Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Daddy is Deployed

So, Brady left on Sunday morning at 6am from San Antonio International airport to deploy to an "undisclosed location in Southwest Asia." We have known about this upcoming deployment since September of last year. I am a planner so I really appreciated the Air Force's thoughtfulness in giving me a head's up as to what was coming our way. I was especially grateful because it allowed Brady to take time off from completing his master's work so that he could save that studying time for January-June, while he was gone. In the meantime, he was able to spend his non-working hours with our family instead. That was especially nice.

We have decided not to focus on the fact that it might be a bit challenging to spend half of the first year of our marriage apart. So instead I am going to give you the TOP 10 PERKs of this deployment (and all jokingness aside there really are quite a number of great points to be happy about)

1. Brady is only going to be gone for 5 months....yay!
2. He will be returning to our family right after school let's out which, from what I can foresee, will aid in the transition for our family. Brady plans to take a little time off once he returns so that will work out perfectly because the kids will be out of school too.
3. He is in a very safe location....double yay!
4. Because he is in a safe location, I could possibly "show up" in the same safe area of the world (maybe in the middle of his deployment for instance) and maybe we could run into each other somewhere and I could see him and he could see me. :)
5. He has a desk job. He is not flying and therefore people will not be shooting at him. Maybe office work does not sound as glamorous (sorry Honey) but I am thrilled to know that he is a part of the "planning only" team. Yay!
6. We can communicate via FaceTime, Skype & texting...all for FREE! It is AWESOME! (Even Zeke has a new ITouch that he can call his daddy on FaceTime...what a blessing!)
7. For Brady, the time in the evening will not involve chasing after 3 kids, so he will have ample opportunity to finish his master's classes...hooray!
8. The time apart will give our 3 kids a chance to grow and mature as they will be expected to take on a few extra responsibilities while he is away.
9. The seperation will also give way to opportunities to travel to see family and friends a little more often which should be fun.
10. We can have chicken nuggets, sandwiches, and scrambled eggs every night and the 3 who will be joining me for dinner will LOVE IT!


These are the pictures I took before Brady left of he and Chloe practicing Skype on different computers in different rooms in the house. That suggestion was given to us by DeSantis family and that was GREAT advice! For one thing it made us realize that Brady's laptop had a terrible microphone, so he instead took my "formerly pink" Mary Kay laptop with him.

Here is a picture of Brady's redecorating my laptop. Yes, he is using Sharpie to cover up the pink edges before putting a new "skin" on the cover.

19 comments:

  1. So sorry that you have to spend time apart - but I am very grateful for his service to our country. Thank you all for your sacrifice!! God bless you!!

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  2. Bummer to hear about the deployment but really happy to hear you're taking in the positives. Speaking from experience, the first couple weeks take a little bit more effort, but once you're past that, you'll fall into a good groove and it'll go pretty quick. Blessings to you all!

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  3. Sorry to hear about Brady's deployment but it sounds like you are all very prepared. He will return before you know it! Thinking of you all during this time. And thank goodness for Skype, FaceTime, & the many ways to contact him.

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  4. Sorry to hear about your deployment....but number 10 is my "favorite" of the list.

    Every time my husband deploys...it's kids night at dinner 5 nights a week instead of 1 night a week. LOL....they LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!

    Good luck with the kiddos and the first deployment as a family of five. Hopefully time will fly by.

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  5. Aww love him and his sharpie!!! I'll pray the next five months pass quickly and easily for both of you. Got a question...do we get to hear your recording of the song for your wedding? Because if so that would be some awesome sauce!!!

    Hang in there!

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    1. The recording is at the bottom of the "Recording Blessings" post. It is a YouTube attachment with our picture.
      -Jen

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  6. Sorry about the separation. My husband and I spent half of our first year of marriage apart. As positive as you are, I know that there will be some days when it's just "less than ideal". Excellent that you have skype - Mike and I reckon the founders of skype should all get Nobel Prizes (actually, one in each category). Hope these first days of adjusting the new solo routine are going smoothly. (PS, for some reason blogger wouldn't let me comment using my normal identity: http://lisamckaywriting.wordpress.com/)

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  7. Love your outlook on his deployment! Praying for your family while he's away.

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  8. You are jumping into military life head first! So happy to see your wonderful attitude. May God Bless you all!

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  9. Oooh, I like the new cover! Very cool! Every single time Jim and I were apart, I felt like I got to "date" him all over again...so worth it. Five whole months to miss him like crazy, get hyped at the sound of his voice, the anticipation of the visit in the middle, and when it's all said and done remembering exactly why you said "I Do" - I wish you all of these things and of course that your time flies by like the wind. Love me some Chloe practicing her Skype skills. :)

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  10. Prayers for y'all as he is deployed. What a great list...focusing on the positive! And so, so glad he is at a dreary ol' desk job and not right in harms way! :)

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  11. Love the list and the positive attitude. Sorry to hear about the deployment. My oldest brother is going back over in May for the fourth time. Three of those four he has been married. Hats off to you and all Moms for staying behind and keeping it all together. God bless!

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  12. #11 Perk: You probably have more time to blog than you would if your man was home. That is a plus for us, your readers!! I am so glad you are blogging again. I am so thankful to witness the goodness of God to both of you after such loss.

    Hope the 5 months passes quickly!

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  13. Awesome cover Brady!! My heart hurt for you both as soon as I read about the deployment...they aren't fun for anyone but you have such a wonderful spirit Jenny, I know you'll be AWESOME! One day passed is always another day closer and SKYPE helps sooo very much in staying connected. Enjoy those easy meals with the kids, my poor kiddos lived off of the same stuff, including corn dogs ;) and as Jeannie mentioned above...you'll have more time to blog in the evenings! :) Stay strong and take advantage of lovely friends and neighbors that come out of the woodwork to help you out!

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  14. Praying for you all until Brady returns!

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  15. Great attitude, Jenny! My theory is that a good sense of humor and a can-do attitude can pretty much get you through any deployment. My husband just returned from a 7 monther in December and I blogged my ups and downs. You guys will do great and 5 months will fly by.

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  16. Jenny,
    So like you to make lemonade out of lemons. You have such a sweet attitude toward life. I'm not sure if you know this or not, but David and I (and our kids and grandkids) now live in Colorado Springs, a big Air Force Town. It would be great if you got stationed here at some time. It's a beautiful spot on God's beautiful earth.

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