The Countdown is ON!

As January nears, the anticipation of Keith's return is mounting.  We're way under a month until he comes home, and I can hardly believe that this chapter in our lives is over.  We are so thankful for the lessons we have learned, the tears we have cried and most importantly, the amount of support we have received.  We could not have done this without the help of our friends and family, but more importantly, without the comforting words of our Lord, constantly reminding us that every situation works itself out for our good.  We can truly testify to that as both Keith and I have had amazing opportunities to minister to others through lessons we have learned from our separation.

Keith has thoroughly enjoyed preaching every week while in Iraq.  He does two different services, where he is the primary one responsible for organizing and executing the service.  He has gotten a lot of preaching under his belt and is looking for ways to continue that when he returns home.  We know that God has gone before him and placed opportunities for preaching, we just pray that it includes a permanent job :)  The church we got married in is without a pastor right now, and Keith hopes to preach frequently there.

Things for me are pretty much routine.  When Keith comes home, I think he will be surprised to see just how well his wife did without him :)  Don't get me wrong, I will be ecstatic to have him back home, paying the bills and managing certain aspects of our life, but I must say-all in all, it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated.  Aside from the few household chores that I disliked (namely cleaning the litter box and the fish tank)--I was able to keep up with the house, bills and everything else fairly nicely.

What is next for the Smiths?  Truthfully, only God knows.  We ask for your continued prayers and support as Keith transitions back to being at home, and I adjust to sharing the bed again :)  It might end up being a great time to switch from our full bed to a queen :)  We know that there will be hard aspects of being back together and times where we have to work through how we have changed in this year apart, but we are SO looking forward to just being in the presence of one another again, that those seem like small hurdles to overcome now.  We covet your continued prayers over these next few months and are very very thankful for the times you have lifted our names up to our Savior over the last year.

A Synopsis of Our Time Together

Keith just left this morning to head back to the sandbox, and I'd be lying if I said it was easy to let him go this last time.  Even knowing that he'll be home in two months didn't make it much easier when it came time to say goodbye.  There's just something painful about separation from the one you love--thankfully, while Keith and I are separated, I will never be separated from the love of God!

We had a great two weeks together-we were able to see our families, play with our nephews and have some great couple time.  Everyone was great about understanding that our time was precious and we really appreciated that!  Keith and I spent the night in a fancy hotel where we got dressed up and went out to eat which was super fun.  We even had a fancy TV in our hotel room, so we went home (about 5 blocks) and got our DVD player and stayed up late watching movies :)  That's a pretty typical Smith family night :)  It was definitely worth it, though, and we had a blast!  We enjoyed spending halloween with the Smith nephews, and even took some fun pictures of them--they are fun!  Little Isaiah warmed right up to Keith, who he hadn't seen since he was a month old, and Braydon and Carter picked up right where they left off 10 months ago--wrestling, shooting, and chasing Uncle Keith!  It was fun to see them all play together.

The next two months will fly for me, I think--between working and getting ready for the holidays, I will be pretty busy.  Pray for Keith though, as it will be hard for him to be away from his entire family through the holidays.  He's a family man, and was reminded in this last two weeks just how great our families are and how hard it is to be away from them!  Because I'm terrible at posting, I'm going to say Happy Holidays now--early, but you just watch--it'll be here before we know it :)  May God bless your families this holiday season.  Take care!

Delayed...UGH!

I'm sure you all know that Keith is due home this week--originally TOMORROW (Thursday).  But, behold, he didn't get out of Iraq today, so he probably won't be home until later this weekend--probably Sunday afternoon/night.  We are so excited to see each other and this little glitch definitely makes it harder.  Pray for us--patience especially.  I know that this is one of the many things that we will see God's perfect timing in, but it's so hard in the moment :) Thank you so much!  More pictures of the couple reunited will follow :)    

2 months and counting!

