..................Army Life Adventures..................

Garmisch, Germany

2010-11-07T11:39:00.006-05:00

When we found out that we were going to Germany we agreed to make the most of it. We wanted to travel and see EVERYTHING! We told ourselves that if we came back with a little debt it was ok we would pay it off but we didn't want to miss any opportunity. So with that being said 3 weeks after we landed in country we were on the road to spend the 4th of July in Garmisch, Germany. Garmisch is a wonderful small town at the base of the Alps on the Austrian border. You have to remember that the Germans don't celebrate our independence so for them it was just another weekend. Our drive down was a little nerve racking. It was the first time we had ventured that far from the American post. By the time we got to Garmisch we were in heaven.

Once we were checked in to the hotel it was time to explore. We knew our end point was to see the famous Neuschwanstein castle but there was a few other things to see first. So our first find was a wonderful wood carving shop. They actually had someone in the shop doing some carving. That really impressed Rob. He just stood there staring. We picked up a few souvenirs and then it was off to see what we could find next. Then we stopped at the Weise Kirchen. It is an old completely white church. It was stunning to see.

Finally it was time to see Neuschwanstein castle. I had heard so much about it but I wasn't really prepared for it. It was awesome. The foundation stone was put down in 1869 and it was completed and fully furnished in 1873. The tour was wonderful. The rooms really were fit for a king. It was so hard to believe that they could build something so incredible in the 1800's. We would have loved to be able to roam the halls forever but alas the tour was over. It was a great experience and while it was our first castle to see it certainly wasn't going to be our last.

Ansbach, Germany

2010-09-19T17:00:00.006-04:00

When we got our orders for Germany we were lucky and got pinpointed to Ansbach instead of having to go to the "holding" unit in Wurzburg, Germany. Ansbach is a beautiful city and we loved living there. Besides the base the only "American" thing in Ansbach was a McDonald's. I did a lot of local shopping and got use to doing things the German way. I picked up a lot of language. Now I don't mean that I liked to speak it but I could understand almost all of it.

There was an old part of town that had been there for years. Luckily it was not damaged in World War 2. We had a favorite bakery, tailoring shop, German restaurant, cooking store and of course a wine store. They also had the best Greek restaurant and Chinese place. We loved going downtown, getting an ice cream cone and to walk around window shopping. It was all cobblestone streets and fountains, such a peaceful place.

One of the nicest places was an old church. It was all brick on the outside and the inside was just incredible. One Christmas Eve we when there for the service. Now we aren't Catholic, couldn't sing the songs in German and didn't understand everything the priest said but it was a beautiful experience. Here are some pictures from inside the church. They just don't maintain them like this in the states.

Change of Command

2010-09-13T12:54:00.013-04:00

I know that most of you will not understand the importance of October 7th 1999. It was a huge deal in our lives. It was the day John took command of Echo Battery 6/52 ADA. When we got to Germany in June we were told it would be at least a year before command would happen. Instead, we were a mere 4 months later, being told to start his equiment iventories which were worth millions of dollars. We were shocked to say the least. We felt unprepared but LTC & Mrs Lambert assured us we were indeed ready. They were the best leadership and mentorship we could have asked for at the time, only we didn't realize it.

While John was busy with inventories I was busy getting a reception planned. John had step by step instructions on what to do so he was good to go. I had planned lots of parties and get togethers but I still felt a little lost. Lucky for me the other wives stepped in and the community was use to helping host these. Food had to be ordered and invitations had to be sent out. To say nothing of the dignitaries that would be there and the seating charts that had to be made. To add more to the mix my folks were flying over so they could share in it, and Lady would finally be with us.

We always loved the promp and circumstance that fills a military ceremony, but this one was extra special. It was a such a huge step up in John's career. I had always been involved in the family side of the military, but it would be my first time running a Family Support Group the way I wanted. Before we knew it the day was upon us. Lots of running around making sure every thing was where it was suppose to be. John had worked hard on his speech and he really wanted to make sure it was ready. He has always been a very good speaker, even asked to guest speak at colleges about his many experiences with the military.

Finally it was time and we all filed into the tent to watch the ceremony. Even Rob attended the ceremony. He was almost 4 but he had been going to ceremonies like these since he was just a few months old. He knew what was expected and he never disappointed us. They always present the outgoing wife and incoming wife with flowers, but they had even thought ahead and presented my mom with some. The outgoing commander's speech was not as long as I thought it would be, and as incoming commander John's speech was wonderfully short. Then it was off to make sure everything was set up for the reception. We wanted to make sure it went off without a hitch. Luckily I had lots of helpers. Now it was time to jump in with both feet, whether we were ready or not.

strong

Berlin

2010-09-13T11:18:00.009-04:00

Labor Day Weekend 1999
We had the time, we had the money so why not take another trip. We wanted to ventured farther this time. So we decided on Berlin. It was a the first time we would stay in a German hotel. Talk about a different experience. Our bed was over sized king bed so we all three fit into it. One major surprise was the bathroom. We had a sink and shower stall in our room and the toilet was shared down the hall. We really didn't know what to think but we didn't have any other choice.

We walked the city for hours and saw everything we could. Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Zoo and of the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. Checkpoint Charlie was really interesting especially see the car that people hid in near the engine. Driving through the Brandenburg gate was something but then walking back through was even wilder.

The zoo was a total new experience. You could get much closer to the animals and when it was time to feed them the workers would just walk through the zoo with dead animals to throw them into the pits. Lunch was awesome and it was wonderful to have real American cooking again.

The second night at the hotel seem to be pretty uneventful. That was until about 2am. Then a fight broke out in the bar across the street from our hotel. We were woken up to someone being thrown through a plate glass window. We stood at the window watching with our mouths wide open wondering what would happen next. Then before we could blink the police where there and everything was back under control. Of course Rob had managed to sleep through the event.

Our trip came to and end too quickly and it was time to head home. The drive up took about 4 hours so we were expecting the same thing for the drive home. Boy were we wrong. We hit a major "stau", the German word for traffic jam. They are like nothing you would see in the states. Instead of 4 hours this one took us 8 hours! And once you get into one it almost impossible to get out.

Finally we were home and dropped right into bed. Unpacking would have to wait until tomorrow.

Nuremburg

2010-09-12T13:43:00.010-04:00

Like I said we weren't going to let any grass grow under our feet. Our first trip on the train alone was taking it into Nuremberg. It was a wonderful old walled city with lots of history. We walked from one end of the city to the other. There were so many things to do and see. It seemed like any time we turned around there was a street performer doing some kind of act. They were so much fun to watch.

Rob was only 3 1/2 and we were a little worried how he would keep up with all the walking but he totally surprised us. He kept up step for step and even when he got a little tired a ride on Dad's shoulders seem to fix it. He didn't understand all the history that we were seeing, but it wasn't anything a little ice cream wouldn't help.

There was a old town square that had a large fountain in the middle. All around it was an iron fence. On the fence was a gold ring and rumor had it that if you turn it one complete turn it would bring you good luck. We don't usually believe in rumors, but every time we went into Nuremberg we turned the ring.

Our habit became picking up some sausage, cheese and bread for dinner that night since we were usually too worn out by the time we got home. We loved our trips on the train and if we didn't have anything else to do over the weekend we would find ourselves in Nuremberg.

Germany Part 3

2010-09-10T22:41:00.009-04:00

June 6th 1999
The flight from Chicago over to Germany went off without a hitch and we were soon "boots on the ground". Our sponsors where waiting for us outside of customs and thankfully all our luggage made it through. Now we were jet lagged and has a three hour drive back to the base. Driving the Autobahn was a new experience and we arrived faster then we thought. We got checked in and just died. Things started moving quickly the next few days.

John checked into our new unit and I went to look at the house that was set aside for us. I couldn't believe how small it was. We were coming from a 4 bedroom house to a 2 bedroom apartment. It was going to take some creative planning but I thought I could get everything to fit. Since we had shipped our household goods so early, they were waiting for us there and our van was being delivered on Friday. John and I passed our driving test first time, our household goods were being delivered on Friday and John was picking up our van on Saturday. So things were moving along quickly.

