481

• This will be my 481st blog post over the last 4 years. I'm not sure what I could have possibly found to write about that much...oh wait, I have three little ladies who have me running around in circles all day long. :)
• I last saw my husband 3 weeks ago and it feels like an eternity until I see him again.
• My mom and three sisters baked around 300 cookies today...chocolate chip (with and without nuts), no-bake, peanut butter, sugar, white chocolate macadamia nut, and oatmeal. 250 of which will be mailed to the USS Makin Island tomorrow afternoon.
• Alyssa and Allison watch Snow White every time they spend the night at their Nana's house...it's a tradition!
• Allison makes me smile in a way I never thought possible.
• Madelynn is an ornery little thing with a pistol attitude. She is singing her full Alphabet and a few nursery rhymes...amazing me more and more everyday. 
• Alyssa is the most feisty, opinionated, in-your-face little girl I have ever met...with the biggest heart (that she wears on her sleeve). 
• Despite my over-the-top planning and list making, I have seemed to yet again go overboard with my Christmas shopping. I don't want the girls to be too spoiled or worry about material things, it's just too hard not to buy them everything they want/need. I'm a softy. 
• The thought of waiting 4 more days to decorate for Christmas is KILLING me!! I will, however, stand strong and wait until after Thanksgiving...or at least after my nap on Thanksgiving. :)
• Even though Johnathon will be gone for Christmas, he will have wrapped gifts waiting for him when he gets home.
• I am not just a mother, going through the motions of raising her children. A mother is what I am. Through and through, to the bottom of my heart.
• I have so much to be thankful this year for Thanksgiving that I don't even know where to start or how to explain what I am feeling. Life is good!
• Even with 7 years as a Navy wife/girlfriend under my belt, I still feel like other wives know more about the Navy and everything that goes along with it more than I do. I still feel like that scared 18 year old girl who moved 3000 miles away from her friends and family all of those years ago. I am hoping that with our next duty move I am able to embrace this lifestyle and become more of a leader/teacher for those other scared young wives who know very little about the new life that they have been thrust in to.
• My mom is doing fabulous and is totally rocking her short black buzz cut. She seems to be fully embracing what is happening in her life and you can tell by the look on her face that she is ready for whatever God throws her way next. 

"One day at a time. One deployment at a time. One deep breath at a time."    -Me