Christmas Update

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays and their loved ones! We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas, and Steven and I are feeling truly blessed. I spoke with him last night for the first time in a week! He made it back to his outpost in Afghanistan finally after 11 days of traveling! He was welcomed back with many letters and packages, and he wanted me to make sure to tell everyone thank you for their support and prayers throughout this deployment. He and his men have all been safe and well fed (thanks to many goodies sent from home) and are looking forward to this little lull in workload this winter. The mountains in Afghanistan get extremely cold and have massive amounts of snow...so there's not a whole lot of activity going on. Hopefully all stays calm until they start their journey home.

Steven told me last night that they are expecting to return to the States in EARLY MARCH!! Could even be late February, but I'm not holding my breath for that one! They are now in the process of packing up their stuff and getting ready to hand command over to the Battalion from 10th Mountain (Ft. Drum, NY) that's replacing them. Steven is not certain how much longer they will be at their outpost, so don't count on any mail from here on out reaching him.

Lacy and I made the trip back to Ft. Wayne, IN to see my family for Christmas last Friday. We're having a great time and it's nice to be home for the holidays. Lacy is LOVING the cold and snow here in northern Indiana, she wants to be outside all the time...it's adorable!

Merry Christmas to all and don't forget the true reason for the season! God Bless!

R&R Fun

Here are a few more pictures from R&R. We visited some of our good friends in Lexington and went back to the restaurant where we had our first date. We had a great time! Steven got to spend some time with his brother, too!
Steve and Harvey

Daniel and Amy

Us and our friends Pete & Deena

Harvey, Steven & Pete

Sara and me

Downtown Lexington

At Bellini's (our first date restaurant) with our good friends Steph and Matt SimmonsPiper Simmons, Steph and Matt's new baby! We were so happy to meet her! Steven's going to kill me for this one...we stopped at Trane so he could meet the people I work with and they took pictures of everyone wearing these reindeer antlers. This should have been our Christmas Card.... hahaa!

Steven and his brother, David. Check out that beard!

Fake smiles at the airport, saying goodbye....sad day.

4 more months...

Steven got on a plane back to Afghanistan on Saturday morning. It was a sad day for us both, but we're so thankful that we had such a great R&R. We spent most of our time relaxing, working on little projects around the house, visiting friends, and just enjoying our time. You realize just how much you love someone when they're gone....he is definitely the most amazing man, and if deployments are the price, then I'm absolutely willing to pay! Hopefully these next four months will fly by.

He is scheduled to be home late March to mid April...no specifics yet (or ever with the Army), but I'll keep you posted on details when I get them. I have not heard from him since he got on the plane in Nashville on Saturday, but that's expected. I think he should be in Germany or Kuwait about now. They are actually going to be moving from their current location to another post in Afghanistan sometime in January, he thinks. So from here on out, don't count on mail reaching him at his address...stick with e-mail. He truly appreciates all the packages and letters he's received this deployment....and his men appreciate the treats too...when he shares! :-) Thank you all. More to come later....

Family Pictures

Here's a sneak peak of the photos we just had taken. Angela Cox at Classic Creations did an amazing job and we get to see all of the proofs on Monday morning! We can't wait! Check out Angela's website and business at : http://www.classiccreations.blogspot.com/

Weekend Fun

We took a trip to Nashville this weekend, did lots of shopping and ate at some amazing restaurants. It was just a relaxing time away and we had a great time. Before we left we finished the bed....it is awesome! Steven is so good at designing and making it all come together...thanks Uncle Odell for teaching him so much!

Finished Product!

Setting up the Christmas Decorations

Lacy's so happy Steven's home!
Union Station Hotel, Downtown Nashville

The Melting Pot for Dinner...one of our very favorite places...it's fondue.

Dessert Course...Dark Chocolate...Yummy!

Monell's for Breakfast, a local favorite.