Faith Deployed - A Giveaway

Several weeks ago, maybe even a month or two ago, I got a message on FB from a friend letting me know that Jocelyn Green, the author of Faith Deployed, was looking for bloggers to read the book and then giveaway a copy on their blog! I jumped at the opportunity and sent my email to Jocelyn about my blog and how much I'd love to giveaway a copy of her book on my blog.

Not long after sending my email and being confirmed as a giveaway participant, I received the books in the mail. You must remember that I'm a slow reader so I haven't quite finished reading Faith Deployed for myself, but have been blessed and challenged with every page I've read.

Faith Deployed is a book full of short devotions written by women from every branch of the military. It is designed to be 'daily encouragement for military wives.' The writers are extremely honest and transparent in their writings. So far they've discussed contentment, comparison, gossip, temptation, and our own commitment as wives to the military and to our spouses. I've enjoyed hearing from the lips or pens of other military spouses that they have dealt with the same types of issues that I sometimes think I'm the only one in the world who has faced this!

My favorite devotion so far has to be one written by Vanessa Peters, a former Air Force wife, titled "Married to the Military." There's so much truth in those 4 words! As an Army wife, I sometimes get caught up in wondering if I really signed up and agreed to do this. There are days when life is just hard and when we live in limbo about what happens next or where we go from here or how our kids are going to be effected, positively or negatively, by our moves and our choice to be an Army family. She uses the Proverbs 31 woman to remind us that our husbands are most able to do their jobs well when they know that we're supportive and content with the life God has given us. He can have "full confidence" in us. Sometimes that requires asking for help or hiring help to do menial tasks. It was a good challenge for me and very timely for our current situation that is less than ideal!

I would highly recommend this book to any military spouse, and already have. It is Christ centered encouragement for women whose calling in life is far from ordinary and full of mountain and valley experiences handed to us via whatever branch of service we're affiliated with.

For more info, check out the Faith Deployed website. It's full of great information for military spouses. I'm hoping to sit in Jocelyn's session at the PWOC conference in Dallas this weekend!

To enter this giveaway for your very own copy of Faith Deployed, simply leave a comment with your name, email address, and one reason you enjoy being a military spouse. To receive an extra entry, post a link to this giveaway on your own blog then leave me a separate comment letting me know that you've done it and where I can find it! You can enter between now and midnight CST, Sunday, November 14th. The winner will be announced at some point on Monday, November 15th.

Can't wait to see who wins!

"Get Wisdom"

I woke up yesterday morning, read a comment on the Army Wife Network on FB and couldn't get the comment off of my mind. For much of the morning, I tried to figure out how I could blog my response to this person's asinine comment! It struck a specific nerve with me because the commenter was making herself the victim because she's the wife of an enlisted soldier.

The question on Army Wife Network's wall was "Where do you get your hair done?" and responders were to tell their installation, salon name and town where it's located. Most did exactly that, except for the one in the group that said something about enlisted wives not being able to have the same luxuries as officer wives.

I don't know this person at all. I was just struck by this tension that can some times exist, mostly imaginary, simply because someone's husband is enlisted vs. officer. My husband is an officer and that's all I've ever known. I would never say that we live a 'luxurious' life because we don't! We wouldn't even if funds allowed. However, we've made wise choices in how we use the income that we have each month.

So my response to this comment is that it has nothing to do with enlisted vs. officer. It has everything to do with the choices you make in how you spend the money that comes in each month. It has everything to do with what you do with the extra money that comes as a result of a deployment. It has everything to do with looking at your expenses and deciding what's really important to you. We find the money and way to get the things that are important to us. If it's getting your hair done in a salon vs paying for Showtime, HBO and Cinemax on your cable each month, you'll choose the one that's most important to you.

Our family chooses to tithe each month, which is 10% of our income to our local church! There's alot more 'fun' and 'worldly' things we could do with that 10%, but we trust the wisdom of God and His ability to provide all of our needs each month. I coupon and save us a good bit on groceries each month so that we can enjoy a couple of meals out each week and a salon highlight every other month or so. When Cpt was deployed last year, we saved part of our extra deployment money and used the other part to pay off student loans. We could've sunk it all into a new car, but that wasn't the best long term investment for our family.

I guess I took offense to this person's statement because it generalized that officer wives have such a good and luxurious life when that couldn't be further from the truth. We face alot of the same things that enlisted wives do and have to make choices just like enlisted wives. Some of my best friends are enlisted wives. With us, it doesn't matter what our husbands' ranks are. Rank isn't something to be flaunted or to use as a crutch for our issues. It only determines pay and job responsibility.

