Christmas Craziness: The Bad Part

So here is the bad news. When Meric and I left to spend a week with his family we left the dogs at my parents house. They have stayed there before and my mom and everyone are familiar with them and their unique personalities.

The day we were going to head back to Spokane I got a frantic call from my mom. Apparently that morning Emmy had had enough of us being gone and took it out on Lucy. She started a fight with Lucy and with Jasper in the way, Lucy had been hurt. Lucy has a lot of loose skin and Emmy had torn a good sized hole in her armpit. They took Lucy to the vet and it was decided that with antibiotics and a daily cleaning the wound would eventually heal on its own. Also since she is getting older and the location of the wound she would need to be knocked out for the surgery.

That night Meric and I got back to my mom's house and took a look at the wound ourselves. It was a lot worse than I thought it would be, larger and deeper. I was worried about how long it would actually take to heal and it getting infected because it was so deep. Also we had to start travelling back to Kentucky in a week. We decided to take her back to the vet and have them stitch it up.

Lucy handled the surgery well. She had several sutures in her armpit and a couple of tubes for drainage purposes. To help protect the sutures and absorb the draining, Lucy wore a T-shirt for the next week. (It was a good thing my mom hadn't take her pile of clothes to Goodwill yet.)

The night before we left Meric and I removed her drainage tubes. We then started the trip to Arizona. Since she couldn't jump we let Lucy ride in the cab of the truck. At our first stop we let the other dogs in the cab too since the temperature outside was getting down to 8 degrees.

She handled the trip well and by the time we reached Arizona I was a lot more relaxed about letting her jump and play. We even took the dogs to the dog park and let Lucy really run for the first time since the incident. She got some funny looks for wearing a Tshirt but she had fun and did well. (To my surprise so did Emmy, who usually picks fights at dog parks.) Lucy also loved my 3 nieces and they loved her. Alyce, the oldest, called Lucy her "friend that wears a shirt".

For the drive home Lucy rode in the back of the truck with out any problems. Jumping in and out at that point was no problem. As soon as we got home Meric and I removed her sutures. Also she no longer has to wear a shirt.

Lucy has actually healed a lot better than I was expecting. She will have a scar but once her hair grows back you will not be able to tell. We really do love Emmy but there are times we wished we hadn't picked her up off the street. Also Emmy and Lucy love each other and made up after we got Lucy home from the vet. We love visiting family but next time I think we will go in the summer and bring our house. It would be a lot easier on the dogs and nice for Meric and I too.

Christmas Craziness: The Good Part

The Christmas season was a little crazy this year. I had been looking forward to it for months because I knew Meric would be home to celebrate with me. It was also because we would be spending Christmas and New Years with our family.

One of the things I enjoy about the holiday season in Kentucky is the Christmas lights. In E'town there is a park with a lake that has a large drive through light display every year from Thanksgiving until New Years. Meric and I went through it last year and I was definitely looking forward to it again. There is also another drive through light display in Louisville except this one is in a large underground cavern. A few days before we left for Christmas Meric, Kelli and I went with the Smith family (campground owners) to see this light show.

It was pretty cool and there were tons of lights. If you are ever in Kentucky during Christmas I would definitely recommend checking out these displays.

Definitely a Kentucky Christmas light display



Eagerly waiting to open presents

On December 17th we started the long drive to Spokane. It actually wasn't too bad of a trip. Other than almost leaving Kelli at a rest stop in Illinois and hitting a little snow/fog in South Dakota and Lookout Pass, the trip went smooth and we made it to Spokane in only 2 days.
 

Meric and I stayed in Spokane for a couple days before we headed on to Ridgefield, WA to spend a week with his family. It was December 21st so we got there just in time for their "End of the World"/Christmas party. The rest of the week we had a lot of fun hanging out with family (especially the nieces and nephew), playing games, and doing Christmas. It has been a couple of years since we were with family for Christmas so it was nice to share in the festivities. 



They bonded quickly once Meric showed Connor our truck

After the week with Meric's family we headed back to Spokane to spend a week with my family. We had a lot of fun hanging out with my family and got to spend New Years with them. New Year's Eve is a fun night with my family and I am so glad we got to be there. Meric and I also met up with one of the guys he was deployed with who was also spending the holiday in the area. Meric and I had a great dinner with him and his wife and discovered a resturaunt we had never been to before. It is called The Wild Sage and it features local ingredients in all of their recipes. Everything was delicious and I would recommend it to anyone.



