San Antonio Bound!

Hello Family! We can barely believe it but in just two short weeks we will be moving to San Antonio! This has been something we knew was on the horizon but now that it is finally here, it seems surreal.

Brian won't be transferring military units until the fall but we wanted to get there before then to get settled in, find a church family and get Baylee involved in the community before she starts school in the fall. I applied for four different jobs and God blessed me because I was offered all four. This allowed me to pick the one we felt was the best fit for our family. I will miss my current work family terribly & my new coworkers have big shoes to fill! I have no doubt they will be almost as great as my current coworkers!

Many people have asked us, " Why San Antonio?" I am not sure that is a question that is easily answered but I will make an attempt. After Brian's last deployment, we knew he wouldn't be at the Station in NOLA long. We also knew wherever he transferred to, we would want to live close to that area because long distance life is for the birds! Neither of us want to be away from each other too long. Brian has always liked Texas and wanted to live there. I am indifferent but knew Texas would accept my nursing license. That began the journey towards Texas. We ultimately decided on San Antonio. At the time, neither of us had even visited the area. We have since been twice and fell in love! I believe God has a season and place for everyone and right now ours is San Antonio. We are very excited about all the attractions, wildlife/natural areas and culture the city has to offer!

Baylee has had a tough few years at school and is very excited about hitting the reset button in Texas. We had decided as a family, due to several circumstances, that we want Baylee to restart tenth grade in Texas. By doing this, it provides her a more stable foundation as well as better opportunities for growth. God is really moving in this area for us.

Currently, our plan is to rent an apartment while renting out our home in Mississippi. Brian & Baylee will take me over to get the apartment settled and then they will come back and get the house ready before they ultimately move to San Antonio with me. Should we decide to stay in San Antonio, we have researched and talked to several home builders & will build a house in a neighborhood in the same community we will rent our apartment in. (West San Antonio area.)

We are in Nola for Brian's drill weekend. Time to pack up and get out of here! We will keep everyone update on us via this blog. If you are interested in being notified when new posts are added, add your email address to the mailing list on the top right corner of the blog. You will have to follow the instructions to make sure you are added properly. (You will probably have to check your junk email to finish the process.) Also, even if you don't blog, you can comment at the bottom of each of my blog posts. Should you have to use the anonymous feature, make sure to at least put your name at the bottom of the comment so I know who it was from and can answer you! Be on the lookout for more posts!

Love y'all!

PCSing: Reserve Style!

For the non-military PCS stands for "Permanent Change of Station"...which is kind of a strange term to me because the change of station is very rarely "permanent" but anywho....

Usually when you hear PCS you think of the active duty side of the military but not always the case. There are different orders that the reserve half can get that makes it very similar to PCSing on the active duty side. They hubby made E7 just a few months ago and now they unit he has been at since 2004 no longer has a spot for him so orders were cut for him to go to another unit in which he was not crazy about.

Now our family is considering taking on an active duty position. Two have been offered up to him over the past two years but it was never the time. The two places were in North Carolina and Jacksonville, FL. Both places were offered before he made E7 so we are not 100% sure how things will work out now that he has advanced. If these don't work out there are others (for instance Charleston, South Carolina - and other places I am not sure if I would be willing to go yet!).

Our family has prayed & decided that we feel a move to Jacksonville, FL would be a good change of pace for us. We have spoken to our family about it and they are being very supportive. We DO NOT want to leave forever but for a few years it would be nice. Money is a huge factor in going but not the only one. It puts us closer to some of our best friends that we don't see often enough. It also puts us closer to my dad and to my sister in law. It is closer to the beach and we have researched the schools & churches and think there are some good options for our family. 

Right now we are in a holding pattern waiting to hear if we can go there or not! It is so annoying to finally have all three of us and our families on board and not know! :/ Anyone in the military will tell you that is the military life. The hubby hasn't spoken to anyone that "calls the shots" at the new unit yet so sending up prayers and keeping fingers crossed that we find out this week something! I would be disappointed if it was a no but at least it could give us the option to start looking at other places. I hate to even research other options until we know it is a "yay" or "nay" in Jacksonville, FL.

