Boots on the Ground

As many of you know, David has been mobilized and gone from home for quite some time.  Typically, with The Guard units must go to a mobilization station for final prep before heading in country.  Well, that has begun.

Yesterday morning, I received a text from The Captain containing a picture of him in uniform, at sunrise.  It's terribly ironic that his first day with "Boots on the Ground" was 9/11/2015.  It was such a proud moment for David.  I know he's been preparing himself, his troops, and myself for this for almost 2 years. 

In the days to come, our troops will disperse to the various countries throughout that part of the world.  As I'm sure you are aware, some of these regions are not nearly as risky as others.  Nonetheless, I ask you to keep all of these soldiers in the company and battalion in your prayers.  Also, please remember all the other soldiers over there that may be wrapping up their tours.  I also ask you to remember to pray for all of the spouses and families that are missing the soldiers.  For some, it's more difficult since they do not have children and their houses continue to be much to quiet. 

I will update here hopefully, once a week.  I thank you to those for your support, y'all make this much easier to handle!

Love to all :)

4-Day Pass

The Captain and I had a wonderful time in Texas for his pass.  As many of you saw from a few pictures I posted, we tried to maximize our time together and create as many  memories as possible.  I believe this time we spent together will make this transition much easier to deal with.

I am not sure I had ever been so happy to see David after they were released for pass! I will never be able to accurately describe the overwhelming feelings I experienced as I watched him walking towards me.  The best part was knowing I had FOUR UNINTERRUPTED days with him!!

The first night, we stayed on-post at Fort Hood the first night.  I let him choose dinner and he asked for Olive Garden so he could, "feel as much as home as possible." It was a wonderful evening. :)

The following morning, we had a pre-deployment photo session.  Then, we traveled to Austin and stopped en route at Salt Lick BBQ, which someone had suggested to us.  That is some of the BEST I have ever had!! If you're ever in that area, you must stop and try their food.  As far as the city, it's beautiful and they have a nice lake area.  However, it's a strange place that doesn't really belong in Texas.  Maybe the reason is we were in the middle of Gay Pride? And absolutely nothing against that, if you want to have a celebration, that's great! However, I don't want to be verbally attacked for walking with MY husband and holding his hand.  I digress...

The original Stubbs Restaurant!

After an interesting night in Austin, we then traveled to San Antonio for the next 2 nights.  The Riverwalk is beautiful, the city is amazing.  The history alone kept The Captain and I both intrigued.  I could move there and be perfectly happy! We walked around, took pictures, saw the Tower of Americas, The Alamo, and numerous historic buildings.  On the last night, we met up with the commander of the battalion with his wife and friends.  It was nice to see David relax and enjoy his time.  I enjoyed meeting them, especially since I don't know anyone else in the battalion.

David loves to take pictures of me taking pictures!

Tower of Americas!

 

Tower of Americas

The Riverwalk

 

The Alamo!

 

It was tough to take him back the next evening, but I know that's just part of it.  I am not sure if I will ever be used to watching him walk away from me. 

I continue to ask you for prayers...

Love to all!

Mobilization

Well, the summer has arrived, which means we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary.  It also means this mobilization is not far off.  David has been gone for 3 weeks training for this mission and  that was not too bad.  I have surprised myself and have been fairly strong with everything happening.

Things are ramping up with time consumption, however.  That is tough because even when he's in town, he's busy at the unit.  I am doing my best to maximize my time with David, but it's not easy.
Luckily, we will get a break at the beach before the last few weeks' prep. 

I have been doing all kinds of research including reading military spouse books, articles, blogs, and forums.  I know spouses have been doing it for lifetimes, but it doesn't make that any easier. 

I am very proud of The Captain for his hard work and it has finally paid off! I think we are just ready for it since they have been preparing for over the last 18 months.  It's tough just sitting here, waiting for the time to pass. 

This is a short update...

