Basic Training GRADUATION!

It is official – David has graduated from BCT! The last five days have been a very LONG, fast-paced, emotional roller coaster ride! Here’s the lengthy recap – better grab a nice hot cup of Joe, some fluffy socks, a nice warm blanket, and sit back and enjoy the story.

Family Day/Afternoon - Wednesday January 19th

I left Tallahassee at 4am to catch my 6am flight out of Panama City. I had a layover in Memphis, Tennessee and then caught a flight to St. Louis, Missouri. All of my flights and layovers went very well, thank God! Two other Army wives and I were scheduled to meet at the airport in St. Louis and rent a car to ride together to Fort Leonard Wood. Well, as we all know, nothing in the world works as perfectly as we plan – and this was no exception. (First, let me go back and introduce the two army wives I have met so far. Stephenie is from New York, and Carrie is from New Mexico.) Stephenie’s first flight was delayed due to engine problems and of course set her layover back a couple hours. She wasn’t sure when she would arrive to St. Louis. Carrie’s flights were all on time, as scheduled.

Because Carrie and I were at the airport, and because we were not sure when Stephenie would arrive, I decided to go ahead and rent another vehicle so we could begin the 2.5 hour drive to Ft. Leonard Wood. I went to the first rental car company – they didn’t have any cars. I went to the second rental car company – they didn’t have any cars. I went to the third rental car company – all they had was an 18 passenger van and a minivan. I politely told the lady that I would take a Ferrari if that was all she had – as long as it had wheels and would get me from point A to point B, I had absolutely no preference. I JUST NEEDED A CAR! $417 later, a car I had…

So, Carrie and I are on our way to Ft. Leonard Wood…feeling horrible for Steph the whole time =/ Finally, we made it to the Family Day “meeting”. Pretty much the most important thing said in the meeting was that graduation may be pushed back, and/ or families would not be allowed on post to watch graduation due to inclement weather heading that way (i.e. snow!). Oh, great…that fit into our day just perfectly! (<-- Insert sarcasm here). Here we are, sitting on post, without our husbands, without Steph, uncertain when she will arrive, and uncertain IF we could even see our soldiers over the weekend…

Finally the guys were released – we had a few hours with them Wednesday evening. We ate dinner on post, shopped for some more of their Officer Candidate School (OCS) gear, and then returned them for “accountability formation”. THANKFULLY, Steph arrived safely and got to wave at John (her husband), AND the higher ups on post decided that families could come on post to watch the graduation ceremony that WOULD be held at 0900, regardless of the weather!



Graduation Day – Thursday January 20th

I woke up this morning, and this is what I saw:

Driving to the Fort:

Graduation Pics:

David was an HONOR GRAD!!!!! (But we ALL knew that was coming, RIGHT?!)

After graduation, we all went out to lunch. Afterwards, we had a few hours to hang out before we had to return the guys back to post. It was sooooo nice to be able to just hang out with our men, like old times.

 
Since it was snowing, I decided to try to build a mini snow man – but to no avail =/

I am SO happy the BCT training is over!


 
Travel Day – Friday January 21st

Steph, Carrie, and I drove back to St. Louis from Ft. Leonard Wood.  We had an ENTIRE day of nothing but traveling.  Carrie got a flight back to New Mexico, and Steph and I continued our journey back to Florida to drive up to Ft. Benning where the guys were headed to begin OCS.  We arrived to Columbus, Ga around 12:30 AM and went straight to bed!

On Post Pass Day??? - Saturday January 22nd

Saturday was the day I was supposed to give David all of his OCS gear.  I was PRAYING he would be able to have a pass so that I could give him everything.  Thankfully, all the guys from Ft. Leonard Wood were given a four hour pass to get the rest of the gear to start OCS.  We were thinking that FOUR whole hours would be FANTASTIC and we could get a couple things they needed, eat lunch, and just chill for an hour or two...yeah, we thought WRONG!  The entire time we were all stressing about getting all their gear so that they would all be able to "class up" on Monday. 
We did get the guys everything they needed.  After we dropped the guys back off at the hold over company, Steph and I went back to the PX to unwind and have coffee. 

I ordered my coffee under MY name...this is what I got.  Coincidence?  You decide. ;-)

CHURCH - Sunday January 23rd

Steph and I decided to spend the night again to attempt to go to church with the guys Sunday morning.  This was a REAL treat since we haven't really been able to worship with them at our sides since before they left for BCT (with the exception of the time they were home over Exodus).  My hope and prayer is that I will be able to drive up to Ft. Benning some weeks to see David in order for us to go to church together.  If I have to drive a couple hours, just to see him for one, I still come out ahead (in my opinion anyways!)

Us after the church service

John and David

FINALLY!!!!!  An OCS Candidate =D

Where David will be staying - 12 weeks and counting!

