HOMECOMING!

So after hanging out by myself bored out of my mind, i finally found out that Stevens unit was to come home on September 30th, and all of a sudden I was completely overwhelmed. I had an entire to-do list that could probably keep me busy for a month yet alone get done, in a week and a couple days before the Mr gets back. I had tons and tons of homework, that just never ends, but i had it in my head that i wanted to get ahead on my homework so when he came home i wouldn't have to worry about it, then i started thinking about what i was going to feed him when he got back, and where he wanted me to put his laundry and what side of the closet he would want, and AHHH! any way for about the next 3 days i was running around like a crazy person trying to get things done, and it seemed that it wasn't working to well.
 And then... well i noticed that it was starting to rain outside, you know the kind of weather that is really gloomy and dark and wet, that makes you want to just curl up in your blankets all day and do nothing? well thats what happened, for a couple hours any way. The next few days, still raining, it just didn't seem to want to stop i got some stuff done but the weather was just damping my mood, so i got the house clean, and all the laundry done... well most of it anyway ;) but that homework was just not working for me haha.
 So about 2 or three days before Steven came home we will say the 28th or so... that was a Tuesday, it started to rain a little harder not to bad though... until Tuesday night, Then it got really windy and a whole lot of rain.. i thought it was alot anyway, i learned what alot meant later. 
Wednesday the 29- I finally learned that that horrible rain and wind Tuesday night was the beginning of Tropical Strom Nicole. I made plans to go out Wed night with a couple friends for dinner to calm our nerves and hopefully make the time go by a little faster. All three of us were expecting our men to come home the next day and were definitely going a little nuts by ourselves. Dinner was good, we ate, and laughed and looked up how long this horrible rain was going to stick around, it said online at the weather service that the worst of the storm would be Wed night, and would be passed over us and sunny by about 12-2 pm on Thursday.. Whew.. that made me feel better the plan as of then was that the plane was going to land at about 5 pm Thursday. After dinner we went to Walmart because none of us wanted to go home yet, and what was the point if we weren't going to be able to sleep anyway we were all to excited!... we walked around and of course were very loud and giggly turning lots of heads, and thought it would be fun and a little ironic, to get an umbrella haha. any way we went home, and my friend dropped me off back home because i didn't have a car at the time, and amazingly i went to bed and slept like a ROCK. untill about 4 am at least.
Thursday- So much for the storm blowing over.. I woke up really early to the sound of rain pounding my bedroom window, and actually seeing the wind shaking the picture frames on my wall. You remember how i told you in my last post how there was a forest in my back yard? scratch that it is now a river in my back yard, and in my front yard, and in the streets. I was still going to stay positive though, this storm was going to pass over us.. well maybe. It ended up raining for about 2 more days, amazingly the day went pretty fast. untill about 5 Oclock, the time had been changed for their homecoming to 6. and i was going frantic, there was no way this little cheap rental car was going to make it through the lake in the street in front of our house, and all the way down the steet. So i waited. it was amazing how hard it was raining, thats when i learned what alot of rain was. It was coming in waves so i waited for the rain to stop, and right when it started back up i zoomed down the street so i could catch it while the water was half drained and not filling back up. (i probably over reacted a little bit)... (more like alot). I looked online later and found this about the tropical storm "In North Carolina, Wilmington received 22.54 inches of rain, the most it had received for a five-day period since 1871. Kinston recorded 15 inches. Many eastern North Carolina communities experienced flooding that continued on October 2"  but i made it on base... now for me to meet my hubby finally! I called my friend i went to dinner with when i got there and she was on her way too, then suddenly freaking out on the phone because she just saw their plane land... and relief is what i felt.. so happy they have landed and all i had to do was wait another hour for them to get their bags and such. NOT,  we sat around in a building on base, just us wives and family talking and waiting for get this.. 3 Hours! it took them 3 whole hours to get off the plane, get the bags loaded and return their guns. 

Finally at about 9 ish, the buses got here and we saw the first Marine walk through the doors, excitement and chaos everywhere it was loud and the energy in the room was crazy. so i stood there looking and waiting for Steven.... I pointed out one of the guys we were waiting for to my friend and then spotted another person i knew and still... no steven.. it was starting to quiet down when my friend asked me "Amanda where is your husband?" i was getting a little worried at that point, and then.. yay! he was home :) and i was happy lol. thanks to a really great friend and awesome photographer Jeri Jo , she got some great shots of not just us but alot of other homecoming couples :)