I found it just like the Lord that yesterday my internet went down all day and I read a passage from Proverbs 4:5-9 that talks about getting Wisdom, prizing Wisdom, and embracing Wisdom. The result will be being kept, being honored, having a graceful garland wrapped on you and a beautiful crown. As I was in a tizzy about this person's comment, I found this great application for me. I needed to be wise in how I addressed this and I need to remember that making wise choices is ultimately what is best for me and my family. I also needed time to let my jets cool!

House Hunters

After several months of wondering whether or not we would get the next assignment location that we wanted, we finally have an answer and we got it! We've been assigned to Fort Hood, TX. This is great for me because we'll only be about 45 minutes from some of my family in the Central Texas area.

Tomorrow we meet with our realtor to start looking for a place to live! I can't believe it. For months I've spent hours at a time looking at houses online. I've actually looked at 3 different locations because for a while, earlier in the year, we thought we were going to Nellis AFB in Las Vegas! We were overjoyed about that because we love Vegas, but through a series of conversations, that assignment was yanked out from under us. It's really a blessing, but was disappointing at the time.

We've cleared the prequalification phase with a mortgage specialist so we can rest assured that we can actually purchase a home. Even though I know our credit is good, I still worried about this prequalification process because I was worried we would be approved for much less than we really want or need to spend to get the kind of home we think would suit our needs as a family. Praise the Lord, we are prequalified for much, much more than we would ever imagine spending on this home.

I probably won't get much sleep tonight because I'm so psyched about looking at houses! If I were a better salesperson, I probably would be a good realtor because I love looking at houses! The hubs even asked me the other day what I was going to do with all my free time I'll have now that I won't have any need to look at real estate websites! I'm sure I'll find some other pointless obsession to fill that void!

OOOOOOOOOOKlahoma!

We're here! The boys and I made it to Oklahoma last Wednesday and CMC and baby girl made it here on Thursday. We had to adjust our travel plans slightly so that we could meet the movers here. If we weren't able to get here quickly, we were going to have to wait a week or two before someone locally could deliver our belongings.

The movers got here around 7pm Wednesday night and were here until after midnight unloading the truck and assembling our beds and tables. You really have no idea how much stuff you have until you see it in boxes sitting on the ground. I kept looking at it all wondering how on earth we were going to get them all inside the apartment. We downsized about 700 sq ft from our house in El Paso to the apartment here in Oklahoma. Thankfully our apartment complex has garages that we can pay extra for and use for storage. We have ours filled up! Other than furniture, I think we have more stuff in the garage than we do in the apartment.

We've unpacked just about all the boxes inside and even have a few things hung on the walls. The living room still has to be rearranged because I was tired when the movers were here and told them to put the couch and tv stand on the wrong walls. We do have a couple of things missing so far. It's likely that they're in one of the boxes in the garage that we didn't even open. I'm hoping I don't have to buy new curtain rods because I can't find the brackets to hang them with! Oh the perils of moving. I even made an effort to keep the brackets separated, but didn't follow through and make sure I knew where they would be packed!

At some point I'll post pictures, but things pretty much look the same - - just less space in between!

Boxes, Boxes and More Boxes

A house full of cardboard boxes is the sure sign that this move is really about to happen!

2 ladies spent the day here loading boxes and getting things ready to go to Oklahoma next week. The master bedroom, garage and outside storage are the only things left to be packed. It's not been too bad to live among the boxes yet. However, CMC went to eat ice cream tonight and realized that we don't have any utensils! I also realized that I didn't take underwear out of the drawer for Bailey. They packed a drawer full of Maverick's diapers that I didn't get put in the 'don't pack' stack. Jenna Beth has no sheets for her crib so she's already in the pack n play.

We were only expecting a couple of hours of packing today and the rest to be packed on Monday. Yesterday we found out the plan had changed so we weren't quite ready to have most everything packed today. It is what it is and we're trying to roll with the punches. I have some cookies to bake tomorrow for teacher gifts. I hope I set aside everything I needed for that project to be successful!

After the packers left this afternoon, my first thought was that we have to do this again in 6 months. Hopefully I can be more on top of things next time and be more prepared before the packers come knocking on the door!

50 days - - WHAT?

Captain my Captain informed the world today that we have about 50 days before we make the move north to Sooner country! WHAT???? 50 days??? Do you know what else happens in the next 50 days?

Here's just a snippit of things that will happen in the next 50 days:

Celebrate my 34th birthday. Bid farewell to our interim pastor. Celebrate the inactivation of the Task Force. Farewell a few Task Forcians. A mommy vacay with a friend. Welcome our new pastor. VBS. Preteen Camp. Pack. Get things organized at work for whoever is going to replace me. 4th of July Parade. Shed many tears. Say See You Later to many who have become like family to me.