So, what is from here?!  Tomorrow (Monday, January 24) is shake down.  This is when the guys have to make sure they have all their gear - if not, they have a great chance at being kick backed / recycled (when they have to wait for the next OCS class to begin).  If they pass, they move on to the next phase.

Tuesday, January 25, is the first PT test.  This is VERY important because it will be the first test where they begin earning points towards their ranking in the line up of their OCS class.  Their ranking in the line up is what determines the order of each person choosing their branch.

Wednesday or Thursday is their first obstacle course and Friday is water survival.  PLEASE pray for the guys...specifically David, John (Steph's husband), and Justin (Carrie's husband).

At this point, I am not sure when I will be in touch with David again.  From here on out, things are going to get even more fast-paced and exciting and interesting!  I will keep everyone posted on the status as I receive more info.

Again, thank you all for your prayers and support!!!

xoxo

In Case of an Emergency

Today marks exactly one week until I fly out to see David for his BCT graduation – then off to Ft. Benning, Ga for the start of Officer’s Candidate School. I am so glad to get BCT behind us and I am glad OCS is finally starting…but we still have a very long road ahead of us. OCS is 12 weeks long – that is a long stretch without getting to see each other, but somehow I am sure we will manage. The other day I was filling out a questionnaire and I got to the bottom of the form and there was an emergency contact information section. It caught me off guard for a minute as I had to think long and hard about who I was going to put in that blank…David – hmmmmm…nope, that won’t work. Someone would have better luck going through the American Red Cross to get information to him rather than actually calling him personally. Sheeeeeeshhhh! So, for the first time in YEARS, I put my mother down. And I am so thankful I have her! It was quite an eerie feeling though, I suppose since I haven’t done it in so long. Just another thing to get used to as being / becomming an Army Wife, I guess!


Tonight was my first 101 session at CrossFit. I really am enjoying the new workout routine and the different variations of exercises. It puts a whole new spin on what I thought I knew…or used to know…or something like that. Anyways, I do know that it is going to be very challenging, but well worth it in the long run. I am adapting well to the paleo way of eating – I will post more on that and my experiences thus far in a separate post sometime over the weekend. Until then, ciao!

XOXO

You Miss Your Soldier When...

David called this weekend, and he is doing just dandy…waiting (impatiently) for graduation, but other than that, all is well!

So here is a list my sister emailed me today on how you know you are missing your husband or boyfriend who is in the military:

1. You wear old sweatpants and sweatshirts to bed.
2. You can watch whatever you want on TV without arguing with him first.
3. You get up in the middle of the night to check your e-mail.
4. You sleep with your cell phone incase he calls in the middle of the night.
5. You love watching cute love movies because it reminds you of all the cute things he does when he's home.
6. You haven't shaved your legs in weeks.
7. The mailman knows you because you are always out waiting for him to come.
8. You start paying close attention in class / to the news when the words "military" or "iraq" are mentioned.
9. You suddenly have an obsession with anything military related.
10. You see someone wearing an army, navy, or usmc shirt and you get this overwhelming urge to talk to them.
11. You make friends with strangers online just because they are in the same situation as you and are the only ones that can truly understand what you are going through.
12. You can't decide what to wear when you meet him at the airport because his flight comes in at a ridiculous hour in the morning and you want to look cute, but not too cute, because your cutest outfit you want to save for your first full day together.
13. Your first Christmas together is... apart.
14. You find yourself checking your e-mail every fifteen minutes.
15. You know all the time differences between where you are and Iraq, Ireland, Kuwait, Italy, Germany, Korea, and every state in the U.S.
16. The highlight of your day is getting a letter that was mailed a month ago.
17. And if you don't get a letter, the highlight of your day is writing him a letter that you know he will be able to read in a month.
18. You realize that HOMECOMING is so much more than a football game.
19. You want to hit any happy couple you see together
20. You get excited about "unknown" phone numbers calling you.
21. You've exhausted every idea a brain could have of what to put in a box.
22. You see a "support our troops" sticker on a car when you are stuck in traffic and you find yourself guessing about who they know that is deployed and thinking about their entire life story.
23. When the clock says 11:11, you find yourself wishing for the same thing every time: a call from your soldier.
24. You get excited when its only 5 months until you see your Soldier instead of 7!
25. You can't stand girls that talk about missing their boyfriends who live a few hours away. You just want to yell "drive and go see them them" because if you had the chance, you would jump on the first plane to go see your soldier no matter how far it is.
26. You don't know what teams are on top for football, basketball, etc.
27. You wouldn't dream of walking out of the house without the cell phone and every number you have is forwarded to that cell.
28. You find yourself randomly crying from just looking at a picture of the two of you together.
29. You find yourself randomly crying and you sometimes have no idea why.
30. You stay on the internet for hours searching for anything and everything about the military.
31. You talk to your friends about him so much that they know his full name, birthday and even his favorite color.
32. You find yourself speaking in acronyms (that no one other than you and he would understand).
32. You are reading this and smiling and nodding because you know it's so true.