Deric's girls were fascinated with my braces

While we were at Meric's parents house we spoke to Meric's brother Deric. He lives near Tucson, AZ and wasn't able to make it home for Christmas. It had been a long time since we had see him or his family so Meric and I decided to take a few extra days and drive down to see him. I am so glad we decided to go to Arizona. First of all we got to spend 2 1/2 days with Deric, his wife and their 3 girls. We had so much fun! Second I have never been to Arizona and really enjoyed seeing the area. Third driving that far south made the 2 day drive home a lot warmer.

After the 2 day drive Meric and I arrived home. Mike (one of the owners) had made sure that our trailer was all ready for us. He pulled out our slides, turned on the heat, cleared the antifreeze out of the pipes, made sure the water heater was on, and started a fire for us. It was so nice after such a long trip to come home and have it all ready for us. That nice we sat by the fire and enjoyed some hot dogs for dinner.

It was a very long trip but it was a nice one. We drove through 18 states and spent about 90 hours driving. It was so great to be able to see so much family and spend time with them all. The best part is we got to meet a couple nieces and a nephew we had never met before. We also got to spend time with them all and get to know them a little better. I love being an aunt!

The Reason for the Season: My thoughts on Christmas this year

"Tis the season to be jolly..."

I love the Christmas season! This year I am particularly excited. I have been looking forward to Christmas for 2 main reasons.

1. Meric would be home from deployment.

 2. We are going home to spend the holidays with family.

It has been almost 2 years since I have been home and I am really excited to see family and friends again. I am so excited I broke out the Christmas music at Halloween. (No worries I celebrated Halloween too.)

Now that it is actually the Christmas season, I have had a few thoughts about different things I have seen or heard. I have seen several postings and pictures on facebook saying things like "Keep Christ in Christmas" or "It is Merry Christmas, not Happy Holidays" and things like that. 

With the world the way it is Christmas break has become winter break and the work Christmas party has become a holiday party. You hear more and more happy holidays  and less merry Christmas for fear of offending someone. But seriously why would someone saying "Merry Christmas" offend you? I would not be offended in the least if someone said "Happy Hanukkah" to me.

That being said why should I expect someone to accept my "Merry Christmas" if I am not willing to accept their "Happy Holiday"? Christmas is a holiday after all. And why should I be offended if someone doesn't "keep Christ in Christmas"? Is there any religion that believes Christ was actually born on Christmas? Besides a lot of Christmas traditions were adapted from pagan traditions. (I am not saying Christmas is a pagan holiday but look up the origins of Christmas sometime.) 

Christmas should be a time of giving not judging. It should be a time when we are a little more tolerant of our fellow man. A time to unite in love and not focus on our differences. I am not going to stop believing what I believe because it might offend someone and I won't be offended if you don't believe the same as me.

So whether you say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" read Luke 2 or T'was the Night before Christmas, I hope that you enjoy this time of year. And I wish you the Merriest of Christmases!

Locks of Love

I have had long hair off and on my entire life. I grew my hair long over the summer, longer than it has been in a long time. Having hair so long gets to be annoying so I decided to cut it.

This is how long my hair was back in October

Locks of Love is an organization that accepts donated hair to make wigs and benefit children who have lost their hair due to a medical condition. I have long hair and want to cut it + Locks of Love (a good cause) = me being charitable.

It was a little nerve racking cutting my hair that much at once. Luckily I had enough hair that I didn't have to cut it super short.

My ponytail that will be donated

Locks of Love is a great way to help children. I definitely recommend donating your hair. Here is a link with all the information  you will need: http://www.locksoflove.org/donate.html  Some hair salons will send your donation in for you, while others don't. The website includes all the information you will need to send in your donation.

New cut, new color

I have always wanted to dye my hair black but have always chickened out. This time I had the guts to go through with it. I dyed it a blue/black and I love it. I alove my shorter hair. I am already planning to grow it out again though. As soon as it is long enough, I will be donating it again.

Welcome Home!

Saturday (11/24) I started a 7 hour drive to Fort Benning GA. Why? To pick up Meric!

Sunday morning I got up early to a text message from Meric saying he had landed in Altlanta GA. He told me he would let me know when they left Atlanta on a 1 1/2 hour bus ride to Fort Benning. Of course I was way too excited and was at Fort Benning long before he left Atlanta. I got to Freedom Hall (the place we thought he would would be arriving) and found someone else waiting as well. He was waiting for his son. We stood outside and chatted for a bit and then went into Freedom Hall. Inside there was food and chairs awaiting the returning soldiers. There were also some more family members and I started chatting with a woman whose husband was returning as well. (Most people on the flight were not from Fort Benning and would be flying home later that night so only a few family members were actually there.)

