Our Daddy (Hug-A-Hero) Doll arrived a couple weeks ago, and Emily is on cloud 9! 

Hubby has been gone since the end of August for training, and this really helps her feel connected to him!  He’s not deployed, and we are blessed to get to talk to him almost every night, but this is still the longest that she’s ever been separated from her Daddy.  I can only imagine how much these dolls must help a child during a deployment!!

Since Hubby’s mini-me arrived, he has joined us for Trick or Treating, outings at the Arboretum, Sunday mornings at church, just running errands, and cuddling when she goes to sleep! She loves having Daddy by her side!

This morning Hubby officially starts his AIT class where he will learn all about his new job as a “74D – Chemical Operations Specialist” in the Army.  95 days from now, he will graduate from that class and will have orders in hand telling us where we are going to move for our first PCS.

95 days.  That sounds like a lot, but it’s really not.  It’s 13.5 weeks.  It’s twice as long as the time we just finished spending apart, and that went super fast.  95 days left living in this city.  There is a chance that we could be stationed in this state, after all there are Army posts here (we’re hoping we get to go somewhere new though!!), but there is no chance that we will live in this same city.  I’ve lived within the same 30 mile radius for the past 30 years. I’m looking forward to branching out and exploring God’s world! 

As I think about how quickly these days will go by, I wonder what places will we miss?  What local attractions do I want to see before we go?  What will leave Emily with great memories of this place that she has lived for all 6 of her years?

We are homeschooling Kindergarten, and we could choose to sit at home each day at the table doing worksheets and practicing handwriting, or even sitting on the sofa having our story time.  But I think that we need to get out and enjoy this place we are about to leave.  The zoo, the museum, the parks.  So much can be learned and taught at those places too! Sure, we’ll do school each day…it just might look a little different.  Maybe a couple times a week we’ll take our books to a new park and do our work there.  Plus, this is the perfect time of year for enjoying the fresh air and spending hours outside.

I’ve also got 95 days to finish purging through our stuff.  I really don’t want to move stuff with us (again) that we haven’t touched since we’ve been in this house (4 years).  A couple more trips to Salvation Army are in order, I think!

It’s funny, I had all these great plans for things I was going to do while Hubby was gone.  In reality though, I’ve been so incredibly busy that I haven’t had all the free time I assumed I would.  I spend the day staying so busy that once the kids are in bed, I am either trying to get some rest or catching up on chores.  I’m also trying to do my daily yoga and exercises, and take my vitamins regularly.  I just started taking my Super Lysine again too because when my body gets stressed (even good stress) or worn out tired, I get cold sores.  I’d sure like to keep those away if possible! 

This time is going to fly by! Especially with all the holidays in the middle of it.  Halloween, Thankgiving, Christmas, and then it’ll be time to go.  Guess I’ll have to take down the Christmas tree on time this year!  Last year I think it was up till Valentine’s Day 

Here is the recap from our visit to see Hubby.

Day 1

I just got back from spending a couple partial days with my Hubby and seeing him graduate from his Warrior Transition Course.  Hubby’s grandmother rode with me and the kids, and my parents met us there.  We are blessed to be only a 3-4 hour drive away from where he was, so it was relatively easy to get there.  Unfortunately, I know many spouses & families were not able to make it because it would have meant purchasing plane tickets for multiple people.  I’m glad we were able to go!

Granny, the kids and I headed out Tuesday around noon, right after Little Bear’s (our foster son) feeding therapy appointment.  It took a little longer on this trip than it did when just Emily and I went since we had the baby this time, but it wasn’t too bad.  Thankfully, I had Granny in the car to help hand things to the kids or talk to the baby.  I hadn’t thought about it when I asked her to ride with us, but she ended up being a HUGE help! I was the only one that needed to go to the bathroom on multiple stops (I drank lots of coffee!), so she’d stay in the car with the kids.  If you have kids, you can understand how valuable that was!

We arrived on post around 4:00, and met up with my parents who had just beat us there.  We met in front of the building called Geronimo Lodge because that’s who I had called to make reservations for lodging on post.  Stay with me here, because it wouldn’t be the Army if it was simple…they had to keep it interesting for me.

