2010 Edition of Living Life with the Fitzner’s -brought to you with ♥ from the beaches of Florida and the sandbox of Baghdad, Iraq~

♫♪♫ ”Some say I’m a hero, but I’m just a Dad who’s trying to protect the most precious things I have, In July 2011 I’ll be home again and our world will be right, but for tonight…”
“A paper star on a plastic tree, cotton snow in a manger scene, we do the best we can to make it feel like home. Turkey dinner on paper plates as a Commander bows his head to pray “Thank God it’s a silent night”…
Camouflage and Christmas lights ♫♪♫

We all seem to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the busy holiday shopping season. What to buy, where to get it, do we buy for this person or that person, what if they buy for me and I don’t buy for them?? Yada, yada, yada and the list goes on and on! Last night I had the privilege in our action packed weekend to witness first-hand what this season is really about. It was a simple moment, it didn’t last long, but the impact it had on me has finally given me the drive to write our annual Christmas letter. There I was scrambling around looking for the video camera stand, feeding the kids while I had spaghetti sauce flying all over the stove because I was trying to multi task and get all of us ready for the kids Christmas concert. I was truly at my wits end and destroyed the closet in the office looking for this stand so I could record the performance and send it to Scott. I was NOT leaving without it and I needed it fast. I hear in this sweet little voice from Megan “Dear God, PLEASEEEEEE be with Mommy and help her find the video camera stand, she is trying so hard to have everything perfect and you can see that she is very stressed, and not to mention has completely destroyed the office looking for it so if you could help us out right now I would be very grateful.” Amen…I kid you not, at that exact moment I reached down behind a whole pile of stuff on the floor and there it was. I quickly snatched it up, quickly thanked God, and told Megan now THAT is answered prayer! I grabbed the kids and off we went! I share that story because THAT is the true meaning of CHRISTmas. It is knowing that someone is bigger than us, the center of our lives, and no matter what we do HE is always looking out for us and guiding us every step of the way. All we have to do is ask for HIM to help us and HE will.

I will just be very brutally honest and say this year has not been easy. From the unfortunate challenges we had in the beginning with our living situation in Virginia to Scott deploying and the family relocating to Florida it has been nothing but one new adventure after another. We are now getting ready to embrace yet another move back to DC for Scott to finish his Air Staff tour at the Pentagon. I must say the novelty of “moving” has finally worn off 15 moves later, but the memories and amazing friends we’ve met along are still in our hearts today. The looooong list of priorities changes when you have school age children as all my military friends know it makes finding the “perfect” house near impossible. I do feel pretty well versed at this whole house hunting, moving, preparing, etc so hopefully this will go smoothly as we are moving before Scott returns from Iraq due to our current lease situation in Florida.

So, what are those Fitzner’s up to you ask…I’ll try to make this short and sweet as most of you follow us on Facebook and are pretty up to date with our lives, but for those that are not plugged in and want a recap, here goes…

The other half of “us” is deployed to Baghdad, Iraq as a Security Assistance Officer for a year. Yes, I said a YEAR, it is a LOOOOONNNNGGGG time, but he is doing great things there and making a HUGE difference and we are all quite proud of him for his service to our superior country! All, and I mean ALLLLL of my husband’s daily brain cells are spent managing foreign military sales cases that are providing armed reconnaissance helicopters to Iraq. These helicopters are used to provide internal security and counter-terrorism mission. Rebuilding this capability is the key to the new government being able to finally establish themselves and be able to protect their people. They work VERY hard, long, and busy 14-16 hours every day and get two “half days” off scattered somewhere in the week, but many times they don’t get a break because someone needs something ASAP and that always is top priority over getting sleep it seems. We are very fortunate and have found several different ways to communicate so that helps bridge the gap and keeps everyone connected.

I must say that as hard as it is to be apart and as rough of a start as this deployment was for our family I am pleased to say that we’ve finally found our “groove” after about 3 very tough emotional months. The kids and I seem to be settling into this reality we are going to live for the next 9 months. Here’s a fun fact for y’all. Scott has been deployed for approximately 3,117 hours and we have about 5,450 hours left to go-not that anyone is counting. ;) I feel a HUGE sense of accomplishment when I see that. It seems like we’re getting there bit by bit. As my parents always say “Alaina, just eat the elephant one bite at a time” and that is exactly what we’ve been doing with lots of support from all our family and friends whom we are eternally grateful to!

Now on to Missy Megan….she is turning into such a beautiful young lady. I can see clearly that our “little girl” is growing up. This has been quite a year for her. This was the first move where we saw the impact that a military child goes through moving year after year. Starting a new school, leaving dear friends in Virgina, and starting over in a new place again a new school, new friends, and without a Daddy this year has made me realize the price that ALL military families pay for defending our country. She has been such a trooper and has the heart of gold for others and especially her brother. I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter daughter and we are blessed to have a girl named “Megan Danielle Fitzner” in our lives. She is getting ready to cheer at Upward Basketball in January, actively participates in a “musical theatre” as well as productions at our church, and has joined the “American Girl” Book Club at our local library. In her spare time she keeps up with her friends via email, facebook, and on the phone. I can see that the pages are about to turn into “the teenage years” and I can say I am not sure I’m ready for that! She is truly a “Daddy’s girl,” and misses those special times that her and Scott will just talk about her day.

