Travel Plans

Traveling with an infant is... not easy. Travel really makes me rethink the whole "big family" deal I'm pushing for. Not seriously, but man, travel with an infant is expensive and stressful!

First step: plan. Second step: plan. Third step: plan. Fourth step: initiate. To put it briefly.

What I did? I made a list of all the arrangements that needed to be made and a second list of all the things I needed to pack... which led to a third list of all the things I needed to buy. Not only does this help my sanity, but it helped me ensure that nothing was forgotten.

So I began making calls about a month out from graduation. You are told to wait to make travel plans in case your soldier-in-training doesn't qualify for graduation. Typically about 20% of the class doesn't graduate. Our situation was that Matt's BCT graduation date was after his scheduled start date for OCS.  Rut roh! So I didn't want to make flights arrangements until we were 210% sure that Matt was, in fact, graduating the week before Thanksgiving and not the week of Thanksgiving.

With the airlines, it really depends on the representative you work with on what kind of service you will receive. I was told that military rates were not available with one airline. I was also told that change fees if a flight needed to be changed would still apply, even for military scheduling; but this was with a different airline. In both of the above situations, I spoke with different representatives and was offered a discount with the first airline and my account was flagged to waive any and all change fees that may occur with the other. Why are some representatives more helpful than others? Especially when it involves military personnel? So my advice, just keep calling and maybe you'll receive one of the more helpful representatives for assistance.

So once I received confirmation that Matthew would, in fact, be graduating, I began making the phone calls. Booked my flights, booked a standby hotel, reserved a rental car. The idea of traveling with an infant is stressful... watching those reservations hit the credit card? Also stressful. We thought we would be saving money while Matthew was in BCT. Yeah, maybe we'll save money during OCS. Traveling semi-last minute around holiday season is not cheap. But seeing our soldier graduate? Priceless.

As we were planning on driving our soldier to OCS (you are permitted to drive your soldier to AIT/OCS if it is located east of the Mississippi) and as Thanksgiving was the next week, we didn't make return flight reservations. Yes, we planned on a rather high expense for that one. Sigh. I didn't even bother researching return flights as the availability and prices would change. That is another tip I suggest, don't look too much until you're ready to buy. When you are shopping for a plane ticket there will always be availability of some sort... but finding a great deal and not being able to jump on it isn't going to help when you end up paying more later. Another suggestion, utilize comparison webpages. My favorite, kayak.com.

So all the initial plans were made. Ten days prior to my arrival date I called the on post lodging office to see if there was availability. We reserved two rooms on post in addition to our rooms off post. We kept the off post hotel until the day of arrival as we had until 4 pm to cancel those rooms. You just never know when on post lodging will fill up! Fort Jackson had several lodging options and it was so nice being on post. It made for short trips for Family Day and Graduation, plus we were able to hang out in the hotel room for Family Day when our soldier had an on post pass. More on that later though. The flight was purchased, the hotel reservations and back up reservations made, the rental car reserved for the longest possible dates we would stay as we could always return it early, all the phone numbers for these reservations were saved to my contacts and the confirmation emails saved in my iphone inbox.

Made sure my flight has Jack as an infant-in-arms, made sure to have a copy of his birth certificate just in case it was needed (you never know with increased security measures nowadays), double and triple checked the dates on my reservations to make sure I didn't make any mistakes.

Then it was all about packing our bags to be as efficient as possible. Airlines are required to allow you to check a child's car seat. I bought a bag to protect the car seat during travel. I put some of Jack's blankets in that bag to save space. I had some goodies to take the Matthew (some snacks and items for him to take to OCS) so I had to make sure to make the most of my outfit choices. I laid out the items I definitely wanted to take and paired them with items that could be styled a couple different ways. In the event we stayed through the holiday that would be 13 days of travel. So I needed to pack for the possibility of 4-13 days. Real creative with the outfit planning. Stuffing items into shoes and putting underwear and undershirts between other clothes also saves space.