We all unloaded the car, got the kids out, the grandparents took the kids to the playground in front of us, while I went to check in. I walked in the building right next to the lodge and asked where to check in.

“Oh, you don’t check in for the lodge here.  That’s down the street, take a right, then it’s the 2nd building on the right.”

Of course it is.

So, I go back to the family and we agree they might as well wait there since that’s where we’re staying (or so I thought!).  I’ll go check in and come back.

First, I walked into what I thought was the building they sent me to, only to find out that I needed to be one building over.  Not walking distance though, so back in the car I went.

Finally I’m in the right place! However, when I go to check in, I find out that the apartment they’ve assigned us is not at the Lodge, but in a different area all together.  They’ve assigned me to an “apartment”, so those are located with the apartments of course, not at the Lodge.

Of course it is.  I was literally laughing out loud walking back to my car.

I get back to the family and we all start loading up the kids again.  While we are in the middle of this, we hear the 5 minute “warning” for Retreat.  As a civilian on post, when you hear the Retreat music, you are to stand still and quiet facing the flag (if you can see one), or the direction from which the music is coming.  This happens at the same time every day, although the time can vary by post.  At Fort Sill, it’s at 17:00.  I should have known it was coming, but I wasn’t looking at the time.  So, I’m trying to hurry and explain to the grandparents what to do, and how they are going to need to pull over and get off their motorcycles if the music starts before we get to the apartment building.  Then we start driving over to the apartment building.  I had been sternly warned against using cell phones while driving on post.  As we’re looking for the apartment building, Hubby calls me to come pick him up – he’s free for the day!  I had put the phone on speaker and was practically screaming at him (so as not to be seen on the phone) while also trying to find the apartment building.

Somehow through all the commotion, and us making a couple wrong turns, we didn’t even hear the music from our cars or see anyone else standing at attention, so we missed Retreat completely.

We finally get to the apartment building, and this time I got smart! I went and checked to make sure we were in the right spot before getting anyone or anything out of the car!

The apartment was really cute! It had 2 bedrooms with double beds, closets & dressers in them.  A living area with a pull out sofa bed and a recliner.  A kitchenette with a table & chairs, 2 mini-fridges, a stovetop, microwave & coffee maker.  One bathroom with 2 sinks/mirrors and a shower.  It was clean and comfy and overall a great place to stay!  They could have changed out the fly-trap sheets with the dead bugs on them, but other than that, I was quite pleased.

We unloaded quickly, then the grandparents watched the kids while I drove to the barracks to pick up my Hubby!  YAY!!!!!  We almost just ran away at that point, but of course he wanted to see the kids and family too, so we went back to the apartment to pick them all up and head out to dinner…OFF post because Hubby hadn’t been off post in 45 days!  He also presented Emily with a little pint-sized ACU so she can be dressed like Daddy – SO CUTE! She was on cloud 9 with those!! I have to take in the pants a little, but that didn’t stop her from wearing the top and the hat everywhere we went.

We enjoyed dinner at Applebee’s, then headed back to the apartment where Hubby had time to tuck the kids into bed, read Emily a bedtime story in person, and chat with the family for a couple minutes before I had to rush him back to the barracks for his nighttime formation.

Day 2

Wednesday morning was the graduation.  We all got up, got ourselves and the kids ready and got out the door by 9.  We were excited to see Hubby almost right away and were able to get seats close to him.  It was a very nice ceremony, and I just loved watching him sing the Army song, say his oath (again), and stand there in his uniform.  After the ceremony, they gave us all time to take pictures and chat for a few minutes before his transportation arrived to take him back to the barracks.  He was going to call us in an hour or so to be picked up when his free time started for the day.