Oh, and then there’s Mr. Riley…What a surprise he is…you just never know what he will be up to from day to day, but one thing is for sure he WILL keep you on your toes and laughing day in and out. This little boy has an amazing amount of compassion and is so cute and always knows JUST what to say to get himself out of trouble~imagine that! ;) This year has been busy for him. The early fall brought Upward Basketball, followed by winning the U-8 PAL Soccer championship, and now it’s time to sign up for Little League Baseball. I think the greatest thing about our “Riley James Fitzner” is the “one liners” that he comes up with on a daily basis. Scott told me I need to write them down, but seriously it’s hard to keep up with him. His brain is always turning and he loves to build and create and play. He is TRULY a boy at heart and can’t wait for his Daddy to come home, but for now he is filling in and doing his “Man of the House Chores.”

Momma, what is she up to you ask? Oh my, you might need to grab yourself a drink and take a seat. OK, seriously, my hats go off to ALL of you that have done multiple deployments, are single, or have had to “run the house” by yourself. Deployment is NOTHING like TDY’s (business trips) that we’ve embarked upon for the last 14 years of marriage! Let’s just say that it’s A LOT of work and survival is my motto: “What needs to get done will and what doesn’t get done either was not that important or it can be done another day!” Keeping that on the forefront of my mind every day has allowed me to smile when I put my head on my pillow at night to know that YES, I did make a difference and YES I did do what was important. It keeps me focused on my two cherubs that are my top priority and not all the never ending “to do’s.” When you really think about it, the kids are only young once and they will not remember my “list” of things to do, but those precious moments we spent together! I am reaching out of my comfort zone and going back to school in January. I am not quite sure how this will all work, but my wonderful husband bought me my dream digital SLR camera and I really would like to know how to use it so I am taking a digital photography class. My hopes are to continue on and finish my degree. I have about 60+ hours under my belt and I would love to major in graphic design, but it’s been a challenge to finish college moving around this much. Heck, I can’t even remember all the colleges I “stopped by” for a course or two. Hopefully one day I can “piece meal” together my degree.  I am getting geared up to coach Upward Cheerleading. I know you’re thinking, it’s time to bring back the good ole’ Pom-Pom’s from high school. I am very excited to do something special with my daughter that she and I can work on together and embrace both of our hearts and energy into! So, between the college class, coaching cheerleading, and keeping up with the “Mom” activities I think I have forgotten one major piece and that is house hunting and preparing for our next move. I better add that to my list and not to forget to go clean up the office from the “video camera stand search the other night!”

How could I forget about our “new family member?” His name is Pierre or “Baby Boozle”…he responds to all of them and we love him dearly. We went to the Pumpkin patch to get a Pumpkin and came home with a darling Mini Rex black and white bunny rabbit. He has been such a sweet spot for the three of us-comforting, fun to play with, and just all around a nice Fitzner family edition.

I hope this was fun and interesting to read. I posted a question on Facebook about “do people really send Christmas cards with letters anymore”…and my favorite responses were: make it interesting, and it wouldn’t be the same without a letter from the Fitzner’s, and don’t make it too long…oops sorry once I got going it was a little longer than expected! As Scott says I have lots of words to use in a day and I think I used them all on you in my letter for the month of December. ;) I do love technology, but I am old fashioned and think that there are some traditions that are just not meant to go by the waste side. No matter how much our world changes from traditional to digital there is something special about the personal touches and sentiment of sharing our lives. On that note, it’s time to wrap some presents and get ready for our Christmas traditions to begin-sugar cookie baking, visits from our favorite elf Cranky, and all the fun movies, books, and crafts we love to do.

Our family wants to send a shout out to all of those that have been by our side through this deployment whether it’s been here in person, via the phone, email, text, facebook, gift in the mail, letter, and most importantly the prayers. This deployment is getting easier day by day because of YOU and your devotion to supporting our family. For that, there are no words that can express our gratitude for many people that have gone clearly out of their ways to help our family. My final thought is this….we all face different struggles in our lives, different seasons, and things that make us worry, question, wonder, stress, etc. If there is ONE nugget that I think is the “golden” one to share it is as follows: When your heart can not be comforted there is ONE person that WILL provide a perfect PEACE and that is our one and only mighty God that truly CAN do the impossible. For with God NOTHING is impossible….I think of this as I face daily challenges that I just can’t quite wrap my brain around and then I quickly hear “Alaina, it’s not about you, the plan is already laid out, please just trust and obey and I will make your path clear and ease your mind.” Love, God

Wishing you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and for God to touch your heart in a very special way as we celebrate this New Year of 2011!