Coming Out of a Blogging Slump

Well, if anyone is still reading this blog, I am trying to come out of a blogging slump. Why have I even been in a slump? I don't know. Maybe it had something to do with Nathan being deployed and the obvious lack of time that comes with that. But, whatever it is, I am going to try to do better.

So, what have we missed out on in the past couple of months?

First, Kinley Brooke turned one year old. She is such a joy for our family. She is really the typical third child...laid back and completely on her own schedule. We were in OK on her birthday, and celebrated with my family, and she was even able to Skype with her Daddy on her birthday. She was sick the week of her birthday, but was feeling better on her actual birthday, which I was very thankful for. She is just now starting to walk on her own, which of course is so much fun to watch and experience with her. She actually took her first steps in the nursery at church...of course it wasn't for her momma!!!

We (Beth, Brianna, Nate and Kinley) came home from OK in the middle of February accompanied by my Mom and Bryce. It was so nice to have the extra helping hands for an extra week while we were here.

Nathan came home from our first deployment on March 2nd. We were very thankful to have him home and have enjoyed the time that he has had off this past week. He has to go back to work next week, and it looks like he will be gone again soon, but we are so thankful for him and the time that we have had together as a family. BTW, I did say OUR first deployment. Deployments are not just for the active duty member, but for the entire family. I told Nathan that I had the hard job of this deployment. Sure, he had to go fly, eat, sleep and work out. But, I had to to keep up with three children, ages four, three and one. And, of course none of them could ever sleep through the night on the same night. And of course we would all get sick while in OK (my mother was a saint taking care of us). And, you know, little boys really do need their daddy around. Nate is a different child now that his Dad is back.

I am married to an amazing man. He loves the Lord and strives to serve Him and know Him better every day. He loves our family and would do anything for us. He loves his country. When people comment to him about serving our country, he just replies with "It is a great country to serve". He is a humble man who credits the Lord for every blessing and gift that he has. I love Nathan so much, and being away from him makes me appreciate him so much more. I missed all the little things that he would do that bugged me...you know, like not putting his clothes in the laundry, not picking up stuff, etc. In fact, I cried the first time I did laundry after he left, because I knew that would be the last time I did his laundry for awhile. I had a really hard time putting it up and cleaning up his mess on his nightstand. So, I guess I would just encourage everyone to let your spouse know how much they mean to you, and appreciate them every day. It shouldn't take a deployment to have to say those things.

So, guess those are my thought and ramblings for tonight. I have had a lot on my mind, and hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will be able to blog them. Also, I need to catch up on putting pics up, so watch out for those!