Happy Monday!

"The days are long, but the years are short."

I read that quote today and thought how true it is! I have been thinking about it all day. Today seemed to drag on and on because I was trying to pack and clean and take care of Noah while hoping with everything I have that I would get a call from Trevor.. feeling like it had to be close to dinner time I looked at the clock and it was only 2:30! Geez. Well anyways, as I was feeling sorry for myself the thought came across, remember how fast the first year of Noah's life went by? I can't imagine if I waste today wishing for it to be over, and then before I know it he is 18 and moving out! And also, as hard and long as the days are right now without Trev, I know that 6 months really isn't that long when we have forever. Really, I CAN DO THIS. I know that when the time comes that we get to be with Trev again, I will look back and think how fast it flew by. So from now on every time I think how much I just want the day to end because it has been so darn long, I will try to remember how fast the years will fly by. LIVE IN THE MOMENT. APPRECIATE THE EVERY DAY. 

I have been expecting a letter from the army since friday, and today I put our netflix out in the mailbox to be returned and sat anxiously waiting for our mail to come. It usually comes around 11:30. Well pretty soon it was 5:00 and the maillady had not come. I wondered, "Is it a holiday that I don't know about?" or "I wonder if the maillady died?" and then, "I know she just must have skipped my house because she knew I was waiting for an important letter." Ya, I know, poor poor me. Haha. Well it started getting windy and didn't want our netflix to get blown away so I brought it in and what do you know the maillady comes about 20 minutes later. Really? But it was hard to be annoyed that I didn't get my movie returned when I HAD A LETTER FROM THE ARMY! Yes! I finally had an address for Trev! I could communicate with him again! I am thrilled. I am going to leave the house tomorrow morning as soon as noah wakes up to drop this letter in the mailbox at the post office so it hopefully will go out sooner! So far it has been a fantastic start to the new week!

Oh yea, and I also have gotten so much packing done today. I feel like superwoman getting packing and cleaning done all with Noah around. Sure there were a few setbacks but I feel great! We packed up my bedroom, the dinning room, the living room, and the bathroom. We also began cleaning! Tomorrow I have a huge to do list! So I'm gonna go now, and maybe get some more cleaning done while watching the season premiere of dwts! [and another really great thing about today is that it was the season finale of pretty little liars and the season premiere of dancing with the stars!]

New Playlist.

Oh ya the other day I made a new playlist for the blog. And it rocks. I totally relate to music. (Music and quotes have gotten me through everything hard in my life..) So of course it is music about being apart from the one you love. The songs touch me personally. Take a listen. :)

Ups and Downs..

Soo where to begin? Happy or sad? Haha. I'll vent first I guess. 

I am missing Trevor so bad. Holy shiz. I think I would be surviving better if I could at least communicate with him! I can't talk to him on the phone and haven't since last thursday. I don't have an address yet so I can't write to him. And it is just stressing me out! It's safe to say this has been a really hard week for me. I just keep telling myself 8 more weeks and you get to see him! I can do it! :) I took him for granted when I had him here, I just never realized. This whole 6 months apart thing is a real eye opener for me. I can already tell how much it is going to strengthen our marriage. It will be hard, but we both know how much we appreciate and love the other. That quote, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder." is so so true. It was easy for me to pick out Trev's flaws while he was here and see the negative 90% of the time... but now that he isn't here for me to lean on all I can think about is how incredible he is. This has been a very humbling experience. I am grateful for it. When I talked to Trev on thursday it was very rushed. He only had 3 minutes to basically let me know he was safe. This army way of life is going to take some getting used to. It's hard for me to not know when I will get to talk to Trev or not know how is doing. It's crazy that this is our life for the next 8 years or so.

Being Crazy

Sleepin with Daddy

Blessing Day

Some pictures of my two very favorite guys. Looking at pictures makes me so happy. :) Now onto the good stuff. I will finally be all moved to Malad this weekend. Hallelujah. I am looking forward to having help from my mom and dad and grandparents. And I al really happy to be so close to Autumn so we can help each other through this new experience. Last Friday I stayed the night with Auts and we seriously stayed up until 3 am talking. It felt like we were in college again... except we had to be up extra early with babies. We were regretting the late night around 2 the next day. Haha. But it was great to have someone to talk to again. I also went shopping at Just Imagine (in malad) and bought the greatest things. I am so excited. A little retail therapy does a lot of good for a girl. I'll post pics of my awesome stuff later. Oh and Noah is just fantastic. He knows where his tongue is now and claps all the time and puts his hands above his head to cheer. So cute. he is walking more than crawling now and is growing so fast it blows my mind. He is amazing in every single way. Well, that's all for tonight.

