Have a Great Labor Day!

We are leaving tomorrow for the Lake! I'm so happy to be off of work. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll post the pics when we get back.

Northern Virginia 2004 - 2007

We got the news that JD was going to be stationed in Quantico, VA. I was very dissapointed, at first. I had really wanted to go to Hawaii or Florida. I wanted to see something tropical. We didn't know anything about Quantico, but we were ready to buy a house. JD called and said it was a small town somewhere in Virginia and we would probably be able to buy a house.

He was VERY wrong. Quantico was not a small town somewhere in Virginia. I got online to look up the cost of living and realized that it was right outside of Washington D.C. and the housing prices were ridiculous.

We moved to Stafford, Virginia in October of 2004. I can not even explain in words how wonderful our experience was in Northern Virginia!!

Katherine at the National Zoo in D.C.

I have met some of the greatest people ever while living in NoVA. I was able to go to D.C. and it be a normal experience. I was able to get into a Radiology school, which had been my goal while living in Va. Beach. While in school, I had clinicals all over Fairfax county and even one in downtown D.C. It was an amazing experience to be this little country girl who used to be scared to drive past Valley View in my hometown and now I'm getting off of a metro in a major city and walking downtown all by myself - every day!!

The Davenports and Stumps in D.C.

I loved loved loved my job!! I had been a stay home mom and I was very fortunate to be able to not work while I was in my first year of school. In my second year, I was offerred a student position at Potomac Hospital and I was very very excited!! I stayed on at Potomac after graduation and it was the best job I've ever had!

We had great friends that we had met through the military and work, but we also had friends from our hometown there. Some of our best friends moved to Richmond, VA - which is only an hour south of Stafford. We spent a lot of time going back and forth!!

Me and Dawn at a Nationals Baseball Game in D.C.

I absolutely loved Virginia! I knew we couldn't settle down there. Everyone we were close to would eventually leave and move on, that's the military for you. We were ready to buy a house and settle down, JD was going back to college, and we wanted to choose a place close to our family. We decided to move to Springfield, MO and that's what we did!!

Morgan and I

Kim and Collin - Two of our favorite people!

Virginia Beach 2002-2004

I moved to Virginia Beach when I was 19 years old. I lived there from August 2002 until October 2004. I was married there (Pungo) and Katherine was born there.

Virginia Beach is the name of the city we lived in, but it was often referred to as Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads has a population of about 1.7 million people. There is so much to do there and it's a very clean, nice place to live. It's a HUGE military town and everyone that lives there, in some way, is tied to the military. In fact, Naval Station - Norfolk, Va is the largest Naval Station in the world.

You Know You’re From Hampton Roads when…
1- You can name at least three of Mike Joynes’ law partners.

2- You can finish the “Beach Ford” song…

3- You know that 64 West in Chesapeake is actually going east.

4- Virginia Beach is “Va Beach” unless you actually live there.

5- You know that “Hampton Roads” aren’t actual roads.

6- You don’t go to the beach every day.

7- You don’t want to go to the beach every day.

8- You know which beaches to avoid, unlike the tourists.

9- You believe that Meyera Oberndorf will be the mayor of Virginia Beach for all time.

10- Little Neck and Great Neck are not locations on Long Island.

11- Little Neck Creek is not on Little Neck.

12- Any westbound trip you’ve ever made involves at least one tunnel.

13- You can name at least three underwater tunnels within a twenty mile radius of your home. Extra points if you can name all five.

14- One of your Adopt-A-School partners in elementary school was a U.S. Navy vessel.

15- You can say “Norfolk” while sounding neither obscene nor incorrect.

16- You don’t stop and look skyward when aircraft fly over.

17- You’ve seen Rudy Boesch in the Farm Fresh.

18- You’ve seen Pat Robertson in the Farm Fresh.

19- You’ve seen The Neptunes in the Farm Fresh.

20- You’ve seen Timbaland in the Farm Fresh.

21- You’ve seen Missy Elliott in the Farm Fresh.

22- You even know what a Food Lion is.

23- You know which parts of each city to stay out of.

24- Sometimes the cities just blur into one big metropolis.

25- Sorry, I meant “suburb.”

26- You’ve been to more minor-league sports games than major-league.(More points if you can name three Hampton Roads minor-league teams)

27- You know that on-base purchases have no sales tax. (Further points if you can name four military installations in the area)

28- Newport News is not a catalog, it is a city.

29- It’s Hampton, not The Hamptons.

30- You know Dam Neck and Birdneck aren’t necks of any kind.

31- You know Mount Trashmore is a real place, not a joke.

32- You don’t mind the jet noise.

33- You don’t slow down in the tunnel, because it’s not a big deal. Stupid out-of-towners.

34- It’s normal for seven cities to be linked in almost every conceivable way.

35- It’s Seven Five Seven, not Seven Fifty-Seven

36- You’re a Republican.

Memory Lane: Katherine Grace's Birth Story

Let me first start off with the events leading up to the birth of little miss Katherine Grace!! I was 20 years old, JD was 21. After JD came home from Iraq, the pregnancy was a very peaceful time. I wasn't working or going to school - I basically sat home and ate. I gained about 60 lbs. I will not post the pictures of that! I made homeade chocolate chip cookies every other day and ate an entire watermelon every night. I slept - alot. Things were great and then they changed.

It's September and Hurricane Isabel had just struck the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Virginia Beach! For some insane reason, we decided to stay and ride the Hurricane out. BIG, BIG mistake! We lost power for almost a week. So, here I am 9 months pregnant with an extra 60 lbs. of weight, hot, and miserable. We did not take this Hurricane seriously and had NO food, just a little bit of water, and did I mention we were HOT! We ventured out to see what we could find to eat and after about an hour of driving around we found a gas station that had no electricity - but was trying to get rid of their frozen food. The guy literally had a pencil and paper and was selling his items. At one point, JD opened a can of ravioli's and ate them cold - at that point, I started to think of ways to get to the hospital. At least they had an Air Conditioner.

