When You Witness Good Deeds First Hand

It's Friday, and I like keeping things light to kick off the weekend. Luckily, we've had some amazing stuff happen here in Enterprise lately, so that's easy. Now, you know how you see all these viral feel good stories and some of them almost seem to good to be true? I try to take them at face value and just appreciate the positive vibes, but lately I've gotten to witness these types of good deeds firsthand, and I feel very blessed.

Good Deed #1
A lady was having a yard sale to raise money for her son's youth group. Her son got sick in the middle, so she put everything on the curb and said Free or for donation for her child's Youth Group trip. When they returned from the ER, she found a pile of cash in place of the goods.

Good Deed #2
A woman with no connection to this soldier whatsoever, drove two hours down to Panama City and scoured the beach for a stranger's wedding ring. Not only did she find it, but the community helped her reunite the ring with the thankful husband.

Good Deed #3
When soldiers witness someone in need, they ALWAYS step up. I've seen it time and time again, and just recently we had a soldier that immediately took charge when he witnessed a terrible car accident. On top of that, he physically laid in gasoline with a family until they were rescued from the car and then disappeared without needing to be thanked. When the victim posted about it on our Fort Rucker Spouse Club site, everyone knew that he had to be found and 324 'shares' later, they were reunited in a matter of days.

And this is why I can't imagine being anywhere else during this pregnancy and for the beginning of Charlie's life. It is such a positive environment and unlike any other I've ever experienced. All of these scenarios happened in a matter of weeks, and this is how it always is here. We may not be able to stay here past the Fall, but at least I know we will always come back here since it's the "Home of Army Aviation". Alabama, I love you!

Baby Shower #2!

When you are pregnant it seems like everyone's knocked up. Seriously, Friends near and far, including my friend Amanda from the Spouse Club. Because we are both 'with child', some of the club ladies wanted to have a little dual shower for us, and it was Ahhh-mazing. Plus way less pressure with two four of us sharing the lime light.

{Thank goodness Amanda is having a boy because it made it so easy for them to nix the pink!}

They held it in one of our gorgeous Community Centers on Post, which was a treat since we don't get the privilege while living off post, On top of that, the best party planners of the group decorated and whipped up some bomb.com food and desserts. I may have taken home two strawberry cakes, four chocolate cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting, and a rather large piece of Pistachio cake...but who's counting? I promise I haven't even finished two cupcakes yet, so I am rationing.

I still can't believe we have made such amazing friends here at Fort Rucker, and all of these folks genuinely care about our family and our baby girl. I realized this Saturday that if we were stationed somewhere else right now it would be a completely different scenario, and I can't imagine having her anywhere but here. We don't have the option to live in our hometown and have all the family, but we truly have found a new family here, and I couldn't ask for more!
Thanks again to all the ladies from both showers!

Real Southern Charm

Warning: If you don't like the South, history, mansions, architecture, or beautiful decor...then this post isn't for you ;) It's not long, but it's full of Southern charm.

Our April luncheon was the BEST luncheon of the whole year! The Mayor of Ozark and his wife invited us to the historic Holman Mansion to get a real taste of Southern hospitality and history, and I still can't believe how awesome it was. I absolutely love learning about anything historical or architectural, so I was  complete dork soaking it all in all day.

Long story short, that big ol' house was built for $75,000 for entrepreneur J.D. Holman back in 1912 and it has become a part of Alabama's history and is now being restored by the city of Ozark. I wish they had restored the A.C. before our luncheon on a 90 degree day, but even then it was still worth it. We had a wonderful lunch, heard the history from J.D. Holman's granddaughter, and had free range of the house and grounds. I dare say we were transported to a different, much simpler time and I will never forget it.

Even better, we were able to tour the Dowling-Steagall House across the street as well, and you wouldn't believe every detail of that place. It was actually used as a hospital before Ozark built a hospital in 1951, and it was owned by Congressman Henry Steagall who is known for working to establish the FDIC. Not only that, but he acquired the land where originally titled Camp Rucker is today. Camp Rucker grew into Fort Rucker, so I guess you could say I wouldn't have the chance to enjoy wonderful Alabama without the Congressman.

Now if only I could figure out how to throw a pool party here...The thought of floating in water in my condition has never seemed so pleasing. We are hoping to go to the river this weekend, but I know the water hasn't warmed up enough to go for a real swim. C'mon summer!