Unfortunately, I needed to take the diaper bag and a full carry on through the airport with baby and I. We are allowed a stroller to check at the gate. My diaper bag has backpack straps and a shoulder strap so I wore it as a backpack through the airport. I packed a shoulder bag with all the diapers for the trip (light weight) and extra clothes for Jack and I. I also packed the Moby Wrap in case Jack wanted to be carried as opposed to sitting in the stroller (let me tell you, it was a good thing I packed this!). I was able to sit Jack in the stroller and put the shoulder bag over the handles. If I carried Jack I could put the shoulder bag in the seat of the stroller. Generally people or attendants are willing to assist if it looks like a mother needs an extra set of hands. But packing with a plan is always helpful.

Now, traveling with an infant. Must haves: disposable diapers, disposable bibs, boogie wipes, hand sanitizer, nursing cover, and baby food pouches. Normally we use cloth diapers, but I didn't know if I would have access to a laundry machine or have the time for them to dry between washing. So, I bought some Pampers Swaddlers and Cruisers. I also bought a set (comes with 3) of plastic training pants to put over the diapers. I don't trust disposables too much- no elastic along the top to hold in the poopy! Disposable bibs. At first I packed some regular bibs, but figured there had to be disposable ones now. Sure enough, there they were... and they covered his whole front and had a fold over in the front to catch drips. Score. Boogie wipes- keeps his baby nose nice and clean and can be used to wipe his entire face. Nice for when there's no time for a bath, and gentler than a normal baby wipe. Hand sanitizer, always keep it on hand anyways. Nursing cover- I never got one because I used a swaddling blanket. But, not Jack likes to play with whatever is covering him. So something a little more sturdy was needed. Definitely wish I had purchased one when Jack was first born. Must have for public nursing. Baby food pouches. Whoever invented them are genius. Throw it away when you're done. Little mess. You can buy attachable spoons (which helps teach Jack manners, haha). Bonus: they are so yummy! I try everything I give to Jack and these are by far the best. I recommend Plum Organics.

So there we were. Ready to go. Waiting.

Post Overload

I am quite behind on posts. I have decided to once again make this blog public and just not post certain details about our lives. Of course, I'm still fairly open about things, but I will just have to be careful what I post about Matt's trainings etc.

It was getting to be too much to try to write a separate Army blog. So it will once again be included here. For the sake of a record (my OCD side coming out) I am going to copy and paste the relevant posts from that blog to here with the label of "Army". So there will be some old posts about to pop up. Then I will try to catch up on the blog posts that need to be written: travel plans, Matt's BCT graduation, Jackson turning 34 weeks.

Happy reading.

[edit]

Scratch that. I just went back and looked at all the posts I will need to copy over. So we're just going to link them here and if someone clicks on "Army" on the right they can link back to that blog to read. Lots of good info and I'm sure I'll go back to read those posts someday to remember what it was like when we were just starting out.

http://quodpotesteveniat.blogspot.com

Sleepless Night

We dropped Matt off around noon at the Recruiting Station today. We sat around with him for about 45 minutes before they headed out. I held it together. Got a little teary on the drive home. Was exhausted so took a nap with the baby. Then busied myself with packing and playing with Jack.

It's not like he's deployed to a dangerous, hostile environment. Yes, he will be gone for awhile, but at least I know where he is and what he's doing (for the most part). At the end of all this he will be a soldier and we will officially be an Army family.

While I have not had a good cry yet, I did eat two of the drumsticks stocked in my freezer (the cookies and cream kind... how am I just now discovering these?). I did get a LOT of packing done (the living room is almost done. Just waiting on people to buy/pick up our large items and the living room will look a lot emptier!). I did deal with a baby who I suspect has bad dreams (I had night terrors as a child and I can't figure out Jack's sudden shrieks while he's sleeping otherwise...). I did reorganize my clothes I had packed up and got rid of more items and packed more efficiently so some of my clothes will remain in storage. I did watch many episodes of Grey's Anatomy (thank you, Mommy, for the birthday present). 

I am still lying here awake. Though I will go to sleep once this is finished. I am tired... but I am still awake. Maybe this is how I handle my emotions? Hopefully baby will sleep in tomorrow. We have some errands to run but I'll plan to nap with him tomorrow so I can catch up on sleep. This will not be a nightly occurrence. It is just strange not having Matt in the house. 

We had a family photo shoot this past week. We rushed it since Matt was leaving early. Thankfully, my Lynchburg photographer is a friend so we were able to work in a shoot short notice. I am thrilled with how the pictures turned out!

