A litte this and a little that!

Last weekend I was in Vegas, I can't believe it's already been a week since I was there, I went with my sister-in-law Leanne. We stayed at the Cosmopolitan and it was awesome, It is new and just opened in December of this year, it's very neat and trendy. It's where a lot of the locals hangout is what we were told, because it's has a lot of trendy bars inside! Our favorites were the Chandelier and Vesper's. We also ate at STK in the Cosmo., a very delicious steak house...we were told it was a popular place to spot celebrities, however; we didn't see any.... If you go to Vegas you gotta check out the Cosmopolitan you won't be disappointed I promise you!!!

Spring is definitely here, I'm really tired of the gray skies and rain, I'm ready for sunny days and HOT weather....Justin is still trekking along, we are almost the the half way mark, it seems like he just left some days and other days feel like he's been gone for a million years. The nights are hardest for me, I'm still having some issues sleeping but the last few nights have been better so maybe I'm starting to get used to being alone. Tristin isn't doing a spring sport so that has freed up a lot of my time, which I thought I would enjoy, however; not having anything to look forward to kinda makes my days seem so long. I've eliminated quite a few of my cleaning clients. I've been cleaning houses for over 2 yrs and I just feel like moving on and doing other things. My poor house has been neglected, I've got to buckle down one of these days and do some serious deep cleaning.....oh the joy that will be..lol....

Anyway things are still moving along in the Van'B household, I'm counting down the days until August and I can't wait to see my hubby again, I'm ready to have this time in our lives a distant memory....I'm ready for hubby to come home I really, really miss him!!!

Under Attack

(AGI) Kabul - Afghanistan: coalition forces killed 7 Talibans who had launched an attack against a military base in Jalalabad. The base was situated near the airport of the city of Jalalabad, in East Afghanistan. The attack occurred around midnight, when the rebels started shooting against the airport, obliging the coalition forces to open fire. The news was reported by the Chief of the Provincial Police of Nangarhar, Ali Shah Paktiawal. . .

Last night, Justin's base came under attack by the Taliban. Talk about taking my stress to a whole new level....holy crap, this is real people! Thankfully he is safe and I can't say much, but just wanted everyone that reads my blog to know that he is safe and okay. Please keep your prayers coming on our behalf....I'm pretty stressed out at this point and just keep thinking he can't get home soon enough....uuuugggghhhhh! 4 more months....talk about stress!!!!

Happy 40th!!!

This handsome guy turned 40 years old today, Happy Birthday Justin!!! I'm sad that you are all alone in Afghanistan but very proud of you for your sacrifices and service to our country! I don't think you look a day past 30, still young and handsome as ever, and I love you more today than the day I married you! Anyway Happy Birthday Babe, we will celebrate when you get home soon, I LOVE YOU and MISS YOU, HAPPY, HAPPY 40th Birthday!!!!!

Wifey <3

2 Month Mark!

Well Justin and I have made the 2 month mark finally. March seems to be dragging on, and the spring weather isn't helping matters much, all the wind and rain, is starting to wear on my nerves a little bit! The time is starting to wear on Justin too however; the continual work schedule with no days off, and the confinement of the base is starting to make Justin's fuse a little short! He's had a couple of days where I thought he might explode, due to being the only QASAS on base, and the unit of troops that are there currently will be leaving and a new unit is coming in, making his work a bit more challenging! He has his moments where I'm the one and only he VENTS too, and I just try to listen and be supportive of him, which is hard because half the time I have no idea what he is even talking about..lol....work stuff???

Next month I'm going to Vegas with my sister-in-law Leanne. She has to go for work, and she called and invited me to come along too, so I'm really looking forward to that little trip. Having something to look forward to, makes the time pass a little quicker also. I'm hoping for lots of Vegas sunshine, and warmer temps...just being in the sun will feel awesome! Keeping my fingers crossed that the sun will be shining!

Not much news to report, just chugging along, and counting down the days until August....seems so far away, but trying to stay positive. This has been a lot harder than I had expected, I'm not good at being alone, I really like being married, and feel lucky to have a guy like Justin to call my husband, he is just a great guy, and I love him soooo much! I hope that we won't have to go through this again anytime soon, I respect those people who like being alone, but I've come to the conclusion I'm not that person. 4 more months, hoping I can do it! Thanks to my family and friends for your continued support, prayers and kind words, it means a lot to me, I love ya all!

