Letter from Home

I mentioned in the last post about a letter I handed to Stan when he left for Iraq. I knew when saying goodbye I wouldn't be able to say what I wanted, and the letter allowed him to know what I was thinking in that final moment.

Dear Stan

I wanted you to have something special on the plane from me. I thought about giving you a little gift, but I know you’re a simple man and nothing is more special to you than a letter.

There’s so much I want to say to you, but I don’t even know where to begin. I should start by telling you that 7 years ago when the Lord brought you into my path was the day my life changed forever. Little did we know, He had everything already planned and knew we would have this journey in life together. I want you to know that the days I’ve spent with you have been the best days of my life…from our young high school days, to the college years, to the crazy months prior to our wedding, to the Oklahoma days, and now the Georgia years. I never could have visioned how amazing my life with you would be with you in it.

I’ll think about you every day while you’re away. Don’t think a day will go by that I will not think of your smiling face, your sweet touch, your funny jokes, or your comments where you tease me. Not only will I think of you, but I promise to pray for you every day. I’ll pray for your safety, your spiritual life, your relationship with co-workers, your temptations, your happiness, and our marriage.

Because I know you so well, you probably have many thoughts running through your head right now when thinking about the upcoming months. Most of your thoughts are worries, fears, and the anticipation of the unknown. I want you to relax and know you will be alright. You have a wife who will be praying and supporting you. You also have a family back home, and a church family here who is doing the same. You have a wonderful support system the Lord has blessed you with.

A part of me is scared about what the next year will hold, but I know the Lord has it planned already and I’m trusting in His great wisdom. I love you, Stan, and I’m going to continue to keep the promise I made to you on our wedding day when we said our vows. This year will hold some tough times for us, but I’m holding on. Nothing will separate my love...not even the distance around the world or the length of a year. Like the pastor said when handing us our rings, love is like a circle showing no beginning and no end.

Put your trust in the Lord and He will guide you. And get home to me soon, so we can start our family together. :)

Yours forever, Kathryn

Depature Day

We both knew the day would arrive when Stan would have to leave for a deployment. This was not a surprise, and we've been preparing for this day literally for years. Looking back a few years ago, deployment seemed like a distant dream; but soon the distant dream became reality and it has finally arrived. To be honest, we handled the day better than I had ever expected. It wasn't easy, but I know God prepared us mentally, emotional, and spiritually for this day. I can't give the credit to anything else.

The day of his departure was a long day. He was set to leave that night around midnight, so we had the entire day before having to say goodbye. We used the day wisely accomplishing things around the house along with getting in the final dose of quality time together. We acted like the day was a regular, mundane day; but as night approached and the daylight turned dark nether of us said much. We knew what was coming. All too quickly the time came to load the car and we made the drive out to post. I had not cried until this point (I told Stan I would be strong for him) but once we were in the parking lot and the car turned off, I couldn't hold back the tears. He got out of the car, put on this gear, and we said our goodbyes. He told me not to worry, to take of myself, he loved me, and he would call as much as possible. All I could manage to say was I love you, and I handed him a letter I had written. And, that was it. Stan walked away ready to do his job he's been trained to do, and I drove away ready to do my job as his wife.


A couple hours later he called and said the plane was broken, and I had to pick him up. We did round #2 the next night. What an interesting 24 hours we had! It was a roller-coaster of emotions. All of this the past couple days reminded me again that life is tough, and we aren't promised an easy time; but we are promised if we call on the Lord, He will give us strength to endure the tough times. We both know He will be our source of strength.

I'll try to keep everyone posted as I hear from him. He probably wont get to Kuwait until early Sunday morning with the 16 hour flight and the 7 hour time difference.

My Master's Diploma!

Guess what I found in the mail when I came home today? My diploma for my Master's degree!!! What an awesome surprise and great feeling is was to open the envelop and see this with my name on it. All the hard work and two years of studying made it all worth it!

I appreciate Stan for always encouraging me to pursue my dream. Despite the many days I would cry at the table and want to give up, he always encouraged and told me to keep going.

2 Year Anniversary

We reached our 2 year Anniversary last week! Since Stan would be away this month we celebrated before he left. As the date of our Anniversary approached and I had not heard from him in about 5 days, I was surprised to receive a voice mail from him. It was a brief message, but he managed to make me feel special and reminded me he would never forget our wedding day.

I made a video with some pictures of our 2nd year of marriage. When looking through them, I realized how easy this year was compared to our first year. We actually lived in one state and did not have to move any! This year we finally were able to settle into a permanent location and were able to enjoy many weekend trips together along with our vacation over the summer. Even though our third year of marriage will mostly be spent apart, I'm blessed to have spent two years with Stan enjoying our journey through life together. I thank God often for allowing us to spend 2 years together before a deployment.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

NTC update: I've heard from Stan a couple times in the past few weeks. He seems to be doing well. I haven't gotten details on what he's doing or how training is going since usually it's brief when we speak. All I've heard is it's hot, he's learning, he's hungry and ready to get home!

Medical Internship

Today was my first day working at the hospital as a Speech Therapy intern. It's my final step before getting my Master's degree this summer. My internship is at the hospital located right outside the army post here. The only reason I dread it is having to wear the yucky scrubs!

My first day was definitely exhausting (I start rounds 7:00am and my last apt. is at 5:00), but I can honestly say I loved every minute of it! I see a wide variety of patients- anywhere from Autistic children, to Traumatic Brain Injuries, to Stroke patients. One patient of mine is a soldier who was wounded in Iraq with a brain injury. It is an absolute honor to work with this young man. I feel helping him is the least I can do as an American citizen considering he willingly served our country.

I'm not exactly sure if the medical setting is where the Lord is leading me to work now or in the future, but so far I'm just enjoying the summer gaining the experience. I hope the Lord can use me to make a difference this summer while working with these patients.