life as an "army wife"

I've been thinking about what this means. I don't like to call myself an "army wife", like I belong to some sort of elite part of society, or a special club. There aren't any other women going around calling themselves "doctors wives or policemen wives". I just feel a little weird about the label, this is his career not mine. I know we have a special set of circumstances, but I don't like to pride myself on those, or anything really.

We have endured some hardship, and it will get harder as he gets ready to leave. Being married to someone in the military has it's perks and it's downsides, but it all depends on how thankful you are for life daily. I like to look at the bright side. I thank God that we have been able to move across the U.S. without it costing us anything. We have lived in Chicago, Texas, Washington, and Georgia in three short years. Those experiences I will cherish and take with me forever. I was able to witness a beautiful sunrise over Mt. Rainier which is something that I suspect, had I not been married to Joel, would have never happened. 

I met some of the most loving and selfless people, people that I love with every bit of my heart. I received some of the wisest advice from wives and mothers that will stick with me as I raise my own children. I learned how different a culture can be across the nation (yes, I'm talking about you my PNW's).

I am a wife, a mother, but most importantly I am defined by Christ. Everything else is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. I hope to raise my children (if God gives me more) in the fear of the Lord. I hope to establish my home, whether it's in the cloudiness of Seattle or the dry heat of Texas, with love towards my Husband and the Hope that Christ will soon return for His bride.

The storm

I can't wait until the calm after the storm. Yes, that's right, I said it BACKWARDS! That's just the way it is in the military, especially during a pcs. I know this isn't technically a pcs because I am moving on my own, but it sure does feel like it. I love moving, but I can't wait until that final moment when we arrive at our destination with nothing to do.  

No more packing, scheduling, fixing, cleaning, organizing,  and donating!

 

This is my first move with a little munchkin. She's all sorts of craziness, I mean can't you just tell by the way her mismatched socks are styling on her tiny feet? Love this kid! She's made the entire process a little more difficult. She's a big fan of "helping". She likes to throw out everything I put into boxes, which requires me packing everything, essentially, twice LOL.

 See this here? This is the sun room, aka the shove everything out of view room. We have our deployment gear to the right of the shot, boxes of books, all of my jewelry and crafts by the coffee table and more empty boxes. Oh and what's that pole there? Well that's our floor lamp, it has been evicted from the living room because miss sassy pants like to climb it, which typically results in injury.

 Dirty laundry clothes to the left, and an empty bin awaiting things for storage. and a random headband that Sophia dropped.

 My donations to Goodwill, aka clothes I haven't worn in like 3 years but still like to carry around from state to state.

and viola! this is the end :) or rather the beginning of craziness, I haven't even started packing yet :( 

its coming

We had our first FRG meeting and now the deployment cloud really is hanging over my head. It's like a little rain cloud damping up my Georgia sunshine. I'm getting all teary eyed for no reason once again. It hit me like BAM! YOUREHUSBANDISGOINGTOLEAVEFORNINEMONTHS. This is just horrible.
okay, i'm done being a drama queen. Wait, no I'm not.

I mean, look at this.

Isn't it just lovely? It melts my heart every time I see it. She loves her Daddy so much. I don't look forward to the day he doesn't "Come home from work". She loves that time, it's their special time. My child will play by herself all day long; she crawls, "reads", explores, and eats. BUT the moment Daddy is home she is glued to his side. What are we going to do? Well, for starters, I need to borrow someone's video camera and we are going to record him reading bedtime stories :) I plan on having her watch one every night. I need to stop procrastinating ASAP. I hope she doesn't forget her Daddy during these nine months. I hope I can give her enough love from the both of us to get us through it! Love you Daddy