Blah night.

So I am finding out that one thing that is almost harder than just being away from Trev is the fact that I can't talk to him. So I have no idea how he is doing. And I still don't have his address so I have NO way of communicating with him.:( This is seriously so hard for me. All last week I was able to talk to him every night but the last time I spoke with him was Monday night and he said that would be the last time he was able to call for a week or two. And he still had no idea what his address was. I am freaking out right now. I need to be able to write him and encourage him and tell him how much I love him! I am scared. Ugh. He has been gone for a week and a half now and I think it is getting easier for Noah to be away from Daddy, but it's harder for me. This week has been a tough one. Noah is sick and I am trying to pack up our house and I am just missing Trevor. I know it will get better but right now is not so fun.
I am hoping to be all moved to Malad by next weekend. There is still a little work left on the town house and a whole lot of packing I need to do. So crossing my fingers to be outta here soon. I am lonelier than I ever imagined I could be. I have always enjoyed my "me" time but just me and noah all day every day is wearing on me. I guess I really took Trev for granted! Anyways I am excited to be home close to my mom and dad and friends. I will be living right around the corner from Autie and Bela so we will definitely be helping each other out. Thank goodness. I feel so grateful for the way the timing worked out on this Army thing. Thankful to have my best friend close by to be able to share this experience together. Okay time to quit typing and start writing letters to my address-less hubby. Haha. Goodnight!

Yummy Potato Soup

So I have the yummiest recipe for potato soup. Seriously. :) I just have to share.

7(ish) potatoes, diced

1-2 cups shredded carrots

2 cans chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream (I used whole milk)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp basil

1 TBSP garlic powder

precooked ham or bacon (optional)

8 oz cream cheese (i used the blocked of cream cheese and cubed it)

Put all ingredients EXCEPT cream cheese into a pot and bring to a boil, then cover and turn to low and let simmer for 2 hours or so. Then cut up the cream cheese and toss it in and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes.Serve with crumbled bacon or shredded cheese. It would be delicious with homemade bread. Yummo.

*I've also made this in the crockpot and i just put it in for about 5 hours on low and then add cream cheese and continue to cook for like 30-45 minutes. Super easy.*

I didn't take a picture but maybe I will the next time I make it. It is so so so good. I love it. 

fun finds from decluttering.

I found these quotes while cleaning out some stuff today and thought I would share..

"Choose your love, Love your choice."

"A couple that can still laugh together says a lot about them."

"You gotta stop thinking about it & just get over it. Forget about the bullcrap and make it work."

"Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other."

"On occasion we need to make a second effort and a third effort and a fourth effort, and as many degrees of effort as may be required to accomplish what we strive to achieve."

"Making a mistake isn't fatal. We make [discoveries] not mistakes."

"Learning is blocked when fear is present."

"Praise is the BEST motivator."

"Do what makes you happy, be with those who make you smile. Laugh as much as you breathe & love as long as you live."

"Our personal testimonies of these truths are the basis of our faith. We must nurture them. We must cultivate them. We can never forsake them. We can never lay them aside. Without them we have nothing. With them we have everything."

"The gospel is a thing of joy. It provides is with a reason for gladness. Of course there are times of sorrow. Of course there are hours of concern and anxiety. We all worry. But the Lord has told us to lift our hearts and rejoice."

"You are very precious, each of you, regardless of your circumstances. You occupy a high and sacred place in the eternal plan of God, our Father in Heaven. You are His daughters, precious to him, loved by Him, and very important to Him. His grand design cannot succeed without you."

"You did not come into this world to fail-you cam here to SUCCEED."

I am totally obsessed with quotes. Obviously. This isn't even the tip of the iceberg of by weird obsession. Haha. Anyways.

Why would you let your husband join the Army??

