High-Five for being Stateside!

Here it is the end of June and we've been back for almost 6 weeks. I can't believe it! Time has flown by. The first month was a whirlwind. We had a hellacious adventure from Germany... read: 7 hour bus ride, flight delays then an 8 hour flight, a 3 hour customs/baggage ordeal in Baltimore, and it didn't end there. The silver lining in all of that craziness was my parents graciously picking up us from the airport in Baltimore. The BWI airport had some of the rudest employees who were incredibly unhelpful when we were having issues with getting Zeke's giant sized airline crate through customs. I was shaking I was so angry. It was such a relief to see my parents' smiling faces on the other side of the airport. :) We stayed the night in VA and then drove down to South Carolina the next day. Zeke did amazing through all of this. He's such a trooper and a great traveler! My little giant Army pup. :)

The next two weeks were filled with visiting family, finding a rental in GA, and making a bunch of adult purchases like a new car, washer and dryer, and new mattress. We were also able to celebrate my brother's college graduation and attend my SIL's high school graduation. The first week of June we moved into our rental in GA and slowly there after our other car and all of our other belongings arrived. We are finally settled and are so glad to be back. There are so many things I miss about Germany, but I am definitely enjoying the perks and convenience of American life. Zeke is adjusting fairly well to the GA heat. We are cautious and only walk him in the early morning and at night. He surprisingly loves to go outside and just lay in the grass to sunbath. I think he really enjoys having a fenced in yard. RC starts school this week so we have yet to determine the pace and lifestyle we will have for the next six months. Regardless we are happy to be together and so much closer to family and friends.

Life in Germany: Final Edition

I've been trying to write this post for 6 months now. Organizing my thoughts and summing up my time in Germany is not easy as there are a lot of ups and downs (which I'm sure will be true with any post we are stationed at in the future). Many times I've felt like my life was on hold in Germany. I didn't feel like I really had to opportunity to do the two things I would be most happy doing; have a career or be a mother. The first was due to the limited job market on an overseas Army post and the second due to the fact that having a child overseas never felt "right" to either of us. I've had a major lesson on patience and prayer while being over here.  It may sound silly, but I've found it hard to find my personal identity under the parameters of being an Army wife. I know this is something that I'm probably going to battle with no matter where we go as long as RC is in the Army, but I feel like it will be a little more manageable on American soil. So with that hope I am very excited to be leaving Germany and going back to the States.

As with any move it's bittersweet to be leaving. Germany has given me so much. I have learned so much about myself, especially during our time in Schweinfurt. I was forced to create a life solely by myself and I look back on that forced independence with fond memories. Living alone with out my husband was excruciating, but having a little piece of Germany to myself is something I will cherish. RC left approximately 6 weeks after we arrived in Germany. Our household goods, our beloved possessions, boxes upon boxes of things came a day before he left. I knew only a handful of people and many of them decided to go back to the States during the deployment. I had no real friends yet, but for some reason I felt the need to stay. I can't really explain it, but I felt like it was where I was supposed to be. Grafenwoehr has been full of great memories as well. It's where we got Zeke after all, but Schweinfurt will always have a special place in my heart.  

I think perhaps one of the greatest gifts Germany has given us has been the opportunity to travel. It is without a doubt my favorite thing about being in Germany. Sure the culture is great here and I love the wine fests, volksfests, beer fests, and Christmas markets. Thanks to Germany I will be probably be such a food and beer snob when we get back to the States, but being able to travel so easily takes the cake. We have been to places I've never dreamed of going and I am so so grateful the Army has allowed us this opportunity. But everything comes at a price, right? We are here because of RC's job and his job requires a lot from him. He is in a fantastic unit, but they are kind of like the first responders for Europe and are tasked and trained heavily. We have forfeited many months of travel and precious time together. Close to half of our time in Germany we have been apart. Not only do I miss RC incredibly, but we are smack dab in the middle of Europe and so many amazing places are in sight, but just out of our reach. It's been so frustrating to see the time slip away knowing we are not going to be able to visit certain countries. I think I've had such a hard time letting go of the traveling opportunities because that has always been my  "reward". So when that "reward" is taken away after dealing with all the sucky aspects of living overseas I get a little frustrated. I know you're probably thinking I'm playing the world's tiniest violin right now, but I just wanted to show that living in Germany isn't so glamorous. The Facebook albums and Instagram photos may look it, but day-to-day life is definitely not. We are not galavanting around Europe all the time. In fact the majority of my time here has been at the gym or sitting at home with my dog. Not so glamorous! :)

Being on an entire continent away from our family and friends has been incredibly challenging. I hate missing out on seeing my nephew grow up, meeting up with friends, and just hanging out with my family. But if I'm searching for positives it has been great for our marriage. We have created such a good team and support system for each other. We are still learning new things about each other and learning how to live together again after each deployment, field rotation, and school. It's been almost 4 years since we got married and I can honestly say I am more in love with RC than ever before. Going through such crazy circumstances has made me so thankful God has blessed me with this man. I truly do feel like we are a perfect fit for each other.

