Wonderful weekend

I do have to say that I had a great weekend and it was much needed.  To start, I was able to get off of work early on Friday evening and had supper with my dad and sisters.  I really do loathe working 2nd shift( because of the lack of family time I have those weeks), and was happy to actually spend some time with Austin Friday evening.  After supper we went to Wal-Mart to get a couple of things, then we came home and went to bed.  Saturday morning was a pretty lazy morning. I spent most of it reading Stephen King's "Under the Dome".  I was hooked! I couldn't put the darn thing down.  Then I finally started getting ready for a lunch with group of former co-workers from La Petite.  I have never worked somewhere before where I have met such wonderful and lifelong friends.  Just as I was getting ready to leave my house, I saw Jeromey was online!  I was so excited, and lucky for me my Facebook app on my phone allows me to chat with him without having to be on a computer.  More often than not, the chat on my phone doesn't work.  I'm so glad this was not one of those times.  As my friend Alex drove us to Iowa City, I spent the ride chatting with Jeromey.  Normally his time on the computer is very limited but he said no one else was waiting to get on so we were able to chat for a while.  We dropped Austin off at my sister's apartment, so she could take Austin to a movie while I had some "girl" time.  Alex and I arrived at The Atlas (where we were having lunch) a little early and decided to have a couple of drinks while we waited for everyone else to arrive.  It was nice to just sit, have some adult conversation, and relax.  All while still chatting with Jeromey.  Because of the time difference, it was pretty late for him and he was tired.  He has been working 12-16 hour days!  Poor guy.  At least he is being kept busy, so I hope that helps the time pass quickly for him.  Although I think his days all blur together because he didn't realize it was Saturday, he asked if I was working.  After he was done on the computer he called and it was great to hear his voice.  It is hard to explain the feeling of having a spouse, but only being able to talk to them every so often and for limited periods of time.  Before this deployment, Jeromey was just always there, and always available.  Even at work, we would talk on my breaks, and text each other constantly.  So we became so accustomed to just always having one another.  Now, when I want to pick up the phone and call, which I can't, or send him a text I have resorted to sending him Facebook messages.  I post on his wall daily. It makes me feel better even though it is not the same because I don't get a response.  I guess for me, these phone calls are what makes this bearable and keep me going.  He calls when he can, and we try to fit everything thats been happening into a phone call.  Of course I never remember everything, and he can't tell me ANYTHING it seems.  But we definitely have more than enough to talk about before time runs out. I know this post probably sounds so much like the others, "there is never enough time".  I am hoping that someday soon he will have the chance to Skype, because I would love to actually get to see him.  I am not holding my breath on that one though because it will probably be a while.  I have to just live by the motto my friend Andrea told me, "Hope for the best, but expect the worse".  She means in regards to how often we communicate and basically if I don't expect him to call for a week or two, then I won't be disappointed when I hear from him sooner than that.  I'm getting better at this, but it is so hard to not be a little disappointed each day I don't hear from him.  I do have to admit though, when he called earlier this week, my mood improved by ten fold and my spirits were lifted for days.  We talked for a while, I let Alex know what I wanted so she could order for me while I talked to Jeromey on the phone.  He seems to be in pretty good spirits and that makes me happy to know that.  Even thought there are a lot of things he can't tell me, he tries his best to give me an idea of whats going on but about all I know is they are building buildings over there.  I already knew that was basically what they would be doing over there so this isn't news.  Sometimes it's a little tricky because he will open up as much as he can, but its not something I really want to hear.  I am constantly worried about him as it is.  I don't want to discourage him from talking to me about stuff and opening up to me, because I am his wife and I am here to support him.  Same as he is my husband and is my support. Just because he is deployed, our relationship hasn't changed.  I need him to be there and listen to me just as much as he needs me to listen and be there for him.  Who else, if not his wife, can he confide in?  I confide in him more than any other person, and there are things that I tell Jeromey that I would never tell anyone else.  So while we always try to keep our conversation pleasant, there are times he brings things up I just really don't want to think about.  I just say "honey, right now that is not what I want to hear or talk about".  I read online that some couples keep journals, and when the journal is full, they mail it to the other spouse.  Maybe this would be a better place for him to talk to me about things I don't want to hear and same with me.  This way, if there is something stressful at home that happens, I don't have to spend our limited phone time talking about it, but I will still feel better writing about it and sharing it with him when its over and better.  I asked how he was eating, he said that the base he is on is not an American base, but the people who run it have been cooking for him.  I guess the other night they had steak!  I was sure he was pulling my leg, but he promised he wasn't....
He promised to call again as soon as he could, which is never soon enough if you ask me!  Of course there is not day or time for me to expect his call so I will continue to have my phone with me at all times.  After our conversation I went back to lunch with my friends. It really was some much needed girl time and I can't wait to do it again.  Last night Austin and I went to a wedding reception.  It was a lot of fun, and we even danced a little. If you know Austin, you know he loves to dance so he was out on the dance floor before I was!  It is always a great feeling to be surrounded by friends and family and we had a good time.  Today, I did a whole lot of nothing.  I think maybe I had too much fun at the wedding reception?  :)  I did finish my Stephen King book and am trying to decide what to ready next.  Keep praying for the men and women who leave behind the comfort of home to do something so selfless!

