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Our love story

February 7, 2012 3 Comments
From Mrs to Mama has a great Valentine’s Day link up right now.  I thought it would be fun to take part :)

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?
We have been together for almost 11 years now.
2. How did you meet? {What’s your “love” story?}
We met through church and a mutual friend.  She knew this guy she thought would be perfect for me.  He was.
3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}
9.5 years
4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?
We got married at our church.  It was a medium sized wedding on a budget.  We had about 200 people there.  Pretty much your basic church wedding.  We had a nice reception with finger foods and cake.
5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!
Actually we don’t.  Weird huh?
6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.
He is SO patient!  I don’t think anyone else would be so patient with me.  He is a wonderful Father.  He helps so much (when he is home) and I can always depend on him.  He gets me, totally gets me.  No one else does.
7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?
I had a graduation party at my parent’s house.  He asked me after everyone went home.  He was going to ask during the party but thought my Dad’s speech to me was so wonderful he didn’t want to do it after that.  lol.
8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?
Nope, we don’t really get each other stuff like that.
9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?
Usually a pop a movie in and relax kind of gal but I would love a sunset dinner on the beach.
10. Tell us one thing you’d like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?
I would like us to become cruise people.  When we are retired and the kids are grown I want us to go on all these different cruises together.
11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine’s Day.
Nothing special and that is fine with me.
12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine’s day?
Nope
13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
Always try to talk things through and try to put yourself in their shoes.
14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.
Family together
Our family together after deployment :)
3 Comments Filed Under: Marriage Tagged With: , , ,

Turning 33

January 23, 2012 11 Comments

leaves

Last Friday was my 33rd birthday. It wasn’t the best birthday ever. The day was pretty stressful. We went to talk with the doctor about Drew’s diagnosis. I think that just kinda made the day difficult. Friday night the boys wanted to take to me Chick-Fil-A for my birthday so we did that. Love their peppermint shakes.

On Saturday Ben and I were able to get out for a date night which was nice. We went to Outback which is one of my favorite places. Sadly we left our gift card at home which was frustrating. After dinner we walked around a bit, went to a bookstore and went computer shopping. We really need a new computer and plan to use some of our tax refund to get one. I am just not sure what I want to get though. I need to do some more looking around. I would love a Mac but just can’t swing that right now. It was really nice to get out without the boys. Although we did talk about them a lot. We just can’t help it.

So I am 33 now. I feel pretty okay with that. I am pretty much doing what I wanted to do in life. When I was 20 I always said I wanted to have kids by 30. Here I am at 33, been married 9.5 years with three little boys. Although I never thought I would be an Army wife, I feel like I am right where I am supposed to be.

How about you? Do you feel like your age? Have you done everything you thought you would by the age you are now?

PS: Make sure to enter my American Armor Car Cover Giveaway :)

11 Comments Filed Under: Army Life, Life With Little Boys, Marriage, Military Life Tagged With: , ,

Can deployments make a marriage stronger?

January 10, 2012 4 Comments

CoupleWe have all heard about how deployments can cause divorce. How the stress of going through it all can cause people to break up. But do you think that deployments can also make some marriages stronger? I think in our case they have. We have been through three of them. Each one has been hard it its own way. They were something in our past (and likely future) that we had to get through.

Communication has never been good while he has been deployed. Some of that is because of the logistics of where he was and all of that. The other part of it is something we as a couple struggle with. It makes life really frustrating when I can’t talk to my husband for days and days. I usually was fine going 4-5 days but then I would start to get really frustrated and annoyed by it. I just wouldn’t feel like myself. It was like hearing his voice or even receiving a letter from him rebooted me. I was able to continue on along that deployment road a little bit longer after I heard from him.

I think whenever a couple has to go through a challenging time, they either grow stronger or apart. Every time he has been gone, through all of the difficulties of the separation, we have grown stronger. We know that these deployments will make us stronger people. That is the way we have to look at it. If he is going to be in the Army, he is going to be deployed. There is nothing I can do to change that. I don’t have control over that part. I do have control over my actions and how I respond to him when he is gone. I have to remind myself that he loves me very much, loves our boys very much but that he is also in a very stressful situation. When I remind myself of this, the deployment becomes a tiny bit easier.

We will be celebrating 10 years of marriage in August.  I have been thinking a lot about our life and what we have done the last 10 years.  I have been thinking about what has made us a stronger couple.  And the number one thing that comes to mind is the deployments we have been through.

I am not looking forward to the next deployment.  But when it happens I want to make sure that we see it is as another chance for us to grow as a couple.