I will update once we know more! I hope once we do move (if it is in God's will!) to use this blog to keep our family updated with our little life! :)

California Girl! :o)

Okay...well not really a Cali girl but what I pretended to be for a week! :o) While Brian was out training in San Diego I got the opportunity to go out and visit him. We had a blast! We saw Old Town San Diego, Pt Loma, La Jolla, SEALS! on the beach!, beautiful sunsets, USS Midway, San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, Sea World, etc. We even made a road trip to L.A. It was soo much fun! We got to touch and see all the handprints in the concrete in front of the Chinese Theatre. We also got to walk down and look at all the "stars" on the sidewalk. It was really awesome! When we were getting ready to leave Hollywood we saw them setting up for the Salt premier. It was awesome to thing in just a matter of hours so many famous people would be walking down that carpet! Once we left there we went to RODEO DRIVE! It was amazing to see all the famous stores. My favorite part was to see the Beverly Wilshire! It is where Pretty Woman was filmed. I am a HUGE Julia Roberts fan. I even went in and used the facilities. LOL I can't wait to go back again!

All in all it was a great trip! It was hard to leave my hubby knowing that in just a few days after I left that he was heading overseas but it is an experience we were both so glad to have shared together! I love him!

WDW & My Coastie! :o)

I am up and wide awake this morning! Yes it is 4:00 a.m. Yes I realize half the world is still asleep. Actually, sleeping crazy hours has been the trend for me since I got sick last week. Over a week later and I am still fighting it off! I was diagnosed with Bronchitis but at the beginning of the week it really felt more like whooping cough. Especially, since none of my medicine was working! However, through lots of prayer from family and friends I am here to report that I am feeling much better!

Once I finish typing this post I will begin loading my car. My daughter and I are leaving this morning to meet my dad and family in Orlando. We are going to spend a week at Disney. I believe that this is most of their first time. It is Baylee's second trip and my 5th. We are very excited. The only two things I have been a little concerned about are the two girls getting along all week. They are both sweet but both used to being only children. :o) Other than that, I worry how things are going to go at the parks because as you know in a big group not everyone is interested in the same things. My family is pretty great so I really don't see this as a worry! They are going to want everyone to do what makes them happy.

The most exciting news is after 49 days of not seeing my hubby - HE IS FLYING IN TO ORLANDO ON HIS LEAVE TIME TO VISIT WITH BAYLEE AND I! We are so very excited about it. Now to any other military family 49 days may not seem like a long time but this is the longest we have gone without seeing each other since his last deployment. Also, we are excited because when his unit began this journey we really were not sure that we would get to see them again before they returned from their deployment in the Spring of 2011. So this is just a blessing in disguise. I was actually going to come home and he fly here but he said he would rather come there so he can get some good quality alone time with Baylee. This will be officially the last time he sees her until next year!

Well I guess I better close this out and begin to load the car! My family things we won't be there until tomorrow but the truth is we will be there only a few hours after they arrive this afternoon!

Vent of a Military Wife!

If you could see my face today...you would know that
<-----this is what I look like. I am so glad that people want to support our troops...which is great! However, at what point do the wives get supported. I guess today I was more hurt than aggravated at a response I got. I mentioned how bad I was hurting having my sweet husband gone. After all, he and I have a wonderful relationship and he is truly my best friend. I am so glad people are praying for him and I am so glad they miss him. I guess it is just hurtful to me that no one wants to just come out and say...we are praying for you and Baylee or we are sorry that you are so sad. I guess one thing that maybe others don't understand is Brian was not called to go on this deployment. His Cuba deployment his HAD to go no questions asked. However, this deployment he along with all the brave men and women in his unit volunteered to go! I don't say this to take away from what they are doing because I think it is amazing but I do just wish people would be more supportive to the wives of our troops. I can stand here and support him forever but at some point I will need to be supported as well.

Man in Uniform

A few weeks ago, for one of our nephews birthdays, I got an idea. I called Brian and told him I thought it would be a neat idea to take a picture in his uniform holding a sign telling him happy birthday. I hate I thought of it so late because we weren't able to get it to him right on his birthday. Either way, glad to have it! I hope we can keep up the tradition while Brian is deployed...at least for immediate family and maybe our few closest friends. It is a good way to show why Brian wasn't here but it also give us a time time of photos while he is gone.

His unit is leaving out for their second phase of training this morning. He sent me an email that says "Good morning. I love you." He also attached this picture.

