Home Sweet Home

If home is where the heart is we are both HOME! Brad has been working all week toward getting back today. You would think that in an F-16 it would be pretty fast but in reality it is quite a production. He first went from Afghanistan to one of the "out processing" bases which is about a 3-4 hour flight (F-16 time). There were six jets returning from the squadron in the group Brad was in so they had a couple days wait until all six of them got out of Afghanistan and they could leave for the next stop. They then went on a roughly 10 hour trip to Spain. Brad said it was beautiful there, especially seeing trees after being in the desert so long. The guys spent about a day and a half in Spain and after getting rested up they took off this morning for the last leg of the flight, also about 10 hours, back to South Carolina.

In the meantime I was cleaning like crazy for the past three days. I guess I finally believed Brad would really get in on time and that kicked my nesting into high gear! I wanted Brad to come home to a really nice clean house with fresh towels and fresh sheets, freshly vacuumed floors, and a super clean bathroom. I cleaned and cleaned, the kitchen, the living room, sweeping floors, scrubbing toilets, getting counters wiped down. Unfortunately the nursery still got none of the nesting love. After all that cleaning the time finally came to go get Brad. One of the really great things about the Air Force community is that even though this was a relatively small return of people, there were still so many people who came out to show their support of the guys coming home. There was banners and balloons and lots of food and friends to show support! I showed up at the squadron around 12:30 and the jets were scheduled to arrive around 1:30. I was also lucky to have my great friend Debra (whose husband is in another squadron and currently deployed to Iraq) come and play photographer for me so I could capture this very special homecoming. Around 1:45 we got word they were approaching Shaw. Here is the pictorial summary of the rest of the afternoon.

Once it got closer to landing time we all waited outside the squadron and watched for the jets to arrive. One of the great things about having your husband fly a jet home is that you aren't gonna miss 'em! They always have a way of loudly announcing their arrival!

And here they come! There was a four ship leading with a two ship following close behind. Brad was number 2 in the formation.

They circled around the base and then positioned for landing. Each guy breaks off the formation one at a time and comes in for their landing. Above Brad is breaking off for his landing.

Then they have a long (well it seemed long!) taxi back to where the "parking spots" are in front of their squadron. Everyone got to go out and stand in front of the parking area and the families of each pilot were allowed to stand right in front of where the jet would pull in.

Welcome home Honey! Here is your nice (almost) 36 week profile view for daddy! We have missed you!

And then you just think "Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!!!!!"

and again, "Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!!!!!"

Finally!!!!!!!! Sweet Reunion! Nothing is better!

After unloading, turning gear in, and yes, some customs forms (He was out of the country!) we finally were able to head home!

I had a special sign made to welcome him home. For all of you military spouses out there check out http://www.buildasign.com/. This wonderful website lets you make a free banner to welcome your loved one home from a deployment!

On that LONG flight home from Spain one of the things that Brad said kept the guys going was the thought that when they arrived they would get to have Christmas! I had almost convinced Brad a few weeks ago that I was nesting and went on a cleaning frenzy and opened all his gifts so I could put them away. I had him going for a while, but as you can see I am a good wife and saved each one of them for him to enjoy on his "Christmas Day". He loved all the gifts, Thanks family!!!

We had lots of fun looking though all the baby stuff that has accumulated while he has been away, opening Christmas gifts, and spending time together. After a quick dinner Brad was fast asleep on the couch by 7:00 pm! So I cleaned up Christmas, came to update the blog, and then I am going to go cuddle up to my wonderful husband for the first time since September and go to sleep! What a wonderful day!

One Well Traveled Baby

As I was finishing my last airplane trip before the baby comes (yes, I know, I know, I took it up to the last possible minute I was allowed to travel) I began thinking about how well travelled this baby is. I am not sure how adventurous his life will be once he is born but inutero he has definitely "seen" a lot! Here is the list of states we have been to in our 9 months together:

Alabama

Arizona

California

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Kentucky

Louisiana

Massachusetts

Mississippi

Missouri

Nevada

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

20 States! Some were longer trips and some more of a drive through but that is a pretty big list considering... He has been on planes, trains and automobiles. We are certainly not the type to sit around! Hopefully this will make him ready for more adventures when he born since the Air Force never keeps us in one spot too long.

Let the count down begin!