We all went back to the apartment and snacked on some munchies while waiting for Hubby to call us to go to lunch.  We had a nice lunch at Olive Garden, and then the grandparents all took the kids and wandered around post and toured the PX so Hubby and I could have some time to ourselves!! 45 days later, we got 2.5 hours together!! It was so nice!  Then, they brought the kids back, my parents hit the road, and Hubby & Emily got some valuable Daddy-Daughter play time together.  Once again, he was able to tuck her in, read her a bedtime story and spend good quality time with her that will keep her happy for quite some time!

After the kids were in bed, Granny went on to bed with Emily while I drove Hubby back to the barracks for another “see ya later”.

What’s next?

He’s off to AIT to learn about his MOS (his job) and at some point in the next 96 days find out where we’ll be stationed.

We’re in the Army now! I know Hubby has been in for 28 days already, but yesterday really sealed the deal for me.  I was blessed to get a chance to visit him on post because he had a day “pass”, and while it came with lots of rules, it did allow us to spend a lot of time together.  We didn’t think we would get to see each other at all during this training course, so it was a nice surprise!

Emily and I made it a Girls Only Road Trip!  We left early Sunday morning bright and early.  Let me just say that I LOVE traveling with my daughter.  We talk some, and sing some songs, but mostly she just wants to read. So cute! We hit the library the day before the trip and loaded up on books.  She read 3 chapter books in the first hour and a half!  One of our pit stops at a gas station had a little ‘store’ inside, and she spent a few minutes petting each and every stuffed animal in the place! Then we grabbed some caramel popcorn to snack on, and got back on the road.

When we arrived on post around noon, Hubby wasn’t quite ready to meet us yet, so we wandered around the PX (Post Exchange), which would be known in the civilian world as the mall.  Inside the PX we found (among a few other things I don’t remember) a food court, a florist, a video game store, a barber shop, and AAFES (pronounced A-FEES), which is the Army & Air Force Exchange Service. This is like a huge Walmart without the grocery store, basically.  It had everything…clothes, TVs, camping equipment, toiletries, books, candles, exercise equipment, snack food, linens, etc.

Oh, and let me back up a bit to tell you a funny story   When we got out of the car at the PX, Emily (spotting someone in uniform) said “Oooh! There’s someone that’s in the Army!”.  Then, spotting another man in uniform, said “OOH! There’s someone ELSE that’s in the Army!!”.  She was SO excited!  It was precious.

Emily and I wandered around AAFES for a while until Hubby called to let us know he was there.  He said he was “out front”, so Emily and I went out front, thinking he meant outside.  He wasn’t there.  So I called to find out what he meant by “out front”. He meant outside of AAFES, but still inside the PX.  We had walked right by him, and didn’t even see him in the sea of camo!  He didn’t see us either though, so I don’t feel so bad.

At last, we were together!! Emily ran and jumped into his arms and squealed with joy!! She was so excited to see her Daddy.  I was thrilled too, but not allowed to show it with quite the enthusiasm that she was (PDA rules and all).

He looks so good, and I couldn’t help but beam with pride as I realized…really realized, that I am married to a Soldier.  He looks incredibly handsome in his uniform, and I could just see happiness on his face like he was back in his element.  I haven’t asked him about it yet, but there was just a difference about him.  I know he loved working with computers in the IT field, sure, but this is different.  He likes physical activity, he loves his country, he’s been through some of this before, and I just wonder if he felt “at home”.  I wonder if this doesn’t fit him so much better than sitting behind a desk all day.  I think it does.

We went inside AAFES to grab something Hubby needed, and then he went to get a haircut at the Barber Shop (or maybe it was the other way around?).  Either way, we then headed over to the bowling alley where we played a couple games, just relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company.  It was fun to hang out together as a family, to laugh & play, and be together again.  I couldn’t help but wish I was allowed to steal him away for a while. Unfortunately, he wasn’t even allowed to get in our vehicle during training, so there was no stealing away to be done.

We did play a bit outside the bowling alley before going in.  Emily and Hubby chased each other around the trees laughing and getting out some excess energy   We attempted to let her take our picture with our phone, and this resulted in us laughing hysterically.  The wind was crazy, so my hair kept blowing in Hubby’s face.  She kept moving, so the pictures would come out blurry.  We finally managed to get a few decent ones!