These past 8 months have FLOWN by.  With a few rocky spots conveniently interspersed, the Smiths are MAKING IT!  We are on the downhill slope of this 12 month deployment, and have only 2 months left until Keith comes home for his leave.  We are so excited to be together again, even if only for a couple of weeks.  We have nothing planned, but want it to be that way :)

God has done amazing things in both of our lives during this separation, and we are confident that He will continue to do so.  For me, God has really been showing me (above everything else) that he means this time of separation to be a blessing.  He desires to bless me as I draw nearer to Him in the absence of my husband.  I think that as a wife I have placed too much of my trust in my husband, and not enough in my eternal Father.  When you are "doing life" with someone, it seems like a natural switch--one I had too easily gotten accustomed to--until that husband of mine left the country and suddenly our lines of communication, touch, and (in some ways) our relationship was severed to a certain degree.  I was left feeling alone--and in walks my superhero--God himself--saying I'm here, I always have been and I always will be--lean on ME from now on--I won't leave you or desert you, and I desire to have an intimate relationship with you more that Keith could ever dream of--I created you!  I know we've all heard this many many times, but for the first time, that idea has seemed tangible to me.  With Keith not here to talk to and confide in---my focus has returned to trusting in God.  It was (and will continue to be) a big lesson for me to take away from this deployment.  I often ask myself if God saw that I wouldn't be able to learn this lesson any other way--he had to strip me of the man that I loved so that there was no one else to interfere with my relationship with him--so that I could put him first daily and not have to worry about "being a wife"--cooking supper, doing laundry, watching movies.  These are all amazing things that I look forward to doing with Keith when he gets home, but at the same time, with my priorities more "in check" I know that these events will be that much more enjoyable--after all, I am expecting much more out of the God of the Universe and much less out of my earthly, human husband--how great will that be for the both of them!?

Thank you for indulging me on that--it makes much more sense on paper than it did in my head.  All in all, when your trust is in the Lord and you look to Him for companionship, your relationship with your husband will be much better--at least, that is what I have experienced thus far--and I don't see it changing any time soon. 

We praise God for keeping Keith and all of the soldiers safe, and continue to ask for your prayers for their safe travel both within and out of the country as soldiers are traveling back and forth for leave.  I will let you all know about a "Welcome Home" party when we have one in the works--Keith would love to see EVERYONE when he gets home :)  Take care and hopefully we can talk soon!

Crystal

It's update time!

Things here in the Smith household are...the same :)  Penney is still her cute self and is often found darting around the room to avoid anything scary--plastic sacks, vacuum cleaners, or just me with a super scary look on my face :)  She misses Keith too, though, and it's not hard to tell.  Once in a while she will just aimlessly walk around looking for him and meowing.  It's quite sad.  I think the hardest is when she hears someone walking up the stairs or outside the door and she RUNS to the door hoping it's him, only to realize that it's someone else.  Pets definitely mourn as well.

Things for me are going pretty good.  I'm picking up a few extra shifts a week at work, which keeps me busy, as well as traveling quite a bit to see family and friends.  In early July I'll be going to Dallas to spend a week with a girlfriend whose husband is heading out of town.  They have two little girls and I am SO looking forward to that time with them.  Can you say GIRL NIGHT :)  Kayla is almost 4 and a complete girly girl.  Kenya turned 1 in November and LOVES to do anything with her big sister and mama.  So, needless to say, there will be much toenail painting and "makeup" applying :)  It'll be great!  

Our families are both doing pretty well.  Keith's dad had an episode with his heart, but he is slowly recovering--a little stronger each day, we hope.  Keep him in your prayers!  Keith is still doing great in Iraq--although the time is starting to pass more slowly than at first.  Nothing is really new or exciting now that he is moved into his pod (YES!) and 100% engrossed in his routine.  So, he seems to be missing home a bit more--again, prayers would be appreciated.  He is getting great practice preaching, though, and he is VERY excited about it.  If you think of it, pray for him this Sunday around 8:00, as he will be preaching Sunday afternoon.  I guess it's one of the hardest messages God has laid on his heart so far, so he's taking a leap of faith and praising God for revealing such difficult things to him, yet at the same time fighting to not be timid.  

