Survived Week 1

Yep...we did, we made it through our first week! Pretty well too. I have to say that this week actually flew by super fast. I hope it continues to move that way, but I'm assuming that probably won't be the case! I am positive that my new job had a lot to do with making this week go by so fast. We have such a routine going right now that it makes the day go by pretty fast. I have to say that it amazing me how I am only at work for 4 hrs a day, yet it feels like I'm there all day long. I get off at 115pm and try to fit in a workout before A gets home from school. I was able to do this most days, and will continue to work on that. Trying to find balance in this process is a little difficult. But I know I will achieve it!

I received D's box of stuff Thursday. I was sad to see his running shoes on the bottom of the box. While I expected them to show up, he was really hoping he would get to keep them. He has horrible shaped feet, and was concerned about possibly getting stuck with a pair of shoes that wouldn't fit his horribly wide hobbit feet! LOL I wonder constantly about how he is doing. I know he's fine but we women are always so concerned. We wrote our first letters to him but still don't have an address for him. Hopefully, we will get one asap!

So here's to making it through our first week....What do we have now? Maybe 24 or more? HA!! Welcome to the Military! : )

In the Navy....

We are an official Navy Family now! We dropped D off at the Recruiter's office on Sunday and he made it safe and sound to Illinois last night. He's been officially signed, sworn in and they now own his butt! I was fortunate to have contact with him most of yesterday, and even got to talk to him for a few before he flew out. We even were able to exchange a few texts before he caught the bus to the base. I received a phone call from him around 9pm Tucson Time, it lasted maybe 40 sec, "I made is safe, a box with my stuff will arrive in a few days, I will call again in 2-3wks, I love you, bye!" AND So it begins!

It's gonna be a little weird not talking to him for so long. I know he will do great. I'm so proud of him! I'm gonna work hard to keep A and I on a solid routine to help make the time go by faster. It's gonna be tight money wise and it's gonna be a much longer time til we see each other again than anticipated. We learned Sunday that since they pushed his ship date back, we won't get our first paycheck on the first, but will have to wait til the 15th. This is going to have a huge impact on us, but we will do the best to make it through. At least I have enough money saved up to pay rent. But it will almost wipe me out. We were hoping to be able to pay half the rent with his first check. We also learned that instead of getting to briefly see him after basic in 9 wks, we won't get to see him again until after his A school. Which will be more like 25 wks. We were not prepared for that, but Hey, thats the life we signed up for so we better adjust and get used to it now!!

I'll leave you with some pics of us before he caught the shuttle...I must go get ready for work!

A taking a pic of herself...

Our family

Daddy and A

D and I, pic taken by A

Today is the big day...

D leaves today. Well, He heads up to MEPS in Phoenix, and flies to Illinois tomorrow. We are going to see him off at the recruiter's office at 115pm today. We've been spending the morning together around the apt, watched a movie and had a breakfast of Donuts and Coffee. He's been playing with A and reading her stories. It seems so surreal that we have finally made it to this day. Life as we know it will never be the same again!

Yesterday A decided that she must get her ears pierced, right then! She said she had to do it right away or she would change her mind! She will be 7 in December and we had agreed when she was born that when she was could speak up and say she wanted them, than we would take her. We would get a lot of crap from family members for not just taking her in and doing it. But we wanted her to have a choice. So we took her, and she was so brave, didn't cry or freak out. I, on the other hand, shed a tear cause my baby girl was so grown up! I was also very happy that her daddy got to be there and be part of that. I think it meant a lot to him too.

So today it starts...our new adventure....We have no idea when he will be home again...if he will be here for our bdays and holidays, or if he will stay there during that time. It's all a little scary, but I know we will survive and it will be all worth it! I am so proud of my husband, I think it takes some balls to do what he is doing at his age, to bring security and support to his family, to support and defend his country, to become a hero!

It's always something...

So D was all set to leave on Tuesday. Ready to move on to the next step. Then he gets the call from his recruiter, he can't leave yet, they are missing paperwork in his file. I guess they need his High School Transcripts for HM Corpsman, and they didn't have them. So now he's not leaving Til Sunday. They had to go get the Recruiter in WA and a Recruiter in TX to run to his old HS's and gather them and than overnight them so he can leave. BOY!! LOL!! Nothing is ever easy with the Military, this is something we have always known! We are so ready to move onto the next step. Poor D has been bored all day sitting at home by himself while our daughter A is at school and I have been working at my new job. He has however been truly amazing by picking up all of my chores around the house and completing them. I love him! He is amazing! It makes me realize how much I will really miss him now that I am working too, cause It will be all me doing everything. Not that I haven't done that before, but he has always been helpful without me asking. We did have a little conversation last night before we went to sleep...I had to clarify that his uniforms will be his responsibly and always his responsibility! LOL I will not iron those babies! Cause honestly, I'm horrible at ironing! : )

What a Weekend!!

