It's Official!

Landon and I are making a huge change in our lives. We have decided to get out of the Marine Corps and Landon made it official last week! He will be getting out sometime in July 2011.

We are both very excited and a little nervous...ok, maybe a lot nervous! haha This is a huge change in both our lives, the Marine Corps is all we've known for the last 3 years and by the time he gets out we will have spent 4 years in the Corps. That's not a long time by most standards, but we haven't lived as a married couple and civilians ever, so this will probably be a shock and take some time to get used to, but it will also be very exciting!

I have enjoyed Landon's time in the military for the most part. There are always ups and downs in life, and plenty in the military. Some ups would definitely be the fact that we have been able to experience living in other states besides Texas, in California with it's beautiful weather, and Virginia with its wonderful history! I will always be greatful for the opportunites we've had, and especially for the friends we've made during these past 3 years! When you are living the military life you learn to make friends wherever you go, they become friendships you will have for life. You become so close, so quickly because for a lot of the time you are stationed somewhere your husbands are gone on training, or deployed, and you have find other people to keep you company and there are no better friends that those who know what you are going through and you know you can count on. I have met many women like that, girls that I know I can ask favors from, and believe me I'm so greatful for them! Especially Sarah and Katie in California this past year who watched Levi for us several times, and on short notices, and picked me up and took me places when my car was in the shop after I got into an accident. These girls were so much a part of my everyday life, they even had keys to my house!

There were also plenty of cons where the military is concerned. Deployments taking the number one spot. They are so hard, not only on me, but also our family and friends. It really is difficult to live life normally while your other half is thousands of miles away and sometimes you aren't even sure where they are or what they are doing. We have been so blessed though with the support of our families that I can barely complain.

"Hurry up and wait", is a saying often used in the Marine Corps. It refers to the many times that your husband will have to hurry up and get somewhere just to have to wait for orders, or instructions. We are often left waiting for orders to a new station or orders for a deployment. We have to wait till the last minute to be told about a training exercise or even "mandatory" social events. Life gets stressful when you are a planner and you have to change your plans at the last minute because the Marines ultimately rule your life. "Semper Gumby" is another term often used, meaning "Always Flexible"! You have to learn to be flexible when making plans, and flexible in general about life, it's a good but hard lesson i've learned, and I wouldn't say I've mastered it, but I think I've gotten better about it.

While deployments are extremly difficult, they are inevitable and neccessary, but there is a bright side, believe it or not. That is that feeling you get on the day they finally return home, and your waiting around with a thousand other proud families...then they march in and stand at attention and everyone is so silent, we all hold our breaths with anticipation and then they are released into your arms for the first time in 7 months! I can't describe how good that feels and the days and weeks to follow are such a high! It feels just like a second, or third, or fourth honeymoon. How many married couples can say they've had that?? That is the main thing that keeps my spirits up, getting to see him again and sharing that emotional experience together!

So, while I am going to miss a lot of the military lifestyle, I am very excited to start a new chapter in our lives. I know Landon is looking forward to a career change also.

So, as of right now, our plan is to return to Texas, and from there I don't know! Landon has ideas about going back to school to get a master's degree. I'm not sure what or where, but will let everyone know when we figure it out. For now we are pushing through the remainder of this deployment and looking forward to him being on U.S. soil.

I know we have a lot of support and we will need it, as this will be a huge transistion for us, but I know we can count on many people and definitley look forward to seeing many of you more often when we finally settle down in Texas.

Help Jackson win!

My friend Becca from California has the most adorable baby boy, named Jackson. She entered him into a Gerber Generation Photo Contest and the grand prize if he whens would be a $25,000 scholarship and he would star in a Gerber ad!

A little background, Becca had Jackson on Feburary 14th this year, about 1 month after her husband deployed. When her husband returned in August, he was meeting his son for the first time! Becca is a wonderful mother and strong marine wife, she is very artistic, draws, paints, and is a very talented photographer! She is the one who took those Beach Pictures for us!

They really deserve to win this, not only because they are amazing people, but their son really is adorable!

So if you would like to help out and vote, go to

http://apps.facebook.com/gerberphoto/?ref=mf

click on "Vote for August Photos" and then "Search Photos" enter "Jackson" for the name and "Oceanside" for the city. Then click vote and enter an email address, after that they send you an email and you might have to check your spam or junk folder and just open it up and click on the link it provides to complete the voting process. There are a few steps, but it's pretty simple! And you can vote once a day every day till September 30th!

Thank you to everyone that helps out! Let's help them win!