Hubby's First Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the best dad I know! Thank you for sacrificing for our family and for our country. Harrison is incredibly lucky to have you for a father, and we CANNOT wait until you come back home!

Memorial Day

It’s the soldier, not the reporter who has given us
Freedom of the Press.

It’s the soldier, not the poet, who has given us
Freedom of Speech.

It’s the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the
Freedom to Demonstrate.

It’s the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the
Right to a Fair Trial.

It’s the soldier who salutes the flag, serves under the flag and whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who gives the protester the right to burn the flag.

~Father Dennis Edward O’Brien, USMC

Happy Memorial Day to my husband, and all others who currently/have served!

Big HP

Tonight is the hardest night I have had yet. I am missing Harold so much it is indescribable. I miss him on a level I have never experienced before- and I've done my fair share of long-distance (if you consider hours long distance) relationships, including while Harold and I were dating. Not to mention picking up and moving 1200 miles away from any family or friends. It is a feeling that could be medicated simply with a phone conversation. But I can't call him. I cannot pick up the phone to contact my husband. It is such an awful feeling.

Adding a child to this mix makes everything infinitely worse. Harrison is a constant reminder to me of his father. Everytime he smiles, or learns something new, it just breaks my heart that Harold has to miss it. Running to grab the video camera only soothes me a little bit. I am so grateful that I only have to do this for 6 months- but right now it feels like a lifetime.

The internet in Harold's room isn't working- I had gotten used to being able to chat nightly (before work for him) and not getting that makes a huge difference in my day and my mood. There are so many women in this country going through the same thing that I am- I am even one of the fortunate ones. My husband is behind 15-foot walls and guards- not everyone gets that feeling of security.

I need him simply because he is my best friend. It doesn't even matter what I am feeling sad about, the fact that I can't talk to him about it is the devastating part. All I can do is send an email. And wait. Who knows when he'll even get time to write back? His only internet connection right now is when he's working.

Thank you for listening to my ranting. I am aware of how infinitely blessed I am, and how this is just a little bump in the road of a wonderful life. It just feels like a huge mountain right at this moment.

Last Night

We leave Thursday for our big trip to KS & MN! It's 1 AM and I can't sleep... I'm a little sad because this is the last night we have here at home together. Harold is going to Tennessee tomorrow to surprise a friend and go to his change of command ceremony. Then Thursday it's road trip time! We bought a tablet DVD player (the screen lifts up to put the dvd in) so we can rig it so Harrison can see it in his rear facing car seat. He really dislikes the car- we went out to dinner tonight and he cried the whole way there and home. Hopefully a little "Baby Einstein" will do the trick.

The whole thing is so bittersweet- I'm overjoyed to be getting back to family and friends in MN, but sad about being away from HP for so long. I'm sure it will go by fast, I'll be busy. But the first few weeks will be hard!

Harrison is almost three months old- he coo's A LOT (although really tough to get on camera) and smiles constantly. (well, if he's not hungry or tired that is) Still "going to the gym" as Harold says to kick and squirm like a maniac. He is not a cuddler- he refuses to lay on your chest. While it's a little sad, probably a good thing for the long run. He's not a "hold me" baby. I feel so blessed to have everything in my life the way it is right now. My husband and baby are perfect =)

Can't wait to see a lot of you soon!!

7 Months, 1 Week, 4 Days

Back again- I guess I got lazy for awhile, but I thought I would pick this up again. Mostly because I don't really know what to do with myself here in MN. HP is in Tacoma, Washington doing some rather important testing and I'm here at 10th and Cedar pretty much doing nothing but relaxing. So far so good. =) I've been working a little bit, which has been great. The feeling of actually contributing to society does a body good. It's still a little bizarre to me that Harold has to support me right now. I've spent the last few years not being able to lose even a week's pay, and here I am making little to no money for months. So far so good on the married life =) I miss him though- He says it looks like he might be here as early as the 1st which is NEXT WEEKEND! It's like I've gotten so used to being here and being apart from him, I can't believe that we're actually going to be reunited soon. And I get to go home and NEST! Yay!

Sunday is my baby shower here- I'm rather excited. Jan is going all out, it's touching. She is really good at that stuff tho- She can throw a mean party. I know the girls are working hard as well.

Went to the DR. last week- things are great! We've been so blessed with this close to perfect pregnancy. No nausea, good blood pressure, no gestational diabetes, his heart rate has been perfect, he's moving like crazy, I've been measuring perfectly... Praise the Lord! I can't believe how soon he will be here- I know it won't be real until we bring him home. And luckily, we have plenty of places to put him! =) (Harold things we have too much "stuff"... bouncer, exersaucer, pack&play, glider, swing... ok maybe we do, but this is my first baby!)