Pat update! :)

Hello all!

I heard from Pat today, finally!  He was able to give me a call around 9 am my time (around 11:30 p.m.) his time.  He sounded absolutely exhausted but it was so great to hear his voice.

He had an “eventful” trip back down south to Delaram, Afghanistan but him and his Marines are all there safe and sound. (I emailed Pat to check to make sure I could say a specific location). It took them a few days longer than expected but at least they’re all there and they can get onto their new “jobs”.  He says he’ll be pretty busy once again because he has to get in the groove of things all over again but this time in a new area.   It was a short call because it was so late but it was just good to know he's doing well!

Pat sends his love and misses everyone so much!

All in all, he is doing well and he’s healthy.  I will update you when I hear more!!!   

One month down!

Well, it’s been a little over a month since Pat left and only 6 more months to go!  Ha. I can’t say all of the last month was good/ easy by any means, but it went fast.  

(The first picture is from our last night together.  The next  one is a picture of Pat kissing Meka goodbye on deployment morning.)

My job sure is keeping me busy- just not in a good way.  Since I began working there I have become their go-to-gal for getting things done they don’t want to do.  I was hired for part time but work full time hours without the benefits.  The program I got hired for was canned and another was proposed….  The newly proposed before and afterschool program is slated to begin 27 July, however, I am told they are still “trying to get approval.”  So, we’ll see…   Don’t much think you can have a good program created/ ready to implement /etc.  in 3 weeks.  I’m just trying to keep positive and pray that God leads me in the right direction.

My parents came out for a little over a week in early June

 and that was truly wonderful!  I was blessed to have them here on my one-year anniversary of being married to Pat!!!  (Yay for our one year!!)  They truly made me feel much less homesick for Arizona and I’m so appreciative for all they did!  

:) My hunky and incredible husband sent me the most gorgeous arrangement of 48 long-stem red roses, 2 anniversary balloons, and the sweetest note.  I am just so appreciative of him taking the time to put me/our anniversary first while he’s in Afghanistan.  I am blessed with the best husband/best friend in the world!! :)

Speaking of Pat, he’s doing really well!  Pat and his platoon left the area up north earlier this week and have been traveling back south to his original area where the rest of his company is located.  (I can’t say specifics on my blog; so if you have any questions, feel free to email me!)  He should be there within a day.  He isn't too excited to be heading south since he probably will not be as much as a "head honcho" out there.  I just keep reminding him that he's been blessed to have the experience he's had so far!!  He said he has finally gotten a chance to take some pictures so I am hoping he will pass those along to me soon! I feel I've been very blessed to hear from him almost weekly by telephone and he emails me quite frequently.  I try to update Mitch and Gene as soon as I hear anything from him and I know they pass along everything to the McFarland side of the family!  I wish I could say more about what Pat is doing, but to be honest, he has spoken less and less about what he is actually doing out there, and just that he is healthy and happy!  He really likes to hear about things back in HI and AZ.  I will try to post more on the blog to update everyone as a whole! :)   I apologize I haven’t been awesome at emails or blogging- my schedule has been insane with work and taking care of the animals. Thank you all for understanding during this crazy/difficult time. 

Well, I better get going.  So much to get done before tomorrow begins!!!

 

With love,

Meredith, Katza, and Meka!! :)

 

 

Maui :)

Traveling to Maui with Pat was the best vacation weekend of our lives! We both agree it was great to get away before he deploys and treat it as a sort of late honeymoon since we never really got one. (Almost a year later, but it was worth the wait!)

Amanda and I found this incredible kennel that her dog, Kai, and Meka stayed at for the weekend! They have a huge facility that have big kennels for each dog, lots of outings each day with so much land for the dogs to play on, and the best part is that they are husky breeders…. So they loved Meks!!!! Kia and Meks stayed in the same kennel during the day to have lots of play time together and then went back to their own kennels at night so they would sleep without interrupting each other! When we picked Meks up she was happy to see us but not happy to leave her friend Kai… I’m watching her sleep on the floor because she’s so tuckered out… it’s awesome.

