Off to Flight School

Levi accepted a job with Envoy Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines. We are so excited for his new journey to begin! To finally be doing what he truly wants to do- be a pilot again! After a 15 day trip to Korea for the Navy Reserve, he had 3 days at home before heading off to the first part of flight training. We soaked up as much time as we could!!

Levi's Birthday

May 12th is a wonderful day because its Levi's Birthday!!!! While he worked all day, we still celebrated him that night with an evening at the fire pit! We love you so much Levi and while we keep our birthdays pretty simple around here, our love for you is nothing simple- it is fierce, unconditional, and amazing!! We are so lucky you are ours!!!

Happy Birthday!!

Welcome Home, Levi!!

We figured out it had been 391 days since we said "Goodbye" to Levi! Granted, we had our short little Christmas break, but still- that was a long time regardless!!! We couldn't wait to watch him walk off the plane and know that he was home, and home for good!!!!

I was hoping he would be able to come home with me from my trip to Virginia, but he had to wait 6 more days. I had everything prepped ahead of time, just in case! So by the time I got home, all we had to do was sit and wait! 

Finally, the day came and of course, Levi's flight didn't get in til 9pm, so we had ALL DAY LONG to wait! We tried to stay busy though!! We got everything decorated...

 And made signs to take to the airport! Finally, it was time to head up there!!

 We found his gate and not-so-patiently waited!! The boys were standing right outside the doorway, a few feet back, and a few minutes before everyone started unloading, this group of people came and stood right in front of them. Who goes and stands in front of two adorable boys at 9pm at night, holding signs that say, "Welcome Home Dad!"???? I was going to say something to them, but I don't think they spoke english. So I ushered the boys to the side and I kept an eye out for Levi.

 Once I told them he was coming, their excitement turned to this! Grant held his sign up as high as he could and was practically jumping out of his skin!

 And then they ran as fast as their little legs could carry them, right into their daddy's arms!

 These pictures are horrible quality because we were in the corner of the airport at 9pm. But I don't need pictures to remember this moment- they are forever ingrained in my brain!

Words can't even begin to the describe how we all feel about him being home. As I'm typing this, he's been home for 9 days now and it still doesn't feel real, or even permanent. It just feels fantastic!!!

Father's Day 2015

It's been par for the course that Levi has missed most of my birthdays, Mother's Day, his birthday, and Father's Day over the past 9 years. He just always seems to be have been deployed or on workups around that time of year! But we still celebrate and make it as special as possible, even when he's not here to celebrate! I always conduct an interview with the boys, and I especially loved doing it this year, because while its been about 10 months since Levi left, they remembered all the little details about him that I was praying they wouldn't forget!  It was almost as if Levi hasn't been gone from their lives at all!  

They're just so cute to go back and look at these sweet interviews each year! And we always try and do some sort of handprint art, because, well, why not!! They're always so cute and adorable! So we came up with these and I LOVE them!!!

 We shipped our special sentiments off early so they would get to Bahrain in time! We love our daddy so much and are so excited to hopefully never miss another Father's Day ever again!!!

For my dad, I made him a photo book of a bunch of childhood pictures, like these classics...

 

It was definitely a treasured gift!! And from the boys, we made this beautiful keepsake artwork :)

We are all blessed to have Levi and my dad as our role models in life! Without either of them, I wouldn't be where I am today and I wouldn't feel as loved as I do! I am so thankful and my heart is so full!

Enjoying Daddy

Levi was home for 13 days, and in those 13 days, we did ALOT of enjoying him!! After the first few days of scurrying around to Wyatt's school program, Wyatt's gymnastics, and Grant's school party and Christmas break officially started, we were excited to settle in and be a family! Grant had been waiting for oh, about 6 months for Levi to bring home the Star Wars movies so they could have a movie marathon! (Levi took all our DVD's to Bahrain and it was right after he left that the Star Wars infatuation began). So I think the first few days of break were spent eating out, trying to get a fire going in the fireplace, and watching all 6 Star Wars movies! 

