A long time coming

I haven't updated this blog in over a year. Amazingly, so much has happened in our lives. With working full time, running two home based businesses and keeping up with two toddlers I barely have time to think -- let alone blog. But I really want to get better at this, especially with the upcoming year we have ahead of us.

The Air Force has given Antjuan orders to Korea, which means the kids and I will be moving back to my hometown to live with my parents while he is gone. It is only for a year, but in that year he will miss birthdays, holidays, specials outings and tons of other small things. Just those every day happenings that most parents get to enjoy.

Amaya, who is now 3 and 1/2, will be 5 by the time he returns and Deshawn aka Bubba, who just turned 2, will be just shy of 4. Thinking about that blows my mind!

Have I said how over-the-moon excited I am to leave Louisiana, though!! I couldn't be happier!! Now if only the Air Force would tell us where we will be going after he comes home. And so starts the waiting game ...

However, I do vow to begin updating this blog more. Hopefully ... weekly.

Update

I have totally failed at updating this blog. After the return of my husband, and then birth of our son, my world is constantly moving.

But a quick rundown of events since September.

Antjuan returned home to Amaya and I. We were so glad to have him back with us, and Amaya didn't take long to warm up to him. I guess seeing him through Skype helped a lot.

Antjuan was at home for his two weeks of R&R, went back to work for one shift, then I went into labor with our son. I was having contractions starting Oct. 9, and went into the hospital Oct. 10 around 10 a.m. Deshawn Quincy Hill was born at 7:20 p.m. Oct. 10, 2010. That's right, his birthday is 10-10-10...awesome right!?!

After 8 weeks of maternity leave, I returned back to work and have been going full force ever since. I even started my own at-home business. I am now a Thirty-One consultant. If you are wondering exactly what Thirty-One is visit www.mythirtyone.com/daniraye84 and you can see all of our products.

My parents, sister and brother-in-law came down to our house for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to have my entire family together. Although the week went by extremely fast, it was nice seeing them all.

Amaya is growing up way too fast. We are still working on potty training, and she is doing very well. She has moved up to the Preschool class at daycare, and can even say her ABCs. She is so smart and does something new to amaze me each day.
Deshawn is 3.5 months old now. It is so bittersweet for me since he is my last baby. It seems like he is doing everything very fast. He is sitting up already, and started rolling over at like 1 month. Although I know I cannot stop time, I wish it would slow down so I can enjoy the moments that I cannot get back.

It is fun watching them both grow together though. Amaya adores "Bubba." And he just stares and smiles at her. He loves watching everything she does. I know they are going to be best friends.

So, there is my update. Our family of 4 is doing great and loving every minute of being together again. Although life in the military can be stressful, and down right miserable sometimes, it makes the times when we are all together and happy all that more special.

Next week...

my husband will be home! I cannot believe it! These past four months went by much faster than I thought they would. I guess taking care of Amaya, the house and dealing with the pregnancy made time go by fast.

Now if only our son decides to stay in until Daddy returns. The doctor gave me a two-week window to give birth, and that was a week-and-a-half ago. Being on bedrest and taking care of Amaya alone is very hard. The only time I am truely able to rest is when I take her to daycare. Although, I hate taking her to daycare because I get lonely at home all day by myself. I guess that is just me being an emotional mommy. Pretty soon there will be no "lonely" moments in this house. The hubby will be home for two weeks straight on R&R and then a crying baby will follow shortly after. But I wouldn't trade any of it for any amount of money.

I cannot wait to get the phone call saying "Honey, I will be home tomorrow. My plane lands a XXX." The excitement is almost uncontrollable. My family will be together again =)

Only 30 more days!?!

I cannot believe that we are within 30 days of this deployment being over. Time has really passed much quicker than I thought it would.

When I said that to my husband the other day, his response was "Yeah, maybe for you." I guess Amaya has really kept me busy.