It was so good to wake up and see him this morning. I miss him so very much. :)

Brian Days

What are "Brian Days" you may ask? Brian days are when I am totally missing my sweet husband. These days are those days that get so bad that sometimes I feel like I can't breathe! It makes me so sad when he is gone but I support him and want him to do what makes him happy! So today has definitely been a sad "Brian Day" but I am trying to think of the positive. Thank goodness I have a man to love and miss so much. The same one that loves and misses me too! He is definitely the love of my life!

Deployment - 2010

Here we go again! The hubby is away on his latest deployment. I am so glad that I have such a great support group. Please remember to pray for our troops!!

Promise to My Man! :)

I don't do very good about keeping this blog updated. However, my hubby left yesterday and after his last deployment I promised him I would keep this blog up a little better. Of course, I have facebook and so does he but I think he likes to come somewhere to see a little more detail of what is going on in our life while he is away. He left this morning on his second phase of this deployment. (You will see video on the page.) So I figure it is about time to start writing a little. Even if I only have time to do it a few times a month. Hopefully, I will have time to do it more but at this time I don't want to promise to do more than I can!

Life Change!

I'm back for the 100th time! This time I am here with WONDERFUL news!! This coming Wednesday, December 16th, 2009, will be my last day as a paralegal! I am very blessed to now become a full-time mom, military wife and...*drum roll*...college student! Yes, that is right I will begin college again (at the age of 30!!) in the spring. I will be full-time and I am oh so excited. I will be applying for nursing school in the fall so please stick around for my journey!

The hubby is getting ready to deploy withing the next year or so (again). I am one of his units ombudsmen so I am very excited about having more time to spend with him and more to help the other families...especially those that may be experiencing this for the first time.

I am also very excited to be able to do more things as a wife and mom. This is my FAVORITE part of this life change and a part of my life that has been neglected far too long.

Another thing that I think I am going to try is to Vlog occasionally. (Video blogging) We will see how that goes! :)

Hope you have a great day!

Crazy, Crazy, Times!!

I am sitting at work on pins and needles. Brian is taking his EMT exam as I type this. We don't know if he will know the results instantly or if we will have to wait or not. He rarely gets nervous but this morning he was SO nervous. He is very ready to work on an ambulance. He loves to help people and he is very good at it. I am so proud of his accomplishments and so proud of him. We have been married 9 years this year...as of this month we have been a couple for 10 years. He has always been an awesome guy but the past several years he has really evolved into a man that I know I will always and forever love. He really is my soul mate. I thank God for him. As much as he says I have helped him...he too has helped me. We really do bring out the best in each other. Mushy gushy...I know, I know. :-)

He and I have been taking A&PI this summer and he takes his final tomorrow and I take my next Tuesday. I am SOOO nervous. I am coming up with every study tactic I can find. I wish I could just lay my head down on my book and "soak" up all the useful information. It just seems like as I have gotten older I can't absorb as much as I used to. I also think I really do have adult ADD. What were we talking about again???

We have been dealing with some family issues lately. I have just hated seeing my husband so sad and hurt. I too have hurt but I have tried all I can do. I just wish it was easier for everyone to get along. The bad thing is that we WANT to be closer but we just keep being pushed back. So sad. :-( There is one family member I talked to this morning that I think being the mom of a boy that is closer to Brian's age understands more. She doesn't even know what has been going on (that I know of) and you know I always just feel good when I talk to her. She has a lot going on in her life right now with her own little family and I am remembering to say prayers for her everyday!

Hmmmm....what else, what else...oh Brian will be leaving to go out of town for 2 1/2 weeks for the USCG. He will come home for a week and then be gone for another whole week! Whoa is me...life of a military wife! :-) I do plan to go down and visit him and get some beach time in during the next couple of weeks. We will see how that goes...

Later!!

Military Wives...This Is For You

For all of you who wake up in the morning, lay there for a few moments, trying to swallow the sick feeling in the pit of your stomach as you wonder where your man is, or how he's doing...this is for you.

For all of you who start a countdown the minute he leaves, and continue to until he is back in your arms again...this is for you.

For all of you who tear up everytime "Far Away" comes on the radio, or who press repeat when "Come Home Soon" plays in their car...this one's for you.

For all of you who see Military billboards, ads in the paper, or commercials on TV and next notice the tears rolling down your cheeks, this is for you.This is for you.