Wow...I didn't realize that it's been a week since I posted a blog. D ships out in exactly 1 week. I can't believe it's coming so fast. I hope he's ready. I know he will do fantastic. So far he is still working at his current job too. This is completely unexpected and a blessing for us as well.  My Dad who is a retired Marine Corps Warrant Officer, came to to visit us this weekend. He wanted to see D before he ships out and wish him well. He's so incredibly proud of him. I was super excited to see him cause he had just recently finished radiation therapy out at Balboa in San Diego for throat cancer and I hadn't seen him since before he started his treatment.

We had decided to head down to Tombstone and check it out. Something to get us all out of the house and spend some time together. Our trip didn't turn out as we had planned, however, it was a blessing in disguise that we went. My Stepmother, had a Heart Attack while we were there. It was super scary. She all of a sudden got super tired and weak, so dad sat her down on a bench. She than started a seizure type move and feel unconscious. She did this 3 times.Her skin was very cold and calmly, and her lips and face were completely gray.  I went into the visitor's center, which we happened to be right outside of and called for help. The Marshall showed up as well as the EMT's. The paramedics were a bit further away, so we had to wait for them to come from the other town.

She started looking better, and started fussing that she was fine. Just tired. Being stubborn. After everyone got there to assess her completely, they recommended that she go in the ambulance and be taken to the nearest hospital. She was super resistant. Just wanted us to take her in the truck instead. Saying it wasn't necessary. My dad tried to tell her that if something happened in the truck, we wouldn't know what to do and it would be best to let them take her. She kept fighting the situation. I finally looked at her and said, "look, you're not putting anyone out here. We are concerned about you. It's better to be safe than sorry. Do you want to be here tomorrow?" She finally sighed and agreed. My dad rode with her to the hospitial.

I am so grateful that she listened to me. Within 10 mins in route, her heart stopped and she had to be shocked back into rhythm, twice! She is incredibly lucky to be alive right now. The doctors have told her repeatly that if she hadn't of gotten in that ambulance she would be dead right now. It's called Sudden Cardiac Death. There would of been nothing that we could of done to help her. It's horribly scary.

She is currently stable and undergoing tests at the Tucson Heart Hospital. She couldn't be in better hands at the moment. She is looking better and finally eating again. We are clear that there have been warning signs for awhile now that have lead to this episode. My dad is so grateful that they were here at the time. If they had been at their home, she would of died. She would of just went and laid down and wouldn't of woken back up. She had been trying to get out of going to Tombstone with us, and we are so pleased that we convinced her to go, cause otherwise we would of come home to a horrific find. We can't focus on the what if's though and need to focus on the blessings in this horrible experience.

It's been a crazy, overwhelming, emotional weekend. I need to go for a run to burn off some of the stress. : (

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign....

It is really truly amazing to me how when you make a decision bout something so important that there are times when visual signs show up in your face constantly.When we moved to Tucson, very rarely did I ever see anything that pointed to Navy. Occasionally, you would see a bumper sticker of a retired Sailor, but it just wasn't something we noticed. Slowly everyday since we've started this process, we have come in contact of something pointing to the Navy. Our first one was when we went to the mall to walk and talk about our options regarding taking on this new adventure. When we left we got into the car and the car in front of us had a NAVY License plate on the front of their car. A few days later, I was at Target and an elderly man was sitting in a scooter in line in front of me, and I looked down to see that he had a Navy Bumper Sticker on the back of his chair and a retired Vet's hat on his head. It kept happening, constantly. We would go somewhere or come into contact with something that had Navy incorporated in it. Today, I went to go print some coupons for Eat Better America, I was required to login to my account, and well, it had been a very long time since I had done this. So I had to request a password. I check my Email and the password they assigned me was, NAVY....(plus a few numbers)!! Seriously? How crazy is that??

Maybe it's just because we weren't conscious of it before, so we always missed it in front of our face. You know, how you never noticed a particular kind of car before, and now that you are aware of it you notice every single one?  Or Maybe, just maybe it's a real true sign that we are on the right path. Just maybe it's a reminder to keep striving for that goal. I'm gonna chose to believe it's a sign that we are off in the right direction for us!