While John was getting settled into the new unit I attended our first family support group meeting. Everyone was so nice and helpful that we felt at home right away. Friday was our first Hail and Farewell and it was being held in a real castle. What a way to start off our tour. Our sponsors were wonderful. They spent the weekend with us showing us around. First we went to Rothenburg and then took the train into Nurenburg. It was like a dream come true. We never thought we would get to see such things.

We made up our mind then and there to take every advantage of everything Germany had to offer. We didn't let much grass grow under our feet and for 4th of July weekend we headed south to Garmisch. We didn't speak a lick of German but we didn't let that slow is down. The weekend went great and we couldn't wait to branch out to other cities. We drew up a list of places we wanted to see and started checking them off. We didn't want to go home with any regrets.

In some ways Germany was the best thing that could have happened to us and we don't regret a minute of our time there. In fact we would love to get stationed there again especially now that Rob is older and he would remember so much more. But for now we can only hope.

Germany Part 2

2010-09-06T16:41:00.002-04:00

Our flights to Germany were overnight flights. St. Louis, MO to Chicago, IL to Frankfurt, Germany. The pilot has the final say as to what and who gets on his plane. As we were waiting in line to board the plane the pilot called us over to talk to him. In his opinion it was going to be too hot in Chicago for Lady to wait for our flight to Germany. He refused to put Lady on his plane. We were stunned. Totally speechless. We tried explaining that this wasn't just a vacation flight for us, we were moving there for 3 years. My parents had already left the airport. We didn't know what to do. He said we could try the next day and hope it would be cooler but John had a report date in Germany that we couldn't be late for.

The pilot said he would hold the flight for 15 minutes so we could decide what to do...thanks. We knew that my folks were going to visit my sister after they dropped us off since she lives close to the airport. So our first call was to her trying to track them down. While I was talking to her my folks got there. I was so stressed out by then that all I could do was to cry so John took over and made the arrangements. A very nice supervisor from United would take Lady to her office until my parents could get back. Our 15 minutes were up and we had to get on the plane. We boarded the plane, took our seats and I cried the entire flight to Chicago.

By the time we made it to Chicago I was a complete mess. I felt like I was being torn apart. At that point I didn't want to get on the plane for Germany. Lucky for us my brother lives in Chicago. He was waiting for us at the gate. (This was before 9/11 when you could still do that.) My mom had gotten a hold of him at the airport and filled him in on what was going on. He was able to tell me that my parents had picked up Lady and she was safe and sound. That made it some what better but it was hard to processes everything before our flight overseas. We were cutting our connection close because the pilot had held the flight for us. So my brother knew right where to go and he rushed us through the airport.

More hugs, kisses and goodbyes and we were on the plane crossing the pond. Rob fell right to sleep and slept the whole flight over there. Our sponsors were waiting for us at Frankfurt and all our luggage made it there OK. Now we just had a 3 hour ride to the base, get checked in and figure out where to go from there. We didn't have our van yet or our household goods or our dog but we had each other and we were finally in Germany.

Off to Germany Part 1

2010-09-04T12:22:00.004-04:00

June 1999
Once John was done at Fort Leavenworth it was time to head over the pond to Germany. We were so excited. When John joined the Army there were 2 places we wanted to go, Hawaii and Germany. We had been to Hawaii twice and now we were getting to check Germany off our list. There was so much to do before heading over. Our household goods had been shipped from Alabama so they were waiting for us in Germany. When John started at Fort Leavenworth we shipped our van and got by on just our Saturn. Rob and I already had our civilian passports since Korea but because Germany was an accompanied tour the government issued us a second passport for official travel and it contained a SOFA stamp (Status of Forces Agreement).

We had about a week in St. Louis to say goodbye to friends and family. You would think since we had moved around so much that this one would be easy but it wasn't. There wasn't anyway to just jump in the car and drive home or find a cheap flight and hop on a plane. Our friends and John's fraternity brothers gave us a good bye party which turned out to be more of a drunk fest. They claimed to be getting us ready for life in Germany...yeah right. Then our families held one to say good bye also. They both were wonderful and awful at the same time.

The day was finally upon us. All our bags were packed, documents in order and we had a ride to the airport. John and I had plenty of books to read on the flight, Rob had new toys and books to keep him busy and we had a big sedative for Lady. Everything was going smoothly. That should have been our first tip off. We gave Lady her pill, checked our bags, got through security. We watched out the windows at our gate as they rolled Lady out in her kennel. The pilot came over and checked on her and then started walking up the steps. We were standing in line to hand over our boarding passes when we heard our names being called over the intercom. We had no idea what was about to happen.

I was a bad bad momma...

2010-08-24T17:01:00.003-04:00

Once we were done at Fort Rucker, John had one more school he had to complete before we could PCS to our next duty station. Our household goods were sent ahead and off we went. John went to a command school at Fort Leavenworth, KS. It was only 6 weeks long so Rob and I stayed with family in St. Louis, MO. My folks kept Rob for us for 2 weekends and I drove out to see John. Then Rob and I went out to Fort Leavenworth one weekend for a visit.

Rob was about 3 1/2 so we were looking for something fun to do with him. We decided on going to a mini golf course. It started out as the prefect day. Not too hot, not to cold. It wasn't raining or very windy. But everything was about to change. We got to the course, parked, got our clubs and balls and headed for the first hole. We got through the first hole OK and then it happened. I realized that I had left my camera in the car so I went back to get it. I got it and headed back for hole #2.

Rob looked up, saw me and came running towards me. The problem was he didn't see a metal black rail that was hip high for me and forehead high for him. He ran smack into it. He was going so fast that he flew backwards and just laid there. It took a second but then John and I started running to him. As we got to him, he was just opening up his eyes. At first I thought he was OK. But then he started screaming and blood came rushing out of his forehead. People came running to help and we scooped up Rob and headed to the office.

The manager at the course called 911 and then tried to help us stop the bleeding. By then Rob and I were both in tears. The ambulance showed up quickly and the medics got to work. All we could do was stand there and wait. They got a bandage on his head and strapped him to a back board. I rode with Rob in the ambulance and John followed us to the hospital.

Once we got to the hospital they took us right away. Next there was iv's, blood tests, x-rays and a CAT scan. Lucky for us in the end he only needed stitches...thank god! We were told to keep him quiet for a few days and have the stitches taken out in 7-10 days. To this day, I can still see him flying backwards and the blood gushing out of his head. It always makes me feel like a horrible mother, Rob on the other hand doesn't remember anything.

A Trip to Florida

2010-08-24T13:48:00.009-04:00

John's time at Fort Rucker was great. No late nights, no staff duty and no weekends. Plus for the federal holidays we got 4 day weekends. So we picked Columbus Day weekend for a little trip. Since we lived so close to Florida we decided that Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay would be prefect. Rob was one month shy of turning 3 and that was a great age. Potty trained and still wanted to be seen with us:-)

The drive down Friday was uneventful and we found our hotel easily. We were up and out early Saturday morning. We had gotten free tickets in from my sister who worked at Busch in St. Louis so getting checked in was easy. The park was huge and it took us awhile to get our bearings. We decided to start off in the kiddie section. We weren't real sure how Rob was going to do. Our worries were put to rest quickly...he loved it! He went on ride after ride after ride. He wasn't scared of anything.

By the time we had hit every ride in the kiddie section it was time for lunch. We ate in a restaurant that was in the middle of an aquarium. Really cool. It was nice to get in out of the heat and sit down. In order to keep the relaxation going we opted for a train ride around the park. It was a great way to see all the animals they had there. The last thing of the day was seeing the whale show. It was a great way to end the day and get cooled off all at once.

After a quiet dinner and some time in the hotel pool we were all ready to call it a day.

The Next Step

2010-08-21T16:34:00.004-04:00

As our year apart drew to a close we had to decide what our next step would be. Part of the deal with John going to Korea was that we would get to pick where we went for the Officer Advance Course and then our follow on assignment. Now knowing the Army we didn't expect them to keep their word but to our shock they did!

