I Believe In Auburn, AND LOVE IT!!

So yesterday was one of my proudest days!! I can't thank everyone enough for the support they have shown me for my graduation! On Sunday afternoon I was pinned by the faculty, and "officially" graduated from the nursing program, which was super emotional, especially since it was Mother's Day, and my mother was sobbing because she had always wanted to be a nurse but had never gotten the opportunity to go to college and instead had my little brother and I. Plus, I was also the first girl on either side of my family to go to college!! In my little speech, I got to credit her for my success since she had stayed at home with me until I was school-aged, and then has been my biggest supporter throughout the huge stress that is nursing school. She cried and cried and later gave me a hug and whispered "Every mother always wants to see her children do better than she did, and today you have done what I could never do, what no woman in our family has ever been able to do." I also got a card from my dad, who is very quiet, and who I spent my whole school career working my butt off in the hopes of getting more than a simple, "Good" from, and the card was so long and actually said the words "I'm very proud of you." I instantly burst into tears. It was the affirmation and praise I'd been dreaming of my whole life.

Then, the next morning (WAY too early, I might add) BE and I got up to head back to Auburn from our hotel so that we could get a good parking spot, and so my parents, grandparents, and godparents could all find good seats since we graduated in the football stadium. This, I thought, was going to be an awesome idea. However, it wasn't and whoever decided to make graduation right in the middle of the day in an open stadium in Alabama should be fired. It hit 90 degrees very early on, and it was terrible for those of us in our heavy black gowns. And of course, the school of nursing was second to last, so we were there the whole time. People were passing out left and right, and EMT's were coming around distributing water and telling people to leave after they got their diploma and walked across the stage! Luckily my family had brought umbrellas and lots of Gatorade. But man was it hot! It was so good though to see them cheering and so happy!! Plus, BE got to be there and I am BEYOND THANKFUL for that!! Especially since more training looms here soon. But it was important to me that he was there to share in my success that he encouraged me through and God made sure he was, and that's a great thing :)

I Have Arrived

So, tomorrow I get to have the ceremony I have been waiting on for four long years - my pinning ceremony from nursing school. I am so excited I can barely stand it. Then, by Monday afternoon, I will officially be the first woman on either side of my family to graduate college. WOW. What a huge weight to carry on my shoulders, and what a huge reputation to uphold. My mom is ecstatic - she says I never could have given her a better Mother's Day present than seeing her daughter be the one to achieve that. But I told her that it's in large part due to her - she stayed home with me until I hit school, and constantly worked with me every day so that I was far past my developmental level for the grade I was in. She was my first encourager. By the time I hit 6th grade I was reading at an "above 12th grade level" and they had to bring in books for me from the high school so I could complete my number of reading hours I had to meet for my middle school class. She's the one who sat with me at the bar in our house for two hours every single day after school helping me with my homework. My parents really struggled financially to send me to Auburn, because they said that after graduating high school with a 4.2 GPA and a 32 ACT score, I deserved to go wherever I wanted to go. I felt that succeeding in college was simply a way to show them "I appreciate that you have sacrificed for me to be here, and I'm proving to you that it hasn't gone unnoticed." So now here I am, on the eve of one of the happiest days of my life (other than the days my little brother was born, the day I adopted my dog, and the day I got married), all ready to go with a brand new dress and pair of shoes (thanks, BE!!). I think it will give me a whole new perspective on life not being in college anymore. Granted, I still have my boards to take for my licensure, but it's going to feel so weird (in a good way) to just be a wife for a while. I wish that this day wasn't shadowed over by the fact that BE is off again soon. But it will be ok, I'll survive, and it'll be over before I know it. IFS is a partially self-paced thing, and dependent on weather, so the number of weeks he's there is dependent on quite a few factors, so I told him to not tell me when he will be back home ahead of time so that I don't get my hopes set on a date that he may get there and just not be able to meet. Plus, then it gets to be a surprise, and I love surprises :)

Hope everyone has been having a great weekend, and a special Happy Mother's Day shout-out to my mommy wives out there!!!! Hopefully one day soon I will join your ranks :)


Verse of the day: Proverbs 16:3 "Ask the Lord to bless your plans, and you will be successful in carrying them out."

Milspouse Friday Fill-In!