Funny how a phone call can make my day!

  Yesterday I was having a really tough time.  Just really missing talking to Jeromey.  I know I'm not the only one missing him during his deployment, but sometimes I feel so alone.  I know I have family and friends for help and support through this, and you have all been wonderful!  But there is no one that can give me the pick me up on a bad day quite like Jeromey.  Those of you who have a spouse or significant other, you know what I mean.  No one gets you quite like they do, and no ones voice can make your day like their's can.  So while yes I have friends and family to call when I'm stressed or just down, it doesn't do the job.  Sometimes I just really need to hear from Jeromey.  Even if our time on the phone is limited, I take any second I can get!  With this being said, yesterday I was missing him and missing talking to him A LOT.  I received a phone call from Jeromey today.  The first one came this morning as I was on my way to get Austin ready for school.  It came from his cell phone he purchased over there.  The thing about these cell phones is he has no service where he is.  So he will find a spot with a little service but the quality of the call is crap, and usually the call is cut off pretty quickly.  This morning was no exception.The call this morning was a pleasant surprise, but the 1 minute and 29 seconds was not long enough at all.  Especially because his voice was distorted for 1/2 the call, and as I was saying "I can't understand you" he was trying to repeat what he was saying and all I heard was Charlie Brown's teacher saying "Wah Wah, Wah Wah Wah Wah".  Then a beep, and just like that we were disconnected.  Its such a disappointing feeling to want nothing more than to talk to my husband, get him on the line, and not hear a word he said only to be cut off not knowing when he will call again.  It definitely left me feeling sorry for myself.  I got Austin ready for school, dropped him off, and went home.  I had already planned on taking a nap after dropping Austin off, and with the mood I was in and the weather, I didn't feel like doing anything else.  I grabbed Jeromey's tshirt that still smells like him, curled up in bed and dozed off.  I woke up still feeling crabby and down.  I got ready for work, and headed up to Iowa City to run some errands.  Right before I got to the bank my phone rang, and sure enough I look and see its Jeromey calling.  I was so excited!  But this stupid touch screen phone, it didn't want to answer.  I started to panic thinking I was going to miss his call and I didnt know what to do but at the last second it finally did what I wanted it to and answered.  Finally!  A clearer connection and I could hear and understand him.  I'm kind of a crybaby, and once again my eyes filled with tears, just so happy to be able to talk to him and know we had at least a few minutes.  Most of the time our phone calls don't have a lot to them other than "I love you, I miss you" several times (of course you can never say it enough) and "how is everything", "good, you?", "good".  I try to think of anything important I have been wanting to tell him or ask him.  I would write stuff down, but if you know me, you know that the list would probably not be where I thought I left it, and by the time I found it our time on the phone would be up.  We did get disconnected after a few minutes and he had to call me back.  I didn't get too upset because I know that he can usually call back from the satellite phone, but I always hate to get my hopes up in case for some reason he can't call back.  We talked some more and he said I wouldn't be hearing from him for a couple days or up to a week.  I told him he should probably call his mom then, so he let me go so he could do that, and then he called back one last time.  He didn't have much time left at this point because of course he isn't the only one there who wants to call somebody and there were others waiting to use the phone.  So we said our goodbyes and hung up.  It did turn my mood around to hear from him.  It will tide me over for a day or two.  Then I will start to wonder when the next phone call will come again...but until then I will just try my best to hang in there!  My friend Emily gave me a magnet for my birthday that says "When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and swing"  So here I am swinging.  I'm sure in the days/weeks/months to come I will continue to find a little extra rope there at the end that I didn't realize I had...

