{Taking a little detour so y’all can learn a little bit more about the driver of this crazy train … that’s me, by the way. I’m the driver.}

Sooo this was supposed to be on Friday. I won’t bore you with the reasons I am writing this on Monday. But … pray for me, will ya? This single-mom/deployed husband bit is a SERIOUS roller coaster of emotions. Thanks friends. Movin’ on.

This is a nifty link-up called Ask Away Friday *hangs head in shame* wherein you trade questions with a fellow blogger and answer them on your blog. {This link up is hosted by Amber from Bold Fab Mom, Stacy from This Momma’s Ramblings, Tiffany from Mrs. Tee, and Penny from the Real Housewife Of Caroline Country.}

So I have the priviledge of being friends with the lovely NJ from A Cookie Before Dinner.

Now, to get technical, we haven’t actually met in real life, but it’s coming soon, it is! We got together in a writing group through in{courage} and have circled each other’s corner of the web for over a year now. And, I am oh-so-excited to be co-leading an in{courage} community group with her. And, this was her idea, and she actually did it last Thursday …. 

Without further ado … that time where I tell you lots of random and super-important things about me, as asked by NJ.

1. Do you have a life verse or quote that keeps you motivated? Oh to have to choose … I would say two things. First, Micah 6:8 is my heart for our little family. It’s pretty straightforward … He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? … And then usually I have a verse for the season that I am in. Deployment brings all sorts of uncertainty for our family … fear, and worry, and always the possibillty of our lives and {loves} changing in one shattering moment. And so I cling to the promise in 2 Corinthians 5:1-7 that I will be cared for no matter the circumstance, however hard it may be  …  For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens…So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,  for we walk by faith, not by sight. And that? Produces courage, and above all, hope.  

2. What is the hardest thing about having a spouse on deployment? I miss my best friend. We aren’t us without him. But the worst? The absolute worst is at night, holding my six year old while she is sobbing. And in between hiccups and heaves, she says “I miss my Daddy. I want my Daddy.” And there is nothing.to.say. And the whole first two months he was gone, every time the garage door opened, the two year old would jump up, grin, and say “Daddy?” And my heart would sink and I said no, and reminded him that it would be a whole lot of sleeps before we see Daddy again. And his little shoulders would slump and he would reply with “Aww.” The. Worst.

3. What do your kids fight about? Personal Space. Seriously, they love to invade it, and watch the other one do a slow burn. I don’t typically intervene until the screeching is unbearable or someone gets hurt.

4. If I was coming to your town, where would we go and what would we do? A tour of the helicopters at Husband’s airfield is a must. Most people never get to see them up close. I get excited every time we go. Beyond that, I’d say we’d probably play at the creek park, and if we really had time to get wild and crazy, I might drag you to Nashville for some live music. {Our absolute favorite thing to do sans children.}

5. What is on your nightstand (bonus points for a picture). Well, before I cleaned it off, there was a cloth diaper cover, multiple cups, one earring, two good behavior tokens, one baby UGG, diaper rash cream in a mason jar, and this book, that I am reading to the J Girl. And in related news, I kind of had to show you what was IN the nightstand … Pride and Prejudice for Zombies!! … and I do have a picture of that. {Along with Lone Survivor, multiple old journals, and a scarf I might finish knitting in the next five years or so.}

6. What is one thing you’re looking forward to this weekend? When this question was asked, I was SO EXCITED because one my oldest and dearest friends hauled herself from Charlotte NC in the throes of an ice storm just to hang out with me for the weekend. {And take me out on the town Saturday night, which consisted of Publix, WalMart, and sushi. And I had to buy wine for the babysitter{s}.} I am such a hot date. This weekend, Wee Man is turning three and we are all in for toddler chaos. His besties are coming over to play. He’s been “on the phone” with them all week.

7. I love your heart for others and the way you inspire. Who are some people that inspire you? My momma. She loves Jesus more than life. This momma … she knows grace, and living broken. I love her. More recently, this blogger and fellow Army wife. Read her story, but you will need A LOT of tissues, and it will challenge your understanding of a God who loves us and still allows hard, awful things to happen. Esther is my favorite Bible lady, for the record, but I have a soft spot for Hannah too. And veterans-their particular brand of selflessness is something most of us are unable or unwilling to comprehend. Wow … I could just keep going and going. Corrie Ten Boom. Davy VanAuken. Seriously, maybe we could just have this conversation in real life?

8. Tell me about your favorite vacation?  First, I have to give a shoutout to my funniest vacation, where we camped in a stranger’s yard when I was fifteen and the aforementioned strangers had a ridiculously goodlooking teenage son who was slightly discomfited by the weirdos in his yard. We did, however, get to swim with manatees in the wild, and by the end of the vacation, we were no longer strangers. My favorite would have to be our whirlwind European trip in the midst of our simultaneous deployments.It was sanity saving. I needed my Husband. {This is us, five years and 15 pounds ago.}

And we got to, among other things, visit a gloriously stinky cheese shop,

visit a weaving studio, see Gaudi’s genius, visit a Dali museum,

visit a Picasso museum, see Michelangelo’s David in real life, tour a French vineyard,

stuff our face with delicious food, fall in love with Florence {the Duomo here}

and stay in a five star hotel {where we routinely used the bellhop entrance because we were so uncomfortable}, It was a once in a lifetime experience for us.

9. What is one piece of advice you’d give to a new mother? I have two pieces of unsolicited advice. The rest you have to ask me specifically … {one} … Take all the advice you get with a grain of salt. Read all the books, consult the experts, then do what works for you and your family. {two} … Trust your mom sense. You know your baby better than anyone else in the whole world. If you think there is something wrong, then don’t hesitate to get it checked out. We’ve discovered raging asymptomatic double ear infections and abdominal migraines. Anything else? Call me:) I’ll talk your ear off about everything from breastfeeding to cloth diapers.

10. What is your favorite childhood memory? The Christmas my mother taught us  that the gift-giving experience was more important than money. Or the actual gift. {see #7}. To be fair, at the time, I didn’t know that was the lesson … I just thought it was so cool to be making my sister an apron … getting to sew like Mom? Check. Matching aprons? Check. Something we could use in the kitchen while we were cooking with Mom? Check.  My total present haul that year was two aprons and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why my friends were not overcome with envy. It wasn’t until adulthood that I learned that we, in fact, had no money for presents, and my mom took 99 cent dishtowels and taught us how to applique. Best. Christmas. Ever.

THIS WAS SO LONG. But fun, and now you know a lot more about me. Thanks, NJ!

If you stuck around to read this, I love you. Happy Monday.
~M.