I'm trying not to freak out about all the things that aren't going to get done in the next 50 days or so, but trust me, it's going to be difficult. On top of it all, I've got to think about sending my first born to kindergarten and pray I don't spend too many days in the principal's office or parent teacher conferencing. I think I'll have to start praying daily for the 3 kindergarten teachers at his school! I'll have to find out their favorite Vera Bradley pattern or something and start sending them gifts NOW!

Okay, back to the pile of laundry on my bed...

For Those Curious Minds

I received a few messages after my post before Aloha Friday about my moving comment.

Yes, we are going to be moving in about 75 days or so. The word is on the street here, so I feel okay sending it out into the abyss of the internet now. It's a bittersweet move for me because I love it here in El Paso and love the opportunities that we've had to minister at FBC. At the same time, there are events happening here that are definitely making it clear to me that our time here is over and the Lord is definitely moving us on.

We'll actually be moving 2x between now and next February. Our first move will be to Fort Sill, OK where "Captain, My Captain" will be attending a 6 month course that is necessary for his career. After that, we are pretty positive that we'll be heading to central Texas, to Fort Hood. We are very excited about that because in some ways for me it will be like going back 'home.' Nothing about Fort Hood is definite until the Army releases the orders and we could be waiting until November or December for that to happen.

Hope that answers a few questions for my inquiring readers, you know who you are!

LT's Homecoming

He's been home almost 2 weeks now and I figured I better post pictures of this event now before the rest of the Task Force shows up tonight for their official 'the deployment is over' festivities.

From the time we took LT back to the airport after R&R, the boys have talked about how they were going to wait at the escalator and see their daddy come down. LT was at the back of the plane so lots of people came down the escalator before him. Maverick got tired of waiting and went back to the window to watch the airplane. I guess he thought he might see his daddy out there somehow.

Of course, their daddy couldn't do things like everyone else, so he came down the steps instead of the escalator. When I saw him coming, I had to find both of the boys to get them to look somewhere other than he escalator. They were super excited when they saw him! I think Maverick is asking him if that's his white plane out there.After the boys got their hugs and were off to the next thing, we finally got a glimpse of each other. One of our friends took this picture, but from the moment I first saw it, I've loved it because I have that, "he's really home!!!" grin on my face. It's like excitement, relief and a whole string of other emotions wrapped up in one big smile! The embrace that almost ended Jenna Beth's life! I knew I was holding her when we hugged, but it wasn't until I saw this picture that I realized how awkward it looked for her. After everyone else got their hugs, a sleepy Jenna Beth finally got hers. I love the look on the guy on the edge of the picture's face. He's a high ranking military official who came to the airport to greet LT's little group that came home. I'm sure he never gets tired of seeing the joy on the faces of moms and dads who embrace their children after a year long deployment. Here we are - - - together at last! I've given up on pictures where all 5 of us are smiling or even looking the same direction. It's who we are and I've just come to grips with that fact. The boys thought they would help their daddy carry his bags. They couldn't even lift this thing off the floor, but they gave it a valiant effort!

Dining Out Pictures

Last night we attended the battalion Dining Out and Farewell to our Commander. It was a nice evening, but the events leading up to it were stressful. LT had to emcee the whole event and was on the planning committee so doing that along with commading a battery and still having the responsibilities of being the XO were a bit much! Then there was a little bit of a fiasco with giving the Commander's wife a gift that somehow became my worry and my financial woe! All that on top of mothering 2 little boys and trying to make sure VBS happens in a week. Things aren't going to be pretty at our house for a few weeks. July 1st can't get here soon enough! July is going to be my down month and I'm really looking forward to it.

Without further ado, here are pictures from the dining out. I have a new camera on its way compliments of my mother that will hopefully help me out with taking good pictures in low light. My current camera is worthless in these situations no matter what setting I put it on! Hopefully the next time I go to one of these things my pictures will be much better and well lit.

The festivities began with the making of the Artillery punch. It's a concoction of various liquids - tequila, champagne, red wine, beer, etc. and a little sugar. Each thing added to the punch holds some symbolic significance as it relates to Air Defense. Those brave enough to drink the punch lined up and took their swig. No thank you! This is a picture of the Commander getting ready to taste the first glass.

I like going to these things not so much because I get to dress up, but because I like seeing LT in his Dress Blues. He's a handsome young Lt. Since he was the emcee, I sat most of the night by myself.

One of the battery commanders got married a few weeks ago and had a mariachi band at his wedding. The Battalion commander told another Lt that he thought it would be neat to have a mariachi band at the Dining Out and here they are! They played and sang for about 30 minutes.

Each Battery presents the Commander with a gift. Most were plaques or wall hanging kinds of things. One Battery got him an autographed football by Chicago Bear Gale Sayers. LT's Battery got him a corvette laptop bag that actually closes with GM Corvette seatbelt connectors. It was a pretty neat bag except that the embroidering company misspelled the Col's name. It's fixable, though.

