Online Resources for Spouses of Soldiers in Basic Training at Ft Benning

It's only day 2 since he left to Basic Training. I still have mixed emotions. One minute it doesn't feel like he's really going to be gone for so long, like he's just out hunting or fishing for a few days. However, the next minute I'll see something simple like his favorite coffee cup and it will set off the water works. I don't have an address yet, and haven't heard from him since he got off the bus, but I am still writing him a letter every day. He's gonna have a back log, poor guy! (He's not big on reading, but I think this will be the exception) I didn't think I would have much to write him about on a day to day basis, but even after only one day of not talking to him enough happened that I had plenty to say.

 I feel like God is really with me right now. The day we dropped Josh off at the airport was so emotionally draining on me, and I was beginning to feel like I couldn't do this. He wanted me to be strong, but it was harder than I had ever imagined. That night I got the call about Bailey's soccer, her new coach had just received her roster and had scheduled a practice for the following evening. It was a sigh of relief because I knew soccer practices and games would help distract me from it all. Especially once Cody starts up as well, I'm sure it's going to be hectic dealing with 2 soccer schedules! (I just hope they don't have games or practices that conflict, I am only 1 person after all!)

I found some resources that have been helpful for me; Ft Benning has their own Facebook page, which has proven helpful in answering my questions. Just browsing through other's posts usually helps me find the info, including facebook pages for a lot of the different training companies. I'm just praying that my husband gets placed in one that has an active Facebook page, it would be great to be able to show my girls every so often what daddy is up to. Even better if we happen to spot him in a sea of camo! Some of the pages even post videos! So far I have found pages for the following; Charlie Company 1-19 Infantry, Bravo Troop 5-15 CAV, D Company 2-58 Infantry, A Company 2-58 Infantry, Bravo Company 2-47 Infantry, Charlie Company, 30th Adjutant General Battalion (Reception), B Company 2-58 Infantry, F Company 2-58 Infantry, Delta Company 2-47 Infantry (Destroyers), Baker Company 1/19 Infantry, Alpha Troop 5-15 CAV, and I am sure there are many, MANY more. Once you know what company your soldier is in, you can also view photos from basic training and even order some of them if you like. I've started a Pinterest board, Wife of a Soldier, just to keep track of resources I find and to keep myself inspired. (Though I can't pin Facebook pages, and yes I'm pinning my own blog posts!) Last night, I found a great website that is dedicated to Ft Benning Graduation Information. It even had all the future graduation dates listed based on their start date. We were originally guessing around Thanksgiving for Josh, but now it's looking like it will probably be December 5 or 12, unless he just flies through the reception process. (Very unlikely from what I've heard) I now know that graduations are always held on Fridays, and I've got all the resources I need when it comes time to book our flight, hotel, etc when we go to watch him graduate. The original blog post that I read right before he left was inspiring to me as well, she talked about how Basic Training strengthened her marriage. Most of the guys in basic training are fresh out of high school, so it seems to be more parents than wives dealing with it, and even less of them have children. It's hard to completely relate to them, and I feel unfair reaching out to military wives who have husbands off on deployments. The National Guard Wives Facebook group made me see that I wasn't as alone as I felt, there were other wives with children just starting their adventure like we were. I am not super active in it yet, but just reading about others experiences has been helpful to me. Another blog post I found helpful was How to Survive Basic Training as a Spouse, while it was geared at Air Force, it still applies to most any service.

I'm also blessed to be surrounded by a large group of very supportive family and friends. However, sometimes the most well meaning comments/questions can really sting. Sometimes it's nice to be able to reach out to someone who REALLY understands what you are going through. I also got a call from our local National Guard Family Services last night, she said she will only call once a month to check in on me but I could call whenever if I had any questions. I'm not a huge fan of reaching out to people I don't know, but I've got to step up to the plate and step out of my comfort zone to get through the next 13-16 weeks.

That's all the online resources I have for now, if I find more I will add them to this blog post in order to keep them all in one location. If you find any, feel free to comment with them and I will add them! I know there are A LOT more Facebook pages, but I only stuck with the Ft Benning one's, and one's that had been active at least within the last month. I hope this post is helpful to some!

He's gone

This morning we dropped Josh off at the airport and he's on his way to Georgia.

