HOMECOMING

Waiting on Daddy!

His Bus!!!

He's HOME!

Home Sweet Home

Matt completely surprised me and came home!!! He showed up at our hotel in Jacksonville to walk the Breast Cancer Half Marathon with us. I was shocked that he was there. You won't believe what happened...I got a stomach virus and was throwing up all night long the first night he was home. Yep, that's right...I haven't been sick since he left in July and the night he comes home it hits me. (EVERYONE in our family got it within the 2 weeks he was home, except Carson and Pam.) But I was able to walk the marathon and we made the exact time that I wanted. 3 hours 15 minutes. I was so happy he was there with me. He pushed me to make my time goal and I did it!! (That's us in the blue Team Taylor shirts.)

After we got home, I got bronchitis and Carson got the flu. It wasn't what we had planned for Matt's time home at all but we all got to spend lots of time together at home, even if we were all sickly.

We did take Jenna to the Creative Discovery Museum one day. She loves that place!

And it snowed while he was home so Matt and Jenna played in the snow.

Matt also took me to get my first tattoo. It says Love in Arabic. :)

The night before he had to report in Atlanta to go back to Iraq, Matt and I went down to Atlanta to stay the night. We went to the Coke Museum and the GA Aquarium. (I forgot my camera!!!) I was so sad to see him go back but we are getting closer to this deployment being over and I can't wait!!!!

My Daddy, My hero

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Matt!

Matt sent me a picture from Iraq this week so I thought I would share it. He is adjusting to life there and seems to be doing ok. Please keep us all in your prayers. Miss and Love you Matt!

Package from Daddy!!

Jenna got a package from Daddy today!

It took about 2 weeks to get here.

She was so excited to open it.

It's a backpack!! It has Boots and Dora on it and it has her name in English and in Arabic.

She loves it and has been wearing it around the house!

Thanks Daddy!!!

New Jersey

We were able to go up to New Jersey last week to see Matt for the last time before his deployment. His parents, the kids and I drove up to Fort Dix to see him. We left late Sunday night and drove/rode all night long. We made it in just over 12 hours. The kids did GREAT! They slept most of the trip, which was a blessing. We got there, got settled and went to the base to get Matt a little earlier than expected. I was so happy to see him! It had only been a month but it felt like forever! We took it easy that night and the next day. We were able to go shopping a little to get a few last minute things Matt needed for his trip.

On Wednesday we drove to Philadelphia to see all the history sites. Matt loves that kind of stuff! We enjoyed it all so much. Carson did great and Jenna did ok too. She isn't a big fan of walking

around and looking at buildings or at a random bell. ha! But she made it and slept great that

night!

Here we are at the Liberty Bell.

Matt standing at the unmarked graves of soldiers from the Revolutionary War.

Matt and Carson sitting in the same pew that George Washington and John Adams sat in.

The next day, we decided on going back to Philadelphia to go to the zoo. As I've said before, Jenna is a big animal lover. She has only been to the Chattanooga Zoo so this was wonderful for her. She loved every minute of it.

That night Mike and Pam kept our kids and we went out for our last date for a year. We ate at Bahama Breeze, which was amazing and then walked around a mall and went to Target Greatland. (I couldn't resist!)

Matt eating Grilled Chicken Kabobs that were delicious!

On Friday, we just stayed around the hotel and spent time just as a family. We shopped a little at the Carter's outlet and Matt and I went to the hospital to see one of the soldiers and his wife.(She went into labor while we were up there. She had the baby the next morning in New Jersey. They were so happy that Daddy was there to see the new baby.) Since Matt missed Jenna's birthday party, we had a small one at our hotel. I was so happy we got to celebrate with him.

We had an early Saturday morning. They had a Celebration for the soldiers early that morning on post. This is the whole 252nd MP company! They are ready to deploy!

Then they told everyone that if you had a room on base the soldiers could stay one more night with you. I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to see him for a few more hours. So Matt called and got me and the kids a room and found us a ride back home the next day. I was so happy to spend some more time with him. We watched that Alabama game that night and that's about it. Jen likes it when AL football is on. She walks around with her hands in the air saying TOUCHDOWN! ROLL TIDE!

