Always Remember, You Are...

As I sit down to read & work my way through a delicious pot of tea, I still can't get my mind off missing my husband. It feels like his return is right around the corner, but we do still have a ways to go. I just found this picture & it made me smile -- if you're feeling like you need a bit of a boost, I hope this is just the trick for you too :)

Winter With Winnie -- Loving Tumblr!

There is something about this charming Winnie the Pooh sketch that makes all my snow outside seem cozy instead of aggravating.  Leave it to this clever little bear to put the right spin on things for us :)  I hope that you all are enjoying your weekend with family & friends, getting ready for Christmas & wrapping presents!  I just looked at the calendar -- Christmas is in one week!

 I put this on my new Tumblr page, It's A Keeper!  I'm having too much fun with all the pretty pictures!

Don't forget to participate in this week's Saturday Around The World blog party!  So many of you have already found great new blogs to read AND new followers for your own blog!  Hooray!  Success!

Deployment Shleployment

Ugh, do we really have 6 months of this deployment left? It feels like it's been an eternity since Don was here with me.  And today was one of those days where everything seemed to make me teary.  Every song that came onto my iPod was one that reminded me of him in some way, so I was always pushing the "next" button.  Church...well, Church is always a place where I seem to miss him a lot.  And then when he calls, it's like I don't know what to say except, "I miss you so much!  I love you more than anything!"  In the grand scheme of things, that's much more important than telling him about grocery shopping or funny things the dogs did.  But oh goodness, I'm so lonely for him.

Thankfully, my Mom will be here in two days!!  Tomorrow, breakfast with a friend & tidying up the house.  Tuesday is my 25th Birthday, but I'm going to pretend it's not.  No fun being without loved ones on your birthday!  Plus, we celebrated quite nicely while I was home, so I already had my birthday!  Then Wednesday, Mom gets here & we'll have so much fun visiting the Christmas Markets & doing crystal shopping!

The time will pass.  It has been passing.  I just wish it would pass faster & bring my baby home to me.

{ These cheery happy photos courtesy of TinyWhiteDaisies & La Belle Vie }

Back to my knitting project & my TV show.  Oh, & this post has been interrupted many times because Lushie keeps dropping a toy in my lap!  I suppose I can't be too lonely, can I?  :)

Somebody will always be keeping me company, even if their entire head blocks the laptop screen while I'm trying to write :)

Launch Yourself On Every Wave

I don't like going to bed alone at night, & I don't like waking up in the morning knowing I have a full day ahead of me -- one little day in 6 months worth of days ahead of me until Don is home for good. Talk about overwhelming! Needless to say, I've been staying up late & sleeping in. It's 12:33 AM. Enough said.

I really like this quote.  Live in the present.  I need to remember that as much as I want to be able to snap my fingers & have this deployment behind me, there will be wonderful things that will happen to me in the meantime.  I shouldn't wish these 6 months away, even though I want to.  Launch yourself on every wave.  Opportunities.  Possibilities.  Challenges.  I need to grab hold of these things in order to help the time go by and to give me something to be proud of later on!  Find eternity in each moment...  No need to explain what this brings to mind.  Every moment is precious!  ♥

Prettiness

It's 1 AM & this girl here has no desire to go crawl into bed alone. For one thing, how lonely!  And for another, I'm excited about something & so my mind is racing with ideas & dreams!  So, I've been perusing some of my favorite blogs & have found some photos that make me smile!  I hope they do the same for you!

Beautiful bedrooms!  What a dream it would be to crawl into that first bed!  I would feel like a Princess!  The colors in the second photo remind me a lot of my own bedroom, & oh the pink of the last bedroom is every girl's dream!  Photos from La Belle Vie.

My favorite flower, peonies.  Along with delicious treats from the kitchen!  I like the heart on the cupcake ♥  Photos from It's Mary Ruffle.

I really like these thoughts.  Handling a deployment seems so impossible when I think about it as a whole.  The months of separation, the fears, the loneliness...  But then I remember my God & the Peace & security He provides!  I remember my sweetheart & the love we share despite the distance between us!  And next year, this deployment will be over, & it won't seem so impossible anymore ♥  Something good is going to happen!  Photos from It's Mary Ruffle.

Fall. Family. Coziness.  Photos from It's Mary Ruffle & my dear at Scraps Of Color.