Enjoy.

Privacy

I made this blog and Jackson's Yellow Ribbon private, not because I don't want people to read... but because I want to ensure my soldier's safety.

The Future Soldier's Family Office reached out to me and I have been reading through some materials they sent. Very informative. One of the items discussed posting dates or travel arrangements online. I would know better than to outline specific routes our family or specifically Matt would take (especially during deployments), but I did not think about the dangers of posting BCT dates and locations. The example was given of a soldier who posted his BCT date and location on a public forum. His current location was known so his travel plans were easy to figure out. He never made it to BCT. Do I know if that is actually a true story? No. Am I willing to take that risk? More adamant no.

My blog Quod Potest Eveniat is written with the purpose of being read by other Army families for encouragement, answers, or just to know that someone else has been there/is there right along side them. We are just beginning this journey and I plan to chronicle our steps along the way, our feelings and frustrations and joys, and helpful hints I learn (from getting started with the phonetic alphabet and ranking system to acronyms and shortcuts we may figure out). That blog will remain public so it can be searchable. I just hope I remember to keep the details out of my writing. I went through and removed most of the dates etc. I will most likely do follow up posts after the fact about Matt's locations for BCT and OCS so that I can give our impression of those posts.

Since this is private and I know who all the readers are:

We will have a nice Labor Day Weekend together. Matt will then leave on September 4. The Army will transport him to Fort Jackson in South Carolina. He will begin Basic Combat Training there on September 5. His graduation will be in mid-November. Jackson and I will attend that graduation. Already we are so excited to see our soldier in uniform! Officer Candidate School will be at Fort Benning in Georgia and will begin November 19.

Through both of these trainings Jackson and I will be living with my parents in Michigan. We plan to move up to Michigan the last week of September (right in time for my friend, Lauren's wedding and Art Prize).

Matt and I have begun to go through our belongings. We are compiling a list of things to try to sell. Whatever doesn't sell will go to Goodwill. This include a lot of our furniture. We will pack up the rest and we're hiring movers to load a truck and transport it to Michigan. Most of our items will be in a climate controlled storage unit in Michigan. Jackson and I will try to keep our personal items to take to Grammy and Papa's to a minimum... but it is proving hard!

This will be an interesting two weeks. The following two weeks will be long and strenuous, I am sure. Prayers are very much coveted and appreciated during this transition time. We thought we had five more months to prepare to move and be apart. Now it has been thrust at us and we are embracing it.

...but we sure will miss our husband/Daddy!

Oath of Enlistment

Yesterday, July 17, 2012, Matthew took his oath of enlistment into the U.S. Army. 

"I, Matthew Steven Iveson, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

And with that, we have officially entered the Army. Matthew will ship out to Basic Training on January 22, 2013. Basic Training is 9 weeks long followed by 12 weeks of Officer Candidate School. We are unsure if there will be any leave between those two, but at least Jack and I will get to see him for his graduation from Basic.

Jackson and I are so proud of our soldier already. It has been a long two years of trying to enter the armed forces. Matthew has overcome many obstacles and has proven himself ready, willing, and able to serve his country. He has handled his disappointments well and always had faith that there was a place for him in the military. He has remained flexible when schedules changed, including his appointment of stay-at-home-dad for the time being. He has increased the intensity of his workouts to specifically train for the military. More recently he has begun looking into workout regimes to prepare for Ranger School in the even that his MOS is infantry. While he is not a runner and extremely dislikes that as a sport, he has run almost every day since he began this process and can now make his PT run in a shorter amount of time than the perfect score. He has worked so hard for this and we are so proud of him.

This will be a long, eventful, and difficult journey. We are so excited to be entering the military, to serve our country, and to become part of the extended family that is the military community. We are excited to see God work in and through our lives with the new places He'll take us and the people we will come in contact with. 

As Jackson and I didn't go to Matt's swearing in (we didn't know we were allowed to), there are no pictures of that event. That is ok. We will take plenty of pictures at his Basic Training graduation and OCS graduation. He will be our man in uniform then and we will proudly salute him... and cover him with hugs and kisses!

Hooah.

