M&M's Home Blog

My husband is flying in to meet me this weekend!! He's staying for 2.5 days; I can't believe it!

The other bonus is seeing family in Williamsburg. I never dreamed I would have a weekend as nice as this one after I was mobilized!!

Mike is patient when our phone calls get interrupted by my job.

...Or at least that's what we called it the first time.

After spending two nights in filthy barracks with the roaches, we have been moved to much nicer accomodations and are thrilled. We're sitting in on a class and should be here for a couple of weeks. The weather is a bit nicer than South Carolina, much to my surprise.

And the time keeps ticking away...

Well, I just got my orders and I am headed to Virginia for an unspecified amount of time - I'd guess a few weeks or so. I'm thrilled. I was stationed there for my officer basic course back in 2001 and enjoyed it, plus my mother's cousin lives just up the road, so hopefully I'll get some family time on the weekends.

I will miss many of the new friends I've made at Camp McCrady - it's amazing how the Army can throw people together and you can forge a stronger bond with strangers in two weeks than you can with people you've known for years in the civilian world. Please pray for all my new friends and colleagues as they head out to different (and in most cases, dangerous) parts of the world...

Mike takes me "virtual shopping" with him via cell phone so I can put my two cents in about his grocery list.

Mike watches chick flicks with me...and enjoys them.

One week to go at Camp McCrady! Training has been challenging at times but excellent - I never learned a lot of this stuff before I left. I even got to kick in a door during urban warfare training!

I can't wait until this benchmark is complete and I can move on to the next one...

Mike thinks my uniform is attractive.

Mike goes into my email and deletes my spam so I don't have to with my limited computer time!

My husband is really strong on the phone when I'm having an "I want to go home" moment.

Just a heads up...I have reached my mobilization station. I have limited email and cell phone access but it's not too bad. We are doing readiness processing right now (medical screening, etc) and that part hasn't been too bad, but I miss my family like crazy, especially Mike...

So I went to the ALCOA clubhouse last night convinced that I was attending a surprise birthday for my sister-in-law, Amy. It was pretty believable; Amy's birthday was on Monday and Mike's family has a lot of parties at the clubhouse. I had no reason to be suspicious.

In actuality, my husband and our parents had been planning a surprise going-away party for me since just after I received my orders. As I walked in, I was shocked to see not just my family, but members of our church and other friends piling out of the closet. Two of my friends drove 2 1/2 hours for this. Over 100 people attended. There was a beautiful cake with the Army symbol on it, and Mike and my mother had collaborated on a photo table. It was absolutely amazing.

I am consistently overwhelmed by the love and support I receive daily from the people closest to me. Daily, I thank God for all His blessings, because I am well aware of them, but something like this drives it home even more. I have the most wonderful family and friends in the world...

Mike can put our 9 month-old great-niece, Alexa, to sleep within about 10 minutes by holding her and humming to her softly.

Mike always leaves generous tips at restaurants because he knows that a few extra dollars mean so much to a server at the end of the night.

My husband is gorgeous, especially when he raises his eyebrows at me...

Mike knows more than I do about nearly every subject, but insists I'm the smart one.

Mike cooks yummy things for me. Today he made me a sub sandwich with portobello mushrooms on it. And he volunteers to cook! I don't have to ask.

In order for my family and friends to get to know my husband, Mike, a little better, I've created the category, "Why Mike is the World's Greatest Husband". It's also a nice opportunity for me to put down some thoughts for him to read. Hopefully it doesn't embarrass Mike too much!

We just got back from a wonderful mini-honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We rented a beautiful one bedroom cabin in the mountains (complete with hot tub, pool table, full kitchen, etc) and spent 5 days and four nights in the Smoky Mountains.

We did just about everything there was to do, including the Gatlinburg strip, the Aquarium, local wineries, Cades Cove nature preserve, outlet shopping, and a giant knife store (possibly Mike's favorite). We even got a few old black and white photos and a caricature done (which are hysterical). We also are now big fans of the hot tub!!

We spent our last night there with some friends who joined us for dinner and then came up to the cabin until the wee hours of the morning. It was a perfect end to a wonderful vacation. We can't wait to go back in warmer weather once I'm officially out of the Army...