3 Years

3 years ago my world was completely turned upside down. 3 years ago I lost the most important woman in my life. 

3 years ago my beautiful Mom, Kathy, lost her brave battle with cancer.

There are no words that can accurately describe how much I miss her. 

I miss her sarcastic sense of humor

I miss the way she made everyone feel like they were special

I miss picking up the phone and hearing her voice

I miss her fierce love for her family

I miss how she could make me feel better when I was sad

My Mom and I always had a special relationship, I could tell her anything and she was always honest in her opinion. She never sugarcoated things and I needed that. I inherited her love of cooking/baking, animals, old movies/music and Disneyland. She was the best Mom that anyone could ever hope for and I am so lucky that she was mine.

She was taken from us far too soon and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of her. I am sad that she is missing out on the lives of her family. She doesn't get to see her grandchildren grow up and she doesn't get to grow old with my Dad. 

I miss you, Mom and I hope that we all are making your proud. Thank you for always teaching to be the best person that I can be. I love you always!

This and That

I am finally feeling good enough to where I feel comfortable venturing out of the house. It may only be for an hour or two but man it is nice to have human interaction. Not a whole lot is going on in our neck of the woods but here is a quick rundown.

*I am half way through my classes and am still enjoying them haha. Only 4 weeks to go and then I will begin another 4.

*Looks like Kyle will be submitting the paperwork to go to Ranger school. This is something he has always wanted to do and who am I to say no. 

* My sister and I are currently planning our trip to Disneyland in May! I can't wait!

*This week I attended my first ever combatives event for Kyle's brigade. It was the last event of a two day long field training and it was pretty cool to watch. Even better that one of Kyle's soldiers won. I was really proud of his company because they placed 3rd out of 17 teams for the whole event.

*I finally was able to schedule my post-op appointment, it was a fight to get one during the time frame I needed but when I asked to speak directly to my doctor an appointment magically became available lol.

*My nephew was released from the hospital on Wednesday and is doing great! He was able to attend his sister's school awards ceremony yesterday, thankful that he is back to his normal self.

We have no big plans for the weekend, that of course might change but we will see.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Awards and Such

All of you have heard me talk about the planning I was doing for our Battalion Volunteer Recognition Lunch. I have been meaning to write about it and just haven't had the chance. It was held last Tuesday and to be honest it went FAR better than I ever expected.

The weeks leading up to it I spent working on the volunteer gifts which was an etched vase with our unit crest. I am so happy with how they turned out. I also spent many days on the office floor of our FRSA framing awards.

We had it at an Italian restaurant and it was delicious! We had a very nice private room and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The awesome company commanders were even generous enough to pay for the lunches of their volunteers.

Now I don't normally like to talk about myself receiving awards but I was very surprised and honored when I was given both the Yellow Rose of Texas and the Commander's Award for Public Service. I volunteer because I want to and enjoy it, not to be recognized. I have loved my time as both the BN FRG Advisor and the Bravo Co. FRG Leader. Being able to work with the soldiers and their families has been the most amazing experience I could ever hope for.

 

 

I also had the chance to say a special thank you to our amazing, FRSA (family readiness support assistant) Sonia and our Brigade FRG Advisor, Kim. These two ladies have been absolutely wonderful and I am so thankful for them.

It was a wonderful afternoon recognizing the hard work of all these volunteers. Since our unit is in the process of deactivating I hope they know how instrumental they have been in making it a great unit. I will be bummed when people start moving to other units and PCS'ing.

 

 Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Sweet Boy

Sunday night our sweet nephew Grayson was admitted to the Phoenix Children's Hospital with flu-like symptoms as well as a rash. After hours of tests ruling out specific causes he was officially diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease. It is an autoimmune disorder that affects the blood vessels in the body and only affects children under the age of 5. If it goes untreated it can damage the coronary arteries and cause severe damage. He started his treatment last night (it takes 12 hours through an IV) and will be in the hospital until at least Wednesday morning.

Thankfully it looks like it was caught in the early stages and there should not be any lasting effects, but we won't know for a few weeks if that is for sure.

Hopefully this sweet little boy will be back to normal and can go on to live a normal happy life.

We love you, Grayson and can't wait to see you at Easter!

On The Mend

This past weekend was spent resting and relaxing. Kyle has been a great nurse that has forced me to get up and walk every hour to make sure that I'm not just confined to the bed. It was not fun at first but I know it is helping.

Saturday was probably the worst day, the pain was excruciating but nothing painkillers couldn't handle. Let me also just tell you how humbling it is to have your husband help you in and out of shower (also have him wash you) because you can't lift your arms above your head lol. I love that man!

I was blessed by all the love and support from family and friends. These flowers certainly made me smile.

Fishy decided to join me on the bed and hang out. :)

Emma kept me company but most of the time she slept, as you can see.

I have probably eaten my weight in halos this weekend and will continue to do so this week.