Pat and I arrived on Maui Friday morning and were pleasantly surprised by the great weather! (We were very nervous because bad weather was predicted for our entire stay on Maui.) We stayed at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa and couldn’t have loved it more! When we arrived they upgraded us to a room with a beach view on the Starwood preferred customer floor! We had an amazing view of the pools right below us, the mountains to the left, and the ocean to the right. We spent most of Friday just relaxing in the hotel room, had a few drinks by the pool and walked along the beach! That night we went to a restaurant down by Whaler’s Village and ate at Hula Grill. It was a really beautiful night out so it was perfect!

Saturday morning we woke up and had a wonderful buffet brunch outside by the pools. The Westin Maui has the most amazing scenery to take in so it was an especially nice breakfast. After we ate, we decided to have a few more drinks by the pool! We were only out for about an hour and it’s a good thing since Pat has been red like a lobster ever since! (I asked him if we should by sunscreen beforehand but he said “Nope!” Just fyi.) After that we randomly decided to rent a car for the next two days so we could drive around and experience more of Hawaii! We drove down to Old Lahaina Town and found Front Street which is where all of the cool shops and restaurants are. We walked around for a bit until we found Kimo’s. Kimo’s is like a brother restaurant to Hula Grill and Duke’s that we have on Oahu. It was really great food and you couldn’t beat the scenery. The restaurant is right along the Seawall so we were able to eat our food while the waves crashed right below us. After lunch we just drove around the island and then came back to the hotel to find somewhere to eat for dinner.

Sunday morning Pat and I made reservations for the Westin’s phenomenal Sunrise Champagne Breakfast. We woke up and headed down to the lobby to meet “our personal waiter” for the morning. We were escorted up to the private cabana located at the top of their pool locations and have a great view of the ocean. We went at 7am and it was just us, our waiter, and the ocean- it was fantastic! Our food was spectacular and you can’t beat drinking mimosas while looking at the ocean with your hubby! We spent the rest of the day in Old Lahaina Town and eventually ended up back at the hotel. We ordered in room service and packed for our trip home the next morning!

This was the best trip we could have asked for! I’m glad I could use the money I’ve earned to pay for our trip and treat Pat to a special weekend. He does so much for me that it feels really great to do something fun for him!!! Pat has worked everyday since his block leave but deploys Tuesday- it was nice to spend some quality time with him.
I love my husband--- and I love Maui!

Married Marines Pre-Deployment Information Brief

(I have written the blog about our trip to Maui and will post it soon!)

I wanted to inform everyone of the new information Pat and I received on Friday night. We had a pre-deployment meeting where the CO of the Battalion spoke to inform us wives of some of the precautions to take while our husbands are gone. This was the first meeting that I feel they were very honest about the danger our guys will be put in, talked to us about rumors, security info, etc. It was very informational and I'm really glad they had it!

Long story short, they briefed us wives to be very careful about the line of communication we keep with our loved ones while our husbands are in Afghanistan. They want us to keep from posting any information over lines of communication such as: Myspace, Facebook, and you guessed it... blogs. So, I will be resorting back to emails and phone calls since they are more secure! I apologize for any inconvenience but please don't hestitate to call or email me if you ever have any questions about Pat while he's gone! I will still be posting what general information I can about him and information about Meka, Katza, and I!

We were also warned that any mail we send to our Marines while in Afghanistan will take about a month to get there. Since Afghanistan only has one road that cirles the entire country, it's not suprising that they do not have a post office! So, it will take a bit for anything we send them to get to them at their FOBs. (Forward Operating Base) This also means phone calls or any type of internet communication will also be very limited during their deployment. Exciting, I know.

As far as rumors go, they say not to believe anything you read or hear unless you hear it from your Marine, yourself! So, I pass along this advice to you all, as well! They want to make sure no information about the Marines get in any newspapers, etc. while they're gone so no information gets skewed or leaked "into the wrong hands." Even their current location, pictures of them during their deployment, etc. could be dangerous to them while in Afghanistan!

As of right now we still do not have an exact deploy date... It looks as though it will still be between May 12-15!

That's all of the information I have at this time! Just wanted to update you all as soon as I could!

Love to you all from Pat and I both!

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter!

