time off), and still sent Nala to boarding. We did some fun things in Jax one day and had an extremely lazy day the next!

Some nights dinner gets planned and then postponed and taco bell gets picked up. You just never know. We are getting the hang of it. I think. But really we are just getting better at scrapping plans and making stuff up along the way. 

A huge win for us was being able to celebrate our birthdays together! (Early yes, but we still got to celebrate them!) For Gabe's birthday we went and saw The Phantom of the Opera and it was incredible! Then for mine we took advantage of a full weekend and went to Jekyll Island! It was beautiful and oh so fun to get out and explore! 

This is our life now and even though it can be super stressful, or we don't know what to do, we are in it TOGETHER. We are figuring it out TOGETHER. We will get through it TOGETHER. 

ALSO: Let me add that this is truly where we feel God has called us to be. Even though we are away from family, we will cling to Him and trust this is the best place for us to be in this season of life!