That was the most emotionally painful thing I've ever done. I cried the entire drive home, and anytime I'd start to regain my composure I would see something that reminded me of him and it would start all over again. All of the buildup before he was leaving, trying to ignore the pain of knowing it was coming, and then it was here and there was nothing I could do to stop it. It's like when you're a kid and you have to rip off a band aid. You know the pain is coming, and you do your best to ignore it, then someone just rips it off. The hardest part of all was hearing my daughters cry. Cody was crying most of the drive home, wanting her daddy. It broke my heart. Now I just keep questioning myself and my ability to do this. This wasn't a see you in a few days, or even a few weeks, kinda goodbye. This was more than that. I've always appreciated all the sacrifices military families made, but now I am starting to understand them. I don't know how these families emotionally handle deployments, him leaving just for basic was hard enough.

All I can do is remind myself it's only a few months. Hopefully here in a few weeks we will have some answers on when his graduation date is. Then at least we can start counting down the days until we can see him again. I have taped a photo of our family above my computer at work, and as soon as I know, the countdown will be right next to it. I know for a fact he will be home by Christmas. So this year, I'm looking forward to it more than I ever have.

I am so grateful at the outpouring of support, love, and offers for help from all of our family and friends...so grateful. While no amount of words or actions will take away the pain I am feeling right now, they certainly help. I'm going to do my best to keep busy while he's gone, so I don't have time to think about it. I just know I need to allow myself to cry when I feel the need to, because holding it in isn't going to do me any good.

Please keep the girls and I in your prayers, and even more importantly, my husband. I never imagined I would be married to a hero, yet here I am.

Military Wife

Three years have passed since my last post. Three years, where did they go?! So much has gone on in that time as well. We bought our home, Bailey went through Kindergarten then First Grade, Cody had her first year of preschool, I got a new horse, we got new (to us) vehicles, a horse for the girls, a lab puppy, Josh got laid off, then got a new job, then laid off again, the list goes on and on! Aside from home ownership, the biggest change in our lives happened on April 4, 2014.

Back story; Josh got laid off from his job at the paper mill in January...and after a couple month of unemployment we started to talk about the future, and the needs of our family. My poor husband is such a hard worker, but we had to start out our lives in a horrible economy, and he has been laid off of so many jobs now it's not even funny. It's to the point where we don't even get upset about it anymore! Why stress about it? We've made it through some hard times financially, and every time we've come out stronger! Back on topic...one of our biggest concerns was our need for stable health insurance for all of us. I was browsing the jobs offered ads on craigslist one evening and saw an ad for the Oregon Army National Guard. When we were first together and I was pregnant, Josh really wanted to join the Army. I talked him out of it, I knew what kind of life that would be and I didn't want anything to do with it when I was a new and young mom. I saw the toll his brother's deployments took on his family, and I wasn't ready to have to move away from everything and everyone I knew and loved to live on an Army Base. I started researching what all the Army National Guard entailed, through their websites, and through blogs and other online resources. I wanted to know all angles; the good, the bad, and the ugly. I brought it up to Josh, and ironically it was something he had been considering, but he thought I would never go for it so he left it at that. After our talk, decided to call up one of his old firefighting buddies who had recently joined, and get more information from him.

Despite my online research, I still had a lot of questions left unanswered. So we scheduled to have a recruiter come out and meet with us face to face. Josh's brother was there with us, he knew what questions to ask as well since he had been in the Army himself recently. We took our time to make the decision, it wasn't one we were taking lightly. We knew the impact this would have on ourselves and the girls...and we knew it wouldn't be easy. We didn't even tell our family/friends (except his brother) until we had made the decision ourselves. The benefits outweighed the risks for us. Low cost health care, GI Bill, a little extra income, a HUGE network for Josh for finding work, VA loans, retirement if he does it long enough, even military discounts add up! All of this was on top of the fact that Josh WANTED it; he wanted to be able to serve his country and protect his homeland.

We made our decision, and on April 4, 2014 Josh was sworn into the Oregon Army National Guard. I never thought I would cut it being a Military Wife, but here I am, the proud wife of a soldier. I always thought Josh was a hero for being a volunteer Firefighter/EMT, but he has taken it to a new level. He is the most giving, selfless human being I know, and I am so incredibly proud of him. My biggest fear is him being deployed, but I know it's a very real possibility, we will cross that bridge when we get there.

