This will be short - be prepared for a much longer post in a couple weeks once he returns to Bucca and I’ve had a chance to adjust. It is really great having him home and we have had such a great time!  Tomorrow we leave for the beach so more pictures will be added the weekend of the 11th! So check out Flickr….

I just wanted to write a quick hello… more to come soon!

I want to apologize to everyone for not updating this like I should. It has been a roller coaster here so this kind of took the back burner. Things are really bustling here with the arrival of Geno within the next few days.  We have a busy r&r planned for the family but it will be a great one at that. We will see lots of family and friends and we will also get to spend some alone time as a family when we head to the beach for four days.  We miss him so much and the kids and I can’t wait until he’s home.

Derrick is still at my mom’s house enjoying getting spoiled.  He’s having a good time based on the conversations we have had.  Torrey and him are just about glued to each other.

Xavier is just a riot. He has started talking more in complete 3-4-5 word sentences which is just a joy to hear. We often wondered what his voice would sound like and it’s so wonderful to get to hear it.  His surgery is still planned for the 14th and I’m still really nervous about it, especially since Geno won’t be able to be here. 

I am doing ok, not great but not run to the ground - this deployment has taken alot out of me but also enabled me to grow into the person I believe I was meant to be.  I’m not sure how many of you that read this talk to me day to day but I was recently diagnosed with post-partum depression. It turns out that I’ve been dealing with this for the past two years.  After a few bumps in the road during this deployment I finally decided that something needed to be done.  I was diagnosed a short while ago and though it was a shock at first looking back at the past two years I feel like “duh!”  The signs were there for me but to me postpartum depression had to do with hurting yourself, your kids or someone else. Turns out I didn’t know anything about it.  The help I’ve been getting has made a tremendous positive impact on myself and hopefully on our family.

I am still doing the 10k in August for the American Red Cross. We will have many family and friends in town to cheer me on for the Red Cross 10k marathon here in Fayetteville. I’m so excited to have the support and only wish Geno could be there waiting for me at the finish line!!

Well we are headed to Middletown this weekend so I will definately have a ton of pictures posted from our trips.  I have still taken quite a few pictures and I will load them into Flickr so that everyone can see them. They are mostly of Xavier since Derrick hasn’t been around - at least that’s HIS excuse!

For all the Lolli Clan that read this - can’t wait to see you guys this weekend! I only wish we had more time to see other family and friends that can’t be in town that weekend.