The next morning started around 5:00am. We got up, got packed and said our goodbyes. There were lots of tears but we will make it through this next year. It'll be hard but I know we are strong enough. We left Fort Dix at 7:45am and got back home at 8:45 that night. It was the longest ride of my life. Jenna did ok. And Carson slept most of the time. I am so thankful to be home.

I can't wait to see Matt again. I miss him already. Please keep him and our family in your prayers throughout the next year.

Final Load Out

This was absolutely the hardest day of my life. Saying goodbye to the one you love the most for a year is something that I hope most people never have to experience. I think the hardest part is knowing that I have to live a completely seperate life from my husband for a year. As we stood on the side of the road waving our flags in the pouring rain, all I could do was cry. I have been so strong but in that moment I broke. I know I can do this but sometimes a year seems like eternity...Love you Matt.

Final Formation

More pictures soon...

Farewell Ceremony

Farewell Ceremony at Bradley High School for the 252nd MP Company.

Nearly 1000 people showed up to support our soldiers on Tuesday afternoon. It was amazing. My mom counted and there were 25 people there just to support Matt. It helps so much to know there are people standing behind you when you are going through the most difficult time in your life. Words can never express the feeling...

(Jenna and Matt made the front page of the Chattanoona Times!!)

Packing

And so Matt's packing begins...

Going Away Party

We had a Going Away party for Matt this weekend. We invited lots of friends and family. Everyone had a great time eating, playing games and hanging out. I wanna say a BIG thanks to Lindsey and Sheri for helping me out so much and also to Grandmother and my mom for the amazing fruit trays and to Pam for the cake. Thanks to everyone else for coming to support our family. This is a crazy, emotional time for us but knowing that we have all our family and friends right behind us means more than you'll ever know. We love ya'll!

I didn't get many pictures because I was running around like crazy!

Family Day

Sunday afternoon Matt's unit had Family Day. It will be the last time everyone is together until Final Load Out(Deployment Day AKA Hardest Day of My Life). It was lots of fun. They had games for the kids, ponies to ride, food, softball games, games for adults, doorprizes. Matt played two games of softball. They won one and lost one. I didn't get many pictures because I had both children while he played. This is the entire unit, 252nd MP Company, in Formation on the softball field.

This is Matt's platoon, Headquarters. He is on the front row, second from the left.

And here is Jenna with a flower she picked while watching Daddy play softball.

At the end the Captain called all the families in for a meeting. He talked to us alot about the deployment. The short version on the timeline is this...They go on orders July 26 and leave for New Jersey July 29. They stay in NJ for about 34 days for training. Then they get a 4 day break in New Jersey just before leaving the country in early September, which means me and the kids will be making a big trip up there.(Pray for us!) They fly into Kuwait and stay there 7-10 days. After that it's on to Iraq for a year. There were lots of tears in the room; kids, wives, mothers, husbands, siblings, dads...you name it. It's amazing how fast all of this has happened from when they first got their orders. Only one more drill weekend and they will be leaving. It's crazy the stages you go through getting ready emotionally for it. Scared, mad, sad, numb, excited, worried...the list goes on. And then there are lots of physical things to take care of too....tons of paperwork, packing and moving, meetings...And then questions, How will I do this for a year? Will I hear from him everyday? Will he get injured? How will things be when he comes home? Will the kids remember him? On and on and on...But one thing that keeps all of us going is knowing that this is what he lives for. He loves it. There is so much honor in serving our country. This is what he was trained to do for the last 3 years and he is finally getting to put it to use. Anyways, this begins the season of my life that I want to go by oh so quickly...

Contractions, Shrek and Land Navigation?

Jenna and I have been staying back and forth between home and my mom's house. Lindsey has been staying with us during the week. We are so ready for Matt to come home!!

