Merry Christmas! (2010)

Surprise!!! Together for Christmas =)
Originally, Tucker had been put on guard for Christmas Eve and Christmas...which was really bumming me out, especially since Christmas is such a special time for us. We were so blessed that they allowed him to spend Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning with me at our house!!! (Which I might add he has not been to for more than 15 min bascially since the beginning of the month when he started guard duty.)
So what did we do to celebrate?? Well....4 years ago, we went on our first date on Christmas Eve to an asian restaurant and then watched a movie. So of course, we went to an asian restaurant then to a movie!!!! haha. It's our thing =P
It's also been my tradition to go see Christmas lights...so we did that as well.



After that, we headed home and then set up beds by the Christmas tree to sleep.

Christmas day, we took our puppies for a walk and just enjoyed being with each other.
It was perfect.




Happy Birthday Jesus!!! And thank you for my life<3

Lord bless these heroes, who gave their lives...

--So far there have been about 1,300 U.S. deaths in Afghanistan related to the 9-year-old war there prompted by the 9/11 terror attacks.

I had been semi-talking to a girl on facebook, in one of the marine wives groups I've joined. I found out her husband had passed while in Afghanistan a couple days ago. When I heard the news, to say the least, my heart was sickened. She is only a couple days younger than me, which really hits me hard, trying to relate to what she must be feeling right now.

Tonight I light a candle, to honor the men and women who gave their lives for my freedom, and for HOPE to shine upon their loved ones. I am EXTREMELY blessed to have my husband back home safe and sound for the holidays. Some people don't get that this year...and my heart reaches out to them.

Dear Lord, bless the families and friends of fallen soldiers, let them know that their loved ones are looking down on them now, acting as guardian angels; please guide them to healing, and give them refreshed, stronger spirits. Amen.

Marine Corps Ball 2010

Nov. 18th was the Marine Corps ball for us over in Temecula, CA. We had a blast!! Now that Tucker knew more people from deployment and I got connected with some girls during the deployment also, we felt a whole lot more comfortable mingling with everyone =)
We don't have the professional picture yet, (coming in the mail!!..hopefully we can send out some for xmas pics) but we do have some photos we took we would like to share right now!!


















Happy Birthday Marines!!

Fun with friends

Once again, its the start of the holidays..and best of all..this year we get to spend them with each other!! =)

We kicked off Halloween with a pumpkin carving party at our neighbors, Tim and Jens, house (its always fun to have friends as neighbors!) I was surrounded by lots of creative people! All the pumpkins turned out GREAT!

Tuckers twin pumpkin:


My goofy frankenstein pumpkin:


All our finished projects:


And whats a pumpkin carving party without roasting pumpkin seeds?


I'm also trying to get creative with desserts, so I tried out a mint chocolate brownie recipe! They didn't last too long..and even "the king of not wanting sweets" aka Tucker, liked them! I think I will be making more when Christmas time comes around!



Then a few days later we walked around Balboa park in San Diego. Met up with two other friends, Sam and Ryan, and walked around a science museum. There, we watched an IMAX movie of the Hubble Space Telescope. If you're ever in town, I DEFINATELY recommend going here and watching it. It will change you're perspective on life forever. It still blows my mind that people can really look at the complexity of our universe and not believe in God. It is WAY too genius to just appear, thats all I have to say.



Later on, Sam and Ryan convinced us to walk around the Balboa Haunted Trail. I'm not one for haunted HOUSES, so I thought maybe the trail would be less of a scare thrill......my theory was VERY much wrong. The trail is a little over a mile long, and lots of little cabin-like huts you go through along the way. There is a point where you actually walk through an abandoned school bus with dummies sitting on it, along with real people dressed up. You don't know who's real and who's not until they're IN YOUR FACE!.....not so fun. Needless to say, I think we both filled our scare meters to last us a lifetime, plus some!

Jul/Aug 2010--Video Diary--Post Deployment

I put together a video diary of Tucker's well deserved leave..got to see lots of friends and family...some of which I unfortunately did not get pictures of (Jordan, Remie, Tyson, Tamera) So bummed :(! But very thankful for the moments we did catch on camera! Hope you all enjoy!!

Home sweet....but messy.....home!

Tucker came home at last, last Wednesday!! Thank you guys for all your prayers and thoughts..I sure felt them at work and I'm sure Tucker did too. We now have had each other for 6 days and our marriage seriously couldn't be any better. Cherishing every moment!! Last night was the 4th, we saw the BEST frieworks show on the beach, a tribute to all Marines on Camp Pendleton and military around the world. It was AWESOME! And being surrounded by friends and being wrapped in the arms of the man I love made it even better =)








The puppies had no problem remembering their daddy! And Tilo became a whole different dog since Tucker came back..possibly handing Tucker "alpha dog" title again?..I sure hope so, that stinker! lol.

