Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Our Year in Review ... Part I

Already over a week into 2013 ... oh my but where did 2012 go?  As I look forward to what lies ahead, I have to also look back to see God's design to bring our family to another New Year. So, here's our highlights of each month with some pictures to follow along.


January ~~ 'Joe was deployed & our household was getting ready for our little prince. Lucy & her Mommy were spending time together in anticipation of Tag's appearance ... 
as well as making 'Joe care package crafts & introducing Tag to our local library where Lucy spent each week at storytime.  ETA on the arrival of Thomas Alexander -- February 21st (we'll see if Mommy makes it that long :)

February ~~  Thomas Alexander "Tag" made his appearance on February 9th at 6am ... Grandad got Mrs. 'Joe to the hospital & settled by 3:30am, and after 2 1/2 hours of hard labor & natural childbirth, Tag was here!  Lucy & I made it to the hospital a few hours later, then G-G and Grandpa drove an hour and a half to see their great-grandson (and great-granddaughter of course).  Mrs. 'Joe finally got through via the Red Cross to 'Joe's overseas' base.  And a bit later he called to talk to her & Lucy.  Not much longer until he could get leave to come home for a couple of weeks ... or so we thought...


















Mrs. 'Joe celebrated her birthday on February 13th by taking Tag to the doctor for a 
minor newborn issue.  And Lucy (umm, "Snow White") decorated a "chocolate-chip cookie cake" for Mommy's special day.


Then came the phone call ... 
on February 20th  ('Joe's birthday) his base had come under attack and 'Joe had been wounded in action ... no limbs lost ... shattered jaw ... deep shrapnel wounds ... 
he was alive.
'Joe was then transported to a couple different hospital bases in Afghanistan then on to Germany then finally to Walter Reed Military Medical Center. On Sunday February 26  Mr. & Mrs. Joe were reunited ... Lucy got to see her Daddy and Tag met his Daddy for the first time.

















March ~~ Our traveling had just just begun.  Thankfully we are within driving distance of WRMMC.  What started out as a 2 to 4 week rehabilitation period within the Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) at WR, actually turned into a 5 month period with more rehabilitation to follow.   So ...




Mrs. 'Joe and Tag came home for a few days to help us celebrate Grandad's 50th birthday! 
(I still can't believe that the 22 year old boy I married is actually 50 years old now!!)









 Then Mrs. 'Joe & Tag went back to the Fisher House at WRMMC while Lucy stayed with us & we commuted back & forth giving her time to spend with her family both at home and at the Fisher House. 




April ~~ Lucy & I helped G-G celebrate her birthday a couple of days early. She & I drove to G-G and Grandpa's house for a fun birthday time on Saturday April 7th.  We had a fun time as Lucy hunted for Easter eggs and even got a special Easter basket from G-G and Grandpa (and they even had Tag one too!) ... and cousin Rachel even came over to see her little cousin!


















    

Before Lucy & I went back to the Fisher House on Easter Sunday, we had a nice brunch with Grandad at The Cheesecake Factory and then he went to work. (He had made it through most of his busy season pretty much on his own since I was traveling a bit.) So, unfortunately, none of us went to church on Easter, but we feel sure that God understands where our hearts were. If it weren't for His Son's sacrifice on the cross & rising to life on the 3rd day, we would not have been able to have survived the life-altering journey that we've been on for almost a year. 





May ~~ After Grandad's busy time at work was over, he was able to make trips with Lucy & me back & forth to the Fisher House on the weekends. Then in late April / early May, we all took a few days to go the Beach! This was Tag's first beach trip & the first time 'Joe was away from WRMMC overnight since he arrived in February. 
We had so much fun! 


Lucy and I were a little sick in mid-May -- right on mine & Grandad's 28th anniversary. So, she & I stayed home that week so that we wouldn't spread our germs at the Fisher House. After a day or so, we were completely better & decided to surprise Grandad with some homemade anniversary cookies! As you can see, we had as much fun making them as eating them (and Grandad had the fun of eating!)

 


(PS ... Grandad absolutely LOVES every cookie that Lucy bakes.  And he especially loved his surprise anniversary cookies!)


*** And then we got the final word ... ***

'Joe was getting leave to come home over Memorial Day weekend~~
his first time home since pre-deployment!!!!

So, we had a little Open House in appreciation for our family & friends within the community. Some new friends came whom we had never even met before, but they had been praying for 'Joe & the family and just wanted to come by. It was an awesome, God-inspired weekend!



Which brings us to ...


June ~~  The 'Joe family was really getting involved with the Wounded Warrior family activities at Walter Reed ... 





Washington Zoo














a private tour of the White House







 Army Birthday Ball












On the homefront ... Hurricane Debby's effects ...
(thankfully our electric came back on after 24 hours -- 
no electric means no running water in our house):

 



















Okay ... I'm ready for a break.  I've made it to June, and will have to continue the second half of our year in review in another post.  But, one thing is for certain ... 


only God could have brought us through 2012 ... 
and only God will see us through 2013 ... 



 

3 comments:

Doris said...

Ahh, I enjoyed your photos and your words about your year. God is indeed good....even through our tough times!

Blessings to you today!

momto8 said...

wow...what an eventful 6 months!!! keep the faith!!!

Susan said...

This has been a really good exercise for me ... to look back as to how far God has carried us & what He brought us through. Not to dwell on the past, but to be grateful for all that He has done. I really need to start on the 2nd half of 2012 ... but I think the 1st half kind of wore me out reliving it!