Then the Broeckelman family came in town, so we spent alot of time at home, just relaxing! We also did alot of running around and more eating out the few days before Christmas. We went to Costco a few times, Target a few times, Home Depot a few times, Five Guys a few times. And then we enjoyed our Christmas Eve and Christmas morning as a family of four! We spent Christmas afternoon with my family. And the few days after that were spent doing more shopping, eating out, playing, wrestling (shirtless is the boys fave!), snuggling, and movie watching (I'm pretty sure Levi and I knocked out 5 movies from Redbox!)!!

 Once at the airport, we had to measure the boys so we would know how much they've grown when Levi gets back. One more snuggle time, and t.hen we had to say goodbye.  It was such a wonderful 13 days and it was over in the blink of an eye! But we made sure to cherish every second of it and we are so thankful we got that time together! The holidays definitely wouldn't have been the same without him!! Now we are counting down til the final homecoming!!

 

After Levi left, we treated ourselves to Peachwave (for the boys) and Bo Lings (for me). And Grant arranged his bed just perfectly, and then after he showed me, he got Wyatt all tucked in with his Daddy pillow. They truly are amazing boys, and I don't know how I would get through this time without them!!

We love you Levi!

8 Years

10 Years together

8 years of marriage

6 moves

4 states

2 amazing kids

1 incredible life

Happy Anniversary my love!! We may be 7,390 miles away from each other but I love you more today than ever before!!!

Even overseas, he sends me beautiful flowers!!!

It's Time To Go

We knew the day was coming, as its been in the back of our minds since February. It's one thing to think how the day will play out, but its always different when it becomes real. I mean, we've done this a few other times, so you would think I knew how I'd be feeling. But since the end of April, we've had so much time together to just enjoy each other, work on house projects, and just be a family. Something we didn't get a lot of in Oklahoma. So being in our new house, it was so great with Levi being on leave, just enjoying our time together. Which is why saying goodbye was that much harder. 

A few days before he left, we went on a final date. Well, it seemed like a first date really because neither one of us could really remember that last time we had a true date night together. We dropped the boys at my parents in the afternoon, enjoyed soaking in the pool together, and then went for a couples massage! Then we came home and got all dressed up and headed to Hereford House, where we shared a bottle of wine and ate until we were completely stuffed! It was amazing! 

We spent the next two days packing, last minute shopping, swimming, and snuggling!

 And then the morning came to head to the airport. It was hard knowing the long journey was about to begin, and knowing the boys were oblivious to what they were about to embark on. As Levi went to check in for his flight, the boys and I sat down to wait. This nice old lady asked the boys if they were getting ready to go on a trip. Grant replied that his dad was leaving for a deployment for one year. Up until that point, my eyes had stayed dry, but then I lost it. The lady walked over to me, held my hand and said that her husband had been in the Army for over 20 years while she stayed home and raised 3 boys. She knew my pain. And then she said, "The good Lord will see you through." And then she prayed for me and the boys. She was this little angel God had waiting for me at the airport to help me through this time.

As we walked down to Levi's gate, I just couldn't imagine how this next year will be. Without my best friend, my other half. But Grant kept saying, "Don't cry Mom. Dad's done this three other times already. Its going to be ok." My little rock- well really, people showing emotions makes Grant really uncomfortable, so really he wanted me to stop crying for himself- but I used it as a sign to be strong for my little fellas.They snuggled Levi one last time, happy as could be- oh to be blissfully ignorant! After I watched Levi walk through the gate, I had my moment, and then I picked myself up and the boys and I started our journey in strength and faith. 

Because like my angel said, "The good Lord will see us through." And I know that to be true!

Snugglebug

Levi and Wyatt have been two peas in a pod lately. And it all started with a nickname. Snugglebug. Levi started calling Wyatt that about two months ago or so. And it's true- Wyatt is a snuggler so the name just came naturally. And it snuck too. They refer to each other as Snugglebug more often than they say "Wyatt" or "Dad." And its adorable!!!

Since birth Wyatt has been a very strong mama's boy, so its nice to see him throw Levi some affection now too! I'm happy to see their bond become as strong as glue right before Levi leaves- I know it will be something that will hold them close together, no matter the distance. Levi has been in San Diego for about a week now and Wyatt has been carrying this little picture of Levi he found in a box- just a tiny squadron photo. But he keeps it by his bed at night and is very protective of it. I just love that!

Snugglebugs for Life!