Right now we..well..Tucker(haha)..is in the process of putting all his stuff away. Today is cleaning day for us, vacation mode needs to die out a bit.

In 2 weeks Tucker is taking leave, and we're starting it out in Vegas! He's keeping parts of it a secret from me..we're trying to do somewhat of a 2nd honeymoon type thing, staying at a hotel on the strip. I'm sure we'll see family and friends there too while we're out there! Cant wait!! SOOOOOOOOOOO glad he's home!

MONTH #7--home stretch!

FINALLY can see the end of this mess!!! The expected date they say he'll be back in the states is nlt July 2nd..yay! Hopefully the next post I'll write will be about Tucker's homecoming!! =) I can't wait. This has dragged on for far too long now, its about time it comes to an end. As awful as this was, I can't say it hasnt been rewarding. They say deployments can make or break a marriage...for us I'm certain it did wonders. Not that we had a horrible first year of marriage..it was awesome! But getting used to each other and the whole "team/unity" thing wasnt the easiest thing for us to conquer. Tucker had his life and everything put together, and I was still trying to figure out life (fresh out of high school none the less) now married, in a whole different state, no job, no school planned out. It was hard adjusting, and Tucker (being 3 years older than me) didnt quite understand why.
I feel like I know myself a whole lot better now than I did prior to him leaving. I feel more organized, and I have goals set for myself...with college and just my overall future. I'm still not ALL put together, but I believe in myself now, and I wouldnt put it past me to REALLY try once Tucker is back home.
Also, the time apart has taught us how important each moment with each other truely is. How lucky and blessed we are to have each other, and not to take it for granted. Time is precious.

MONTH #6

We made it to the half year point, holy cow!
The past month went by real fast for me, had a great easter with the family, and I currently have 2 of my friends staying the weekend in California with me!

Tucker sent me a few pictures of what his life looks like out there in Afghanistan and wanted me to share =) Hope you enjoy! (I know we all cant wait for him to just get his butt back home!!!---NOT TOO MUCH LONGER!!!)

First off...this is Tucker...with...a mustache. lol it was March Mustache Madness for the corps:


These are the humongous tents set up around the base:


Tucker's sleeping quarters: (notice the pillow with lipstick kisses on it I sent him =P)


I forget the technical term for this area..but basically this is where they go if they are under attack...not my favorite pictures...



The chow hall (seriously, they've got it made!):


The guard tower: (One of the posts Tucker guards doing his week of duty)


Beautiful Sunset through the mountains:


Tucker's work station--(notice I have my own shrine going on there in the back lol, he's so cute):


Some of Tucker's 550-parachute-chord projects:





Tucker's new friends =):




(goofs!)


A local-run store on the base, Tucker has bought a few things here:



MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program):

MONTH #5

Wow, 5 months. One more and it will be half a year already, sheesh. Does AND doesn't feel like it. So supposedly it only gets easier from here on out, hopefully 2 to 3 more months to go. I'm hoping for 2 or less...obviously lol. The sooner the better, I miss my husband!! Its getting very, continuous, sometimes it doesnt even feel like theres an end to all of this, it just keeps going!! ughh! But I know that day will come, and it will all be worth it. I seriously think it will be the best day of my life, maybe even tops the wedding day.

So updates, I've been on my own for a little bit, I've had a taste of what life on my own feels like...its different and something I don't think I could ever get used to. As much as I hate being alone though, I'm very thankful that I can say I did it. At least now I know I CAN do it, and live through it.

Tucker and I have been talking a lot more this past month (God bless him) he's really been trying to call me every chance he gets, he knows how hard this is for me. I tell him I always understand if he wants to sleep in more or is busy and cant call, but he insists lol...I always feel so guilty for taking his time.

A couple weeks ago, he was on guard duty for a week...we thought we wouldn't get to talk much that week at all...turns out we talked the MOST that week...whenever he was the guard for the communications tent, we could get on skype. Granted it was anywhere from 11 pm to even 5 am my time, but I'll take whatever chance I can get to talk with my husband.

I will say, people that go years like this without their spouse, are very highly respected in my book. I can barely endure 8 months apart, I don't know how people can go longer. And I also think about how often I talk to Tucker, some don't even get to talk to their husbands once a week...I'm so spoiled!!

