So close, yet so far away

It has been far too long since I have sat down and taken the time to write another entry in my blog. Sorry!!!  But alas, its a boring Saturday morning, and I am enjoying the chance to just sit in bed and not move for a few hours! Needless to say, it has been a long few months and I've had more on my plate than I could swallow lately. On a brighter note, my husband should be home soon!!!!!  Although he is planning my death by heart attack, I am beyond thrilled that it could literally be any day now that he is in my arms again.  I am lucky enough to have an amazing friend Amy who is working with him to plan a "surprise return".  Now keep in mind dear friends, my husband has NEVER been able to pull off a surprise for me. So we will just see if he actually does surprise me! :) (Good luck handsome!!) Regardless though, he will be home before May 11th, because we are going to a concert together!!!!!!  EEEEEKKKKK!!!!  And another HURRAY in our life, we are in the process of our PCS to Naples! We will be living our dreams together in June. I can hardly wait to experience it all. Its alot to take in, and trust me, my nerves are on overload at the moment. But I know that once we get there, and the military allows us to breath again, it will be so worth all the stress and worry that I've been dealing with the past few months! I swear, once its all over with, I'll be around to bore you guys with my life again! Until then, be patient with me, and enjoy life! Oh...and keep coming back to see an update on whether "Operation Surprise Cassie" was a success!!!

Sending him all my love

"When it rains it reminds me of you. Although 2000 miles away is so far away, I still always walk outside in the rain and kiss it just for you. It never fails me. The rain will always come and I'll always love you. The next time you see a storm on the horizon, don't worry, it's just heaven doing me the favor of taking you my kiss. Walk outside and kiss the rain whenever you need me."

One of the only good things I have found in a deployment, is the opportunity to creat CARE PACKAGES!!!!!  YAY!  This is when my creativity battles between being the most annoying characteristic of my personality, and being my best friend during a lonely time.  I tend to find myself in a constant googling obsession to see what other military wives (or girlfriends/fiances) do with their packages.  And although, I have found tons of great ideas on the web, I still struggle with finding unique things that most people wouldn't think to do, and that is where my creativity kicks in.  So this is for those of you ladies (or even gents) who are curious as to what a lonely, thick headed, and unusual military spouse comes up with for a Valentines Day Package.  Complete with a list of the goodies I've packed tight into 2 large Flat Rate boxes as well as pictures to feed that hunger in your curious brains!

5  16oz (1 pint) jars of  super delish CAKE IN A JAR  http://baking.about.com/od/giftideas/ss/canningjarcakes.htm
**These were decorated with cut fabric, rubber bands, ribbon, and recipe tags all purchased at Walmart**
1 sealed canister of cream cheese frosting (hubbys favorite)
plastic spoons
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Cotton Candy
Sweetheart Candy
Ring Pops
Fabric Rose (sprayed with some of my perfume)
Custom made boxers with a picture  http://www.vistaprint.com/
Card (also custom made on vistaprint.com)
White Stuffed VDay Teddy Bear
Inflateable Kissy Lips
VDay Puzzle
Red Hots
Sunflower Seeds
Beef Jerky
Mini Mailbox filled with lollipops
Recording of me singing ot him (with a sappy cryfest at the end telling him how much love and miss him)
His favorite hat
Wind Up heart shaped toy
Nerd Candies
Deck of Playing Cards
Pillow Case with my perfume
Custom Made Calendar (http://www.vistaprint.com/)


Hope you enjoy, and good luck with your packages!!!

Today is that Day.

If there were ever any doubt as to whether or not my husband and I were intended to be together by some greater force, today is the day that God cleared things up for us!  Have you ever had moments in your life, where you just knew (without a shadow of a doubt) that God had his hand on you, and has had his hand on you the whole time?  This was one of those moments for my husband and I. Here is a little history on what I'm talking about. When I first created this blog a little over 2 weeks ago, I posted that my husband had lost his wedding ring. He is on deployment in the horn of Africa, and is building a school over there.  One day while sifting about 5 truck loads of dirt and getting the work area prepared for the beginnings of their project, he lost his ring when he removed his sweaty gloves.  After spending a good long while searching everywhere he could in the dirt for his wedding ring, he had to give me a call to let me know he had lost it.  He was so devastated, and it absolutely broke my heart as he kept apologizing for losing it.  I calmed him down, and reassured him that I was not upset, and that I would make sure that he would have a ring waiting on him when he returned home from deployment.  I had been looking online and found the same exact ring I bought him, and had decided I would buy it for him again, but I kept telling myself lets just wait until we've got all our bills paid this month just to be certain that we would have the money.  (I knew we had more than enough money in saving to cover just in case, but something just kept telling me, we really should wait). 
Fast forward to todays online conversation. It went a little something like this:

Husband:  GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAT
Me:  What?
Husband:  You are never going to believe what I found today
Me:  :) Uh, that you are coming home really really soon? (yes, i didn't read correctly, i thought he found something out....not found an item! hehehe)
Husband:  No. I found MY WEDDING RING!
Me:  WHAT?!?!?!?! 
Husband:  I was taking a drink at work today and i saw a perfect circle in the dirt and when I realized what it was I got butterflies all over in my stomach
Me: are you serious right now?