New Me Is We

I finally got around to entering my volunteer hours from the last ten months, and hot damn...now I realize why I was getting volunteer awards. I logged 278 HOURS, and that was me underestimating. Yeesh. No wonder I have been driving myself bonkers trying to get everything done. It has been an amazing learning experience, but I'm happy I will have a sweet little itty bitty excuse to NOT take a position next year. I actually made Will pinky promise me that he wouldn't let me join the board again because I don't trust myself. I will be happy to attend luncheons and volunteer for NORMAL volunteer shifts, but I know it's time to take a break.

Now I'm sitting here trying to think about something to write non-baby related, and it's next to impossible. Sure I have 100+ drafts saved up from my pre-pregnancy era, but my heart's just not in it. Said heart, has been completely taken over by CQB, and that's on top of the love that I already hold for Will. I can break into tears just at the thought of how much I love those too, and I'm not one bit ashamed by it. Not even ashamed by this picture that moves me to no end.

PS. I'm not pretending to sleep. I ain't no faker ;)

I'm sure I will find the motivation to talk about other stuff  along the way, but please bare with me while I try to find myself in this transition. I know I want to share the home buying advice that saved us THOUSANDS, I have tons of recipes, I hope to make lots of memories with Will and our friends during the short period we have left of Flight school, and if you can think of anything you want to know about me or us, feel free to ask questions about anything. I have never done a Q&A in almost five years, so it's possible you have questions...or plausible that I just overs hare as it is. Either way I'm open, and appreciative of all of your support!

Two Months until FRCSC is done, and Three months until CQB is here!

Just Call Me Fairy Godmother

Man, we need multiple homes for rent, because I wish that we could give all of our applicants homes. They were so polite, had glowing references, and all seem to be wonderful people that made it hard to say no to. On the flip side...I loved getting to pick the cream of the crop for our first tenants. One less thing I have to worry about during this pregnancy!

Obviously that went well, as did the rest of the events this week. Yes, everything was on a tight schedule, but it all came together nicely with our Fairy Godmother Prom Dress Giveaway kicking off Saturday. Most of the dresses were worn on the local pageant circuit so you can imagine the quality and pizazz. If only they had this when I was in high school.

In case the video doesn't show up, you can see it here!

To further prove how important this community is to us at Fort Rucker, we held the annual Sweetheart bingo on Tuesday. We treated four hundred of the local senior citizens to Bingo, breakfast, and eighty prizes including a snazzy TV. I told the winner that the only stipulation was that she had to carry it out herself, but she didn't believe me for some reason ;) It was so amazing to see the smiles on their faces and have them tell us that while they usually feel forgotten, we gave them a day they will never forget.

You see that table full of prizes up there? We hit up the Wiregrass area and got ALL of them donated! Can you imagine living in a place so wonderful that only a handful of businesses tell you no when you solicit free stuff? I still can't believe 70+ prizes were that easy to get, and bless this wonderful sweet town and everyone in it.

In addition to all the wonderfulness, we held a contest to see who had been married the longest, and the spring chickens below have been married for SEVENTY-TWO years. I'm sure you are thinking they got married as babies, but he also won oldest man at the ripe old age of seventy-four, so they are just that lucky. When asked what kept them going for seventy-two years, she said love and communication...he said always saying yes m'am.
I think we know who was probably right.

Now it's time to relax, and by relax I mean clean the house, paint baby furniture, grocery shop, and basically catch up on life. We have a week until we go to Pensacola for the McGuire's 5K, less than one month until our first baby shower, three months left of work, and {hopefully} at least four months until CQB makes her appearance. Dear Mr. Time...please slow down.

Patting Myself On The Back

I was blown away when I got Volunteer of the month for FRCSC back in August, but now I'm just speechless after getting a POST WIDE award from the Commander! You can read about it in the Army Flier {C1-3}, but basically I was recognized along with some other AMAZING co-volunteers for our service as part of the Volunteer Corp. I didn't even know what a Spouse Club was when we moved here, and now I'm happy to be an integral part...to be needed.

The best part was they tried to surprise me and told Will about it two weeks early to make sure he was there to support me. I know it doesn't compare to the absolutely incredible things he has done in his career, but he knows that I volunteer on post to represent him, learn more about the Army, and make him proud. I'd like to think that makes us a good team.

I probably won't be able to do as much come baby time, but I hope to always be involved. Other spouses tell me that they don't know enough about the military to get involved on post, but how else do you think you learn? On the job training is the best kind, and although I may not have gotten paid for volunteering, I definitely got invaluable information, experience, and lasting friendships in return. That and a sweet VOQ parking pass coupled with bragging rights ;)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

The Year That Was 2014

You just can't finish out a year without a good round up, am I right or am I right? Usually it takes me all of fifteen minutes to pick my favorite shenanigans to share and call it a day, however, this past year turned out to be a doozy. It just goes to show, you never know where life is going to take you if you are open to experience it.

