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!

Birthdays, Cowboys, and Baseball

These are two of the girls that I hang out with in San Antonio- Marnie and Kristi

We went to a cowboy bar for Stefan's birthday!  I made a big meal of steak and shrimp fajitas for a birthday celebration and then some apple crisp for dessert (his favorites).  After dinner, all of our friends came over to pre-party a little bit before we headed to the cowboy bar!

Stefan's mom found this Wisconsin Badger's cowboy hat- how cool!

Cowboys or Air Force Navigators?

That weekend I flew back to Wisconsin for my friend Nicky's wedding.  While I was gone, Stefan made a trip to Houston with the boys to tailgate and go to see the Brewer's play.  For his birthday, I bought him all of the things he would need for the tailgate as well as some extra Brewer's gear!  The Brewers won big that night.  We're bummed that the Brewers are recently on a downward slope, but we have faith they can pull it back together (or at least we hope they pull it together for the one home game Stefan will get to see all season on Sept. 4!)  Happy Birthday again baby AND Go Brewers!

C-130s, a new job, and house hunting!

Lots has happened since our last post, so I'm going to break it up into a couple of different posts to catch everyone up.  First, back in July, we found out that Stefan will be flying C-130s and we are going to be based in Little Rock, AR.  At first we were kind of bummed, but we are firm believers that everything happens for a reason (more on that later).  It's exciting to know where we're going and what he'll be flying!  

After we found this out, we began planning for the move- posting my resume, looking for jobs, and looking at houses online.  Amidst all of planning for the move (which at the time we had no dates, so we didn't know when we'd be moving), I was wrapping up everything with my job in Chicago.  I was in Chicago for my last week of work when one of the Business Development Directors that I had trained (his name is John) told me I should stop by his office.  I said I would but that the next day was going to be my last with the company.  He immediately offered up any connections that he may have to Little Rock if I needed it.  We got on a couple of calls to the only people he knew in Arkansas, but no hits for Little Rock.  I went back to my office and got a call from Stefan saying that he found out the date that we had to be in Little Rock, which is Sept. 2.  Because that was only a couple of weeks out at the time, I went back to John's office and told him that this was all happening much quicker than anticipated.  He then asked if I had any interest in working for Robert Half International, the company he worked for before he

 came to Echo.  I said I did and the ball just rolled from there- long story short, he asked a former co-worker to connect with the Little Rock office and supply my resume, the next day the Regional Vice President called me and asked if I could interview on that Monday (which was only 3 days away).

Getting to Little Rock on that Monday was quite the task.  I was in Milwaukee for the weekend for my sister-in-law's surprise birthday party and my cousin's bridal shower.  My original flight was scheduled for Monday morning for me to fly back to San Antonio.  To rearrange the flight in advance, American Airlines would have charged me $1,100!!!!  I decided to chance it and go to the airport on Sunday night and see if I could fly stand-by to San Antonio, Dallas, or Little Rock instead of paying the money.  I was able to get ticketed for standby to Dallas, but a space never became available.  Instead, I got a standby ticket from O'Hare to Little Rock and my dad had to speed me down to Chicago so that I could make it.  (Thanks again, dad).  Space allowed and I was able to get on the flight to Little Rock.  I called Stefan right before take off and told him that I got on the flight, but I had no idea what I was going to do once I got there.

Once I landed, I called Stefan and he had booked me a hotel, a rental car, and a bus ticket back to San Antonio.  I was so impressed!  I have to admit, I think I even said- "I've never loved you more than I do right now!"  It really showed me how well he could take care of me.  Anyways, I got to my hotel and woke up the next morning for my interview.  I showered, had breakfast, and headed to the office.  The interview went great!  I called my mom after to tell her about it and she asked if they offered the position, but I told her I probably wouldn't hear back for a week.  I was totally wrong, they called me back about an hour later and offered me the job!  I was so happy!  I accepted, of course, and then met with the realtor to look at houses.  I saw 36 houses and a day and a half and only 2 that we would have purchased.  It was a successful whirlwind trip to Little Rock.  The vegetation is gorgeously green right now, and it really made me excited to move there!

The 14 hour bus ride back to San Antonio was something I would never do again, but it all paid off and I was so glad to be back and see Stefan and get ready to celebrate his birthday!