Hope this note finds you all doing well--we look forward to hearing from you!

Buying a house? Am I crazy?

Hey all--yes, the title is true--we are thinking about (not very seriously at all, just curiously) buying a house--with Keith being gone.  It's all fueled by my impatience with the noisiness of this apartment, and my impeccable ability to fine "the perfect house." (three times now).  So, I guess we need advice as this isnt something either of us has done.  We haven't done anything yet-no mortgage approval, or anything and are literally dabbling in the idea.  But, we have found a house that we really really love and are getting more and more serious about working out the details.  Does anyone have advice?  Here are some pics :)  Tell me what you think!

My help comes from the Lord!

As you can imagine, the past four months haven't been easy--not one day has passed where I didn't wish things were different-that Keith were home, or that he wasn't even IN the Army at all.  However, I realized every day that I doubt or complain, is a day I miss out on praising God for His marvelous plan. Throughout the Bible it says that God's purpose is sovereign and that he has our best interests in mind, so why do I let myself mope around about being apart from the one I love, when I know that God is behind each and every situation?  I guess it's because I am human, fallen, and prone to sin.

Over the past few weeks, God has really been ministering to my heart about the hard times in life.  Growing up, I always heard about "the peaks and the valleys" of your walk with the Lord, and yet I hadn't really experienced any valleys--I spent quite a bit of time on the peaks, I guess you could say.  However, with this deployment (my first real valley), I'd say God is definitely teaching me about a different aspect of following Him.  

It's easy to follow the Lord when you are a valley-life is grand, you don't have any REAL struggles or conflicts, and praising Him for your daily bread seems to come naturally.  However, in the valley-things all around you look dreary, there is much to complain about, and your blessings seem to fade into the distance in the shadow of all of the TERRIBLE things you are going through.  But, alas--there is our Savior, right there beside you in the trenches saying "Call on ME, ask ME for help" because Christ himself has been in that same valley.  As the psalmist said so beautifully "I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, maker of Heaven and Earth."  God has really been hammering this verse into my heart.  First of all, when you are in the valleys, all you want to do is look up to the hills--where you want to be (the peaks).  It seems like the time in the valley goes by so slowly.  But when we look up to the hills, there is God offering his help-help to bring us OUT of the valley and onto the peak.  What an amazing truth-the psalmist doesn't say our help comes from friends, or family, or even our spouse--but when we are in the valley, we must lift our eyes to the HILLS and see the LORD there, and ask HIM for help.  

This truth has blessed me over the last few months as I grow each day and learn more and more how to depend on God and not on myself--it's Him that will take me out of this valley, or perhaps, see me through this valley.  

New Pics from Keith

Here are some new pics Keith sent me.

1. His sleeping quarters--not HIS, because I'm sure his wouldn't be that messy, but-you get an idea of just how crowded they are right now.  Hopefully this will soon change-when they get into officer housing, it should only be 2 people per room, instead of 8.

2. Here are a few pictures of his "office" where he sits and emails, makes phone calls, etc. I have no idea where the pink flamingo came from, but it's cute :)

3. This is a picture of the supply closet that I mentioned before-a big ministry for Keith-soldiers  can come and get these items for free and it serves as a nice contact point with the chaplain.

I hope you've enjoyed these pictures!  Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

A Much Needed Update

Hi all--well, as many of you know, Keith has safely arrived to the big sandbox.  They have been there about two weeks now, as they left shortly after their leave (Easter weekend).  We had a great time in Dallas--we met up with some friends for supper, saw some family, spent a TON of quality time together (shopping, of course) and got couples massages!  All in all, it was a great weekend, and we got one more goodbye under our belt--one left!  

