He's Home!

Matt ended up flying in earlier than expected; his flight from Cuba landed early in Jacksonville so he scrambled to persuade his travel office to change his reservations and made a late night flight out just in time.  A friend picked him up at the air port and he arrived at the house about midnight.  He considered surprising me but changed his mind and called to let me know he would be here in a few hours.  Good thinking on his part considering I would have been sound asleep and I have a baseball bat under my side of the bed :)

Hayden crept in our room about 6 am which is early for him.  I am guessing he remembered I told him daddy would be here when he woke up this morning.  He climbed right up into bed and snuggled up next to Matt and didn't budge or make a sound for about half an hour.  Once we got up it's been "Daddy get me!" and "Daddy play trucks with me!" non stop all day.  They are having a great time!  We enjoyed some time outside in the beautiful weather and have just been spending the day quiet at home.  

 

Home Sweet Home

Hayden and I have been home for just over a week now and we are finally getting settled back into our routine and back to "normal," whatever that is.  We haven't done too much out of the ordinary since we've been home; Hayden is enjoying having all of his own toys and books back and we have done some catching up with friends.  I have been working to get the house back in order for Matt to come home- he comes home in two days!  I can hardly wait for him to be here sharing the day-to-day moments again.  Here is a sampling from our first few days back home:

One of the first things Hayden wanted to after we got home was to play with his playdough.  He sat so quietly playing for so long that I actually got a lot of unpacking done.  Every time I came back to check on him he had more little pieces piled in front of him.  Eventually, he had a mountain of little balls of play dough.

Last Saturday was Air Force Appreciation Day here in Mountain Home and we went out and joined the festivities.  Hayden got a Dinosaur painted on his face, road a tractor trailer with his buddy Jack, we saw the parade, bounced in some bouncy castles and ate a smoked turkey leg.  Okay, that last part was all me.  Random side note about me:  I never pass up a smoked turkey leg when I get the chance to eat one. Never.

Good Times with Good Friends

In the midst of all of our traveling around this summer, Hayden and I took the opportunity to fly to Knoxville to visit some good friends of ours that we have not seen in over two years.  Kevin and Cherise were Matt and I's small group bible study leaders when we were in high school and we have stayed in close touch with them over the years.  We all have kids now so it was great to be able to get to know each others kids and Hayden had a blast playing with Brooke and Tyler.  

Brooke and Tyler made a sign to greet us at the airport with:

After visiting a children's museum, we stopped by a nearby park to feed some ducks and geese:

Hayden was so excited to have a turn in Brooke's Hotwheels Cadillac Escalade.  They were riding in style, although Hayden needs some practice steering.

All the kids got dressed up one afternoon and came downstairs to put on a little play for us.  It was so cute!

We visited the Aquarium in Chattanooga, which was fantastic.    

Tyler was good at making Hayden laugh.

Then we went to a local farm to pick blueberries, peaches and apples with some other good friends of theirs.

 Later Kevin built a fire in the back yard for us all to make s'mores, my favorite!  I was nice this time and saved some for the kids :)

Hayden on the other hand was being a bit more stingy with his s'mores.

We had a great visit and look forward to making the trip again sometime, hopefully when Matt can join us!

Happy Retirement, Dad!

While in Florida I was fortunate enough to be able to celebrate my dad's retirement from the Fire Department with my family.  It was important for me to be there; He is very humble and did not want a big fancy affair to mark the day, but he deserves all the honorable mention and attention he received from the few friends and family that gathered to celebrate.  He was the thirty-third person to be hired on the Hillsborough County Fire Department and served for thirty-five years.  He was also a chaplain for the Department and has been an example of God's love, grace and compassion to those he has served with and their families.  He worked hard, including countless hours of overtime over the years to provide for our family.  Over and above his career as a fire fighter he has always been first and foremost a follower of Christ, a strong example of a godly husband and a loving father.  Even though he has worked hard and had a successful career, his heart has always been in ministry so I look forward to seeing what God has in store for him as one chapter of his life closes and another begins.

Here he is his first year on the job, the night before he married my mom:  

And here he is with his beautiful bride almost thirty-five years later on his last shift:

And to my mom, no doubt your love and support have helped to sustain dad through the last thirty-five years and to get him to where he is today.  I am sure he would be the first to say that he could not have done it without you, and I don't want the time to go by without acknowledging how much we all appreciate your sacrifices for the family as well.  You deserve to be celebrated on this occasion just as much as anyone.  

Love you both so much!

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On a separate but related note, along with the retirement comes a new house!  My parents have lived in the same house for almost thirty years and I lived in that house until the day I got married.  They are moving this week so this means that when we go "home" for Christmas this year they will no longer be in my childhood home!  Some might think I feel somewhat sad or nostalgic about that, but in truth I am so excited!  It is time and they found a house that is perfect for them.  We'll see if I still feel the same at Christmas time when my stocking is hanging in a different place.

Here are some pictures of our family of five Shirleys (before expanding, that is) gathered together at that house for the last time.

Florida Part 2

At the splash pool in the community where my sister lives:

A big cheese from Kensie :)

Trip to the beach with GG

The boy likes to run

Play time with Kensie at Grandma and Grandpa Shirley's

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

Hayden likes to start new fashion trends

"Does this bucket make my head look big?" (Love this one!)

Kensie and Hayden were reading a firefighter book together one afternoon, its a favorite in Grandpa and Grandma's house. The favorite part for both of them is when the police officer makes traffic "stop" because the fire truck is coming. I thought this was so funny and had to get a video before being a responsible mom and aunt and telling them to use inside voices.

Warning: if you are allergic to obnoxious toddler noises, do not watch this video.

Florida Pictures Part 1 (The Happy Reunion)

While Hayden and I were visiting family in Florida, the Air Force sent Matt to a conference in Miami. My parents were wonderful enough to keep Hayden for three nights so that I could drive down there and spend some time alone with him. Afterwards, we drove back to Tampa together, reunited with Hayden, spent the night and then drove up to Jacksonville to fly out all together to Cuba.

Needless to say Matt and I loved the time alone together and Hayden was thrilled to see Matt when he showed up at GG's house.

The pool area at Doral Golf Resort and Spa

South Beach

Lunch on South Beach

The golf course, of course :)

At dinner at a Thai Restaurant at Channelside in Tampa

Third Week in Cuba

Our last week in Cuba was bitter-sweet; we hated to leave Matt but we knew that it meant we were closing in on the end of this deployment and our time apart. We also thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our time there, knowing we would probably never get a chance to visit again. I actually felt a tinge of sadness as the ferry was pulling away and taking us to the small air port on the other side of the bay. It was a beautiful place to be and lots of special family memories were made.
During the days when Matt was at work, Hayden and I had to be creative to find ways to pass the time. He found the bucket of sea glass that we had collected one morning and spent the better part of an hour lining it all up like a train.

One afternoon we got word that a British supply ship was in port so we drove down to check it out.


We had dinner one more time at the Bayview club. They do Mongolian barbeque every Thursday night and it was good! Can't beat the view, either.


The evening before we left we headed out to the one beach we had yet to visit for some last minute beach fun as a family.






On the way back to the house we made a quick stop for a photo op: They named a street after us. Wasn't that nice?


Later while eating frozen pizza for dinner, Hayden and I watched Matt try to crack into a coconut that we found on the beach. Apparently this is no simple task...
...and it took a while.


Finally- success! Except for the fact that we were all holding our breath to take this picture as quickly as possible so that Matt could throw that rancid thing out the door. Note to self: next time you find a coconut just lying on the ground and have no idea how long it has been there, just leave it alone.