The Ball

In the beginning of December, the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade held their "ball." It was at a resort in Alexandria Bay, NY. It was a typical tradition-filled Army ball, and it was quite enjoyable once we finally got to eat. I even danced a little bit. It is always fun to meet Matt's friends who he flew and worked with in Afghanistan. Captain Hill was deployed at a different area in Afghanistan, but he and Matt have been good friends since flight school in Alabama.


I have made some amazing friends in New York. These are 3 of them who helped me tremendously through the deployment. We had a supper club together every Friday night throughout the whole year. There was nothing more therapeutic for me than being around women who knew exactly what I was going through. Thank you to these ladies for being there for me!

Disney and my Deployment Gift

In early November we took a family trip down to Alabama and Florida. We drove down to Enterprise, AL to close on a home we decided to buy at the end of Matt's deployment. We bought the house without seeing it in person, so it was comforting to finally see the house and realize we love it! We then went down to Disney World to meet up with Matt's parents. Matt grew up in Kissimmee, FL which is right by Disney World, so I finally got to see his old stomping grounds. Roger LOVED meeting princesses, riding on rides, and spending time with Nana and Papa. He left with two lipstick kisses on each cheek, one from Cinderella and one from Rapunzel. It was so much fun.



We were also able to meet up with Roger's big Papa (the other Roger Stockton) and our Aunt Rhonda. Papa and Rhonda helped Matt and me through the past deployment SO much with gifts, emails, and phone calls. Their support was very much appreciated and it was wonderful to thank them in person. Roger got to practice the organ with Papa and proudly received one of his paintings (snow leopard, but Roger called it baby Jaguar due to Diego's influence).





When an army brigade comes home from a deployment (at least at Ft Drum) you see a TON of new vehicles driving around. I remember when a brigade got home while Matt was gone I think I saw at least 3 new Range Rovers in one drive from post to home. One perk of deployment is the pay, so it's always interesting to me to see what people buy as their "deployment gift." I have one friend who once got a Lexus while another one got a BMW. Well, our "deployment gift" was to invest in a home at Ft. Rucker, where we will be stationed next. It is Matt's dream home on a golf course. I love it too. It certainly gives us something to look forward to when we head back down south!

Roxie turns 1 on Nov 5

Poor Roxie. We never really had a "birthday party" for her. We rushed her cupcake/singing time and Roger opened all her presents for her. Good thing she won't remember.

Halloween

I still hate Halloween, but I love candy. Every time I asked Roger what he wanted to be he would say "a pink giant." Well, a few days before Halloween I was complaining to my friend that I'm a bad mom because I didn't have a costume for my child, and she saved the day with the Lion costume displayed below. Matt took Roger trick or treating while I stayed home waiting for Roxie to wake from her nap.

Complete

It finally happened. In late October Matt returned home safely. Ever since he got back, blogging just doesn't seem a priority. Now that the honeymoon phase is over and Matt has to work again, I am back to blogging. I want to describe a little bit about the homecoming ceremony.

I looked forward to Matt's homecoming ceremony more than I had ever looked forward to anything in my life. I meticulously cleaned my house, shaved my legs, tried on outfit after outfit, the list goes on. He got home around 10:00 pm. I had the kids in bed by 8:00 and my nice neighbor came over to sit at the house while I went to pick him up at the airfield. I had envisioned this drive over and over in my head for a year. I was elated. I got to the airfield an hour early, talked with some friends, and the hanger door went up. The formation walked in, the band played the Star Spangled Banner, and the soldiers sang a couple of songs. The patriotism in the room was strong and emotional. Matt and I made eye contact soon after his formation stood still, so right after the verbal release, we were able to embrace. It is a hug I won't forget for a long time. I couldn't believe we made it. He was safe and in my arms. Heaven.

The two greatest things about having him home:
1-no more worrying about getting the dreaded knock on the door
2-being able to hand over my kids to their dad

Making time go fast

A few weeks before Matt came home, my parents came to visit to help the time go by fast. We went to Palmyra, Lake Placid, and Niagara Falls. Fall in Northern New York is by far the best. The colors are amazing. It was great to have my parents here to help with the kids and help me prepare to welcome home my husband.

Right before our ride on Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls

Roger and Grandma in the Sacred Grove

Family pic in the Adirondacks

Hard

The last part of a deployment is hard (for me). It goes by SOOOOO slow. I'm sick of waiting for him to come home; I just want it to be our turn. We have approximately one month left. I stay busy and involved, but at the end of the day, Matt's still 6000 plus miles away in combat. Yuck.



On a brighter note, he's still sexy.