A Cake

Well here I am sitting in our sweet little hotel room on post in Fort Lewis, Washington. Jakob is away dealing with all of his in-processing shenanigans, and I'm left here to think about our bright little future. So far, this state has shown itself to be a delightful place to call home. The weather has been gorgeous, the cities are brilliant and all so close together, and even though the traffic near the base can get pretty rough, everybody is so kind about it! We have not encountered a single unacceptably inconsiderate driver, which is a bonus you could never even think to wish for. Our time here (we arrived last Wednesday) has consisted of more house hunting then I ever thought possible, during which my darling husband bought me flowers;

dealing with Jakob being the very first soldier to in-process on an entirely new system that they just now implemented, spending as much time as we could spare with Jakob's bestest friend, Sam, who conveniently lives ten miles from the base, and made us a cake;

and enjoying our new found friendships with Sam's four delightful roomates! Coming to an entirely unfamiliar city with automatic friends is another huge bonus. So beside the stress of moving to a whole new place completely homeless and having no one have any idea of what's going on or that you were even coming, everything has been rather delightful! Especially after we found a house a few days ago, that helped to put our minds at ease a lot. It is a delightful little house in the nicest town in the area, right in between Olympia and Fort Lewis, called Lacey. The house is 1,100 square feet, was just finished being remodeled a week ago, has 3 bedrooms and 1 large bathroom, all wood floors, a fenced backyard, granite countertops with tile backsplash, and an adorable old pellet stove! We love it, and think it will become exactly the home we've been craving. For three years, at least. However, from what we've seen, we could very well decide to make this area our home for a much longer time. The Tacoma area is rather quaint, with an adorably vintage feeling downtown area. Lacey is only 15 minutes from downtown Olympia, where there are more activities and entertainments than I have ever experienced having access too for an extended period of time. And on Sunday, we popped on up to Seattle to have a nice lunch at Pike's Place Market! The drive felt like the drive from Pleasant Hill to Eugene; short and sweet, but even more beautiful.

These pictures are kind of icky and from my cell phone, I apologize. 

Some Room To Breathe

I secure plates into their cozy new homes. 

I give shelves some room to breathe. 

My piles grows. 

And I sit and drink my drink. 

Second Nature

A few nights ago when Jakob returned from FTX, but wasn't yet allowed off post, we partook in what has become a sort of ritual. The ritual of painstakingly packing up every food item required for dinner into any and every portable container I can wrangle up, and transporting it (usually very awkwardly, in a backpack) to our faithful picnic table in the parking lot. This was our very last meal here, but I must say, saying goodbye wasn't exactly heart-breaking.

Having just returned from FTX, the poor man was practically asleep,
exhausted to the bone. 

At 6 a.m. this morning I sat and watched a very familiar sunrise, over a very familiar building. I got a very familiar text, telling me I could come down and retrieve a very sleepy man. Today was the very last Sunday I will ever be waking up at 5:30 to go pick Jakob up from the barracks to come home with me. Every Sunday from here on out (well, give or take a few), I will finally be able to wake up and start my day with my husband right there, by my side.

As this chapter of our lives comes to a close, there is very little bitterness, but mostly sweetness. Sweetness in the joy of moving so much closer to our families, sweetness in the thought of finally being able to live together, and sweetness in the prospect of being able to settle down (a little bit, at least). Although there is bitterness too. Bitterness in saying farewell, and thank you for everything (more than I could put into words), to the Gehrke's, and bitterness in leaving our beautiful Arizona sunshine! No one could ever be fully prepared to say goodbye to a good tan! Although in this line of work, goodbyes seem to have to become second nature. In the end, we truly cannot wait to journey forward into this new chapter of our life, together.

Far From Vacant

In only a short 7 days, Jakob and I will be leaving this place, and off to a new one. As per usual, I spent my day attempting to distract myself from missing him with the company of the lovely female Gehrke's. We worked on our ever darkening tans, raced around the world by way of the Amazing Race, and drank icy drinks. Living in this strange state of flux is not only a tool of distraction, but a tool of procrastination. As previously stated, we leave in 7 days. LEAVE. Drive out of town never to return. So you would think we would be all geared up and ready to go, with our apartment nearly packed, cleaned, and ready for new inmates. But no, no my cupboards, closets, and walls are far from vacant. In fact they are concerningly near untouched. Although absolutely thrilled to be moving on, that anticipation is somehow overshadowed by the dread of dragging it all out of hiding, questioning why we need so many things, and putting it all back into boxes, where it's already been so many times. However, this evening, eyes set on the horizon, I began to pack. 

Governor wanted to help. Because lord knows I need help shredding paper and throwing up on shoes. 

Our journey, to date.

     Today I sat and stared at my phone, hoping it would ring and I could hear his voice. Today that didn't happen. To be fair, I knew it wouldn't, I knew I was just torturing myself; just the same as yesterday, and the day before, and the day before.
I said goodbye to my beloved husband last Friday evening. Trying to smile as he walked away, I knew I was making a bigger deal of this than I should. He would be back in a week, he would be safe, and I would be fine. After all, I've grown so accustomed to longing for his arms around me, his voice coming to me not from beside me, but from through the phone; and to often drifting through time, having no bearing of when he might call, joyfully announcing that I'm finally allowed to come and see him. Of course, this is almost over, we're almost done; with this stage, at least.
     9 months ago my fiance, Jakob, and I had a very serious discussion about our options and our future. Knowing that no matter where life took us, it would be a journey we took together, we tried to assess what would be the most stable option for us, as a family. 8 months ago my Jakob enlisted in the Army. 7 months ago I stood in an airport clinging to my sanity as I turned, silent tears streaming down my face, and walked away from my future, my safety, my love, and my source of joy. For the next three months I struggled to remain sane, and at least superficially conscious. I pulled all of the hope and joy that I could from my dear friend Amy, whose husband enlisted and was shipped off to basic with my Jakob; my precious Grace, who blessed me with nos, chocolate milk, and oneness in spirit; both the magnificent family I was given at birth, and the new one I am proud to have been scooped up into; and the whirlwind of planning the most glorious wedding imaginable, in under three months. Although painful, and scarring, the time passed, as time has the tendency to do. Until finally, in mid December 2012, I was reunited with my love. We hugged, we cried, we loved, then it was all a blur. With only two weeks to visit our families, and finish planning before we were wed and zoomed off to Fort Huachuca, AZ for Jakob's AIT; the days seemed to hurtle by with no regard for me standing there, grasping, pleading for them to implant some sort of lasting memory before they left. That said, it was a beautiful, blissful time; culminated on December 30th, 2012 when in a humble park, in an insignificant corner of the world, two people became one.
     It is now mid April, 2013. I am here, huddled in my humble apartment in Sierra Vista, AZ. Jakob is up in the mountains at FTX, their final training exercise, finalizing our time here. In a mere 9 days he will graduate, I will praise the Lord, and we will be off to Fort Lewis, WA. Home. Well, 4 hours from home. But home is where the heart is; home is in his arms.

August, 2012: Our last day in our first home together, in Creswell, OR; with our Grace.

From here on out, it's just an open road. A road we are ready and eager to tackle, just us two crazy-in-love kids.