These are some of the women I've gotten to know as part of this Battalion. The woman in the center is the Col's wife. I'm actually the only person in this picture besides the Col's wife that is still part of the Battalion. The others' husbands have moved out of the Battalion to other positions.

Playing Catch Up

So I've been absent from blog world lately, at least from the posting aspect. Forgive me, please. I had a busy weekend with a VBS meeting and then some other housekeeping stuff at the church that I didn't get done since last week was a 4 day work week and I normally work on the day that was the holiday.

Uncle Josh flew in yesterday and we've had a good time so far hanging out with him. I think the boys are enjoying having an extra playmate in the house. He's more fun than LT or I regardless! We did come to the realization last night that our boys aren't good candidates for bunkbeds or sharing a room. We had to change our sleeping arrangment at about 10:30 last night after over an hour of screaming from some little blonde kid who shall remain nameless.

Today was a big day for us, too. This morning, we frantically rushed around so that we could get the boys to school and then make it to LT's promotion ceremony by 9am. I got there right at 9am and they were about to start the ceremony without me. Thankfully, they didn't! I got to pin (velcro) LT's new rank on. His one line emblem simply changed from gold to black. The Col who was in charge of the ceremony told me I had it upside down. I laughed and then sort of tapped him on his side. We all know these Army pomp and circumstance type things get me all wigged out regardless so having a Col making wise cracks did throw me off a little bit, but put me at ease, too.

We also had our first official housecleaning by the lady that is going to be our every other week housecleaner! YEAH! I can't tell you how relaxed I feel knowing that all the big cleaning will get done every other week. When I have to do it myself, it doesn't get done that often. The only problem we have is that she speaks little English and I speak even less Spanish. I'm determined that this is going to be the thing that pushes me to learn to speak some Spanish. For now, I'm doing better about making sure I pick up after myself and put things away immediately. That will probably wear off, but I need to start somewhere!

Bailey got a new Thomas plate set at Big Lots today. It came with a fork that's handle looks like Percy and a spoon that's handle looks like Thomas. He hasn't let them out of his sight since we took them out of the package. Only my son would carry around a fork and spoon everywhere he goes and play with them like they're really trains. He's a weird kid and I blame all that on LT.

Here are some pictures of the promotion ceremony. Holly will be proud of my white crop pants. I wiped the bottom of Maverick's shoes off before I carried him into the CDC today to keep my pants as clean as I could.

At this point, someone is reading the proclamation that LT is officially promoted from 2nd Lt to 1st Lt. Either that or the Col is saying all kinds of wonderful things about LT like he thinks he should've skipped 1st Lt and been straight to Captain. That would've been a great pay raise! The Col thinks alot of LT and so do I!

The Col is probably telling me right now that I have put the single black line of velcro on upside down. Ha!

Here we are 1st Lt and Mrs. Wade. Aren't we a cute little couple?

Initiation Week

This week has been my official initiation into some of the Army social traditions. Tuesday night I went to my first 'coffee,' but it was really dinner at an Italian restaurant. I was obviously the new person there. There were only 5 other women who attended and I knew one of them because she's Jake's commander's wife. We had a good time just chatting and sort of getting to know one another. It's a strange dynamic because I hear stories at home about who cussed Jake out for something not worthy of being cussed out and then go and sit and eat dinner with that person's wife. It's really quite interesting! The 'coffee' is for wives of people ranked E-7 or so and above, I think. It's basically wives of Non-Commissioned and Commissioned officers. I'll miss the next one because I'll be in South Carolina, chilling on the beach or in an outlet store or something to that effect.

Tonight we went to our first "Hail and Farewell." It's a dinner type thing where the Battalion Hails newcomers and Farewells those who are leaving the Battalion for whatever reason. Jake was Hailed tonight since he's new. The Hail really is just the Battalion Commander reading some little facts about the Hailee like their spouses name, kids names, hobbies and former positions held within the Army. The Farewells are a little more involved and the Farewellees are usually given some sort of a gift or plaque. We Farewelled the 1SGT in Jake's Battery and he got teary eyed thinking his wife for supporting him. That was very special especially since this guy is a complete cut up. We sat with him and laughed just about all night!

So, I've been initiated to these 2 events! To me, the real highlight of these events is the realization that all of these people - Colonels, Majors, etc. - are HUMAN! I sometimes get intimidated by people in positions of authority, but it's good to be able to see them not in uniform and not being 'official.' The Battalion Commander and his wife are both super sweet and thanked me for coming to the 'coffee' and for coming to the Hail and Farewell tonight. Being the social person that I tend to be, I look forward to the many years I have of getting to go to these kinds of events.