I'm sure you have noticed that someone has been missing from the blog for the past five months. Brad has been overseas serving our country in Afghanistan. I have been very careful about what I post since I didn't want to advertise on the Internet that I was home alone, but the great news is that he is en route and on his way home! I am counting down the minutes until he gets here. While I hate that he has been gone though the pregnancy, both of us would much rather he miss that than the beginning of the baby's life. It is no fun that we have to make that sacrifice but I am so proud of him for serving his country and fighting for the freedom that we all enjoy everyday. The life of a military family is rarely glamorous but we do it together and just take it one adventure at a time.

One of the things that I think about most in his homecoming is that when he left I looked like this:

We took these pictures right before he left. I was about 18 weeks along and just barely beginning to show. I had just started to feel the baby moving and the pregnancy was just beginning to seem real. Now just a reminder from the earlier post, this is what he is about to come home to:

An almost 36 week pregnant wife with a big pregnant belly and a baby that moves all the time making my entire stomach dance around! He is about to dive head first into this pregnancy! I know he is so excited to be home and get to experience these last few weeks with me before we welcome our little guy to the world. Brad is on his way home... life is good!

35 weeks, 35 days!

That baby in the egg at the top of the page is getting awfully close to the end of the ticker. I'm not so sure how I feel about that. I saw this morning that the ticker said "You are 35 weeks pregnant. About 35 days to go!" That doesn't seem like very long! Just a hair over a month. It is crazy how time can move so swiftly past you. I still have a laundry list of things to do before the baby so I guess I better get started!

As for the 35 week update according to www.babycenter.com, my source for all things baby, the little guy is now over 18 in long and quickly running out of room in there. They say that he wont be able to move around as much but still will kick quite often which is true for me. He continues to be very active! Also the weight is up to 5 1/4 pounds! Hard to believe that he is so big now. It is so big yet so small all at the same time! Our fruit comparison this week is a honey dew melon. That sounds about right... If you look at my 35 week pics below I think I might be about the size of a honey dew melon :)

"Oh my, You've grown!"

Yes this is what the doctor said to me at my appointment this morning. Although I am steadily gaining weight (and so is the baby) she actually was referring to my measurements. I measured 33 cm today which is still right on for my due date, but since I measured 30 cm at my last appt 2 weeks ago I guess 3 cm in two weeks is a lot. Everything else at the appointment went well. No news is good news at this point! I do have to start coming back every week now for my appointments, yay... I love doctors offices.

Here are the 35 week belly pics (and yes, I do know I need to clean my mirror however that stuff really doesn't show up except on the camera!) :

A South Carolina Baby Shower

We are so blessed! I know I have said it before but I need to say it again! I had such a wonderful time today at my Baby Shower in South Carolina. The girls outdid themselves! From the food to the cake, and decorations, everything was PERFECT! I was so excited to have so many of my friends together to celebrate our little guy. It was so fun to see everyone too since so many have been traveling for the holidays. We got so many wonderful gifts and just might be almost ready to have Baby Matherne here. That is if I can get everything organized! Yes, I am still waiting for the nesting thing to kick in... Below are some of the highlights of the shower.

Me at (almost) 34 wks with the beautiful airplane cake Ryndee made!

Randee made this diaper cake for me! I LOVE it!

Tables with pretty centerpieces

The spread! I was especially fond of Larissa's chocolate fountain!

Look at all those gifts! We are blessed!

This cute little onsie Kendall got me has the emblem for Brad's squadron. I know it will be one of his favorite gifts!

More super cute baby clothes. Thanks Charlotte!

Me with the lovely hostesses (minus Melissa and Charlotte)

Larissa, Mary Ann, Me, Ryndee, Randee, Rachel

Pregnancy Perks!

Not that I really need anything or ask for anything special in general, but I have always been under the perception that people are extra nice to pregnant ladies and I was kind of excited about experiencing that part of the deal. I think since I am in general a smaller pregnant woman and it hasn't (well up to this point) been quite so obvious I really haven't gotten to experience many of these perks. Today though I got the best pregnant lady perk ever. I flew into Las Vegas from South Carolina early this morning. My first little perk of the day came because the flight attendant let me use the first class bathroom even though I was in coach. Not too big of a deal but my seat was only about 5 feet from the first class bathroom wand was much farther from the other one. Once I got off the plane I went and got my bag then went to the taxi line. I knew it was bad news when it was so crowded that I really couldn't even see the entrance to the line. Little did I know how bad it really was. I got in the line and thought "geez this is long" It was about half the length of the airport and wrapped back and forth about 6 times. I estimated there were probably about 200 people in front of me. I thought this was bad until I got to the end of the first part of the line and realized it didn't end at the corner of the building but in reality wrapped around the entire other side of the building and snaked around an additional 6 times. There were quite literally 500-600 people in front of me. As I started around the second part of the building a person working the taxi line saw me, my belly, and and my luggage and asked me how many was in my party. Just 1! He escorted me around the ENTIRE line and put me right in a taxi. It was my LUCKY day! While we were walking he told me that because of the CES trade show (Las Vegas's largest show all year) that the lines were maxed out and he had never seen it this bad. I am so thankful to have skipped that line. I don't mind if that is the only pregnancy perk I get... it was worth it. I hit the taxi line jackpot in Vegas!

