One Crazy, Beautiful Day at a Time

Hurts more today...

 

I can honestly say that the emptiness and pain of Rich being gone is stronger lately (especially today) than it was when he left for overseas.  How is this POSSIBLE?!  It should be getting "easier" to deal with by now.  I should be grateful for having a little freedom but I'm not.  This is just not right.  Maybe more retail theraphy is in order?

I love you babe, and I am thinking of you a lot.  (and I was just kidding about the retail theraphy...sort of.)

Love you!

-Brianne

Cards for Heroes Blog Hop!

Today is Cards for Heroes Blog Hop!!!

If you haven't heard about Cards for Heroes, it is an organization that supports our nation’s armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.  Over 140, 875 cards have been sent so far.  Isn't that awesome!!!

Today bloggers from around the word will be sharing their cards that they're sending to Cards for Heroes.  You can start at this page then hop from blog to blog reading about the participants. 

Here are the instuctions:

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"Hopper" instructions:

You're a "hopper" if you're planning on viewing all or part of the blogs—and we highly recommend setting aside some time for it!
 
-Click on the button above when it's "live", and hop from one blog to the next, and leave a comment when you feel inspired by the card, the patriotism, or anything at all! Prizes will be awarded to someone randomly from comments left, so you'll want to get yourself entered lots!
 
-Some blogs will have their own prizes (sometimes called RAKs) for those who comment on that post—keep your eyes peeled for those!

-If you get lost—if one blogger misposts a link or something else happens—come back to this post. Scroll down and find where you left off last and start there.

-Don't forget to end at the Homefront Blog when you're done, there's one more prize waiting when you're done hopping!
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As some of you know, I am a huge supporter of Cards for Heroes.  Last year, the magazine I write for, Scrapstreet Magazine, donated over 400 cards to CFH for Christmas!!!  Keep an eye out for information on an upcoming contest that Scrapstreet will be hosting in July for CFH!!!

Love you all!

-Brianne

Full-Circle Parenting

How many of you said to your parents, "When I have kids, I will never say ____!"?  I know I certainly did!  And now I can honestly say that I am my mother.  It's not necessarily the bad thing that I thought it would be but it certainly is humorous to me.  I caught myself saying to my son on Sunday, "Don't stand there with the door open!  You will let flies in the house!"  *insert flashback of me standing there with the door wide open hearing my mom say the same thing to me.*

And then there is the crazy things that you THINK only happen on TV to parents.  Take for instance this experience:

I'm standing at the sink helping my son wash his hands.  He reaches for the Brita filter we have attached to the water spout and before I could say, "nooooooooooo" (in slow motion, of course), he hits it, it comes away from the spout, and a STRAIGHT shot of water goes streaming into my face.  The world is still in slow motion and let me tell you, when you have COLD water streaming into your face, ALL thoughts go out the window.  Your hands (currently covered in soap) do not function.  Your face does not turn to avoid the water, your feet are glued to the very spot on the floor because they have suddenly forgotten how to move, and your mouth hangs open.  FINALLY your feet work and you take a step forward to hit the faucet handle to turn the water off and you turn to stare at your child.  The thing is...I couldn't even be mad.  It made me laugh.  Which in turn made him laugh.

Odd isn't it?  The things we go through as parents that we never really saw coming. 

Ahhh the daily adventures in parenthood.

Ok off to finish watching Dancing with the Stars finale.  I'll be back soon with scrapbooking goodies!!!

Love you!

-Brianne

Never-ending Tuesday....

That is how I have been feeling about this time apart from my hubby.  Its like my world is stuck on Tuesday (now), I keep hoping that Wednesday (half-way point) gets here so that Friday (when he gets home) won't seem so far away.

I know that may seem like a strange way to put it, but it really fits my mood.  Don't Tuesday's ever get you down?  I know they do for me LOL!.

On the upside, today is our 4th wedding anniversary.  4 years we have been bonded and though it seems like it has been a rollercoaster ride, we are closer and stronger than ever before.  He is more than just my husband, he is my rock, my inner-smile, and my best friend.  I am so lucky to have him in my life and I could not be MORE proud of him for what he does for this country. (I love you babe!)

Scrapbooking!

So I am working my way back to my scrap-table slowly but I can feel the creative energy building.  I have missed my mojo so much!  I have kept sketch books by my side the past two years so that if ever I had an idea, I can immediately put it down on paper.  I know that my coworkers have thought me a little nuts, but it really helps me visualize what I want to create on paper. 

Recently I decided that the sketch books I had were too small (majority of the time I was using both pages just to get out my idea for ONE page).  So I bought myself a new book.  The poor girl sat there for a few days but I am happy to report that I am now sketching again!  YAY!  Layouts will soon follow (I hope).

Ok Hot Wheels and Laundry are calling my name.  And for those that know, those two don't wait for anyone.

All my love,

Brianne

Solo-Ops: The Military Wife

 

I found a very exciting piece of news today. 