We picked going to the Aviation Advance Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Why, you ask? Well I have an answer for that. We knew we wanted to try something different from Air Defense Artillery but what? I think it goes back to when John joined the military. He checked out the Air Force first but his eye sight was too bad to fly. So helicopters were as close as he was going to get. Oh, and it fit the timeline.

John got back from Korea and we spent a week visiting with friends and family before heading out. We got to little Enterprise, Alabama over the weekend and started in-processing Monday morning. As usual our first question was about housing. Rob and I waited nervously at the hotel while John got started. He came and got us at about 10am with a huge smile on his face and a handful of keys.

There were plenty of 3 bedroom homes on base and we were actually going to get our pick. As we drove around and looked we noticed some even bigger houses that were empty. So we went back to the housing office and got some keys for 4 bedroom homes. We couldn't believe our luck, we picked out the perfect house.

Korea Part 3

2010-08-13T11:53:00.006-04:00

One of the highlights of the trip, was getting to tour the DMZ. The trip to the DMZ was incredible. It was something that very few civilians get to see. In fact I was the only civilian on the trip, a big honor for me. First there was a dress code. The soldiers had to wear their Class A uniform and I had to wear a dress. We all loaded up in the bus and began the long drive up there. When we got close to the base it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. There was a lot of barbed wire and soldiers with rifles.

The first thing we did was to get a security briefing. During the briefing we had to turn in our military id cards and wear a special security badge. There was to be no picture taking and no sudden movements. Then we watched a movie about the history of the DMZ, it had a lot of facts that I didn't know. Next we got to see the "treaty" room. It was a small building with a rectangle table in the middle. There was actually a white line down the middle of the table. At the ends of the table there was a South Korean soldier on one side and a North Korean soldier on the other. We were told no talking and to not engage the soldiers.

We loaded back into the bus and continued with a driving tour. They drove us to the lookout tower. From there you could see the dividing line and the bridge that connected North to South. You could also hear the propaganda that the North blasted over the loudspeakers. We were told that we were being watched through binoculars and I just had a really creepy feeling. When we were done with the driving tour we got to eat lunch there at their dining hall. Then it was time for the long drive home.

I feel so lucky that I got to experience the DMZ. It's not a place that I would want to go back to but I'm glad I saw it.

Korea Part 2

2010-08-12T19:47:00.004-04:00

Seeing John in Hawaii was wonderful and awful at the same time. I knew that I missed him but after mid-tour I felt hollow. I had no idea how I was going to get through the next 6 months. We finally decided that since John couldn't come to me I would go to him.

Both sets of grandparents were going to take care of Rob and I was flying off for a month in South Korea. Now I had to get busy and get my passport and visa in order. I had never been out of the country before but I kept my eyes on the prize of seeing John. After a long flight from St. Louis to L.A. and then an even longer flight from L.A. to Seoul, South Korea I was in his arms again. Perfection!

Getting through customs was hairy. I couldn't read the signs and didn't speak the language. On top of that with my blonde hair I was getting a lot of stares...very unnerving. Anyway, I finally got through and there was John ready and waiting for me.

John was one of the lucky ones. He had a private "hooch" with a living room, bathroom, kitchen and bedroom. John still had to work during the day so I had some time on my hands. He explained the money and showed me the local transportation and then I was off. I would take the city bus downtown to Uijonbu and wander the markets. The markets were unlike anything we have in the states. They were loud, crowded and smelly...I loved it! As I walked by different stalls they would offer me a free sample. That could be a good thing or a bad thing.

Mid-Tour Leave

2010-08-12T11:10:00.005-04:00

Well, we made it through the first 6 mos and boy was it hard. Now we had better things to look forward to. We had spent our honeymoon in Hawaii and we couldn't wait to go back.

My parents once again stepped in to help and support our plans. We decided that I would go first and have a week alone with John. Then they would bring Rob so we could spend 2.5 weeks together as a family. They had their own vacation during this time. Then they would take Rob home and give John and I a few more days alone together.

The plan was to meet at the Honolulu Airport on February 14th. Yes, Valentine's Day, could we be any cheesier?! John was suppose to arrive first and wait until my flight got in. But I had other plans. I arranged for my flight to come in the day before so I was waiting for John when he stepped off the plane. It was a sweet reunion and made easier because I was already checked into our room at the Hale Koa.

We had a month in paradise and it was wonderful. We had a lot of quality time together to reconnect and once Rob got there our family was complete again. We did the typical things: ocean, beach, pool and room service. We also took Rob to Sea Life park, Bellows beach and Hanauma Bay. Things were going so well but we knew the hard part was coming.

My folks hooked back up with us for a few days. They have always loved John and considered him their son. So they were happy to get to spend some time with him too. Then it was time to say good bye to them and Rob. John had a real hard time saying good-bye because he knew how much Rob was going to change before he saw him again. Now the count down was on for us.

John and I were scheduled to leave the same day. His flight was first. Again the horrible good-bye, it never got any easier. The one thing that helped a little bit was my trip to Korea coming up in the spring. I was going to spend a month with him and help with his promotion to Captain. At least there were less days to mark off on the calendar.

Korea

2010-08-11T11:57:00.005-04:00

Being separated for a year was going to be hard. We just didn't know hard it would be. I hoped that being back in my hometown with lots of friends and family would help, and it did some what. We had been separated in the past but it had been only for a few weeks. Doing it for 52 weeks was totally overwhelming.

The grandparents were thrilled. Since we had lived so far away they hadn't been able to see Rob as much as they wanted. Now they had to decide how to share him. To keep Rob busy I enrolled him in a pre-school program 3 days a week. It was a great way for Rob to socialize with other children and it gave me a welcomed break. When John and I had talked about having a family we always thought it would be a 2 parent involved job. The Korea tour gave me huge respect for single parents.

We knew going into it that John would miss some things but it really hit hard that fall. It was the first Halloween that Rob understood and enjoyed trick or treating. Next was Rob's 2nd birthday. He was growing up so fast! Thanksgiving was spent dividing our time between the grandparents but we all felt John missing. Christmas was the hardest. Rob loved everything that had to do with Christmas-the tree, the lights, Santa Claus and of course presents!

We somehow muddled through everything. In fact, we started getting excited. John had 30 days of leave for mid-tour and we were meeting in Hawaii for 30 days!

Summer 1997

2010-08-10T12:29:00.004-04:00

We assumed we had everything behind us. We assumed we had a quiet summer ahead of us. We assumed we would be together. Well, you know what they say about assuming.

The Army decided even though we had only been at Fort Bliss, TX for 11 months, that was long enough. In fact they decided the whole unit didn't need to be there. Our unit was being deactivated. So all the LT's were called into a room to decide what they wanted to do. We were given three choices-learn the Patriot missile system, go to the officer advance course really early or go to Korea-alone-for a year.

John and I didn't like any of our choices. We talked for hours over the pro's and con's of each choice. We tried to figure out what was best for our family. Even though it was the hardest choice, we knew it was the right one for us. We picked Korea-alone for a year. At the time, we thought Rob was young enough to not remember, I could go back to St. Louis and stay with family, and mostly we could "check the box" on our own terms.

All the LT's met back into that same room to tell their choices. When it was John's turn he spoke up and said, "Korea". He was the first one and the room fell silent. The LTC sitting in front of the room turned to him and said, "Does Sue know this?!" John laughed and said yes, we made the decision together. The LTC just shook his head and turned around. We were granted our wish and ended up being amoung the first people to leave.

We had 4 weeks to get everything in order, for John and Rob and I. We had to pack and ship stuff to Korea, pack and ship stuff to St. Louis, and pack and store stuff for the year. There was also a passport to get and shots to recieve. Then we had to sell one vehicle and pack the other one for a three day drive across country. Lucky for us my folks flew down and took Rob back with them. Somehow we managed to get everything done in time.

Before we knew it, all the goodbyes were said and I was waving goodbye to John. Let the countdown begin.

New Year 1997

2010-08-10T10:40:00.003-04:00

We saw 1996 out with a bang. Our hope was that 1997 would roll along gently, but that wasn't in the cards.

