getting back into the groove...

I did not realize how sleep deprived I was until Jay came home.

The last two nights I have actually slept. I'm not awake, waiting for Jay's late night call, or worrying about if he's going to call, or if he doesn't call I don't have to worry about why he didn't call. The first night he was home, I SHUT my phone OFF Praise God!

When we came home from the armory our front and back yard was totally plowed out, and there was a sign on the back door saying "welcome home Jay" from the Chadderdons! Praise God for awesome neighbors! :-) They snow blowed away 8 inches of snow for us!

Jay has been unpacking a little each day. Today he repaired a few things around the house. It is so good for him to be home.

Jay is HOME!

Reign, told the boys last night that their daddy is on an airplane, and that this is her "OWN" daddy.

The weekend before Jay comes home

Friday, night I spent the night at my sisters. I went to the armory to welcome home the RedBulls and did not feel like going home alone. We watched a few movies and had a great time visiting. I slept with Reign, she tossed and turned ALL NIGHT leaving me very tired the next day.

Saturday, I went to the salon to get my red hair redone, she added high and low lights... it looks amazing I am so happy. I know Jay will love it!

I did some shopping, and then brought Caleb to a friends house, got home around 9. I talked to Jay until midnight; when Reign, woke up crying and barking like a seal. She was trying to catch her breath.... so much for sleep. I prayed, turned on the shower for humidity, took her outside and then finally to the ER. They gave her a steroid... PRAISE GOD she could breath. CROUP, it was... We got home at about 2am. Reign, was ready to run a marathon after the steroid took affect... so much for sleep.

Sunday, No church... SLEEP. Reign, and I had a great time having "girls day/night"
bubble bath, hair, nails painted aqua green, her favorite color. we made necklaces and worshipped the Lord. It blesses me to hear her sing Holy Holy Jesus, and Jesus loves me. I tear up thinking about it. She is so precious.

I feel like I have so much to do around the house before Jay comes home; somehow I dont think the cleaning and laundry are going anywhere, and I don't think Jay will notice or care... It feels good to be able to rest and relax before his homecoming!

IM

This last year Jay and I have spent several minutes "instant messaging" it has been the easiest and cheapest way to communicate.

TODAY ~ I sent Jay a random text message. He texted me back... "get on IM". I almost ran to the computer, thinking Jay was ONLINE. I stopped myself and realized we can talk on the phone. That was the strangest feeling; I texted him back.. "what for? call me" for just a second Jay, had forgotten that he could call me... we LAUGHED! :-)

Another army wife, said wait until he is in the house and you send him a text message... this is weird to me. I wonder how long its is going to take for it to feel real!

Write to Andrew!

Andrew's Address... mail ONLY, He CANNOT recieve any packages at this time!

Harmon, Andrew 423
Fox Company, 1-19 IN
9075 Holcomb Drive
Fort Benning, GA 31905

Tuesday February 9th!

Jay is coming home on Tuesday February 9th!

Here is the the tentative itinerary:

2:00 pm - Nancy and the kids will arrive at the armory.
3:00 pm - Jay's plane will land at the airport.
4:00 pm - Jay will arrive at the armory.
5:00 pm - We will eat at Old County Buffet - which is a few blocks from the Armory, ALL are welcome! :-)

I would suggest that YOU be at the armory no later than 3:00 pm

Blessings
Nancy

REMEMBER: this is the ARMY, nothing is ever set in stone, things MAY and sometimes DO CHANGE.
I will let you know if the TIME CHANGES.

2nd ~ 3rd WAVE of Red Bulls

A few of us Army wives went up to the Armory to welcome home the other Red Bulls. The 2nd wave, we really did not know any soldiers that were coming home. The third wave... all of my army wives husbands came home. I'm the only one left with out a soldier... Jay is in the fourth wave, the last wave. We believe the Lord is saving the BEST for LAST :-)

The morning after the soldiers came home I got two phone phone calls from two army wives... Their soldiers had come home last night and they were in tears...

I felt blessed that Jay, was not home at this time so I could encourage them and take the time with them that they needed this morning. If Jay were home I do not know that I would have been able to do this. God is so GOOD!

I can see God moving in these two relationships and I PRAISE HIM for it!

My HAIR is Red!

Yes, RED... I dyed my hair RED! per Jay's request. I tried it slow, TWICE ~ by myself and freaked myself out. I stopped it mid process both times and rinsed it out. The other day I went to a salon to get it done... OH MY GOSH! I am going back for a FOURTH time to see if they can calm it down a little bit!

The stuff we do for our husbands! :-)

Early Out

Jay flew out of Iraq on January 27th. He was not suppose to leave the country until February 2nd. He was ahead of schedule.

Jay was in Kuwait, for about 3-4 days. and then headed for Germany. He had about 3 hour wait until he was bound for the U.S.A. Jay landed in Maine on February 2nd!
He waited a few hours and then flew to the state of Washington. While he is in Washington they are doing several briefings, physicals, dentist appts, health Ins. lots of paperwork ect. Most of the soldiers are in the demob process for about 7-10 days.