We ask for your continued prayers and support as we begin this new chapter in our lives.  Please keep all of his soldiers and their families in mind as the date continues to get closer....

Wedding Portraits - almost 2 years late!

Well, after waiting almost 2 years, The Captain and I FINALLY were able to have some wedding portraits done.  I must say the are BEAUTIFUL!!!
I decided that since he's leaving me soon, I wanted to get some nice pictures to decorate the walls.  Also, he needs some to take along with him! These were so much fun to do and it was just like our wedding day again... Minus the people, aggravation, and stress.  I was pleased that I was able to still fit in my dress! ;)

Here's to the photographer that was amazing and an absolute sweetheart.

The weather was perfect and everything was nice and GREEN!

Struggling

I just cannot keep a continual rhythm without interruptions on this blog!

Spring is finally upon us, after too much winter weather for The South.  I am over cold weather and have been for a few weeks.  Thankfully, warmer temps have arrived, but so has the rain.  I will still take it ANY DAY over snowy/icy mess.

The Captain has been in full swing with preparations and there seems to be no end in sight.  The light at the end of the tunnel is them actually mobilizing.  His hard work will pay off, he just needs to be patient.  As the summer approaches, more and more trips for this deployment have come up.  My weeks are quickly dwindling...

Thankfully, we decided back in January to take a trip before he leaves.  David talked me into a cruise and we leave in just over a week! I have never been out of the country and I have been anticipating this for weeks (as you can imagine)! We chose to travel with Norwegian Cruise Line and we are heading to the Western Caribbean for 7 nights.  I cannot wait for the warmer temps and sunny days! We made arrangements to "snuba" dive which is snorkeling with a tank, view Mayan ruins in Belize, relax on the beaches, and enjoy the various cultures.  My plan is to turn my phone off and relax, take pictures, and document the trip upon our return.  I just hope The Captain can do the same!

If anyone has traveled on a cruise, I'd love some input... this is a first for both of us.

I have been a busy bee with my new job on the Arsenal (finally).  I am employed with Millennium Health for a contract with Federal Occupational Health.  My official title is Wellness/Fitness Specialist I.  I am looking forward to continuing my education with some certifications.  I am hoping to one day own a gym and not only advise on fitness, but also nutrition.  I want to be certain I am offering the best services for clients to reach their goals.

I also have picked up doing some photography on the side.  Obviously, I have no desire to make it a means of compensation but I thoroughly enjoy it.  I recently did a session with a good friend for her engagement and I was pleasantly surprised with the results.  They were happy with them, as well.  Congratulations, Vicki and Brad!! I'm thrilled for y'all!

 As always, I ask that you please keep us in your prayers.  David has been busy... as I said, it will only get worse.  Please don't hesitate to contact me if you're ever in Huntsville.  I thoroughly enjoy company!!

My return to blogging

Too much time has passed since my last entry.  In that time, quite a few events have taken place.  I have had a couple jobs that didn't quite suit me and have since decided to be the "house-wife".  I enjoy it, but I do love to work in my field.  Oh well, I'm considering going back to school for a Dietician degree.

Back to the topic at hand - I did a play over the summer and it was my first in about 12 years.  It was enjoyable and a reminder how much I love acting.  There may be more in my future since I will have a great deal of "me" time. 

So my most important announcement and biggest event is yet to come - The Captain and his company are back on for deployment.  There, I said it... I am still getting used to it.  We have known about for several months, but the shock is still taking its toll.  This deployment will be 364 days with 9 months boots-on-the-ground.  It is becoming more and more real.  It has already gone on much longer than the last one.  This is real and it is a constant struggle when I think about the length of time.  I realize during the surge soldiers were gone for 15 months, but it doesn't make this any easier.

