Looking Back At Where I Was

3 years .... that is how long it has has taken me to see just how much my life has changed.

It doesn't feel like it has been almost 3 years already but sure enough we are about to hit that point.
3 years of  marriage is right around the corner and holy cow how things have changed in that amount of time.

1. Dealing with a hardship tour right after we got married.
2. Custody battle with people who only wanted our kids for the money.
3. Our First Year of marriage pretty much totally apart.
4. Giving up the chance to pcs to another country due to the on going custody battle. Only to find out     we could have gone.
5. PCSing only days after my husband returned state side.
6. Moving to a whole new state far away from the East Cost I have always known and loved.
7. The struggle of secondary infertility which I never thought I would deal with in my life time.
8. The loss of babies once I was able to get pregnant.
9. Moving to a 3rd state with in 1 year.
10. Getting pregnant and being on bed rest with our youngest.
11. Having our little boy born 6 weeks early after a long and difficult pregnancy.
12. Surviving the NICU life and not being able to hold him after my c section.

The list just goes on and on yet here we all are standing here together. Happy, stronger than ever and ready to move on to the next phase in our lives.

It didn't seem like we have come that far but we did. We have made it through tornado's and storms that I never thought we would ever go through. We fought to stay together and grow our family.

To think that 3 years ago I was just a gypsy girl sitting in an a crappy apartment with my best friend and crazy kids chatting about what the future would hold for us. I was controlled by my family and my ex husbands family. I had no real control or say over my own life. I wasn't able to be the mom or friend that I wanted to be. I honestly thought that living in campers and tents and any where else I had lived in the past. Was going to be the hardest time of my life but let me tell you I was wrong. All of the hard things I went through lead me to where I am right now. Every failed relationship was showing me what I didn't want in my life. Every tear I cried was making me tougher for my future life. All the years I was a single mom was making sure I could handle the house and kids. On my own because my husband would be working often. Every thing has brought me and my children to this life that we live now.

 I never in my life would have thought that I would find the man of my dreams. Fall madly in love and that we would be where we are today. I never thought I would have this kind of happiness but here I am every day living a life that I am so blessed to have.

I honestly thought my best friend would still be living with us or maybe she would be in love and married with a baby of her own by this point in our lives. She helped me raise my older two for most of their lives. She is going to make an amazing mother and wife one day. I will forever hold out hope for her to fall in love and be happy. I could wish nothing more for her than true happiness and a family.

Chatting with her the other day brought all of this up to me, it reminded me just how much my life has changed. I don't know what life has in store for our future but I know that it will be amazing. So when your having a hard day. Just sit back and think about how far you have actually come in life. Think about where you were and where you are now and what it had taken for you to get there.

Could someone have told me that back then, umm NO. Not a chance that I would have listened to them but I see it every single day of my life. I see the changes coming to the lives of my friends. I see their struggle bringing the to wonderful places in life. I know that the hardships are not over for me and my family. Deployments happy, hardships happen but ya know what life is amazing and beautiful. Just keep your head up and know where you want to be in and life. Faith and hard work will always get you where you need to be, even if it is not where you thought you would end up.

Because life behind these gates ....  is always an adventure!

Always, Steph

Expanding Into Vlogging

AHH! Here I go!!
Okay so As much as this scares me so badly. I have ( after my husband and best friends telling me to go for it. ) decided to go a head with my vlog on youtube of course. 
I honestly have freaked out big time about this issue. Simply because I am worried that I will get made fun of, no one will watch my videos, I will not be good enough at it or lord so many other crazy things going through my mind. 

I have always had a fear of  people looking at me. I would rather sit in the back of the room and do my work silently than to have someone look at me. I know that everyone who knows me personally knows I am a loud mouth opinionated woman. That is very true however I have a lot of fears about people looking at me and judging me. 