By the grace of God people, after 2 weeks of working at that same spot, raking dirt, kicking stuff around, walking around that whole area, working with rebar, etc. etc.  my husband was taking a break and grabbing something to drink and voila, his ring was just sitting there in the dirt.  The best part about it is, he picked it up and there is not a single scuff or scratch on it.  It is still in perfect condition and looks like it was never even lost!  Lets be real here.  Who loses their wedding ring in 5 truck loads of dirt in the middle of Ethiopia and finds it in perfect condition 2 weeks later?  Needless to say, it was made apparent to hubby and I that God indeed was there when we said "I Do" and He believes that the ring that I bought him was the ring that was meant to be on his finger.  I can't even begin to tell you the feeling that puts in my body.  If that is not a clear sign from God, that we are meant to be together and that He indeed has a hand on our relationship, then friend...I dont know what is!  If God can keep that ring there, just waiting on Matt to find it, then I can't wait to see what else He can do with our marriage!  In 2 days we will be celebrating our 3 month wedding anniversary.  (Yes, I realize I am a complete nut for counting the months, but when you have spent more time apart than together, you seem to count everything).  And although we will be on opposite sides of the world, I take great comfort in knowing that we aren't having to fight the world to stay strong together. We've got God on our side, and He isn't going to let anything seperate us.  Even loads and loads of dirt on the other side of the world!

Dear Deployment

Dear Deployment,

    In case you haven't heard this about me yet, I'm better than you.  You may have stolen my Seabee for the time being, but guess what....you didn't take my family and my support system!  He WILL be home with me soon (booo yah!) and there is nothing you can do about it.  You may make me cry, and feel weak some days.  You may make me pull my hair out from all the stress you cause, but you will NEVER take away my love.  You've got nothing on me.  And when these few months are over, say good bye for good, because he is all mine for the next 3 years.  I'll be sure to send you post cards from Italy.  I dont have to do this alone, and I'm not going to!  So bring it.  Show me what you've got, because my love for my husband is so much stronger than you will ever be!  So stick that in your juice box and suck it. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!

Sincerely,
the proudest Seabee wife alive

What do you do when he loses his ring?

So as all of you military wives out there, and any personal friends of mine that have ever talked to me for more than 2 minutes, may know...every single time your cell phone rings, there is a sense of pure excitement that completely overcomes you.  Regardless of what I am doing at the time, the minute my cell phone rings, nothing else matters because I know that for at least the next minute or so I will be hearing his voice.  Today was no different, until I answer the phone.  Now, I know my husband well enough to know when something is wrong, and today something was really really bothering him.  Finally he spit it out..."I've got some bad news", he says, "I've lost my ring."  Wait. What?  Yep, I heard that correctly. Apparently, my sweet dear husband was wearing work gloves while they were out moving dirt around, and from sweating all day, when he took the gloves off the ring decided to come off too.  Now, keep in mind they are working with about 5 truck loads full of dirt out there, so the likelyhood of him finding that diamond in the rough...well is gonna be pretty rough!  :)  (Sometimes I really do amuse myself!)  The pain in his voice as he said that to me absolutely shattered my heart.  I thought I would be upset if anything like this ever happened, but knowing how much it pained him to not have it on his finger anymore made me realize something. 
Alot of times people tend to think that materalistic things define us or parts of our lives.  It was important for me to let him know that the ring on his finger was not what defined our relationship.  It is merely a symbol of the commitment we have made to each other.  In any sense, I realized that being hurt or crying or yelling was not going to change the placement of the ring. So instead, I sucked it up and told him how much I loved him and how sorry I was that he no longer had it. I took advantage of the opportunity to let him know that regardless of the situation, he was still my husband and he would have a ring waiting on him when he gets back home. 
So I ask you, what would you do if your significant other lost something that was of importance and meaning from you?  As hard as it is to swollow sometimes,  we need to all realize that love has far more meaning when we show it through our actions of patience, respect and support.  He needed my love and support at the moment, and I did all that I could to give it to him!  Besides, thats what this life is all about, isn't it?