Now that Keith is actually in country, we have been surprised at how well the communication has been.  We didn't really know what to expect, but we have actually gotten to talk 2-3 times/week, which has been nice.  The hard part is getting used to the 8 hour time difference.  He seems to forget that when it's the middle of the afternoon for him, it's the middle of the night for me :)  I don't mind usually, though, hearing his voice is enough to make me forget what hour it is.  Keith is really starting to settle into his new home, though, and even has his own office with a phone (that dials direct to Omaha-woohoo) and computer.  He is officially doing chaplain duties and has his own hum-vee...which he can't drive yet :)  Once he gets his license, he'll officially be mobile!  Last time I talked to him it was in the 90's and they were all very hot--however, all of the guys who were getting ready to head out were commenting on "how nice" it was outside.  I think in the next few months, Keith look back on the 90's and dream of these days.  Other than that, he is just staying busy counseling and helping the soldiers settle in.  He is responsible for a "shop" that a previous chaplain set up that has certain items for soldiers to come get free of charge (deodorant, shampoo, food, candy, etc)--it's a great contact point for the chaplain to get acquainted to soldiers who may not seek him out otherwise.  So, if you are interested in sending care packages to Keith to help him keep this stocked, just let me know, we'd love help :)

As for me, I'm keeping busy.  Although it has been almost 2 months since Keith has left, the 10 that are left seem pretty daunting at this point.  The time seems to pass fairly quickly, but then you realize there is just SO much time LEFT!  If it were 2-3 months, I'd be set--but, it's not, and I'm still adjusting to that idea, I guess.  I am involved in a Bible study with some women my age, which has been a great support system, along with having great family and friends to keep me occupied, so I have truly been blessed.  The families in Keith's unit have been a great help as well, and it's nice to know you're not in this alone.  I am planning a trip to Dallas this summer, and a camping trip is possible in August, so hopefully these things will give me something to look forward to.  OH YEAH--Keith found out that his 2-week leave won't be until the end of November, so that came as a bit of a surprise--pray for us about this--it's not easy having to wait that long, when we thought it'd only be until July or August.  Ah--how rarely my idea of ideal matches up with the Lords--there must be some reason for it being that late, we'll just have to wait until He reveals it :)

Hope you are all doing well!  If you EVER want to come visit, just let me know-you are welcome anytime!

Blessed with a communicator

As the time comes near for me to fly to Dallas and meet up with Keith, I have been reminded time and time again of how blessed I am to be married to such a great man.  I have realized lately that our phone calls have been getting shorter and shorter, with no apparent reason, other than the fact that we seem to run out of things to say.  I guess we are both fairly set in our routines and there isn't too much variation from day to day-this makes for little conversation--on top of the fact that we both are exhausted by the time we actually DO get to talk that we get the essentials out and that's all.  The best part of the whole thing, though, is that Keith is an amazing communicator--that's why this "long distance" thing doesn't seem THAT bad (yet, anyway) because we are able to keep the lines open, and communicate with each other.  This is another way God has blessed us through this deployment

I cannot even express how excited I am to leave on Thursday morning!  Please keep us in your prayers as we are together and enjoying each other's presence!  Much appreciated!

Another goodbye--2 down, 2 to go!

Having Keith  home these past four days was amazing!  If there was any reason I had forgotten why I married him, I was reminded this weekend!  We had a great time together and felt like we spent a good deal of "quality time" together, even with the visitation and funeral.  We laughed, cried, cuddled and talked until we couldn't talk anymore.  So tonight as I sit in a quiet apartment, I am reminded how much a part of me Keith truly is.  And because he is such a part of me, that is why it's so hard to be away from him for so long!

The bright side to the story is that it's only 18 days until I get to see my beloved again.  March 20-23 we will be in Dallas to meet up for the 4 day leave Keith has before shipping over for good.  He will then get a 15-day leave once throughout his 10 months in Iraq.  We're not sure when this will be, but we are VERY much looking forward to it, as these 4 days went all too quickly.  