I will be fine, I am aware.  As I said, I will have a great deal of time on my hands.  I have definitely decided to put that time to good use with learning to play the guitar and hopefully mastering it a bit.  As I mentioned earlier, I am thinking about getting a second degree and I am seriously considering it.  I thought about selling the house to get something smaller while he is gone and get something new and improved when he returns.  Unfortunately, I understand this house may not sell by the time they are headed out.

I am obviously going to be even more active at my church here in town and possible my home church in Guntersville.  I am sure I'll be spending more time at home, but I am ready to make plans to see my friend, Meridith in Seattle, a friend in Miami, and maybe one or two other places.

I have been promised by The Captain that he will take me to St. Maarten before he leaves.  I requested that since it is out of the country and it's nice and quiet.  We are considering a cruise after he gets back. 
I already have my passport and am very excited about this! Please, any of you that have been, give me advice about the island.

I must say that after more than a year since my last surgery, I have absolutely no more pain in my foot and I am amazed! I am even running again some. :)
Thank you to everyone that has prayed over this horrible injury that has been bothersome since 2011.  Y'all are the best and God is so good all the time.

Oh yeah, the Iron Bowl happened! ;)  RTR



In more recent events, I lost my grandmother last week and am still coming to terms with this.  She had been at Barfield since November 2005 and had battled with Alzheimer's since around 2002.  It was her time to go, but that made it no easier on the family.  Grandma's funeral was this past Thursday and I must say it was the best funeral I've ever been to - if that's possible.  We sang songs that I remembered singing as a child in church with her and other family members.  It was a sweet remembrance of her life. 

I suppose I will stop here, I am sure this will become a more frequent thing for me as I begin to have more and more time to reflect.

Love to all!

Spring is here!

HAPPY SPRING!!!!!

Obviously, much time has passed since I last wrote a blog.  Y'all know how it goes... life happens!

Speaking of happenings, there are a great number of things that have occurred in the past 8 months!


In October, I finally began to walk again and my foot is 100% better than before.  I cannot believe the difference since this second surgery.  I will always brag on Dr. Deorio.

After a grueling fall semester, that included finals, an exit exam, a tough senior research project, and my fun acting class, I graduated!! I finally did it and I was so very proud of myself.  :)
As many of you know, my degree was a long time coming.

After having a successful Christmas Party at the unit, a nice Christmas and a memorable visit to New Orleans, I landed a job at Curves in early January.  I loved that job and I was utilizing my knowledge of fitness and nutrition.  I learned a good bit from that job, but unfortunately, a better offer came along and I could not pass it up.  Last Monday, I began my new journey with The Eye Center as an Ophthalmic Technician.  I have experience in that field and thoroughly enjoy the work! Best of all, I go in at 7:30 and am off work by 4:30.  The company treats their employees very well and has much room for growth and raises.

Now to The Captain's side.... as most of you know, he is still in command at his unit.  Well, he went back to reserve status and back to the civilian job he had before his active duty time.  Needless to say, it has been quite a transition that we are still getting used to.  The Captain's command was supposed to end in June, but I received some interesting news a couple months ago.
The Captain found out his unit was back on deploy and was asked if he wanted to go.  His initial response was, "No." After much consideration and discussions with some of his fellow officers, he requested to his commanding officer to stay on and take these guys through this deployment.  They are not scheduled to leave until next year and really, his command should be up in June.  The Captain's commander took awhile, but finally informed David that he would allow him to command his unit through this deployment.

We are still over a year out.. Who knows what could happen? I hope and pray this crap doesn't happen again and that they actually get to go.  However, I know how things go with the government and the Army.  I don't know if these soldiers can handle another cancellation.  I personally do not want him to go, but I know it's great for his career.

I am still an officer for the Family Readiness Group and we are now planning things for this deployment and beginning to get prepared... it's going to be tough, from what I have heard.  

I ask for prayers... this is going to be another rough time.  A year is a long time to be away from a spouse.  I know I will be fine and there are plenty of people that have done it and for longer lengths of time, but it's still tough, no matter who you are.