Projections!

James is in week 14 of his training right now for AIT. At about this point the Army gives out a projection of where they are going to station us for the next three or four years. Well we have been checking everyday for our projections...James says its like waiting for a mission call..haha....well we finally got them!!! Here is a hint of where we will be going...


Haha Ok I wouldn't have figured it out by that picture either but I thought it looked pretty! We are going to be moving to...........

KENTUCKY!!!

I am very excited! I am a little disappointed because our awesome friends The Freys won't be following which we were hoping they would be. I am excited for this new adventure and can't wait to go some place new. We are 45 mins from Nashville Tennesse and plan on doing a whole bunch of site seeing while living there! I am ready for this new adventure but even more I'm ready to see more of my husband! :)

How quickly things change.

So I am finally just about updated on this blog. After James came home we decided to OK to be with him for the last ten weeks of his training. We are currently on week 13! Yay...Only five more weeks to go! :) Here are a few pics of our new little one bedroom apartment.

Best Day EVER!!! :)

The last time my kids saw their dad was in October. James was able to come home for Christmas Exodus which was in December and we had him for two long weeks. After that he would have to go back to Oklahoma to finish out his training which ends in March. Ugh so much time away. I flew out to see James in November and my parents kept the kids. It was a blast. We had so much fun! :) Thanks Mom and Dad!

So to say the least my kids missed James so much. They were getting so antsy to see him. Its hard trying to explain to a 4 and 6 year old why its taking so long for them to be able to see their dad when they were use to seeing him everyday. Well on December 18th we surprised our kids with his homecoming. We had originally told them we were going to pick up a friend of mine at the airport but we were actually there to get our Dad! That Saturday was pretty surreal. It had been four months exactly since James had left Arizona...having him finally home was so exciting. I didn't think I would get so emotional seeing him but I bawled like a baby. The most amazing thing I have ever seen though was the welcome James and some other troops got coming through the terminal....you see James was wearing his Camo and as he as other soldiers were walking out of the terminal everyone was clapping and cheering for them. A few people came up and thanked James for his service. It was pretty neat to see the support people give our troops. They deserve it and so much more!

Phoenix Zoo with J-Man

I was able to go to the zoo with Jared and his preschool class. We had so much fun. Here are some pics from our fun day!

Its been way too long!

I can't believe how longs its been since I have blogged. A lot has happened since then. I will start at James' graduation!

James Graduation~ October 2010

So James graduated from basic training in October. It was the first time the kids and I had seen him since he left in July. It was the MOST amazing day for all of us. I left the Tuesday before his graduation. I packed up our little car, my two kids, and drove the 14 hour drive to Ft. Sill Oklahoma all by myself and did a pretty good job. Here are some pictures of family day and graduation!


Were all ready to go! :)

Ok so the next pictures will be from family day. That happened on a Thursday. We had to sit for about thirty minutes watching a few skits that the soldiers put together. There were so many of them I couldn't see James at all. It was driving me crazy! :)



The next few pictures are from Graduation! This was the most amazing trip for our little family! It was wonderful to spend time with James again. We were only able to spend a few days with him and had to leave again. It was so hard to leave him behind but I wouldn't have given up those days for anything. Our family bonded again...we were together and it was better then we could have imagined. We were also able to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa "Bula" (James' parents) They drove up for the graduation too. It was a great weekend! :)

A BIG change!

Today there are only 8 days left until I leave to see my husband. I cannot believe the time is almost here. I was able to talk to my hubby yesterday for three hours! It was the best Sunday I've had in a while. I miss that man so much. Ok so onto my big change...While I was talking to James yesterday he told me that the 10 week AIT training has now been extended to 20 weeks. 20 weeks without him? NO WAY...So in December I am moving my kids and I to Oklahoma. I was a little nervous at first but the more I read about where were going to be living and how much a furnished apartment would be ($625 btw) and that includes cable, all utilities, internet, beds, tv's, EVERYTHING plus I get to see James every weekend it makes it all totally worth it. I also realize that this is now my life...I have to roll with the punches and be ok with change...constant change. I have through prayer and a lot of self talking come to realize this.....I love the Army life. It has its rules and regulations and I actually like it. Will times be hard? Sure. Will James be deployed? Possibly. Through these first two months of James being gone I have come to see who I am. I am strong woman, mother, and wife of an American Soldier. I am also Army Strong.. :) Plus can you imagine going from hot Arizona desert weather to this?

I can't wait!

The start of a new school year 2010!

Today my little Amy started 1st Grade. It was a little easier then her first day of Kindergarden but still very difficult to let her go. She was a little nervous, but for the most part tried to be brave. It broke my heart when she said she wished her daddy was there. I took lots of pictures so he could see when he gets home! I also had the task of getting all four of my brothers and sister ready for school too. My parents took my little brother Steven to the MTC on Monday so I have been in charge of back to school shopping. It has been so much fun helping them! :) Steven will be leaving for two years on his Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to the Peru mission. There has been so much change for our family in the last month. I am so proud of Elder Hatch and Specialist Craig! They are both doing wonderful and amazing things with their lives right now. I love them both!