Jeromey update...

Jeromey is now in Afghanistan.  The days have all started to run together. I don't remember which day he was where because the phone calls have been short and mainly to say "Ok, I'm leaving here now and going to some other place".  I don't know where in Afghanistan he is, because he can't say. All I know is he is somewhere with no internet access.  I believe they went to this place Tuesday night/Wednesday morning our time.  Where as the week before we were able to chat almost daily on Facebook, and I was getting more regular phone calls, this week has been an adjustment week.  I have had to get used to not hearing anything for days.  It has been tough and today I finally got a call.  I immediately began crying at the sound of his voice.  Jeromey is my best friend and as I have thought about it, I can't think of a time where we haven't talked for more than one day as long as we have been together. Its hard to not be able to call whenever I just want to talk, or if I just need a pick me up.  He's great at that. I did know that he had made it to his final duty station for the time being because he called to tell me on Wednesday.  The cell phones that some of the soldiers bought over there don't get service where he is, so he has to call from a satellite phone.  From the sounds of it, this one phone is used by all of them.  When he called Wednesday he told me he only had 5 minutes.  We went a little over that, but he let me go so he could call his mom quick and then hand the phone off to the next person waiting to use it.  Today when he called, we again had a short amount of time.  He said he is doing well and he is somewhere safe.  He told me the "base" they are on is run by Canadians. I'm sure he'll come back saying things like "Don't ya know" and "Yah"  Lol.  Like I said, the sound of his voice on the other end of that line is such a comfort.  The past 3 days I have had my phone clutched in my hand almost all the time for fear of missing a phone call.  Wednesday night around 12:30 my cell phone did ring with one of the numbers that comes up when Jeromey calls.  Unfortunetly all I got was 15 seconds of noise, and then it was disconnected.  There was no call back.  This left me staring at my phone, willing it to ring.  No such luck.  He had warned me not to expect a call for a couple weeks, but I was holding out hope that he was over exaggerating and he would be able to call before that.  I think its easier to expect to go two weeks with no word, and be pleasantly surprised by a phone call. But it is so very hard to just not know when to expect to hear anything.  I am hoping to get snail mail, but I know he doesn't like to write.  With no internet I don't think he will be able to personally update everyone, so I will try and keep you all up to speed via this blog or email.  He said that he will probably be without internet connection most of his deployment.  At least they are keeping him busy.  He got some new boots and said they are the most comfortable boots he's ever worn.  He said they are like wearing tennis shoes.  I can't believe it took the army this long to develop comfortable boots for the soldiers to wear!  I sent a package this last week.  I can't wait for him to receive it!  I plan on sending another one this week.  Since he hasn't been good at giving ideas, and since I'm new to this I have just been googling "care packages" for ideas on what to send.  For those of you who would like to send Jeromey a letter or a package his mailing address is:
Ford, Jeromey
322 EN CO
APO AE 09355