January || Had us packing up all of our household goods, saying goodbye to breathtaking Colorado, and retiring my orange shorts. All in all, it was a pretty big month for us full of many changes that were exciting and scary at the same time.

February || Moved to Enterprise, Alabama! Actually more exciting than it sounded, and now we never want to leave. We want to find out what Will is going to fly and chill here.

March || We ran the McGuire's 5K {mostly for the free booze}, and I was able to spend two glorious weeks at home with family and witness my niece's baptism.

April || Was my proudest month as Will graduated from WOCS and became a Warrant Officer, the first step on the journey to becoming an Army helicopter pilot. Mmmm mmmm....I love my man in uniform!

May || With warm weather came lots of outdoor activities, and our new favorite was by far tubing. The beach was fun, but you really can't beat hopping in a river on a whim and heading down your own Redneck Riviera.

June || I got to see my baby brother graduate from High School. Ten years my junior, I begged my mom to let me do anything and everything for that sweet baby, so it seems so surreal that he's an 'adult'. Eh...he's still a baby to me!

July || Will was safe in my arms after three weeks of zero communication while he was in Survival School, and I got turned away from a bar for my 'fake id' in Destin, Fl. Oh, and I shotgunned a beer like I was 21 again.

August || I painted a lot of owls.

September || We soaked up the last bit of summer in Panama City for Labor Day.

October || Man, oh man...if I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be October. We spent the month planning our big Halloween/Haunted House party {that I still haven't blogged about}, attended the good ol' Ten Year Reunion, got new ink done, had a blast with all of our besties in Jacksonville, actually had my husband WITH me for my big day, and possibly had the best Birthday month of my life. I never wanted it to end.

November || Celebrated Veterans and raised $1,000's for Charity {$23,000 to be exact}, which still makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

December || We took a leap and started the home buying process. We area learning the ups and downs and waiting to see if our house goes through {inspections on top of inspections}, and trying to remember to enjoy the process. We are learning, we are growing, and embracing this adventure...at least we are in it together!

If we didn't have all this fun stuff to look back on, I wouldn't believe 2014 even happened. It went by WAY too fast, which I say every year, but that doesn't make it any less true. I don't know what 2015 is going to bring us or if it can hold a candle to 2014, but I am most definitely looking forward to enjoying the South while we are here, Will graduating, and BOTH of us turning 30 this year. I guess that means I'll be leaving the 'Twenty-Something' blogger club soon. Oh well, I ain't scurred. Age before beauty ;)

Peace Out 2014...It's been real!

Bazaar Fun

A few months ago, I didn't even know what a Hollyday Bazaar was. I also didn't know how to publicize an event on such a grand scale, but I guess you learn something new everyday. I'm still in awe that we spent a few months with our nose to the grindstone, and transformed a plain ol' Army hanger into a bazaar wonderland.

The morning of, I was blown away at the line of HUNDREDS clamoring to get in. We were offering free 'swag bags' full of goodies to the first 350, and we ran out in FIFTEEN minutes. We were up against four other big local events, and if I had any doubt about how our turnout would be, my mind was eased that morning.

I mostly ran around as a floater/photographer, but our FRG {Family Readiness Group} had a taco stand fundraiser, so I wrangled up some friends and we volunteered for that too. Even Will came to help, which definitely made my day.

But Will wasn't the only one that had me smitten. I have been volunteering with a lot of 'important' spouses that I'm already pretty stoked about rubbing elbows with, but when the Command Team spouses know you by name...it's pretty unreal. I liken it to being a fangirl to celebrities in the civilian world. To me, these people are celebrities as cheesy as that sounds.

Wanna know the best part? We raised $23,000, yes THOUSAND, dollars this year! I still can't believe that a small force of volunteers can pull something like this off, but I guess our small force is a force to be reckoned with, and I'm just honored to be a part of it. That's why this is the hardest I've ever worked for free, and possibly harder than even when I was getting paid. Meaningful trumps a paycheck these days, I guess.

Now, I'm just ready to take a break and enjoy the holidays. Time is flying by, and I'm not ready for what comes next. The next move could come with a lot of factors to consider, so I'll just be living in the moment for now. Happy December 1st!!

