ONE WEEK TO GO!

I can not believe that after all of this time and all of the craziness over the last 6 months -- we are finally down to ONE MORE WEEK! This deployment has truly been a blessing and opened our eyes to everything that we take for granted! We are so blessed and so thankful for everything that we have and everyone that is in our lives ... Thank you for your prayers and support -- we know that the prayers have gotten us through! Without prayer and our strength from the Lord -- we would not have made it through this deployment as easily as we have!

This time next week -- I am going to be going NUTS! I can't even believe that ONE WEEK from tonight I will be in LeJeune ... within HOURS of seeing my hubby! I am getting last minute things ready and touched up for Dano's homecoming -- and could not be more excited for him to come home and be where he belongs again! Even though he has to stay in LeJeune through the beginning of April, having him home on the weekends will be amazing! Just having him in the same country will feel so much better!

We are both so anxious to see each other -- it's been about 4 weeks since we have seen each other on Skype -- we decided to wait it out until homecoming for the last stretch of time! We are about to burst with excitement! I know that we are both going to look so different to each other -- especially him! I know he's lost weight and toned up from MCMAP and I can't wait to see the difference in him!

Can't wait to post pictures of homecoming and share our excitement with each of you! It seems like everytime I talk to someone -- they tell me someone else that has been keeping up with this blog throughout the deployment. If you have been keeping up and praying for Daniel ... THANK YOU! We will never be able to thank you all enough for that support! Look forward to sharing our joy and excitement from homecoming with you SOON! :)

Another belt for Dano!

Just a little update on Dano! He called late Friday night and said that he passed his next belt! He is now a brown belt ... and is working on black belt now! I am so proud of him and his accomplishments since he's been gone! He's worked so hard at MCMAP -- and it's really paying off. He was really proud of himself when he called -- and I was, too! :)

Seems like the date is still set ... not in stone of course ... but nothing has changed yet! Please pray for safety as they travel home and for the trip to be as smooth as possible (no delays for weather or anything else!) I can't believe that two weeks from today - I will have my hubby here with me and we'll be getting ready to head to church :) SO exciting!

We will never be able to thank you enough for your prayers for Daniel over the past several months ... We know that the Lord brought through this deployment for a reason - and we are so much stronger as a couple and in the Lord because of it!

**Update on my grandfather: Pap seems to be doing better than he was last week - anything is possible with prayer! They took him off of the morphine so he has been more alert and more himself. We are looking forward to heading up there to visit him in 3 weeks ... please just pray for peace and strength for all of us during this time! Thank you so much!

2 weeks to go!

Two week countdown officially started today! Two weeks from now - I will be sitting in LeJeune ... trying to fall asleep so that I can wake up to get my HUBBY! :) I can't believe that it's finally here! We are both so excited and so ready for these two weeks to fly by so we can be together again! It's been so fun getting everything ready for homecoming ... signs, the house, the dogs ... and trying to find an outfit! That's been the tough part .. :)

Although we are VERY excited about Daniel's homecoming -- we are having a very hard time right now ... my grandfather in MD was diagnosed with stage four cancer and is really having a hard time with pain ... we know that the Lord has a reason for everything -- and that if He brings us TO it ... He will bring us THROUGH it! I have been trying to stay strong until Daniel is home to comfort me. It's been a tough couple of weeks trying to balance the excitement and emotions that go with Daniel coming home along with the emotions and heartbreak for my grandparents. Please keep us in your prayers as we all face these next few weeks - it will be an exciting time for us as we welcome home our hero -- but also a very hard time as we prepare for what is next. I love my Pap more than anything in this world -- and I'm praying for peace, comfort, and strength for him and my family over these next few months ...

Thank you for your prayers for Daniel ... and for prayers for my family ... The Lord has His hand on us and is walking with us every step of the way.

