Saying Goodbye and See You Later Stinks...

Blog Post - 8 Feb 14

Slowly saying goodbye to everyone...my close friend Tiffany and her son (well they moved before we left), my work friends, Mitzie and her family, and next weekend is the family goodbyes. We will still have a little over a week to say bye to everyone in El Paso. I have been able to stay strong up until now and it is all hitting me hard. I have shed many tears just writing this post. Moving on.  Sophia and I are on a flight home from spending five fun filled days with my very close friend Mitzie and her family. She was my battle buddy while Robert was deployed and my long distance workout and eating healthy accountability partner and now we discus parenting information and the bowel movements of our children to the late night Facebook messages when our girls are not sleeping and have decided it is time to play.  I have not seen Mitzie in at least 4 years and both of our families have multiplied since we saw each other last. The last time I saw Carter, her son, he was a baby and only a few months old. We were also both pregnant at the same time and had scary similar pregnancies so I have been dying to snuggle Molly and vice versa with Sophia. I decided I was not leaving this country without seeing her!! I really wish I had been able to make a trip all over the country to see all of my dear friends that I have not seen in years! Tulsa/Lawton, Fayetteville/Springdale, Dallas/Texas, Denver/Colorado, and many more!! Maybe when we get back! It brought so much joy to this momma's heart to watch all the kids play and Carter loved having the two babies around. Sophia was infatuated with Carter and their dog Killer along with all the new and fun toys.  We had great ideas for things we wanted to do but as we quickly found out that was not how this trip was going to go and kind of more made plans on a day-to-day or hour-to-hour basis. That is what happens when totting around two babies in carriers and a four year old in snow and temperatures in the single digits. Regardless the kids had a blast and us momma's were able to catch up in person verses over text message, which is our daily means of communication. We enjoyed morning conversation over coffee and usually much needed since neither of our girls sleep through the night. Then after a day of refereeing the three plus the dog when they were all in bed asleep we enjoyed a bottle of wine until one of the girls woke for a feeding. We created so many wonderful memories and I took tons of pictures of the kiddos. Breaks my heart that the girls will both be Carter's age next time we see them. Once they dropped us off, I later received a text message saying that Carter was crying because he missed us already. I cannot even hold back my tears as I type this and again saying good-bye and see you later really stinks. They are my forever Army family and our friendship has withstood the distance of the Pacific Ocean once before and there is no doubt in my mind that it can withstand it again along with all of our other dear to our heart friendships. Good thing this I digital because if I was writing this on paper it would be soaked with tears. Moving on.  This trip was Sophia's first plane ride and my first time traveling on a plane with her!! Good news we are both air travel approved! She handled it like a champ and I have better idea of exactly what all we will need for our flight over the ocean. Now let's just pray that all the airline staff we encounter are gracious and understanding. It will be nice having Robert there to help. The biggest hurdles we encountered on our trip were the staff in the Milwaukee airport and one of the Southwest staff members. Going through security with a jogging stroller, car seat carrier, two carry on bags, a jacket, and wearing tall boots (probably not the best choice in footwear) is a huge pain!!!!  I pray on our next trip I never have to wake up Sophia to go through security, I will not be happy about that!!!  As I sit here watching my precious baby girl sleep on our flight from Milwaukee to Phoenix, I am reminiscing the wonderful visit we had in Wisconsin and thoughts are rushing through my head of all that faces us when we get home. I am also reading or should I say trying to catch up on my readings from Jesus Calling and the theme from the past few days is finding refuge in him and not getting caught up in the circumstances and daily events that don't go in a way that we expect. This is hitting me hard with our upcoming move and trying to make sure that everything is in order. Yet, in the chaos of it all and the sleepless nights still finding peace in him knowing that he will provide and take care of us.  The upcoming weeks hold lots of excitement and a few tears but in the mist of it all I am looking forward to getting in lots of much needed workouts while trying to make the best with limited cooking supplies as our household goods are gradually shipped off or put into storage and we adjust into hotel living for the next few months. Once we arrive in Japan, we will be in a hotel again while we wait for a house to open up. The dogs will have to stay at the kennel during this time and luckily, we are allowed to go and visit them. Not sure how Sophia and I would do not getting to see our fur babies for a couple of months.  I will wrap this up now! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this journey with a baby and an additional fur baby and that we can all manage to stay healthy! Here we go as I continue to write about our overseas adventures. Enjoy!! Also, bear with me as I am working out the kinks of posting from my iPad.