Biloxi, Mississippi

I can now say I have been to Biloxi, Mississippi.  First of all, let me just say how amazing this small town had to have been 6 years ago, before Hurricane Katrina hit.  Even though time has passed, you can still see plenty of devastation in the area.  Many of the major casino's down there have been re-opened, but several had to be demolished.  Regardless, it was an amazing 4 days.

For those that don't know, Ricky got a "4-day pass" before they officially leave the country for deployment.  So I flew down on Friday night and picked him up in Hattiesburg.  It was just like a scene out of the movies, running toward each other :)  We loaded up his stuff and drove down to the coast.  Once we got to the hotel we crashed because we were both just so exhausted 

Saturday morning we got up and decided to do some exploring.  So we drove down the beach and ended up inside one of the big, newly remolded casinos.  They were having a champagne brunch at the buffet that day so we decided to go for it.  After brunch we headed down to the mall to get started on our registry.  We decided to register at Dillards and Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  So we headed to Dillards first and picked out our dishes and some appliances.  That alone took quite awhile and we were both worn out after so we decided to wait on the other store until the next day.  We ended the day with some seafood.  How could we not? We were right on the coast.

He's ready to Register!

Sunday, I really wanted to go to the outlet mall (mainly just the Coach store).  So we headed there first and just went there so I could purchase me a new summer bag :)  Then we went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and let me tell you, that was the longest 3 hours of my life haha.  We got a TON accomplished, it just took us awhile.  By the end we were down to bathroom stuff and I just simply didn't care haha.  Once we finished up, we went to our new hotel.  Ricky wanted to stay in one of the casinos for a couple nights so we rented a really nice room at the IP Casino.  After chilling out in the room for a bit, we headed down to the casino and then dinner at one of the sports bars.

Ricky toward the end at BBB

Monday we went back over to the Beau Rivage casino because they were having Military Appreciation day and Ricky got his lunch for free.  After lunch we drove around Ocean Spring, which is a small quaint town just over the bridge.  We pretty much just lounged around the rest of the day.  I didn't get much sleep that night due to my anxiety that the next day would be our last together.

Last picture in person :(

Tuesday morning we got up early and had to pack up.  We scheduled massages at 11, which were heavenly. Then we ate some lunch and headed back up to Hattiesburg, where I was dropping him off.  We said our goodbye's and then I had to drive back up to Jackson to catch my plane.  That was the longest hour and a half drive I've ever had to make in my life.

So now I'm home, I'm struggling, but just trying to take days one at a time.  I can't allow myself to think about the overall picture because I get so completely overwhelmed and then I get anxious.  (I have some bad anxiety issues that I have to watch)  So for now he's still in the states, not really sure when he's heading overseas.  That will be a whole ordeal in itself.

So what can you do to help if you would like?  Just pray for me please, and be there for me.  The next few months will be grueling.  Thank you to everyone that has been there for us and given us lots of encouragement. I love you all!