Last week I started having some contractions and some pain in my kidneys. I went to the hospital for them to monitor us for a little while. I was having a few real contractions but nothing major. They also did a few tests. All came back negative but one. It showed that I had blood in my urine. I have kidney stones and they were moving around in my kidneys and causing some pain. They sent me home after a few hours and told me to stay off my feet. Ha! I have a 17 month old and my husband is out of town...good luck with that. I go back to the doctor on Thursday. I'm anxious to talk to her about it. And also we'll be getting another ultra sound to see if my placenta has moved up.

Jenna is at such a fun age! She is learning new stuff everyday. Her new favorite thing in this world is Shrek. All you have to do is mention his name and she'll go on forever about watching him and who all she's watched him with. We were wanting to get away from Dora some but uh..Shrek? Is that any better? Now we have Dora and Shrek! She has also started playing with her baby dolls ALL the time. She wants to feed them, give them lotion, give them juice, read to them, cover them with blankets, on and on and on...what she doesn't realize is that she is just practicing for the real thing. Here is Jenna watching Shrek and the Campbell's house. :)

Matt is doing so great at WLC. I get to talk to him twice a day..maybe. Last week he was able to e-mail a lot because they were in the classroom but this week not so much. They are doing lots of stuff in the field and are very busy. (I hope the time is going by faster for him than it is for me!) They have 4 tests to do while they are there. He was very nervous about some of them. He did great though! I knew he would. He had to teach a class and get graded on it..he made a 96! He had to lead PT one morning...he made a 95! He got graded on troop leading and made an 87. He was bummed about that until he found out that it was the second highest grade in the class! He also had to do Land Navigation and got all 3 of his points! He was most excited about that one. He says it's one of his weak points. As you can see, he's doing GREAT! Having said all that..He's ready to come home. He's so tired and burnt out. He has been going non-stop for weeks! He comes home on Saturday night and we can't wait!! He also starts his new job on Monday. He was able to send me this pic and I thought I would share it. I really like it.

That's all for now!

Things Not to Say to a Military Spouse...

I ran across this and like some if it....(sorry about some of the language.)

Things NOT to say to a military spouse.

1. "Aren't you afraid that he'll be killed?"
(This one ranks in at number one on the "duh" list. Of course we're afraid. We're terrified. The thought always lingers at the backs of our minds ---but thanks brilliant, you just brought it back to the front. Maybe next you can go ask someone with cancer if they're scared of dying.)

2. "I don't know how you manage. I don't think I could do it."
(This is intended to be a compliment. Though, its just a little annoying. Here's why: it's not like all of us military wives have been dreaming since childhood of the day we'd get to be anxious single moms who carry cell phones with us to the bathroom and in the shower. We're not made of some mysterious matter that makes us more capable, we just got asked to take on a challenging job. So we rose to the challenge and found the strength to make sacrifices.) - Here's what i have to say about it...He's my husband. I support him in anything he does. That's the bottom line. You would do the same. Right?

3. "At least he's not in Iraq."
(This is the number one most annoying comment for those whose husbands are in Afghanistan. What do they think is happening in Afghanistan? An international game of golf? Guys are fighting and dying over there.) -Things are getting worse in Afghanistan than they are in Iraq...FYI

4. "Do you think he'll get to come home for Christmas/anniversary/birthday/birth of a child/wedding/family reunion, etc?"
(Don't you watch the news? No! They don't get to come home for any of these things. Please don't ask again.) - True story. If they didn't let him come home with he was in South Carolina for Jenna's birth, what makes you think they would fly him half way around the world for one?

5. "What are you going to do to keep yourself busy while he's gone?"
(Short answer: Try to keep my sanity. For those with and without children, we find ourselves having to be two people. That keeps us plenty busy. We do get lonely, but we don't get bored, and drinking massive amounts of wine always helps keep me busy.)

6."How much longer does he have until he can get out?"
(This one is REALLY annoying to many of us whether our husbands are deployed or not. Many of our husbands aren't counting down the days until they "can" get out. Many of them keep signing back up again and again because they actually love what they do or they VOLUNTEER AGAIN and AGAIN to go back to Iraq b/c there is work that needs to be done.) - Matt is one of them. We will always be military family. Always.