Four months later and now comes one of the hard parts, saying goodbye to him as he leaves for his 13+ weeks of Basic Training. We have a week left before he leaves, and I hate goodbyes. It's only 13 (or more) weeks, I know, but that doesn't make it any easier. All I can do, is try to stay busy the best I can. I get emotional every time I think about saying goodbye...but I know I have to be strong for my girls. This is such an unknown for me, I don't know what to expect. The only thing I can know for sure is that we will be able to write each other letters, and I will write him every day. Phone calls, pending his sargeant/platoon, they could be few and far between. I've never gone more than a few days without hearing his voice, and never more than a week without looking into his eyes in the 8 years we've been together...so this will be a challenge for me.

So, perhaps to help pass the time, I will become a more active blogger. Time will tell. Canning season, back to school, and soccer season for the girls is fast approaching as well! I know as soon as I get word from him when his graduation date will be, I will be booking our flight and hotel room, and counting down the days until we can be in his arms again. I'm looking forward to Christmas this year more than I ever have, because I know he will be home by then.

Surprise! You're a mom now!

I feel like I left many hanging in my last post, so here comes another long one about Bailey Lynn making her debut into this amazing world...

It was December 2006. I had just gotten home the week before from being at OSU for the fall term. I had decided being that far away from my family, my horse, and mostly Josh, was just too much for me. The entire term down there I found myself making the 2 hour drive home each weekend to see them all. The partying college life simply wasn't for me, so I decided to move back home and take all my prerequisites at a local community college. It was winter break for all colleges at that point.

A few days after being home I start to feel like I am coming down with the flu. After a few days of puking, my mom asks me what's going on. Apparently being a mom gives you super powers of some sort, because she was the one who thought I was pregnant. So, of course, I have to spill the beans that Josh and I have been having unprotected sex (while I was on the pill, but that obviously isn't 100%). Not exactly a fun conversation to have with your mother...I was very ashamed of myself, and I felt like I had let her down somehow. So, later that day I go on down to Rite Aid and buy a pregnancy test. I use it as soon as I get home...and sure enough, it was positive. I had to tell my mom, despite her practically knowing. Then came telling Josh, he claims he had a hunch from me puking, but I think that he just said that due to the shock of the news. He didn't know what else to say.

(Side note, the month before I'd had a pregnancy scare that led to us using more precaution. Turns out the test I took that day was a false negative, I really had been pregnant then. It's funny how you know about things before you really know...if that makes any sense.)

Before telling anyone else, my mom and I made an appointment to see the doctor. Their test confirmed the pregnancy. I remember sitting in that room, and the doctor telling me my options. Up until then I knew I had 3, keep the baby, adopt out the baby, or abort the baby. But, the moment that doctor made the mere mention of an abortion I felt angry inside that he would even suggest I kill the innocent life inside of me. I felt horrible for even thinking for a second that was an "option" of mine. And looking into Bailey's beautiful blue eyes today, it brings tears to my eyes to think that one little decision would have robbed the world of her presence. My mom and Marvin made mention of some family of his who had been desperately trying to have a baby for a long time with no luck. They told us how they would love to adopt this baby and give it all the love in the world. Upon talking about it, Josh and I just couldn't imagine giving our child away to someone else, no matter how loving they were.

Then came the hard part...telling the rest of the family. We were so scared to tell everyone else, or atleast I was. I felt like such a failure, like I let them all down. Instead of being the good girl in the family, I was going to be that girl that got knocked up. So we told my Dad, and then Josh's parents. Of course, there was disappointment in their eyes. We knew we had made a mistake, but it was a mistake we were prepared to live with. (Ask me now, and I will tell you that little girl is the BEST mistake I've ever made in my life.) I think the person I felt like I had let down the most was my brother. I was his older sister, I was supposed to be someone he looked up to for guidance. Not someone he looked at and said, I'll never make that mistake.

Time went on, the morning sickness got worse, and worse. When I was about 12 weeks along I went on a cruise with my Dad, Missy (my now step mom), her daughter, and my brother. Bad idea. As if I wasn't having enough issues with morning sickness before that, I was throwing up much more. I spend 90% of my time in the room, watching reruns of different cartoons and eating Mickey Mouse noodle soup, when I could keep it down. Once we got home, I went back into Nan (my midwife) and she gave me some meds that helped with the sickness, but it never fully went away until I was almost in my third trimester.

After the cruise, the pressure was on me to figure something out. My cousin, Brandy, was going to a trade school to become a Medical Assistant. It was a 9 month course, so nice and quick. In high school I had wanted to be a nurse, so I thought maybe this was for me. I enrolled and spend the rest of my pregnancy in school. I was able to finish all but 1 course before I had to take maternity leave. So I decided I would come back to take the course after Bailey was 6 weeks old. (Turns out the school lied to me, the course I needed wouldn't be available again until the following February.)

