Happy NEXT MONTH!

First, please say a prayer for one of Dan's soldiers.  She had to leave Afghanistan yesterday for the States on emergency leave.  Her father is very ill and she may not even make it to his side in time.  Her husband, two teenagers and little boy are all here in Germany so she's making that long jouney to Nevada alone.  Dan put her on a plane yesterday morning within hours of getting the Red Cross message and he hasn't heard from her.  Hopefully that means she got right on connecting flights out right away.  He told her not to even think about coming back since they were leaving in a month anyway but she said she has to.  That's the kind of person she is.  Knowing my husband, I doubt he'll let her. They'll pack up all her belongings and get them back here to Germany.  Anyway, please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.  That's the hardest part of being military... not being near family in times like these.

The new year means a lot to a lot of people.  This year it means one thing to me.  January 1st means that I can officially say my man comes home NEXT MONTH!!!!  Gotta tell you, 2006 pretty much sucked for me.  Don't get me wrong, good things happened and I'm grateful for them but I'm REALLY happy to say hello to 2007 and all the adventure it's going to bring.  Dan coming home, moving back to the States (I'll miss Europe, lived here most of my adult life, but I miss family more), settling in at West Point (please God, let us get housing) and let's not forget... RHINEBECK!!! 

Let me tell you, that move is going to sneak up and bite me right in the arse.  I can't believe the movers will be here in about four months.  Right now all my thought processes are just getting ready for Dan to come home.  There's racks of beer to be bought, banners to be made, favorite meals to be planned out....  a house to clean so that he doesn't think aliens moved in and took his wife.

It's amazing.  My mood went from the  doldrums to ecstatic overnight.  I've been walking around the house all morning all happy and every now and then I yell, "NEXT MONTH!  IT'S OVER, BABY!" and the boys get this scared look on their faces like their mother just lost her mind (little do they know that happened years ago).  A few minutes ago Joseph said, "Mom, people are going to think we're crazy.  Please stop that."  Yeah...  what do you want to bet that by the end of the day he's the one that's going to be yelling it and I'm going to be the one asking him to stop.

The boys and I went out to the field next to our house last night.  We have an awesome view of the Marktplatz and church towers of our town.  You can see it here from pictures I took in February (when we had this white stuff called snow).  Fireworks over here is a whole different story than in the States.  You can buy them everywhere for a couple of weeks before New Year's Eve.  And they set them off everywhere.  I picked up a few stray rockets from our backyard this morning.  I was hoping to capture the light of the church towers in the fireworks but I didn't get it.  Not a strong enough zoom lens and too far from the action.

I really think that my lack of knitting over the last year can be blamed on depression.   I mean, I picked up knitting again (and reading... which I also haven't been doing) just a couple of weeks ago.  Dan's coming home soon.  Coinkidink?  I think not.  Here is the progress on said knitting:

Don't you hate the way cotton looks all uneven until you block it?  And so much for better photography.  It's a very grey day here in Germany due to rain... again... not.snow.  Rain, rain go away bring a blizzard any day!  Yeah.  The blizzard will happen the day Dan's plane is supposed to arrive.  Wow.  How's that for snarky?  Even though you can't tell it from that last paragraph, I really am in a good mood.  :-)

Another project I worked on was embroidering polo shirts for Dan and his troops for Christmas gifts.  I ruined the first set of polo shirts and had to order more so they were late getting to them but they loved them.  They also had SA (Special Agent) and their name under the  badge:

Please pop over to Kim's blog and  help fill up Morgan's Tree!!  It's almost filled!  Pass the word!

Comments

[bri]

What an exciting time for you and your boys. A month cannot go by fast enough. Happy 2007!

[shona]

Happy New Year. dan will be home before you know it. Thinking of you all.

[Isela]

Happy New Year!!! The new year has great things for your family. We will celebrate his coming home with you through cyberspace :)

[jayne]

Yay, Jean!! Next month Dan Comes Home!!!!! I can picture you shouting it around the house. My kids know that I've already gone around the bend too. They seem to tolerate me :) Happy knitting!

[Laura]

Jean! You're so awesome! And so happy! hehe I'm glad to hear the good news about your husband coming home. I read back aways.... thanks for the MAP! Most of us really don't have a clue how far he is from you. We think you're "over there" and that he couldn't be TOO far, right? GAH! Lotsa big changes on the way for you! Happy New Year! :)

[bets]

I can hear how excited you are. Leave the tree up-Christmas will be in February. Way to go, Jean, you guys are almost there.

[Theresa]

Just prayed for your friend. I sure hope she sees her Dad in time. I know some people knit when stressed/depressed, but I am like you and knit less then. I knit more when I am happy and relaxed. I'm so glad that you've only got a few more Saturdays to go! I'm sending up prayers again for Dan too.

[Barb]

Happy New Years! 2007 holds great promise! I hope you get housing and can knitting be far behind?

[Kathryn]

When life is back to its normal routine and you and Dan are settled in at West Point, make sure he takes you to Flirtation Walk. You've both earned it.

[Wool Winder]

Happiness to you in 2007! Sounds like you're off to a good start. I can feel your excitement all the way over here.

[My Merino Mantra]

Such wonderful news and a great way to start 2007. Have a Happy New Year, Jean!

[Kim]

hahah....I can just picture you shouting...LOL! You've earned the right to give a shout or two or three :-) Happy New Year!!

[Valerie]

Happy New Year, Jean! Best wishes for all that 2007 holds for you and your family.

[Kathy]

Happy New Year, Jean! How great for you and your family to be in 2007! And West Point has got to be one of the most awesome places to be stationed in the Army. Look forward to meeting you at Rhinebeck!!