Today was pretty fun; I had dinner with Max's entire extended family on his Mom's side, which was awesome. It's interesting to see the dynamics that exist within the family; everyone has their own quirks, favorite people, etc. I really loved that I got to see my sisters-in-law Melanie and Jenna, mother-in-law Kimm, and Kimm's friend Carmon, who is really cool. They hung out for a little bit before and after the dinner, which was at Bona Casa. It was SO NICE to just chillax with them, I love them so much and wish they were around here more. They offered to come and visit, and also for me to come visit them, whenever I need, if I am ever lonely or sad or just want to hang out. They also brought Kimm's dog Zippy with them, who is sooo cute. :) He is a funny little terrier of some kind, and my cats were kind of weirded out by him. Sam finally sniffed his butt and accepted him a little bit, but Mike bailed the minute he saw Zippy come in.

Kind of tired this evening, watching movies on a channel I didn't know I had. Enchanted was on a little bit ago, and now Spiderman 3 is on. I guess the STARZ network was a free trial for however long, and the trial is still going on, so that was a happy discovery.

I am starting to feel the stress of deployment a little more now; doing ok, but it's becoming a lot more real as the weeks are going by. It was icky before, but I was used to him being gone. Now it's more of a "whoa... ok, he really isn't coming home this weekend, or any weekend." I can't imagine being used to him being gone. I know it'll probably happen eventually but holy cannoli. I would love for him to walk in the door right now, give me a huge hug, and tell me that it's all cancelled. I definitely should have gotten more hugs in before he left. Maybe bottled them or something for later use. That'd be nice.

My little goddaughter Lily has learned how to hug; I laughed so hard in church yesterday when I suddenly felt my shoulder being slammed into by a tiny head. What she does is ram her head into you, hold it there, and if she wants to hug you again, slam her head into you multiple more times. I laughed SO HARD. She is absolutely adorable, and makes my whole day. I can't wait to see her again. I almost got to babysit her today, but I had the dinner with Max's family. Soon, I hope, it will happen! That or just having schedules line up to go over there and visit. I love that whole family. Don and Carrie are so perfect together, and they are such wonderful parents as well as just all around great people. I am so fortunate to have them as family!

Family seems to be the theme this evening; I love nothing more than being with family. Sometimes families get on each other's nerves, but when it is all said and done, a family is a truly remarkable thing. I love mine.

Well, time to find something else to do.

Since the last time I posted, I've officially graduated, become licensed as a professional music educator, and said goodbye to my husband for a year or so of deployment. My, how life changes!

Sounds like the barracks in Fort Lewis are not too lovely-- they're the originals from WWII, so you can only imagine the shape they're in. Anything is better than Iraq, I guess, but yuck! I'm sure I'm not the only spouse who wishes they could fly out there and make everything better. The facilities are nice though, Max tells me, as far as workout and recreation and stuff, so that is awesome. I'm just glad that the ball is finally rolling on this whole thing, and we are done waiting. Now it's just counting down the days until he gets his booty home and we can finally start our lives together. Only 390-some days left until Max will be home, LIVING AT HOME, and we will finally, finally finally be able to be a married couple. Not a phone marriage anymore, but a real married couple. It's so nice when he's home! Seems, though, like just when we get comfy, he has to leave again, so it'll be really nice when he is back for good.

I am impressed with myself as far as my positive attitude, I am trying really hard to be upbeat and happy in public. People who know me best seem to be able to tell when something is wrong, but to others, I guess I'm doing pretty well. So that's good. I really feel like a positive attitude is the remedy to any craptastic situation, and will likely help the time go by faster, so I'm trying my best. Sure, some nights are really bad, but you just have to push through to the next day. One week down, many to go!

I would just like to throw in here that my goddaughter, Lily, is ADORABLE. We were playing with her in church a couple of weeks ago and she was so cute. She seemed to be fascinated by Max because she kept staring at him and reaching up to touch his face. Max thought it might be because he is bald much like she is, but I personally felt that it was because he is so good with kids. :) Lily is a little sweetheart and I just love holding her and playing with her!

My sisters are both in Europe right now, which is cool for them. They are having a great time, especially since Kate gets to visit our friend Stephanie, too, and our cousin Moosh. I wish I could be there with them! Someday... I can't wait until they are all home. I miss having people around.

Bah, I can't sleep. I need to get to bed.