Three Up, Three Down.  Almost There!


Last night, when Laurie checked in to let us know she was almost to her base where she will do her officer training, she told us that Stephen had made the selection list for E-8.  Master Sgt.  3 up, 3 down.  His selection number on the list is low, so we expect that very soon - before his deployment is over ~ he will be,  officially, a MSG. 

In early October, just before he left for the sand, we were going somewhere in Stephen's truck.  I went to get in the back seat and there were folders and papers all over the place.  Stephen gathered them all up and apologized for the truck being in such disarray.  He told me he was up for E-8 and he was getting all his stuff ready to send to the board before he left for the sand.  He was really hoping to make it in this year's selection. 

Last deployment, he was so thankful that none of his soldiers were lost - they all came home.  They did missions 6 out of 7 days a week during that deployment and sometimes when he called, he sounded so tired.  Usually it would be in the pre-dawn hours of the morning his time, dinner time for us.  But he made sure that  the first thing he did when he got back in was to call Laurie at school, and then Kasey at our house. His words were sometimes few, but they counted. And to hear his voice was music to our ears. 

A military couple gives up a lot.  Time together, time with their children, living in the grit and grime of deserts far away, and wondering just when they will see and hold each other again.  They are humble about what they do - "it's my job"  they say, and when you thank a soldier, they thank YOU for appreciating them. 

Yes, maybe it's not humble to announce achievements.  But I do, as we all do when our kids do well. It's because I am happy and thankful for THEM.  Nothing they work for is easily attained - like everyone else in the world, they know that if it's worth working for, it's reachable.  No matter how long it takes. 
We love Stephen as our own son. 

Three up, three down.  I can't wait to see it on our soldier son. 

Dog Tags.....and The Word.

Warmth is the new frame of mind we'll soon be in as we prepare for our move from Colorado to Texas
(and I use the word "warm" loosely because we will be headed into more than just your average warm temps), Laurie and Stephen's appeal to remain here has been officially denied and so we are moving forward...or South, actually. 

I thought it was time I dressed up my blogs - to give them a face lift and make them a bit more individual. Hope you like what you are seeing - it's fun and since it's been nearly 5 years since Two Star Mom was begun, I thought different would be good. The words you read, however, will be from the same heart.

I joined a new "extras" website this morning - wanted to find a picture that captures what being a military mom is all about - at least for me.  And I think I found the perfect one - the dog tags draped over the Bible that you see at the right of this post.

So much of our lives - Ron's and mine - has been about dog tags.  Ron and his Navy service, and both of us as parents (and parents in law) of two children in the Army. And as I've said from the beginning of this blog 5 years ago, it's not just about my children who serve, but my other kids, and my grand kids,  who need just as much love, and support, and as many prayers as my soldiers do. 
And that's where the Bible part of this enters the picture - The Word in which we trust.  It's the truth, the promises, the assurance that God is with us - and with all of our family. The military moms website many of us belong to claims Psalm 91 over all of our troops - I claim it, amongst other passages - over all of my family.

Verse 11 says:  "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;"

I have always believed that God's path for us is pre-ordained, and ironically, my friend Sandy mentioned in a comment on my other blog this morning that perhaps there is a fate filled reason for the denial of the appeal to remain where we are.
And I also believe that mankind has often interfered with the plans God makes for us. Is this God's ever protective hand leading us and guiding us along His path instead of the one the appeal might have changed?
Perhaps so.  We will probably never know the answer to that.  But we can trust, can't we?
His Word behind a set of dog tags - it's good enough for this mom.

Still Just Our Little Girl.



Last week, this roller coaster stopped in a really good place:
after two of the longest years of her life, Laurie received her Commission as a 1LT. as she earned her Masters Degree in Physician Assistant studies.

Hours and hours of study, two or three exams per week, long hours of classroom instruction, and many nights when more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep just wasn't to be had, she completed the Armed Forces Physician Assistant program. It is the complete 4 year civilian PA program done in 2 years with absolutely no shortcuts. They earn their Bachelor's degree the first year, and all of their Graduate studies are completed in the second year, with their clinical rotations and the exams which are administered to the students after each rotation is complete. To say that these students took 75-100 exams is not an exaggeration. In fact, I know this is a low estimate.

As Ron and I stood side by side listening to (first) the commission, and then the oath of office ~ administered by a Captain who was also Laurie's fellow graduate ~ I thought back to Laurie as a basic training graduate so many years ago. Nearly 13 years older than she was back then, with a few more smile lines around her eyes, she is still our baby girl. And as Ron and Kasey pinned a bar on one side, and I did the same on the other, I knew that it wouldn't take much for those tears I was holding back to escape.

I cannot tell you what this means to Laurie and to her little family. Truly I think only God knows what is in Laurie's heart. There are a couple of other pictures over on my other blog, but the picture above kind of captures the one moment when those tears that I had SO not wanted to be shed, finally escaped...but it wasn't just my tears that were being shed. Since Stephen is in the sand, the officers in charge of the ceremony had made arrangements for him to be there via SKYPE. He witnessed the entire graduation and promotion ceremonies and at the end, as Laurie walked over to the computer to give him her love, he stood and saluted her. Not too many eyes were dry at that moment. I cry even as I type this now. It's not so much the pride, but rather the realization of what it took....that it's over, and yet just beginning for them. Stephen has many months remaining in his deployment and so it will be up to Laurie, with our help, to move us all to her (and eventually Stephen's) new duty station.

Many, if not most, of these new PAs will serve in harm's way very soon. From their graduation, to their new post, and then to one sandbox or another, leaving family behind to settle in their new homes.

Thank you for your prayers for our family, and for all of this nation's military. Only those who walk in the shoes understand, but your support means the world to us.

God bless you for being a blessing to all who serve - and to all of us who love them.