Slowly, but surely!

Well, Aden and I are getting through this summer slowly, but surely. Every day seems like a week, and every week seems like a month. All of this Army business needed to wait until we had a year long honeymoon:) Like that would ever happen! So, we're making the best of it! Now that the weather has become HOT, we have been going to the pool and river quite a bit. Aden stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Clymer's house while Bridget was in Dallas and I was working full time! It would be SO great not to work, and be able to spend all of that time with Aden...but somebody's gotta pay the bills while Arthur is off playing in the woods!!

That's a joke, by the way! He works 18-20 hour days, talks to me on the phone in the middle of the night, and gets up at 3:30 am every morning! YUCK! He has been patient and gracious through it all, knowing that it will eventually end! He left today for a 10 day trip into the great woods of Washington, so we most likely won't hear much from him until he gets back. Last year, he told me about the terradactile size mosquitos, swarms of hornets that chased them, and ant hills that were as tall as he is!! Ewww...

Well, please continue praying for Aden and I as we are missing 'husband' and 'daddy' so much! Every time the phone rings, he says, "Is that my daddy?". "No, baby". Then he just hangs his head in disappointment:(. There is a shaky possibility that I will fly out to see Arthur July 10-15, but please keep me in your prayers as I am searching to find a plane ticket! It would be AMAZING to visit him in the middle of this mess, and it would probably comfort both of our hearts as newlyweds more than you will ever know!!

Full of surprises!

Well, yesterday was a day to be remembered! It was our 1 month anniversary for being married, and little did I know, Arthur was planning a surprise for me! I was sitting at work, all by my lonesome, when in walked a lady carrying a beautiful dozen roses! I initially thought they were from a family member sending their wishes for me while I was alone this week. I kept thinking that until I opened the card. On the inside it read, "Abigail Clymer, Happy Anniversary, I love you baby!!". So basically, I just hung my head and cried! It's only been 2 1/2 weeks since he's been gone, but I miss him so much! It was so thoughtful of him to make me feel special on a day that represents our marriage! The funny thing is, his Army buddies all razzed him saying that he is setting the bar too high for himself! I guess he'll just have to keep it up:)

Aden and I have been sending Arthur pictures and videos on our new cell phones. It's such a God thing that we decided to get the phones right away, because we have been putting them to good use! I wish so badly that I could publish the videos of Aden leaving Arthur a message! Absolutely heartbreaking! It goes something like this...

"Daddy, daddy, I love you! When I come see you, I'm going to give you a hug and a hug and a hug every day. To daddy. From Aden"....it's just the most precious little 4 year old voice you have ever heard! I'm sure it just warmed his heart when he watched it!

I had my 10 year high school class reunion last weekend. I didn't actually graduate from this class...none of us really did. I went to a small private school that split when I was in 10th grade. All of this kids scattered and went to various schools from that point. My great friend, Amanda, took it upon herself to track us all down and get us together for a 'would have graduate together' reunion!! We met for dinner Friday night, and then everyone brought their kids to a park on Saturday! It was so great to see everyone, and I don't think anyone has changed since high school! Maybe at our 'would have graduate together' 20 year reunion!

I can tell you what I have been doing while he's gone...shopping!! I've been taking all of our wedding gift cards and wiping them clean! We talked about waiting until we get to Alabama to make all of the big purchases, but oh well:) If you are one that gave me a gift card, God bless your giving soul! It has blessed me more than just providing a gift! It has given me entertainment to fill an obvious void in my life! I'm not a shopper, but when the money has been given as a g-i-f-t, I will be happy to spend it!! Lord bless you and keep you, and please keep Aden and I in your prayers!

Missing Daddy!

Well, there's nothing like being an Army wife:) Arthur was stolen away only 2 short weeks after our wedding, and will be gone for 3 1/2 months! This makes it fairly difficult to enjoy that newlywed/honeymooner sensation, but he's doing a great job about trying to call Aden and I when he can. Even though I am extremely grateful for the times we talk, it just never feels like quite enough!

While Arthur is gone, Aden and I basically are doing our best to stay busy. I admit that it's hard to get up and go to work, and sometimes I feel like I am forcing myself to go to church, but we do it. We have been spending some time with Bridget and the kids, some other Army wives that are patiently waiting at home, and with church activities. He went to church camp with Bridget for the first week after Arthur left, which left me a lot of ALONE time!! I have been working full time (yuck!) and Arthur typically calls me around 1 a.m. So, all in all, I'm getting pretty tired! I shouldn't be the one complaining, as Arthur wakes up at 4 a.m. and doesn't stop working until 10 p.m. or later!

I took Garrett, Georgia, and Aden to the creek last weekend-one of my favorite things to do! In Tahlequah, there are plenty of rivers, ponds, creeks, etc. to go get your feet wet in. I only truly like the water where you can see the rocks on the bottom, and have a big fear of what's underneath that dark deep water in the lakes!! Arthur tells me that the snakes and fish are more scared of me than I am of them-and I'm just not sure that's true! My heart starts pounding and I get short of breath...and I just can't get out of the water fast enough!! At the creek, Georgia was in the water when Garrett saw a 3 foot long snake headed straight for her. At first, I thought Garret was just pestering his little sister, but when I saw it-my heart skipped a beat. Georgia quickly moved and the snake whipped around and headed in the other direction. Thank God for big brothers! The problem was, we still had to cross the creek to get to the other side, knowing that this ominous snake had just entered our paths. Eeek! Well, that's all for now. I'm inserting some pics of Aden and daddy at the river the day before he left. Hope you enjoy!!