Stand Still......

Time feels like I'm at a stand still at the moment. 145 more days until I get to see Justin and I'm starting to feel like it's never going to get here. We haven't even gotten to the 2 month mark yet and it feels like a million years since I last seen him. As the days start to get longer, it feels like it's only longer until I see him again. I'm trying my best to stay as busy as I can in Pendleton, but it's not easy. The 4 walls in my house are starting to get on my nerves...not having a full time job, and a job where I don't interact with people only makes it alot harder. I think the time is going faster for Justin since he works 12 hrs shifts and then just basically goes to sleep and then starts his day all over again..and he has a lot of people to interact with throughout his workday, where as I do not. I'm trying to stay positive but today isn't a positive day for me. I also slipped going down the stairs and tweaked my neck and it's been hurting me for a couple of days now, not fun!

Also feel a bit terrible, I got into a little argument with Tristin this morning about being a responsible teenager and dropped him off at school after yelling at him most of the morning...doesn't make me feel like a very good mother, and I know I shouldn't do that, but I pretty much snapped, having to be the "mom and dad" makes this job harder than I had expected. Normally Justin is the one who does most of the discipline and now it's on my shoulders, and Tristin keeps saying "I've changed" yup I'm now you father too, hahahaha! Anyway August 1st can't get here soon enough, I knew this separation was going to be tough on all of us, but not this tough, I'm ready for this deployment to be in my past...and only just a memory!

Hello March 1st!

Well I've been looking forward to March 1st, just for the fact that Spring is just right around the corner! It has been a long winter and I'm excited to see the spring flowers start to bloom and of course I'm hoping for warmer weather too! I hope it doesn't rain all spring either, I really dislike the rain!! It's been a rough couple of weeks in the VanBlokland household, we are really missing Justin's presence and I really didn't realize how much he does affect our family unit. Tristin is having some struggles in school and I'm just flat not impressed with Pendleton High School administrators and teachers to be quite frank! I don't think Tristin has handled the transition from his dad being gone, and I don't think there is a support group for kids at school who have a parent that has deployed, I was told he was "put on a list of kids who's parents have deployed" but what does that mean? Do they check with the child and see how he/she is coping, NOPE......there is no support for these kids and I'm just really not impressed! I talk to him all the time about it, but I think he is tired of hearing me, it might be nice to have an outside perspective and someone other than me to talk to about it. He seems angry and depressed and I'm kind of worried about him, but I will continue to do the best I know how.

Justin is doing well. Not much to report on, he is keeping busy with work, and he did start working out this week, so that will be good for him, he is working out with one of the Army guys he works closely with. It doesn't appear that he is EVER going to get internet in his room, so skyping is out of the question, which is a bummer because I think that would be a great way for him to communicate with Tristin and maybe help ease some of his issues, but it's not going to happen anytime soon. Thank you for keeping Justin in your daily prayers as he is adjusting to Army life and seems to be getting the jist of all the in's and out's of work...that is a relief for me to know that he is settled and doing pretty well under the circumstances.

Happy Spring, hoping some sunshine might brighten our mood in the Van'B household!!!

1 month down!

Well we've made it to the 1 month mark! This feels like a big accomplishment to me, because the first week Justin was gone, felt like an eternity and I did not feel very strong, and had an extremely hard time thinking I could get through the next 6 months without him, but now I can say we are going on 5 MONTHS, and I feel a lot better about how things are going. Justin is pretty much settled in, getting the hang of his new job, and we are pretty much on a regular calling schedule/routine, and Tristin and I are doing pretty well without dad, we miss him terribly, but have got our routine down fairly well without him.

I'm trying to stay pretty busy, and with the help of my very dear friend Robbin and my parents, they have been my life savers, keeping me occupied and I'm trying to enjoy each day the best I can. Tristin's basketball season has come to an end, and he has decided not to participate in any Spring sports, so we will have a break from sports for awhile. Not sure if this is a smart decision on his part, however; it's a welcome break for me!

Thanks to everyone's continued prayers on our behalf and all the nice comments on face-book from all of my friends, you guys help me get through each day and your supports means so much to me, I love each and everyone of you! 5 more months, here we come!