The double ear infections that Rob had over Christmas marked numbers 9 & 10 for the year. The doctors decided that he needed ear tubes put in. I knew mentally they were right but emotionally I wasn't ready. I felt like he been through so much already that he deserved a break. The doctors however wanted the tubes in before he got another infection. So the surgery was set up for the first week in February. My Mom flew in to visit/help and she was both. By the time surgery was over John and I were ready to drop and Mom stepped in when we did. The tubes did the job and Rob ears finally started to heal.

Winter rolled on into spring and everything seemed fine. That was until the middle of May. Rob was set up to have his 18 month check up the 3rd Monday of May. It really was suppose to be a check up and one shot, the chicken pox vaccine. The Saturday before the check up Rob woke up with a fever and was rubbing all over. You can see where this is heading. By Saturday night the spots started showing up and by Sunday he was covered with them. The next two weeks were long day spent in oatmeal baths and lots of Calamine lotion. Luckily that helped enough and Rob doesn't have any scars.

Finally we were all healthy and ready to settle into summer. The Army however had other plans for us.

Christmas 1996 Part 3

2010-08-08T10:13:00.004-04:00

It was Christmas day and now that we had our answer, we had to figure out what to do with it. The doctor took any decision out of our hands and had Rob admitted to the Peds ward at the hospital. Rob was a very very sick little boy. He had always been thin and tall for his age but with the virus he looked thin and sickly. He really had lost a lot of weight...a lot.

A big thing with the virus was that he couldn't keep anything down. They started an IV to keep him hydrated, but unfortunately he has my veins and is a really hard stick. The nurses helped us get him settled in. He felt so awful that he didn't put up any fight. All he wanted to do was to lay there.

We were still fighting the double ear infections too. The antibiotics that he was on wasn't even touching the infection. He did get a little relief when both of his eardrums ruptured. That released the pressure and the infection was able to drain out of his ears. They changed his medicine again and we finally started making headway on the infections.

What we had to do now was wait it out and pray that he got better instead of worse. Once again we took shifts being with Rob in his room. I have no idea how we would have gotten through it if my folks hadn't been there. On December 30th he finally turned the corner. Thank God! All of the medicines kicked in and his fever went way down. They watched him overnight one last time and then discharged us on December 31st...New Years Eve.

The week between Christmas and New Years 1996 is a total blur to us but we made it through. Rob being a normally healthy little boy bounced back very quickly. We all vowed that next year would be better. We have since learned not to think like that very often.

Christmas 1996 Part 2

2010-08-07T22:10:00.003-04:00

Christmas Eve day was spent in the hospital er. It was a madhouse. We sat for hours waiting to be seen, then the doctor spent 3 minutes with us and ordered a bunch of tests. We weren't able to get his temperature down even with medicine. We did find out that he had double ear infections but there was something else going on. In the end they sent us home with Tylenol and antibiotics.

Christmas Eve night went on forever...and not in a good way. We had Rob in the bath tub trying to bring down his fever. While he was there I tried to get him to eat something so the medicine wouldn't upset his stomach too much. Finally around 1am we got him semi-comfortable and he slept. We all were so worried about him that we took shifts sitting in his room with him. He got up at 9am still feeling icky but we tried for a good Christmas morning. A nice breakfast was made and gifts were opened. Looking back we shouldn't have tried.

All morning his temperature climbed. Around noon I couldn't take it anymore, so off to the ER we went. This time we saw a different doctor. He looked at Rob's records and he looked at Rob and he didn't like what he saw. He ordered one more test and when the results came back we finally had an answer. Rob had double ear infections and the Rota virus.

Christmas 1996 Part 1

2010-08-07T10:37:00.003-04:00

It was early December and Christmas was right around the corner. I could hardly wait! I had finally convinced my parents to come and spend the holidays with us, away from home for the first time.

I spent days getting ready. I wanted everything to be perfect. I mixed up 4 different kinds of cookie dough and put them in the freezer ready to be baked. I had the right size turkey and a new stuffing recipe to try. We bought a new bed and bedding for the guest room and had it all made up. The house was scrubbed from top to bottom. John had even brought home an industrial buffer from work and we waxed and buffed the floors. Christmas lights were strung across the front of the house and we had the perfect Christmas tree set up in the corner of the living room where Rob couldn't reach it.

Things were really falling into place. That should have been my first clue, but it wasn't.

Two days before my folks were to arrive Rob got sick. His head started pounding, his ears ached, his belly didn't feel good and he had diarrhea. I took him to the doctors and they said it was some kind of virus. I was told to let him rest, get plenty of fluids and bring him back in if he got worse. So I watched him. The day my folks got here Rob's temperature was over 102. Mom helped me that night by sponging him off and rocking him.

Our holidays were getting off to a bad start but I had no idea how bad it was going to get.

1st Birthday

2010-08-06T14:55:00.004-04:00

It was the middle of November and we were really looking forward to Rob's first birthday. The hard part was that we were so far away from our families. We did have lots of friends that helped us celebrate and that made it special.

Turning 1 is a big milestone. I do think the birthday party at that age is more for the parents then the child. Rob had lots of things to open and it didn't take him too long to figure things out. As a typical kid he liked playing with the wrapping paper and bows more then the actual toys.

Now it was time for cake. I made cupcakes instead of a large sheet cake. All the kids got their own cupcake and they loved it. We put a big number 1 candle on Rob's cupcake and Dad helped him blow it out. Then before we could move, Rob grabbed the candle and started crying. The flame was out but the wick was still hot. Rob had nothing more then a red spot on the palm of his hand but to us if felt like he had burned his whole hand. Tears were mopped up and Rob dug into the cupcake. He was happy!

John and I still feel guilty about the burn but of course Rob doesn't even remember it:-)

Halloween

2010-08-05T10:16:00.007-04:00

We tried to put the nightmare ranch behind us. So we moved onto Halloween 1996. This would be Rob's first Halloween and we could hardly wait. Of course we were more excited then Rob was:-) I made his costume myself and he was a red M&M. I thought it turned out really cute.

John's unit was hosting a Halloween party. I somehow got roped into planning it. The kids got all dressed up in costumes and were ready for some serious tricker treating. All the offices had decorated their doorways and the kids went door to door. I think the kids liked the decorations as much as they liked the candy.

When everyone was done trick or treating we went down to the briefing room. I had set up 4 games for the kids to play and the winner would receive a special prize. We also did pot luck for snacks and drink. While the kids were playing the games I had people set up to double check the candy and everything came out clean.

The party was a huge hit! Almost everyone stayed until 11pm even though the invitations said 6-9. I was really tired by the end but I was so glad everything had went so smoothly.

We were done with Halloween, next we were onto Rob's First Birthday!

Rob and Lady

2010-08-02T12:40:00.003-04:00

Lady was our first "fur" baby and Rob was our first baby. They always had a special relationship.

They both got comfort when it was needed.

Rob "got" as good as he "gave".

They always shared, one for you and one for me.

They were always Best Buddies!

Dude Ranch Part 4

2010-08-02T09:03:00.003-04:00

The time of truth is upon us. We step out into the sunlight and blink to adjust our eyesight. Everything looks a little..."rough" in the sun.

Joe takes us to pick out a cabin and we had 4 to chose from. They were very simple adobe buildings. They had windows but no glass, a doorway without a door, slabs of concrete sticking out of the sides of the walls for beds and a dirt floor. Joe takes us to the pool area next which is really just a hole dug out from a back hoe and sided with cement. Joe proudly tells us that he had filled the pool with fresh water, just for us, yesterday. There are more sideways glances between John and I. Next Joe takes us to the "cantina" where everyone goes to relax, knock back a few and play darts.

By now I'm shaking my head NO every time Joe turns his back. There is no way I am staying there any longer, we are out of there. Joe says he guesses we want to start out horse back riding so he goes inside to call the babysitter for Rob. John and I have a very quick discussion and we both agree to leave. I go in and frantically pack everything up while John goes to talk with Joe. I get everything loaded into the Suburban, in goes Lady and I buckle Rob into his car seat.

Joe and John keep walking and talking their way over. John is trying to pay Joe for night and the food but Joe won't hear of it. He is so so sorry we are leaving. He says, don't you even want to stay and take a quick ride. We both say we are so sorry but, no we need to start heading home. Joe apologizes again if he had mis-represented anything. We assured him that he hadn't, it was just going to be too hard with Rob so little.

