Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

God Bless those who are serving our country and can't be with their families! Pray for their safe return home!

xoxo
Samantha

Christmas Tea

Trying to get in the holiday spirit and TOTALLY not feeling it. Miss Hope had this Tea on her blog- and it just sounded so holidayish and wonderful- That I had to pass it on to you:

Christmas Tea

2 large tea bags
1 small can frozen orange juice
1 small can frozen lemonade
1 large can (46 ounce) Pineapple Juice
2 1/2 cups sugar
24 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon powdered cinnamon

In a large pot add tea bags in about 1 quart of water. Bring to a boil, then let set for a few minutes. Remove tea bags. Add Pineapple, Lemon, and Orange Juices, sugar, cloves, and cinnamon, then add enough water to make 6 quarts. Let come to a boil then simmer. Serve hot. Flavor increases as tea ages. Store in refrigerator.

Note: this can be made in a Crock pot to.

5 things I am thankful for TODAY:

1. That my husband stacked all the wood before he left.
2. That you can watch TV on the net-since we don't have cable!
3. That people think our Turkey Day postcards are cute!
4. Over an hour conversation with Joe today.
5. "Nanna" bread that I made - all by myself - THAT CAME OUT GOOD!


xoxo
Samantha

Bahrain Part 3

Just a quick note to say that Joe is safely in Bahrain. They(the guys) are calling it Bahrain Part 3 because it's the third time they have been there on this deployment. I'm assuming it's cheap and easy to pull into there or something.

Anyway:

I'm doing OK. Haven't managed to sleep very much yet. I'm just feeling weird about him not being here. I'm getting over it(mostly because I have no other choice).

Stephanie came by to cheer me up a bit last night. That was helpful and together we got the wood stove going! Go us!

I'm trying to stay super busy. I'm excited about Thanksgiving at my mom's. I'm getting ready to go off to training for speaking during the Spring Semester next weekend.

That's all for now!
Samantha

...and then gone

One second he was here:

his dirty laundry piled up... on the floor(not the hamper)
the wood stove was used every night
his shaving cream cap was next to the sink (instead of on the can)
he honk shooed all night ( his sleeping noise )
his warm sweaty body wrapped around me until the wee hours of the morning
he left dishes in the sink instead of putting them in the dishwasher
he insisted on our reading rituals.....

The next minute...He's gone.

We get a dreaded call that he won't be returning to the boat the second week of December as planned.. but in less then 24 hours. Something major is broke and Mr. Chiefness Joe must help to fix it.

I'm not one to complain.. because the circumstances surrounding him being home were sucky at best and completely unexpected. A sucky treat- does that make sense?.....but our leave papers said the 24th. He even had a job set up on base until he was supposed to return to the stupid deployed boat. I'm whining. I know. But...well I can't help it. I'm a planner. I needed time to plan for him to leave. I wasn't ready because I didn't have enough time. So I'm a mess.

I'm so so sad. Worse then when he left the first time. I can't stop crying. or whining. But mostly- crying.

*sigh* I need this time to fly.
I'm so over this.

xoxo
Samantha

Back in CT

Hello there!

Thank-you to everyone for all of the love and support these last two weeks. We have appreciated it. We are back in CT adjusting to the little time we have together and trying to move forward and heal.

Joe's mom sent us this OM this evening- We loved it so much we thought we would post:

Beings of Light
Human Angels

During each of our journeys, there are those inevitable moments when someone
comes into our life at precisely the right time and says or does precisely the
right thing. Their words or actions may help us perceive ourselves more clearly,
remind us that everything will turn out for the best, help us cope, or see us
through difficult situations. These people are human angels – individuals
designated by the universe to be of service to those in need at specific points
in time. Some human angels make a commitment before their births to make a
positive contribution to the world at a particular moment. Others were chosen by
the universe. All human angels, however, come into our lives when we least
expect them and when we can most benefit from their presence.

A few of the human angels we may encounter are in professions where helping
others is an everyday occurrence. But most of them are regular people, going
about their daily lives until called upon to be in the right place at the right
time to bring peace, joy, help, or heal someone when they most need it. You may
have met a human angel in the form of a teacher who gave you a piece of advice
that touched your soul and influenced your path. The person that momentarily
stopped you to say hello on the street, delaying you long enough to avoid an
oncoming car or a collision, is also a human angel. They may offer nothing more
than a kind word or a smile, but they will offer it when you can draw the most
strength and support from their simple action.

You may be a human angel yet not know it. Your fate or intuition may guide you
toward other people’s challenging or distressing situations, leading you to
infer that you simply have bad luck. But recognizing yourself as a human angel
can help you deal with the pain you see and understand that you are there to
help and comfort others during their times of need. Human angels give of their
inner light to all who need it, coming into our lives and often changing us
forever. Their task has its challenges, but it is they that have the power to
teach, bring us joy, and comfort us in times of despair.


