Cross country without him

1 Week and 1 day ago the Brandon, Christian, Megan and I left Tampa for the West.  The weeks leading up to our departure were caotic and crammed with a flurry of activity.  Not only was I getting ready for the trip but we were also trying to cram in as much activity with our sweet friends Angie, Brandon, Nicole and Blake.

As we left Tampa I couldn't help but be a bit sad that a huge part of our family was missing :0(  The whole trip was filled with talk of silly things that Dad would do if he were here.  It was really heart warming to have all of us at one time or another pop on some Alan Jackson, just so we could honor John on our trip.

We made it to Utah safely and the boys are attending EFY right now while Megan and I are staying with friends here in Riverton UT.  We will be leaving for Boise on Saturday before we head up to John's family reunion in Helena MT.

John is doing well in Fort Hood but the days are beginning to drag on as he awaits their departure from that aweful place.  Unfortunatly we have not been able to really see him much as there is no WIFI.  Once he gets to Afghanistan we will be able to facetime or skype with him much more freely. Can't wait, although knowing that he is out of the country doesn't really feel all that great.

His days are still filled with training.  Some of it is interesting he says but it seems like there is allot that is just mind numbing.   Right now he is in classes learning more specifically about what he will be doing while he is over there.  Conditions are adequate there in Fort Hood although describing them as great would be an overstatement I believe.

I will try to stay more focused on what is happening so that I don't go so long between posts :0)

Its been two weeks!

Wow!  I can't believe how time really does fly.  John has been gone for 2 weeks now and we only have 2 weeks until we leave for our big vacation.  I'm not however certain that this will really be a vacation.

John is doing well.  He arrived in Fort Hood 2 weeks ago and set up shop in a crowded barracks. After he had only been there for a short time he had to get used to the night shift.  Now he is finally back to a normal schedule and even got to have yesterday off!

We get to talk with him daily which makes this whole thing so much better.  Unfortunately the Ipad that we got him for his birthday will not come in handy for facetimeing  until he is over in Afghanistan.  There is no wifi in Fort Hood.  Sadly we have only gotten to see him for a short time about a week ago.  Even then, the connection wasn't all that great. 

I do feel bad for John because every time that he does call, he gets a sort of verbal vomit from our end (well, really only me). 
By the time he gets home he will probably only want silence LOL.

The kids are doing well and have adjusted quickly. I guess that is from all the other times that Dad has been away for more than a bit at a time.
The boys are currently at Sea Base and having a blast.  This means that Megan and I are left to our own devices here at home.  I have really enjoyed spending all this time with my favorite little 9 yr old. 

I should be posting pictures soon and of course posting more.  I haven't been able to pry the computer out of Brandon's hands  long enough to make any progress LOL

Back to reality :0(

The last two weeks have been wonderful! John took leave for these last two weeks.  We used the AFVC (Armed Forces Vacation Club) to stay at a Time Share resort for a week in Orlando.  Took the kids to Universal studios for a couple of days and spent the rest of the time just laying around and playing at the pool.  It was one of the best weeks ever!  Really really relaxing.  The last week we spent just hanging out at home, going to movies and floating the rainbow river.

Currently John and I are in Orlando attending a yellow ribbon briefing for the weekend.  The briefings we absolutely mind numbing but the time that we get to spend together is great!
Alothough I am really enjoying myself, I am also dreading the moment when he takes me back home tomorrow.  After that, we wont see him hardly at all until he leaves later in the month.
The worst part is that he is only 2 hours away in Orlando.  Close enough to visit but far enough to make it difficult to drive back and forth easily.  ARG!!!!

Time just seems to be flying by! The worst part is that I don't think that the time is going to be flying by quite as much when he is finaly gone.  I fully expect that time is going to come to a screeching halt once he leaves!

The good news is that John is going to be able to easily skype to us pretty much as much as he wants.  He will also be able to text freely!  That will help with staying connected.