Growing up with a crazy family who puts you down every chance they have ever gotten. Makes me want to run and hide as I know that they will some how find out about my vlog and it will be open season on me. They have gone out of their way time and time again to try to mess up my life. I do not know what I have ever done to these people but I am just done being scared of them. I am done fearing that they will spread their lies and make me out to be trash. 

Most families do not act like this or treat any humans this way but its what I was born into so I guess to me it is normal. I have removed those kinds of people out of my life but still as any one knows who has been abused in the past. The fear is always still there that they will come and try to mess up my happy little life just because they think " they have the right. "

With that said ....  I will be posting post on here with my videos that I will make. I am not saying they will be the best thing you have ever seen. However its one step at a time with everything I do. I know I need to just jump in head first and not be scared of being myself. No matter what others might thank. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way and that will continue to support me on my next adventure. I could not do it with out  the support. 

- Stephanie 

Military Life .... Wife of the Guard

Long work hours

being called in on his day off

never ending training 

no contact while he is at work

praying nothing happens where he is harmed

These are things that every Military wife has to deal with every day of her life. Normal to some and very stressful to even think of to others. 

For a new wife the stress of this life can be a change she thinks shes ready for but trust me you can never really be ready. 

Ifs a life style as that no one can understand unless they have lived this life. Even then its hard to understand how times have changed. Even with the pro wives things are never they same. Every different MOS in the Military brings its own set of challenges.

For us right now that means that I had to learn as much as my husband had to learn about his new MOS.

My husband is Guard in a Military prison which whens he works long hours and we have no contact the moment he walks out the door. There is no being able to call him and see how he is. No calling him if something goes down  and I need him home. He can't come home and I am all on my own here. I thought that he worked a lot when he was stationed in Korea. I thought that was hard even though the kids and I were not there with him. Boy was I wrong he seems to work a lot more now then he ever did back then. 

12+ hours of no contact and we never know when he will be working so we just try to go with the flow. 

I looked up a lot of information about how things work for a 31E wife. There was little to no information out there to help us. To tell us what to expect or even lacked in groups of other wives out there.

There was little to no information to help me along my way. I spent my days searching the internet looking for any connection. Only to find that their were more groups of Prison wives then I thought their could be. However their was hardly any groups for Guard wives. 

It was honestly hurtful and I felt like I was all alone. I had no FRG, no friends who understood or anyone to lean on. 

I thought that maybe I would find some place to belong once we moved to our next duty station where the kids and I could be with my husband. 

Once again I found myself beyond wrong. Yes I live near a post where pretty much everyone is a Guard wife however these wives were like no other. 

They were like a tribe of ladies raising their children together. With their husbands always working what other option do they have? 

To become part of this group has been hard to put it nicely. I have been here for  around 6 months now and still I feel alone. 

I have yet to make friends, yet to really meet anyone and I feel lost. 

I find myself  remembering that I wanted to be part of the FRG yet there seems to not even be an FRG here. The spouse club has not be active really sense we came right as they  were ending their year. Hopefully they will be starting back up in the next 30 days. 

My husband is gone all the time and I just hate this. 

Being a guard wife sucks however I love my husband and I know that his career will change with time. He already talks about how he wants to make a change no to his MOS but to what he is doing right now. 

Things every wife should know about the 31E life

1. Your husband will work a LOT!

2. you will be stuck dealing with everything

3.This MOS has a very high divorce rate

( yes I said that and it is true! for those of us who are new to this life it is hard but just because they say we get divorced more doesn't mean you will get divorced. )

4.being independent is VERY important

5. you are NOT alone 

( we are working on getting a better network together for wives of 31E's , Military Guard wives connect with us! feel free to email me I am here for you! )

6. Just because they say that they can get their new duty station with in the first few weeks if not before he goes to Korea... 

don't believe that. 

A lot of the guys don't get their new duty station until the last 30 days they are there. 

If you have any questions feel free to email me at any time with any questions. this will not be my last post about 31E wives!

Catholichomeschoolingarmywife@gmail.com

Where Is Cursive Writings Place In The Common Core World?