So there you have it. I start to write one negative and it ends up turning into a positive at the end. I start to write one positive and a negative ends up taking over. But I think that's life and I especially think that's Army life. You have to try to make the best out of every situation. Once we've been in the States for a few months I'm sure I will start to feel a little homesick for Germany and so many aspects of the European lifestyle.

Auf wiedersehen, Deutschland! I can't say I wouldn't be happy to visit you again! Keyword: VISIT. :)

2014 Squadron Ball

Well, our second military ball is in the books. I would have to say we've learned quite a bit in our few years in the military and I think one of the most important things is always. eat. first. Whether it's a Hail and Farewell or a Squadron Ball, never go hungry. You're just setting yourself up for failure... and grumpiness. These things always run a bit behind schedule. Since I helped set up this year we booked a room in the hotel attached to the venue. After setting up we ordered room service to munch on while we got ready. Ordering pizzas before the ball was probably the best decision we made all night. 

We had a great time at what will probably be our last ball in Germany. We sat with some of our favorite people from RC's troop. The Grog Ceremony was hilarious and it's always an entertaining night when you pack soldiers in a room with copious amounts of alcohol. I loved my dress and RC looked just as handsome as ever. I definitely had the best looking soldiers in the room. :) All in all it was a great night! 

Photos courtesy of Susanna Avery-Lynch. You can visit her Facebook page here. 

Highlights of the Month :: July

I'm going to attempt to do a highlights post for each month. It's fun and exciting for me to post travel pictures, but there are still day-to-day happenings that I want to remember. Life isn't all travel over here-- sadly.

• Let's start things off with the Girls Trip to Cinque Terre, Italy. I went with three of my favorite girls in Germany and had an absolute blast. We really bonded during the 2012/2013 deployment and I'm so thankful for their friendships! You can find posts recapping our time in each of the five village in Cinque Terre HERE. 
• RC's unit is currently in the Baltics participating in a multi-national training exercise. In mid-July we reached the 1 month mark of "the boys" being gone. It's always fun to reach milestones when RC is gone for an extended period of time. i.e., 3 months. You can find pictures of the 173rd in the Baltics HERE. 
• In other Army news, RC made the captains selections list! This means that after an extensive selection process he has been recommended for promotion. Although he won't actually be promoted until sometime in the Spring of 2015 I am incredibly proud of him! It's getting tougher and tougher to be promoted these days. 
• I also got to have the most incredible experience of watching Germany in the final of the World Cup. Let me just tell you- this country went INSANE! I'm not a huge fan of soccer, but when you're in Europe and the country you reside in lives and breathes soccer and then makes it to the finals-- you can't help but drink the koolaid! After much yelling and cheering as time ran out I realized I needed to capture this moment. Here's a quick video from a bar in Regensburg where we watched the game. It's been something like 14 years since they've won the World Cup. So you can just call us Germany's good luck charm. ;)

Oh, Hi There!

A recent conversation with a friend reminded me of this little ol' blog that I used to keep. It's been a while since I've updated anything on here and I know exactly why. I fall into the same rut when I'm not exactly content with life. I wrote a post on it back in 2011 about it. (Click here to read: "I Had to Ask Myself".) I am never eager to document life when life isn't exactly what I want it to be. RC has been gone a lot lately. Every month since December he has spent a few weeks each month away. He has done amazing things and accomplished a lot during the times he was gone and I am incredibly proud of him, but it does often make me feel like life is in a standstill again. Just waiting. Waiting for some resemble of our "normal" life to come back. I think that's something I am always going to struggle with as an Army wife. The never ending transition of being content as a couple to remembering how to be content and happy alone. So I'm reminded of the quote I found almost 3 years ago. 

"Your life is right now. It's not later. It's not in that of retirement. It's not when the lover gets here.

It's not when you've moved into the new house. It's not when you get the better job.

Your life is right now. It will always be right now.

You might as well decide to start enjoying your life right now,

because it's not going to get better than right now-until it gets better right now!"