John and I got on the road heading west towards home in silence. We were both so shell shocked we didn't know where to begin. Finally we looked at each other and started laughing until we were crying.

They had definitely told us it was a working ranch but their definition and ours did not match up at all. We chalked this one up to "Live and Learn".

Dude Ranch Part 3

2010-08-02T07:29:00.002-04:00

Anyone that has been in the desert at night before can testify to how dark it is. So all that we had seen so far was the mobile home. We couldn't begin to know what the cabins looked like. Since it was so late and so dark outside Joe told us we would be sleeping in the mobile home that night. Then in the morning with the sun up we would get settled into our cabin. We felt bad, like we were putting him out too much but he wouldn't have it any other way. So John brought in our overnight bag and Rob's pack and play. Joe very kindly gave us the master bedroom with attached "bathroom". So we said our good nights and went back to get settled.

Lady picked one side of the bed and promptly fell asleep. We put Rob into his pack and play on the opposite side of the bed and with little fuss he fell asleep too. John and I weren't so lucky. The bed was lumpy and had a big dip in the middle. We laid there talking for quite a while about what we were going to do in the morning. Things weren't going as we had planned but Joe had been so kind we didn't want to hurt his feelings either. We eventually fell asleep with no plan of action.

Then "IT" happened. It was around 2am, John and I had finally drifted off to sleep when we heard this horrible noise. It sounded like a wounded animal crying right outside our door. The noise got louder as more animals joined in and it started sounding like howling. That was all Lady needed and like a shot she was up in bed between us cowering and whimpering. Soon our bed became a vibrating bed and of course Rob started waking up then too. I pulled Rob into bed with the rest of us, got him calmed down and we all drifted back to sleep around 4am.

At 7am there is knock on the door telling us to rise and shine, breakfast would be ready in 30 minutes. John and I looked at each other like "is he crazy"?! But he wasn't and Lady had to go outside badly! So John took Lady and a big stick out while I got Rob dressed. We all met up in the kitchen and breakfast was just as yummy as dinner was the night before. John and I were finishing up eating and trying to figure out what to do. Joe turns around and asks if we are ready for a tour of the ranch before we decided what activity to do first, so we said yes.

And still more to come...

Dude Ranch Part 2

2010-08-01T15:16:00.004-04:00

Bark! Bark! Bark! That's all we could hear. I don't even know what I would have said to John even if he had been able to hear me. We continued our slow drive up the "road" trying not to hit any of 12 dogs that were out there. We finally see a spotlight up ahead and come to a stop next to a mobile home. There was an older gentleman standing out on the porch waving us in. John opened the window and asked what to do about all the dogs. The guy says just a minute, goes inside and comes out with a shot gun, cranks it once the dogs take off. There you go he says so we grab a few things, Rob and Lady and hurry in.

He introduces himself as Joe...just call me Joe...and tells us to take a seat in the kitchen. We gratefully sit down, so glad to be out of the moving truck. There's a long minute of silence because nobody knew where to start. Joe starts off by saying I didn't realize your little one was so little. I said I was sorry I hadn't thought to mention that when they said babysitting available. Clearly my mistake! Another silence. John and I kept looking at each other trying to figure out what to say. Joe breaks the silence by asking if we were hungry. Of course we were, we had just spent 9 hours driving through the desert. He says, let me fix you some dinner.

While he was puttering around the kitchen John and I are whispering, what the hell are we going to do?! Soon the smells coming from the stove were killing us. He fixed us the BEST dinner of hamburgers and home fries we have ever had. And I mean ever! Joe was so proud of himself and told us he had just killed the cow this morning. That totally left us speechless. As Joe sits down to join us, I start giving Rob his last bottle of the night. Joe scratches his head while he watches me. He finally looks at John and says, I guess we should talk about sleeping arrangements for tonight. John and I look at each other and think "now what"?!

Still more to come...

Dude Ranch Part 1

2010-07-30T10:51:00.007-04:00

We spent the month of August 1996 settling into our new house. It was our biggest house yet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a laundry area. Rob was of the age where he was crawling everywhere and getting into everything so baby proofing was a must. We finally felt like we had a handle on everything.

I heard a commercial on the radio one day advertising a "working dude ranch" not too far from El Paso. I love horses so I was very interested. John had 4 days off for Labor Day weekend so I called to make reservations. The girl was so sweet. She did specify that it was a working ranch but there were cabins to stay in, a pool to use, a babysitter for Rob while we were riding and we could even bring, Lady, our dog. It all sounded too good to be true. You know what they say, "if it sounds too good to be true it usually is" and we were going to learn that the hard way.

John got a pass for the weekend and we left early in the afternoon on Friday. The directions sounded easy enough. Drive out highway 9 into the desert for about 180 miles then turn into the driveway on the left. So we set the trip meter and off we went. Of course mile after mile in the desert it begins to look the same. Rob started getting a little fussy so we saw a building coming up. We pulled over there and while I fed Rob, John went to ask where we were. They tried to be helpful but they had never heard of the ranch. We set out again thinking that we hadn't driven far enough.

We drove and drove and drove....nothing. It was starting to get dark out and we were really getting worried. So we turned around and went back to the building we had found before. I fed Rob again and John used the phone to call the ranch and get better directions. Apparently we had went too far. The ranch owner said he would go out to the road and tie a red shirt to a tree next to the driveway. Finally a landmark! We just prayed we wouldn't miss it in the dark. For once luck was on our side we saw the shirt!

We turned off the highway onto a dirt road that seem a little overgrown. We looked at each and shrugged, it was late and we had come too far to turn back now. Suddenly we heard lots of loud barking and our Suburban was surrounded by dogs. That didn't make Lady very happy at all.

More to come.....

Our PCS to Bliss

2010-07-29T09:23:00.004-04:00

It felt like we had hardly unpacked at Ft Polk when we received orders to PCS to Ft Bliss. In truth the Army had given us 18 mos to make the turn around. We had to decide how to get 2 vehicles, one large dog, one 8 month old boy and 2 adults across the great state of Texas. We decided to use our large Suburban to tow our Saturn so that we could all travel together. Man, we packed the Saturn to the gills, added the necessities to the Suburban and then we all piled in. The packers and movers loaded up their truck and off we all went to El Paso.

We decided to take the northern route so our first stop was in Dallas. Yeah, it was real fun navigating a major city towing a car and hauling our crew. We ended up at what turned out to be a seedy motel. But the nice part was that we were able to pull the Suburban right in front of our door to keep an eye on it. John got up once in the middle of the night to check on everything and what did he see but a "lady" of the night walking down the sidewalk. You can believe that we bolted in the morning.

We had an uneventful night in Odessa, TX and then pulled into El Paso around noon the third day. It was the last Friday of the month and we really wanted to find housing ASAP. So our first stop was the housing office. Luckily for us they had a house available, as long as we were willing to do all the painting on the inside. We jumped on it since it was a single home with a great back yard. Rob and I spent the weekend at the hotel swimming while John and some of his buddies painted the house. Thank God for good friends.

Monday morning came, we check out of the hotel and went to the new house to wait for our household goods. The movers showed up before 10am and had everything unloaded by 5pm. Now the "fun" would begin. Box after box to be unpacked with a 8 mo old wandering around. It would be weeks before everything was in it's place.

John's mom and ICU

2010-07-29T08:04:00.002-04:00

It was Monday morning, April 29, 1996 at 9am. John had left for work and then the phone rang. It was John's dad and at first it seemed like he just wanted to chit chat...very unusual for him. Finally he said Mom had to be taken to the hospital late last night. She had suffered a massive heart attack and was in the ICU. He didn't have much more information but he was going to visit her and call us back.

Once I was off the phone with him, I called the ICU myself. The nurse couldn't have been nicer but the news wasn't good. She said that if John and I wanted to say our good byes we should leave immediately. I had her type up a report and fax it to John's unit while I called John and gave him the news. He was shocked just like me. He went to talk to his commander and I started packing for a road trip. By 11:30am John was home with the paperwork for 2 weeks of emergency leave. We had 2 adults, one 5 mo old baby and one dog and we were on the road by 12 noon.

