Resolutions, and other random thoughts..

Seriously?! ANOTHER year has gone by???? Someone please tell me where it went! (Side note: That made me think of when Sydney was playing with her baby dolls this week and getting frustrated with her stroller, yelled "ARE YOU KIDDIN' ME?!" 

But really... are you kidding me?! The past year has completely flown right by us! What an amazing, monumental, and crazy year it has been! 

Here is a re-cap of our past year's events:

1. Nick flies to Newport, RI for 3 months of Officer Candidate School for the Navy in January.

2. We spend a week in Newport in April, surprising Nick with our arrival, as he is commissioned as an Officer. We also receive orders for San Diego.

3. Nick comes home for a few weeks then goes back to Newport for 3 weeks of SWOS in May.

4. I prep for our big move, house-hunt and find us a home in San Diego, and wrap things up with my personal training in Memphis, April and May.

5. We take an awesome 4-day vacation cross-country to our new home in San Diego, June.

6. We get settled in San Diego, find a church home, enjoy our time going and doing and seeing all we possibly can, June and July.

7. We have a month full of visits from 4 sets of family and friends in August.

8. Nick sets out on a 7-month deployment in August.

9. I dive in and get involved in church, Heart2Heart military spouse group, Surface Officer Spouses Club, Compass, hosting a church lifegroup, spending time with great new friends and their kids, and doing as much fun stuff with Sydney around the area as I can, September through November.

10. My dear Granddaddy passes away in October and we make a last-minute trip to Memphis for a week.

11.  We fly home for the holidays and Sydney's birthday, for a month and a half, November through January!

Of course, there is also much in between, but this was overall the main events of our 2010.  

In 2011, I most of all, look forward to re-uniting with my lifeline! How I have missed him!!! I cannot imagine the emotions I will feel on the day I get to see him again. I can't imagine the emotions he will be going through seeing Sydney and I again. 

This has been the best first deployment experience I could have possibly hoped for, but nothing is easy about being away from half of your own heart for 7 months.  No, it's not easy, but I know it will be rewarding. Some people go their whole lives and never "get" to experience what it is like to be away from their spouse, and I'm not talking about for a week because they go on a business trip. I'm talking about months and months. Months of waiting, missing, going through emotions of sadness, independence, loneliness,  jealousy of couples who are always together, excitement, butterflies just hearing their voice twice a week, helping your child cope and understand it all as they are missing their daddy, and most of all, longing for and anticipating the day you will see them again. It has ups and downs, but I consider it all a BLESSING! Thank you God that my husband has a stable, successful job. Thank you God that because of your provisions with this job, I can stay home and raise our daughter how we see best. Thank you God that we have this opportunity to see all over the world. Thank you God that we have this opportunity to live in such a beautiful place. Thank you God that we have this opportunity to make lifelong friends around the world. Thank you God that I have this amazing man you created as my lifetime partner, to even miss. Thank you God that this time away from him has made me love and cherish him that much more. 

I will try to share my thoughts and (most of) my emotions throughout this time leading up to Nick's homecoming, and more about military life so far for us, in my future posts. I never knew how very different the military life is, but it is certainly incomparable to anything else. However, to close this post, I thought I would share my "New Year's Resolutions."  I don't go crazy with these, but I feel it's always good to have, and note, a few main aspirations or goals for myself. Unlike a common New Year's Resolutions list, you will not see a ton of health or fitness-related goals, because those are embedded in my life everyday.  In fact, I could probably narrow it down to the just the top 2 and I'd be good,  but of course I felt I needed to set a few more than just 2. So, here they are: 

1. Be consistent with my quiet time every day.

2. Be consistent with our tithing.

3. "Phone call Sundays"- use Sundays as a day to make calls to family and friends to keep in touch.

4. Keep our family traditions going and start some new ones.

5. Send out a seasonal, or bi-yearly letter with pictures and updates to close friends and family.

6. Keep Sydney on her schedule, including wake times, "homeschool-preschool" learning activities, bedtime routines which include Bible stories, and naptimes.