So a lot of people ask the question, " Why did Trevor join the army?" or something along those lines. It's a valid question. I would ask the same thing. I mean why on earth would a guy who has a wife and baby want to join the army and leave for 6 months of training, and then have the possibility of having to leave them again to go to war? And what about Noah? Would he forget who Trevor was, and how could Trevor leave his baby? Well here is the story behind the decision...

For Trevor, the army was a decision that took a long time to make. Since I met him he always said there was a part of him that wanted to join the military. I never in a million years thought he would do it, especially after we were married and had Noah. But that is just the way it worked out. Everything happens for a reason, and I am sure the timing on this is just the way it is supposed to be. Trevor has approached me about joining the army a few times so it's not like this come out of the blue. Of course, every time I shut him down. No way did I want to be an army wife. The idea scared me to death. But about 6 months ago, when Trevor told me he was going to talk to a recruiter, I just said okay. He came home and told me all about it. I wanted a list of AMAZING reasons why the army was the right thing for him and for us. Well, he surprised me with a lot of good things... It will pay for a good portion of his schooling, we will have awesome health insurance, he can finally get out of applebees, it will look really good on a resume, it's more money than we are making currently, and the list went on. Now with a list like that it was hard to say no. And he joined the Army Reserves, so we will not be stationed anywhere, Trevor can still come back and finish college. I still took about a week to think about it. Finally I said, well let's fast and pray about it and see if we still feel right about it. Well a month later we still felt good, so Trevor went and talked to the recruiter again. Around the end of November, Trevor went to MEPS (?) and signed papers and was sworn in. It was official. I about peed my pants. He would be leaving sometime in March. Now he is gone and we still feel like it was the right decision. The next 6 months will be hard, but it helps to know that this is what he is supposed to be doing. The thought that there is a possibility of him going to war terrifies me, but I try not to think about it too much, because that is a few years off. And if that happens, I will be even more proud of him for protecting our freedom and this great country.

People wonder what kind of crazy person I must be to LET my husband leave me and our baby for so long.... Well when it all came down to it, it was trevor's decision and I know that he was doing what is best for our family. I stand by and support my husband and his decisions. The army is something he wanted to do. He know it will benefit not only him, but me and Noah as well. I believe that is what our marriage is about, love and support and trust. I am so very proud of Trevor. The Army is not something to take lightly, it is a very serious thing, but I know that it is going to be great for Trev. (Hard as heck, but good.) Trev can do anything he puts his mind to, and he will do it well. I am grateful for Trevor and for all of the service men and women that keep our country safe. I have always been patriotic and appreciated the military, but it feels like all those feelings have been intensified. So for now I will hang this flag in my window and be proud of this Country and my husband.

The Beginning Of Our New Adventure

Right before we left for the airport.

So Trevor left for basic training on Monday and it has been a long week. Noah and I are really missing him. I just keep telling myself it will get easier and we slowly get used to him being gone. Noah keeps me busy so my mind stays occupied but I still miss Trev like crazy! And poor baby Noah doesn't know where Daddy went. He is so sad without him here. He will just point and make me walk all around the house looking for "Dada". It's been pretty rough around here. But every time we have talked to Trevor on the phone noah gets excited and smile and kisses the phone. :) It is pretty adorable. So Trevor will be in Basic training for 10 weeks and at that time Noah and I are going to fly out to Oklahoma to visit him for the weekend. After that he flies to Virginia to start 13 weeks of advanced training. Whoa. My husband is one busy guy and I am so very very proud of him. He is amazing.

Noah has been sad sad sad since daddy left. And Daddy is missing noah more than anything. When I talked to him last he said, "I miss Noah more than anyone and anything. Please send me pictures of him." I know Trev's heart is breaking to not be with Noah, they love each other so much. And I know Noah misses Trev too. I am sure blessed to have 2 amazing boys in my life.

Saying Goodbye!

Mommy and Noah missing Daddy already! We are so proud you, Trev! You are our hero!

Well, I am sure this is the first post of many of our new adventure [when I call it an adventure, I am trying to look at it positive, you like a fun, crazy new chapter in our lives..] I am so new to this Army thing, I am looking forward to learning new things and supporting my awesome husband any way I can. I am so grateful for him and our amazing family. :)