I am one of you too. This is for us.For all the times we sleep with our phones on the loudest possible volume, just as to not miss the call that just MIGHT come...For all the times we roll our eyes when another girl is depressed because she hasn't seen her guy in a week...For all the times we hear our guy's name mentioned out loud, and are momentarily frozen...in a trance...in love.For all the late nights that we spend alone, cuddling with our stuffed animals, wearing our guy's sweatshirts and sweatpants, and clutching the precious dog tags around our necks...This one's for us.We may feel weak on the inside, but on the outside we're strong.We may be drowning in tears on the inside, but on the outside, we are a rock.We may want to crawl in bed and sleep until our man comes home, but instead, we get up and go on with our daily lives with our men in our hearts.We may feel like we're slowly dying with each day we spend apart from our men, but instead, we put one foot infront of the other, and take each day as it comes.We are strong, and we are proud.We have more love in our hearts than we ever thought possible, and for this, we are thankful. We are thankful for our men and also for each other. We are Military gals, and we lean on each other.Alone we are weak, but together, we are strong. We help each other, and we survive.

To all you Military gals out there, hold your head up and be proud.We are connected, ALWAYS.

Ombud-what?

That is the response I get from everyone when they hear that I am going to be an Ombudsman! Ha! I will actually be a co-ombudsman with another wife in my husband's unit. She is one of the sweetest people I know. Her family is so precious to me and her husband help my husband...for lack of a better phrase...change his life! In turn it has helped us changes ours. We are totally different in our relationship than we have ever been and much thanks to this family!! In saying that I am very honored to co-ombudsman with her! :-) I went to a training class in Portsmouth, VA. I met some very nice people...which I am sure will be lifelong coastie friends! I learned SOOOO much. I need to sit down and write it all down before I forget. While there I got to visit with a good friend and see some pretty cool stuff...that will be another post. For those that still don't know....

An Ombudsman serves as a link between a Coast Guard command and the families of the command. An Ombudsman can assist families in locating resources, communicate information from the command to the families, and take concerns of families to the command.

:-) Later!!!

~Best Friend's Hubby's Deployment~

My bestfriends's husband...who also happens to be my best guy friend ever!..unit deployed. At least we will have each other through this...

~The Hubby's Deployment~

Well if you have wondered where I have been...lets just say things have been crazy. I saw they hubby off to Cuba, made some great friends and shed alot of tears! He will be missed and I will be praying for him everyday! Please remember to think about and pray for our ENTIRE military and their families...their sacrifices for our freedom is HUGE!!

Yada Yada of 8/04/04

Hello All! Hope everyone is doing well. Not feeling so good today so I thought I would do a "yada yada" list of my thoughts and life in general.....

1. My daughter starts school Monday, August 9th. First grade already. Wow. I have learned that it cost a fortune to buy all the school supplies you need BUT it is alot easier to buy them already "packaged" to keep from having to search for every little thing.

2. I read in the school handbook that they enforce corporal punishment at school. I am all about spanking but all I am saying is I am not happy about the fact that they don't tell you until AFTERWARDS. Ho Hum.

3. I had "MINOR" feminine surgery Monday. I am not feeling so good and hopefully we will get to the bottom of it tomorrow.

4. More and more I love my job.

5. One of my best friends is getting ready to move back to New York. (Where she is originally from.) She is leaving August 13th and I am so sad. To be honest we have not seen alot of each other this summer because we both have been so busy but I think it is just the fact of knowing that she won't be "right down the road" anymore. It is a good 19 hours or so away that she will be from me! *sob**sob*

6. Why is it SO hard to get motivated to "clean out" things. I mean all and all my house is pretty clean but I HATE to clean out boxes and I HATE to do laundry. What is up with that? What are your "house" pet peves?

7. I watched the last two episodes (and only two episodes I have seen) of The Simple Life 2 tonight. I was intrigued to watch it after seeing Lionel Richie and Nicole Richie on Oprah Monday afternoon. Speaking of corporal punishment those two (Paris and Nicole) seem to really need it. Of course, I shouldn't judge but that is the impression that they seem to give the whole world.

8. Knowing my hubby will be gone for 9 weeks in October has somewhat hendered our relationship ONLY because stupid me keeps dwelling on the fact that he is leaving instead of enjoying the time that he is here.

