A Deployment Birthday Wish
I have taken a couple of weeks of not blogging to let everything settle and start to feel like myself again. Well that was the plan, I am not sure if I'll feel like myself for awhile - but anyway, here I am! Tomorrow is a really special day for our family - it is James Howard's birthday. I love birthdays so much, and they're very big deals in our house. Usually it entails blowing a breakfast cupcake out, a favorite dinner and lots of birthday snuggles and laughs. Obviously, this year we've got an ocean between us so I had to get creative with making James feel special on his day. We can't have a deployed, newly 33 year old sailor feeling like its any other day.
Mason and I worked really hard and made him a birthday care package and of course, after a couple of glasses of wine my crafty side kicked in (which, by the way, I didn't know existed) and I think his box turned out perfectly. I even made him cake in a Mason jar, and it smelled awesome and was perfectly sealed when I sent it off, we'll see how it turns out when it opens. There's a can of frosting and I taped some candles to it so hopefully he gets to blow out candles on a birthday cake. I just couldn't not make him a birthday cake, it seemed unnatural! And yes, a GoPro camera. That was his big birthday gift. I told him if he was going to see the world without me and Mason I wanted a way for him to bring the world home to us, so hopefully we'll get some pretty great footage when he gets home to share with all of you.
Thanks to everyone who has checked on us the past couple of weeks. It still seems very strange to think he's actually deployed, but we've settled into a routine and are taking it all one day at a time. Mason seems to sense this one is different and still asks about his Dad everyday, but his bear he built with James really helps make bedtime a little easier. I wish I had the gift of not remembering all this one day like sweet Mason, but I keep telling myself it will just make us stronger. James is amazing, I can't imagine how hard this must be for him to be away from Mason and I just pray God gives him the strength he needs to maintain his focus over these next months. I know he will, he amazes me everyday.
There's another project I started and this one has kind of taken on a life of its own. James told me that he can't open YouTube links on the ship and that was discouraging. That's how I had planned to send him videos of Mason and various other things happening while he was gone. Then I decided I would just upload videos to my computer and burn them onto DVDs and mail them to him once a month or so. Then I decided to use iMovie so I could add some pictures, then I decided to email family for pictures and well...you can see how this project grew and grew. I scurried and nagged everyone to get videos so I could make the first one by his birthday and I'm excited to share it with all of you. If you have pictures you'd like included in the next installment, just send them to my email Navygreens@gmail.com James LOVES seeing pictures so send away!
And I hope you're all having a gorgeous Sunday. Mason has had me outside all weekend and I'm so sore, but loving this time I have him all to myself. Two and a half is the most fun age. And I wish I could record all the funny things he says. He's now exclaiming after his water break he NEEDS to go outside for more basketball, so off I go.
Lots of love, and thanks to everyone in our family who helped make this video possible xoxo
James, where ever you are tomorrow when you get internet back and read this (ha) - happy, happy birthday. We love you so much and we miss you more than we could ever describe. You make us incredibly proud and are so blessed to call you husband and Dad. Thank you for all the sacrifices you make for us and for this country. I sleep better at night knowing there are people like you in this world who step up when that call comes.
All our love,
Jules and Mason
Mason and I worked really hard and made him a birthday care package and of course, after a couple of glasses of wine my crafty side kicked in (which, by the way, I didn't know existed) and I think his box turned out perfectly. I even made him cake in a Mason jar, and it smelled awesome and was perfectly sealed when I sent it off, we'll see how it turns out when it opens. There's a can of frosting and I taped some candles to it so hopefully he gets to blow out candles on a birthday cake. I just couldn't not make him a birthday cake, it seemed unnatural! And yes, a GoPro camera. That was his big birthday gift. I told him if he was going to see the world without me and Mason I wanted a way for him to bring the world home to us, so hopefully we'll get some pretty great footage when he gets home to share with all of you.
Thanks to everyone who has checked on us the past couple of weeks. It still seems very strange to think he's actually deployed, but we've settled into a routine and are taking it all one day at a time. Mason seems to sense this one is different and still asks about his Dad everyday, but his bear he built with James really helps make bedtime a little easier. I wish I had the gift of not remembering all this one day like sweet Mason, but I keep telling myself it will just make us stronger. James is amazing, I can't imagine how hard this must be for him to be away from Mason and I just pray God gives him the strength he needs to maintain his focus over these next months. I know he will, he amazes me everyday.
There's another project I started and this one has kind of taken on a life of its own. James told me that he can't open YouTube links on the ship and that was discouraging. That's how I had planned to send him videos of Mason and various other things happening while he was gone. Then I decided I would just upload videos to my computer and burn them onto DVDs and mail them to him once a month or so. Then I decided to use iMovie so I could add some pictures, then I decided to email family for pictures and well...you can see how this project grew and grew. I scurried and nagged everyone to get videos so I could make the first one by his birthday and I'm excited to share it with all of you. If you have pictures you'd like included in the next installment, just send them to my email Navygreens@gmail.com James LOVES seeing pictures so send away!
And I hope you're all having a gorgeous Sunday. Mason has had me outside all weekend and I'm so sore, but loving this time I have him all to myself. Two and a half is the most fun age. And I wish I could record all the funny things he says. He's now exclaiming after his water break he NEEDS to go outside for more basketball, so off I go.
Lots of love, and thanks to everyone in our family who helped make this video possible xoxo
James, where ever you are tomorrow when you get internet back and read this (ha) - happy, happy birthday. We love you so much and we miss you more than we could ever describe. You make us incredibly proud and are so blessed to call you husband and Dad. Thank you for all the sacrifices you make for us and for this country. I sleep better at night knowing there are people like you in this world who step up when that call comes.
All our love,
Jules and Mason
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