D-Day

The week before a deployment usually involves lots of packing and a house in disarray, but it also means lots of family time. We spent the week before Jason left going to movies, eating out, and trying to have as much fun as we could.

There's nothing fun about seeing deployment gear all over your house and knowing that it is looming but having this cutie to cheer us up and try and make a toy out of Jason's bag made for lots of smiles! I can't even imagine how much Jason wishes he could pack her in his bag.

We got up early Saturday morning to go with Jason to leave for his deployment. We were all stronger this time knowing that it would be much shorter than what we are used to. I also told him that there could be no tears for the sake of Riley...just can't do that to this cute little girl!

When I had first told her a few weeks prior that Daddy was "going on an airplane" again she threw a fit and said "Nooooo..he's just going to work"...it's amazing what her little mind can grasp but she knew what I meant and she didn't like it. I dropped the conversation so she didn't get upset and told Jason he needed to talk to her about it. He spent a lot of time with her the few days before he left and they had talked about it quite a bit.

She spent the few hours in the passenger terminal playing and watching cartoons on her iPod. When it was time to say goodbye we all held it together and I scooped her out of there before she had time to really figure out what was going on. Here's a great shot of this Daddy's girl and her Daddy before we had to say goodbye...

We headed home and she played while I completely cleaned the house..which is my coping mechanism. After her nap she asked where her Daddy was and when I told her she said "he's stiiillllllll on the airplane?"

It's just me and my girl for a few months...we will hold down the fort but miss Jason so much.