That is my question for the who country or maybe the world.

I sit here trying to help my kids.  

Learn something that seems to just like a forgotten language.

In the public school systems today or at least in about 41 of the public school systems today. 

I never thought I would say that or that it was possible to feel like its been forgotten.

When cursive writing has been such a huge part of our history.

I loved learning cursive though I will admit my signature really needs work.

I loved feeling as if I was linked to those amazing people who were in our past.

George Washington

John Adams

Charles Carroll of  Carrollton

Thomas Jefferson

and so many others.

I believe that there are some things that we should pass down to the next generation and some that simply shouldn't be passed down. Though so many harmful things get passed from one generation to the next.

I have spoken before about the effects that the  No Child Left Behind program has caused out children. How it has pushed the things that those in charge do not care about to the side to make way for the future. To make sure that the change would be so slight that not many people would notice it. 

That those who are hurt by it have no way out not way to deal with the matter at hand. 

That program lead to what is now  Common Core State Standards. 

 A standard that has taken away cursive writing and everything good about school. 

The push us to turn our kids in robots and take away pieces of history that our children should be learning today. 

I personally teach my children cursive writing and about why its so important for them to learn it even if " they dont need it ." I understand that now days everyone write text and emails. No one ever  seems to write hand written letters anymore you dont even need to know how to sign your name ( again something that is done in CURSIVE WRITING! ) because soon there will be only electronic signatures done. 

The history of Cursive writing stems back to the time before our country was even founded. To a time that people seem to forget made each and every one who we are today. The good bad and ugly parts of us that we might not love or be proud of but your personal past made you who you are. Just like history made us all who we all are today. It changed the world and even those who once couldnt afford to go to school, and learn to read and write dreamed of there children. One day having the free to learn to read and write. To one day be able to sign their own name on to a paper or contract or what ever it might be. 

We are giving up so easily for the rights that those who came before us fought and died for. What is next? What rights that had been earned are going to be flushed down the drain because we feel its not useful to us anymore? Cause we feel like its not whats right for our children to learn or maybe just maybe because we dont pay enough. Attention to know what is really going on in the schools that some many of our children attend. 

It breaks my heart that so many people are okay with stepping aside and allowing other people to take away some of the best parts of education. Striping it down to the bone so that they can build it back up to be what they want it to be. 

Some people might be willing to stand aside and allow this to happen or ignore it as if that will make it go away. I and the large group of ladies I know around me am not willing to allow 

anyone to take away Cursive writing. To remove it as if it never shaped this country.

Are you willing to sit aside and let it fade into the back ground?

Power of the sisterhood

Yesterday I found myself scrolling down my facebook news feed when I read a post from Ashley Netzer stating.  

            " STOLEN!!!! Please help me get my baby carrier back. This was the one I desperately wanted for so long and is now discontinued. Stolen on post at JBLM Wa. Thank you! "

There I found myself feeling angry about someone stealing from another spouse.

Thinking that it would be okay.

Im not a baby carry wearing kind of mom but then again my kids are 8 yrs and 9 yrs old so there wasnt many carriers out there back when my kids were little. 

I found myself angry about the whole ordeal and it wasnt even my business. 

Today I woke up to see if hopefully Ashley had been lucky enough to have her Tula returned to her. However that is NOT what I awoke to see and oh how the update shocked me. 

 I found a wonder lady had mad a GO FUND ME page for Ashley. 

To help pay for her to be able to get a Tula, maybe not the same one that she had as that one has been discontinued at this time. However it has shown me and many like me that the power of the Military wife community.

Becca Ryan Falkey a Army wife her self  created the page to help show Ashley that even though someone stole her tula that there are people out there. Who will support her and show her how much the community cares about her. 

On the Go Fund Me account you will find this statement from Becca.

" Ashley's Tula was stolen out of her car which was parked in her personal driveway. I wanted to show her that as a community we can come together and support each other to make up for the scum bag that took it! "

After only 14 hours the goal of the $200 to buy Ashley a new Tula was met. 

