HE is strong enough...

Yesterday, Joe left for his cross country trip to Alaska. I talked to him just a short bit ago and he was on his way through Ohio. He said it was just as snowy and wintery looking there. The idea of how each mile physically takes him further away is torture, but I know he'll be home again soon. One day at a time.

Day one - marked off the calendar.

This past month leading up to his transfer has been busy. Busy with parties, company and of course the "honey do" list. Most of which got taken care of I'm happy to say! But right now, I'm feeling sad and lonely...Lonely for his company, his smile...I prayed last night for God to make me strong, make us strong. To help us cope with being apart. But then I realized that God gave me tears for a reason. I'm allowed to be sad and upset about being apart and that I don't have to be strong on my own because HE is strong enough for us all. So off and on all weekend long and the day and a half since his departure, tears have fallen. And I've tried not to contain them...just let them be. But we'll be okay. I know it!

Things are much nicer for staying in touch than when he first enlisted. First, we had letters, (which I still love) and ship to shore phone calls where you couldn't say anything private because there was a third person on the line! But talking to him at all then was welcome and cherished. :) Then email and the occasional phone call and now we have cell phones and Skype and email and letters....How wonderful to know that we can still talk every day. Through Skype we can still "see" each others faces. I am so grateful for that.

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The last 30 days have been filled with a lot of fun things. We celebrated our son's 14th birthday. Started making our maple syrup. Went to a banquet for the firehouse's 70th anniversary Enjoyed Rachael's best friend Stormy's company as she came to visit us from Florida. We made a trip to the zoo...(yes, it was chilly. lol) Had a surprise going away party for Joe and he seemed truly surprised! Thank you to everyone for keeping such a good secret! ;) A St. Patty's day party with friends where I ran into a woman who is one of the rep's for our Home Depot where I work! Small world! Nice time chatting with her. :) and dinner out to a big buffet at the casino. I got a free $25 card to play the slots with. (I do NOT gamble...not even remotely inclined to spend money on a lottery ticket or scratch off) But I did play and didn't win but a dollar something. I left them on the cash-out vouchers and kept those. Worth more to me as a reminder of why I don't play! ;)

One of the jars of maple syrup from our first batch.

 Time is a funny thing...sometimes you want time to come to a complete stop. Precious moments that seem fleeting and you wish you could hold on to them forever...Then there are times you want it to go quickly. Like me with this tour. So I fill my time with many things to make it seem to go by faster. But it doesn't really, and I know God wants me to cherish each moment we've been blessed with. I'll still fill my days with "stuff" but at the same time try to stop and smell the roses once in a while, so to speak. Joe is off to Alaska...but our kids are here and I don't want to miss anything!