7. "This deployment shouldn't be so bad, now that you're used to it."
(Sure, we do learn coping skills and its true the more deployments you've gone through, the easier dealing with it becomes. And we figure out ways to make life go smoother while the guys are gone. But it never gets "easy" and the bullets and bombs don't skip over our guys just because they've been there before. The worry never goes away.) - I can't imagine ever getting used to him being gone...ever.

8. "My husband had to go to Europe for business once for three weeks. I totally know what you're going through."
(OK. Do NOT equate your husband's three week trip to London/Omaha/Tokyo/etc. with a 12-15 month or more deployment to a war zone. Aside from the obvious time difference, nobody shot at your husband or tried to blow him up with an I.E.D., your husband could call home pretty much any time he wanted to, he flew comfortably on a commercial plane, slept between crisp white sheets and ate well, paying for everything with an expense account. There is no comparison. We do NOT feel bonded to you in the slightest because of this comment and, if anything, we probably resent you a bit for it. Comparing a 12 month combat deployment to a few weeks business trip is like comparing a shitty ford taurus with mercedes convertible.)

9."Wow you must miss him?"
(This one also gets another big "duh". Of course we miss our men. There are some wives who do not and they're now divorced.) - You have no idea.

10. "Where is he exactly? Where is that?"
(I don't expect non-military folks to be able to find Anbar Province on a map, but they should know by now that it's in Iraq. Likewise, know that Kabul and Kandahar are in Afghanistan. Know that Muqtada al Sadr is the insurgent leader of the Mahdi Army in Iraq and that Sadr City is his home area. Know that Iran is a major threat to our country and that it is located between Afghanistan and Iraq. Our country has been at war in Afghanistan for seven years and at war in Iraq for five years. These basic facts are not secrets, they're on the news every night and in the papers every day ---and on maps everywhere.)

11. "Well, he signed up for it, so it's his own fault whatever happens over there.
(Yes, ignorant, he did sign up. Each and every day he protects your right to make stupid comments like that. He didn't sign up and ask to be hit by anything, he signed up to protect his country. Oh, and by the way, he asked me to tell you that "You're welcome." He's still fighting for your freedom.) - Amen.

12. "Don't you miss sex! I couldn't do it!"
(hmmm, no i don't miss sex. i'm a robot. seriously...military spouses learn quickly that our relationships must be founded on something greater than sex. We learn to appreciate the important things, like simply hearing their voices, seeing their faces, being able to have dinner together every night. And the hard truth is, most 'normal' relationships probably couldn't withstand 12 months of sex deprivation.)

13. "Well in my opinion....."
(Stop right there. Yo, I didn't ask for you your personal political opinions. Hey, I love a heated political debate, but not in the grocery store, not in Jamba Juice, not at Nordstrom, not in a bar when I'm out with my girls trying to forget the war, and CERTAINLY NOT AT WORK. We tell co-workers about deployments so when we have to spend lunch hours running our asses off doing errands and taking care of the house, dog, and kids, they have an understanding. We do not tell co-workers and colleagues because we are giving an invitation to ramble about politics or because we so eagerly want to hear how much they hate the President, esp. while we're trying to heat up our lean cuisines in the crappy office microwaves.)

14. "OH, that's horrible...I'm so sorry!"
(He's doing his job and he's a badass. Don't be sorry. Be appreciative and please take a moment out of your comfortable American lives to realize that our soldiers fight the wars abroad so those wars stay abroad.) - And pray for them. They need it.

Washington

Matt is in Washington DC this week. His unit got sent up there for the Presidential Inauguration. He didn't get to do as much as he had hoped. They were mainly there for backup. Some of them got to go out but since Matt is a mechanic he was left behind "just in case." They stayed at what used to be an elementary school. No showers. But they made it work. Luckily he got to go out today and tour Washington. I think he loved it! He really likes American History. I'm so happy that he has the opportunity to see so many places because of the Army. He was there on his birthday and I'm sure it'll be one he'll never forget. He took a camera up there with him so when he gets back if there are any good pics, I'll post them. He did send me some from his phone. Here's a good one...