We got to St. Louis by 12 noon the next day. We stopped at my folks house just long enough to say hi and drop off Rob before we headed to the hospital. The next 2 weeks pass by in a blurr. It was a fine balancing act between taking care of Rob and spending as much time as possible in the ICU. By the time John's leave was over his mom was out of the ICU and into a regular room. There was still a long road ahead of us.

John's mom was to come home and build up her strength to be ready for a quadruple bypass. John headed be to Fort Polk and I stayed behind with Rob to help and cook for John's mom. I fixed lunch and dinner every day and she would take walks and naps everyday. Things were going very smoothly and at the end of 3 weeks she was ready for surgery. The surgery went really well and I was finally able to reunite with John at Fort Polk.

It would not be for long. We received word that the whole unit was being moved to Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX.

One happy baby

2010-07-27T14:23:00.002-04:00

Once I was recovered from my gallbladder surgery I was ready to go home to Fort Polk. Rob was 3 mos old, feeding well and sleeping through the night. Of course I think he was the best baby. He was calm and happy and smiled all the time. Once we were home everything slipped into a routine. Rob would wake up between 8 and 8:30, have breakfast, then he played in his play pen while I straighten up the house. Since we lived on post John was able to come home for lunch most days. Anytime John came home it was an event!

As soon as Rob would hear John he would start cooing, kicking his feet and waving his hands. He would not settle down until John picked him up...it was just too cute. Afternoons were spent swinging outside and then napping for a couple of hours. That let me get laundry done and organize dinner.

Things were moving along smoothly for 2 mos until we got a phone call. John's mom was rushed to the hospital and was in the ICU. Everything would change very quickly.

Gallbladder

2010-07-27T09:26:00.005-04:00

The first week of January 1996 marched on and I started feeling worse and worse. It all came to a head the evening of January 7th. I woke up at 2am with abdominal pains worse then labor. I was so scared and shaking so bad I couldn't even walk. So I crawled down the hallway to my parents room and woke them up. They got me out to the couch and then called 911. I don't remember much after that until I was actually in the room at the civilian hospital.

Apparently it was decided for me that Dad would go to the hospital with me and Mom would stay home with Rob. You will never know how much those decisions meant to me. I knew Rob would be safe, well fed and cuddled. And I knew that my Dad would take good care of me. He never left my side, gave me what comfort he could and asked the questions that needed asking.

At first they were afraid that something from the delivery had went wrong. I was only 7 weeks postpartum. I was still bleeding but not too heavy so they started testing. They did a complete blood work-up, pregnancy test(ya right) and x-rays. By the time all that was done the ultrasound department was open so they sent me as the first case.

By the time I got back to the emergency department they had their answers. Gallstones, lots of gallstones, and one was blocking the exit tube. I needed immediate surgery. The problem was that I was in a civilian hospital and since there was a military hospital within 50 miles I had to be transferred there. So Dad and I headed home.

Thank god for families. My sister came and helped Dad with Rob so Mom could take me to Scott Air Force base. I had brought all the tests results with me and by noon I was in surgery. The surgery went ok but they had a hard time waking me up. I ended up having to stay over night. That was hard because I was really missing Rob, even though I knew he was in good hands. Then when I got home I was too sore to hold him.

John and I talked it over and he hated that he wasn't there to help. But for the time being it seemed like I was where I should be so I stayed a few more weeks to recover. We couldn't wait to become a family again so hopefully time would go by swiftly.

Rob's 1st Christmas

2010-07-27T09:16:00.003-04:00

Since my folks had come down and been here for the first week of December we weren't planning on going home for Christmas but things changed. I just didn't seem to be bouncing back like I should. I was having some abdominal issues that I thought were from the birth but I just couldn't shake them. So when Rob was 5 weeks old we decided to drive up to St. Louis for Christmas. It seemed as though we needed more family help. John's folks were thrilled that we came home so they could meet Rob. Boy, talk about more spoiling :-)

Christmas day was wonderful. A houseful of family,friends and a newborn...it just doesn't get any better then that. Over the course of the next week I had lots of cramping and gas. I just didn't feel well. John and I talked about it and we decided to have me stay in St. Louis for a couple of week until I felt better. So on New Years day John headed back to Fort Polk for work knowing I was in good hands.

The first four weeks

2010-07-27T07:43:00.003-04:00

I knew having a baby was hard. They call it labor for a reason...lol. What I found harder was the first 4 weeks. Physically my body was shot. Emotionally my heart was full. Mentally my mind was tired. Over all I was completely exhausted and sleep deprived. I could never seem to get caught up.

So I sent out a SOS message to my folks and thank god they responded quickly. I had given birth on Friday and they showed up the following Saturday to stay 2 weeks. They walked in the door and there was hugs and kisses. We passed over Rob and explained that there were bottles in the kitchen and diapers back in the nursery. Then John and I high-tailed back to bed for 6 hours. We slept like the dead and Grandma and Grandpa got busy spoiling Rob.

I had been telling my mom that Rob looked exactly like John right down to his coloring. When she got there she couldn't believe how much he looked like John but she thought his coloring was off. In fact, she thought he looked pretty yellow. So the next day we took him in to get checked out. Sure enough he had a case of jaundice from being delivered so early. So the doctors had us switch from breast milk to formula and to try and set him in sunlight as often as we could. It sounded so easy...I just wish it had been that easy.

First we tried regular formula but he threw that up and had diarrhea. Next we tried a soy based formula and he threw that up too and had really bad gas. Finally we tried the most expensive formula and that did the trick. So with 4 weeks down we were finally able to get into a schedule of sorts...but not for long.

Having a baby

2010-07-24T11:45:00.004-04:00

My due date was December 11th and we could hardly wait. Now I will be the first one to admit that I took on too much towards the end. However, I've always had a hard time saying no especially with volunteering.

At the end of October was the base fall festival and I was co-chair for our group. We were going to make and sell egg rolls. So first was an all day shopping trip for ingredients. Next was 3 long days of putting the egg rolls together. I tried to do most of it sitting down but that wasn't always possible. Finally we had 3 days to sell them all. Because I was also the treasurer for our group it was decided that I had to be there all 3 days, all day long to handle the money. I made it through OK and we did make lots of money but boy was I tired.

Next came our Fall Joint Officers Coffee on November 16th. I was again co-chair for the event. It was going to be a PX fashion show followed by dessert and coffee. Lots of prep went into it but for the actual event but all I was "suppose" to do that night was to collect money at the door and hand out name tags. Of course that's not all I ended up doing. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I spent the night running around putting out fires and making sure everyone was happy. In the end, the evening was a success but I was exhausted.

Walking up the stairs at home I thought I started leaking water but being a first time mom I wasn't sure. So we called Labor & Delivery and they told us to watch it for an hour. We waited the hour worrying because it was too early to have the baby. At the end of the hour we went to the hospital to get checked out. I was having contractions but I wasn't leaking fluid. So they sent us home with strict orders for me to rest. By now it was 2am and John and I were so tired we couldn't see straight. As we got into bed, gave each other a kiss and rolled over, it happened. POP! and then a rush of fluid. There was no question this time my water definitely had broken. So we got up, grabbed the bags and back to the hospital we went.

We got there, got checked in and we were definitely having a baby soon. They tried for a few hours to let it progress on it's own but it wasn't going anywhere. So they started me on Pictocin (nasty stuff) to get things moving. It got things moving fast and furious and it went on for 14 hours. They didn't do epidurals at the military hospital so all I got was some pain medicine...thanks. Since my water had broken I wasn't allowed out of the bed but I finally had to stand up. As I swung my legs over the bed the baby dropped down big time! I told the nurse he was coming out but she said not yet. I laid back, they checked again and rushed me to the delivery room. I was right! Three pushes and out came John Robert, at 5:48pm, November 17th at 6lbs 4oz and 21" long and perfect.

It was truly love at first sight for us and he is still the apple of our eyes.

