Tuesday, July 19, 2011

NC Wedding Extravaganza and Family Vacay

July somehow ended up jam freakin packed. Granted it is mostly all good stuff, minus me being by myself for two weeks while Trent was at camp, and some of it is superfantastico stuff yet to come, like NC Wedding Extravaganza and Family Vacation of Amazingness. So I am not complaining at all. But take a gander at my calendar for July. Some of the days can't even fit all the items on them and have little arrow indicating there is mooore:




Eesh. Scary.


And then there is August:



Will you all join me in a collective sigh of relief? Aaaaah. Very nice. So yes, I am looking forward to August, BUT not as much as I am looking forward to my trip to North Carolina this weekend for Rach's NC Wedding Extravaganza 2011. I'm driving to Dallas tomorrow evening to be a bum on Steph's sofa (she loves me, it's ok) for the night, then she and I are flying to Charlotte, NC the next morning to pick up our "special, special" rental car (whatever that means) and begin our trek through the mountains to find the country inn wedding destination. Via a grocery store which we have yet to find and a supplier of ingredients for SWall's Margs, which we also have yet to find. Hurray for GPS and smartphones.

There's the bride-to-be in the middle. Aaaaaw. Here ends the normal pictures for this post pretty much.


It's going to be a great weekend. Get EXCITED!




I'm sure we'll have some special reminiscing about the good ole days at Baylor.



We'll probably take some pretty awesome model-esque photos in our wedding attire.




Hopefully nobody gets too stressed out and we don't have to do any freaking out. (Or passing out.)




We'll probably ponder the importance of Rach's marriage vows to Matt.




Maybe I will share some advice on housekeeping and such for their new casa.




And I am sure we will continue our tradition of lots and lots of SCRUNCHY FACE PICTURES!!!










Don't ask. We don't know how it got started...


And then Rach and Matt will be married, live happily ever after and whisk themselves away to their honeymoon while Steph and I will return to Tejas and the triple digit heat. I think the newlyweds win. The good news is, just three work days later, Trent and I will be whisked away by his parents, along with sister, bro-in-law and little bear nephew, for a four day family vacay to Broken Bow, OK. Hiking, grilling, canoeing, swimming, fishing, hottubbing, relaxing, sleeping. This is our actual cabin:

Mmmmm, yes pleeeease.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Ready to Have My Husband Back

Well, Trent has been gone about a week and a half now and I am soooo ready for him to come home. Have to make it till Saturday. I have been pretty busy in the meantime though. Not busy enough to not miss him or to not feel lonely, but busy nonetheless.

Last Monday-painted the dining room (yes, for those of you keeping track, that was the second time. It is much better now)

Tuesday-work and Financial Peace University class (more on that later...maybe)

Wednesday-work and Sound of Music and spaghetti with MK

Thursday-work and roller skating with the youth group

Friday-Sunday - went to Winnsboro for some R&R with the in-laws and lots of nephew smooches. We all trekked down to Athens on Saturday and visited Trent for a few hours in between his two camps.


This is a picture of a picture, but it is a total WINNER:

I showed it to Aunt Delicious and she said it looks like he will start talking about the deficit at any time...


MISS HIM!!!

I actually swung back by the camp on my way home Sunday and got to spend another hour with Trent since the kids didn't get there until about 4. We walked around the lake to the big cross, then sat on a bench in the shade and stared at the lake and talked. It filled up my tank again to get me through this week, I think...

Monday- chosen for jury duty! Then went to bed at 8:00 a) because I was still tired from staying up till midnight talking with my mother in law on Saturday and b) jury duty is exhausting!

Today-more jury duty then FPU class.

Tomorrow-work and youth group at Kiddie Land

Thursday-Friday - my world travelling, brown as a bean, just back from Brazil sister is coming to visit me!

Saturday-MY HUSBAND RETURNS TO ME!!!!!!! We have scheduled a nap date then a real date.

Now, I must go to sleep so I can gear up for more jury duty in the morning. Goodnight.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

A Day in the Life of a YM Wife

I waved goodbye to my husband today as he rode off to two straight weeks of church camp. Of course he had to stop and get coffee grounds for his camp stint, so we said our goodbyes at Starbucks.

He doesn't know I took these pictures. And the only reason I took these pictures was in anticipation of a blog post (also partly because I think he looks schmexy on his motorcycle). And that bag is just his bedding and one change of clothes. His suitcase is going tomorrow with the kids in the van...even he couldn't pack for two weeks in a motorcycle bag...



I originally intended for this to be a blog post of wit, bravery and insight into the life of a YM wife left alone while her YM husband goes away to various long church events like mission trips and camps. I also thought maybe this year wouldn't be so bad because I had gone through this separation last year already and now know how it goes. Well, original blog intentions be darned and really I was just in denial leading up to his departure.

This stinks.

Trent and I are such a unit, such a part of each others lives that it is rough when we are apart. And we have never been apart for as long as two weeks, since we've been married. I will get to go see him for a few hours on Saturday in between Niners ending and staff duties for Eighters beginning. In the meantime, I will try to keep myself busy, which will be easy since I find myself booked with something almost every evening that he is gone, including overseeing youth group at Skate World. Saweeeeeeet! I lurv rollerskating. Watch out.

Anyway. After Trent left, the remaining Futrals were somewhat out of sorts. The cat was sad that daddy took his motorcycle jacket, which is very regularly her bed (I don't actually know that she was sad, but she had to find another place to sleep: his tool bag...comfy?). I ate a whole box of macaroni for dinner, after making a special emergency trip to Walgreens to get some. Then I found that the precious idiot below got a hold of one of my new Teva sandals, which I adore, and did a little teeth cleaning on it...

I freaked out and put her outside, meanwhile slapping my own hand with the sandal in anger, which was stupid because I think it burst a blood vessel in my victim thumb, which is now somewhat purple and hurt really bad for a while. So basically I lost it and the tears I had unconsciously been holding in since Trent left let themselves go. Over a sandal. Oh, and the whole being without my husband for two weeks thing. Meanwhile I was texting with him and he was sweet and encouraging as usual and told me to go get new sandals tomorrow. But I calmed down and trimmed the edge of the sole she chewed on and it looks ok. It just looks like I was hiking and a jagged rock took a chunk out of it or something. Riiight, Anna hiking? Pssh.

I'm rambling. And I don't think I really have a point other than maybe that there are some sacrifices to make in ministry. There are times when I want to have dinner at home but Trent has to go to a meeting. Each summer I'm guaranteed about two weeks without my husband. Would have been three this year if I hadn't gone on the mission trip too. But that's all ok. We'll make it through and Trent will have a blast in the meantime. He loves camp and has been excited to go and I am excited for him. Ministry is about putting others before yourself a lot of the time. A good minister can't just be focused on themselves or else they wouldn't get any ministering done! My cop out is that I am a CPA, not a minister, so I am allowed to cry about my husband being gone... But in all seriousness, in ministry others come first.

I'd also like to give a shout out of sorts to any spouses of military personnel who get deployed on missions, of any length, to anywhere. Frankly, I don't know how you do it. After the stupid sandal freak out, I thought about it, that Trent is away for two weeks of fun with youth, and only two weeks. Not 3 months, 6 months, a year. He's not in another country, he is an hour and a half away. I can do two weeks. I'll still miss him, but I can do it.

Ok I'm done. Finally.