Thanks to a few awesome giving people who wanted to make up for what someone unknown had done. 

The support of the community is beyond anything I could think it would be. I honestly wish that I could have done something to help her. but the amazing efforts of the Military sisterhood once again come though! 

If you want to know more about the story

check out the link below.

The amount of support and shares of this story proves that when your in need that the Military sisterhood will come though. We try every day to be there for one and other through the good times and the bad. 

I am so blessed to be part of such an amazing community that is truly there for each other. 

I hope that this kind of love and support will keep going to show every Military wife that the sisterhood stands!

That there are people that will be there for you and that together we can reach any goals we set!

New Tula For Ashley

The Truth About Who Can Get Custody Of Your Kids ....

 I have seen A LOT of people these days trying to find out how custody battles really works these days! 

First off what you need to know with out a doubt!

Custody battles ARE NOT how they use to be!

" Back in the day " Custody battles use to be between a man and a woman. 

Fighting for their biological or adoptive children they have together.

No one else had rights to fight or try to fight you for your rights to your children.

.... If only that's how it still was. 

Now days there's A LOT more to know and A LOT more to deal with when it comes to these type of issues and I mean A LOT!

I have been through a custody battle as well as dealt with other issues myself  with all of the craziness. 

 People often come to me asking me these questions. 

( Keep in mind I am NOT a lawyer and this is NOT legal advice please seek a lawyer for more information however as a parent and someone who has gone through this stuff myself I have asked a lot of questions and done a lot of research about laws and how things work and want to help those who are doing the same thing )

Who can get custody or seek visitation of your kids?  honestly these days anyone can get custody of your children or seek visitation of your children. 

 Do step parents have rights? in some states step parents have rights only if they can prove they have had a relationship with your children. but you can fight this. 

 Can a grand parent really take your kids away from you? grand parents have the rights if they fight for those rights and if they can get a judge to agree with they that they deserve rights to their grand children. In most cases they only get " rights or even visitation " if they can prove that they have had a past relationship with there grand children. such as the children lived with them ( even if you lived there too )  or they had been the child care provider for the child ( children ) for a good period of time or possibly any period of time depending on the judge.

Can my ex husbands ex wife really fight us for visitation of our kids just because she lived with him and was part of my kids lives for a year? In some states YES  former step parents , if they can prove they had a relationship with the children can get rights or visitation with your kids. 

Who has the right to be part of my kids lives? Honestly you as the biological parents have the rights to decide who is in your kids lives. though anyone can try to change those rights.

Do I get say in who is in my kids lives or not? That depends on if you have to go through a custody battle or not. 

Do my kids have the right to say who they do or do not want in their lives? Yes your children at least the ones over the ages of 6 should be able to say what they want in their own lives. Most judges do take that into account. 

Do I have the right to home school my kids? YES!! you can in EVERY STATE home school your kids and I would be more then happy to help you in any way I can learn your rights when it comes to homeschooling. States make it harder then others but you can home school your kids no matter where you live and don't let anyone tell you other wise. 

Do I have the right to put my kids in year round school? Yes you can put your children in any school you decide to put them in. It is your right as their parent to give them the best education that they can get or that you can give. 

Do I have the right to raise my children in the religion I want to?  Yes however that doesn't mean that the world or this country is accepting of other religions. 

What happens if my ex spouse passes away and his spouse try's to fight me for custody or visitation? You will have to go to court and deal with all of the issues that come with court and I am here to help you in any way that I can. contract me via email for more information.

What do I do if I'm still married and I want to leave the state? you can do one of two things.  You can file for custody of the kid or kids before leaving the state or you can just leave. If you spouse or ex spouse wont be taking you to court for custody then they cant keep you in the state however. The state you leave still has jurisdiction over your kids for 6 months after you have moved out of the state. ( for every state )

If there is no legal custody of my kids can I move out of the state with out my ex spouse to be getting me in trouble? yes you can however you need to wait 6 months before you can file any custody in your new state.