1. Have you and your spouse ever agreed to live in separate locations (a geographical bachelor tour) knowing that the short-term inconvenience would have long-term benefits for your family? How did it work for you? submitted by When Good People Get Together.
No. I still lived in Auburn while he was in OTS until I moved to Pensacola in February to set up house here, so I did the commuting thing 3.5 hours away to Auburn whenever I had classes, but decided for monetary reasons not to keep the apartment we had up there. Now we are permanently in P'cola but I just finished classes today (graduation in a little over a week! woohoo!!)

2. What is your favorite thing about being a MilSpouse? submitted by Sarah Ruth Today. 
Well today it was Case Lot sales!! lol, but seriously. In general, probably the pride I feel whenever I see any uniformed serviceman/woman these days, or how I love it when someone thanks BE or I for our service, or the amazing friends we have already made at our new station. It really is a great family (and people actually know what you're talking about!!)

3. If you could still have your spouse/significant other and your family, but take the military life out of it...would you? submitted by Trust. Love. Believe. Bake.. 
Well, a few weeks ago this would have been an emphatic YES YES YES!!! But lately, with BE having to go through this new flight physical here shortly and there always being the chance of not passing, we confronted the question of "what would we do if..." and when I thought of moving back home and him getting a "normal job" and us not being in the military anymore, I actually froze and panicked. So, would I take the military life out of it? No. Would I take any chance of my husband getting hurt/killed and me potentially being left alone because of the military out? Yes.

4. What have your homecoming experiences been like after a year long tour of separation? submitted by Army Soldier, Army Wife, Army Life :).
We haven't had to be apart for more than his 3-month TDY to OTS, but with that being the first thing ever it was hard and the homecoming was wonderful in ways and terrible in ways. He was different, and was really picky about everything from being scrutinized so much - it was like he literally couldn't settle down, even to watch a movie with me. He would rather be dusting. But it was nice to get to go out to dinner and see him face to face, or to wake up in the morning and him actually be there. I can't imagine a whole year apart and I hope I never have to do it.

5. If you have a child(ren) why you chose their name(s)? If not, why you would name your child something? submitted by Tiaras and ACU's. 
Well, we don't have any children (other than our adorable Buster Brown furbaby), but I like Kaleb, Noah, and Inman for boys' names and Olivia and Sofia for girls' names, so maybe one day!

Defining Love & Bad Weather

Funny story. So we were having company over the other day and I had errands I had to run to prepare (of course). So I asked BE if he would please give BB (Buster Brown, our pound mutt) a bath. I even told him there was dog shampoo under my sink, or he could use the Pantene Pro-V in the shower. I come home an hour later and there is a strange aroma filling my master bedroom and bathroom, so of course I holler for BE and ask where Bus is... about that time here comes our huge pitt/hound mix barreling around the corner to greet mommy... and he smells like Old Spice. Reeks of Old Spice. People in Canada could smell the Old Spice wafting from my dog. And all I can do is look at BE and say, "Really?!? Seriously?!?" as he looks at me with the biggest grin on his face, and simply replies, "But babe, all the chickies will love him now. You can't expect him to get any smelling like Pantene." And such are the moments that define my relationship. Much like the time he was in OTS and had no access to TV or radio and the first text I had gotten through to him in almost a week contained the starting lineup for the Boston Red Sox this season (since like a good devoted wife I had stayed up waiting for it to get released) and the response I got back (mind you, it had been a week since we had spoken) was "oh my gosh, I love you. So so much." Yep, those moments. :)

Also, I must ask everyone to please pray for everyone in Alabama tonight. I am back up in Auburn for my last few classes of undergrad (woohoo) and we are getting hit with tornado warning after tornado warning; sirens are going off downtown and the National Weather Service just listed this as a Particularly Dangerous Situation (which apparently they don't do often) and told us to "Take shelter now". So here I am, holed up and blogging lol. Cullman, Arab, and Tuscaloosa were all hit today and there are over 30 confirmed deaths so far, with those numbers expected to rise. I might be a tried-and-true Auburn fan, but no one deserves to have to watch their lives and possessions be destroyed. As I sit here praying Psalm 91 over those of us here in Auburn, I'm also sending out prayers for those who are facing a very long night tonight with either no power or no home, and I hope you will all join me in that. Keep safe tonight everyone!!