R&R

Chris came home for R&R on May 26th, and left on June 11th. We had a wonderful time! I knew to expect him around May 29th. My friends Ashley, Anna, and I all went to the Governor's Mansion in Nashville to attend a forum on deployments and military families on May 25th. Anna and I knew at that point our husbands had started their journey, but they were doing so much waiting, we actually thought they'd be later than expected! Imagine our surprise when we had voicemails leaving the event telling us they'd be in town 7:30am THE FOLLOWING MORNING! The three of us went to dinner, and Anna and I got back to Clarksville around 10pm. Needless to say, we pulled an all niter...house cleaning, laundry, etc to prepare for the boys!

They arrived in Atlanta the following morning, and landed in Nashville around lunchtime. Anna and I were both able to restructure our work schedules to accomodate the boys' early arrival. Chris and I stayed home and relaxed for the first week. It was perfect. Then we headed to Destin, FL. We dropped off Casey in Auburn while my parents were at work, and continued our drive. We stayed in Destin for 3 nights. The weather was gorgeous, and we were able to get a lot of beach time in--no oil. Our condo was on the 13th floor, and it was so relaxing sitting on the balcony and drinking with that view. The day we left, we stayed in Florida until lunchtime, and then headed to Auburn to cut our drive in half. We were exhausted. My parents hosted a small cookout since we were going to stay the night. The following morning we met Sarah, Chris's sister, for breakfast. Then we were on our way back home. Our final week we hung out with a few friends, took a day trip to Nashville for some shopping, and just spent time together at home. It was a perfect R&R.

So now we countdown 9 months. Saying goodbye this time was much harder than the initial goodbye. Anna and I are lucky to go thru this together though, and we've been trying to keep each other busy in an effort to keep the tears at a minimum. I'm lucky to have such a great friend.

This weekend I'm heading to Atlanta to meet my friend Laura who is stationed in Savannah. Her husband is also deployed. She's bringing her kids, and we are all going to Six Flags. I have a St. Augustine beach family trip planned in July. Trying to stay busy! Hope all is well!

Ashley and I at the Miro District in Nashville after going to the Governor's Mansion.

Chris and I leaving the airport!

Chris and I at home

Chris and Casey before he left. Saddest ever :(

Busy Busy!

Hi everyone! I hope all is well. May has proved to be a busy month so far, and I think it's just gonna get busier! The first big event in May (other than the flood) was Steeplechase in Nashville. My friend Ashley, who lives in Nashville, invited me and my friends to come out to her tailgate and enjoy some drinks, food, and horses. It was a lot of fun!

About a week ago, I found another lump on Casey. This lump is on her neck, directly on/in her throat. I took her in for a biopsy on a Friday, and got the results the following Monday. It's a FATTY TUMOR! It was very stressful and emotionally draining thinking Casey could have something worse than that, but thank the Lord it all worked out.

I've spent the last few days painting the extra bedroom--from yellow to gray. It's exhausting because it required two coats of paint. I'm not quite finished because I need to go back over the entire room for small touchups, but two coats on all four walls completed!

As you all may know, Chris's birthday was Thursday. My friend Anna came over, and we (along with Chris on a stick) had a cupcake in Chris's honor. Haha.

The girls and I just continue to keep busy and entertain each other. We did shopping damage in Nashville yesterday. I feel very lucky to have fallen in a company with such wonderful people. It's definitely not like this for everyone, so I'm very thankful, especially during this time. We are just a couple of days short of two months completed.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Clarksville girls L-R: Jill, Me, Katie, Anna, and her friend Lindsey (from Chicago)

Casey Lou in her dead bug pose.

The extra bedroom BEFORE. It was a baby's nursery.

The room AFTER. I haven't moved the furniture yet.

Chris on a stick and I and his birthday cupcake.

Shopping damage. Can you find Katie?

Tennessee Flood of 2010

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the thoughts, emails, and phone calls the last few days. Casey and I are just fine. Our new house and neighborhood are fine, but our old house and neighborhood is suffering. They were evacuated by boat on Sunday night. The old house looks okay from pictures, but the road is flooded and closed, so Casey and I would've been stuck!

The heavily flooded area begins about 10 miles down the road from our current house. The only way I'm personally affected is I can't work. My patients, for the most part, are either evacuated or unreachable at this point. I attached several pictures for you guys to check out. There are many more on my facebook page.

I've never been through anything like this. The city is panicked, and it's really weird seeing a place you frequent completely under water. I drive Riverside Drive at least twice a week, and some of our favorite sites and restaurants in Nashville are ruined. Some small businesses aren't planning on rebuilding. It just devestating no matter how you look at it.

As of two hours ago, the Cumberland River in Clarksville was still rising. Hopefully it has started to recede by now. They opened the Cheatham Dam and some others barriers to relieve Nashville, but its causing our waters to rise. The sewage treatment plant has flooded, and raw sewage is being dumped in the Cumberland now. They think our water supply will be okay, but we're supposed to be using as little as possible. We were on a county wide curfew last night! It's been really weird.

Downtown Clarksville.

