1 week down...

It's officially been a week since Mick left. It seems to be getting easier on all of us. Michayla is doing good, she talks and texts Mick all the time, and I have been giving her melatonin to help her sleep at night. It seems to work well because then she isn't laying in her bed for a while waiting to fall asleep thinking about missing her daddy.
Clay got home Sat afternoon, having been gone all week at camp he came home to learning just how often we talk to dad on the phone. Mick calls a lot. He isn't allowed to talk during the day when he is at work, so we don't hear from him until 5 o'clock our time (which is 4 his time) but he then talks to everyone and will then call 2 or 3 other times before going to bed.
This week we are going to go see him. They are changing the local crews with some new crews so he will have this Fri & Sat off. We had originally planned to leave next Mon and stay a week but Mick would have had to work the whole time, so now we will be able to spend Thur afternoon and the rest of the weekend exploring California.. We have never been to CA, so we are all excited to see what lies ahead..

I went on a cleaning spree this weekend. I cleaned out our closet, and I mean cleaned out. Got rid of old clothes that both Mick and I had and organized everything. It is so nice to have a clean closet to actually walk around in. ;) Then I proceeded to clean my bedroom, re-arrange it, clean the bathroom and shower.. I then cleaned the rest of the house, dusted everything including my kitchen table and chairs. I still need to mop the kitchen and entry way but man does it feel nice to walk into a really clean house! I sent pictures of the closet to Mick and he was wondering why I was cleaning so much.. Just one of those moods I guess.

Tawnya, Mick's cousin is going to come and house/animal sit for us while we are gone. I am relieved to have someone here for the dogs and our little mischievious cat. 2 days of us being gone and the dogs start to notice and then they start getting into trouble.. ;)

After seeing a grilfriend of mine Skype with her husband who also works out of town, I can't wait to get Mick a laptop so that we can see him in person everyday. Hopefully when he comes home for Clay's Bday we can get him one then. I love that technology is so advance now-a-days that we have that opportunity.

Last week was a busy week for us. Luckily I have some great friends who have kept me busy. Diners, swim dates, and just girl chatting.. ;)

Surviving..

Well we survived our first full day without Mick. He has been using his new phone a lot. I gave him my old phone that is easier to text and send pictures. He has sent a lot of pictures and we have texted eachother over 200 times since he left. lol! I love it, most people think Mick is a man of little words but he truly can chat my ear off.. ;)
We spent the day at my parents house. (My sister is out of town until this Thur, I can't wait for her to come home. Nothing like hanging out w/ my sister!!) We painted our toenails, had ice tea and meat/cheese/pickle wraps for lunch.. Then we went and did some "looking" not "shopping" because we didn't buy anything.. Had shish-cabobs for dinner and played some badmitten.. All in all it was a great day w/ my folks.. I love that they live 1 min from me.. It's nice to have the support from my family while Mick is gone.
Michayla has been better w/ Mick being gone. I think it helped that he worked nights and slept for most of the day last summer/fall. It also helps that she can call/text him anytime she wants to. She is also excited that we are going to see him..
Clay left this morning for church camp, he will be gone until Sat afternoon. So it's just me and my Michayla this week. We have plans for a lot of swimming, having a dinner date w/ a friend and spending some quality time together. I love having a daughter to hang out w/..
Mick won't be able to come home until the week of Clay's bday (Aug 19) so we have decided to drive down and see him! The kids are very excited, not neccasarily about the 15 hour drive to get there. We are leaving Mon Aug 1 and coming back Friday the 5.. It's extremely hot down there but Mick's hotel has a huge pool and we are looking forward to hanging out by it every day we are there!! ;)
Mick met other guys that have been sent down from Stockton to work w/ them. He said they all went out to dinner last night and he seems to like them. Mick can get along w/ just about anyone so I am sure he is going to do just fine.

I miss him like crazy and truly there isn't a moment of the day that goes by that I don't think of him. His pillow smells like his cologne and I fall asleep smelling it every night. Everyone says that distance makes the heart grow fonder, well I am pretty fond of him so i don't know how I can be even more "fonder" of him but I probably will.. lol!

Bound for California..

Where do I start? We all know that the economy is horrible and when your husband works in construction this kind of economy is absolutely horrible.. A few months ago Mick started looking into finding a job elsewhere. He looked into the Oil Industry and had an offer to work in N. Dakota, while waiting for the weather to warm up (which felt like forever, past the middle of May) he was approached by his old boss, Steve with STP Concrete. The job was to work on the railroad making roughly $15/hr more. It sounded to good to be true, the worse part was the location of the job, California... Mick & I have never been to CA, and we were a little nervous about him having to leave us.
Well months turned into weeks, and weeks into days and days into today.. They were originally suppose to leave late this evening due to it being a 15 hr drive, but then it was changed to noon..
Michayla and Mick have a very close bond and I knew that when 3 days ago she couldn't fall asleep w/out crying that she was going to have a hard time w/ her daddy not being here everyday.
Clay got up this morning and went rafting w/ my parents. We took him to Build-a-bear last night and let him pick out a stuffed Monkey (his choice) and Mick recorded himself telling Clay that he misses and loves him. *Michayla had received one from Mick last year when he was working nights.* So now they both have Mick's voice talking to them whenever they want to hear him.



I am very saddened that Mick isn't here. We have been together for 16 yrs and have never been this far apart or gone as long as we will go without seeing eachother. I am a little nervous to do this all on my own. But, I shouldn't say all on my own, my parents and sister I know are willing to help me. It's just sad that he won't be coming home every night to be with us.

I love Mick more than I have ever loved him, and I am so greatful that he is willing to leave us to provide a better life for us. He is the best husband and father that I could ever ask for. I hope that he doesn't run himself too tired. It is extremely hot in Indio, CA so he better be taking care of himself.. ;)