Married to a Soldier, mom of three little boys, living through deployments, pcs and anything else this crazy life throws at us.
If you are ever stationed in Germany you will get the chance to visit at least one German Christmas market. Most of the towns have them even if they are small. While we were over in Germany we got to visit quite a few of them. We never were able to make it to the big one in Nuremberg.
Have you ever been to a German Christmas Market?
Schweinfurt
I can’t get over it. I can’t believe he is turning FIVE tomorrow. My little Germany baby is going to be five. Where did the time go? When I think of childhood I think of five as a turning point. You are now a real big kid. No more toddler stuff. He will start Kindergarten in less than eight months. He loves everything Lego Star Wars. That is pretty much all get got for his birthday. I hope the next five years don’t go by as fast but I am sure they will…
Little Newborn-His hair was the darkest out of my three. He was also my biggest baby at 8lbs.
My favorite picture-Ben home on R&R to meet his little boy.
One year old-Right after Daddy’s 1st deployment.
Two years old- Right after Daddy had to deploy for the 2nd time.
Three years old-When we first moved back to the US. He still talks about our orange Germany house.
Four years old- At the zoo
Pretty much five-Taken last week. He is of course wearing a Star Wars shirt.
Dear 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.”
We have been an Army family for almost 6 years now. Although I am glad we did make the decision for Ben to join the military and we have had some great experiences, there are some things I wish I had known before hand. Not because I wish we would have decided not to join but so that I would have been a little more prepared for it all.
I can’t believe we have been back in the US almost 18 months now. Just seems so crazy to me! For my new followers we were stationed in Germany for four years before we moved here to Tennessee.
Even once in a while I think about Germany. I have noticed about 95% of my friends who have left Germany still really miss it years later. But I have not really felt that way. I see the four years in Germany as a great experience that left me with a lot of great memories. Sometimes I really miss my hometown, sometimes I really miss where I went to college and where I met Ben, sometimes I really miss Lexington where we lived when Ben joined the Army. But I don’t ever really feel like I really miss Germany in the same way.
I love living in the states. I like not missing 4,000 things on a daily basis. I like that I am only 2 time zones over from my parents. I like that we could drive to see family even if it takes a couple of days. I like that I can have a lot of my life off post in the civilian world. In Germany that is pretty difficult to do. Even if you do a lot of traveling (which I would suggest) your every day doings are usually connected to the military.
Don’t get me wrong, I do think about the good memories I have had of Germany. The walks I took, the things I got to see, the people I met there. Germany was our first duty station as a military family and I think it was really a great way to dive into this lifestyle. But more than this, Germany was where I really got into this parenting thing. My oldest was just 18 months when we moved there. Germany introduced me to playdates, playgrounds, preschool, figuring out how to balance the home with children. All of that kind of stuff. Because of that Germany will always hold a special place in my heart. But please keep me in the US, at least until my children are grown. I am finding it to be much easier.
How about you? Have you PCSd back to the US from an Overseas tour? How has the transition been for you?
Our 9th anniversary is on Wednesday! Nine years of being married! Three kids, six, almost seven different homes. Two different countries. Three different states. Three deployments and lots of memories…
First year 2002-2003: We both worked full time and I think we were probably pretty typical newlyweds. We would go to the movies, out to eat and take day trips during our time off. Also enjoyed lazy Saturday afternoons. We lived in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment. For our 1st anniversary we spent the weekend in Calistoga, CA. Lots of long walks, yummy food and relaxing. Right before our anniversary we moved into a 2 bedroom townhouse. It was nice to have a little more space.
Second Year 2003-2004: Spent this year both working full time. We decided that we would start TTC on my 25th birthday. We found out we were pregnant in Feb of 2004. So this year was spent getting ready for baby and ready for me to become a stay at home mom. We still did a lot of the things we did the first year though. We spent that anniversary going out to eat at our favorite steak house where we lived in California.
Third Year 2004-2005: This year changed things quite a bit. We became parents in Sept 2004 with the birth of our first little boy. Then in April of 2005 we decided to move to Kentucky. I can’t even remember what we did for our anniversary that year. We lived in a 2 bedroom apartment in Lexington.
Fourth Year 2005-2006: This was the year that changed everything! Ben joined the Army and after 3.5 years of never really being apart, he left for Germany. My son and I (who was 18 months at the time) joined him after 4.5 months. We got pregnant with our second little boy in March of 2006. We lived in a 2 bedroom Stairwell apartment in Schweinfurt. We spent that anniversary making a special dinner after our son had gone to bed.
Fifth Year 2006-2007: This year was sad. Ben left a few weeks after our 4th anniversary and didn’t really home again until a few months after our fifth. Our second little boy was born in December and Ben was able to come home for R&R. Then we had to spend the next 11 months apart. 15 month deployments are horrible 
I spent that anniversary by myself. Think I ordered a nice dinner that night or something like that.
Sixth Year 2007-2008: This year started with a deployment but then it got better. Ben came home, we spent a month in California and then moved to a different part of Germany. We moved into a 4 bedroom duplex in the tiny village of Erbendorf. It was ideal for our two little boys! We went on a couple of trips to Garmisch that summer in between field time.
Seventh Year 2008-2009: Ben left for his second deployment and I stayed in Germany with our boys. For that summer I went to CA and met Ben on his R&R. R&R happened to fall over our anniversary and we spent it on Catalina Island where we had honeymooned.
Eighth Year 2009-2010: Ben came home a few months after our anniversary and we started trying for baby #3. We went on a very fun Mediterranean Cruise and then PCSd back to the US. We got pregnant with Boy #3 in March of 2010. We now live in a 3 bedroom house which we are renting.
Ninth Year 2010-2011: We had our third little boy in November 2010. We are pretty sure he completed our little family. In Feb Ben deployed for the 3rd time and he just got home. We are now waiting to close on our first house!
It has been fun writing all this out…brings me back to some sweet memories and reminds me of some hard times.
My Code: STMMMS5164
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