It's amazing how time flies faster and faster the older you get... Well, last time I wrote it was St. Patty's Day! We had a real nice "Wives Night Out!" It was full of Hawaiian pupu's (apetizers) and green beer! It was one of the wives birthday, as well... so overall it was a great night out! :)

I have been working nonstop... I even had to work six hours on Saturday! These past couple of weeks haven't really been the most fun I've ever had at work, but I'm learning to stand my ground and show them who I am- I am educated, hard working, and creative. (Everyone at work has been great besides my boss, she was trying to pass the buck as much as she could my way....) It is getting better and better and I actually got to start working on my program this week, so that was very exciting!

Meka got spayed about 2 weeks ago and everything went perfectly! She is an extremely loving dog who loves the vet- So! That makes for a good combination. :) My cat, Katza, actually came last Friday so it has been a busy time in the McFarland household! :) Katza's flight went perfectly! Hawaii has such strict guidelines for bringing animals to the island so I am so lucky to have the parents I do! They were able to take care of Katza when Pat and I moved to Hawaii in October and have been getting all of the paperwork and vet stuff done so she would have no problems traveling out here! They even drove up the PHX the day before her flight so she wouldn't have to be in her crate any longer than she had to. You are not allowed to transport animals into Hawaii unless they are in the cargo hold, so it was a big deal trying to get everything perfect so she wasn't held in quarantine. (PHX was the only airport that we could get Katza on a direct flight to Oahu, so it made our selection very limited.) Long story short, it all went well. :) Katza and Meka are adjusting nicely to each other! And they both sleep in the bedroom with me at night. :) It will interesting when Pat is back for 3 weeks! I can't wait for him to be around both our pets!!! (Here's a picture of Meks and I when she had to wear her big cone! HA! I will try to put up a picture of Katza soon!)

Speaking of Pat, I can't wait for him to be back in a week!!! The Marines keep delaying their flight back home to Hawaii from 29 Palms, so we're not too sure when exactly they'll be home! :( But, it's soon!!! Pat only gets service on the main side of the base they are staying at so I rarely hear from him. About every week and a half to two weeks, I get texts and calls. This last time we were able to talk for over a half an hour so it was nice to really catch up on everything. He was so sweet and just kept saying how much he missed being at home with me and Meks. It will be really nice to have him home for a bit! He said most of their training was done already so it was annoying that they had to stay in CA for so long. I guess the training that he did do was really great, but that the Marines just sent them out there for too long with not enough to do.

When Pat gets back we are going to take a long weekend and travel to Maui! I can't wait to get away with him and just relax! He deserves it. :) It feels good to use my money I am earning from my job to be able to give him the relaxing weekend he deserves! A big Happy birthday present to my Marine! :)

Today for Easter the a bunch of us wives got together and had a potluck meal! It was really nice to get together with everyone and talk! Here is a picture of my good friend Amanda and I!

My Aunt and Uncle's house was destroyed by a tornado in Tennessee this past Friday so it was an especially hard day. My parents have been updating me when we talk each day but I finally saw pictures that one of my cousins took tonight and it really put things in perspective. We are so blessed that they all were ok. Apparently they have had many volunteers helping to try to salvage whatever they can out of the house. We watched a news video tonight of all of the destruction in Murfreesboro and it was so surreal to see my Aunt/Uncle's house on TV.... I guess they have decided to rebuild on their property and will not be moving anywhere else!

Overall, though things have been pretty rough at times while Pat has been gone, all I can do is count my blessings. Even when things get rough, God has blessed each one of my family members and friends with being safe and healthy and I couldn't be more grateful for that.

I will try to update soon! Just going to work this week and use this weekend to prepare for Pat's homecoming. I am going to have a bunch of things ready to go for his belated birthday "celebration" when he gets home!! I can't wait to see him smile. :)

Take care and my love to all!

Happy St. Pattty's Day!

St. Patrick's Day always makes me think of my hubby!!! He loves his green beer on "his" day! Hahaha. I think he knew I was thinking about him because he called first thing this morning! Pat only gets service on the main side of base in CA so there is always at least a few days in between when he can call out. He sounded in OK spirits... he always gets some crud when he travels to different climates. (Oh, it doesn't help that he recived the small pox vaccine when he got to CA so I think it had all built up!) They've been training a lot in the feild so I know he's very tired, too. Over all, training is going really well and he's liking what he is doing out there. It was so nice to hear his voice and to catch up a bit! He sends his love to everyone!