He's a Sheepdog

One of my co-workers is retired Army. He and his wife have been a wealth of information as we go through the process of entering the military. It is encouraging that he is retired, therefore he made it the entire 20 year career with (I think) five deployments and has survived (always a plus), maintained his family relationships, and is a strong Christian.

He gave me an excerpt to read about being a military man. I mentioned that I want to teach our children that Daddy "protects good guys", not that he "fights bad guys". I figure difficulty would arise with who exactly the bad guys are- I don't want my kids to racially profile since you can't explain adequately the differences between an ethinic individual and an extremist to a 3-year-old. There also is a difference between men that kill to take life and men that kill to preserve life.This excerpt explains that idea well. It comes from the book On Combat by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman with Loren W. Christensen, which I plan to purchase.

On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs

Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for?
~William J. Bennett, In a lecture to the United States Naval Academy, November, 24, 1997

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired Colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.

Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside is is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf." Or, as a sign in one California law enforcement agency put in, "We intimidate those who intimidate others."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath- a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.



I admit, now that we are a-go for the military my heart has faltered. Up until this point I have been 100% on board, 100% supportive. While I will always remain 100% supportive of my husband in this new life we have chosen... the fear has already begun to rise. I cannot watch military movies any longer. I have to stop myself from thinking about his future deployments when he will be in harms way. I have to focus on this moment- we are not to the deployment point yet. I have to focus on God's calling in our life. We know we are called to minister to other families in the military. We know that God will protect and preserve our family. We know that we will die when the number of breaths that God has given us are spent. Whether that be in Afghanistan or snuggled in bed in Lynchburg, God knows the number of days in our lives. I can take hope in that. I can keep faith in that.

Not to say it will always be easy.

Selected!!!

Today we got the call we had been waiting for! Matthew has been selected for the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School! Hooah!

We had been waiting for this call for the past two years. We began the process with the U.S. Marine Corps, but God made it very obvious that the U.S. Army was the route for us. After a lot of training, paperwork, mix-ups, frustrations, interviews, and prayers... Matthew has been selected!

When the officer called Jack was having a little meltdown. Matt was holding him and he was screaming. Matt wasn't about to let this phone call go to voicemail. The officer asked if it would be better if he called back in a little bit and Matt agreed. The officer stated he was calling to let him know he had been selected and Matt asked him to repeat! He congratulated him and they ended the call. A few minutes later he called back and Jack was settled down. The officer welcomed Matt to the "winning team" and Matt replied, "Glad to finally be joining the fight, sir!"

Mommy and Jackson are so proud of our soldier! We do not have any dates yet for Basic Training or OCS, but we aren't worried about that. The biggest question mark has been obliterated with a gigantic check mark! The unknown has been removed... and replaced with a hundred new unknowns. But these unknowns are all a part of our future life as an Army family.

I told Matt we could go anywhere he wanted for dinner to celebrate. We're planning to not eat out at all in the month of July, but we knew there would be one exception. Matt wanted to go to Olive Garden because normally I don't like going there (everything has the same after taste and therefore tastes the same). We both got drinks (lemonade or pop is $3!), delicious meals, and dessert. It was a celebration after all! Our entire family even dressed the part: Matt in his army green, me in my desert tee, and Jack in his "hero" onesie.

This is such a big blessing in our lives. No only is this what Matt wants to do with his life, but also it will provide for our family financially in an unstable economy. We are also looking forward to being lights for Christ in the Army. So many soldiers put in harms way. How many of them have the saving knowledge of Christ? As Matt hopes to lead by example on the battle field, we as a family hope to lead by example in our daily walks. We hope to set ourselves apart by what we choose to do and not do. We will love our neighbors and be available for them in the big and small; the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual as needed.

While we were confident in Matt's abilities and in his qualifications to be an officer, we wondered if this was truly God's will for our lives. We felt like God led us to this path. We have been so blessed throughout our entire marriage. There is no such thing as too many blessings, however. This year God has blessed up so abundantly! And the year is barely halfway over! We had the birth of our son, the absolute amazing-ness of our little boy, my new position at work, Matt's ability to stay at home with Jack, and now the Army. Count your blessings, count them one by one. We surely have seen what God has done in our lives.

Let the journey begin!

Potentially disastrous...

... or potentially life changing.

