One year ago today, I was newly engaged...about six days had been spent with a ring on my finger. :) Michael was going through AIT in South Carolina, and was home on leave for just a few more days before he had to head back for several months. We were excited for our new years eve plans at friends. Oh, what a night.
Fast forward four months and Michael had finished AIT and got another two week visit home before being officially placed into his job as a Chaplains Assistant. It was the end of April, and we both surprised ourselves when we decided to get married before he left for Kansas! We became husband and wife within days of making that decision, and only one day after we were wed, he left for his duty station and I remained in Wisconsin, with no intentions to move until we had a wedding ceremony in the fall for all our friends and family to be there.
Just one month later, I got a phone call from Michael with some notsothrilling news. He was getting deployed in September. He asked me to move down to Kansas for the summer so we could be together before he was sent to a foreign country for a year.
Two weeks later, I found myself in a TINY, cramped one-bedroom apartment in the heart of Manhattan, Kansas. Three months of memories I don't think either Michael or I are bound to forget. Learning to live as newlyweds in such a confined space sure brought on a lot of laughs and struggles! We did get a mini-honeymoon to Branson, MO. Even though Michael was there for a work seminar, we got to stay in a fancy hotel and see the world-famous Titanic Museum. (it was awesome!)
The outside of our little apartment! (the sliding door was the only entrance!)
Our TINY kitchen!
At a scenic overview on our way home from the mini-honeymoon to Branson, MO
We quickly found our "hangouts"...Hastings for rental movies, Chipotle for guacamole and chips, and Dillons for our groceries (huge fan) to name a few. We had an air mattress, a card table, and cardboard boxes as furniture. (we did have a tv...lucky us!) We overdrafted several hundred dollars every paycheck! (boy did that have to end fast!) I got lost countless times in Ft. Riley, but learned my way around the post faster than I thought. We didn't know ANYONE in our apartment complex, and very few people at Ft. Riley! We foolishly got a kitten who didn't like his litterbox and wasn't exactly allowed in our place...and then had to give him up only a month later. (this lady had a really hard time with that! never get a pet unless you KNOW you can keep them!) It was my first time away from home, and I was homesick probably 80 percent it! I also started cooking for the first time in my life...a whole lot of chicken fried rice from the box and easy meals such as tacos! My car became our car, (well mostly Michael's since I wasn't working) and I really struggled with the MESS that man can shove into a vehicle!!! We learned REAL FAST that dishes really cannot sit in the sink for more than one night (much to our surprise) and let the laundry pile up until we filled four full wash machines that cost us 1.50 in quarters each! On top of all those adjustments to married life, we had the additional adjustment to ARMY LIFE. Something that I'm frankly still doing...and have a ways to go!
Aggieville...the little "college town" next to K-State with lots of shops and diners..awesome hangout!
Then, one HOT HOT HOT summer day at the end of june, I had a small panic attack in our bright yellow bathroom when a pregnancy test turned up positive. I came out of the bathroom close to tears, and breathing funny I guess, because Michael immediately thought there was another cockroach in the house :) Boy was he wrong! After our initial freak-outs, we both wereoverjoyed at the thought of having a child together. We cherished the few months Michael had during our baby's pregnancy.
Unfortunately, those few months in Kansas did come to an end. The first week of September, Michael's mom, our 16 week old son, and myself watched Michael pack up his life (we really did! Into two huge rucksacks, and it took him forever!) and leave on a bus for a long journey overseas, and my not quite as long journey back to Wisconsin.
Even though we hate being apart and I'd give anything to have him back here, safe and sound, coming home to Wisconsin also brought some pretty amazing times. I have been growing our gorgeous baby boy for the past eight months and he's almost ready to meet the world! I found out my mom and I were capable of becoming a pretty great pair of best friends, and I was once again surrounded by family and friends that love and support both Michael and I.
Handing out freeze pops to some soldiers before they head out on a convoy.
Michael and his Chaplain (I don't know the other soldier), somewhere pretty!!
So here's to 2009, one of the fastest, hardest, brightest years of my life! May 2010 bring as many learning experiences and joyous memories as you!