What if my I have 2 children by 2 different men? Can the father of my youngest son take custody of both the kids even if one is not his biological child? Yes he can if he was the only father figure in the child's life for an extended period of time. If he acted as the father to the child who is not his he can fight you for rights to that child as well and NO even the biological father can not stop them from fighting for those rights. In most states 3rd party and or step parents can attempt top fight for rights or visitation of any child. Its all in the judges hands. 

Keep in mind that I am NOT a lawyer and this is NOT legal advice!

I'm just another parent who has tried to learn as much as I can about the custody battle issues for 

myself and my family. I try to help get others the information that they will need to help them

fight for their rights and what is best for their children. 

I'm here to help if you need me email me at

stephanie@chawlife.com

Freedom Of Speech .... For kids

        Yesterday was a day like no other....

  

  For a very unexpected reason at that. At what point is it okay to allow your children to speak their mind?

    What age do we say yes you can say what you think. ( as long as it comes out respectful , open and honest ) 

  

That was my struggle for the past 6 months of my life.

My 8 year old son walked up to me one morning in December 2014 and asked me if it was okay. For him to say what he thinks and feels to someone that he fears. Someone that had been none stop trying to take over his life. ( how he feels )

He struggled with my answer to the question as did I for months of his asking me. If it was time yet that he could speak his mind. Even after he had declared to the world his wishes and wants. Still he felt no one cared or wanted to hear what he had to say.

 He asked me what seemed like every day. At what age he was going to be old enough to be able to say what he wants and thinks. That he will not only be able speak his mind but for it to really matter. To those adults who should allow him to have the freedom to say who he does or does not want in his life.

  I prayed , spoke to my priest, my husband and then I prayed some more. After months if struggling with the question I sat down and had a talk with my kids. ( 8yrs and 9 yrs old ) We decided that as a family we would allow them to speak their minds. That as long as they did this in a way that was respectful in their eyes. That my husband and I would be respectful of our kids wishes.

Parenting is hard enough with out other people trying to control our kids. We decided that their is no age limit for kids to have an opinion. That their age shouldn't matter as long as our kids aren't harming their selves. That they need to keep an open mind because everyone has an opinion.

I'm proud of my kids especially proud of my son for wanting the freedoms. That he as an American citizen has and has the right to not only know but the right to use. 

We try to teach our kids about not only their rights
 but about our country and why its so great.

From Civilian Life To Military Wife

                           The New Life Of A Military Wife!

   Married Life in the Military is not what it use to be! The first things you need to know about being a Military Wife are life long lessons.

      I read all the books I could find on Military Life. All the books seemed to say the same thing over and over again.
    Here is what I learned about how to be a great Military Wife!
   

     
      * INDEPENDENCE
  
       The key to surviving a Military Life ( at least as the books all tell it ) .... When I first read that I laughed! Who would think that being independent would be the key to what some call a Dependent life.
      No I don't think that's the key to this life style though it is very much needed. You have to have your own life our side of your husband. You have to learn to spread your wings where ever the Military might take you. Get out of the house no matter what it might be and start building your life. Find a job, join a craft group, a running club. Whatever you are interested on as long as you are not sitting in the house every day. Simply waiting on your husband to get home from work day in and day out.

 


      * THE SISTERHOOD

       This is in my opinion the most important thing you can do. Put yourself out there in the world of Military spouses. No matter what your home branch happens to be. Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy or Cost Guard ( yes to me they are a branch ) Find your self a group of friends. There are sisterhoods out there for every branch. They are there to help you along your new journey. On every post there are Wives Clubs, FRG's  and other special clubs/groups. Get out there and make friends because you will need friends no matter what. .The days get long and lonely when your husband is away. Having friends who are in the same Military Life style as you are will help. They will be there to help you remember why you should smile. They  will help you remember why your part of this life. They will show you the strength of  the Military wife community when you need it the most. Let them love you, support you and don't be scared to be yourself.