It was so nice to have him call me on his cell phone.. to hear his voice without a delay. I did call him once that day, just to see if I could, ;-) I know strange?! however I have not been able to do that in over 6 months! :-)

Its such a relief to have him stateside. My stress level dropped from a 10 to a 0, that day. PRAISE GOD for JAY'S SAFE RETURN, to the USA!

250 RedBulls are HOME

Sunday a few of us Army Wives welcomed home the first wave of troops. I had a great time, sharing in the joy of other families, Welcoming home their soldiers.

I learned that one of the soldiers that Jay is with will be facing some criminal charges. PRAY for this family... My heart is so grieved. They are a young family. The children range in age from 3 months, 3yrs and 4yrs. This soldier will most likely loose his military career. this soldier, will NOT be allowed to come home with the troops. :-( this makes me so sad. Let your MERCY FALL LORD, on this family!

On a lighter side of things... We got a pink slip in the mail box yesterday. Jay's tote was waiting at the Post Office to be picked up! This means he is one more step closer to being home!

The other night Jay and Reign were talking on the phone. She says out of know where... "daddy I need my own Bible". He told her, "when daddy comes home he will buy his baby girl her first Bible". It amazes me, that at 28 months old, she is asking for her OWN Bible. Praise the Lord! :-)

Pray for Tyler... He is in transition mode, and really having a tough time with it. I'm trying to discern which is hormones and the stress of giving back control to Jay. PRAY PRAY PRAY
blessings to you!

Georgia

Tuesday afternoon Andrew drove to South Dakota, and by Wednesday night he had made it to Georgia. He sounded really good on the phone. Wednesday, during church he called to say he was waiting in Atlanta, for the shuttle to take him to Ft. Benning.

He realized he was not alone, as he has made a few new friends. I suspect I will not hear from him for a few weeks.

Continue to pray for God's favor over this young man, while attending basic training and AIT.

I'm Pregnant!

NOT! Now that I got your attention ;-)

I FEEL like I AM pregnant... You know when people keep asking the mom to be; have you had the baby yet? when is the baby due? Lately so many ask... is he home yet? when is he coming home? do you know the day he's coming home? Well, just so you know... I REALLY DO NOT KNOW when he is coming home. He could be home tomorrow or the end of February... We are hoping for mid Feb. however that could always change.

The other thing that reminds me of a pregnancy is: I feel like I am nesting... preparing emotionally and physically for Jay's homecoming. Trying to get the house clean and get Jay's clothes washed. I have not slept all week. My hours of sleep have been 10pm to 3am. I am not wanting to go anywhere... I'm sure there is some kind of physiological reason behind all this. I feel like I'm in a waiting period and I cannot do anything else. Just WAIT... I felt this same way right before Seattle and before Jay's leave in July.

A few months ago I was so emotional about this change, now I am nervous. I ask myself... Do I dare get excited? it seems like a dream. deep sigh...

Pray for both Jay and I that we get peaceful rest, in Jesus name!

Andrew

We had a small send off for Andrew on Sunday. He left on Tuesday for Ft. Benning, Georgia, for Basic and AIT advanced individual training.

A few of us were able to pray with Andrew that afternoon. I felt like it was rushed, I would have liked to have spent more time in prayer. I knew in my spirit that Andrew, had emotionally disconnected during prayer, I could tell he was not receiving anything that was spoken over him. He told me later that felt he had to.. "protect himself". I know too well of that feeling...the feeling of trying to shut my emotions off and just go through the motions to survive. If you let go... it seems as though it would be way too much for anyone else to handle, except God.

Andrew, was very anxious about leaving, he has a hard time with separation. college, Jay's deployment, and now basic training. The day before and the day of his departure he was throwing up... not a good thing. We prayed for the peace of God to fill him in Jesus name... Trusting that the Lord has him in his hands! :-)

Andrew will miss Jay's homecoming. This is very difficult for Andrew, as he was not able to be with Jay, before he left for Iraq. We are hoping to be able to make it down to Georgia, for Andrew's graduation.

Prayer requests for Andrew:
- for Andrew's heart to be strengthened and renewed
- Godly mentors while away
- God’s divine favor for him, while he is at basic and AIT
- That God will give him a revelation of who he is in Christ, that he is loved
- Confidence

The Neighbors....

Jay's neighbors have been nasty this past week. Continue to pray for God's divine PROTECTION.. physically, and emotionally in Jesus name!

We are all getting ready for Jay's return HOME; however that does not make us exempt from the fact: He is still in a WAR ZONE!

EVERYDAY I think about his homecoming picking him up at the armory and moving forward TOGETHER...

EVERYDAY thoughts go through my mind of him NOT coming home... and trying to think of life without him... I cannot imagine!

