At Home with Heather

On Saturday night some family friends from MI came down to visit. My whole family came and hung out at my house and we had SO MUCH FUN laughing and reminiscing about old times.
On Sunday after church, we went to the mountains of NC and went hiking. We stopped in Boone and visited the hippie shops and took in the culture there. Then we headed to Blowing Rock and had a great time hiking on the trails and taking pictures. We found a great spot to chill and had lots more fun laughing and relaxing.

You know how your parents always tell you when you are young that when you get older you will love your siblings and actually WANT to hang out with them?! Well it really is true. I had a GREAT time with my family this weekend and we made some cool memories to add to our collection.

Sam update: He has semi-official word that he WILL be going to Kuwait and NOT Iraq. His four day leave should be from August 30th-September 2nd. He will fly out of the US on September 10th-ish?. I miss him so much, but I am so proud of him for being strong and doing what he is doing for our country. Please keep praying for him and us.

Love to all-
*heather joy*

This is how my dad's car looked after they found it after it had been stolen...That was the rock that they apparently used to smash ALL the windows. All the tires were slashed and the side mirrors were busted. We'll see if the insurance company covers the damages...

Last night was the first night I slept at home alone. I was really proud of myself, because I have been avoiding it since Sam left. Everything was fine. I have to admit I did fall asleep with the lamp on as a precaution, but turned it off when I woke up in the middle of the night. It was nice to sleep in MY bed again and I was pretty exhausted from all my travels this week.
Unfortunately, Sam is going to train in "the fab" as they call it-or "the field" to us civilians-starting tomorrow night. So I will not be able to see him this weekend. so that means...the job search starts tomorrow...

This week has been very adventurous! I have managed to spend the night in 5 different places in the past week, to avoid sleeping at home alone!

On Thurs-Saturday I went to Family Camp with some friends. Their church has a camping excursion every year called "Family Camp." It was actually a lot of fun. The good thing was we didn't actually camp. We got to stay in the cabin dubbed "The Mansion" and actually had beds and showers, as well as a t.v. That is what you call "Spoiled Brat Camping." =)

I went tubing with Bette Ann and another girl, Molly. It was a lot of fun despite the spiders and knocking into trees and crashing my tube over-bringing me under! We had fun making the memories.

Earlier this week, Sam called me and told me that he didn't think I would be able to visit him at Fort Bragg on the weekends. Fort Bragg is in Fayetteville North Carolina-about 3 hours away. Sam is doing his training there before deploying overseas. On Friday he called me and told me I COULD visit him on weekends, he just couldn't go off base or stay with me overnight. My whole world brightened when I found that I could see him. We arranged it so I could stay with his cousin, who actually married us. It worked out great because his cousins were very close to base and it was not hard to get there.

I had so much fun seeing him and being able to spend time with him. I think it was extra special because we realized that we weren't going to have much more time together, so we cherished every moment.

I think I will be able to see him next weekend too, before he goes to "the field."

So, I actually had a great week and a lot of fun. I'm going to head over to my sister's house tonight-but I think tomorrow I will attempt to sleep at home alone...eeek! =) Wish me luck!

So the past few days have been pretty emotional, with my husband gone to prepare for deployment. We had a very emotional goodbye at the airport on Sunday and it felt so real that he was leaving. We both felt like it was the last time we were going to see eachother for a year, but while he is training in NC, I should be able to see him a few times.

So, all I have been doing is distracting myself from the fact that he is gone. I came home from the airport on Sunday and took a little nap to calm down. Then my sweet neighbor Haylee called and asked if I wanted to have lunch with them at her Grandma's house. I did and it was a great distraction. The first hour it was hard to hold back tears, but I made it through with the help of friends. I love how I felt loved there. =)

I then went to my sister's house in Hickory and stayed there for the night. My amazingly cute nephew, Adien kept me laughing and distracted too.

My best friend was in Georgia from Texas to visit with some family, so I spent Monday with her. It was actually the most fun I have had in a LONG time. It was sooo good to see her and talk over coffee about everything. It was the best way to spend my Monday. I ended up spending the night there and staying up until 3 am! In the pic with her I am wearing Sam's dogtags, it makes me feel proud of him and it is a way to root for him while he is over there...

I went back to my sisters the next day and spent the night at her house again. Being around people is really the best therapy in this situation and I am so thankful for good friends who care about me and are reaching out to me.

Soon I am headed over to Bette Ann's house. I am going to spend the night there and help her with Eli at family camp the next couple of days.

Really I will do ANYTHING to not have to sleep at home alone this week. =(