  

      * RESPECT THE LIFE
       
      Though I can't say I agree with it so many people refer to spouses as " Dependents ." Or " Dependa " I dislike this word more then any other in the Military vocabulary. It is the most disrespectful word you could ever call me. I'm not a " dependa " simple because I'm a house wife. You have to respect the life and be greatful for it.  This life affords us each alot of advantages that we wouldn't normally have. We get health insurance ,( though who ever said its free lied ) life insurance,  and  an ID that gives is access to every Military instalation in the U.S. ( Yes you can get into other branches base/post. ( To the Army  it's called post ) Using your Military ID not just your branches base/post. We get to shop at the commissary and px. ( or whatever your branch calls it  for us Army Wives it's the PX ) These things are all a privileges and each and every one of us needs to remember to respect that. Those who don't respect the Military and privileges we get as Military spouses. Are often refered to as " dependas" and most of us all too often forget. That we are all dependants of the Military. No matter if you work or stay at home. You still have the same ID as the rest. So respect the life and all that comes with it. Don't complain about it because you never know when you can and will be kicked out of the life style.

  

      * PCS LOVE

   Yes you read that right, PCS Love! ( PCS means Permanent Change of Station ) What I mean by that is you need to learn to love pcsing. I know at first this can be so confusing and frustrating. You get to travel to places in the world. That you never dreamed you could go much less live. Pcsing can be one of the best times in your life or the worst. You get to learn new languages, see new places. You get to explore the world around you. If you chose to ,which I highly recommend. Every where you move there are tons if sites to see. We are luckly to live in a time where we can simply google. To find out about fun exciting things wait for us at our next duty station. Do your home work before you PCS and ask around about your new post. There are tons of Facebook pages/ groups for information about where ever your pcsing to. Use the resources at your disposal. Military Spouse pages and websites are there to help you.

    

      * FOLLOW THE RULES

     Yes there are rules of this Military Life we are all living or joining. Most of the rules are unwritten rules but nonetheless they are all important. Each rule is there for a reason and those who don't follow the rules. Seem to live unhappy short lived Military lives. The happiest wives from what I have seen and read follow the rules and set the standard for the rest of us. Etiquette is a big deal in this life style of ours. There are rules for every occasion and though some don't believe in following the rules. You should at least learn them. Don't think that you can avoid the rules or ignore the rules. They always catch up to you. You don't want to be stuck looking a fool because you don't know what you should or should do or wear at an event.

The Begaining .... Where to start Homeschooling

First off  Do Your Home Work! On How To Start or Where To Start

•  The very first thing we did as a family was to of course register as a Non Accredited Private  School in the state we live in . ( Kansas )
• Then we wanted to look up the National Standards For Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools. ( Here is the link for the English down load of the National Standards please email me for the Spanish down load or anything else you might need. )  http://www.catholicschoolstandards.org/the-standards/2014-07-13-13-36-30/download-the-standards

• Every state is different and has a different set of rules. For some it is very structured and others are very open. To allowing you the freedom to teach your children with little interference from the state. 
• We had to figure out what our resources were as a Catholic Homeschooling / Private Schooling family. ( here are some of the links we found very helpful.  listed below )  

                                                          Links

• http://www.catholicmom.com/catholicmom_com_links_homeschool_resources.htm
• http://www.homeschoolingcatholic.com/links/curriculum/
• www.hslda.org    <~ THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LINK I COULD EVER SHARE. EVERYONE NEEDS TO HAVE LEGAL COVERAGE. 

•                                          My Favorite Blogs

• http://www.catholicallyear.com/
• http://totustuusfamily.blogspot.com/
• http://raisinglittlesaints.blogspot.com/
• http://hsjoy.blogspot.com/

                         Most Importantly Read the Bible! and Home School                       Blogs. They will help you figure out whats best for you

                Family. Try different ways of teaching what ever works 

                for your family! 