The post office has free flat rate shipping boxes for military packages.  It was $12.95 to send it over.  I also asked about postage for sending letters and they said its the same as mailing it somewhere in the U.S.  Jeromey informed me today he doesn't have to use stamps when he sends his mail.
I have been trying to adjust to this lack of communication, and just life with Jeromey temporarily gone.  Austin had spring break this week, so I had to take time off work as I had no one to watch him, especially with me going in at 6am.  I wouldn't have had time to drive him anywhere but my dad's house. Wednesday, we enjoyed some quality time. We spent almost the entire day in Iowa City/Coralville.  By the time we got home that evening, I was feeling really antsy.  I just wanted to go somewhere/do something.  At first, I attributed this to spring fever.  The more I thought about it, I realized I was just lonely.  Sure I had Austin for company, but it just isn't the same.  My mom was already planning on coming to Iowa on Saturday, but I just couldn't wait so I decided to go visit her.  Austin and I left Thursday morning.  It was just nice to not be home in that big house just the two of us.  I was so happy to see my mom.  It hasn't been easy going through something like this with her not around!  It was just what I needed.  Today we drove back to Iowa.  I picked up Matthew and Hunter and we spent the evening at my Aunt Elsa's just relaxing and hanging out with my mom and Paul.  I hope this next week goes a little smoother.
I think this is all I have to share for now, I can't think of/remember anything else we may have talked about.  Again all I ask is that Jeromey and his fellow soldiers continue to be in your prayers.

Don't You Wanna Stay - Jason Aldean (ft. Kelly Clarkson)

Our song, the lyrics seemed so appropriate. If only he could have stayed...

Time machine anyone?