Riverside Drive in Clarksville, TN. This is a major roadway connecting the River District to Ft. Campbell. I use this road a lot.

Hooters in Downtown Clarksville.

Our Riverwalk in Clarksville.

Our Riverwalk in Clarksville.

Opryland Resort in Nashville, TN. Chris and I stayed in this section on our first anniversary.

View of Downtown Nashville, TN and the ATT&T/"Batman" building. LP Field (where our Titans play) and the Bridgestone Arena (where our Predators play) were also flooded nearby.

The old neighborhood either Saturday or Sunday.

Our old neighborhood, about 5 houses down from the old house.

The old neighborhood, toward the end of the culdesac.

We've been in Clarksville a year now. We've experienced 8 inches of snow, tornadoes in VERY close proximity, and now a flood. What's next Clarksville?? Haha.

VOLLEYBALL TIME!

It's that time again! Fudpuckers annual beach volleyball tournament in Fort Walton Beach, FL! This is definitely one of my favorite family things we do. Since Chris is deployed, I invited my friend Rachel, and we had a blast hanging with the family, sitting on the beach, and watching volleyball! I also got to eat dinner with my former coworkers in Destin...I miss them sooo much! And of course, Chris on a stick beached it with us all.

Dad's team had an unexpected cancellation from their 5th team member shortly before the weekend. Unfortunately, another team member was going to be coming in late morning on Saturday. So, if they were to have to play the first game--they only have three players and would be disqualified! Dad's team came up with a plan. My MOTHER was the backup plan. If they had to play the first game, mom would step in. Guess what? They got the first game! Mom was an amazing sport, and even scored two points with her serve! She looked awesome!

Dad's team placed 2nd, and beat some great teams to get there. The weekend was a success even with a little bit of rain. I'm already excited about next years tournament!

Mom playing volleyball!

Julie, Katie, Me, and Rachel. I used to work with Julie and Katie, they still live in Florida.

Rachel and I having some fun.

Chris on a stick having a Corona.

Rivers & Spires

Hi everyone! Another great weekend! I did some more work around the house, and Saturday went to a local festival and saw the Charlie Daniels Band! We had a lot of fun! Tonight we're all cooking dinner together.

Chris is doing well. He is busy, and switched over to flying days this week. It will make it more challenging for communication purposes, but it'll work itself out.

Here are some pics, have a great week!

Anna and I at the Rivers & Spires festival in Downtown Clarksville.

Our new eat in area table!!!

Charlie Daniels

SHOP til we drop!

Another great weekend with the girls! Friday night I went to the Blackhorse, a local brewery/pub, with three of my closest friends. And Saturday, it was on.....five of us jumped into Anna's SUV and we went to Nashville for lunch, shopping at the Green Hills Mall, World Market, and then dinner. I managed to only spend a little money at Sephora on some makeup, and then used a $100 gift card at World Market for house stuff!

Michelle and Katie at the Blackhorse.

Jill, Me, and Anna during a Nashville dinner

Chris and Mike on a stick with a Nashville guitar mural.

Speaking of the house...I finally got the rush of energy I've been looking for! The last three weeks have felt quiet and blah at home, so I've rarely been at home or I always have company with me. Yesterday I accomplished a lot--took down a baby border the sellers had up in the guest bedroom, cleaned out the garage some so I can park in there, completely unpacked the kitchen, unpacked all but one box in the master bedroom, set up the formal dining room, and still managed to do standard cleaning throughout the house and went to the gym! My progress around the house has motivated me to keep going. I'm picking out paint colors for the guest rooms after work today!

Formal Dining Room. I still need to decorate, but it's set up and box free!

Chris is doing well. He's on a weird schedule. I've been in touch with him somehow just about everyday. He's been contacting me before he eats breakfast, which is about 10:30pm EST. Then he goes to bed! He's still flying nights, and from the sound of it things seem fairly tame over there (knock on wood). He mentioned transporting locals to the med station for treatment too. The only eerie thing he's reported to me is people tried to spotlight them in the night, trying to find the helicopters. They were pretty high up though, and he brushed it off as not a huge deal.

I hope everyone is doing well, and has a great week!

HAPPY EASTER!!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter Sunday! I had another wonderful weekend with the girls. We got together this evening for an Easter dinner, and we all contributed a dish. My wonderful mother and sister in law coordinated a Honeybaked Ham Easter dinner delivered to our home Saturday morning. How completely thoughtful and generous of them. I took the dinner and shared with my friends. We had ham, mashed potatoes, potato salad, sweet potato casserole, broccoli salad, bacon wrapped green bean bundles, jello salad, a REAL salad, and homemade bread made by my friend Heather. It was amazing, and of course the company was awesome as always.

To those who responded to Chris's email, he has read them but hasn't had a chance to address the emails yet. He tried to yesterday, but his gmail connection was acting up. He had fun reading the responses, and will try to respond. Please understand if he doesn't get back to you soon, as he starts flying Medchase during nights this week. Have a great week!

L-R: Jill, Anna A, Me, Anna H, Heather, and Katie