Our trip is mapped out, but always subject to change.

The children and I will leave here on Wed, drive about 5.5 hours and stop. Prayerfully I'll be able to find a park or something where they can go run and play and express some of the energy that they will have all stored up from sitting in the van that long. Now don't get me wrong, my children travel wonderfully, I have the greatest bunch when it comes to riding in the van. It's just once we get there they really do need to run. Thurs morning we will begin our way over to OK for final 5.5 hour drive, where would should be able to find a park somewhere on Ft Sill for some more energy release. I still don't know what time Richard will be able to sign out for the weekend, so I will have to find stuff for us to do until we can get him.

Once we pick him up we are heading down to Dallas. We will probably just go straight to our motel for the night depending on the time.

Yes, we are going to the big city, to go shopping at Build A Bear where we are going to make some animals for the two youngest so that they will have something here to love on while Daddy's gone, and we might even make something for Daddy to take with him. Then we are going to go to IKEA and really look around, I do hope that this store isn't all that different from the one in Atlanta. Because then I would get confused and the one in Atlanta is a whole lot closer to home. But we are on the search for a big girl bed for Miss Rachel, as she keeps climbing out of her crib and I am afraid that she will get hurt. So time to move on and then since I don't really want to buy a toddler bed and then a twin bed later we are looking at some that are toddlers/twin. Yes, it may mean having to get two mattresses but I think that is going to be cheaper than a second bed, but we shall see.

Then we are going to go to a grocery store, in Richard's civilian job he's a trucker. Gone for two weeks at a time, home for Drill and one family weekend a month or that is what it is supposed to be but anyway I digress he has a run that takes him out to Haltom City, TX and Central Market. He often says "some day I'm going to have to bring you out here, because this place is so cool." Well Honey here's my some day, we are going to look at all of the very cool produce, cheeses, meats and just everything. Then after that I have no idea what we are going to do, besides probably head back to OK and say our farewells.

At this point I think he's going to take his R&R again around my Birthday in Feb, I am not sure what we will do while he's home but maybe a trip south to FL or something fun. Not that staying home isn't a good thing, it's just hard because then he wants to work and I'd rather just visit with him and let his spend time with his children.

The best part is that while we are having this mini vacation we will also be celebrating Richard's B-Day(12th), Father's Day, Our 12th Anniversary(28th) and we will also be celebrating Matthew's 7th B-Day(9 July) as this is the one birthday that Richard seems to miss the most.
It will be a long trip ending up being over 2000 miles round trip. But it will all be to short, not enough time, to just spend time together.

I know that God is in control and Richard will be back home for his R&R before we know it, then he will be back from this deployment, with possibly a new direction for our family and life.

We've said our first goodbyes

Yesterday was the official farewell for Richard's unit. They had a ceremony that lasted about an hour, then there were refreshments-but we didn't get any. Richard's parents had also gone up and my FIL has over the past three weeks had surgery on both of his feet, the second surgery being this past Tues so he was still in a bit of pain. So Richard talked with them for a bit, then helped him to the car and talked a little more.

Then they left and we had to come all the way home for some important papers that I had totally forgot to bring with. And because of the it blew the entire day. We weren't able to really do much anything else. Came home grabbed papers, turned around and went right back up to find a FedEx box/store and sent them off, then he ran into Sam's for a couple things. Then we ordered Domino's-which where we live is not something we get, well since we've been here in AL this was like the 3rd or 4th time. Then the children got baths and went to bed. Rachel had a very late nap and was not ready to go back to sleep, but finally did. We got about 45 minutes of adult time before he had to run off and finish packing and leave to go back to the unit at 0200. He came back to give everyone kisses and hugs, but since all the children were sleeping none of them remember it, nor do those that responded to him recall doing so.

I talked to him bit ago and they are on their way to OK, if they had driven from AL they would problaby just be getting there.

He is supposed to get 4 days leave while in OK and I will be driving out there so that we can try to do the things we were going to do today. And hopefully just spend some family time together.

In 28 days he will leave the country. His orderers are for 400 days, I just saw them yesterday and I haven't had time to count out roughly when that means he will be back and home. But we are going to make a calendar that goes backwards and tear a page off everyday till he's home again.

The frustrating thing of the day was that my camera is missing and I wasn't able to get any photos of him and the children. But we will find it before going to OK.