I felt good yesterday and actually ventured downstairs for the majority of the day. Hopefully the healing process keeps going the way it is and I will be back to my normal routine soon. I never thought I would get sad seeing Kyle leave for a run without me haha.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Surgery Success

Wednesday morning I had my pre-op appointment for my surgery. Since I have never had surgery before I had no idea what to expect. After 2 1/2 of going from station to station I was pre-admitted to the hospital. The worst part was being asked if I have a living will, which I do. It just scared me, but I know they have to ask.

Kyle knew I wasn't feeling that great emotionally so he decided to take me to dinner. We ended up at BJ's Brewhouse. We had delicious pizza and ended the meal with their famous pizookies (chocolate chunk, cookies and cream, triple chocolate). It was amazing! I couldn't eat after midnight so this meal hit the spot.

Yesterday was the big day. I got up at 4:45am, put on comfy clothes and off we headed to the hospital. I was checked in at 6:45am , changed clothes, got my IV and was carted off to the OR at roughly 7:30. I do not remember anything after saying goodbye to Kyle.

The plan was to completely take the left tube and examine the right. If it looked bad they would remove it as well. 

I woke up at 9:45am in recovery and saw my husbands sweet face. He told me that they did indeed remove the left tube, it was damaged well beyond repair. The right however was in perfect condition!!! I was sent home at 12:30 and have been resting ever since. I am not experiencing too much pain, mostly just uncomfortable. I have a post-op appointment in a few weeks and we are praying that this is another step in the right direction and achieving our goal!

I received these amazing flowers yesterday and it made me so happy. 

Kyle, Emma and Fishy gave me the bouquet on the left. My dad, sister, brother in law, niece and nephew sent me the arrangement on the right. I love my family!

Kyle has taken such great care of me. He helps me move, makes me food, keeps me company and he even laid in bed with me and watched Catching Fire. Oh how I love him!

Thank you all for the continued love and support. I will hopefully be up and about by tomorrow. 

Have an amazing weekend!!

Thankful

Feeling very thankful for this man today, these next few days are going to be stressful and I am so thankful that he is by my side.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Awesome Weekend!

This weekend was pretty damn awesome! My Dad got here late Wednesday night and it was so great to have him here.

Friday, I took him to Kyle's work so we could attend a color casing ceremony for another company. He loves seeing this kind of stuff because he is prior service and understands the significance of these events. We end the night by grilling and just hanging out.

Saturday, we headed off to Las Cruces to go to the Farmers Market. We enjoyed lunch at our favorite burrito truck and ate our weight in freshly cooked kettle corn. Then later in the day Kyle and I had our 10k St. Patrick's Day Run. My Dad has never seen us participate in a race so it was awesome to have his support.

After the race we met up with Kyle's 1SG and her son to have dinner. It was a blast, lots of laughs and great company.

Sunday was more of a relaxing day, we went grocery shopping, did laundry, and washed cars. My Dad left last night and it is always sad to see him go. Thankfully, we will see him next month to celebrate Easter at my sisters. :) 

I hope you all had an amazing weekend!!

Weekend is Here

My Dad made it safely at 2am this morning and it is so nice to have him here. He willingly does the things around the house that Kyle and I haven't had a chance to do yet (the perks of having a Dad that has been in the construction business for 35 years lol). The weather was beautiful today so we spent most of the day outside.

On Wednesday, we had our last big FRG event. I have to say that I have never seen a group have so much fun bowling. We spent three hours with the soldiers and their families having a great time. I had a chance to speak to everyone before it started and I'm not going to lie, I got a little teary eyed. I'm going to miss this group, with everyone getting sent to their new units it has been rough. They are family to us and it sucks to have to say goodbye. It was a nice way to spend the day for sure.

Tomorrow we have our 4th race of year and over the last few days I have been looking for other ones to participate in. I believe as of right now we have a list of 16 races that we will be doing, a few of those we are already registered for. After my surgery next week I will be taking 2 weeks off from any physical activity to just rest. I am sure it will be much needed. 

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Throwback Thursday

I was going through some pictures last night and I found these two gems of me from High School.

Pretty sure they are both from my sophomore year so roughly 13 years ago.

 

Happy Thursday!

This and That

These last few days have felt like a blur. With taking 4 classes on top of FRG, medical appointments, and family visits I am exhausted.

*Today we have last big FRG event, we will spend the afternoon bowling with the soldiers and their families. I am really excited to see everyone and it will be a great way to say goodbye.

*My Dad gets here tonight to stay with us for a few days. I am really looking forward to his visit. He doesn't get a lot of time off work so he tries to visit family when he does.

*My big project as of late has been our battalion volunteer recognition lunch. It is on Tuesday and I am excited to see how it all comes together. 

