It hasn’t quite been a year…so I still have a chance of making amends and sticking to my goal of writing more often…right? I’m pretty sure more than a year has gone by in the past…so this is an improvement and that’s all we can hope for.
First, I am obsessed with the piano guys. WHO IN THE WORLD IS THAT TALENTED? The piano guys, that’s who. I think if my husband truly wanted me to be happy he would learn how to play the cello…and then learn how to play the drums on the cello.
Now that that’s out of the way, there have been a lot of changes this past (almost) year. My little sister got married and had a baby! My niece Genevieve is seriously a doll! I have yet to see a prettier little girl (major sibling rivalry will occur if I ever have a girl because she will, of course, be the newest prettiest little girl). Really though, she is blonde haired blue eyed perfection and we just love her. And Genevieve Rose is such a beautiful name that I’m sad I didn’t think of it first. Brian thinks she’s his little toy and likes to drag her around and do everything with her. It’s adorable. He is going to be a great big brother…someday…not now though, this is not some kind of cute pregnancy announcement.
MY HUSBAND JOINED THE ARMY. Yep, he finally joined! This has been such a long and frustrating process for the both of us. It’s been his dream since before we even got married and I have never seen him stick to something like he did with the army. After every discouraging set back and studying hard to be able to pass the ASVAB (many people know that english is not his first language), endless prayers, fasting, and seeking guidance to know what it was that Heavenly Father wanted him to do with his life he finally said, one more time. He wanted to try one more time to pass the test. He studied and practiced and his english had improved so he went in and HE PASSED! Heavenly Father definitely blessed us, especially him for his diligence. This was mid August. He went up to MEPS to secure his MOS (job within the army) and there weren’t available that he wanted, which was a mechanic, preferably helicopter mechanic. They told him a few times that nothing was available but he asked once more if they could check so the guy actually calls in to see if maybe something was open that hadn’t been entered into the system and there was! Still not his dream MOS but he will be working with large machines as a mechanic. Once the process started it happened really fast and he was shipping out November 19th! Others had to wait 6-9 months but his MOS allowed him to leave earlier. He’s now been in basic combat training for about 9 weeks and graduates next Thursday! He has done really well in basic, passed all of his tests the first try and was even made a squad leader! Though a small leadership position it makes me happy to see that others recognize his ability to be a positive and strong leader!
Brian and I fly out on Tuesday to see his graduation and spend the day with him. He moves on to VA for his AIT until May then 3 weeks in GA for Airborne school (definitely did not discuss this option with me before he signed up, but too late now…who jumps out of airplanes? My husband, I guess). So by June we should be all through with this training and be moving on to our first duty station! I am DESPERATE to find out where we’ll be stationed, but time is going by so quickly so I’m sure it’ll be here before I know it!
It’s rough having him gone, Brian misses him, and I miss him. It’s kind of fun though to only communicate through letters. It reminds me of my missionary days and the excitement of receiving mail!
Joel is such an amazing example. I’ve heard a few people describe basic as something very difficult, sometimes even disheartening. He has been positive throughout the whole experience! He says it’s hard but he loves it, and he loves working with the other soldiers, and he’s really made this a missionary experience. Before he left we talked a lot about what we expected from eachother, and especially what we both expected from him. I know what the army can be like and I didn’t want him to stop doing certain things (like prayer or scripture study) because of what other people might say. In one of his first letters from basic he shared something with me that made me know that I chose the right man They had had a long day and their first pt test so he was dead tired when he got back to his bed. Before he did anything else he knelt down to pray and he could hear a few people asking others what he was doing. After a few days people were used to it and even made sure to quiet down when he would pray. One night, while getting ready to pray one of the other soldiers approached him and asked if he was praying. When Joel said yes the soldier asked if he could join him. He was struggling with his pt and wanted to ask God for help. Those two are best friends now and that same soldier was just baptized last week! What an amazing experience! Last month’s visiting teaching message was about missionary work and this just really reminded me that we can always be missionaries!
More exciting news is that last month my sister in law had her daughter!! Sofia is beautiful and has TONS of hair!!! I just can’t wait until I can go visit and meet her in person
Last update for this post, my son loves doing dishes. Negative side is that I have to wait for him to fall asleep so I can go back in and rewash the dishes. Otherwise he freaks out. He’s my little helper though and he’s really made this whole thing easier! No time to be sad or lonely, which I am so grateful for!