We had a great time bowling!  Emily beat me (and Hubby beat her) the first game…I just stunk!! Guess I needed to warm up, because I won the second game.  They had these super cute ramps for the kiddos that were shaped like dinosaurs!  The sweet lady at the counter said they were supposed to be for kids 3 and under, but that Em looked tiny, so she let her use it.  Eventually, she got tired of pushing it back and forth, so she did the “Granny Bowl” and rolled it between her legs.  She did that once, and it took FOR.  EV.  ER. to get to the end of the lane, but when it did….she got a STRIKE!!! Seriously! I wish I could have gotten that on video.  She was so funny because the ball would take so long to get down the lane, that she would lay down on her tummy, put her chin in her hands and watch it go.

After we were done at the bowling alley, we headed back to the PX so he could pick up a couple things he needed, grab some dinner and say our goodbyes.  I didn’t cry this time.  It was hard to say goodbye, but I was just so thankful to have had that time with him, and to know that in just a couple weeks I get to see him again for his graduation.  That time, we get even more time together as he gets a longer “pass”.

I got a video of Hubby and Emily saying goodbye with their “Noggin, Nose, Cheek, Hug & Kiss” that they normally do every night before bed.

What a wonderful day!!

This morning I had an appointment to go get my military ID card.  The one that will allow me to go on post, shop at the PX or the commissary, play at the on post bowling alley, be treated at the medical facilities, etc.  I had to drive an hour away to the closest military base to turn in some paperwork, smile at the camera, and pick up my ID card.  Easy enough, right?  My parents were kind enough to watch the baby for me, so it was just me and Emily.  She was getting an ID card too!

I arrived early because I had given myself lots of extra time “just in case”, so I stopped by Starbucks for a bathroom break, an iced tea for me and a fruit pouch for Emily before heading to my appointment.  Once I was called in, it took less than 10 minutes to get our cards.  I said thanks, and headed out.  As I was on my way to the next stop (the hospital to sign up for the health plan), I looked at my ID card.

Pretty cool! I have a military (spouse) ID card!  Oh wait, what’s that?  Uh-Oh! My birthday was wrong.  By a few months.  The numbers of the month/day didn’t even match mine at all.  Very odd.

So I went back.  I assumed the Army would want something like this to be correct 

Turns out, it was wrong in the system.  It must have been entered wrong by the person that took the information from Hubby.  Since it’s wrong in the system, it prints wrong on the paperwork, and on the card.

No problem, here is my license that shows my birthday so we can change it, right?  Right?  What do you mean, no?  Turns out they need my birth certificate to change it.  Of course they do.

But, Hubby has my birth certificate with him (in another state) because he needed it for paperwork.   I can’t visit him for a couple weeks or so….and he’s in a period where I can’t talk to him on the phone to ask him about getting it from him.  I do not live in the state I was born in, so I can’t just run and pick up a new one.  I’ll have to mail order it.  Even with paying the expediting fees, it won’t be processed for a couple weeks.  I NEED to get my ID corrected so that I can sign up for the proper health plan.  Plus, even though this one will get me on post, I could potentially run into trouble if I need medical care and my birthdays don’t match.

UGH.

So, I email Hubby asking him if I could come get it from him, or if he could just drop it in the mail.  If I don’t hear from him by Monday, I’ll just order one and hope for the best.

Then, I get a call from him tonight!!! He had not checked his email but was able to call for a few minutes.  I fill him in, and we try to figure out what to do.  He could go buy some envelopes once he gets a pass to go to the PX and then mail it to me in a couple days.  I could come pick it up, but I wouldn’t get to see him because he doesn’t have a pass yet.  I didn’t like that option because Emily would NOT be happy with me dragging her on a long car trip to where Daddy is, but not get to see him!  So, we went with him mailing it.

As we continued our conversation, suddenly it hits him!  He does NOT have my birth certificate!  He ended up taking my passport instead.  So that means it’s here.  Somewhere.  I looked where I usually keep it and it wasn’t there. Then it dawned on us! It’s in the folder with the foster care paperwork because we needed it for that.  I checked, and sure enough it was there!