Layla is curled up into a little circle on her bed next to me, fast asleep.  Lucius has gone to his bed upstairs to dream.  My eyes are getting tired.  At 1:30 AM, this girl is ready for bed.  I hope you enjoyed the photos!  Goodnight from Germany!  ♥

Don't forget to enter your blog in my new Saturday Around The World listing for a chance to be featured here on {Amanda & Don}!  You can enter until Tuesday @ midnight EST.  We're having fuuuun, aren't we?!  My lovely readers around the globe have the best blogs!

How To Be Happy

I agree wholeheartedly with all of these ways to be happy!  And many of these are some of my favorite things to do!  I've spent the last few days tucked away in my cozy house, drinking my tea & taking my Vitamin C, crossing my fingers that this cold would soon be gone.  Now, I'm almost all better!  Time to put on something pretty, paint my nails, & accomplish something this afternoon!  After all...

Image from It's Mary Ruffle

...next week is going to be the best I've had in 4 months, & I won't tell you why just yet, but you're allowed to guess :)  So, goodbye to this cold, HELLO to smiles & kisses & butterflies!  Oooh!

Don't forget to enter your blog in my new Saturday Around The World listing for a chance to be featured here on {Amanda & Don}!  You can enter until tonight @ midnight EST.  Don't forget that if you enter without being a follower here or without leaving your comments, you won't be considered for the weekly feature!  Uh oh!

Our Forevers Go Together

I spend every night missing him, knowing thought that we're underneath the same stars!  So when I found these pretty papercuts made by Elle, they touched my heart right away!  What wonderful thoughts for this Sunday night as I think about my sweetie, nurse my cold, & wait patiently for the time when we'll be together again  ♥  We're actually talking on Skype right now!  Er, well, we actually just got disconnected!  Grr!  But even so, I'm so thankful that we're able to talk everyday, despite the thousands of miles between us!  Hooray for technology, hooray for love!  I really admire all the soldiers & their wives that came before us, separated by an ocean during wartime with only letters to rely on for communication.  We only have to look to our Grandparents to see that love!

These beautiful papercuts are made bye Elle, images from See Hear Say.  I really like them all!

Don't forget to enter your blog in my new Saturday Around The World listing for a chance to be featured here on {Amanda & Don}!  You can enter until Tuesday @ midnight EST.  Don't forget that if you enter without being a follower here or without leaving your comments, you won't be considered for the weekly feature!  Uh oh!

Waiting Day

It's been one of those "waiting days". You know the kind. You seem to spend the day waiting for it to be over.  It's a good thing that some of my days are busy so that these type don't come around too often!  I did accomplish quite a bit {for one thing, I made this delicious Pumpkin Gingerbread!}, but right now I'm laying in bed with Lucius asleep at my feet, snoring & keeping my toes warm :)  Don should be calling soon!  And I do need to eat dinner...

I don't get upset at myself for days like this.  I think anyone going through a deployment will have them from time to time!  The thoughts of, "I have 8 months left...eh, what am I going to do today while I wait for my hunny?!"  But the key is to stay busy, have projects to turn to, & never lock yourself up in the house!  The time really is going by fairly quickly.  My doggies help with that :)

Under The Same Moon

I see the moon, The moon sees me, Down through the leaves of the old oak tree. Please let the light that shines on me, shine on the one I love."  My Dad used to sing this song when I was little.  As I drove home from Bible Study tonight, I was looking at the beautiful moon out my window & the song came into my mind.  As big as this world is, I know that the same light of the moon that shines on me also shines on my husband whom I miss so dearly.  What a wonderful & incredible God we love!

Offers of Sympathy Need No Thanks

Sympathy cards. I wish that I could do more than write these, but I feel it's my only way to bring a little bit of comfort to those in pain, those who have lost a family member who belonged to our Regiment.  And so, after notifications of the Regiment's first casualty, off I went to the PX to purchase a sympathy card.  It took me so long to get the words just right as I sat at my dining room table that afternoon, & once I did, I copied those words down to be used again when needed, knowing sadly that time would come.  Other than prayers, how do you give peace?  Even though I didn't know this family, I hoped that the arrival of my card would offer some comfort.

I was in a training class on Post some months ago for a team of volunteers willing to help out when a family member is lost.  I offered to cook & bake -- it's the least I can do.  One topic, however, was that of sending Thank You letters to those who send sympathy cards.  The thought of this frustrated me deeply!  At a time of deep personal loss & disaster, the last thing someone should have to do is write cards to say thank you to each person who helped them.

Well, today I received a thank you card for one of the sympathy cards I have sent.  It wasn't easy looking at the photo on the card, seeing the name again.  But seeing my address on the envelope, written in beautiful handwriting, made me hope with all my heart that it wasn't a direct family member who took the time to send this to me.