Its funny to think back nearly 18 years ago when talking and staying in touch wasn't near as easy.  We ran up huge phone bills just trying to stay connected.  We are truly blessed in this day and age to have such technology.

I will be posting and APO address that will allow anyone to mail things to John while he is overseas. I believe that this will make the sending of packages free.  Not sure about that so I will have to check on that once I get the address.  I'm sure John would love to get goodies in the mail from time to time.

Mother's Day

I cannot begin to count the number of times that I have dreamt of coming home after church to take a nap.  Every Sunday I watch other members of my family find time to be able to relax and take naps.  Today, I decided to that it was my turn.  Well, I've decided that my desire to take a good long nap has been fulfilled.
What have I learned from this fullfillment? well, I've learned that taking a good long nap, isn't what its cracked up to be.  Now I'm left with a groggy head and absolutley NO desire to move or do anything productive.

John is of course gone again.  He left this morning for a few days of training with his original unit.  Luckily he didn't have to go for the entire month.  He gets to come back later this week.  After that we get to spend some family time.  Two weeks of leave and then off he goes, into the wild blue yonder.

Gone again!

Well..... as I sit here tonight, I find myself pondering on this deployment.  No matter how much I tell myself that I can handle it, I sill come back to the fact that it SUCKS!!!!

John is gone again this week.  More training of course.  I understand that he needs to be fully trained (I wouldn't want it any other way) but it just plain sucks that he has to be gone yet again.  

Some days I just wish that It would just start already... It is almost worst knowing that we have a whole year to go and that year hasn't even started yet!  

I have begun writing in what I call my stress book! :0) lets hope it allows me to keep my stresses in one area and not plastered all over every wall of the house.  The last few days have proven that I really need to have this stress book at the ready every minute of the day!

Well, I guess I should stop having my little pitty party and get back to work cleaning the kitchen and doing algebra homework with the boys.  BLUCK!

Friends

Every Tuesday for the last few weeks Christian has been attending a guitar class with my friend's son. We have been riding together to do this.  Do we need to ride together?  probably not, but I sure do enjoy that time.

We began talking about how this deployment was going to really stink..... you see, not only is my husband leaving but one of my very best friends is leaving as well :0( 

I have really struggled with this for quite some time now.  Will I live? Yes.  Will I make other friends?  Yes.   Will those friendships be the same? Never!  There are times in our lives that we meet certain people.  People that I am convinced that we knew before we came to earth.  People that are so much needed in our lives. Life without them, while rich and full is never quite the same.  

If you have ever read Ann of Green Gables, you know what I'm talking about when I say the term bosom friend.  Who else besides my hubby can I be my silly self.  Who else finds it completely acceptable to giggle snort and fluff right along with me LOL.  Yes I said Fluff!  

Many people have asked me how I feel about my friend leaving...... well.... It STINKS!!!! I will most likely cry my eyes out just like I'm going to do when john leaves and then pick up my boot straps and start walking. .  Tomorrow is still going to come and I'm still going to have my friend, and I'm still going to have my husband.  However, I have decided that SOMEONE is going to have to learn how to talk chipmunk with me!  I don't think I can live without the giggles that it brings :0) (luckily 1 of my 3 children speaks fluent chipmunk...... he is just not as exuberant about it.....Another of my children is in intense lingual training and I have high hopes for her progression over time)

See, I can post on here :o)

Hey all... this is John. I really wanted to show Tara that I really can post things on here :o)
Since I'm going to all this trouble though, I guess it is also a good opportunity for me to make a couple of notes...

Most importantly, I am really proud of Tara for putting this blog together. I so admire her for her ability to freely express herself. I know that I am a lucky man for having such a special woman that I can call my wife.
Having said that, it is important that we follow a level of (what the Army calls) OPSEC. That is, we have to be careful about how much and what information is posted here. We will NOT be posting any  specific dates or locations of where I (or my unit) will be. I will try to provide basic information and I can share my personal thoughts and feelings (don't get too excited, I am a guy so there will limited feelings that will be shared LOL).