Welcome Baby Torrin!

Congratulations to Hagen and Kim as they welcomed their son Torrin Ryder on Dec 30, 2009.

Torrin was 8lbs 11 oz so I know Kim was ready to have him make his appearance and I am sure that even though Daddy wasn't carrying him around he was more than happy to get the tax deduction!! He is so precious and we are hoping that baby Torrin will get to hang out with Baby Matherne someday even though he lives far away from South Carolina! Maybe we can convince them to take a nice beach vacation and stop by beautiful Sumter on the way!

It is weird to think that I wrote the post on all of my wonderful friends that I am blessed with sharing the pregnancy experience with last summer and now we are to the point where the first one on the list is not pregnant anymore! That means my turn is coming soon!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010! Whether it is two-thousand and ten, or twenty-ten, I am excited for this new year for so many reasons! The main one is that it is the year our baby boy will be born. Here I am on New Year's Eve at 32 weeks ready to ring in the new year!



There are certain milestones that mark your life that make a year special and memorable forever. 2005 will always be the year I married my love and now 2010 will always be the special year that we welcome our Son. Welcome 2010, I guess I can now say I am having a baby THIS year!



This is a fun pic from New Year's Eve. This will be the last belly picture that Natalie and I are able to take together because the next time we see each other we will both be mommies!

Natalie at 35 weeks Kimber at 32 weeks

Back to Reality!

Nothing is better than spending the Holiday's with family and friends! We had a wonderful vacation to Texas for the Holidays. I spent almost two weeks there and it was wonderful. I have been feeling more tired now that I am well into my third trimester and I got to get lots of rest. It is so nice to just have your parents take care of you sometimes!


I really enjoyed spending time with both my family and Brad's family. I know everyone is anxious to meet our little guy. We had lots of questions about names this time around, but honestly we are no closer to a name than we were at the beginning so no news on that front.

I also got to spend time with my sister-in-law Jenny and her family and two great friends, Natalie and Brooke, while I was home. I spent the night one evening at Jenny's house so I would get in some good quality time with them and my favorite niece and nephew, Jordan and Taylor. We had a great time hanging out together and playing games. I played an especially riveting game of hide-and-seek with Jordan. She also kept us laughing by frequently reminding us that "you have a baby in your tummy and I am going to play with him at the beach." Apparently she is already looking very forward to our Matherne family trip to the beach in September. What a fun little girl. Taylor is a little more low key and you can win his heart just by giving him some puffs (his favorite food.) I am so excited that he and our little guy will only be a year apart and get to grow up playing and hanging out together (when we visit Texas at least!)

Spending time with Natalie and Brooke was also wonderful. It is so hard to keep in touch with people when you are forced to move around and never get to live close by. I have been very lucky to keep these friendships over the years. Natalie and I aren't too exciting seeing as we are both in our third trimester and super tired but we can still enjoy each other's company. I love spending time with Brooke, Trey, and their kiddos Hope and Jace. We met them when we were living in Ohio and have always had a special friendship with them. Hope and Jace were 4 and 2 when we met them and they always called us Mr. Brad and Miss Kimber. Apparently now that Hope is older she realized that this is in error and now has corrected her mom and calls me Mrs. Kimber. We got to open a couple of christmas presents together and have fun playing with their toys all afternoon. That evening Brooke even got to sneak out of her Mom duties and go to a movie with me.




It was so great to get to spend so much quality time with my family and friends. It is funny to think that next time we see any of them we will be plus one! I have been bad about posting over the break, not because I was busy, just because I was lazy! So I am posing baby and my Christmas day pic. I am 31 weeks here and definitely experiencing a growth spurt over my 2 weeks in Texas

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