It has been amazing to me that in only four days with my husband, I can have complete confirmation of God's hand in every aspect of our lives.  From the husband I was blessed to be given, to the hard nights when I lie awake wondering what he's doing--God is there, and his Will is sovereign over all our lives.  To see the joy in my husband's eyes when he talks about his experiences and the positive impact he is making on many young soldier's lives, it is worth EVERY lonely night that I spend missing him.  All of the heartache and tears in the world are worth one soul entering the kingdom.  The truth is, both Keith and I are exactly where the Lord wants us to be right now--even though that means being away from each other.  When your lives are resting in the hand of the Almighty, everything else will fall into place.

Truly Bittersweet

The word bittersweet is used quite often, I'm sure, by many different people.  Sometimes I can understand why they used it, other times I'm not quite so sure.  However, I'm pretty sure that I have the TRUE meaning of bittersweet figured out!

Well, I found out on Sunday about the passing of Keith's grandmother, and it was the first "bad news" I had to tell him since he was gone.  Initially he took it pretty well, and decided it would be harder to come home than was worth it.  However, yesterday he called me back and explained that it had just "hit him" and that he felt as if he needed to come home.  I'm not sure how many of you ladies have experienced the helpless feeling of having the one that you love crying on the phone miles and miles away, but I found myself in that situation and hating it!  I just wanted to be there to hold him and comfort him, but I was unable--so words had to try to soothe him.  It turns out that he IS coming home for the funeral, which is Saturday.  So now, albeit a terrible reason for him to have to come home, I GET TO SEE HIM!!!  He'll fly in Friday and leave late Sunday night.  It is a blessing and the work of God's hand that I don't have to work this weekend, so I will get to spend every second with him!  I'm very excited to see him, even if it's just for 3 days.  

So, yes, his grandmother passed away (which is bitter--but truly a blessing in her condition), but I get to see my soldier (so so so sweet)!  Instead of three weeks, it will be less than three days until we are together again, for a short time!  Keep us in your prayers as we get to say HELLO but are also forced to say goodbye one more time!

Avril Lavigne - When You're Gone Military Tribute

The joyous task of "keeping busy"

I have found in the short month that Keith has been gone that time goes by MUCH faster when your hands are busy.  So, each day I have off I seem to make these never-ending "to do" lists that will most definately keep me busy for the entire day.  It seems odd to me that on my days off, I don't simply rest and enjoy being away from the hectic hospital environment.  But no no, if I do that, I soon find myself missing my husband all too much.  

So today, the plans are to venture out to the big bad laundromat (I'm not even sure how to spell that!).  Since we have a cat, hair tends to accumulate everywhere, especially on our beautiful brown comforter.  So, today is the day that it will finally get washed!  I am actually sort of looking forward to this adventure, as I tend to be quite a people watcher.  I am so fascinated by people that are very different than me, and this is what I intend to encounter at the laundromat.  It's amazing to me how God has created us each differently.  And while we are so acclimated to how our person (and those that we love) may act, we are simply fascinated by the situations and actions of those that we rarely encounter.  However, it takes some of each kind to fulfill the will of God.  So today, I will be challenged to reach out to someone that is different than me--step into their shoes for a few hours, and enjoy what I experience.  I hope that God gives you opportunities to do the same--whether it is on the bus, at school, or at the laundromat! 

The beginning of a public journal

I decided to join the blogging craze as it might be a great way to keep people updated on our lives.  Keith is currently still in Texas and loving every minute (well, almost--we all know how much of a morning person he is).  He is enjoying leading services every week and interacting with the soldiers.  It sounds like they are really opening up to him and are able to count on him for great counsel, which makes his job even better.

I am keeping busy at work.  I work at Creighton in med-surg trauma.  It is always exciting and busy--which I love.  I have about 2 days of orientation left and then they're setting me free!  Both Keith and I are looking forward to the end of March when we get to see each other before he heads over to Iraq.  We are meeting in Dallas and going to spend some time enjoying the city we used to call home.  It's amazing how fast time has gone already--he has been gone for about 6 weeks, only 45 left!