Once the morning sickness subsided my pregnancy was relatively uneventful. My due date came, and went, with no sign of labor whatsoever. I was content with that. As far as I was concerned that baby could just stay in my belly forever. I was scared to death to become a mom. August 15 rolls around, I go to my weekly appointment, thinking it would be another one of those, "nothing has changed, see you next week appointments". Nope. Nan says I'm going to be 2 weeks past my due date the next day so they want to induce me the next morning. I leave in shock. It's really happening. When I get home, my mom asks how it went and I break down in tears. All the fears I had been holding in the entire pregnancy flooded me at that moment. I was only 19 years old, and I was within 24 hours of becoming a mom.

The next morning I am up bright and early, not that I slept much that night. My Mom drives Josh and I down to the hospital. The whole ride down I remember looking at the different views out the window, wishing it was any other day but that day. I was scared of what was going to happen that day, scared I wasn't going to be a good enough mom for Bailey.

The moment they put in my IV I got sick. I am pretty sure it was a mixture of nerves and the fact that they were pushing fluids through my body. The pitocin was started on a real slow drip, to ease into it. While I wasn't in labor, the nurse said I was having contractions prior to coming. I simply couldn't feel them. I had all the support in the world from family and close friends that day, my room was full of smiling faces and laughter. I found them to be a great distraction as the pain got worse, which it inevitably did. Forcing your body into labor with medication doesn't allow yourself the time to ease into the pain, atleast that's my theory.

Once I finally reached a 5 they asked me if I wanted an epidural, at first I said no, but once they came in and said the anesthesiologist would be unavailable for a while I decided to just get it. I was so much more relaxed after that, but it was weird not being able to move that much.

As time progressed, my labor did not. I was still not dilated far past a 6, and Bailey still hadn't even dropped into position. I was about 10-11 hours into laboring and things were starting to not look good. Despite attempts to move me, Bailey's heartbeat was all over the place. It would race from the 60's all the way up to the 240's. Nan came in and talked to me about cesarean. I was young, clueless, and scared to death. They were giving me a choice and I didn't know what to do. I was about to become that 1 in 4 they spoke of in my child birth preparation class.

My cousin was there, she had just had her baby via cesarean 6 months (almost to the day) before that. She showed me her scar and told me it really wasn't that bad. When Nan came back in I point blank asked her what would she do. With hesitation, she told me that she'd go for it, because it was either do it now, or rush in emergency later. I said go for it. Little did I know how much that decision would affect me emotionally later on...

Within minutes I was being prepped for surgery, and wheeled into the OR. I remember tearing up as they pushed me past my family, I was so scared. Josh couldn't even be in there with me at first. Thank goodness for my anesthesiologist. He was so kind, he talked to me and comforted me during this time. He was even making me laugh.

Soon enough Josh was able to come in and the surgery began. They told me I would feel like I was being unzipped during the process. I didn't feel a thing, until Nan started pushing on my belly to get Bailey out. Even then it was just mild pressure.

Then I heard it, August 16, 2007 at 7:41 pm, the most beautiful sound a woman ever hears in her life. That first cry. I was so overwhelmed with everything I couldn't even muster up tears myself. I was just in shock. They called Josh over to help and watch, and upon asking me if it was alright, he went over there. It felt like an eternity while they were over there with her. The baby I had carried in my belly for nearly 10 months, and I couldn't even be the first to hold her.

When Josh brought her over, I was afraid to touch her, like I was going to break her or something. I kissed her forehead and snuggled with her the best I could for being strapped on that table while they finished up the surgery. She was the most beautful little thing, grayish blue eyes, and a head full of thick, black hair. 8lbs 11 oz and 20.5 inches of perfection in my eyes.

It was a good thing I got the cesarean, not only was the cord wrapped around her neck 2.5 times, but there was an actual knot in it. Nan says her head was too large for my pelvis as well...but I'm not so sure about that. My (non-medically trained) theory is that the cord prevented her from progressing down in the first place, every time she would start to move down the cord would pull her back up.

The rest of that evening was almost like a blur to me. I remember back in my room the nurses were amazing and cheerful. They had the radio on, and it was Elvis Day, so they were playing all Elvis music. I hardly remember breastfeeding her for the first time, her first bath, or even our family coming in to see her for the first time. Between the medication, the exhaustion, and just the overwhelming amount of hormones and emotions the entire night was more like a dream than a memory.