As Tara mentioned, I do have mixed feelings about this upcoming deployment. This is what I have been training for so in that instance I feel like I now have the opportunity to do my job the way I have been training for. At the same time, I truly will miss my family immensely! I have been blessed over the years to have present for almost every birthday, every Christmas, many many camp outs with the boys, many sporting events for all three kids, many concerts, the list goes on and on. I certainly do not take any of those things lightly, I know so many other Soldiers who have missed those same events in their families because of deployments. I am truly grateful for every opportunity that I have had. Now, it is my turn to step up to the plate, and for that, I am happy to do.

Well, that is all i've got for tonight... i'm looking forward to posting more of what I can throughout the next year.

John

SPADES, TARA'S PREGNANT!!!

Kidding!....... If only the news were that great :0(

I would love to say that the much awaited news is good..... however..... it just plain stinks.  I am sorry for making people wait for the news but we had certain people within our family that we wanted to tell first.  Now that they have been told we are free to share.

John is being deployed for a year! bummer I know but alas, its true :0( We have many mixed feelings within our family about this event.  John is both excited and sad at the same time.  He has been in the military for 18 years now and is extremely excited to be doing what he has been training to do his entire career.  He is sad to be leaving his family for such a long time.  Me...... It sucks!! Because I love this man, I am also excited for him...... but It sucks!!!!!

I decided to keep our blog up to date so that anyone who is interested will be able to keep up with the goings on.  I'm sure he will have many adventures to tell about and will want to keep family and friends informed. I am hoping that he will hop on the blog and write on here as well but so far his excitement about doing that is not at a level that makes me hopeful LOL. Men......

Right now he is in Orlando for the week attending SRP..... not sure what it stands for, but in a nut shell he is going from station to station in a large building with a whole bunch of other guys practicing his hurry up and wait skills.  I believe they are simply making sure that all the necessary paperwork and health information is up to date.  Basically making sure that all of their ducks are in a row and all the soldiers information is current.

I believe that he will be home for a week or two and then heading back for another week sometime.  He will also be leaving for Puerto Rico for about a week in May as his current unit just cant seem to let him go that easy. He keeps telling me all of these dates so that I am informed, however all I hear is that I'm going to be gone some here and more there and, oh yea.... I'm going to be gone again here...... dates??? who cares, you're just gone...  ALOT!

Family time you say???? Well....... not too sure yet but we think that he is going to have about 2 weeks of leave sometime towards the end of May.  During that time we will be taking the kids to Orlando to go to Universal Harry Potter World and then just spending some time having fun together.

Once June hits we will most likely see him very little as most of his time will be spent in Orlando getting prepared for this deployment.
How am I doing you say?? Well..... again..... this sucks!!! its been an emotional week as I get used to the idea of being alone and barring the burdens of our family alone.  Part of the reason why I decided to start this blog is also to give me an outlet to write down my feelings.  Some days I'm sure will be plain stinky... I'm sure there will be days where I would very much like to crawl up in a little whole and die quietly while nobody is watching..... I'm sure that some of my posts will seem grim and very depressing.  I also know that there will be many times in which the laughter fills our home.  We wouldn't be us if that didn't happen.

I will ask that if you see that my posts are particularly down, please do not feel the need to run to my aid..... Just because I write it down, doesn't necessarily mean that I want comfort or need help.  It  most likely means that I'm just having a crummy day.  I refuse to pretend that all is well when its not. I also refuse to ever let down days get me down for good.  My motto in life has always been   "Tomorrow is going to get here, whether I want it to or not!" so for now..... there are 365 days(ish) laying ahead of me.... Lets get on with it!

Big Changes!

I haven't posted in a very long time but things are going to be changing at our house so I figured that I should get started again.  This will be a really great way to keep everyone in the loop of the future happenings.  Sorry, I know that I am being extremely cryptic, but only a very few people know at this point and until we have more info, we would like to keep it hush hush. stay tuned :0)