I better go get ready- Some of the wives are getting together for dinner and green beer!

Hope you all had a wonderful St. Patty's Day! :)

Since it all began in October!

Within the past year so much has changed for Pat and I so I decided I would try to keep up with a blog to keep everyone filled in since I was struggling to email everyone frequently! So, I am hoping to use this blog to keep all of you updated on our experiences in Hawaii!

I am going to recap from the beginning, so bare with me if you've heard all of this! :)

One of the first things we did when we got to Hawaii was get a puppy! Hawaii has a limited selection of places to get puppies on Oahu so we finally ended up at a place that ships only pure bread puppies in from Australia. Pat immediately fell in love with a red & white Siberian Husky! So shockingly enough, we took her home with us the next day. Her name is Meka which means "eyes" in Hawaiian because Huskies have such intense colored eyes. She's real sweet and real hyper, like most pups! She has already shed her puppy coat: the red-ish color has turned to a lighter brown and the rest is coming in light gray/white! She is growing daily and we're so glad we found her. On February 4, 2009, Meka had her sixth month birthday and weighed in at 34 pounds! I swear, as soon as she hit that sixth month mark she became a different pup - still challenging, but she listens so much more and has gotten so good at all of her commands!

As far as the hubby goes, well, Pat is almost always busy with his job! He is in 2nd Battalion/ 3rd Marines, Echo Company. He knows quite a few people from his TBS (The Basic School) & IOC (Infantry Officer's Course) training that were assigned Hawaii, as well. Everyone is really nice and I have hit it off with one of the wives very well! It worked out perfectly since her and her husband live about 6 houses down on our same street. Her name is Amanda and it is so nice to have someone to do things with since the guys are gone most of the time. She also has a pup named Kai (named after the town we live in, Kailua) that is a little over 3 months old that Meka has become great pals with, as well! We try to get the pups together as much as possible so they can help tire each other out. Meanwhile, Pat seems to love what he is doing and has really learned the ins & outs of his job. When we actually get free time we usually just go to the beach on the weekends if it's not raining and relax at home with Meks. Pat just got back from the big island not too long ago doing training events. It was really interesting for him because the training took place in the center of the island and he said it was weird to experience that sort of terrain and environment in here in Hawaii. He said it was fun though because it was the first time he got to train with his platoon as a whole. Aside from that, he is just getting ready for deployment. He will be in Mojave Viper in California from now (6th of March)to mid-late April and then deploying to Afghanistan early May. He will get one week block leave in April before they deploy. We're hoping he is home in time for Christmas this year!

We were lucky to have had a wonderful Valentines Day together! We didn't know if we would get to go to the dinner that Pat had made reservations for, but we lucked out and they didn't make him work! We went to a nice place in Waikiki called "Longhi's"... We had an amazing four course dinner! It was also a great 8 month anniversry to celebrate since we won't be able to celebrate our one year together!

As for me, I have been applying to jobs on base for months however, Hawaii sure runs on its own relaxed time! I finally got a call this week and they offered me the position for the Program Lead at the Youth Activites Office on base. It is the perfect job for me - They have had many complaints about the after school programs here on Oahu so they decided to create one of their own on our base. I will be in charge of taking the curriculum and implementing each standard, themes, activities, and protocols, etc. for the entire program! I get to start from scratch bascially because the only thing that has been created is the name! I couldn't be more excited! I truly feel like God answered my prayers by giving me all this time with Pat and now getting me started with a great job right before he left for 6 weeks!

Pat got the chance to call today and it was so nice to talk with him! He sounded in a fantastic mood! :) He was having a blast with all the training he had completed and the speakers that they have brought in. He only gets service on the main side of the base which they don't get to much so I think that's been the only hard part for him- not having much outside communication. He says they are all really ready to be deployed and feel they have gotten the best training- As a wife I couldn't ask for more than that.... That way he can come home safe and happy to us all! He sends his love to everyone!

I must get ready for bed!

Good night to all. :)