In fact, most of my stay at the hospital was like that. It seemed more like a dream than reality, like I was a spectator to my own life. I remember people coming to visit, the nurses, and the pain of recovering, but it still feels like it was just a dream. I was a mom, and the reality of it all hadn't fully sunken in.

But, it most certainly did once I brought her home and got absolutely no sleep that first night!

The Beginning Of A New Me

I've been contemplating starting a blog for a while now...I have no clue why, but I just feel like it would be nice to have my own space to let it out. Be it happiness, sadness, excitement, or fear. Or even a place to brag about my family, my life, and share what is happening within it.

Obviously, at the age of 23 a lot has gone on in my life at this point. It is almost crazy to think that just 5 years ago I was fresh out of high school, ready to start my life, no clue which path I really wanted to take. Now, here I am. Happily married, a proud mom, and very close to buying our first house. It's amazing how far life can take you in 5 years, and almost bittersweet to look back and realize how fast it flew by.

I suppose I will touch on how I met my husband, this will probably be much more detailed than anyone care to actually read about, but oh well, right? It's quite the confusing story. 2006 was the last year that my Dad helped out on the Washington County 4-H Wagon Train. One of the last weekends in June, they have what they call a Tune Up trek. It's basically a weekend practice run for the week long trek they make in mid July. I hadn't gone on Wagon Train since 2001, but that weekend I was staying at my cousin, Brandy's, house because we had a playday (horse competition) we were going to that Sunday. Saturday night at the Tune Up Trek was their potluck dinner, and since they were having it not too far from her house we decided to go see my Dad and her sister (who was also going). Upon driving in Brandy was pointing out to me this horse that some guy was riding, and how the horse reared up on him earlier in the day. She was also mentioning how he was riding in a Champion Roper saddle, so being the roper I was, I was curious as to who this mystery cowboy was. I didn't give him much more than a glance and a hello upon finding out my younger cousin might have liked him. I thought he was good looking, but nothing more became of that.

Fast forward to the main trek in Mid July. Josh's horse gets kicked, so he has to stay at camp for a day or two while he heals. During these days, he hangs out with my Dad (who is the support crew, basically helps make camp run smoothly, potties, food, etc) and they get to talking. Of course, my Dad mentions to Josh about how he has a daughter that is the same age, she loves horses, and ropes. Later on in the discussion Marvin, my step dad, is mentioned. Well, it turns out Josh is friends with Josh F & Erica, who come over to rope at my Mom & Marvins twice a week. Small world, right?

After getting back from wagon train, Josh makes it a point to start tagging along with Josh F & Erica to mom & Marvin's to rope. Being the shy, self concious girl that I am, I again don't give him much more than a hello and a smile. Right around the time Josh starts coming up, so does this girl, Sabrina, who used to own a horse I was then training for Erica. Sabrina is pretty good friends with Josh, and her and I hit it off pretty well. One night, while riding Buddy, (the horse I was training) he bucked me off, and hard. I ended up breaking my collar bone. So for a few weeks after that all I could do was go up and watch them rope. Sabrina would sit with me, and she as trying hard to convince me that Josh was interested in me. I didn't buy it, because, well, no guys were interested in me.

Then Yamhill County Fair rolls around. I'm a little bummed, because I couldn't ride in the rodeo or my last year of fair due to a broken collar bone, but I make the best of it. Saturday night I decide I'm going to hang out with some friends and play some drinking games after the rodeo. Somehow, someway, I got up the courage to go up to Josh, get his number, and ask him if I could call him for a ride home later that evening. I do not know what got into me that night...but I am so happy I did it. Anyway, so later that evening Josh gives me a ride home.

Next morning, I realize I needed a ride BACK to my truck, that was at the fairgrounds. So I call Josh and he gladly comes to give me a ride back. I tell him I owe him dinner, and he invites me up to the barn he is horse sitting at. Our first "date" was spent cleaning stalls together, talking until midnight, when we finally wanted some dinner so we went to Sharis. We spent every minute we could together the rest of that summer. My favorite memory was the day I called in "sick" to work and we took off for the beach. I will never forget that day, it was amazing.

Of course, that winter was when we got the most shocking news of our lives, that we were going to be parents. Our lives were going to forever change. But I'll save the details of that for another time. :-)