From Here To Korea... why you shouldn't stay behind

        Okay Lets get real!

   The hardest part about being a Military Spouse is the deployments and training. Yes I know so many people like to throw quotes out there like.

             " You knew what you were getting into when you married him dont complain "

                " Oh my husband goes out of town to work I know how you feel "

             

         "  I wish my husband would go out of town like that you are so lucky " 

" Y'all have so many benefits if we got everything for free like that I would be okay with my husband being gone all of the time " 

or my personal favorite  

" You get to email him, and video chat so its not as hard as you pretend it is "

No words have made me  angry as fast as those people out there who like to act like we have it easy.

I know we dont have it as hard as some people out there in the world

however dang it! being apart from your spouse is hard and sucks!

I will never forget the day my husband first told me he was going to be moving across the world.

Right after we got married my husband told me that he was going to be getting orders

some where new. He had no idea where or when he was going to leave. 

Days later we found out that my husband was going to be going to AIT!

Across the country to change his MOS and at some point from there

he would be finding out where he would be getting stationed at.

The worst part of all was he was going to have to leave on 

MY BIRTHDAY!

I was angry and hurt but I knew " what I signed up for "....

( complete crap if you ask me but thats another post lol )

The days passed quickly and before we knew it he was off to the Airport

I was crying my eyes out wishing for just one more day .... hour or anything.

Just so I could keep my newly wed husband for a little longer.

He boarded the plain and off he went to start his training

Little did I truly know just how much our lives

would be changing. 

He went through all of his training and come graduation day I sat and watched as they

marched in. One by one being called out.

Before I knew it , it was over and it was time to say good bye again.

( Photo shoot of me and my hubby at

Fort Leonard Wood MO ) 

He had gotten orders for South Korea and was leaving

shortly after graduation.

We talked about it often trying to decide if I should try to go with him. 

However with a custody battle and kids there was no chance of us being able to go.

His job took up pretty much all of his time and with the time difference it meant when we were able to talk that he had to lose sleep. How he made it through I truly don't know.I know he was my rock through the long day and even longer nights.

Were were one of the unlucky ones, my husband didnt get to have his mid tour leave.

through everything we dealt with his hardship tour to South Korea almost broke our family apart.

Not because of cheating , or because he was being dishonest but because we were apart. 

Only 6 weeks after getting married we were apart for 14 very long months. 

The idea that we could make it through the year in Korea was one thing but the reality of the matter is that you should never decide to stay back. You should be with your spouse every chance you can no matter what you have to do. There is no reason good enough to have to stay in a different country as your spouse for any period of time.

Take it from a a wife who struggled with it and a family that now has to deal with the after math.

Of our family being apart for way too long.

Trying to get back together and be a family is harder then you think.

The doctors say it takes about 6 months to get back into a normal routine where you can feel like your family is whole again. However who wants to go 6 months like that?

Who wants to watch their spouse seem lost, confused and all around hurt because he so use to being alone that being together seems painful?

I know that this is not everyones story of the hardship tour to Korea but its ours. 

If you have a story you would like to share of guest blog please email me at

CatholicHomeschoolingArmyWife@gmail.com 

I know I couldnt have made it through that year with out the support of the Army wives around me!

If you need someone remember Im here for you! 

Homecoming At Last!

                                              HE'S HERE!!     HE'S HERE!!

                                    

( The kids with their homecoming sign

Waiting at the airport )

           At last my buttface ( my hubby's nickname from me sense we first started dating ) is home at last! After the longest year and dome change of my life. He's home at last.
     
                                                  GOOD BYE KOREA!! 

      

       ( The kids playing on their phones, waiting at the airport )

           I don't know who was more excited me or our kids!

Their relationship warms my heart! There is nothing better then seeing the love my kids and husband have for each other. He is the greatest dad ever.

                                                       

               ( He is here at last!! The kids with their daddy )