"Dear Jesus,

Thank for you daddy to go the Marines. Please keep him safe and have him come back soon. Please help him have a good time at boot camp. In Jesus Name, Amen." - Bryna's Bedtime prayer.

So here we are. The journey has officially begun. The past 3 or so days have been a whirlwind. I can't quite make sense of where my emotions are at the moment. Adam left today at 1pm.

Where to begin...

Evidently poker night was a super hit! Although Adam did not win any pots, he still enjoyed hanging out with the guys. His favorite brother was able to make up even! The night ended on a great note with all the guys taking turns praying for Adam. I'm sure it was quite the moment. He's so blessed to have friends who hold him up like that.

Adam and his bro spent about 10 hours wrangling with an overhead microwave oven and some stubborn tile on Saturday. Adam swore that he'd complete that project before he left, and he totally got it done. I love it! Now I get to do the fun part - the grout. :-) It was great having his brother here hanging out with us. It was such a pleasant distraction. I think if it were just us, there would've been too many opportunities to pay attention to the looming black cloud and allow our nerves to get the best of us.

We had a great time late last night sitting out on the deck together in the very lovely summer night breeze. Awesome memories to last me a while.

This morning came all too soon. We barely got finished with breakfast and realized there was only about an hour and a half left before it was time for him to go. He quickly taught me how to charge video cameras, and our digital camera. It was our final wrap up of family business and just plain nuts and bolts stuff.

He "packed" a change of clothes for the next day, minimal toiletries, his Bible, his ID and SS card. Talk about traveling light!
For the next half-hour (which seemed like both 2 hours and only 5 minutes) we just hung around in the driveway. My folks were out waiting with us, along with some neighbor kids and our nephew. It was really nervewracking! So many tears and hugs and some good laughs - overall pretty light hearted. When the car pulled up - my stomach dropped like a rock. We called both girls over one more time for a final hug (I tried to sneak about 3 extra ones in there). We watched as he got into the car. Poor Bryna let out a, "Daddy! Wait!" She got one more hug in. They turned around, we waved, and with that - he was gone. It was the hardest, most surreal moments I think I've had.

We've kept busy for the remainder of the day. Cleaning, playing, had dinner with my cousin (thanks for that you guys). It was nice to get out and get our minds off of things.

I just finished writing my first letter to Adam. He'll get about 5 on his first mail call, as they provide his address via mail. Once I get that letter I'll post it here.

Much more to say - but I better get to bed for a good day's start tomorrow.

Thank you for taking the time to check in on us! God bless, Gena

(pictures coming soon)