One day in early June, I got an e-mail from Matt saying that the ship might be stuck in Hawaii for awhile and to talk to my parents about watching the kids so I could fly out to meet him. A few days later he called and said, "Can you fly out here tomorrow?" I quickly packed my bags, bought tickets, and was on my way the next morning.
(It wasn't quite that simple. In fact, I recommend never using Travelocity for last minute travel plans, or any travel plans for that matter! If you want more details, let me know, but for now I will say that Travelocity cannot be trusted! I let them know that I would be spreading that information to all of my friends.)
Matt and I had a wonderful time in Oahu. It was so much fun to catch up, without the kids, after five long months! We counted this trip as our 8th wedding anniversary celebration. Its hard to believe that we have been married for eight years and have two little boys and a daughter on the way! God has blessed us beyond measure. He has given us far more than we ever dreamed possible! We were counting up Matt's sea time and figured out that he has been gone for about two years of our eight years of marriage. That's one way to strengthen your marriage, learn to communicate, and become dependent on God for everything!
Here are a few highlights from our amazing week!
This is looking down on Hanauma Bay, where we went snorkeling and enjoyed the beach.
This is Waimea Bay on the north shore. It was my favorite beach and swimming spot. After our day at that beach, we had shave ice and a fun walk through the little surf town of Haleiwa.
We spent one day visiting the Arizona Memorial and some of the other memorials in Pearl Harbor. The memorials seemed even sadder with the U.S.S. Stennis in the harbor, knowing that I would soon be sending Matt back out to sea. I just wanted to take him home with me!
We spent our last night at a luau in Paradise Cove.
It was a beautiful evening and a fun end to our trip.
A beautiful sunset... just so happy to be together!
We stayed right on Wikkiki Beach. This was the view from our porch. We loved opening the doors and enjoying the view and the sound of the surf.
One last picture in front of the statue of Duke, the surf legend. We ate dinner at Duke's that night and then Matt had to drop me off at the airport. I cried, of course, it was really hard to leave him, but encouraging to know that we only had one month left of this crazy deployment!
When I got home, Zach was thrilled that I came back and Andy was mad at me for not bringing Daddy back with me. I am always amazed at the things that go through these little guys' heads. They have done so well with this whole deployment and all of the changes they have been through. I am so proud of them!
Thankfully there are not many links left on our deployment chain!
We finally made it back home after almost three months of traveling and visiting our family on the east coast. As you will see, I have back dated several posts to try to get this blog up-to-date before June comes to an end! I am going to try to stay current as we approach Daddy's homecoming and the birth of our little baby girl. We are settling in after being gone for so long, counting the single digit days until Daddy's homecoming, and patiently waiting to meet Ellie Kate in about five short weeks. God has faithfully sustained us during this challenging time. It could have been much more challenging if we had been at home. We are so thankful for a close knit extended family that loves being together, even when living under the same roof for months at a time! We are truly blessed! Here is my latest belly shot. According to my last ultrasound, Ellie Kate is up to about five pounds! She is already trying to keep up with her big brothers! Please join us in praying that the doctors will agree to induce early! I really don't want to have any more ten pound babies!