A few months ago... The area that Jay, was in was being mortared. I was on my way to the cities. Caleb was home alone with Reign and the thought of two soldiers coming to my front door with Caleb home alone... was overwhelming. I do not know what I would do without the baptism of the Holy Spirit! Jay and I both have exercised that gift more this past year than any other time...

Jay has not been able to communicate much this week, he has been dealing with the nasty neigbors.. When I saw him on Skype this morning I wanted to cry... We are so close... I want him home so bad!

Tension is high...

Where to begin? I will start out with asking you to PRAY!

Continued safety for the area that Jay is at, there has been some action as of late, and we want all the soldiers to return safely in Jesus Mighty name!

Andrew stopped by today to help do some things around the house. Tyler and Caleb were at class. He and I were able to have a few good talks today. He is bummed out that he will not be able to welcome his dad home... Andrew leaves on the 19th for Basic Training. It is very hard for these young men of mine not to have their father around for an entire year... I only wished that someone would have or could have stepped up to the plate to help mentor them this last year... Life is just too busy.

Tyler came home to see that Andrew, helped out around the house... needless to say Tyler was not happy with what Andrew had done... I really believe it has to do with Tyler's new role in our family... He has taken on many of Jay's responsibilities. Andrew has not been around here too much and Tyler was offended. It is hard to explain... anyway; Both boys were very emotional this afternoon.

I suggested that we have a family meeting and discuss and pray about HEART issues. They both ignored me and the next thing I know they are in a physical battle... Tyler was very angry. There really was nothing I could do... after all they are 2 boys both about 200 hundred pound each. As Andrew's face turned purple, because Tyler was choking him, Andrew punched Tyler in the face and all I could say was Andrew, remember that you are 20 now and you could go to jail if you seriously hurt your brother.. after the blood dried... a few hours later Andrew, hugged Tyler. Tyler has a pretty good sized black eye...

hmmm Like I said we need to be covered in prayer!! Emotions are very high and tension is at its MAX in our household. I share this... to invite you into our reality and for you to PRAY ~ PRAY ~ PRAY ~ and PRAY!

Red Bull Tattoo

Don Shelby was imbedded with the Red Bulls in Iraq. (Jay's Unit) The soldiers touch his heart so much that he agreed to get a Red Bull Tattoo in their Honor.

Back in the crib

A few months back, I had Hannah and Sarah staying with me. The girls were here for about a month while their dad was in the hospital. The girls slept in Reign's room and Reign, slept in bed with me. Since then Reign, has continued to sleep in my bed.

A few weeks ago I talked to Reign about daddy coming home and that daddy will be sleeping in mommy's bed and Reign needs to sleep in her own bed, like Tyler and Caleb do. She told me, "no, daddy will sleep in Reigns bed." ah oops... not quite.

We have been in bed transition for the last few weeks now and she does pretty good in the porta crib in my room. Today we put her in her "big girl bed" and Bri "our Golden Retriever" decided to help, and keep Reign company.

Pray for Reign, as she makes this transition... Bri, just left the room and now Reign is screaming "I WANT MY PUPPY, BRIANNE"

GRACE

I will boast about my weakness, learning to walk in His greace!

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

Wow... I love his Word. This Blog is all about boasting about my WEAKNESSES. :-)
His POWER RESTS ON ME! AMEN and AMEN

phone call..

I got a phone call today from one of Jay's family members. "The first thing they said, was "I heard you are having a tough time." right away, my strong, "I can do this" personality kicked in. I stopped to listen as this person shared; I knew in my heart that they were being sincere. One of those heart to heart conversations. "that I love" All I could do was cry as this person encouraged me... The Lord, knew that I needed this TODAY... "their words were heart felt".

One thing that I feel I need to clarify is 70% of my stress and emotional issues are because Jay is in a WAR ZONE. It is very un-nerving to be on the phone with your spouse and you hear bombs going off, then tormented with the thought of 2 dressed soldiers coming to your door. Wondering who I would take with me to Germany if he were wounded. ect ect... The other 30% is taking care of the tasks of daily living with four children.

I Praise God, for JESUS CHRIST. I do not know how other spouses do this with out him.

Prayer Requests

Jay and I talked last night, and shared how this deployment has been harder than we first expected. We treasure your friendships, relationships and support this past year. We are entering a new season into this deployment, and covet your prayers during this time of transition...

Prayer requests:

- Andrew leaves on January 20th for basic training. Andrew starts training for Afghanistan in July ~ pray for Andrew... and me, I'm a wreck!

- Tyler and Caleb have taken on so many of Jay's roles and responsibilities around the house. Pray for an easy transition...

- Jay and Reign to bond easily

- I have been discouraged, this last year has not been at all what I expected, patience, peace, joy... I am exhausted, emotionally and physically drained.

- Triggers from war for Jay. The other night there was a severe thunder storm and when he woke up he thought that they were being missile attacked. It freaked him out. Several soldiers have tried to commit suicide during this deployment. One has been successful.