Military Spouse Appreciation Day

In honor of this day I thought I would repost the military wife poem that I posted last fall.  The truth of this poem gets me every time. One thing's for sure, we military spouses are a breed of our own!


The Military Wife

Lots of moving...
Moving...
Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house; Moving curtains that won't fit; Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home,
For dinner...AGAIN!

They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.

She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...

She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move...
.....all with ONE Power of Attorney.

She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS; Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...

Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed; the glue that holds them together.



A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.

Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has a HEART and a love for her husband,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband, She will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way.

--Author Unknown

Its a miracle!

Badger has finally learned to walk on a leash without pulling! I know this seems like a funny reason for a post but most of you don't understand the trouble he has been giving me. He loves going on walks but seriously charges the whole way like a little bull. When he started to approach 60 lbs, he was literally dragging me as we walked anywhere, choking himself the whole way. Ooo I knew I was in trouble! I tried to work with him one on one and train him the same way I did Bailey but it did not work even in the slightest. That's when my wonderful neighbor Molly mentioned to me a little training tool called a "Gentle Leader". If you have a "puller" puppy like I do, listen up because this was a lifesaver for me. The gentle leader (as Badger is proudly modeling in the pictures below) is just a small harness that goes over their nose and around their neck. I know it looks similar to a mussel but its really not - With it on, Badger can still freely open his mouth and pick up sticks while we walk. Anyways, when he starts to pull even a little bit, the harness pulls his head back and while it doesn't hurt him at all it seriously drives him nuts. At first he started shaking his head trying to get it off and pawing at his face, but after a while he realized that if he just stopped pulling he would be fine. Just one block with the Gentle Leader on and Badge was walking like a champ. Now I'm able to walk both dogs at the same time, fully in control of the situation, even with a little slack in the leash... it's a miracle!!

PS... This weekend is Jake's big cross-country trip in the T-1. I'll write a post on that later today with details!

Its booked!!!

It's officially official people... I'm taking a vacation to California at the end of June!! My work schedule has been cleared, reservations have been made, and I'm going home to see all my family and friends in just a few short weeks. My sister and her boyfriend Stephen are even flying down from Seattle just to see me! Oh my goodness, I'm ecstatic right now :)

Back to school shopping.

Classes have officially started! 3 days down, only 18 more months to go :) Yesterday I did my back to school shopping. I know you are thinking... why in the world would I need to do shopping for an online design program? Well its a different kind of shopping. I bought lots and lots of software... the entire brand new Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium to be exact and I spent like 6 hours downloading the software last night. I'm very excited to have all these brand new programs right at my fingertips... a designers dream!! These programs are all so amazing! Before this purchase, all I had to my name was a VERY outdated version of Photoshop so this is really huge.

During my online shopping venture, I also started to research for a new computer (yay!). Right now, I'm actually using Jake's MacBook for all my designing and schoolwork (my ancient little iBook finally hit the dust). For now, this is working out fine but I really do need my own computer considering how much time I spend on there. Being that we are Apple people (not to mention the fact that we have majorly invested in Apple stock...),  I've now got my eye on the brand new MacBook Pro. Jake's on board with this decision but wants to wait until the end of the summer to purchase because there are typically back to school specials (usually Apple will bundle in some free products). I'm just so excited!

Anyways, my first class in my design program is Photoshop and it started on Saturday. I'm really thankful that this is my first class because I'm already very familiar with Photoshop and I think it will help ease me slowly back into the challenge of school. I plan to share on my blog my portfolio of design work as I go through this program and I hope you all will cheer me on in my schoolwork as I am stretched as a designer and pushed out of my comfort zone. School has begun... no going back now!

Always thankful for the weekend.

Well it was another busy and fun weekend here in Mississippi! I had a really good time at the grad meeting and at Kristi's baby shower, and Jake and I had a blast last night going out to celebrate Ann's graduation with her masters. Her family was in town so we all went out to dinner and then went back to her house for dessert and drinks. I am just so thankful to have made a friend like Ann here. We have so much fun together! I know she will be one of my lifelong friends and I really hope we can get stationed near eachother at our next assignments. Her husband's assignment night is in just 3 weeks so unfortunately we might have to say goodbye pretty soon :( Anyways, here is a picture of us from yesterday. Congrats again Ann!!

Tonight we are in the midst of more severe storms and tornado warnings... not fun! I absolutely hate these southern storms. I've been trying to stay busy doing stuff around the house and not pay attention to the nasty weather outside. I've actually been very productive today being that our cable has been knocked out... haha! I cleaned the house top to bottom and then tethered myself to the computer for hours to get work done. I have officially started school (more on that tomorrow...) and have booked blog designs through the beginning of June so all that is keeping me really busy. Not to mention I'm still working on my new business and getting ready to launch that hopefully within the next week or two. Oh and I'm also in the midst of planning a trip to California for a week in June to see everyone... verrrry excited for that! Now, I'm gearing up for another busy week and feeling thankful for a fun and productive weekend.