One of my many favorites from our pictures

Week 33!

33 weeks and almost done!! The excitement here (and I am sure in Afghanistan too) is building! Every day, every week, is closer to Chris coming home. As of today it is looking like about 2 weeks until he leaves Afghanistan!! This journey is almost over but not over yet. It will not be over until he gets off the plane in September. Until then we are chugging along. Last week I began to try and organize all of Audrey stuff from when she was a baby. I have been organizing our attic and trying to sort the 15 totes (literally) of her baby clothes. I have kept everything! So I have been going through stuff that I can give to Carter and pack the rest away. Yes, that is right as the question continues to pore in... Audrey will be waiting for a brother or a sister for awhile. Initially, we wanted our kids close in age but the military had different plans. So what is the rush now. We are just enjoying time as a family before we add onto it :) Plus, Carter takes care of all the baby fever I have! Anywho, last week was pretty exhausting for me as we had tractor pulls and move in weekend at BG so that makes for very busy and long days but I made it out alive. And Sunday we spent with the family for my Grandmas 80th birthday party!

 Looking at this week, school has started for me and I cannot say I am as excited with the amount of things going on this fall but this must be done. Only three classes left to take before I finally graduate and this has definitely been a long road but soon it will come to an end and I could not be more excited :) Chris has been my biggest supporter and without his support and us making the decision for me to only work part time while he was deployed I probably would have never been able to finish up school.  So even with homecoming, vacations, family time, holidays and everything he missed last year I must still keep my head on straight to finish out my degree.

This week is also Fleet Week here in Toledo. Saturday we will be running the Heroes Run in Downtown. Actually we will be walking it because I want Audrey to be there and I will be walking with my good friend Katelyn, who due to military injury cannot run. What a great cause and what a great way to support Heroes in Action who have supported our family and Chris through this whole deployment. Without organizations like these it would make deployed life much harder here and in Afghanistan. 

 I have been having some disciplinary problems with Audrey in the last few weeks. Tantrums, screaming, everything I say to her she says no, you know the typically 3 year old attitudes. And while sometimes I feel like I am at my wits end with her I think she has fared pretty this year. She is perfect for everyone else but when it comes to me she thinks she can get away with crap... I guess this is pretty normal :) She is a good kid she is just under excruciating circumstances and I think she has done amazing! She is definitely not the baby Chris left in December and we not only realize that but others do as well. Look at the picture at the beginning of the blog and look at her now. Look how much she has grown up in the last year. She is turning into a very smart and beautiful kid! I know how excited Chris is to get home with her and make up for the last year. And she is just as excited :)) 

So here we have it folks, down to the last few weeks. This is almost over. Within 2 weeks Chris will fly out of Afghanistan and then within 10 days (hopefully) he will be in Ohio! This week is half over already and time is really moving now. We have begun plans for a Coming Home party as well as finalizing details for vacation! We are getting there :)))

Grandma's 80th Birthday Party

Okay, in my opinion anyone who has 13 kids should not just have a birthday party, they should have a parade! That's right my amazing grandmother had 13 kids and she is still as young and fit as ever at age 80. 

Her and my Grandpa raised 13 great kids which in turn has made for a lot of grand kids as well as great grand kids now as we begin to get older. What a great family we have! I love having a big family and the fact that we are all very close. 

The kids minus a few

And the in laws

That is a pretty good lookin' family. Some of the grand kids and now great-grand kids! The Gargac family is growing and growing :)

Carter just being cute like usual...

Serious man time

Party Time

 I love this little man!

Audrey hanging with Beth and Emma

Grandbabies everywhere :)

Beautiful ladies

What a great birthday celebration for an amazing woman. She raised 13 great kids who have now instilled the same important values into their kids. And we are now instilling the same important values and traditions into our families and children. Happy 80th Birthday Grandma!

Week 32!

Well considering it is Friday of Week 33 and I am just now posting Week 32 so you can imagine how the last few weeks have went...  crazy and fast! No complaints here :) Week 33 was filled with the circus, pictures, a weekend up North and a "official scheduled" date to leave Afghanistan (and it is less than a month away!!)

