Salute to Stefan

A few weeks ago I got the direct contact information for a Producer for CNN Headline News! The same day, I emailed and let him know that I was interested in Saluting Stefan for the Salute the Troops segment on their Morning News Show. That afternoon, they requested pictures and called me to record my message. My message aired four times the next morning! It all happened so fast! Here's the link for the shout out!

Update from the desert

Hello everyone, just wanted to give y'all an update on a few things going on here and share a few pictures. For the first picture I put the camera right up to my night vision goggles and took a picture of one of our engines with Baghdad in the background. The second is a picture of our "pods," there are three rooms in each pod with two people sharing a room. We have a crew of six, so our entire crew is in one trailer. The last pic is the crew standing on the ramp at the back of the plane. The other day "The Legends of Aerospace" tour stopped in Balad and they came by one of our hangars for about an hour. There we got to shake hands and take pictures with Neil Armstrong, James Lovell, and Gene Cernan. I'm sure you all know Neil Armstrong, James Lovell was the mission commander on Apollo 13 and Gene Cernan was the MC on Apollo 17; and the last man to walk on the moon. When they arrived they spoke to the entire group for awhile, emphasizing how glad they were to be here and talk to us. It was really neat since there were only about thirty people, mostly aircrew, in the hangar so everyone got a chance to shake hands and take their own picture with each one of them. When it was my turn to meet Neil Armstrong, he asked me what my job was, I told him a C-130 nav, and he told me how he liked the 130s the best since they were still real airplanes; not all computers. Which is very true, since we are flying 1962 models which still have all original instruments and the same type of engines. He said they flew a 130 into Balad from Kuwait and they got to go up on the flight deck during the flight. Then I got to take a picture with him, which I will post soon, and then they left to go on a base tour. Everything else is going great around here, it's starting to cool down, the high each day is only about 95, and at night it gets down to around 65. I fly every other day, so on our off day I go to the gym, eat, do laundry, talk to Rach, read, and watch some TV. We have a TV in our room and we have about 6 channels that supposedly show the most popular shows from back home. For some reason it's always CSI: Miami, and 1990's episodes of ER, haha. Thankfully they do a great job of showing a ton of sports, I think I have seen every Badger and Packer game except one of each, and probably missed it because I was flying. Last week they brought a camera crew out to the flightline and setup in front of a 130 and we were able to shoot short "Happy Holidays" messages to be shown back home. I did one and it should be on in Eau Claire and Milwaukee! Thank you so much for all the letters and packages, I really appreciate them, it's so nice to have something that's homemade. Can't wait to see everyone when I get back!!

making the cut

I had been saying for the last two years that I would cut my hair. First it was- I'll cut it after we get married. Then, it became- I'll cut it after Stefan deploys. I finally took the leap and chopped it all off for Locks of Love. It's an amazing charity that creates wigs of donated hair for little kids with cancer. I thought I'd put up a couple pictures so that everyone could see!

two years later

It's our two year anniversary and I realize on a daily basis that I couldn't have picked a better husband. Stefan is such an amazing man and partner. I feel so blessed to have him. I miss his partnership most when I'm walking the dog by myself or running errands or cooking- the every day things! The other day I was taking out the trash and a huge waft of garbage smell hit my nose and I just smiled to myself because it really made me miss him taking it out... ok, onto the more lovey things

It's hard having an anniversary without him here- it's such a special day that he has already made very special. He's definitely still connected to me even with us being so far apart. The other day I was having an awful morning at work and for some reason- even though he had never called me at work, and had never called me in the morning- he called! I grabbed the phone, cried a little, and told him I didn't know how he knew to call, but I'm so glad he did. We're soul mates. That's the only explanation we could come up with. We're connected on a wavelength that's much bigger than us.

Anyways, I was watching a TV show called Crossroads this weekend and this clip came on and it made perfect sense for us:

Baby you're all that I want When you're lyin' here in my arms I'm findin' it hard to believe We're in heaven And love is all that I need And I found it there in your heart It isn't too hard to see We're in heaven Oh - once in your life you find someone Who will turn your world around Bring you up when you're feelin' down Yeah - nothin' could change what you mean to me Oh there's lots that I could say ...

Happy Anniversary, babe! I love you Always & Forever.

Proper Introduction

This is our favorite puppy in the whole world. She's almost 10 months old now, but here's a few pictures of her over the months:

A Year in a Post

Ok, so I haven't posted in over a year and just a few things have happened since then: I got a different job, Stefan got his wings, we moved to Little Rock, we bought our first house, Stefan got a new car, we got a puppy, built a fence & a deck, vacationed to Mexico, Stefan got promoted, and then finally, Stefan is currently deployed.

Given the gravity of every single item above, I can't honestly do any of them justice in one post, so I'll keep the details brief and then share our Photo Journal so you can see what we have actually experienced.

1. I got a different job! I am the Branch Manager of the Little Rock office for Robert Half International. I specialize in staffing and recruiting Accounting & Finance professionals. I work A LOT, but the job is so rewarding!

2. Stefan got his wings! This was such an amazing accomplishment for him and he asked me to pin them on in the ceremony!

3. We moved to Little Rock! When we first moved here we had to fit everything we owned in my little car and we had to live off of just that stuff for 6 weeks! We lived in a teeny tiny little one bedroom apartment while we waited to find our perfect, little starter home.

4. We bought our first house! We looked at over 50 homes in our search and we kept coming back to this one. It's an old home with original hardwoods and an updated feel. I fell in love with it the first time I went house hunting, but I didn't want to choose without Stefan. He ended up choosing the same one and here we are almost a year later!

5. Stefan got a new car! To expand, Stefan actually got two "new" cars but the first one we quickly sold after we realized the immense care this Land Rover needed. (We had also met a Land Rover dealer that was begging us to sell him this car given that it was a rare gem). Now he has a perfect Badger Red Jeep that he's still trying to convince me would be so much cooler if it was lifted...

6. We are proud parents of a Boxer puppy named Lily Pad Buttons Lobster Shrimp Idso. We call her Lily Bug or Booger for short. She's our little pride and joy. Stefan had been trying to convince me we needed a dog and I finally caved after the numerous puppy pictures he sent me at work. We're so glad to have her in our lives!

7. We built a fence & a deck! Ivan and Mary, Stefan's dad and stepmom, came to visit in February and helped us build a big security fence and an awesome deck in our backyard. Now we can let Lily out and play and we can also enjoy our backyard some more, too!

8. We vacationed in Mexico! Our dear friends Jeremy & Sara tied the knot on the beaches in Mexico. We were able to spend a long weekend with some of our very best friends. The vacation was gorgeous, the wedding was gorgeous, and reconnecting with friends was perfect.

9. Stefan got promoted! Stefan finally finished all of his Trainings and he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant!

10. Stefan is deployed. He's stationed at Balad Air Force Base in Iraq. He left on August the 17th and we're hoping he is able to come home at the end of January or beginning of February. Everyone says the first deployment is the hardest. He's been gone for 4 weeks now and it's been a complete adjustment. Lily and I miss him every single day and wish he was here, but on the other hand, I am so proud of him and I'm honored to be his wife. I'll be attempting to update our blog more often so that everyone knows how he's doing and how to get in touch with him. Stefan will be updating pictures on our Photo Journal of his first tour. You can visit us at stefanandrachel.shutterfly.com

I also wanted to take the time to say thank you to everyone who has been supporting us through this journey. Having amazing family and friends like all of you is such a blessing! Stefan and I are forever grateful for your love.

Peace, Love, and GO BADGERS!