Some of you may know, but most of you probably don’t, that one of my sisters really close guy friends has been deployed. He is also in the Army. Please keep him in your prayers along with David and Jason.

XOXO

I’m Officially a CrossFit(ter)!

As some of you may know, I started CrossFit this week! For those of you who are unfamiliar with CrossFit, it is a principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide. CrossFit delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Their specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist. The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. The needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree not kind. Terrorist hunters, skiers, mountain bike riders and housewives have found their best fitness from the same regimen. (Excerpt from crossfit.com)

Monday, January 10th starts the “Slim into Spring” challenge at CrossFit BlackBox here in Tallahassee, and (for those who know my competitive nature know) I am ALL IN! The challenge is seven weeks long, so we will see if there are any major improvements in the next few weeks – if nothing else, it will keep me busy, occupied, and something else to be excited about and look forward to while David is training =)

I decided to do CrossFit because I got bored with the same old routine workout in a “regular” gym, lifting weights and endleeeeeeeeess cardio…I travel A LOT so it was difficult to keep up my routine workouts while traveling (which set me up for failure when I got back to town). CrossFit offers quick workouts (comparatively speaking to what I am used to doing) and they have Workout of the Days (or WODs) that can be done by people that travel A LOT – just like me! Again, just an example of their specialty: NOT specializing! =)

As the next seven weeks progress, I will be sure to include updates on the Challenge, and of course, on DAVID =)
Feel free to check out the CrossFit website: http://www.crossfitblackbox.com

XOXO

New Years Blunders

MAN! The first week of 2011 has NOT treated me well. I’ve gotten a lot of unfortunate news regarding friends and loved ones and continue to lift them up in prayer (& ask you to do the same!)

David flew back to Missouri on Monday, so I have been trying to get back in the swing of things since then. I haven’t heard from him yet, but as soon as I get word he is A’OK, I will post something =)

Graduation for Basic Training is January 20, 2011 and I am going up to see him. I have also been fortunate and BLESSED enough to have met two beautiful Army wives (thanks to social networking sites & all of our husbands!) and will be meeting them for the first time in person at the airport in only 11 days!!! It is awesome to go through this experience with such amazing young women and share all of our “Military Moments” =)

Hope the New Year is treating you well!
XOXO

*** Hello 2011 ***

As most of you know, David was "allowed" to come home for 16 wonderful days on what the Army calls "Exodus".  We had a phenominal time together, visiting past co-workers, friends, & family.  It was an interesting feeling knowing that the past two weeks may possibly be the last two weeks that we would spend together in our first home.  2011 will be a year full of change and growing; a year full of new experiences and a fresh encounter with LIFE - and that is a good thing.  I received an email the other day with the subject line of "10 Ways Not to Waste Your Life".  I thought it was fitting for the typical New Year's resolution makers, so I thought I would share it here:


1. Believe: Belief is the most powerful, positive life-changer. Believe that you are a valued person with something to contribute, and chances are you will. Believe that you can choose your attitude and your response to what happens to you, and around you.


2. Know where you're headed: If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere, but it probably won't be where you wanted to go. Goals, both short term –  and long-term, are necessary for purposeful change.


3. Define Success: Know that our standard for a successful life is found in serving others, being a good mom, loving our husband - theses standards are more conducive to satisfaction than not having cellulite, having a spotless house or making a lot of money.


4. Value people over things: This is an extension of #3 – No woman is a failure who is loved by a child. That principle extends to our spouse, neighbors, friends and co-workers. To love eloquently, is the cure for the common life.


5. Overcome neediness: When we "need" others—or achievements—to feel worthy or happy in any way, we're undermining this great truth: The simple fact of our creation, and that we are valued by the Creator, is sufficient.


6. Live in the moment: Life is now. Life is going on around you right now. Yes, plan for your future, but don't put life on hold until you've lost 10 pounds, bought a new car or gotten your house "just right."

7. Delay gratification: We often confuse fluff and bling with substance. When we are dependent on externals for satisfaction, we will sacrifice what is real (relationships, stability, respect, hard work etc.) for what is superficial.


8. Continue learning: Life-long learners adopt the ongoing posture of reinvention and redemption. Learners ask questions rather than act as if they know all the answers. It's difficult to waste your life when you are humble and open to new ideas.


9. Be thankful: Knowing what we value puts it all into perspective. Constantly be thankful for even the most "routine" blessings—your health, your children, your life.


10. Know you're not alone: God is always there for you. If you draw closer to Him, He will draw closer to you.