Baby's Nursery

2010-07-23T09:55:00.005-04:00

We lived on post at Fort Polk. Since John was a 2LT we qualified for a small 2 bedroom apartment. It actually wasn't too bad since we didn't own much furniture. Fort Polk is in the middle of nowhere in Louisiana. We had a small regular Wal-Mart, a few fast food places and a few bars. So trying to decorate a first time nursery was really difficult.

Lucky for me my friends and family came through in a big way. My mom would take pictures of stuff at a baby superstore in St. Louis and send them to me. I went through all of them, picked out what I liked, and then she went back and registered for me. I also had 2 baby showers that were wonderful. I got the nursery done early and most days I loved to wander through it.

I know this is a short post but my labor story deserves it's own post.

Pregnancy

2010-07-20T11:02:00.003-04:00

The year 1995 would move swiftly for us. John didn't have too much field time but he was really busy with a new job up on the battalion staff. He loved the new job but he always felt he had to work extra hard because he was a 2nd LT doing a CPT's job. I was very active with volunteer work at the battery, battalion and post level as well as being pregnant.

We had tried so hard to get pregnant that we loved every minute of the pregnancy, well except for the morning sickness:-) Since I had taken fertility medicine to get pregnant I was going to be followed as a High Risk. I stayed pretty busy but I was dying to feel the baby move. Once the baby started moving we would spend hours in the evening feeling it roll around.

Around 20 weeks I had my first ultrasound. They were going to do all the measurements and hopefully tell us if it was a "hotdog" or a "hamburger". The morning of the ultrasound I woke and started drinking. I didn't think I would be able to get enough fluid in me but I would sure try. Once we got there we didn't have to wait too long...thank goodness. They got me ready, had John come in and then they started measuring. The room seemed really quiet but I had to go to the bathroom so bad I didn't say anything. Finally I was allowed to go release half and then find out the big news. The tech got the baby on the screen with the "money" shot and turned the monitor towards us. She asked if we could tell. We looked at each other and kind-of shrugged. She turned the monitor back to herself, positioned the cursor on the screen and typed one word. This was it, we would finally know! She turned the monitor back around and we both whispered "hotdog"! It was a BOY and we were thrilled!!! She said the doctor would go over the measurements at my next appointment and then we were done. We couldn't wait to tell family and friends.

We thought all was well until my next appointment. The doctor told us that when they did the measurements they could only view 2 chambers of his heart. He didn't want us to panic but it was hard not to worry. He scheduled another ultrasound for the following week and boy did time drag by. The day finally rolled around and I was so nervous I couldn't drink as much. It worked out ok because the baby was a little bigger and they got better pictures. This time all four chambers were there and everything look great. What a relief!

Now if I could just get the nursery decorated and fulfill my volunteer shifts before the baby boy got here I would be doing great.

Trying for a baby

2010-07-19T17:48:00.007-04:00

I have to back up just a little bit. By the time John went on active duty we had been married for 2 years. When we were at Fort Bliss we felt like we were "stable" enough to start a family. So we started trying for a baby without much success. Anyone that knows me knows how impatient I am. So each month that went by without a pregnancy was agony. We had some testing done and there was a medical reason I wasn't getting pregnant. So we started on fertility drugs. We weren't looking for a multiple birth just one little baby...I didn't think that was asking too much.

When we got to Fort Polk I was happy to find out that I could continue my infertility treatments. Now if John could just stay around long enough for me to conceive that would be awesome. We knew that John was going to be gone the month of April so March was do or die to us it seemed like. Another reason for our urgency was that this was our last dose of Clomid. We would have to move on to injections and I hate needles. I had some weird idea that once I was pregnant I would just know. Silly, right?

John had been gone one week and each day was dragging by. I woke up that first Saturday not feeling well but couldn't pinpoint anything. Around lunch I decided a quick trip to the shoppette for something that looked yummy was a good idea. I got there and was wandering the aisle when something caught the corner of my eye. Diapers, of all things. I kept walking and thinking that something wasn't right. Then I realized I was a week late!!! How could I overlook that?! My only answer is that God gave me a week of peace so it would show up on a home test.

So forget anything to eat. I grabbed a test kit and rushed home. I got to the bathroom and put the test on the counter. Then I just stood there. I was afraid to take it and afraid not to. Finally I got the courage up to take the test and then I wandered the house for 5 minutes. The longest 5 minutes of my life to that point. I could hardly believe it when I saw 2 faint pink lines!!! I was so happy of course I started crying. Then I stopped. I was bummed because John wasn't there to share the news with. I had to wait for him to call. I started thinking that I would wait until he got home to tell him but when he called the next day I couldn't wait any longer. He was of course thrilled and for the rest of the deployment he told everyone he could find whether he knew them or not!

First Moves

2010-07-19T11:28:00.007-04:00

Over the next 6 mos of 1994 we would move twice. The first is from St. Louis, MO to Fort Bliss, El Paso, TX. I think overall this was our hardest move. We were leaving all our friends and family to move 1200 miles away to a whole new lifestyle.

We were only to be at Fort Bliss for 5 mos for the Officer Basic Course (OBC). We didn't qualify for on post housing and "technically" I wasn't suppose to go with him. So we found this cute little...and I mean little...one bedroom apartment. We only brought our clothes and our tv and rented everything else. Our household goods were put into storage until we PCSed to our first duty station. John attended classes Monday-Friday and had the weekends off. I spent the weeks with free time on my hands for the first time in my adult life. I got to know the other wives that were there and became good friends with them. Some I'm still in touch with today. (Hi April!!!) At the end of OBC John was the top graduate, no surprise there! His reward was to spend a month in Germany learning the German ADA system and of course to party. He had a great time there and learned alot while I waited for him back in St. Louis. He got back just in time for Thanksgiving. We spent the day with our families and then we were on the move early Friday morning.

Off to Fort Polk, Leesville, LA. Lucky for us we weren't the only ones. Our friends the McC's and Pav's from OBC were assigned there also. In fact we and the McC's got to Fort Polk the same day. So Monday morning the guys headed off to sign in together and April and I went to housing together. For once Housing was nice enough to let April and I go look at housing together and they had lots to offer. By lunch we had picked out the top floor of a 4 plex, across the stairwell, together. We met the guys for lunch and then arranged for our household goods to be delivered. The rest of the week went by quickly trying to get signed into everything and to start unpacking boxes.

We would have many good times with the McC's and we are happy to still consider them friends.

Graduation and Commissioning

2010-07-19T09:10:00.005-04:00

The big moment was upon us, Graduation! John had worked so long and hard towards this moment. School has always been extremely important to both of us and to finally have the end in sight was great. The morning was bright and sunny and with hundreds of graduates we knew it would be a long day. Finally his name was called and across the stage he went. This was the second time I had watched him cross the stage and even with 3 more times to come I couldn't have been more proud.

Next came John's commission into the U.S. Army. The ceremony was held at the chapel at Washington University. John and I were both extremely nervous. It felt like and it was a huge step. Almost like our first grown up one. We knew that with this everything would change. We would pack up and move thousands of miles away from all our friends and family.

John's Reserve unit had one last surprise for us. They were awarding John with an Army Commendation Medal. It was a wonderful addition to the day. We had 2 days to celebrate with everyone before we were on our way to Fort Bliss, Texas. Boy were we excited!

The waiting game...

2010-07-15T14:32:00.005-04:00

As fall rolled along we made it through Thanksgiving and Christmas. We became more and more anxious about where we would be come spring. To help break up the waiting game we decided to use my travel benefits.

The first week of 1994 we flew first class (free) to Washington DC. We stayed at a partner hotel for very little and everything to see in DC was free. You have to remember we were still poor college students. Being the way I am, I had every minute planned out. We saw all the Smithsonian's, Museums, and Memorials. I had even arranged a special White House tour through our Senator.

Finally our waiting payed off. The morning we were scheduled to tour the Pentagon we recieved a phone call. John's Commander tracked us down to our hotel. He was calling to give us the good news. John had gotten his first pick and first choice. He was going to be an active duty Air Defense Artillery (ADA) officer. We still didn't know our first duty station but we did breathe a big sigh of relief.