The Honeymoon!!

We got engaged, then married, so what is left? A Honeymoon! We had a huge gift of a honeymoon that led us to some incredible places!! We went straight from the wedding to an amazing bed and breakfast (Two Hearts Inn). The room was more like a condo, with a jacuzzi, stand up/rain head shower, big flat screen, instant fire place, comfy love seat, incredible food delivered to our door, and a large 4 post bed! We completely came down off of the 'high' of the wedding and were finally able to relax in each others' arms. No more preparation, running errands, buying supplies, hauling off trash, or answering the phones every 15 minutes! It was a perfect evening! We ate, took a jacuzzi bath, watched a movie, etc...The funny part about the jacuzzi, is that Arthur put some bubble bath in it and the bubbles were so tall-we couldn't even see each other! We made bubble castles and a bubble wall between us. Honeymoon like activities, right?

Sunday, we flew to San Francisco, only to be picked up by a limo and taken to our hotel! We had a wonderful view of the city and the bay from our room, were within walking distance from China Town, the Union Square shopping center, Fisherman's Warf, and so many great restaurants! We walked to dinner that night, and ate at a little Italian hole-in-the-wall that had a 45 minute wait. The next day, we jumped on the trolley and headed to Fisherman's Warf (a long road lined with piers in the bay). Long story short...we received 2 free bay cruise tickets, 2 double decker bus Golden Gate tour tickets, $50 gift certificate for food, took a ferry and a tour of Alcatraz, watched the sea lions bake in the sun, and ended up in bed by 6:30 pm!! The next day, we went to the most crooked street in America (Lombard Street), went to Ghirardelli square, did the double decker tour over Golden Gate, shopped around the plaza, and then headed to an underground Blues joint! Another fun day! Wednesday, we rented a car and headed to Napa Valley! We learned so much at the wineries that day, and had a lot of fun exploring the area! Thursday, we went on the Napa Valley Wine Train for lunch and a 2 1/2 hour tour of the Valley. We continued to enjoy each other's company, and truly felt like we were on our honeymoon! Friday morning, we were able to enjoy a hot air balloon ride over the Valley! We got up extremely early, and by the time we got back (9:30 am), we were exhausted. We both fell asleep and woke up in just enough time to check out and get on the road. We drove up to Heldsburg (on accident), and spent the evening in a really neat town. They had an old town square with modern shops and restaurants. On Saturday, we headed towards the coast, and ended up driving through Sonoma Valley. We would absolutely go back here! The road was a fun drive, and the wineries were all very quaint and friendly. One, in particular, had a gigantic tasting room filled with mustards, chipotles, bbq sauces, oil/vinegars, jams that we were able to dip pretzels in. Welllll, let's just say it was lunch time and Arthur and I kept circling around the room trying to "decide" what we wanted! Yummy:) We found HWY 1 and drove down the coast back to San Francisco. We only stopped long enough to hike down to the ocean, take a couple of pictures, and for Arthur to swim out to a plymouth size rock with waves crashing around him! Ahhh! One of those scary honeymoon stories kept popping in my mind, but I know that he is an excellent swimmer and safe (most of the time)!

We flew 7 hours to get home on the following Sunday, and didn't arrive in Tahlequah until 1:30 am! I had to work the next day, so back to reality! We probably could've stayed on the honeymoon forever, if we didn't miss Aden so much! We all called each other frequently, and that's when Aden began calling him Daddy and Dad instead of Arthur. Still puts a smile on our faces!!

We did it!

Well, we did it! Arthur and I got married on May 17, 2008...and loved every minute of it! It was a quick 4 month engagement, which means not much time to plan. Lord willing, everthing fell in place...photographer, cake, flowers, showers, invitations/programs, decorations, music, and everything in-between. It was a military wedding, so our colors were the proud red, white, and blue that represents America! Arthur looked incredibly handsome in his military uniform, and I had a red and blue sash tacked on to my stark white dress. Aden looked adorable in his little "penguin suit", and was presented with a ring from daddy during the ceremony. It went a little bit like this..."Aden, we are going to be a family now, and I don't want you to feel left out. I got you this ring to show you that I'm making a promise to you. I promise to be the best dad that I can be with God's help".

I don't remember it verbatum, as I was fighting off tears! We had so much fun getting family pictures, and rounding up Aden for each shot! We couldn't have wished for a more beautiful day...sunshine, lots of friends, beautiful decorations, everyone on time, plenty of shade, and a lot of smiles to go around!

Arthur is such an incredible man! Aden and I are extremely blessed to have him as a father and a husband in our lives! The household now feels complete (even if we are still tripping over piles of gifts and dirty laundry from the past month). Aden is all about Arthur since the wedding. Here are some examples of quotes (I kid you not!):

"You are the best daddy in the whole world...mama did you hear me say that?"
"I love you dad"
"I want to hold daddy's hand"
"I want to sit by my daddy"
"Daddy can pray every day"

...and so on! I just can't get over how much Aden has instantly struck up this love for a man that has been in our lives for a long period and hasn't ever experienced it! I hope that Arthur continues to gain confidence in his fathering abilities, and that God will continue to work through Aden's little voice as he boosts that conficence every day.

So, here's the sad part. Arthur had to leave on June 1st and won't fly in until July 29th, only to turn around and leave until mid Sept. Aden and I are counting the days off of a big calendar and will continue to shower him with cards and letters until "daddy" comes home. We love him, and support him, and will continue waiting for him until we begin our new life together in Alabama!