Saturday, June 28, 2008

The 1st Deployment Goodbye

Yesterday, I did it. I said goodbye to my husband for the rest of the year. It was one of the worst experiences, knowing your companion and safety net is gone. BUT, I will say that God truly knows what I can and can't handle. I had my time of grief and then I just realized that it was time to move on. We didn't know Jesse was on the flight for sure until yesterday morning, so it has been quite the roller coaster of preparing for the goodbyes. There is no way I could have done this again a few weeks later because there wasn't room on the flight. Jesse left yesterday and just arrived in Kuwait this afternoon. SO, he made it safely and that's all I ask. I wouldn't ask for anyone to have to go through this. BUT, the comfort I have is that the Lord is our strength and He will take care of us during this time in our lives. Go get 'em, Lt.!


4th Wedding Anniversary...Together!

Jesse and I were able to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary together this year...this is big because for our 2nd anniversary, Jesse was in Germany studying abroad for grad school and our 3rd, he was at Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning. SO, by the grace of God (literally) we were able to spend the entire day together. We celebrated it early by going to the Opryland Hotel (which was amazing, but the cost was depressing) a few weeks ago just in case he was already deployed, but since the flight was postponed, we were able to be together. We decided to go out to dinner at Red Lobster so we could have a crab fest, stemming from our days in Maryland. We had a wonderful day overall together and just reminded me of why I love my husband more and more each day!


Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Hurry up....and wait!

That is the saying of the Army these days. Hurry up and be here on time, and then wait a while. Jesse was scheduled to leave as of Friday on a flight and we were told today that he is actually on "standby" for that flight now and it's not even leaving on Friday anymore. Who knows?! We are just trying to get in family visits and get all of the "little things" done before he leaves so that we can have a non-stressed goodbye. It's amazing how much you value the little moments with your spouse when you know you won't be able to have them in person for the next 7 months. If I am learning anything these days, it's that God provides in unique ways, usually not in the ways you expect. God has truly put a great support system here at Ft. Campbell for me full of Christian women who are going or have already gone through the same phase as myself. They have been super encouraging and have kept my mind focused on how God will take care of Jesse and I. Also, you can't live on base here and think that you are the only one going through a hard time...there is no room to feel sorry for yourself and that is great accountability! Everyone grieves at first, but you just get in a routine and move on. Thankfully, due to the advance in technology, Jesse and I will be able to talk pretty often. We will keep everyone posted as everything progresses.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Welcome to my blog!

I have finally decided to start my own blog, after being motivated by my husband to document my experience as an Army wife. We are already a year into this contract and it has been quite a roller coaster ride! Jesse (my husband) decided to put a hold on his PhD at UTK for the opportunity to be an officer in the Army. It has made us make a lot of changes in our family, but most have been for the good. As of right now, we are at Ft. Campbell, KY for the next few years. Jesse actually will be leaving soon to join his unit in Iraq for about 7 months to finish out their deployment. Here is a quick timeline of what we have been through since April 2007:


--Basic Training - Ft. Jackson, SC (April -June)

--Officer Training School - Ft. Benning, GA (June - September)

--Basic Officer Leadership Course II - Ft. Benning, GA (October - December)

--Ordnance Officer Basic Course - Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (January - April)

--PCS move to Ft. Campbell (May - present)


I didn't join up with Jesse until his training in Maryland, so until then I kept my job at UTK to keep me busy. We had a blast while living in Maryland full of travelling and crab galore! We were able to spend lots of quality time together, which was much needed after living apart for quite some time. Now, we are settled at our new home on base and we are getting used to the area. We are very happy living here - everyone is welcome to come visit our new home!!

Ellie

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