Two of the cutest kids I know!

Our busy week last week started with a photo shoot by a good friend of mine who happens to be a photographer. We won a free session with her while attending a benefit for the Wounded Warrior project for a friend of hers who was a Marine and had died earlier this year. She does amazing work and the pictures turned out beautifully! Check out a few of the sneak peak from the last post here! Or check out my Facebook there are a ton there as well! Truly amazing!

On Thursday we were lucky enough to attend the circus in Point Place thanks to my Aunt Kim! After  a long day at work I was not exactly about the circus but Audrey could not wait so out to the circus we went! She had a lot of fun! She was the perfect age... some of the littler kids could not enjoy it as Audrey did. I am really glad we went.

Mouth full of licorice 

Sno cone!

The circus  was fun. A little strange to me but the women on the ribbons at the top of the tent were amazing and the animals were cool although I am sure PEDA was all over this! Nonetheless, we had a good night :)

After a few more days at work we took a last minute trip up North from Saturday night until Monday. It was a bit cooler up there but we had fun and its nice to go up there and not have to worry about anything while spending time with the family. 

Audrey and  Carter both  fell asleep on the couple hour drive up. I love this picture!

We got to hang out with this cute baby all weekend! Baby fever taken care of :)

Monday we rented a boat for a day even though it was a little chilly we still had fun. My dad won't buy a boat... some nonsense about we aren't up there enough to use it but when we can we rent a pontoon for  the day and take it out on the lake! Works for us :)

Driving with Grandpa

Carter's boat attire. He just hung out in his bouncy and enjoyed the wind in his face! What an amazing  baby he is... Audrey was never like this. He sleeps more at night than Audrey does now or ever has.

This American flag in the middle of the lake. Breathtaking...

Just hanging out being cute!

And of course dance parties!!

Love

Audrey made friends

Twins

Haha

So it wasn't 90 degrees but everyone got in the lake except for Audrey and we had a fun day out on the boat.Back to reality this week and we have already had a pretty sick kid (could have been the cold lake weather) and a busy schedule. And looking forward to the weekend I am working a bit then it is my Grandmas 80th birthday party! What an amazing woman she is! And school starts next week... I cannot say I am excited about this as I was before. I only have 3 classes to finish out before graduation but with everything else going on, school is the last thing I want to stress about. But it must be done so I will make time. 

As of right now Chris is scheduled to fly out of Afghanistan in the first week of September! That is only 3 weeks away! So with travel and having to stop in Mississippi for a few days we should see him in a month! So hopefully only 4 more weekly updates :) Which will be nothing considering this is the 32nd update since he left in January and its been almost a year since he left for training. What a year it has been! And it is almost over :)  Family vacation is booked, Eric church tickets are bought for our weekend in Cincinnati, scheduling plans for homecoming are underway, this is the time we have been waiting a year for! And it is almost here! So just a few more weeks of work and school then some relaxing and a break from reality! Stay tuned for the end of this long journey which is getting so closer and closer :)

Sneak Peak of our Pictures!

Audrey and I got some absolutely amazing pictures done this week! Here is a sneak peak for those who I am not friends with on Facebook! Check out Jacq-Finley Photography for more amazing shots! And I will get some more up when I have time!

"Waiting for him to come home."

Chris' uniform...

I am absolutely obsessed with them all!

Chills..

Week 31!

And it seems as if we have flown through another week of the deployment. Last week Audrey and I stayed busy with the fair, the park, work and school. Monday we spend hours looking at countless houses with our realtor. We are getting there but still questioning waiting on Chris coming home to decide on a house. We are down to about 6 weeks until he gets home and part of me wants to wait to make sure it is the home he loves just as much as I do. I am still looking at some more this week and I know if he were home we would be able to decide on one much more quickly. My mom said I am stressing myself out and that I should just wait. And that is still defiantly a possibility. On Wednesday Audrey and I spent our day at the fair and had a blast! Check out the last post for more pictures from the fair.