*We have made plans to go to my sisters for Easter. It will be great to spend it with the kiddos (and the rest of the family lol), Kyle will only stay for the 4-day weekend but I am staying for another week and a half. I even scored a $2.50 one way plane ticket back to El Paso. 

*School has been going really well, I am enjoying the classes but math has never been my strong point so that is what I spend most of my time on. My brain is fried after 11 homework assignments.

*We also found out that there is a possibility for us to go to Ft. Polk if DC does not work out. It came as a shock to us but it would be another great opportunity.

*Emma is back to her spunky self but wants nothing to do with me haha.We did find out that the growth was just an epidermal cyst, nothing to be concerned about at all. We are so thankful!

That is about all that is happening over here. Hope you all have a great Wednesday!

Oh Weekend, My Weekend!

I have to say that this weekend was pretty great! I spent the day Friday shopping and wandering around town. It was a nice break from school and FRG things.

I spent the rest of Friday making bottle cap coasters and I am really happy with how these turned out. It's amazing what casting resin can do!

Saturday, we headed off to the tattoo parlor to get our tattoos. As usual I got anxious and nervous before getting it done (you would think it would be easy after 6). It took him maybe 20 minutes to finish mine and it came out amazing!! I got it on my right shoulder and I couldn't be happier. Kyle got his done on his left leg (still within Army regulations haha) and I love it.

We will most likely be going back in a month or so to get more work done.

The rest of the day was spent grilling and watching movies. It was a great way to end the day.

Sunday was spent doing laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning and finishing up last minute school work. My Dad gets here late Wednesday night so I'm trying to prep everything for his arrival.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Decisions, Decisions

Our 6th anniversary is coming up in 2 1/2 months and every year we try to go somewhere fun for a week. We don't like to go too far from home but we still enjoy getting away. Last year we spent it in San Antonio which was amazing.

I have thrown out a few ideas and they are:

Dallas! I have heard amazing things about this city and it is one that I have always wanted to explore.

Santa Fe, definitely another city that would be amazing to see and explore. We have heard a lot of good things about it.

Last but not least: Disneyland! This is hands down my favorite place on the planet and to be honest I am pulling for this idea the most. We celebrated our 4th anniversary here and I have no problem going back.

Hopefully we can make a decision in the coming weeks. No matter what we decide it will be nice to celebrate it together (as long as the Army doesn't have other plans lol).

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Girls Night

I have been looking forward to tonight all week. I finally am having a girls night with my coffee group. Since our unit is deactivating there aren't a lot of spouses left in our battalion so there are only 4 of us in the coffee group. I decided instead of going to someones home we are just going to have dinner here:

BJ's Brewhouse! Probably one of my favorite places and one or two of these will be consumed:

Strawberry Mojito! Hands down the best one I have ever had. 

It will be nice to just relax and hang out with the ladies.

I am also doing my best to make time for me, today may also involve a pedicure at the new place that opened up around the corner. :)

Hope you all have a great Thursday!

My Favorite Things

I have so much fun sharing my favorite things! Here are the things I have been loving lately:

Neutrogena Lip Gloss! It is pricey but so worth it!

My Target red debit card...since I do my grocery shopping there it is my best friend haha.

Lay's Applewood Smoke BBQ Chips, these things are ridiculously addicting.

Nike running skirts! I wore one for the marathon and it was amazing. I will definitely be getting more.

Venti Unsweetened Black Tea from Starbucks...the best hands down!

I am loving my creative side! I made these coasters a while back and am finally getting back into it. I should have several more made by the weekend.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Hello Tuesday

I figured I would give an update on sweet Emma. Her dental and growth removal went well. She is sporting 3 staples in her little noggin and we will get the results in 5-7 days regarding what the growth is. She has been a trooper for sure!

Last week I promised Kyle's soldiers that I would bring in cupcakes this week. Of course, I can't just make one kind, I am making 5! My day will be spent baking and prepping all this goodness to go to work with Kyle tomorrow.

I started my 4 new classes yesterday and it was pretty overwhelming at first but I know it will get better. I'm sure I will find a rhythm and these next 8 weeks will fly by.

Yup this is how I felt when I logged in haha.

I am going to leave you with these adorable new photos of our nieces and nephew...love these kiddos so much! I'll be visiting the older two next month and I can't wait to see them.

Hope you all have a great day!!!!

Low Key Weekend

This weekend was really low key and to be honest, it was amazing!!!

Friday night was spent relaxing and I ended up going to be at 9 because it had been a busy day.

Saturday was another lazy day and then that night we headed off to Monster Jam! We had great seats and had such a blast. You can never go wrong with loud trucks and them crushing things.

Sunday, we had an appointment to get our tattoos done but the artist had to cancel at the last minute (huge bummer), hopefully he can schedule us a new appointment soon. Most of Kyle's soldiers go to this place so we know it's good. We ended the day by watching the Oscars and enjoying each others company.

Overall it was a great weekend!

Hope you all had a good one too!