First Year

2010-07-12T16:41:00.003-04:00

Our first year of marriage perked along pretty well. I think it was pretty typical. We both worked hard and saw very little money. But we were happy. By the time summer of 1993 was upon us the Army was ready to separate us again.

The first was Advance Camp for ROTC. It was 6 weeks long and held at Fort Lewis, WA. It was a great experience for John. He got a chance to take part in each "branch" of the Army. He tried everything from shooting a gun to driving a tank. This was suppose to help him decide what job he wanted in the Army. I don't remember what his preferences were but I know his top choice was Air Defense Artillery or ADA. We also had to put in our preferences for our first duty station. Again, I don't remember the whole list but I know the top two were Germany and Hawaii and the bottom two were Fort Polk, LA and Korea. We would wait months to find out and had plenty of things to occupy our time with.

Our other excitement that summer was Airborn School for the Reserve Unit. I thought he was crazy for wanting to jump out of a perfectly good airplane but he couldn't wait. I was glad it was only 3 weeks long but it couldn't go fast enough for me. Thanks to my job I was able to fly down for the last 5 days. I got to sit through 3 day jumps and 2 night ones. One jump would have been enough for me. After the last day jump it was taking John a long time to make it off the field and I was starting to get really worried. Finally one of the jump masters came over to where I was pacing and told me he was ok, that he was just helping someone who got stuck in a tree! Finally I was able to pin on his jump wings after he got his "blood wings" from his stick leader.

As summer came to an end we settled back into school and work. Like I said before we had months to wait until we found out the next chapter of our Army life.

Wedding and Honeymoon

2010-07-10T15:37:00.006-04:00

As 1991 wrapped up and 1992 started up, plans for our wedding came to the forefront. John had school, work and ROTC to keep him busy and I had my full time job and all the wedding preparations to keep me busy. We didn't want to spend a lot of money on our wedding and frankly we preferred cash for gifts. We wanted to have as much as possible set aside for our honeymoon in Hawaii. We were oh so young but determined to do things our way. I had my dress custom made from my own design and John wore his dress blues for the occasion.

April 25th dawned bright and beautiful. We had a simple but lovely ceremony at John's church immediately followed by a reception in the fellowship hall at the church. Our pictures, flowers and the cake came from local business and we couldn't have been happier with the way things turned out. Looking back I think we spent a total of $2500 on everything.

John's grandmother had not been well enough to attend the ceremony. So as soon as the reception was over John and I headed to the hospital in all our wedding finery to surprise her with her flower bouquet. As soon as she saw us she starting crying tears of happiness. To this day John and I are so happy we made that effort since unfortunately grandmother passed away two days later. Grandmother Warmann we still miss you!

John had to finish up his spring classes and take his final exams. So we waited until May 23rd to start our honeymoon. This was a big undertaking for us. Up until this point all of our travels had been local and in the car. Suddenly, at age 20, we are getting on an airplane and flying half-way around the world by ourselves. The honeymoon was everything we expected and much much more. We felt like we were in paradise and everything went smoothly.

We came back from Hawaii with a solid start to our marriage and great communication set in place.

Reserves and ROTC

2010-07-09T12:58:00.005-04:00

John loved his monthly drills but they left him wanting more. He even started thinking about making the Army his career. Those thoughts led to more questions then answers. We talked about going active duty Army instead of becoming a police officer. So we looked into our options. The one we liked most was to stay in the Reserves and join the ROTC program at Washingtion University. The ROTC program started grooming John to become an officer in the Army and he was allowed to continue his drill weekend with the Reserves. By doing things this way we were also lucky because John wasn't on a scholarship so if he didn't want to go on Active duty he wouldn't owe the Army any time.

Things smoothed out and John enjoyed his time between me, classes, ROTC, Reserves, and a part time job. The time really flew by. I continued working full time at TWA and was doing lots of overtime. That paid off for me in terms of a promotion. I became a supervisor in charge of helping out travel agents and their high end customers. We were both so busy it was hard to take advantage of our free travel benefits.

By the time the summer of 1991 came around, John was ready for a bit of a break. Unfortunately the Reserve unit had other ideas. It was time for his two weeks of annual training. This year it would be in the form of a "Warfighter Exercise" at Fort Sill, OK. This also was the first time we would be seperated for any length of time thanks to the Army. It may have been the first time, but it was not in the least the last time. We had no idea how many separations were in store for us.

College and Work

2010-07-06T13:24:00.010-04:00

Desert Storm may have only lasted 100 days but our time with the Army was far from over. We finished that semester of college but big changes were coming for the summer. John originally went in on the split option plan. He was suppose to attend Basic Training that summer and then AIT next summer and attend monthly weekend drills with a Reserve unit in between. Once he started Basic Training there was no turning back. About 3 weeks into it he changed his option plan and decided to go to AIT right after Basic Training. That meant he would miss the start of the next semester of college. To try and stay current for college John enrolled in some mail order classes and worked part time.

I was having some thought changing moments myself. I was not happy in college. At the time, even though I had a full scholarship, UMSL was not where I wanted to be. I did what I thought was best and dropped out but I really regret not sticking with it now. I found myself kind-of at lose ends and worked some dead end jobs. I helped get a Walgreens store up and running but really wanted something in the travel industry. I thought that by working at a local hotel I could get my foot in the door but that didn't seem to help much. I finally decided to go back to school just not college. I attended a technical school and became a reservation agent for TWA which was then headquartered in St. Louis.

Desert Shield/Desert Storm

2010-07-05T14:57:00.006-04:00

I have never been good with history and dates but one date that will always stick in my mind is February 24th 1991. That is the day the ground assult started in the first Gulf War. February 24th is also the day John changed our lives forever. He joined the Army that day. It was not anything we had really talked about. We had planned on staying in St. Louis with him being a cop and me working at TWA. Desert Shield had been in the news for days and it really was affecting John. So on the 24th he decided to do something about it.

Next he had to tell me...not a pleasant task in his mind. We went out for dinner at our favorite resturant, Pasta House. While we were waiting for our table the news come on in the bar. They broke in and said "America is at War, Desert Storm has started". I turned to John with my mouth wide open only to see him turning pale and not able to meet my eyes. Before I could say anything the hostess came up and led us to our table. John immediately opened that menu and tried to act like nothing was wrong. We placed our orders and I pinned down John with my eyes. He took a deep breath and said, "I did something today you may not be too happy about." I had no idea what was to come. He said he felt like he had to do something so he joined the Army. I was speechless, scared and upset all at once. I didn't know where to begin.

I don't remember much more from that night, but it definitely changed our lives forever.

Dating

2010-07-03T18:46:00.009-04:00

John and I spent the next 4 years committed to each other. There were homecoming dances and proms,graduations and first college classes, frat parties and MANY date nights. We shared so many of the same interests that finding something to do in St. Louis was never a problem. Forest Park became of favorite haunt of ours. Whether it was winter and sliding down Art hill, spring with paddle boats on the lake, summer at the Muny or a crisp fall day walking around the zoo. We spent a lot of time together.

We also talked about the future a lot and what we both wanted out of life. It seemed only fitting that the place we spent a lot of time at would be the place John asked me to be his wife. Looking back now we were so young and didn't have a clue but we knew we wanted to be together forever. So on a hot summer night during the intermission of The Little Shop of Horrors at the Muny John got down on one knee and proposed. Of course I said yes and I haven't taken the ring off since!

Our Meeting

2010-06-25T14:19:00.011-04:00

My whole world changed on Black Friday 1987. That was the day I met the love of my life, John. We both started our first job on the same day at Chick-Fil-A. This is just one of the many "first time, same day" adventures we would begin together. We didn't start dating that day but we were on our way to becoming best friends. We attended different high schools, John at McClure North and me at Hazelwood East. We began to work enough shifts together that a romance was soon blossoming.

The summer of 1988 belonged to us becoming "us". A major fact that we uncovered was that we shared the same birthday. Seriously same day, same year! It's July 21 and I'll leave you hanging on the year. People are always amazed by that fact. By the time John's senior year started in August 1988 I was wearing his Senior Class ring. By unspoken agreement Friday nights were date nights and Saturday nights were spent closing and cleaning Chick-Fil-A.