Dennis left going back to Camp Shelby about 12:00pm today. It was one of THE hardest days that I have had in a very long time! Ella is almost 13 months old and Lily is 2 1/2 years old and neither of them really have a clue that they won't see their daddy for the next YEAR! It makes my heart sad.
We all went to Hattiesburg, MS on Monday. Ella and I arrived first and met Dennis for lunch at a chicken place called "Raising Cane" (VERY YUMMY...similar to Zaxby's and Abners'). Ella almost jumped out of my arms when she saw her daddy (and he was still in his truck)! We had a good lunch and then went to check in to the hotel. We stayed at the Residence Inn, so we had a room that had two bedrooms, a living area, and a full kitchen. So Dennis' parents stayed with us to help with the girls. Soon to follow us arriving at the hotel was Dennis' parents, Nana and Poppie. Dennis was just aching to take Ella swimming so I suited her up and sprayed her down and off we went. WELL, Ella absolutely did NOT like the water! She screamed and clung to Dennis. He even tried putting her in the hot tub....NOPE not that either! So we went back up to the room and played until my mom and step-dad, GiGi and JJ, got there with Lily bug. She was ecstatic to see her daddy! SO precious! Well, Lily is a little fish...so Dennis decided to take her swimming. She LOVED every minute of it! Ella and I went back to the room to take a nap because she was just exhausted. After an hour of swimming, Lily and Dennis came in. He said that she absolutely did not want to get out of the water! We then went to dinner and then Jan, Randy, Lily, Dennis, and I went to Camp Shelby to the MWR concert. (GiGi and JJ stayed at our hotel with Ella...she was just TOO tired to go) Lily had a blast at the concert! She climbed the rock wall, ran around, danced, and pretty much just entertained everyone out there :) Finally about 9:00pm or so we left and went back to give Lily a bath and for everyone to get in bed!
On Tuesday, June 9, 2009 we all woke up really early, got ready, got everything packed, and headed to Camp Shelby for the 155th's Farewell Ceremony. I have to say that I saw a total of about 10 minutes of the one hour ceremony. It was SO hot and humid outside and my poor lil' Ella bear just couldn't handle it. I finally just got her and took her back to the van so she could get some cool air. The girls were dressed SO cute! I made them hot pink shirts with an awareness ribbon in ACU fabric appliqued on it and then I embroidered "My Daddy Is My Hero" on them. Then I made them some shorts out of the ACU fabric and put hot pink ruffles on them. They were SO stinkin' cute! After the ceremony we all met up and ate lunch together. After we ate, Dennis was taking Lily to wash up and as he was walking away Ella just started screaming and fussing at him!!! He had to come back and get her too! She was NOT having her daddy leave her behind! (And that's how it stayed the ENTIRE time he was home!!!) We then all loaded up and headed home. We all took naps and then got up, ate some take-out from Logan's Roadhouse, went for a walk around the neighborhood, and then crashed out!
Wednesday was the long awaited for "Dora the Explorer LIVE" show! Lily had been saying for WEEKS that daddy was taking us to see the "real" Dora! Needless to say she had an AWESOME time! She never took her eyes off of the show! She paid VERY close attention and has told us SEVERAL times the entire story! Dennis' grandparents came to watch Ella while we went and afterwards they took us to Zaxby's for lunch. We then came back home and all took naps! (We LOVE naps at this Bittle house!!!!) That night, Michael and Becca had us over and grilled steaks for dinner. They were delicious! The kids had fun playing together too! Then home, baths, and bed!
Thursday we all went to the water park (Alabama Adventure). Ella did NOT like one single thing about that place! It was hot, she didn't like the water, and she was sleepy! She ended up falling asleep, so I called a good friend of ours, April Cork, and she met me at our house to keep Ella for the rest of the day. So, off I went...back to the water park! Lily was having the time of her life :) That baby played and played and played! We primarily stayed in the toddler section and she went down those slides it seemed like a million times! Dennis was standing up at the top and I was at the bottom catching her. As soon as she would hit the water she would say "I want to go AGAIN"! So off she'd go! We ended up staying at the water park for FIVE hours! Lily was exhausted, but would have definitely stayed longer if we would have let her! She was SUCH a good girl! (With the exception of her little mean streak where she kicked over a baby's bucket...she had to go and sit out for a while...and believe me...she KNOW'S what she did was wrong! She even told us about it on the way home) So we went home, got on dry clothes, and all took naps! (Catching on here???) When the girls got up I went to Publix and bought stuff to make lasagna (Dennis' FAVORITE) for supper. We ate, gave the girls a bath, and chilled out the rest of the night.
Friday was our lazy day! Dennis and Lily went to Cracker Barrel (their favorite restaurant) for breakfast. They came home and Lily helped him clean out his truck. Then we played until lunch time and then we ate and put Lily down for a nap. Dennis went to run errands and Ella and I cleaned up a little bit. We didn't do much else. Dennis went and got Applebee's-to-go and brought it home for supper. Afterwards we all loaded up and went to Hibbets to get Dennis some new running shoes (which were MUCH needed!). After the girls baths, I baked us some cookies and we watched a movie that Dennis had rented.
Today was a very "different" kind of day. It was filled with the joy of spending time with Dennis, the sadness of him leaving, and exhaustion from all the week's activities. Dennis played with the girls all morning. His parents got here about 10:30am to see him for a little while, and then we all went to Logan's Roadhouse for lunch. It was a very emotional time! I would look at him holding Ella (she REFUSED to sit in her highchair...she wanted her DADDY!) and I would smile, then I'd tear up because I knew that it would be one of the last times for a year for me to get to see them together. After lunch we all said our goodbyes. I was just bawling my eyes out and Lily just did not understand why. She kept asking me what was wrong. Dennis told her that mommy was just a little sad. Then she asked me if I hit my elbow! I just agreed with her. Poor baby just didn't understand.
I know that Lily, Ella, and I will be perfectly fine over the next year, but it is still very hard. I have all of my faith and trust in God and I know that He will provide for us. He will provide for us emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically. But we still need all the prayers we can get! Please pray for strength and guidance as I care for our girls, pray for the girls to remember their daddy (this is one of my biggest fears), and pray for Dennis to have a safe journey, to keep a clear head, to accomplish his mission, and to return home safe. His unit will be doing Convoy Security, so they will be out on the roads pretty much every day.
Please know, if you get a call at mid-night...it's probably me! I will NOT hesitate to call any of my friends or family if I need any of you for anything! I sincerely hope that I don't ask to much of you during this next year, but if I do, please just remind me of it.
Sorry for such a long blog, but I wanted to journal our last week with "daddy" before he left. I think it is important for the girls! Again, please keep us in your prayers!
Missy
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