He's Home For Dinner

This job here at the Air Force Academy isn't all roses and flowers. Once Brian starts flying he'll have long 12+ hour days sometimes. He'll work Saturday's some weeks and he's busy. But he's home. And he's safe.  (I mean I don't know how good he'll be at flying gliders but for the most part he's safe!) And I try every single day to be grateful for those two things because I know how fortunate we truly are.

I remember  the 4 deployments we had while at Offutt. There were many good days and there were many bad days too. The weekends were harder than the weekdays. And  I was usually fine during the day when we'd be doing our normal routines but dinnertime was always hard. There was just that fat reminder that the empty spot at the dinner table, that was Brian's, and he was gone.  I never knew how to cook for 1 that first deployment when it was just me and Brady who was an infant. And it was lonely to make just one plate and sit at the table. I remember hoping every day that his schedule would work out so that he could Skype with us while we ate so it wasn't so lonely.

Realizing how hard dinner was those first few deployments I made a point to have dinner with others. Sometimes I would invite deployment buddies over for dinner or accept an invitation for dinner at friends' houses because it made that time so much easier.  And I made a point too when my husband was home to invite those families over that had loved ones deployed.  My one dear friend invited us over almost every week during the deployments (thanks, Erin!!) and to her I am ever so grateful because it was a bright spot in our week to have others to dine with.

I was contacted by Hachette Books to read a copy of Sarah Smiley's book, Dinner With The Smileys*. I had heard of this story before, a Navy wife who invited a guest over for dinner every week for the year that her husband was deployed so that their dinner table wasn't empty. I was intrigued by the story so I instantly agreed to read it.

*I received this book free to review but all opinions and thoughts are truly my own.

About a week after I received it, I dug in and honestly couldn't put it down.  I would read and find myself nodding because I could just relate to so many of her feelings surrounding deployments.  "Dinnertime is usually the most difficult time for families separated by a military deployment. The service member's empty seat makes the absence that much more vivid." YES!  Just yes. And she spoke not only of the many guests that graced their home but of the emotions she went through, the problems she ran into with her boys, and her fears and hopes for the future.

So if you're going through a deployment, about to go through or have gone through deployments, I really recommend reading this book. And even if you're not military but have experience loss of a loved one, or frequent separations, or just want to read a touching story, you should really pick this one up. You can purchase it here via Amazon and here via Barnes and Noble.

After every deployment and now that Brian isn't deploying for awhile, dinner time is so, so special in our house. I love looking around the table and seeing the 3 people I love the most all together  sharing a meal. And I vow every day to feel grateful for this. I encourage you to reach out to family who is a missing a loved one.  Invite them over for dinner, share a meal with them or heck even bring them a meal and eat it with them. I know for a fact that you will make their day that much easier to get through.

Check out the new paperback edition, available September 16th!

We Didn't Stop

This weekend. We really didn't seem to stop at all. It was so much fun but man it feels like a Monday today.  We had some dear friends from Omaha come visit us this past weekend and we had so much fun! 

They got in Thursday night and we celebrated with some fajitas, brews, and plenty of catching up.

Friday morning we took them to go see the Academy.

Their son is exactly 2 months older than Layla. They're so cute together.

And we even got to see Brian getting an air medal for the combat missions he flew at Offutt.

After naps, we headed to Garden of the Gods.

It never gets old there, never.

There needed to be at least 1 good Layla meltdown. A trip out isn't complete without it.

"Daddy, we need to talk." It was probably about picking up snacks on the way home or something.

After Garden of the Gods we headed to Manitou Springs for some dinner and people watching. Oh, the people watching there.

Such tough Air Force guys. 

Margaritas at The Loop in Manitou!

Saturday was a really low key day. They headed to Denver to meet up with some friends and sight see and we relaxed and got stuff done around the house.

Saturday night we finished up with a BBQ and walk around the neighborhood.

Sunday morning the guys got up bright and early to climb the Manitou Incline.

If you can see that trail going up the center of the mountain, that's the Manitou Incline.

At the bottom of oh, about 5,000 stairs.

The views are pretty amazing, it's definitely going on my to do list! 

After the guys got back we hit the road for Paint Mines Park

We ate lunch in the one shady spot we could find, haha!

It was a pretty cool park but I think it would have been more fun to go on a shady day. And it was a bit of drive in the middle of nowhere. But it was cool to see and I'm glad we went at least once to check it out!

After naps we went to a super yummy restaurant, Colorado Mountain Brewery...SO GOOD!

Oh and did I mention that Layla INSISTED on bringing her baby in its carrier? So many people commented on awwwh how cute that was. Cute until it got too heavy and we had to carry it around. The looks we got.

Or when Brian did this.

Afterwards we went bowling (Layla's first time!)

So much fun! Definitely got the stares here too carrying the baby around.

But it was such a wonderful and busy weekend. We truly love having visitors and it was such a great time!

And I have to give a BIG thank you to all that voted for me the past couple weeks. I got #10 out of 50 wonderful military blogs! I made it in the top 10!!  Highlight of my month, for sure so thank you all for taking the time to vote!!