-Esther Hicks

I will say that I have done a pretty bang-up job of enjoying life with my other half away. I have been incredibly blessed to have found an amazing group of women to work out with here at Grafenwoehr. Schweinfurt set the precedent and I'm just hoping every duty station from here on out connects me with motivating, WOD loving ladies. :) Being fit and active really is my saving grace. Every morning we work out, encourage, and embrace the suck together. We've also started a spouses volleyball league. So between practices and weekly evening games that has also helped keep me busy. Besides staying active there is one other thing that has kept me sane over these last few months. And that's my little fur ball. Only he's not so little anymore. At 5 months old he is already close to 50 lbs. Zeke really has been the best companion. He has just the sweetest temperament and follows me everywhere around the house. Even lays on the bathroom floor and watches me as I get ready. I love him to pieces and probably give him close to 100 kisses a day on his little nose. 

So there is somewhat of a summary of the last few months. We will resume our traveling next month with a trip to the States in May for a wedding and graduation. In July we are planning on visiting Malaga, Spain for a few relaxing days in the sun. Then fast forward to the Fall and after more Army training we should be able to visit Rome in October. I am so looking forward to getting back into traveling!

Jump Day with THE Airborne CAV

Auf Wiedersehen, Geldersheim!

As I mentioned in THIS POST we have left our quaint little German town of Geldersheim and are in the process of moving on post at USAG Grafenwoehr. We have so enjoyed living in a German town and I wanted to take a few pictures around Geldersheim to remember our time here. 

Our apartment in Geldersheim was perfect in so many different ways. We had the nicest landlord who was always very kind to us. He spoke a little bit of English, but when he felt he couldn't communicate something clearly he would use Google translate, print it out, and tape it on our door. The commute to work was short for RC and we had beautiful views of the fields from our living room windows, which you can see from many of my Instagram posts (1, 2, 3, 4). Germany is absolutely beautiful when the weather is nice! A short walk from our house were bike trails that led to towns over an hour away. Many times after dinner we would walk along the trails. Especially on nights when the sun didn't set until after 9 pm. Tractors were a common sight and occasionally we experienced all that came with living in a farming town aka: the wonderful aroma of manure. 

I am so glad we were able to live in a private German rental our first year in Germany. 

I'm afraid I wouldn't have felt like I was really living in Germany if we hadn't. 

Another Move, Another Adventure!

USAG Schweinfurt is closing down so we're moving once again! Luckily it's just 2 hrs down the road. We've accepted the offer for our new house, scheduled an inspection, and our movers are coming in 3 weeks!  

For our last 2 years in Germany we will be living on post. Something new for us! I'm really looking forward to it. Everything will be closer and RC will have a quick commute to work. We are on the 1st floor of a 2 story unit and have a great outdoor area. The inside hasn't been renovated and shows its age a bit. It has a really choppy floor plan, but we feel like the advantages definitely outweigh the disadvantages. We are gaining an bedroom & bathroom and I will now have a full sized American oven! The kitchen overall is bigger and like I mentioned earlier we LOVE that we will finally have a yard. We can also kiss transformers goodbye because on post housing has both 110 and 220 outlets! 

I'm sad to say goodbye to Schweinfurt, but I'm looking forward to making Grafenwoehr our home.

Here's to another move and another adventure!

1-91 CAV Redeployment Ball

One of the many benefits of living overseas is that the your squadron redeployment ball can be held in a ridiculously beautiful venue. The German banquet hall, Regentbau, is located in the spa town of Bad Kissingen. The concert hall located inside is considered among the top concert halls in Europe.  AND THAT is where we had the privilege of eating, drinking, and dancing the night away. I'm sure there won't be many balls that come close to topping this one. 

One of the highlights of the night for me was the guest speaker, Major General James C. Boozer. As you look at his rank, award decorations, and position as former Deputy Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, it's not hard to tell that he is well-respected man. But when we met at the receiving line and I found out he was a native of Charleston, SC I knew he was a GREAT man. :) His speech was one of the most spirited speeches I've ever heard. 

The formal portion of the night was brought to a close when Maj. Gen. Boozer announced that jackets were to come off and he revealed his fire blazing sleeves and "GIDDY UP" embroidering on the back of his dress shirt. It was hilarious and the guys went wild. At this point he challenged someone to bring him the largest beer they could find which he proceeded to chug. Then he stepped off the stage and walked up & down the aisles challenging each troop to yell at the top of their lungs "GIDDY UP". It definitely started the party portion of the night off right. I'm sure I will remember that moment for many years to come. The guys definitely deserved a night like that after 9 long months in Afghanistan.

