The End of Another Deployment

My hubby is coming back from his 5th deployment in 2 days!!! I've been doing a countdown with Dylan, even though he is probably really confused about numbers now, because we went from 4 days to 7 days to 5 days due to schedule changes. I am so excited for him to see the kids, to see all the know things Dylan has learned, to see how chunky adorable Lyla is. I will feel so relieved to have us all together as a family, to have things back to normal, even if it's just for a little while. This deployment has been really challenging for me, with a toddler and new baby, just seeing if I can make it one more day off of a few hours of sleep. Keeping the house tolerably neat, and still being a good enough mom to spend quality time with my babes, putting the Thomas tracks back together for the 15th time, restacking blocks, or just taking time to rock Lyla to sleep. My fallback verse for these past five months has definitely been, "The Lord never gives you more than you can bear." Amen, thank you Jesus. People sometimes say, "I don't know how you do it", with Bear (my husband) gone all the time, and the kids. I don't feel sorry for myself. I am so grateful for my husband's job, for my family, for the way God always takes care of us. Rewind, say, 6 years. Just about to meet Bear. I had no idea the paths my life would take. That I would be a military wife, stay-at-home mommy, a thought of a career for myself looking more and more distant. I would have NEVER imagined myself here. Is that a bad thing then? No! God is so amazing. Life is not about glorifying ourselves, or serving ourselves. There is another verse (I can never remember where these are located)that says something like, "Get rid of your selfish ambitions, vain desires....clothe yourselves with humility..." It can be so hard to put away ourselves and allow God to do what He will with us, isn't it? Especially when it goes against what society would consider "successful". I have a job. It's being an exceptional wife and mother, and it's mentally, emotionally, and physically challenging in ways most careers just arent. And there's no lunch breaks, 8 hr days, or vacations. But it pays with a full-hearted joy and contentment nothing could ever match! Funny of the Day: Troy (our black n tan coonhound mix) will take any rawhide bone you give him and hide it really good, he will never chew it or enjoy it. Today I was changing our sheets and found said treat wedged nicely between the headboard and mattress. I gave it back to Troy, who looked flabbergasted I actually found it. He proceeded to roam the house for the next 15 minutes searching for a REALLY good spot. And if you happen to look while he is hiding it, he gets very upset, removes the treat, and searches for a new place. Those bones are a heavy burden on him. Lesson of the Day: Swiss cheese seems to mold faster than other cheeses. Eat it first.