A Big Surprise

For about three weeks I had to keep a secret from my roommate.  It was hard, but I'm so glad I didn't let anything slip, because the result was awesome!  

A few days after Caleb left, my roommate's husband (and a long-time friend of mine and Caleb's) was coming into town and wanted to surprise Crissy.  Having to plan the surprise via email and not knowing when Brandon would actually get home was challenging, but it worked out.  

The plan was for him to be waiting inside when Crissy and I got home.  So I had her go out to dinner with me so Brandon could get settled at home.  Crissy and I drove separately because she came to the restaurant straight from work so I got home a few minutes before her which was perfect!  

I met her outside so we could get groceries out of the car together (and I could be behind her when she walked in the door).  

When we walked in only one light downstairs was on, so Brandon was hidden in the darkness.  As we entered the kitchen I heard Crissy gasp and I turned the lights on as she dropped everything in her arms and ran to him.  

Apparently, with the lights off, at first she thought he was an intruder, which scared her and as the lights came on and she realized who is was, relief came over her and all she could do was run to his arms and cry her little eyes out. 

I could not stop smiling and Crissy could not stop crying!  It was rather hilarious.  

I love how big Brandon's smile is!!!

This is what the floor looked like after Crissy realized who it was and dropped everything to run into the arms of her husband!!!

Something to think about

Now, if only I could get that wine delivered!!!

The silence...

Now that Caleb has returned to Kuwait, my days are much quieter.  I miss him so much.  I feel like telling him good bye this time was worse than the last 6 times I've had to do it, but I can't really explain why.  When I think about something that I want to tell and him and realize I can't my chest starts to hurt.  I know it will get easier as the days pass and we only have 67 days until he is home with Emmy and me again, but for now I'm not a fun person to watch tv with because I cry at anything that is the least bit sentimental.

The silence is undeniable and my excitement for May increases everyday!!!

Guest post!!!!

Today, Unpredictable Bliss is having its very first guest post by Heather Von St. James, a mother and cancer survivor!!!  Here is her story.

What I Learned from Cancer
I have always been called an optimist. Throughout my life, I have seen the glass as being half full. This characteristic was a tremendous help to me when, at the age of 36, I was diagnosed with cancer. That was on November 21, 2005. My only child had been born three and a half months before the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma. I certainly didn’t expect the diagnosis; I don’t think anyone ever does. The diagnosis was made worse because this was supposed to be one of the happiest times of my life. The words “you have cancer” continually repeated themselves in my head. I could have given up, cursed God, and asked, “Why me”? Instead, I chose to face reality. As a new mother, I realized I had to fight for my life and make sure I was there to raise my daughter.
Cancer can sometimes be a blessing in disguise, as many survivors will attest. In some ways, it is the worst thing that can happen to you, but good things can come of the experience. Because of my experience with cancer, my life is better. It was an opportunity to show my strength rather than be a victim. Because I made the best of what was a very bad situation, I wasn’t afraid. While I was sick, I promised myself that if I got better, I would help other people. That thought gave me hope, which can sometimes be hard to retain when you have cancer. During this time, I also found God.
My treatment was through the foremost expert on mesothelioma in the world. He made me believe that I could overcome this diagnosis and get better. Since I was due to have surgery to excise the tumor on Groundhogs day in 2006, I nicknamed it Punxsutawney Phil. I also started to call Groundhog’s Day Lungleavin Day, because on that day my lung was removed. Now I have a party every year on that day to celebrate my health and new life, as well as conquering my fear of cancer.
While I was battling cancer, I had the chance to meet many amazing people. The people I met while I was sick are some of the toughest, most resilient people I have ever known. Myself, as well as my fellow mesothelioma warriors work hard to make people aware of a disease that is often not represented the way other cancers are. We include the spouses and children of those have suffered from cancer, as well as other cancer survivors. If I hadn’t gone through cancer, I would never have had the chance to meet them.






You can find more information here: http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/heather/

Our last week together has been bitter sweet.  Getting to spend time together is such a blessing, but with the thought of the eminent "good bye" coming, it was hard not to think about.  However, now that we've said "good bye" one last time, we only have 10 weeks until we are together as a family again (at least for another 3 or 4 years!).

The recap:

On Saturday we went to see our high school wrestle for the state championship.  When we walked into the gym the sound was undeniably loud and it scared Emmy at first.  Caleb was holding her and she immediately grabbed his jacket and hid under it.

Once she got use to the sound, she wanted to see what all the commotion was about.  Eventually, she got into the cheering and clapping.