All of the incredible pictures above are courtesy of Susanna Avery-Lynch. You can visit her Facebook page here for more incredible pictures of military families and her travels abroad. I'm so glad there were such a fabulous photographer because I was so concerned with having a good time that I barely took any pictures. MAJOR FAIL. 

The lone picture I have of the two of us.

Happy Anniversary

Almost 5,000 miles traveled in two years.

1 Trans-Atlantic move. 1 deployment. 1 reintegration.

There is no one else I would rather be on this adventure with than you. 

I am so looking forward to our third year of marriage. 

To have you in my arms. To see what kind of memories we make. To see where we travel. 

I'm looking forward to making up for those 9 months we were apart. 

We have been given a blessed life and I love living it with you. 

I'm so glad we said "I Do".  :)

Welcome Home my Love!

Two weeks ago today my husband came home! It's hard to believe it's only been two weeks though. Now that he's back it feels like he never left. Life has resumed and everything is finally back to normal.  It's FANTASTIC to have him back safely in my arms and it's wonderful to see our post full of sky soldiers once again! BUT back to the homecoming celebration...

Their arrival time kept getting pushed back further and further. So Sunday was an excruciatingly long day. A sweet friend and I tried to take our mind off of the ever present (and seemingly never ending countdown) and watched an entire season of Nashville. Then we tried to eat dinner, but our nerves got the best of us and we didn't end up eating much of anything. After dinner we came back to the house and watched a couple chick flicks. Finally at around 1:45 am we received our phone call that they were on the buses and finally making the drive back to post. We scrambled around, putting on last minute touches of makeup, and flew out the door eager to get to the gym where the homecoming celebration would be held. We still had over an hour and a half to wait, but who's going to stick around waiting at their house at that point! 

Luckily the majority of my dear friend's husbands/fiances were coming back on the same mainbody as Ross'. So finding each other in the gym to wait together made for even more excitement in the air. We had all been there for each other during these past 9 months and to be able to experience the excitement prior to the homecoming together was the perfect ending. I am so thankful for these girls and their friendship! I truly would not have been able to have stayed in Germany by myself for as long as I did. 

This is what 4 am looks like to wives and children who have missed their soldiers for 9 months. 

Life in Afghanistan

I could never give you a true depiction of what life is like in Afghanistan. RC would have to do that and quite honestly I don't ever see that happening on this blog... BUT the FRG, Rear D, and the soldiers down range have done an amazing job of trying to keep family members in the loop via social media. Almost every month each troop (company) posts an update on the unit's Facebook page. There is always a nice write-up with mentions of promotions, awards, and daily life of our boys. RC was promoted to 1LT a few months ago and I was so proud to see his name mentioned.

The best part of these monthly updates is ALWAYS the pictures! I mean look at the way my husband hams it up in front of a camera! There are usually at least 30 pictures for each update and even if your soldier isn't in them it's always exciting to look through the album. Being able to actually see what it looks like at his COP somehow makes it seem not so far away. Plus I am extremely proud of my husband and I so cherish having these pictures of him. 

And it's not just photographs they are sharing with us. The guys down range even recorded videos wishing everyone a Merry Christmas (which you can watch below)! Through a program I can't remember the name of, they were also able to have each soldier record a video to send home to their family. In RC's video he gave a quick shout out to both his family and mine. He also read a Christmas book for our nephew Brayden since we don't have any children of our own. The video was burned onto a DVD and sent in the mail with a copy of the book he read, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'. Not only did it bring a smile to everyone's face to see RC and hear his voice, but he also scored a big one in the 'favorite uncle' department which is a fierce battle between him and my brother.

I am so thankful for technology. Not only has it made this deployment much more manageable on a day to day basis, but it has given me some fabulous pictures and mementos to remember this time in our lives. Even though it's a time I am not eager to ever repeat again it's still a season that I want to document. 

Deployment Milestone

Just wanted to post a quick hoorah! 

We reached another deployment milestone. 

Don't want to say the exact number of days for OPSEC reasons,

 but the daily countdown, in my eyes, is much more manageable now!

I think I may even make a paper chain to countdown the days.

Also, I'm flying out this weekend to head back to the States. 

As if this week could get any better!

I'm so happy to be going home to my family. 

I will be staying in South Carolina for the remainder of the deployment. 

Hopefully the time will fly by while I'm with family.

Halfway There!

Even though everything inside of me doesn't want to....it's kind of hard to say "WE'RE HALFWAY THERE" without making the obligatory Bon Jovi reference. So there you go...

Wooooahh, we're halfway there. 

Wooooahh livin' on a prayer

Take my hand and we'll make it- I swear

Wooooahh livin' on a prayer

Moving Mondays @ My Traveling Troop

Today I'm being featured over at My Traveling Troop for 'Moving Mondays'.

