Life lately

If you are reading this I give you major thanks and props because that is a true follower :) I am going to try and recap what all has been going on for us in the last year, I seriously can't believe it has been almost a year since I have blogged!! Life has been one roller coaster ride after another and my little space on the big WWW has gotten so neglected. I have really been starting to feel like I am losing myself in all the chaos and have decided that I need an outlet just for me (besides shopping). As I type this both kids are down for a nap and this is my first attempt at a crib nap with Harper so if all goes well I will be able to have some "me" time and get back into writing. Now I know I am getting ahead of myself since I am pretty sure my last post was about just finding out we were pregnant so let me back up a bit and start some recap...

When we found out that I was pregnant we knew there was a possibility of a year deployment for the hubs that coming summer but I didn't really think it would actually happen, I mean doesn't the arrival of a second child grant the father a pass from any type of deployment (I guess I should have learned my lesson from when the Hubs deployed for 6 months right after Hudson was born). Once the Hubs got it in the my thick head that it was still a very real possibility I decided it was okay since he would leave in June and the baby was due in April so he wouldn't miss anything. We then decided that if it was to happen we would move to California to live with my parents for the year since we would be moving from Utah right when he got back and that would allow us to save money and have extra help. So all that to say I was prepared for this possible deployment as much as a pregnant spouse can be. What I wasn't prepared for was getting orders in late october that had him officially reporting to Korea for a year remote in February! Did I mention the baby was due in April?? After many freak out moments and realizing that we only had 3 months to get someone to rent our house, figure out the new living arrangements and life in Cali and trying to pack everything we needed for the year while being in Hawaii for 3 weeks in December (planned way before all this) I had no choice but to be okay with this and move on. I was actually in pretty good spirits at first and excited to get to spend some time with family and friends here in Bako.

We had a blast in Hawaii but dealt with some terrible two's moments with Huds as he seemed to being in a throwing phase and would pick up glasses at restaurants and throw them on the ground breaking them. Many times I just tried to pretend I didn't know him :) Once we got back though it was a mad race to get everything done. We got the house packed out about a week before we left utah and so we stayed in a town place suites for the last bit. I ended up getting the stomach flu while we were there and I can't say enough how horrible stomach flus while pregnant are (and i had two during this pregnancy)! The Hubs came with us to bako and we enrolled Hudson in preschool and got all the Dr stuff set up for me. My parents we also very nice to watch Hudson over night so we could have some last alone time before he left. Right before Josh left for Korea we found out that most likely he would be able to come back for the baby's birth and I was so excited! Oh and I forgot to mention that while still in Utah we found out we were having a girl :)

I have to say the two months from when Josh left and the baby was born was one of the hardest and most stressful times I have experienced! I never really thought that this type of move and deployment would be so hard on Hudson but the poor guy had some really rough times and continues to have them so if you think about it please pray for him, he misses his daddy but doesn't understand totally where he is or how to appropriately express his emotions. We also dealt with a lot of sickness at this time due to Hudson starting preschool and had our first experience with Hand Foot and Mouth..not fun :( A little advise to any military spouses who might go through this at some time...make sure you get the insurance and doctor stuff set up right away because when they are sick and you can't get into the doctor it is horrible. After a 4 hour round trip drive to Edwards AFB to switch insurances (all while trying to get Hudson to keep a bucket in his lap incase he threw up) and two urgent care visits we luckily had it figured out.

The baby's due date was April 13th so Josh arrived a few days before with the plan for me to be induced on the 11th. We were so happy to have him with us even if it was only for a week.

Harper Grace was born on April 12th weighing 6 lbs 12 ozs and her birth story deserves a separate post which will hopefully come soon!

We had a great week with Josh and kind of adjusting to a family of 4. My SIL also came out and it was so much fun to have her out here! Harper as been a true joy but if I am completely honest it has been a hard adjustment for me to go from having one child to two and back to infant mode. She is a lot different than her brother but just as active which threw me off since I kept thinking I could do the same things I did with Hudson and they would work. Not so much but now that she is 4 months old I feel like we are starting to get in our grove and I have started figuring her out more :) Hudson still isn't a huge fan of hers and likes to Roar in her face which causes her to cry or hit her or drop things on her face...we are working on all of that right now :) The one thing he loves though is bath time with his sister. A few weeks ago when my parents were out of town I decided to try to bathe them together and ever since then Hudson always asks for her to join him in the bath..so cute! I think that he will be an amazing big brother, there are just a few things to work through and once she can hit back he better watch out!

There is more that I want to recap, like our trip to Korea to visit the Hubs and our latest trip to Vegas by myself with the kids but I don't want to make this too long so I will save those for a different post. So here we are...6 months down, 6 months to go with a almost 3 year old and a 4 month old. Life is never boring and many days I want to pull out my hair (which hudson and harper usually do for me) or go hide in a corner but every day gets better and I wouldn't give it up for anything! We miss Josh more than I can even express and dream of what it will be like to be a complete family of 4 in our own home but it really makes us appreciate all that God has blessed us with :) Recently our car was involved in a hit and run and I posted about it on Instagram and FB with a comment saying I think that God things I can handle more than I can handle. A friend pointed out that sometimes God gives us more than we can handle so we turn to him. I really feel that is what we are going through right now...things haven't gone the way I planned and I kept trying to fix them on my own when only God can fix them. He is working on me hard core right now and as much as it hurts it also heals and makes each day seem easier and better because I am relying on Him and not just myself. If we get nothing else from this deployment that alone is worth it!

Stay tuned for more about our crazy that and hopefully I will get it all written before we head out on a two month road trip..Yikes! I will post pictures soon I just have to get them linked to my computer.