I am hoping that he will be home by my birthday, Sept. 15, but I am not banking on it. Somehow the military always has a way of spoiling hopes. But on a positive note we do at least have an end in site!

Now to get our new house ready for Daddy's return. And to get new outfits for Mommy and Amaya to surprise Daddy with at the airport.

Better late then never

I realize that I have not blogged in awhile. Life often gets away from us faster than expected, especially when caring for an active 16-month-old, working full time, dealing with a high-risk pregnancy and in the process of moving. All of this done while also dealing with the emotional strain of a deployment...what was I thinking!?!


Since my last update, Amaya and I went on a vacation to Virginia to visit my family. I stayed for almost two weeks, and Amaya had an extended vacation as she stayed with my parents for an extra week. She had a blast, and came back having learned new habits (some good and some bad) and growing more than I could have imagined. That week we were separated was a hard week for me. Not that I didn't enjoy the peace and quiet around the house, but it was lonely coming home to an empty house. It was also the first time I had ever been away from her for more than 10 hours at a time. Thank God for Skype. It was a little easier being able to see her face through a computer screen.


Having her home was a breath of fresh air. Now if only we can get Daddy home, our family will be complete again. But we are in the last month and then we will be together once and for all.


We have also moved into a new, bigger house. The two bedroom we were in was starting to get a little crowded, and would have been more crowded with the baby coming in less than 70 days. We were able to move into a brand new house that was recently built by the privatized housing company Pinnacle-Hunt. The floor plan is amazing and I am in love with it. Now to get it set up before Daddy comes home...yeah, that is the challenge.


I was thinking the other day how this deployment has taught me so much. It has taught me how to be strong, to have faith and to be the best mother that I can be. Although I know that my husband is doing what he needs to do to protect our freedoms, it is hard to be the one left back home. I know it must be harder on him not being able to be here first hand to "protect" and care for his family. Our little family is definitely tied together with love. Not a day goes by that I don't get to hear my loves voice, and for that I am thankful. Every minute away from him is hard, but it is also one minute closer to being in his arms again.


The life of a military family is hard. Constant separations, worries, recalls and moving can add to the stress in which families already feel. But in the larger scheme of things, we are able to say that the leader of our family is a true American Hero! Not only is he a hero for being a wonderful family man, but he also fights for men and women that he has never met. For children, like ours, to have the right to grow up to be whatever they desire.


He is my hero! I love you, baby!

her first sentence

Amaya made me cry this morning, she said her first real sentence.

The fact that she said a sentence isn't the reason I cried, it is what her first sentence was.

"Mama, Dada is gone."

I almost wrecked the car. Did she just say that!?! And trust me it was clear as day.

Almost immediately, well after I got over the shock of her saying a full sentence, my eyes started to tear up. I wonder if she realizes what she said. So many questions have run through my head since those four little words were spoken.

Why would she say that? Is it because she hasn't seen him in two days? Because he hasn't held her in two months? Did she overhear someone say that her Daddy was gone?

Mainly, I want to know if she truly does understand more than we think she does. Does she realize that Daddy isn't really at work like Mommy keeps saying he is?

I didn't want to drop her off at daycare this morning. I wanted to turn the car around, take her home and hold her all day long.

Single mother...what?

Someone recently said to me "I don't know how you do it as a single mother." Until then I had never thought of myself as a single mother, and to be honest I still don't.

In my opinion a single mother is someone who doesn't have the support of a spouse or other parental unit. I have the support from my spouse, he just happens to be in another country right now.

It's true that I have to play the role of both Mommy and Daddy while he is gone, but he is still a large part of my daughter's life. We Skype as much as possible and there are tons of photos around the house that she talks to constantly. She never goes to sleep at night without her Dada, the doll, and she even gives him a good night kiss!

She often breaks my heart by asking for him, or even going to other rooms calling his name. I wish the military didn't have to take him away from us, but I know he is away for a good reason.

Now Americans can go to bed at night safe and free because my husband is defending their freedoms, in turn making me a proud wife and "single mother."