YAY!!! So, now all I have to do is make another appointment for next week, take them my birth certificate and get the ID card fixed.  Crisis averted!  Honestly, I know that stuff like this will happen.  It does in any corporation, so it’s definitely going to happen in the Army too.  No since getting all worked up about it.  We’ll just call it my initiation 

If you are a Facebook friend, you know my anxiety about having my picture taken because I woke up with a huge cold sore on the front of my nose!  Today of all days!  Turns out, the picture is about an inch square and in black & white.  I could hardly make out my eyes, let alone my nose, so it didn’t show up at all! Whew!

I get these cold sores from time to time when I’m under a lot of stress.  Even good stress evidently.  My mom gets them on her lip, but I always get them on/in my nose.  Not fun either way!  It’s been a long time since I had one, and hopefully it will be a looooooong time before I have another.  Lysine, by the way, is the miracle drug for these things!! I take Super Lysine at the first hint of a cold sore.  6000mg a day! It really helps knock it out much faster.  In case it ever happens to you, I highly recommend taking Lysine.

Well, here we are! One week into Army life.  Of course, I’m not the one living the Army way yet.  So far it just feels like he’s on a business trip or something.  On the day Hubby left, 3 family members called, emailed or sent a text message within 3 hours of him leaving asking if I was ok.   He normally wouldn’t have even been home from work yet.  It was cute, and appreciated even if a little premature.

I’ve been so blessed to talk to him every day this week!  I know it won’t always be like that, so I’m really enjoying it while I can.  We are fortunate to live in a high-tech time.  I’ve been able to text with him, talk to him when he has 5 minutes to call while waiting on laundry, and even video chat with him on our cell phones!!  With the exception of bedtime, it hasn’t been too bad yet.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d much rather have him here, but I’ve been so busy with doctor appointments, chores, children’s choir, and preparing to start teaching Emily’s Kindergarten that I haven’t had time to dwell on it.  I got behind on laundry right before he left, and I’m just now putting away the last of his clean clothes, so it’s sorta like he’s still here.  Ok, maybe not really.

I’m also enjoying the peace and quiet.  I love people, but I also love spending time alone.  It’s how I recharge.  So, having the evenings to just do chores quietly, or read a book, or have time with my thoughts…has been nice.

Bedtime is different though.  I notice the sounds more.  I feel so safe with him next to me, that I realize how vulnerable I am without him there.  I miss our nightly ritual of touching feet before we go to sleep.  I’ve also learned that I need him holding down the other half of the bedding or else I make the bed look like a tornado hit it.  Our cat sleeps on his pillow every night instead of in between us or at his feet where she usually sleeps.  Then she head-butts me in the middle of the night and curls up next to my chest as if she woke up and realized he wasn’t there and needed to let me know.

Emily has been doing well.  She’s been watching her Daddy Bedtime Story videos each night and loves those!! Also, she’s been able to speak to him each day, and video chat with him today, so that keeps her going.  Her cup gets full very easily.  A 10 second “Hi Daddy, how are you? I love you. Goodbye.” and she’s good for quite a while.  She just likes to hear his voice, to see a video of him, or to get a sweet card in the mail like we did after he’d only been gone a few days!  Those things make her day and she gets lots of mileage from it.

So far, so good.  Hubby has made a friend that is his “Battle Buddy”.  They have to use the buddy system everywhere they go right now to avoid anyone going off and doing anything too dumb, I guess.  They get along great, and are both Christians and non-smokers which has proven convenient.  This weekend they are on a “pass” of sorts.  They can’t leave the post, or use a POV (Personally Operated Vehicle), and they have certain times they have to check in or be in a formation.  But for a good portion of the day, they can do whatever they want on post.  Take a nap, go eat, work out, or go to the “rec” facility and use the WiFi!  He was able to go to a church service Sunday morning where they talked about 1 Cor 9:24-27.  Running the race and being disciplined in order to get the eternal prize.  Very timely!

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Cor 9:24-27)