Friday, April 24, 2009

Update - 04/09

(Some might be wondering where the rest of my blog posts went. Since my 365 Project didn't last long, I went ahead and deleted those posts, so I could just turn this into a regular blog.)

It's hard to keep up with everyone like I would like to, so instead I decided it would be best to just write an update for Jesse and me.

We took a two week vacation this month, and just got back to Korea a few days ago. Vacation was incredible, exactly what we needed, but definitely not long enough. We got to see our family, but time seemed short with everyone since there were so many things to do, places to be, and people to see. We were finally able to shop for the baby, and that was definitely exciting. Not much beats seeing Jesse coo and giggle over adorable little baby girl clothing and gear.

It was so nice to just be somewhere where we both totally feel at home. Things are on our schedule (for the most part ;]), and we don't have Big Brother telling us to be in by curfew. There are places to go, and we can stay busy all the time.

We have both made the decision that there's no way either of us wants to continue this Army journey once this contract is up for Jesse. This life is probably amazing to tons of people, but it is just about the antithesis of the life we want for ourselves. We want to move back home to Greenville, SC and live near our family. A few days a couple times a year just isn't enough to see our family. We've got our own little family now too, and we can't imagine our big family missing out on our little family anymore.

Some of my best memories are big family get-togethers, sleepovers with cousins, and always having family around. We can't imagine our daughter (and any future children) not having the same opportunity as that. I'm sure we could make life happy anywhere we happened to be since the three of us would have each other, but I don't think any life we could have could compare to the life we have in SC. I guess a lot of people feel like there just aren't any opportunities back home, but we could make things work and will no matter what we have to do. Living near the people we love is what's most important to us.

Jesse and I are already brainstorming jobs and careers we could get into once the Army life is over. For now, Jesse is considering becoming a paramedic, and he seems pretty excited about it. He's done with being in law enforcement, but more than anything he wants to help people and feel satisfied at the end of the day, like he's made a difference. I'm sure we'll both cook up lots of job ideas before we finally settle on something, but we just want to be figuring out our post-Army life now, so we aren't caught off guard when that joyous time comes and he's out. Right now, Jesse has 3 & 1/2 years left on his contract, and when we leave Korea, he'll be exactly halfway through his contract, with just 2 & 1/2 years left to go. We considered going somewhere far from home as our next duty station, but after being home, we've realized we just can't do that to ourselves. Instead, we want to try to be within 8-10 hours driving distance of home, if possible, and stationed somewhere where one or both of us can further (or finish up) our education.

Neither of us (nor our families) can deal with too many more emotionally draining goodbyes. They never get easier, but instead feel like they just get harder, and I can only imagine how much more difficult they will be once we have a baby. The looks in our family members' eyes when we have to hug goodbye stay on my mind constantly and it tears me apart just thinking about how hard it is to know it will be months and months before I can see those people again. It's just not something we can continue to do.

If it's even possible, Jesse is even happier about this decision than I am. He hasn't liked the Army life since he joined, and it seems like he constantly regrets his decision to enlist. He makes what he can of it, and tries to do the best job he can, but that doesn't seem to make him enjoy it any more.

Anyway, I'm sure details of what we want to do will change as the new couple of years go by, but I think we have a pretty good foundation of what we want to do.

As for our little Cori Aletta, she is doing fantastic. I am almost 19 weeks pregnant, which means we are just one week away from being halfway through with the pregnancy. We got the results of the blood screening for any genetic disorders, and the results were totally normal, so there is nothing to worry about. I started feeling her kick for sure this week, and have felt her for the past three days. Most of the kicks are just little flutters, but I've felt a few stronger kicks too, and it is such an amazing feeling. Jesse can't feel the flutters, but he can feel the stronger kicks, just barely. Jesse's been reading to her, and he is just the best daddy already. I couldn't ask for a better husband, seriously.

Our first wedding anniversary came and went on April 13th, and it was a great day. I honestly can't believe that it's already been a whole year. When we were apart, time dragged like there was no tomorrow, but since we've been able to live together here, time honestly has felt like double time compared to the first 6 months of our marriage. Things are just amazing between us, and we're looking forward to tons and tons more anniversaries. :)

That's all for now, I suppose. <3