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2009 - President Barack Obama signed and issued a proclamation today designating the day as Military Spouse Day.

Here is the presidential proclamation:

"Military spouses share the sacrifices of service with our Nation's men and women in uniform. As members of the Armed Forces serve in the United States and across the world, military spouses also serve our Nation.

"When a servicemember goes to war, we know their spouse also shares in that sacrifice. I am inspired by their commitment to family and our Nation, and on Military Spouse Day, we honor these individuals for their contributions.

"Wives and husbands of servicemembers display an uncommon courage and strength as they steadfastly support their spouses during long and arduous deployments. While they endure separations that are filled with worry and anxiety, they face unique stresses. Foremost is the concern about the safety and well-being of deployed loved ones, but there are many other challenges. From managing household finances to comforting children impacted by a military parent's absence, military spouses take on the burdens of maintaining families largely on their own.

"This task is complicated even more as spouses work to maintain careers and a sense of community while moving to new duty stations around the country and the world.

"Despite these hardships, military spouses are an inexhaustible source of strength for our military families and donate their time generously to local communities. Military spouses offer the love and encouragement that help servicemembers endure the challenges of serving our Nation.

"Military spouses support one another as friends and mentors. They serve in family readiness groups to keep fellow spouses informed and to provide mutual support. They contribute as volunteers to improve neighborhoods, military installations, and communities. These contributions strengthen both our Nation's character and its security.

"All Americans should express appreciation for military spouses and let them know they are not alone. To help those who need it, friends, co-workers, and neighbors can offer to help with the burden of daily tasks and thus give military spouses more time for themselves and their families. To assist spouses who are coping with the absence of a loved one, individuals can listen and offer their counsel. Americans can also volunteer through the many organizations that provide assistance to military families.

"Our Nation maintains a sacred trust with every individual who serves. My Administration is committed to showing our Nation's gratitude for them by honoring our obligations to their families.

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 8, 2009, as Military Spouse Day. I call upon the people of the United States to honor military spouses with appropriate ceremonies and activities today and in the future.

"IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third."

How cool is that!!!!!!  I am so proud of my soldier but also so blessed by the people that support us.  Thank you to each and every one of you that look in on us and keep us smiling!

Love you!

-Brianne

A New Direction...

Lawton’s central post office is located across the street from where I work.  Every month I make at least one trip over there to mail something to somewhere in the United States (normally something scrapbook related LOL!).  Today was no different.  I was mailing my Mother’s day gift to my mom and today was the LAST possible day that I should do it.  Anyway, back to my topic at hand.  I was dwelling on the fact that having idle hands at work was given me far too much free time for my thoughts to wonder and with everything that had and was going on in my life, this available time was not helping my mental state.  The miscarriage, Rich’s PCS to

Korea, and the stupid SWINE FLU have been occupying my every thought and stressing me out.  I had told myself that going back to work full-time will help keep my mind busy and by the time I got home from work, my son would occupy all of my time and I would have no spare minute to agonize over any of those thoughts.  Well, it did not quite work out as I had planned.

 

As I walked over there, I was pondering on how slow it has been for me at work due to all of the leave time I had just gone though.  All of my files and daily work had been completed for me by my coworkers, leaving me nothing to do once I came back.  This has been both a blessing and a curse.  I am so grateful for every single one of them and how they were so supportive to me while I was on leave.  They truly were there during one of the darkest times of my life (and still are actually).  With every step, I was trying to come up with ideas that I could do to fill the time (that wouldn’t directly come between me and actual “work”).  And then it hit me!  My blog!  My poor, beautiful, abandoned blog.  All the time and effort I had put into obtaining my site and trying to build the most eye-catching header and then I just drop it like a bad habit.  So as this idea grew in my head, it took on form and swirled and danced until I had more thoughts than I could ponder in that short walk.  I came right back to my desk, opened Word, and started to type.  I would write about what it’s like to be a scrap-a-holic, Army Wife, trying to make it in the day-to-day reality that is the military.  One that was also trying to maintain her mental sanity while her husband was away for a year would be a great start, right?  Yay!  I was riding the creative wave again! 

 

So what to write about first?  Well, I guess it’s always best to start with what you know, right?  I currently live on an Army installation so my life is submerged in all things military.  I deal with housing, I shop at the commissary, I run into the PX when I absolutely cannot get off-post to the closest Wal-mart, and I even go to the post library for something to read.  Despite all this, my life was still really separate from the “Army way” and I found this out, first hand, at one of the first real spouse events I went to.  I have been blessed that my husband has always been “around” and I have never had to fend for myself in terms of figuring things out regarding the Army.  Now that he is away, I am finding out there is a lot I did not know and there is a lot of information out there for spouses if you just look hard enough.  So how would I approach this wonderful possibility of not only having an outlet for my crazy thoughts, daily antics, and military humor but also of my passion for scrapbooking?  Could it be done?  I guess we will find out together.

Love Always!

-Brianne