Our electricity came back on before I went into labor. A few days later I was at home, bored. I decided that the cramping pain I had might just be the baby. I went into the hospital and they said it wasn't time. This was the eve of my due date and the nurse told me a few home remedies to try.

I went home and slept for a long time. I woke up and JD and I followed the instructions of the nurse. We went to eat mexican, I drank a glass of wine, drank a whole lot of castor oil (oh my), and didn't bother with the last one she had mentioned. JD's sister was coming to live with us and she was expected within a couple of hours. We had some friends over visiting and at some point I was showing them what the nurse said to do to go into labor. I got down on my hands and knees to show them the "waxing the floor" move that she told me to do and my first real contraction started - the irony. That's the one thing I avoided.

As soon as it started, Emily came through the door. My mom and grandma had left earlier that day and were headed to Va. Beach. I had worried that they wouldn't get to see the birth, but had just realized everything had worked out just right.

JD's mom said I should wait it out, but my contractions started just a couple of min. apart and I didn't want to hear it. So, I told them I wanted to go NOW! JD got lost. We get to the Hospital, which is Sentara Leigh Norfolk. Once I got there, they took me right back.

I arrived at the hospital around 10 p.m. I just remember being in the worst pain and everything else is somewhat of a blur. I had reached the point where I would be able to get an epidural and I started to push before they had come to give it to me. Everyone seemed like they were in a frenzy. My Dr. wasn't there, I was pushing...it was all going so fast. The epidural is a miracle! The pain was gone and I relaxed a bit. I was ready to go though and as soon as the Dr. got there, Katherine was born! My mom and grandma were still on their way and were somewhere in North Carolina at this point. Emily called them and they pulled over and stayed on the phone for the birth. Mom said she could hear Katherine cry when she was born and that her and my grandmother both just started to cry. It felt great to know that even though she had missed the actual birth - she had tried so hard to be there and was in some way while it happend. Katherine was born at 2:21 A.M. She weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz.

It was by far the best day of my life. I loved being pregnant and I miss these memories sooo much!! This picture was taken the first day home from the hospital! Katherine's birthday is September 27, 2003 and my birthday is September 29, 1982. I celebrated my 21st birthday like this:

Memory Lane: Military Wife

I have so many past moments that I want to put some place and I've decided to add a Memory Lane to my blog as well. So, at times, I will go back in time.

These pictures reflect a defining moment in my life. JD and I have been together since I was in highschool. We both have the same hometown, although we went to different schools. He joined the Navy and left on September 18, 2001 - he had joined prior to 9-11. I was starting my second year of college at Williams when he left. The long distance was too hard and I left everything to follow my man around the world!!

I go to Va. Beach with the plan to finish college there and be near my boyfriend. Within a few months we are engaged! (This picture was taken in Washington D.C. a few days after we were engaged)

I couldn't have been happier and everything just seemed to be going so great!! Then, out of nowhere JD comes home from work one day and says that he has a 48 HR notice to leave for Iraq!!! We weren't even at War with them yet or anything? I was so scared/confused. We decided to go ahead and get married. We couldn't get all the arrangements in order before he left for Camp Lejuene in North Carolina - but he thought he'd be there for about two weeks (he'd sneak back up on the weekends) and I started making arrangements. Oh my, the things I had to do!!! I was his official power of attorney and could legally sign any document for him, as him. I went to the court house to do the marriage stuff and I swore myself in for marriage and then they had me do the same as JD. HAHA! It's like I married myself. By the next weekend, I had arranged everything so that we could get married and we did!!

Sure it was a JP wedding, but to this day - I wouldn't have wanted it any other way!! We spent maybe a couple hundred dollars on a wedding that was only about the two of us and our vows. In the end, it couldn't have been a happier time. The cherry to the top of all of this is that the night before he has to leave to go back to Camp Lejuene - we find out we are expecting!!! I'm that girl. These things happen to ME!! He left the morning after our wedding, not to return again until after his tour in Iraq. The Honeymoon would have to wait.

Boo Hoo! I loaded my car and headed back to Arkansas! I was not going to be pregnant and alone with my new husband being in Iraq!!! With the support of family and friends, I got through the deployment and the pregnancy. Don't feel sorry for me. All the worry went towards JD. It was different when he was in Iraq. He was a Corpsman and was with the Recon team, which saw more combat than any other battalion. The picture above is of JD. They were constantly on the move and he only had a few showers during his whole 5 months over there. He said they were sitting in Kuwait for a few weeks and then they were given a Steak Dinner and a fake Beer...they knew. Shortly after, Bush declared War and he moved into Iraq that night. He was only able to call me three times - two times I missed his call and the one time I got it, he heard me and I couldn't hear him. I just kept saying over and over, "WE ARE HAVING A GIRL!" and later he said he heard me.

His Battalion covered more ground than anyone else and he was with the first wave to come home. The War was won and 5 months later - we reunite.

Of course, the War was not won and so here we are 5 1/2 years later. Shortly after he returned they stopped letting the guys come home and extended the time they would be there.

JD served 6 years as a Corpsman on Active Duty in the Military. He was stationed at Little Creek Amphibious base in Virginia Beach, VA. We lived there for two years and then he was sent a few hours north to Quantico, VA. We had a blast!! There were times that were hard, but we made it through them and have a rock solid foundation because of all that we've been through.

Katherine Grace