"One day at a time ... "

23 days and counting :)

Well -- it's hard to believe but we have a little over three weeks before Dano is home! :) Words can't even begin to describe how excited we are ... when we talk all we can do is talk about how great it is going to be and dream about the excitement that lies ahead of us! We both just get overwhelmed with emotions ... even just talking on the phone ... so I can only imagine what it will be like that day! He has been super busy and doing great -- especially since he has started his MCMAP training. He is doing a great job with that -- I am super proud! He is starting a course tomorrow as an instructor ... so he feels important now! Ha Ha! :)

I am slowly but surely getting things ready for his return. It's been so fun getting everything ready and pretty for him! I can't wait to have him here again -- and feel "normal" :)

Please keep us in your prayers as we both adjust to his homecoming! We are beyond excited but it will definitely be an adjustment for both of us. Almost like getting married and learning how to live together all over again.... haha! When I look back over everything that has happened since September 2008, when we got the letter telling us he was recalled, it is amazing to see how God has worked! He has blessed us in more ways than we could ever imagine ... and I know that there are only more blessings to come! I am so thankful that we have faced this together -- we are closer now than we have ever been ... and I know that we both appreciate even the littlest things after being apart from each other! I am so thankful that the Lord has kept him safe and sound while he has been gone -- and that we have been able to talk as much as we have! We are so blessed!

Thank you so much for praying for us, encouraging us, and supporting us through this deployment. It won't be long now ... and I will posting HOMECOMING pictures! :) YAY!

Honor Grad! :)

Just a quick update on Dano... he found out today that he was the honor grad for the last MCMAP course that he took! :) The instructor told him that he made 120% improvement from where he was when they started the course. I could not be more proud of him! Now, he'll start training for his brown belt. I can't wait to see the results from all this body hardening... haha! :)

One month from today I will be sitting in LeJeune counting down the hours until he gets there! I can't believe that we are FINALLY this close... there are times when it seems like he's been gone forever and then times that I can't believe that it's really almost over... I know he has to be SO excited to get out of that place and get back home! I can't imagine how awesome it is going to be! :)

Counting down the days!

A month from today... Daniel will be boarding a plane to head back to the states! :) We could not be more excited... it's finally time for HOMECOMING! It looks like things are set for February 12th ... just in time for Valentine's Day! I have started getting things together and ready for homecoming... which is making me even MORE excited! It's really here! :) I am so thankful for the blessings in disguise throughout this deployment. It's amazing to see God's hand in everything that has happened over the past year of our lives. We are so excited about what is coming next... just ready to dive in head first!

Daniel tested for his next belt today and got it with 100% accuracy! :) They are announcing the honor grad tomorrow... so we are crossing our fingers! :) I am very proud of him for his accomplishments... he said that he is amazed at the progress that he's made over the last month or so! He will now start training for his brown belt... and will test for that before they leave!

He sent a bunch of his pictures through e-mail this week since we are winding down with time... that way we have them backed up in more than one place! I can't wait to hear all of the stories behind the pictures and just listen to him talk about everything that he took part in... I could not be more proud of him and more proud to be the wife of a Marine :)

Please continue to pray for the Lord to provide safety for Daniel throughout the next few weeks... I know that the time is going to fly by and he'll be back where he belongs before we know it! :) Thank you SO much for your prayers and encouragement... please pray for guidance as we take a step toward the next chapter of our lives together! Only one month to go! :)

February Homecoming!

Well... it seems to be pretty official! It looks like we are set for a February homecoming! Daniel said that word hasn't changed and everyone has been talking about it... he even e-mailed me a deployment countdown that he was sent that counts down even to the seconds until he's home! :) He was so excited about it... and words can't even describe how it made me feel to see it!! It seems like this is really winding down and coming to an end... I CAN'T BELIEVE WE ARE THIS CLOSE TO BEING TOGETHER AGAIN! :)

Dano is doing great... still working hard on MCMAP... going to get his Brown Belt this weekend so he's super excited about that! Staying busy and trying to get back to bed as soon as he can at night so another day is gone! :) He has tons of plans and can't stop talking about everything we are going to do together when he gets home... he said he's mostly excited about just sitting on the couch and staring at me... haha! I know this whole deployment has slowed him down and made him appreciate the simplest things in life... I can't wait to have him home!

We could NOT be more excited about this next chapter of our lives... we know the Lord put this in our path to bring us closer to each other and to Him... and we would do it all over again! It has been such a blessing for our marriage and I can't wait to take off into the next part of our adventure together! I will post more details on homecoming when we get them... but it looks like my hero will be home for Valentine's Day! :) YAY!