7. Do a fitness competition.

There they are. Of course, I have small goals and to-do lists I make daily and weekly, but when I look back on 2011 after it is over next year, I want to see that I accomplished these main goals listed above. I'm excited for this new year and the memories we will be making together as a family, experiences we will be sharing, and the changing and growing we will continually be doing. Change is good. And the military life is sure full of it. God wants to constantly change and renew us, to where we can grow closer to Him, know Him a little more, and become just a little bit more like Him as our time goes on. I'm hopeful that us, the Allen family, are constantly in a season of this kind of growth and change not only in 2011, but in all the years ahead for us as well.  

Back in Cali!

Well, we are now back home from our month and a half long visit to Memphis.  It was so wonderful to be with our family and friends over the holidays.  Other than Sydney getting double ear infections for the first time ever in her 3 years of life, and later getting the flu, an allergic reaction to eating, her carseat, and her socks and shoes (sarcastic), and myself getting the flu and a sinus infection, it was a great time!! :) We had Sydney's 3rd birthday party, a day filled with too many gifts, a diet of nothing but sugar, along with hard play and no nap... just how a 3-year old Birthday Princess-Ballerina should have it! :) Of course we also had Thanksgiving, did every Christmas-themed activity that Memphis had to offer, and had as many visits with family and friends that we could squeeze in!  

 

It is GREAT to be back in beautiful San Diego, though!  I almost forgot how much I love it here and how gorgeous the scenery and weather is.  I try to be so very grateful for us being given the opportunity to live here.  All props go to God for His provision and Nick for all his hard work! It has been nice getting settled back into our home, getting into our daily routines, and getting Sydney (back) onto a schedule, although challenging at first from the traveling.  My friend Cally picked us up from the airport with her 4 daughters, and "Care Bear", as Sydney calls her, her 3-year old, SPRINTS across the baggage claim area yelling, "THAT'S MY BEST FRIEND!!" and runs up to Sydney with the biggest hug! It was the cutest thing!  I was so excited to get back into group with my ladies in Heart 2 Heart, the military wives group I meet with every Thursday. I missed their company and encouragement while we were gone. And today, being back at our AMAZING, real, relaxed, and Loving church was so nice.

As far as Nick, he is doing good. He has his good days and his bad. He is really missing us and sometimes gets very discouraged about this aspect of his career. He is extremely busy, working really long hours, getting things accomplished for his qualification process which can seem never-ending and frustrating for him at times, and getting 5 hours of sleep a night at best. On the other hand, he has grown close to his crew and his superiors, and has been able to enjoy some down time with them. 

As far as me, I am doing as best as can be expected. I miss Nick like CRAZY! I get jealous sometimes of other people who get to be with their spouse every day; but at the same time, I feel like I appreciate Nick now more than ever. I'm so thankful for our marriage, friendship, the amazing qualities that Nick exhibits as a husband, daddy, and man, and the sacrificial love he has for me and our daughter. Thank you God for Nick! I stay busy and keep us in a routine of doing things. I do get feelings of inadequacy from time to time though, since this is the first time I have ever not worked.  I feel at times that I am not doing enough, and I need to contribute more. This is just something I battle within myself. I pray that if God wants me to contribute financially though, that He will help me make that possible with open opportunities.  

As far as Sydney, it has taken her a few days to get adjusted. First morning back, she woke up ready to go at 5:30am, and second night woke up about 10 times throughout the night. After a few days however, I believe we are back on track.  She is currently obsessed with her books. She is a little book worm, always reading, and has to always have her books. I've been introducing some Bible stories lately, now that I feel she is old enough to follow the plots and lessons for the most part. I'm working on her with her whining, which I know is always a task at this age.  I'm using an idea from Ginger Plowman, who wrote Don't Make Me Count to Three (best parenting book ever). She had a "kit" if you will of a book called "Whiney Will" and a "whine watch". Basically, the book tells a story of a boy who has to learn to use self-control with his voice. As punishment, he puts on a watch while in time-out that beeps after 3 minutes. During that time, he thinks of how he can better communicate, and after the watch beeps he comes back and tries again the right way. I'm not only using the watch with Sydney for whining, but for other behaviors as well, and it really has been good for her. I am able to sit down and talk it out with her, and she comes back apologetic and with a seemingly new attitude. I will keep you updated, though!;)

So it is good to be back home in San Diego! Now, off to fill our calendar with activities and schedules! :)

Stay tuned for my upcoming "New Years Resolutions" post! :)