Matt got a call while we were eating dinner from the US Army Recruitment Command. Unfortunately, he did not have his phone on him and did not listen to the voicemail left until the offices were closed. The voicemail asked for a different individual (the only other candidate for OCS from the recruiting station in Lynchburg) and asked for a call back. An office line and cell phone were given. Matt called the cell phone since it was after hours. After explaining that he was not the individual, the officer who left the message requested Matt call him in the morning when he was in the office so he could see what happened.

Basically, the officer was calling through a list for OCS. He did not definitively say that those he was calling were selected for OCS, but he can let Matt know tomorrow morning. Or at least, that was Matt's understanding.

Some possible scenarios:

*Matt is selected and somehow the other name was placed on his file.
*The other guy was selected and somehow Matt's phone number was placed in that file.
*Both were selected and numbers were mixed up.
*The officer making the calls mixed up the numbers when going down the list.
*This wasn't the "selection" we think it is- Matt's recruiter was told the list wouldn't be ready until next week.
*The officer was calling for the other guy, but to tell him he wasn't selected.
*The officer was calling for Matt to tell him he wasn't selected.

Those are the ones Matt and I thought up. There are probably more possibilities. We're hoping it will be cleared up (in our favor) tomorrow morning. If both names are not on the list then it may take a little more digging. We're not sure how much information the officer who called has: if he has the entire file there so Matt can confirm if it is him, if he only has a list of names and is pulling up numbers from somewhere, if the entire packet was mislabeled, if only the phone numbers were switched.

So frustrating and nerve-wracking. This could be devastating news. It could be the best news we've gotten since Jackson was born. Matt's recruiter is going to follow up either way since it's strange that the information was mixed up.

Praying hard all night for positive news tomorrow morning!

[edit]

So Matt called the Officer back and spoke with another individual. They made a note about the wrong phone numbers, but basically they are calling through the entire list of candidates to let them know individually yes or no. They divided up the list so the person Matt talked to couldn't confirm if he was selected or not. We could get a call later today or next week to let us know.

No bad news is good news. We both feel much more comfortable knowing they're calling everyone so there's not a list of people who were selected. Now we just have to wait. Hoping we hear good news today!

OCS Interview

I forgot to post about Matt's OCS (Officer Candidate School) Interview! I did write about it on Jackson's blog but forgot to post on our family blog. 

Matt has his OCS interview on May 24th. He went to Richmond to the MEPS, but thankfully it was just a day trip and not overnight. We had his suit dry cleaned for the occasion. He sure looks good in a suit! I kinda wish he had an office job where he had to wear suits more often. Unfortunately, with the Army he won't have cause to wear a suit. Oh well, I suppose dress blues will have to do. 

He interviewed with a panel of Army officers. Some were present in Richmond while others teleconferenced in. He sat at attention as they reviewed his packet and asked him questions about it. He and I had practiced some questions his recruiter had given him to prepare with. He was very confident about his answers, his packet, and his qualifications to apply to OCS.

When he finished his interview the board called him and his recruiter back in the room. The President of the board said that Matt's interview was the best he had sat this year! He congratulated Matt's recruiter for having so well prepped him. 

This leaves us very confident for the selection board sometime this month. The interview board gives their recommendation and we expect Matt's packet will be a good option for selection. He has a high GPA, high score on the ASVAB, and a perfect PFT. Having such a good interview is just one more item to put him at the top of the list. 

In honor of this interview, Jackson wore his camo booties and this onesie. We were so excited to have Daddy home again that evening! We love our Daddy!

Complete OCS Packet

After months of jumping through hoops and lots of frustration, Matt's packet for the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School is complete! Yesterday Matt received a call from his recruiter that his packet had been completed and was being submitted for the interview process. Once Jackson's social security number comes through we'll be able to add him to the paperwork so that he's included on our insurance if/when Matt is selected and leaves for Basic Training.

The next interview board is scheduled for this coming Wednesday. As Matt's packet was turned in for review yesterday, he should be able to have an interview. The computers had been down yesterday, so if for some reason it wasn't received in time, then he'll definitely be part of the next interview board. There should be two more boards in May. In the interview Matt will meet with some officers to answer questions about his desire to enter the Army and what he would do in certain military situations. While he may not know the "right" answers to each situation, the board focuses more on his decision making ability. We feel confident that he will be able to do well during his interview.