 I worked this weekend so Audrey spent her Saturday with Aunt Ann. Ann asked me to bring Audrey's bathing suit and that they were going to a birthday party. While at work this is the picture I received from Ann...

And another one!

Woah, this kid is not afraid of anything! Ann's cousin has a ton of crazy reptiles and Audrey was in heaven playing in the pool and playing with the pets. Looks like she had a ton of fun while I was at work. Sunday we had a baby shower for our cousin Emily! I was excited to get out of the house on Sunday and have somewhere to go. Seems crazy with our schedule but I don't like being at home so as staying busy is a must! After the shower Audrey and I, Cassy and Carter and Ann all went out for some appetizers and a few adult beverages. A great Sunday Funday with the family! 

Can't ask for better people to get Audrey and I through this deployment!

And week 32 has a ton in store for us! Audrey starts gymnastics this week and she could not be more excited! I think she will do well and I think it will put some of that energy to good use. Also, Audrey and I are getting pictures done at a farm in Michigan. I cannot wait to see them :) As for Chris he continues to hit the gym daily (I wish I could say the same about myself) but he is going strong in the last few weeks of this deployment! I cannot believe we are down to the last month and it seems within reach. I feel like it won't be long until we can post that he is in the states. I recieved an email last week that said "Within 45 days all A-Co. boots will be on U.S. soil." Ahhh to think we are counting down the DAYS until he is home is amazing! The last week went so fast and August is moving right along and before we know it we will be into September and Chris will be home. This journey is almost over! Thanks for the support and love from everyone over the last year! Love you all! 

The Fair!!

Audrey and I spent our day off this week at the Fair! A day at the fair turned into an emotional roller coaster for me but we had a blast. We go to the fair every year and this year to go without Chris turned out to be a lot harder than I thought. Wednesday we got up early ran a few errands then headed down to BG to spend the day eating fair food, playing games, riding rides and checking out the animals. Holidays are hard alone, birthdays, anniversaries, everything that we have done in the last year without Chris. They are hard and I am a pretty emotional person when my husband is not deployed so you can imagine how I have fared this last year (okay, its not that bad but I cry a lot). Anyways a few weeks back I started thinking about homecoming and how close it was. Then I thought about the fact that between now and the end of September there are no major holidays to get through, just everyday life. No big events, vacations or parties. We were to the point where when thinking about doing something I say "we can just go when Chris gets home". He's missed so much I don't want to do anything else without him. But at the fair Wednesday I found myself in an unexpected complete meltdown. Normally, I know holidays will be hard and I am prepared for that but I was not prepared for the overload of emotions that happened at the fair. 

We go to the fair together every year together. While at the fair Chris was texting me and I was trying to send him pictures of Audrey (that didn't go through) but I wanted him to know what she was doing and how much she loved it! But I did not think I would be so emotional that Chris was not there. We were walking through the walkways of fair food, games and rides. A local country station was there and blaring country music. Audrey and I were walking hand in hand and all of a sudden I began to sob. I think it was the entire atmosphere of the fair, the aura of everything, the country music and the fact that Chris was not there but so close to coming home. I could feel the tears stream down my face behind my big sunglasses and I couldn't stop. Audrey had no idea but I could not even control my emotions. Totally came out of nowhere and then I was so mad that I let myself get so worked up over something so silly. But afterwards I realized it wasn't silly. Chris has been gone for over 7 months and I guess I was to my breaking point during something that we have always done together. But short of my little meltdown, Audrey and I had a lot of fun and spend most of the day playing :) 

(I only had my phone so the pics are not the best)

Fair food!

Of course she found a sand box!

 Baby chicks hatching

Our favorite part... the pigs!

Afterwards we were hot and dirty! But that's what it is all about it's fair! We had a lot of fun but things just aren't the same without Chris. Only a few more weeks and we wont have to do anything without him. Come on September!! We are almost done :))