Holiday Bucket List

+ Put up a REAL tree. We don't need it to be all Rockefeller Center up in here, but we've never had a real, honest to goodness tree. 

+ Decorate the exterior with lights, which would be another first for us. It may happen this weekend, but it's pretty frigid these days. I'll just have to ply Will with lots of spirits.

+ Make it through our Annual FRCSC Hollyday Bazaar. I mean, it's going to be Ah-Mazing, but considering I'm in charge of publicity, I'll be happy when it's over and I know I didn't fail. Hope, hope I didn't fail. I'm doing the best I can, but a month is not enough time to promote one of the biggest Bazaars in this area.

+ Visit the local Holiday Spectacular Park.

+ Christmas movies until my eyeballs fall out. My faves:
Miracle On 34th Street
Love Actually
One Magic Christmas
The family Stone
It's a Wonderful Life
...And every other sappy, lovey dovey, holiday movie there is.

Most Importantly...We want to soak in every joyous moment with friends and family. Our time here is going to be over before we know it, and we most definitely won't be here for the holidays next year, so it's time to party like it's our last holiday season ever.

29 Facts Of Me

Two days away from my birthday I decided to do a "29 Facts Of Me" {coinciding with the 29th of Oct, of course}, but I just couldn't come up with 29 new things that you don't already know about me, I'm allowed to tell, and were actually interesting. I came up with six, but the jury's still out as to whether you'll think they are interesting.

...I can't scream. I think my voice is too low or something.

...I'm always covered in paint from projects and/or burns from cooking.

...I loathe scary movies, but love haunted houses.

...I'm super cheap, but you already know that.

...I've watched Frozen about twenty times {but who hasn't}.

...I've read hundreds of Nancy Drew books, and started in First Grade

In Other News...

+ I can't wait for the Nashville Christmas album to come out November 4th. I love the show, and I'm obsessed with Christmas, so it's an absolute necessity.

+ Now...not only am I the FRCSC Secretary, I was voluntold to take over the Publicity chair too. Our Publicity chair is moving to Korea or something, so we have to have someone step in to advertise our biggest event of the year. I'm actually happy about it and would rather be Publicity than Secretary, but it's still a tidge overwhelming. 

+ The haunted house was AMAZING. I have so much to share about it, but putting that recap together is going to take awhile. Allow me to introduce you to Sid...

+ We have even more planned this weekend, but I'll have to tell ya after. I'm sure I'll post a few pictures on the ol' Insta of Gram, though. 

+ The best part is I ditched my original {tight} costume for a more figure friendly one, so I can eat and drink whatever I want! I figured, hey...it's my birthday week and I deserve the cake Will made me, the whoopi pies my girl Karie made me, the cake Loni got the four of us that are celebrating birthdays this week, wing night tomorrow night, and the fact that everyone is making me drink on Friday. Well, the real reason was that the girls weren't fitting in my top right without a bra, but the gluttony thing is still a big bonus.

Two more days until Halloween! I hope you all have your costumes picked out. You tell me what you are going to be, and I'll tell you ;)
Linking up with Helene!

I Got Volunteer Of The Month!

I'm happy to report things are looking up since my last venting sesh. I got some much needed family time, a girls night out, and I found out I am the Volunteer of the month for the FRCSC!

That is nuts to me because I just started this volunteer thing. I didn't even know there was a volunteer of the month when I started painting those owls, and now I've gotten this awesome recognition. To some it may not seem like a big deal, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up a little. I've been working my butt off lately, and it's really nice to know that it's not going unnoticed. As a matter of fact, I mentioned to Will that he gets all these special homecomings, and I get nada when I come home. He needs to recognize I'm VOM now ;)

Girl time is also getting me through these days. I haven't really had many 'girly nights out' since I've been married unless Will was deployed or in training, but the paint party we just went to at All About Art was a big stress reliever. Wine, painting, and girl talk? A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

It was awesome that our group took up half the room, but I don't think our teacher liked that very much. In the words of Carrie, don't tell us to bring wine and then get mad when we end up drunk tipsy. Let's be real...all that matters is that we can maintain a paintbrush.

Whatevs...our paintings turned out great, and even though I didn't really want to paint a peacock they were really cute, I made that ish my own, and my teal color scheme totally worked. I don't want to make a habit of losing time with Will, but there will definitely be another painting party in our future. Hhhmmm...maybe I should just make them all come to my house and have them help me paint/stain my benches, coffee table, and sofa console. I won't even charge them the $30 bucks! What about y'all? Any takers?