Love
Joe and Samantha

Celebration of life!

Celebration of his life- RIP 11/4/08

Services: Auburn, Maine - Dignity

Thank-you for all of the kind words, prayers and support.

Joey is will be coming home to be with his family.

We have an amazing command to thank for that. We are lucky to be blessed with a fantastic squadron who worked around the clock to get his travel arrangements squared away. I'm also thankful for a family-orientated Captain and COB. We will never forget what our submarine family did for our family.

I rec' email from Joe after the Captain told him the bad news. I'm anxious to get him in my arms. I'm ready to help him heal. I've been there ( RIP Daddy 7/9/04 ). I know what it's like to feel fine one minute and lose it the next. I know that you expect to hear their voice every day. I can help with the daily struggles.

This journey (at times) has been difficult for me because it's like reliving my own dads battle with cancer. My husband is a pretty amazing guy. Joe's email ended with- "I love you and I know we can get through anything." Although this is about his healing. It's about loving him, nurturing him, caring for him. He doesn't forget. And I am reminded how amazing he is. He knew before I said a word that this would be hard for me too. That my heart hurts. That this forces me to remember. It doesn't allow me my compartments where I place things when I can't deal. My heart aches more now then it did back them...when it was just for me.

It doesn't just ache for him, but for his family too. Because...this sucks. And it's so unfair. 5 kids. He won't get to see four of them marry their soul mate. He won't get to say.."you've done good" on their wedding day like he did for Joey. One of both our prized memories of the day. He won't meet his grand kids. We'll never have our Harleys together again. He won't see Riley graduate High School. He didn't get to see Joey get off the boat as a Chief Petty Officer. And it's not so bad for him- because he does get to SEE it. But it's the experience for all of them.

My heart.... just hurts.

RIP Dad Thrasher

Joe's dad lost his battle with cancer this evening. It was a bit unexpected for us. We knew it was a possibility. We thought we had more time.

I guess you always think you have more time.

Please- send prayers to our family. I have sent an AM CROSS for Joey. We're going to do everything we can to bring him home to grieve with his family instead of alone on a cold submarine.

I will update when I have more information.

For now- I wait in hopes that they will figure out a way for Joe to call. or email. In hopes that the call/email is news of him being able to come home for the services and much needed family time.

And you should... call your parents, kids, siblings, friends. Tell them you love them. We never know...when time is up.

RIP Dad Thrasher- You were loved very much.

**11/5/08 update : Squadron has contacted me and has sent the message to the boat. We should know soon if Joey will be able to come home.

**11/5/08 update: Red Cross has contacted me to let me know the boat has rec' the message and sends their condolescences to the family. She said that it said travel arrangements pending but that she couldn't confirm if that meant he was 100% going to be able to come home.

**11/5/08 afternoon update: Thank GOD for our command! They are getting him home. With the traveling and time difference we've had to push back the wake and funeral but I am just so glad that he will get to be here surrounded by his family.

Thank-you for all the love and support. My husband is coming home.

November Cal Square

November Calendar Square
So, I counted wrong. Or something.
And ...since he left- he decided he doesn't want to go anywhere. He just wants to be home or maybe a bed and breakfast. Whatever we do... has to be completely low key.

Oh- and recently in an email I asked for a list of things he wants when he gets home. I told him the list could be anything...from new white shirts to favorite snacks.

His reply came yesterday: "I cant wait to get to hold you again, I really don't want anything else."

Ah.. I do love that man. More then I could ever explain to anyone.

November is here!

YAY! New month. Progess. Slow..(or it feels slow) but STEADY.
Whew!

Joe is starting to show more serious signs of being home sick. This just means he is actually sharing(monumental event) with me that he's ready to be home. His last email said he wanted to come home and be spoiled. I told him if he starts swimming, I'll be ready when he gets here. My heart hurts for him.

They watched the 1/2 way video we sent for them on Halloween. They raised a lot of money for our Christmas party(which we will be having super late-but still having!)and he passed out the Halloween bags that I sent to him, my single sailors, Eric and Tony and the Chiefs Quarters. He said it was fun passing them out and that they figured out quickly(Thank you Shawn Sharpe) that if you squeezed the goey eyes HARD enough the slime would gush out. Gotta love boys! Anyway it was fun making them, knowing they would be enjoyed by all. I sent off the Christmas ones yesterday.

Spent a great SAT with my parents. And I'm enjoying having a lot of girl time planned with some of my favorite people this week. Movie/Pizze night with Becca and Noah tomorrow. A night at J's with Sue on Tuesday. And some of my favorite people will be at my place on Sat afternoon. I will make this time go by. I will make this time go by. If I repeat that... I feel better.

I will make this time go by.

Don't forget to vote on the 4th everyone.
This election is HUGE!

xoxo
Samantha