He gets back tomorrow. But he leaves Friday morning from Chattanooga for South Carolina for WLC(Warrior Leaders Course). I don't know much about it. I do know it will help him get his next rank(E-5) and he thinks the first couple of days will be like BCT(Basic Training), which means we won't hear from him and they'll be all in his face yelling and making him do a million push ups. Don't let him fool you, he lives for that kind of stuff. His goal is to be a drill sgt. I can totally see that happening. Anyways, so we will get to see him for less than 24 hours and then he'll be gone for 2 weeks. It's what they call the "Guard Turn Around."

Jenna is missing him so much! My sister is staying with us while he's gone. Lindsey was sleeping on Matt's side of the bed and Jenna looked and me and said "Daddy Bed!" She also thinks every time we hear a car pull up that its him and she runs to the window and yells for Daddy. So sweet. I know she doesn't understand why he has to be gone. I hate that part! Maybe its just preparing us for when he leaves this summer for a year...

Me and Jenna are making it without him. I'm so happy Lindsey is staying with us and we have spent a lot of time at my parent's house. Matt's parents have gotten Jenna a couple of times so that I can have a break. We'll be so happy when he's home for good.

He starts working at the armory full time when he gets back which is an answer to prayer. We are so excited!

Christmas with our Soldier

Sunday was Family Day at the 252nd MP Company, which is Matt's unit. They started out with an awards ceremony. Matt got an award for "working beyond his pay grade". We had no clue that was coming but we were very proud of course! He got a new ribbon for his Class A's and also a medal. They also had an FRG(Family Readiness Group) meeting, which I hate! I know they are there to help but right now all they are talking about is getting ready for deployment and I honestly hate thinking about all the details that involves. They gave out a schedule of meetings, the last one was called Mobilization Day. Sounds exactly like what I want to do! We ate after that. It was very good, much better than last year! Santa was there. Jenna like him from far away. She kept saying HO HO HO but when we get take her close to him she would literally climb up Matt to get away. We tried to get a picture with him but it didn't work. Santa passed out presents to all the kids(provided by the parents). He gave Jenna a cute Dora/Deigo set. And of course she LOVED it! We had a great time. We are so grateful for our soldier and all he does! This Christmas is special because next year he'll be over seas and not with us. We are making memories throughout this season for him to carry over with him.

Strong Bonds

Matt and I had the opportunity to go to a marriage seminar in Gatlinburg this weekend. It's called Strong Bonds and its hosted by the Family Programs Office for the Army(and Air) National Guard. We weren't too sure about how the classes would be but once we got there we had a blast! The classes were very entertaining and informative. We watched really funny videos, played games, took a personality test, and had fun discussions. There were also some serious times too. They talked about deployments(i cried the entire time), renewed our vows, and talked about forgiveness. We met some really nice people that we'll never forget.

While we weren't in our classes we had even more fun hanging out around Gatlinburg, just Matt and I. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, and Huck Finn's Catfish just to name a few. They were all fabulous! We shopped lots and walked even more. We went to the aqurium, wax museum, car museum, Ripley's Believe It or Not museum and lots more. I was wiped out after walking my pregnant butt all over that place!! :)

It was so nice to get away just for a few days. Jenna stayed with Matt's mom the first night and my mom the second night. She had a great weekend too!! Mimi put curlers in her hair and she LOVED it!

Here is a clip from a video they gave us.

Got the word...

In July we got the phone call that Matt's unit was being put on alert to go overseas. We were upset but we always knew that was a possibility because of the war. We weren't given much information about the deployment except that it would be 12 months. So we've been waiting in fear of when the next phone call would come.

This morning at formation at Matt's monthly drills they were given the mobilization orders. July 17, 2009. Afghanistan. 12 months.

We are about to go into unknown territory. One day at a time is all I can do....