Kristina has a fabulous blog where she shares about her life as a Navy wife. 

Her family recently made the trek from Monterey, California to SINGAPORE.

Kristina is creating an incredible collection of tips and stories of military families living all over the world.
Getting the news that you're PCSing to another duty station can bring on all sorts of emotions.
 Excitement, but also fear of the unknown. There are so many questions running through your mind!
That's why having a database where you can go to read other spouses experiences is so beneficial.

So if you get a chance today stop by My Traveling Troop and read my Q&A session with Kristina.
We cover everything from the pros & cons of living in Germany to travel tips and my newest obsession: Crossfit.

If you're a military spouse be sure to bookmark her blog or add her to your Google reader because let's be honest... none of us know when or where we'll be living next!

Deployment Diary: Week 10

LIFE LATELY... So things have been feeling a little monotonous around here. I guess this is actually a good thing; If you want to look at the glass half full! I've gotten in a nice routine between work and Crossfit classes. On days where I have both --I'm only working part time-- the time flies by! On days I have off I spend time on Pinterest. So THIS is my life lately... doing what I think most military wives who move every couple years do- dream of their dream home.

For me right now it's not even dreaming of my dream home.
It's dreaming of not having the restrictions of living overseas in Europe.

CASE IN POINT: Repurposed furniture. I love it! I'd rather have a house full of garage sale/thrift store/Craigslist finds than brand new furniture from IKEA. But I've had a really hard time finding thrift stores/etc. around here. Not to mention that we live in stairwell apartments which make it difficult to navigate any piece of furniture up to our second floor. Oh yah, and the fact that I am husbandless.

Deployment Diary: Week 9

I've been really slacking on these weekly updates, but here we are at week 9! We have made it two months which makes us about a 1/4 of the way through this deployment! I don't have many pictures or updates from this week so I thought I'd leave you with some Instagram pictures from Luxembourg...

Deployment Diary: Week 7

This week was definitely out of the norm. I spent the entire week in Wiesbaden/Mainz for work training. No Crossfit, absolutely no gym time, but lots of shopping & wining and dining!  I was lucky to have some amazing girls in our class and we spent pretty much ever waking minute together. We were a nice mesh of Army and Air Force  and we even had some lovely girls from the UK. I learned that my English accent was actually pretty good and thanks to them I'm going to start trying to integrate the words "wag" and "posh" into my vocabulary. :)

Deployment Diary: Week 5

This week started out a little rough. RC and I have had pretty constant communication since he left, but that stopped all of a sudden. Completely out of the blue. For 2 days I didn't hear from him and I was a little freaked out. I knew something was wrong. I soon found out that all soldiers in his region were put on a media blackout because two men, a specialist and a private, were killed. A number of other individuals were injured. With the way technology and Facebook is they are mandating blackouts so that families can be properly notified before someone senselessly posts something on Facebook.  

My heart aches for their families and instantly I was reminded how real this war is. 

The rest of my week was spent at work and continuing the CrossFit/functional fitness classes in the evening. I've developed some nice calluses, determined my baseline for weightlifting, and hopefully gained/toned some muscles! I also conquered round two against these gawd-awful walls and hung some curtains in our living room. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, a retelling of Cinderalla from one of the "ugly stepsisters", is my current read.

Also, here's a picture of one of the Daddy or Hero Dolls. You can place a picture under the plastic piece in front of his face. I'm not gonna lie, it's kind of creepy looking and the dudes got crazy hair. But these are a great tool to help kids deal with separation from their solider.. or errrr wives when there are extra Daddy Dolls left over. :)

Friday's Letters

DEAR GERMANY, this rainy weather needs to stop. I would like to get at least a tiny bit of a tan. I am already pale and don't need to be translucent by the time winter rolls around. DEAR HUSBAND, I got a "hero doll" so now your cute face is going to go everywhere with me. Travels to European countries, Thanksgiving dinner, and most definitely Christmas morning. DEAR NINJA MOSQUITO, must you be so allusive and always attack at night? I've never even seen you yet I wake up with bites on my arm every morning. Also, there are about 5 million of your brothers and sisters in South Carolina. You are one of like 5 in Germany. Why did you have to pick my home to live in? DEAR CONCRETE WALLS,  I may have bent the first nail I used, but eventually I  succeeded in hanging pictures! Emma for the win! DEAR CROSSFIT CLASS ON POST, I'm looking forward to you kicking my butt tonight. DEAR HUSBAND, We made it one month! And I miss your face. A lot.