It was a few weeks ago that we took this day trip to Belgium, but I finally have a babysitter (aka grandma) so I'm able to get caught up on blog posts. The Viper Pilot said he would write this post for me (he is better with historical facts and interesting tidbits than I am) but he's at work and hasn't had the chance to sit down to write it yet, so I'll give it my best effort. We have been busy and I have a lot to catch you up on. The Viper Pilot went to Bastogne, Belgium for work a few weeks ... View the Post
Coming home, where the heart is.
Back in September, when our guys came home from deployment, I was asked to photograph reunions with husbands, dads, and heroes. What a privilege photographing a deployment homecoming was. These people are like family to me - no, they are family to me - after months of endless difficult days, we were finally getting our boys back. I was looking through my pictures for a photography project that I'm working on and I can't resist sharing the moments I captured (with permission) ... View the Post
Weingut Alex & Emily
While working in the yard yesterday, I heard what I know to be a sonic boom, the very loud noise made when an aircraft breaks the sound barrier (travelling faster than Mach 1, the speed of sound). Last night when he gets home I learn that my husband was the culprit. People often call the base to complain about such disruptions, but I'm like, yeah...that's cool. :) Last weekend, we finally got around to beginning to "winterize" our backyard. This chore requires more than one day of work and ... View the Post
9/3: Pictures from the day
Homecoming day for Helen and I! Sweet little Caroline was having a really rough day UNTIL she saw her daddy! PROST! ... View the Post
Preparing for Deployment: there are no rules
We military spouses come from every walk of life, but as a demographic group, we are characterized as predominately young -- and strong. I would even go so far as to call ourselves resilient, though I think we are also fairly modest because most of us say we weren't "cut out for this job" at some point in time. Nevertheless, we are tough. We can handle the most stressful situations and trust me, the military puts us to the test often, but we are at an increased vulnerability during deployments ... View the Post
Preparing for Deployment: fearing the unknown
Preparing for a deployment is like wearing a wet blanket. I often find myself daydreaming about how I will do during deployment. It's usually not very pretty, and in fact, I'm pretty certain that an epic fail is imminent. - Will I be able to drive anywhere if I can't stop crying? - Will Elle get lost in the backyard because I forgot to mow the lawn? - I'm not as strong as I think I am. I worry because deployment is something I want to handle well, with grace. I don't just want to survive it, ... View the Post