Cheers to road tripping! It was great to see Lex’s South Dakota-neighbor-yet-current-Arizona snowbird friend Tammy (and Dennis and Dylan).
Although it looked like we were PCS packing (I don’t think “traveling light” is a thing anymore, especially with two dogs and two kids, one of whom can easily go through 1-4 outfits a day.) Lordsburg, NM was a cute little town, we got to see a lot of New Mexico desert and nobody threw up! Success so far. Next stop: White Sands, NM!
What do you call an alligator who is (unwillingly?) posing in the middle of a chaotic family pic during deployment?
A miti-gator!!!!
#BadoomChick #ImHereAllWeek#TipTheWaitStaff
I never really thought I was a glutton for punishment… But after all my whining about sand in my house from Malick/sandbox, I take the kids to White Sands with Grandma Lex. Who am I kidding… My car will never be the same, but White Sands WAS on our deployment bucket list. CHECK! #AllTheWind #PictureChaos #EveryoneLookAtTheCameraPlease
Even amid a hard season, I’m so grateful that God still brings great joy in the simplest of ways. The weather was gorgeous today. The sun was getting ready to set, so in honor of my hubs, I grilled a thick-cut ribeye steak (his preferred cut) over an open flame (his preferred method) while drinking a beer (his preferred beverage other than coffee) with one of my best friends (his Mama Lex!) in our backyard (his preferred place). It is also worth mentioning that for the first time in my personal adulting history, I did not over cook the steak. It was medium rare, totally perfect, and the equivalent of meat butter.
PS: I am pretty sure this is the first adult beverage I’ve had since my man deployed. It was an intentional (not emotional) choice (victory!!) and tasted like angels descending from heaven. #Cheers #OneDayCloser#GonnaMissMyBFF
PSS: And no, I didn’t share with Flat Daddy. Although Malick stole a good portion of my baked potato.
Throwback to Friday: I’ve heard that girls just wanna have fun, so that’s what we did! We had a girls-only date (that was fun AND productive) which involved dropping Malick off at school (whew!), us getting dressed up and running around El Paso from 9am to 5pm. We are huge party animals, because we went to epically exciting places like Costco, Target, Souper Salad, Big 5 Sports, Dicks Sporting Goods, the mall, and Walmart. ? (Also, we reminded Flat Daddy that it was girls-only, but he somehow still managed to photobomb us).
***
Difference in raising girls vs. boys:
Me: “Charis, I love you very much.”
Charis: “I love you more!”
Me: “I love you more than more!”
Charis: “I love you more plus infinity!”
***
Me: “Malick, I love you very much.”
Malick: “I-uuuvvvv-oooo.”
Me: “I love you more than more.”
Malick: *Blinks* “BURP!” (directly in my face)
***
Deployment Log, Day 167:
1. Is there anything more wonderful than family who makes it a priority to visit during deployment?
2. The only thing I can think of that is more awesome is no deployment to begin with.
3. But seriously. Over a week with Grandma Lex was good for the soul. Her level of energy and patience is inspiring.
4. We had a lovely spring break. We were reminded (again) that traveling with Tiny Humans is quite an undertaking, even for just a couple of nights. But we survived (and even thrived!) during our mini vacay.
5. Oh, and nobody threw up! (Always a victory when we travel!)
6. We dropped Grandma off at the airport yesterday. I am not normally a crier. But by the time I got back in the car after saying see-ya-later, my eyes were leaking pretty significantly. Charis’ were all watery too. And Malick was wailing. Le sigh.
7. But great news– Aunt Jackie is coming on Wednesday!! Yay more adults! It’s always nice to play man-to-man defense in this household. Although Malick probably needs a ratio of 1.5 or 12 in order to keep him out of mischief.
8. I’m still vacuuming up Nerds candy from Charis’ birthday party. #MyBad #NeverAgainWithTheGlitterOfCandy
9. Spring is here in El Paso! Not that we have an extra harsh winter or anything… but it is just wonderful to have legit temps and sunshine and things greening up. Seems like everyone’s attitudes are more joyful.
10. I have had some recent moments of achy heart missing my Beloved Husband. This is especially prevalent in church. So far it’s been all I could do not to snuggle up and lay my head on the shoulder of any one of the three Megans I normally sit next to (Megan Clayburn Meagan Vaughan Kendall May Elise… You’ve been warned).
11. Two of my fave quotes from our kindergartener during spring break:
“I sure hope this zoo has unicorns!”
“Grandma, did you pick a sketchy hotel?”
12. I adulted this weekend and finally mowed the backyard. And by “mowed” I mean demolished the 2ft tall weeks that were thriving. I didn’t realize how ridiculous it was until I mowed… And probably should have done it before last week’s birthday party. But my theory is that if anyone would have said something (Not that they would have–my friends are kind), I would have gracefully pointed them in the direction of the mower.
13. It’s baffling to me how someone else helping with tiny, simple tasks make SUCH a difference. Like dishes. Or folding laundry. Or putting on kids shoes and changing diapers. Separately, it doesn’t seem like much. But cumulatively, it takes a pretty large weight of responsiblity off my shoulders/heart. (Did I mention THANK YOU GRANDMA LEX???)
14. I feel like I had some additional interesting notes to share… But my brain is gooey after all the homework and miscellaneous tasks I attempted to tackle today.
15. Prayer requests: Please keep praying for my “person” who tried to commit suicide a little over a month a go. This individual is still not doing well and it doesn’t look like much progress is being made yet… I am still hopeful, but it is hard not to worry! Also, continued prayers for health and joy even in the hard stuff. WE CAN DO THIS.
16. Closing thought: “Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.” ~Philemon 1:7
Happy (sorta-one-day-early) birthday to my Beloved Husband!!! I must confess, I was kind of bummed since his “normal” location changed and wasn’t going to be where we thought he would during his birthday, thus I didn’t think USO would be able to get him his cake. But they rocked my socks and someone drove the cake up to him at his new (temporary) location! Although they didn’t have the normal on-video-dog-and-pony-show, I am still overjoyed that the USO went the extra mile to bring a smile to ALL of our faces. Barn said he still made his company form up, sing happy birthday to him and read the message we sent him:
Happy Birthday to our Red-Blooded, Barrel-Chested, Freedom Fighter! We respect you so much, Brandon. Miss you so much and can’t wait until we are reunited once again. Keep being awesome. #America!
Love,
Sharita, Charis, Malick, & Justus
