I'm Going "Home"

Ryan has come and gone back to Ft. Bragg again. He was here for my graduation, which was so nice. I figure with all he does making me proud, it was finally my turn to return the favor. It's nice to have something to show for all the hard work I've put in... and the distance we've spent apart. This weekend is the wedding shower, and I'm really excited. My mom and grandma have put a lot of time and work into it. It should be really fun and I'm looking forward to seeing all of my friends and family there.

After the shower, I plan on packing the car and moving my life down to NC to be with Ryan FINALLY! I can't explain my excitement. We have been waiting for this day for years, and it is finally upon us. I'm scared to leave my family, but SO excited to just be my own family with Ryan. We plan on getting a puppy this summer sometime, so it will make our family 3! Once I get there, I will start the search for a job... and also for a school who will let me do my student teaching with them. We shall see how everything works out, please keep me in your thoughts for those two things.

What's Going On?

It has been a really long time since I have updated with a post, but I figured I would give updates on what is going on with us. Ryan has been back to Michigan on leave already--and is back in North Carolina working for a few weeks until Jenae's graduation. He will be in Michigan for a few days and then we'll be moving down to NC together. [[FINALLY!]] As for right now, we're just in that transition phase, not knowing what is really next for us. We're looking forward to the wedding shower and can't wait to see all of our family and friends there. We really aren't looking forward to the unpacking and moving everything into the apartment, but we just simply cannot wait to be living together as a married couple officially. Next time we post, Jenae will be a college graduate and we will be living full time in NC.

Ryan is Home!

Well, after all of the ups and downs of this re-deployment... he is finally here. The date and time was supposed to be Sunday at 10:55am, but there was a huge layover in Germany that didn't put them in until Sunday night/Monday morning around 1am. All of the anxiousness and nerves were really getting to me by that time, as is probably easily guessed.
I asked Chris Petrini to come with us, and he brought his girlfriend. It was Jason, me, Chris and Alexis there for him when he got off the plane.

When he first got off the plane, they did formation [thankfully it was short], then we got 20 minutes with them before they had to turn in equipment. The 20 minutes were a lot more awkward than I had originally hoped, but everything went well for the most part.

We stayed up all night...made a huge purchase of a TV/TV stand. It was a rather expensive TV, but we got it for 30% off, and our total purchase was less than the TV itself was originally. Here are some pictures from the first night he was home... I will post updates of the apartment once we get a little bit more stuff in here!

FRG Meetings...

I guess this is something I need to learn to get used to since I’m going to be an Army Wife now for the next 4 years. We had our re-deployment meeting and most definitely it was probably one of the most pointless meetings I’ve been to in a really long time. I thought it was where we’re supposed to be getting dates, but clearly they aren’t equipped with that kind of information.

Here is a rundown of how the meeting went:
It started 20 minutes late, we listened to ACS [Army Career Services] give two presentations about reunions and how to deal with potential warning signs of difficulties that may arise because of deployments. From there, we listened to Chaplain Stevens give his schpeal about if we need anything once the guys are back, etc. He is a really nice guy. We did play one little game that will be incorporated with the guys. The Chaplain was flying to see our guys so he had us all write on big index cards, “Dear _______[insert a name that you call your SO], _______________[story of the first time you met], _____________[what you’re going to do when you come home], Love, _____[a name he calls you].

When he gets there, Chaplain Stevens will read these to the guys and they have to guess whose card belonged to who. This is super cute and I really hope it boosts the guys’ morale. I know this tail end of the deployment has been hard on all of us—particularly them.

I can’t wait for this to be overwith.

Time keeps ticking away

So, this is probably the best time of the deployment, even though it is moving pretty slowly still. Today I spent calling insurance companies and getting utilities turned on so that we had somewhere to live when he gets home. I had a big struggle with the apartment complex because they neglected to tell me about all of the things that needed to be done before move in. Well, welcome to the real world Jenaé!

I am going to post pictures of our apartment for you all to see. Once Ryan is home we will fill it with furniture and all sorts of home-y knick knacks that make it our own. [Trust me, neither of us can wait for this to get here].


Master bathroom, view from the toilet.
Master bedroom :]
I have a pantry!
Spare bathroom, no idea what we're going to do with this yet.
Our fantastic kitchen. I am in love.
Living room , don't mind my boxes. :]

I Don't Get It.

So, this may be a little rant-esque, but I promise to keep it short.
Since "OPSEC" is big, I won't use specific dates or anything, but I have been becoming increasingly annoyed with the military and their choice to continually tell us that they are changing the homecoming date. Do you know how I feel about that? I think that they can take their indecisiveness and shove it. To be completely honest with you, I think it is a crock of carp that they even give a homecoming date in the first place. They give a tentative one, then one four weeks later, in the words of my key caller, "so that we didn't get mad if they came home late." I am going to go ahead and call BS on that one, Army. Way to go with the stupid card.

I do understand that this is the life we signed up for, this is going to be our life for however long Ryan stays affiliated with the military, and I'm ok with it, but it will probably never cease to frustrate me. Why give a date in the first place if all you're going to do is change it 87 times? Give me one date, the date he's coming home. In a sense I don't care if its a month and a half from the original date you gave me JUST MAKE UP YOUR MIND. Grrrrrrr.

Ok, off my soap box now.

Lessons Learned

This week I have learned a lot about things that "civilian" people take for granted that I never realized. There are so many important things when it comes to life and relationships, that people just seem to go through the motions. Particularly with this holiday that we're having--Valentine's Day. What is that really all about? Most girls will get some form of chocolate or flowers and won't even think twice about it. They will go to dinner or on some form of date with their significant other, and that will be the extent of the night. For me, I cherished every single minute I spent talking to him on AIM. The whole half hour we spent with a bad internet connection, just saying I love you. He wasn't able to call, I wasn't able to see him--nor hear his voice on this special day, let alone spend the entire day just soaking it all in with each other. But, I believe that this shows how real our love is. He sent me 3 dozen roses--it's not the number of them or how much they cost that was amazing to me, it was that he took the time from his busy life overseas to show me just how much I mean to him on a day like this. Love takes effort, and sometimes we forget how important the little things are. Stop and tell someone how much they mean to you just once. If you have someone to squeeze today, squeeze them extra hard for me because you never know when you won't be able to anymore. I love you Ryan, you're my hero and my best friend.