Sympathy cards require no "thank you", no acknowledgment of being received & appreciated.  It almost breaks my heart to think that a family would feel obligated to complete this task.

I know it's probably in good form, but what is your opinion?  My heart goes out to each family who has lost a loved one, whether it be in battle or any other situation.  May their focus be wholly on those they hold dear ♥

Q & A: Our College Days of Long Distance Dating

So, there's a section of my blog called Ask Me Anything!, & I got my first question today!  The question is from Che over at Guileless Living By Day.  Thanks so much for the question, girl!  This is a fun way to be inspired for my daily post!  Che asked:

"What was it like dating long distance? And how long was it before you guys got engaged? Maybe you already blogged about it and can refer me to those posts! I just saw how you wrote about seeing each other once a month, so I was wondering how long that lasted before you both decided to take the leap of faith and get married :)"

Good question! And a topic I like remembering!  So let's go, first with some catch-up facts.

1. Don & I met in 6th Grade.  *cue the ooh's & aah's!*  I always thought he was such a great guy, & not bad to look at either ;)
2. We went to separate high schools in the same town, starting up our friendship again when we each had our High School Graduation parties.  It didn't take long for me to see that it would be a dream to date him!  And lucky lucky me, now he is my husband!
3. Off I went to Stillwater, OK & he to West Point, NY.  I was busy, he was busier, but one email turned into many phone calls, then a Ball at a fancy hotel that Christmas.  The next thing I knew, we were practically inseparable.  Er, except for the fact that we were in colleges hundreds of miles apart.

Lots of people told me what you always hear about long distance relationships: They never work.  But that is just a lie.  If you are with the right person {which I was!  And AM!}, then it doesn't matter if you're sitting beside each other every day or you only see each other once a month.  Or once a year, for that matter!  {Case in point right here!}

We've always trusted each other.  There's never been bickering or arguing.  We didn't even have to make a point of talking daily...because it's what we wanted.  It wasn't easy being apart, & my goodness it wasn't easy saying goodbye after those short weekend visits, but I knew I would give up everything just to be with him.  If this was the way God planned it, then by golly, I wasn't going to complain!

At the time, I remember thinking that it was practice.  If we were to get married, we'd be doing much more of the long distance thing, & I knew it.  So back then in college, God was showing us that we could do it.  He was teaching us how!  And that He would help us through.

At West Point, where Don went to college, the students aren't allowed to be married while receiving their education.  So, we knew that getting married was a definite, but Don didn't propose until  April of our Junior years.  I wasn't worried; I knew it was going to happen.  :)  Then, two weeks after his graduation, we became Mr. & Mrs.!

So there ya go, Che!  I hope that answers your questions!  And for those of you who are considering dating a guy long distance, take it from me that it can be done!  And it has!  If you're with the right person, no distance is too great.

"And Now They See Defeat"

Our enemies have made the mistake that America's enemies always make: they saw liberty & thought they saw weakness. And now, they see defeat." - George W. Bush  It has been nine years since the attack on our country. I'll never forget that day, sitting in my high school Biology class with the television on. We were all in complete shock, our attention focused entirely on the horrific news. When I went home that day, I sat in front of the television again & found myself crying. How could you not cry on that day? And then, our incredible nation came together as one. Pride & patriotism could be seen in every city.  Flags on nearly every car window & ribbons hung in all the neighborhoods.  How comforting it was to see America this way, rallying as one against our enemies.

In these past nine years, we have seen a decrease in that patriotism. We're again focused on the politics of everything, pointing our finger to put the blame on someone else. Instead, let us focus on the brave men & women who fight each day to keep our great nation safe from another terrible attack. Let us remember that we belong to the greatest country in the world, but that we make that true! Without us, without our commitments & pride, everything that makes America so great is lost.  We are America.

{This incredible photo from FoxNews.Com}

Living overseas has made me really miss some simple yet profound things about my country, & most of all I miss this: our patriotism. Everyone loves their homeland, but there's nothing like American pride!!!  Flags, fireworks, national songs!  I know I'm proud to be an American!  And I know that we will always fight to protect what we love!

So as we remember September 11th today, think of all those who lost their lives in the attack. Think of their families who miss them dearly each day. Think of our brave troops who are dedicating their lives to prevent this from ever happening again. And think of how much you love America, the greatest nation in the world. Don't forget your pride & patriotism. It is what makes us great!