Where has the time gone?  I guess I'll go back a little and talk about Jeromey's 4 day pass. His unit was granted a 4 day pass to spend with their families before they leave country.  We had decided that we didn't want to spend the limited time driving Jeromey home and back so we went to the Wisconsin Dells.  Friday morning Jeromey's mom, Hunter, and I left to go pick him up.  We were all excited to get there, and we couldn't arrive soon enough!  We picked him up and I think we packed Mom's(Nancy) car as full as it would get!  It was about an hour drive to the hotel.  We got there and as soon as Jeromey took a shower, he passed out. I think they've been working him extra hard.  I know he had been doing a lot of training and it was late nights and early mornings the whole time he was there.  My phone calls usually came at midnight if not later.  He didn't sleep long though, because Hunter REALLY wanted to go swimming.  We had supper and waited for Dad(Jerry) and Matthew and Austin to get there, then we all went and sat in the pool and hot tub.  It was so nice to be together, and just sit and relax!  We didn't stay too long though, because we had all had a long day and we were ready for bed.  Of course, the next morning the boys were ready for swimming again first thing after breakfast.  Basically the whole 4 days we spent in the water and I'm surprised the 3 boys didn't grow gills.  We went to lunch at Famous Daves. I've never been before, but it was delicious.  We decided to go bowling, and everyone had fun.  The next day we were able to head to the Glacier Canyon resort where Jeromey's parents had booked a 3 bedroom suite. It was beautiful and we were so very thankful to his parents.  Of course, once we checked in the boys wasted no time getting into their swim trunks.  We walked to the closes water park through the skywalk and the boys were off and playing.  Hunter wasn't too excited about the big bucket of water that would fill up and dump over, so he was hesistant about playing on the kids play area.  The two big boys had no fear and they were off having a blast. We took Hunter on the lazy river, and he didn't mind it but he was shivering so we took him to the smaller kids pool and that water was warm. He enjoyed that much better. Jeromey and Jerry took Matthew and Austin onto the slide called the Hurricane.  I'm glad they were there because I sure as heck wasn't going on that!  They had fun and we finally decided to head back to the room for some supper.  We checked out a movie from the front desk, ate supper, and relaxed some more.  The next day we went to the 2nd waterpark called The Wild Water Dome.  It was nice because it has a glass ceiling for "indoor tanning" and the sun was shining that day.  It was warm and with the sun, felt just like you were at a beach.  This waterpark's main attraction was the wave pool.  It was big and we jumped right in after we found a table.  It was kind of crazy in there though because they have all these tubes, and if you aren't on a tube, other people's tubes were crashing into you and pushing you around.  There was also a waterslide that was more my style.  It was a family waterslide so you would go down on a tube for four. Again, Matt and Austin were all about it, but Hunter wasn't as sure.  We finally talked him into going down and the first thing he says at the end is "Yeehaw ride em cowboy".  I'm sure you get that he loved it!  Of course that meant a couple of more trips down the slide with dad and the boys.  I do have to mention, I know that all 3 boys missed Jeromey, as we all did.  But it was very noticeable with Hunter.  He wanted Dad to help him with everything, to sit by him, to ride in the same car as him, just be around him.  That is one of the hardest things with all of this is knowing how much the kids are going to miss him. Jeromey was only gone for 40 days before we got to see him again, so I'm not sure how he will handle going longer!  We came back for a late lunch/early supper and then decided to go to the 3rd waterpark.  Like I said before, I am surprised the boys hadn't grown gills at this point with as much as they were in the water.  Our plan for Jeromey's last day with us until his R&R we decided we would go to one more waterpark, then out to lunch before coming back and packing up.  That whole day was so bittersweet.  We had the inevitable goodbye looming over us all day. The worst was after lunch when we came back to the hotel for Jeromey to pack and start putting his uniform on.  I had a hard time keeping it together and at the end, I didn't.  We played one of our favorite songs, and slow danced in our room. Very wonderful and sad at the same time.  Neither one of us was ready for a 2nd goodbye and the four days felt as if they had flown and left us wanting more time.  I'm sure no amount of time would have been sufficient though.  We drove Jeromey back to the base and headed back to the hotel. Everyone went to bed when we got back.  I think I stayed up and watched tv for a while.  The next day we packed up and headed home.  We found out the next day that he would be leaving the country on Sunday.  So another four days that would fly by.  We were still able to talk daily, and that was great but Sunday was here before I knew it.  He called several times throughout the day and we tried to talk as much as we could knowing that we were uncertain of how long it would be until we talked again. I think they left on the bus about 9 or so that night.  We talked for some of the bus ride.  He called again from outside the airport or hangar or whatever, and again while waiting on the plane.  I think the last phone call came at 2am!  That was when they finally took off.  It was awful, I cried myself to sleep, and was sad.  On Monday I received a message that he had made it to his layover but the calling card he had was not working so he wasn't able to call home.  I didn't expect to hear from him again but was pleasantly surprised when I got a phone call at 2:45am this morning.  There is no better phone call to wake up to!  I was so excited to hear his voice and talk to him.  He only had 15 minutes to talk and I couldn't believe when it had already been 15 minutes!  In the middle of our conversation I accidentally hung up on him :(  I began to panic because I didn't know if he would be able to call again.  I sat there staring at my phone, willing it to ring.  I was praying "Please God let him call back" over and over.  Next thing I know, without my phone even ringing I had a voicemail.  I REALLY started to freak out then because I knew it was from him and I was sure he was going to tell me that his chances to call were up and that I would have to wait until his next available time.  I didn't want to check my voicemail for fear he might try calling and again wouldn't be able to get through, but I had to know if he was going to try again or not.  I checked my voicemail and to my relief it was him saying he would try back in a few minutes.  He called back and we were able to talk for a few more minutes.  It was afternoon time there and although he hadn't slept much on the flights, he was trying to stay awake so he could go to sleep at night time and try to get into the schedule there.  We hung up and I was so excited to have heard from him that I stayed up until almost 4am.  That made for a long day today!  I am still tired and plan on going to bed ASAP when I get home.  He had promised he would try to call before bed, which would be morning time here.  He called before 8am and we talked again for 15 minutes, this time getting cut off.  The phone line beeped, we tried to hurry and say quick goodbyes, and then we were cut off.  I happened to be at my dad's and I got message from him saying he was online on facebook so I got online and we were able to chat for a little bit.  His computer time is limited to 30 minutes, so once again we were watching the clock.  Man, I know I said I wanted this year to fly by but not in small 15 to 30 minute increments!  I told him to try and get online again if he couldn't call when he woke up.  That would be evening time for us, and Wednesday morning for him.  So here I sit, waiting to hear from him.  Is he going to call?  Is he going to get online?  Is he not able to do either?  If not how long will it be?  Ugh, this is making me crazy!  I will be thankful in the future once he is settled and has more of a schedule and an idea of when he'll be able to call and get online.  We plan on skyping if/when he's able.  I am putting together my first care package to send over.  Its hard trying to find stuff to send to show how much he's missed and how much you love him.  I am sending peanut butter girl scout cookies, some pictures, and some other things. Heres to hoping I find a time machine to either make this year fly by, or go back in time before he ever left!