What have your experiences been? Have you been able to grow stronger through deployments and separations?

 

4 Comments Filed Under: Army Life, Deployment, Marriage, Military Life Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Letter to My Pre-Army Wife Self

December 5, 2011 4 Comments

Flower BokehDear Julie,

You don’t know it yet but in a few months your husband is going to be joining the Army.  Don’t worry, it will be your choice too.  Your life is about to change forever.  Everything you pictured for your life is going to be different.  But don’t worry, it will be good I promise.

You guys are going to be able to live in Germany but I have to warn you it will take a while to get over there.  Good old “Hurry Up and Wait” that is best to learn about right away.  Sometimes the Army takes forever to move paperwork.  It won’t make any sense to you but it will frustrate you.  The best you can do is work on what you are supposed to and pray that things move along quickly.

I also need to tell you that although you are going to Germany it isn’t going to be easy.  You will miss your family a lot.  You will miss America more than you ever could have imagined.  You will enjoy getting to travel.  Do it often as there is a lot to see.  Don’t be afraid to go places and take your camera everywhere (although I probably don’t have to tell you that.)

While you are in Germany you will have to go through two deployments.  The first one will be harder than the second.  You will be challenged in ways you never thought you would be.  You will survive.  Your husband will come home.  The deployment will eventually end.  Depend on God and your friends to get your through.

By now you probably are wondering why your husband should even join the Military if it is going to be like this.  Well I haven’t gotten to the good parts yet.  You will have some great times as an Army Family.

You will get to see the world! You will get to take your kids to 11 countries.  You will get to meet people from all types of cultures.  You will get to meet people from all over the United States.   Your parent’s will be able to come see Europe and visit you.  You will get to experience having a baby in Germany.

You will get to know the pure joy of a homecoming.  You will have a fantastic time together during R&R. You will get to dress up again and go to balls.  You will see a side to your husband you never got to see before.  You will see him mature and grow as he serves his country with honor.  You will see him waking up before the sun to run miles in the rain.  Your heart will grow with pride when you tell your little boys what their Daddy does.

Don’t worry Julie.  You will be okay.  You will make it.  You will see that this life is the one God wanted for you.  Remind yourself of that when times get really hard.

Love Julie, Army Wife of six years.

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

 

4 Comments Filed Under: Army Life, Marriage, Military Life, Stationed in Germany, Stationed Overseas Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Independent Army Wife

November 22, 2011 1 Comment

White FlowerI consider myself pretty independent for the most part.  I take care of the bills, the house and the kids.  Not that my husband isn’t there to help when he can.  However, since he is in the Army and gone a lot of the time it all falls on me.  When he is deployed, I am 100% in control of everything.  I have to be.  Sometimes we go more than a week without talking.   I am the one that has to make all of the decisions, or most of them anyways.  All the daily stuff falls to me.  What we do each day, what we eat, when the kids go to bed and everything in between.  I have had to make decisions about preschool, special needs, traveling and what to buy for the home.  Decisions on things that might not have been all up to me if he had never been deployed.

I find it a little confusing because when he gets home I don’t want to be 100% in control anymore but it is a hard thing to let go of.  Does anyone else struggle with this?

1 Comment Filed Under: Army Life, Deployment, Marriage Tagged With: , ,

I Could Never Do It

October 24, 2011 7 Comments

Most military wives hate it when people say, “I could never do what you do.”   Or “I could never do it” when it comes to a deployment or time away from our husbands.  I think the reason we hate it so much is because there was a time we didn’t think we could do it.  That we never want to say goodbye for a long time and that being a part-time single parent was never a life long dream.

I know I have said it before…

Right before my husband joined the Army…I said I could never handle him being away and me having to parent my son alone.  Then he joined and I had to do it.

I said it when there were rumors that our deployment would be 15 months.  I didn’t think I could get through that.  But I did.

When I thought about giving birth without him, I didn’t think I could do that either but I did.

When I got married I did not see deployments in the future as I walked down the aisle.  Even women who married someone already in the military could not have imaged how hard it would really be.

But at the end of the day we love our husbands.  We know what their job is and we stand by them.  Even if it hurts, which is does.  Even if we sometimes think we can’t do it anymore.  We push through it because we know that the man we see in uniform waiting to hug and kiss us after the deployment is worth it.

So when you see a military wife, try not to tell her that you could never do it.  Because I bet if there was a time in your life when you and your husband had to be apart, you would be able to somehow do it too.

 

 

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