"Bloom Where You're Planted"

That's the advice we got at our spouses' brunch yesterday from Debby, military wife and mom for more than 15 years. I've tried very hard to embrace this mentality and so far, so good. I've met several wives (and their beautiful children) just by venturing out to the dorm playground which is right outside my door. Others I met at the spouses' briefing Tuesday night while even more- including 2 fellow Pennsylvanians (1 graduated from PSU!)- were introduced at the spouses' brunch yesterday.

It's great to meet other wives, especially when we come from different backgrounds- militarily speaking and otherwise. Some of our husbands went through ROTC, others went to the Academy and some were previously enlisted and went through Officer Training School. Two of the wives in our group are also moms- with 2 children each- Logan (4) & Emma (16 months) and Ava (4) & Ryan (7 months). All the kids are beautiful and very well behaved- it makes me look forward to becoming a mommy myself! I'm the only ASBC mommy-to-be, but one woman whose husband is going to SOS (Squadron Officer School) is due in May. It's nice to see another baby bump around the base.

While I've been getting to know the wives, Daniel has been training with the husbands at Blue Thunder this week. It's been hard to have him gone this week, especially with such little notice. Though he told me he'd probably be 'deploying' this week, he wasn't sure exactly when that would occur. It turns out he was gone by 2 on Monday and won't get back until tomorrow afternoon. Thankfully, he has been able to call every day so we get to catch up in the evenings. He's living in a tent, eating MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) and wearing a flak vest and helmet for most of the day. Despite the very cold nights (all below freezing!), he's in good spirits and finding the training very educational and well executed. I'm really excited to welcome him back tomorrow even though this will be my last night having the bed to myself. :-)

Now that I have Internet access, I'll be updating more regularly- I'm working on a 'catch up' post to close the gap between the weddings and ASBC.

Sweet Home Alabama!

Though we are still on the waiting list for housing at Vance AFB, we’re spending the next six weeks (Jan 10-Feb 19) in Montgomery, AL at Maxwell AFB for Daniel’s Air and Space Basic Course (ASBC). It’s about 14 hours to drive between the two bases, but Dan and I are seasoned travelers along the highways and enjoyed yet another road-trip together. We took two days to travel and spent the night in the beautiful city of Memphis, TN. We found a gorgeous hotel call River Inn where we enjoyed Italian linens, truffles (and Port Wine for Daniel) at turn-down as well as a wonderful breakfast at their restaurant, Currents, pictured below.

 We arrived at our final destination Sunday evening after starting our day off with mass at the Memphis parish of St. Patrick’s. Maxwell is much bigger than Vance so it was a bit intimidating, especially trying to navigate through it at night. Our VOQ (visiting officer’s quarter) is pretty nice- bigger than those at Vance with a nice desk, more closet space and a couch along with a kitchenette that has a garbage disposal!


Another thing that’s bigger at Maxwell- the Commissary- it’s HUGE! Vance’s Commissary is very nice and has just about everything we need, but since Maxwell is home to so many people, it needs more food! It’s a too far to walk there from the dorms but I was able to get a ride from another student’s wife, Brittni, who lives across the corridor from us. Being a military wife has definitely brought me further out of my shell and I've already met some wonderful women while our husbands are gone for the week. The next month will surely be an enjoyable one!