Then the buses arrived and the soldiers started coming in. I could hardly believe it when I saw Meric for the first time. It was so surreal seeing him in person and not on a computer screen. Everyone came in and sat down. Then someone got up and told everyone they had 5 minutes to do whatever and then they would start the ceremony.  It was so nice to hug and kiss my husband again. I didn't want to let him go. (And yes I cried.) Then there was a short ceremony and they started the process of paperwork and turning in gear. A few hours later Meric was all mine.

I treated Meric to a lunch at Red Robin, his favorite. We spent that night in Columbus GA and then drove 6 hours to Bowling Green KY. It was a nice trip and only had a minor delay when we witnessed a car accident on the freeway. We stopped and waited for the police and paramedics to arrive which wasn't too long. We ate dinner at a cute hole-in-the-wall place and then checked into our hotel. I learned to swim over the summer and Meric hadn't seen me swim so we got a hotel with on indoor pool. It was a lot of fun playing around in the pool.

The next day we headed to Fort Knox so that Meric could check in and get a 4 day pass and then we would stay one more night away from home before heading back to the campground. That's when things didn't go according to plan. They didn't give Meric a pass and instead wanted him to start in-processing immediately. Also a call to Kelli that morning informed me that the trailer was once again having electrical problems. Because of all the problems we decided to just head home that night.

When we pulled into the campground there was a big Welcome Home sign in front of our trailer and Kelli and the Smiths (campground owners)  were all waiting for Meric. It was a great sight to have so many people welcoming him home. Inside the trailer there were several balloons and 3 dog who were very happy to see their daddy. The Smiths also invited us over for pizza. It was really nice to sit and relax.

I am so happy to have Meric home. It will take a little getting use to but it actually is pretty normal already. It is SOOOOOO nice to have my husband home!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is that time of year again when everyone reflects on what they are grateful for. This year has been an interesting one for me. With Meric deployed sometimes it is hard to be thankful. When things go wrong with the trailer (and unfortunately they have) it is hard to be thankful. Despite that, I am thankful.

Meric's 9 month deployment has been hard. I miss him. I am very thankful for Skype and our ability to see each other when we talk everyday. Even though I am thankful for Skype, I am so tired of being on Skype every day. I look forward to being able to talk to my husband and have him be in the same room. I am excited to have my best friend back. With that being said having to talk once a day through the computer has made Meric and I work on communicating better. Our relationship had to adapt to the situation, and when he comes home we will have to adapt again. After 8 years of marraige I am grateful for the opportunities we have to strengthen our relationship.

Also with Meric not here to rely on, I have had to handle things on my own. I have done and had to deal with things I never thought I would. Usually I am a homebody and Meric is the social one. Without Meric here I have had to be social and I have become good friends with a lot of my neighbors. I have always wanted to get into shape and relied on Meric to motivate me and plan our workouts. Now I have to motivate myself and I have done well (though it is still hard to keep it up). I have really had to grow beyond my comfort zone these last 9 months.

I am also thankful for family. I have had a lot of visitors while Meric has been gone. I am especially thankful for Kelli who has stayed with me the entire time. I don't think I would have handled this deployment as well without her. She makes me food, taught me to swim and keeps me from falling apart sometimes. Also with a 12 year age gap between us  it has been a great opportunity to get to know Kelli as an adult and not just a little girl.

Another thing I am very thankful for is the campground I live in. I have "neighbors" I have gotten to know and that have treated Kelli and I like family. There is always something going on and fun things to look forward to. And the owners are the best people I have ever met. Anytime I have a problem or need anything they are right there to help. They really have gone above and beyond to make me feel at home and to take care of me while Meric is away.

I am most thankful that next week I should have my husband back. I am beyond excited to have him back. I am grateful and definitely prefer to have Meric home but I am thankful for the opportunity I had to grow.

Meric won't be home for Thanksgiving so I am delaying the feast until he is able to participate. This year Kelli and I are making ham, mashed potatoes, rolls and pies. We are going to enjoy our last few day before everything changes.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Fall of Kentucky

I have lived in Kentucky for 1 1/2 years and I love it! One of my most favorite things about Kentucky is its beautiful landscapes. Often times I find myself in awe of my surroundings. The fall is a particularly beautiful time. Recently I was inspired to try and capture some of that beauty in pictures. Here are a few of the many pictures I have taken. (The top 3 photos were taken at the campground where I live.)