After his interview he will be eligible for the next selection board. This board is scheduled for June. A group of Army officials review all the applicants for Officer Candidate School and weigh them against each other. At this time, Matt looks real good on paper for this selection. He graduated with honors from college meaning he had a high GPA, he scored within the 97th percentile on his AS-VAB- which is incredible since he has been out of school for five years and most candidates go through this process immediately after college, he has excellent recommendations from two college professors, two Army officers, and a retired Marine, and his PFT (Personal Fitness Test) score is a perfect score of 300. Matt is interested in a career in the Army. He is not looking to enter the Army just to get out of a difficult financial situation or economic struggle, etc. He wants to serve his country. This also should act in his favor during the interview board and selection board.

We are so thankful his packet is now complete. This is the next step we have been waiting for in the process. It has taken awhile to get to this point, but now we can finally move forward. While we are not looking forward to Matt leaving for training (which will be close to a year or more of various trainings), we feel confident this is where God wants us. We are willing to enter this lifestyle to serve our country and more importantly, serve our Lord. We see this as a ministry as much as a career. The soldiers and their families need the Lord just like anyone else. We will show them hope in difficult situations. We hope to stand out since we won't be drinking or cussing at social gatherings. We hope to show the love the God to those around us by offering a listening ear or a helping hand or a hug. Ok, Matt may not be giving out hugs to the other soldiers, but you get the idea.

Prayers are certainly appreciated as we go through these final steps. If God closes this door, then we know we were supposed to go through this process regardless. We have learned patience, endurance, sacrifice, and grown closer as a family. We are hopeful that within the next year Matt will leave for Basic Training and our journey as an Army family will begin.

Hooah.

MEPS hates us

Matthew went to MEPS again yesterday. We figured this would be the last time since his recruiter had double checked everything before sending him out there again. He has gone at least five times already and this process is normally a one trip dealio.

Well, he gets there this morning to finish the last few items he needs for his Army OCS packet... and they discover that the Beckley MEPS never sent his paperwork over to the Richmond MEPS, where he is now located. So... they couldn't do everything they needed. Thankfully, he was able to complete his security background check. He may go back once his paperwork is received to verify his height and weight (yes, they could not do that until his paperwork is there)... or he may go back and redo everything just to have it ready to go. Sigh.

Either way he has to go back. Which means there will be another night of me and Jack on our own. I should get used to this right? I mean, Matt will be gone for almost a full year for training and then he'll have various deployments throughout his career. We're expecting him not to be available for the birth of our second child so at that point I'd have a baby or toddler and newborn on my own. Double sigh.

Thankfully, Jack is such an easy baby! He did amazingly yesterday, last night, and this morning. Matt left around noon yesterday and returned home around 3:30 today.

Here's hoping that Matt can go back to MEPS to finish everything up next week so he will be ready for his interview. It would be a pain to have to reschedule that, plus it may mean he wouldn't be ready to be part of the June selection board. All we can do is process our paperwork, sign our signatures, and pray pray pray!

The Waiting Game

We finally thought we were making progress towards the Army selection process. Wrong again. I think God is trying to teach Matt and I perseverance. (that is me trying to have a positive attitude about this)

So Matt left to go to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) yesterday. He went to MEPS for the Marine Corps and did most of the items. The Army has a different secruity interview process that he needed to complete. No big deal. So after being scheduled to go to MEPS for the Army twice, it seemed that the third time would be a charm. He got there last night and all seemed well.

He wakes up this morning and goes to get processed... and his paperwork isn't ready. He calls his recruiter who is back here in Lynchburg. The recruiter does some research. Basically his paperwork was sent to MEPS... and then was never processed. Unfortunately, they can't process it while he's there and conduct the interview. So Matt's sitting around over there (at least he took a book with him) all day while the other future soldiers are getting set to go. Of the Lynchburg office, Matt was the only candidate seeking to go to OCS and not enlistment.

So we were slightly frustrated by this set back. It was nice to think that this would be taken care of before the baby comes. Since when he goes out to MEPS he stays overnight, I don't like the idea of him going too often the closer we get to due date. We're full term as of tomorrow so I really don't want to go into labor while he's out of town. But, like I said... we're learning perseverance. We're still feeling very positively about the Army and this direction for our lives and future.