She had once proud daddy that night even though our team lost the championship.  BOO!

On Valentine's Day, I woke up to a breakfast made for a queen!  Caleb made strawberry pancakes, cheesy eggs and bacon!  We had a great time eating our feast as a family.  

For lunch we met my mother in law at Chipotle (one of my favorite places).  We talked and laughed at how silly Emmy was acting.  Finally, we headed home for nap time.

Love my girl in pigtails and LOVE her big brown eyes!

On Wednesday, we dropped Emmy off with Ama to play outside...

And dance, so we could got to the Melting Pot for a kid free dinner.  

We have kind of started a Valentine's Day tradition of going to the Melting Pot.  It is something we both look forward to and get to spend time talking about anything we want without interruption.  

We spent the rest of our time saying good bye to family and friends and spending as much time together as possible.  I was truly spoiled having Caleb home for two weeks.  My back didn't hurt once since he was the one holding her 90% of the time and I got use to having another body heat source laying next to me in bed.  

I cannot wait for these 10 weeks to fly by so we can be together without doom of separation looming in the near future.  Until then, I'll be keeping myself busy with photography, nursing, working out, and being a mom! 

A Few Things I've Learned This Week:

* living with a man increases the need for cleaning.  I mean, I've had to do double the laundry that I normally do just for Emmy and myself, clean the kitchen and the bathroom twice as often as I normally would need to.  I'm not complaining, I think I"m just amazed that I forgot about this.

* I should just strip my child down when serving her anything that includes spaghetti sauce.

* Having an extra pair of hands around is so great!!  I think it is also making me lazy.

* Cooking for my husband (who loves food) is actually fun!

* I'm pretty sure I've gained 10 pounds in one week (but I'm purposely staying away from the scale in order to not confirm my suspicions).

* I'm not getting anywhere with Caleb on my argument for us to gets tattoos.  I"m not giving up though.

Latest Photography Post

http://kaylawilkesphotography.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-best-friend.html

Fun with Daddy

Caleb has only been home for 3 days, but we have packed a lot of adventures in this short time.  

On Friday, we went to Riverbanks Zoo.  The weather was PERFECT!!!  It is so amazing to see her constantly learning and how exciting the zoo is to a toddler.

I just love those smiles!!!

Daddy and Emmy were observing all the different kinds of Pacific Ocean fish

On Saturday we met up with my dad (aka Granddaddy) to shoot pistols.  I needed to practice.  Emmy has been before, but she was so small and slept in the car the entire time. This time she was more interested.  Of course we didn't let her anywhere near a gun and she has no idea where we keep them (plus they are out of her reach!).  She did have fun playing in the car and exploring outside.  Three of us took turns hanging out with Emmy while the other two shot.  It worked out well.

We went to Moe's for lunch and then home for little bit to take a nap.  Boy, was she pooped!  She woke up two and a half hours later in the silliest mood!  She played, and danced while eating a cookie, and laughed, and read books, and set up her Little People nicely on the coffee table only to throw them off and then laugh hysterically at how ridiculous it all was.

On Sunday we attended Radius.  It was so good to have Caleb there to worship with.  

After relaxing naps and a grocery store trip (not the best idea for Super Bowl Sunday), we had a great feast with Ama and Bop while watching the Super Bowl.  

Before feasting on our feast, Emmy helped Daddy make guacamole.  She actually did a great job and it tasted perfect!

So far, leave has been better than I could have imagined.  I'm so grateful for this time that we have together.

He's Home!!!

Well, for 2 weeks that is.

I spent the days before Caleb's leave "nesting."  I cleaned like crazy!!!  Even though I know Caleb wouldn't really notice or care, it makes me feel like I don't have things I need to do while he is here.  I'm glad I did.  

He was supposed to arrive at 4:30, but I got a message around noon saying he would be here in two hours.  "Crap!" I though!  I hadn't showered and Emmy had not napped yet, but I did what army wives do best and went with the flow.  

We walked through the doors of the airport about 5 minutes before he showed up.  All morning I had been telling Emmy that we were going to see daddy today, but don't know if she really understood.  Well, as soon as she spotted Caleb, she started running toward him and I just let her go....  Right through the security check point.  However, before she got to him, sirens and lights started going off and she got scared, turned around, and ran back to me.  Poor girl!  

She didn't stay scared long.  I was so nervous about how the first few moments would be when she saw him, but she went right to him and didn't let go!  

Now, we have a lot of catching up to do!!!