Well I guess that is all in my little world for now!

Brian MIA: Letter Two

Yeah! I just got another letter from Brian! How cool is that!! I am so excited and I feel 100% (well 99%) better after reading it! He also wrote Baylee a birthday card! She is going to be estatic! He said alot of really good things that mean the world to me! I am really beginning to think that this is a good thing for us. I think it has made both of us appreciate what we have more. I will leave out the "mushy" stuff for his sake but this is all he really had to say about boot camp.....

Turns out the recruiters were right, we have a bunch of little punks that don't know how to act so we get alot of EXTRA TRAINING!! But things seem to be slowly coming togehter. Camp is really not that hard. You just do what you are told and act like an adult and everything is straight. The IT (initiative training) is the hardest part. That is what they use to motivate us. I am a squad leader so everyone comes to me or one of 4 other people with problems. It kind of sucks 'cause its like fighting a never ending battle to get these people to shut up........(add in other "stuff" here).....I've been yelled at a coule of times. Twice for cussing, once for looking at an officer while he was talking to me "you don't eyeball them", and then for responding to "carry on" you don't do that either. Just little minor stuff I should have been paying attention to.....(add in othere "stuff" here)......we start running today, no sweat though I've been taking a spinning class, we lift weights, we run, we do calistentics or however you spell it.......(add some really sweet stuff here about me and Baylee)...Well I hate to quit writing but I have to shine mine and my shipmates boots. He irons my uniforms and I shine his boots.....(finishes off with some really sweet things)

I think I will be sleeping with this under my pillow tonight.......I hope I have really sweet dreams!

BUNCO! Brian and Me!

Tonight is my bunco night. We play the second Thursday of every month. We have such a great group of girls! It is my favorite night out! (Just about only night out!) So wish me luck in winning the big bucks!

My mom is going to pick up Baylee for me and I am going to run home to see if I got mail from Brian and let the dogs out! (Who let the dogs out?!?) Brian can write letters on Sundays so I look for them anytime between Thursday and Saturday. Pathetic.....I know! I am ready to hear from him again! Especially, after today. My daughters grandmother brought some pictures to me that she took around Christmas. Two of Brian helping clean her house and two of us at Christmas. AWWWWW.......makes me so sad! I will live! Not TOO much longer now!

Going Thru 7 States To See My Baby!

I am so excited about going to Brian's graduation! (Yes, I know.....it is a month away!) The only problem is that I won't know until I am already there what flight he will be on coming back. I, also, won't know if he has to leave that day or if he can stay a couple. I do know that if they don't take the flight they have been given they have to pay for their own way back. We are doing good to be able to afford a plane ticket for me to go up! The problem is I can't hardly book a flight without knowing his information. First of all, we won't even get to be on the same flight coming home. Second of all, what if I scheduled mine to come home Sunday and he has to leave Friday? There would always be a possibility that I won't be able to move up my flight and I would be stuck in New Jersey for TWO days without my husband. (Which would be pointless!) So I decided that I am going to take the LONG 19 hour drive. I will actually get to go to states I have never been to before and I love "road" trips so this may be good for me. Then on the way home Brian and I will get 19 undisturbed hours together! Plus, he LOVES road trips and we would probably go through Washington coming home so we could both see the sites and/or just to say we have been there!

Brian MIA: We Just Got A Letter!

Yeah! My hubby just wrote us a letter! It really doesn't say much but short and sweet if okay with me! I am just so excited to hear from him! He said the hardest part was missing us and that made me feel so good! It has been a long two weeks with everything that has been going on. As far as, boot camp this is all he really had to say:

I don't have much time to write, but everything is going pretty good. The company commanders are pretty tough, but they are fair. As long as we listen we don't get in trouble. If several people screw up we all do exercises. It's not too bad. (He fills in this part with sweet stuff to me and Baylee...then he finishes with..) Well it's about time to line up so I will write again next Sunday, that's the only time we get to write. (He then of course finishes with his sweet ending)

Baylee is so excited! She has ran all over the house saying, "We got a letter from daddy! We got a letter from daddy!" Then she ran and got all of her markers and a notebook and said I have to write him back right now so that he will write us back! I knew she would miss him, but I did not realize exactly how much of a daddy's girl she was!