Of course, we also keep in mind that if this all works out how we're hoping, then this will be the next 2 decades of our lives. Better get used to changed plans now! I also hear that's how life is with children! All plans are marked "tentative" since you never know what will happen with children! Kids act up, get sick, were up all night... the list goes on and on. Flexibility is the plan.

On a slightly separate note: I've been toying with the idea of created a couple blogs to coincide with this one. I would still write on this blog, but it would be used more as my personal outlet. I am considering creating one specifically for Jackson and his life updates, another one specifically for the Army (this would be for when we are officially in)... a few other ideas. I just don't know. I like this blog and the idea of keeping everything central. But I know I update an awful lot. It's nice that I can label posts. Maybe the other blogs aren't necessary? We'll see.

Making the Army Decision

I was going through my posts this morning labeling the posts related to pregnancy to make it easier to filter if someone didn't want to read my other random ramblings. I can go off on tangents or vents a lot.

I then decided to label my posts on the Army as well. There weren't many posts dealing with this so I thought I should update. I think I figured I would keep it all private until any final decisions were made, but since this is a family blog and this is a big part of our family right now I decided it would be worthwhile to post. If our situation changes I can always remove the label.

Towards the end of November we found out that Matthew was not selected for the US Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS). This was a huge disappointment at the time because Matt has been working towards this goal for over a year. The military has been downsizing drastically so there weren't many positions open after the ROTC, enlisted, and military school grads had been placed. Our district was the last to be evaluated and by that time all the eligible spots had been taken.

Matt was offered the chance to enter his packet for the Marine reserves or to try again for active duty at a later date.

We discussed the options among ourselves and with close friends and family. Matt decided to meet with an US Army recruiter to discuss Officer Candidate School in that branch. After his initial meeting he felt very comfortable with the Army and wanted to pursue that branch. We had to change our mindset as we had been planning Marines this whole time, but we both felt at peace with this switch.

Now, a couple months later, Matt is still working through the selection process for the Army. Many of his documents from his Marine Corps packet could be transferred over to the Army packet so that cut out a lot of processing time. He is waiting to go to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) to complete some exercises he wasn't required to do for the Marines and then we'll just be waiting for an opportunity for him to go before the review board. The review board makes the decision if he will be selected for OCS or not. While right now we are told his chances of selection are high, there are certainly no guarantees. The Army has been downsizing similar to the Marines, and the Marine recruiter thought Matt was a shoe-in for OCS.

I am so proud of my potential soldier for all of his hard work through this process and for his positive attitude. At this point he has managed to complete his Physical Fitness Test (PFT) for the Army with a 300 score, which is the highest possible. He has a high GPA as he graduated his undergrad with honors and scored in the 97th percentile on the AS-VAB. Thankfully, his areas of interest for his MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) are the areas he scored highest on in the AS-VAB. He is interested in Military Intel, Aviation, and Infantry. He would enjoy Infantry, but listed it as his third preference since it would ease my mind slightly when he was deployed.

If he is not selected for Army OCS then we are planning on going the enlistment route. We feel confident that the Army is the route for us at this time. God has led us through this process and we both feel this is the future path for us. As Matthew has his undergrad degree he would still try to attend OCS at some point after he enlisted.

Of course, God could just want us to pursue this path at this time and in the future may have far different plans for us. If he is not selected for OCS and the door to enlistment is closed to him, then I hope and pray we will continue to have positive attitudes while we wait for God's direction. It is difficult facing the unknown, but I suppose that will be a constant in our life in the military.

I know we have grown as a couple throughout this process and I am thankful for that. I pray and hope everything will work out smoothly so that Matt will be satisfied and content with his placement. He has a strong desire to serve his country and I know he would be successful as an Army officer. I hope the review board sees this in him and makes the appropriate decision.

Prayers are appreciated as we continue through this process.

Military Woes

On another note: I am frustrated with certain aspects of the military right now. There are lot of hangups that are frustrating to both Matt and I, but we are trying to keep a positive attitude through this whole process.

Of course, if this is going to be our life for the next couple decades I should get used to frustrations and disappointements, I suppose!

I keep telling Matt that the Lord is teaching us patience and flexibiity. Two things we will certainly need in the years to come!