We're very blessed to be able to have this communication.

MONTH #4

I can't believe its been 4 months since Tucker left...how crazy!! So in 3 days it will be our 1 year anniversary :'( I'm bummed he's not going to be here, but I'm reminded of the fact that I have many many many more to come =)...these few months are just "a little hiccup in forever."

I moved into our house on base a few weeks ago, and I absolutely love it!! I'm honestly just happy to have a garage! In our last apartment complex, parking was ridiculous, and if you didn't find a spot up on the very top of the hill where we were, you would have to park down the hill and walk up. I also set up my own vanity area!!! During my bridal shower, my sister had everyone write down notes/advise for me on a notecard, so I scattered them around it...here's a picture..I think it turned out really nice...

On top of that, the house has got a lot of storage space. We could always use that with all of Tucker's military gear!

So some updates on Tucker I can fill you guys in on...
he's been making and selling "wraps" out there in Afghanistan for the guys he works with. Tucker just loves doing this...I guess you need a hobby to keep you sane out there with the "every day's the same" routine. I'm happy he's happy.
Apparently someone up there in rank told him that he thinks he's the best at it in the entire company!!! I could hear the pride in his voice when he told me that =)

My friend Kinzi has been with me here in california for the past 2 and a half weeks helping me get settled in. She leaves me Saturday and I'm pretty bummed about it :( But on a brighter note, my friend Ellie from New York has chosen to spend her spring break with me this year!! So I get her from the 14th until the 20th!! Our plans so far are to go to LA and possibly watch a tv showing, and also heading back to vegas the 17th (going back the 19th) to see my family.

After that, Its go time for me to officially start my independant life here...VERY out of my comfort zone, but whatever doesn't kill me will only make me stronger. Obviously theres a purpose for what's happening, so I'm going to try my best to learn something from this experience.

Although, on a side note, I REALLY can't wait until my husband comes back.

MONTH #3

UGHHHHHHHH It's only been 3 months!! This past month has left me feeling discouraged, yet enduring. It's really discouraging me that I'm not even half way done with this, and its feeling like its been FOREVER that hes been gone. I still get to talk to him mostly every day, its not for long but I enjoy every second I get. And I think about it often, that I'm a very spoiled military wife, who's husband is deployed. I might complain or victimize myself because I only get 10 minutes to talk to my husband in the morning or at night, or that I have to be without him for 8 to 10 months. Most of them don't even know when they are going to talk to their husbands next, whether it will be the next day, or the next week, or even the next month. AND some, mostly in other branches of the military, are gone for YEARS at a time. Here I am feeling down about myself because its a few months.

So another update on my life at the moment...I went to pick up the keys to my house 2 days ago =) I officially move in this Wednesday. My friend Kinzi is coming with me for about 2 and a half weeks to help me set up my new life in California. I'm nervous about the whole thing, but excited too. Its mostly just the fear of the unknown, but once I get everything set up and in order, I'm sure I'll love it. I have a REALLY good feeling about it down there.

My friend Ellie from New York is coming to visit me next month for about a week....I'm really pumped about that also. Hopefully with all that is happening this next month or so, the time will be sure to fly by.

MONTH #2

Well this past month was pretty depressing with Christmas and all. Christmas Eve is Tuckers and my first date anniversary....Dec. 24, 2006...so it's a VERY special holiday for the both of us. For the most part, it went by faster than expected! I'm just glad the holidays are over and hoping that from here on out it will get a little easier to handle.

As far as communication goes, we talk almost daily, still, but mostly just on facebook through messages and IMs. A couple weeks before Christmas, the computer/phone tent blew over from intense winds and most of the equipment inside was ruined. They are just now setting up again with new equipment shipped out from the states, so I'm happy about that =) I can't wait to see his face on skype again.

I also have been getting letters from Tucker, I love his letters and I can't wait to reminisce while reading them years from now. Along with his letters, he also sent me a couple letters sent by kids to the soliders out there. Tucker has been responding to them, I'm sure they will be excited to actually get something back. I'm assuming most of the soldiers out there don't usually respond.

You guys can read them too, its pretty cute:





Other updates--We officially got a house on base, and I'm moving back there by February 15th. It's all set up and I can not WAIT! My friend Kinzi will possibly move out there with me for a couple of months until Tucker comes back so I'm not too depressed living all by myself, lol. If not I've got my two doggies and I'm sure I'll find more support groups and wives going through the same thing. And the best part about this transition will be that when Tucker finally comes home, I'll have my life set up there, no more jumping into the military life...Tucker will jump into mine for a change =) I love it, haha.