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My last vacation with a civilian husband.

31 May

I’m still in complete shock and awe that this time is here. On Monday we drive my sweet husband to Denver to swear in to become a part of the United States Air Force. I know I wrote of our vacation that was coming up so I just wanted to share some of the pictures from our trip to Wyoming. Enjoy! -Alyssa

The night before we left we watched our favorite little 4 year old, Haley. She’s such a sweetheart and we just adore having her around.

Here are the doggies ready to go the morning of the trip! Happy as ever.

I still get butterflies when I see this house come into view.

Corgis were bred to be cattle dogs, with their short legs the cows were able to kick without hitting them in the head. My dad and I came to the conclusion that when you see Clover in this environment it makes you realize she was meant to be a ranch dog.

Scott was able to do a bit of running “training” on the ranch road.

This is where my Dad proposed to my Mom. This place has been a part of so many love stories including my own.

Scott and I got married on this exact spot almost a year ago. Man, the time has flown.

I am so obsessed with all of the spectacular views on the ranch. I was lucky to have this place be a prominent memory of my childhood. I can’t wait for my own children to someday have memories here, just as my Dad was excited for it to be a special place in my heart.

In the middle of the week Scott and I took off for Jackson Hole to celebrate the 1 year anniversary that Scott will be missing due to being in boot camp. We enjoyed a slice of our wedding cake, and some much needed relaxation and romancing.

The Spring Creek Ranch was where we had our honeymoon and we were happy to return for our 1 year. Our favorite part of staying here was of course the beautiful fireplace but we also loved the view from the restaurant where we shared a delicious breakfast every morning of our stay.

Jackson Hole is a big tourist spot not just for the gorgeous views but also for the shopping, so we took to the snowy streets to wander around the many different shops downtown.

We were freezing in all the unexpected snowfall so we posed for a few photos and then decided to run to the safety of lunch.

Scott had never had an artichoke before so of course we had to order that. He approved! Why wouldn’t he, anything soaked in butter/garlic is delicious!

My big find of the day was this journal. It is made from an old book from the 50’s, it has pages from the original book scattered randomly throughout the blank pages. I have been in search of a good journal for months! I will need it for when Scotty is gone to pour my thoughts and feelings into. I was thrilled to find one that finally met my approval.

There was only one day where we could see the top of the Tetons. The silly clouds kept them hidden the rest of the trip. The views from our room were still great.

We had a great breakfast the next morning and then headed back to the ranch. My brother was thankfully able to come up for the weekend. I was so blessed to have that time with him.

We played pool but Scott and I only won by error on the other team’s part. Scott says it’s me who drags him down but in all honestly we both aren’t very great. ;]

A gofer safari broke out on Sunday. I think it looks more like a red-neck gofer hunt but I’m not the one who created the title.

I retreated to target practicing with my beautiful handgun. I was happy to hit my first bullseye that my dad drew on the paper plate! Woohoo!

The next morning we headed back home to Colorado. :[

Scott insisted on stopping for breakfast ice cream.

After a long drive home with a pukey little dog we finally made it home exhausted. We weren’t the only tired ones…

The next big step is leaving my sweetheart off in Denver. Wish us luck!

The last month, it’s actually here.

5 May

When you’re told that you have four months until your husband leaves for basic training it seems like a long time, but man has this time flown by. We have a month till he “ships out”. Seems so surreal that it’s right around the corner. May is going to fly by more quickly than all the rest. I really need to just focus on enjoying every moment we can fit in together and not be so sad and stressed about him leaving. Nothing ruins happy times and memories more than tears.

We both have two more weeks at work then Scott will have his last day at Best Buy, and I will have around 2 weeks of vacation to spend time with Scott and help him get everything ready for boot camp.

We will get to celebrate our first year anniversary, although a month early, in Jackson Hole Wyoming where we celebrated our honeymoon. It’s pretty special to us that we will have that time set aside to just soak in the last year of our lives and celebrate the start of our life journey together.

While in Wyoming, we will also spend some time on my family ranch in Pinedale. We both enjoy going there because it’s so nice to forget the rest of the world and just relax. The world seems to move at a slower pace there and we really enjoy that relaxing feeling.

After our week in Wyoming is up we’ll come back to Junction and he’ll spend time with his friends and family and get all the goodbyes in. It will be a strange feeling for him to say goodbye because he’s never been away from here for more than 2 weeks at a time.

On (June 4th) Monday, dreaded Monday, we’ll make the trip over to Denver. I’m not exactly sure of what all happens on Monday and the day after but at some point on Tuesday we will say our final goodbye as he boards the plane for San Antonio. It will be a long 2 months of missing him but I know Scott will do great and I can’t stress enough how very proud of him I am!

This month is going to be a whirlwind of fun times as well as emotions, but I know our Jesus is looking out for us every step of the way. How very comforting!

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The job.

13 Feb

Scotty was assigned his job!!! [Awhile ago, but I slacked on my blogging again.]

We felt as though we were waiting for ages but in reality it was only about 3 or 4 months. The not knowing made the time drag on and on. I’m a planner and not knowing what, or where we’re going, is somewhat of a stresser to me. Once we finally knew his job and when he would be leaving the not knowing the where we’re going after boot camp became less of a weight to bear. At least we know that we’re moving forward and have a start date. Scotty leaves for boot camp June 5th but we’ll take him to Denver June 4th. I’m hurting inside knowing these last 4 months are gonna fly, but my sadness is not overshadowed by how very proud of him I am.

As you know, we were hoping for Scott to be placed in an intelligence job. They were able to place him in one of his top 3 jobs. He will be an ISR operater. I’m still trying to get all the terms correct but this stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, Operator. (Say that ten times fast!)

Scott is so thrilled to have this job and therefore I am also thrilled for the opportunity’s it will open for him. This job can be many different possibilities: he could be flying drones, up in an airplane spying on the enemy, or another position that is related. Either way I know he will truly enjoy it because it’s something God wanted him to do. We were a little bummed when we were told that his contract had to be increased to 6 years instead of 4. This will mean starting our family while in the military which is something I was always unsure of. As always though God has a plan and He wouldn’t have given us this path if He didn’t have a wonderful plan in store for us. The upside to the 6 years is that he will rank up more quickly at the beginning of his training giving him an extra boost in pay.

We still don’t know where we will be heading after Scott is done with his training but we have to be patient as we wait for the rest to be revealed. Sadly, patience is not one of my strong suits.

4 months, seems so unreal. I have to soak up every moment I have with him and cherish it, because while he’s in boot camp it will be all I have to hold onto. My heart will be aching but he’s doing it to make a better life for us and providing for our future. I find comfort that like everything else, it’s temporary.

22.

10 Jan

Yesterday I turned 23, but before I move on I need to give 22 some recognition…

I waited my whole life to be 22. It was always my lucky/ favorite number so I just couldn’t wait to be 22. When 21 came I was really excited, not for the freedom that 21 brings but because I was only a year away from my dream age. Once I turned 22 I just had an excited feeling in my heart knowing that it would be a year of big changes and many memories.

In the first month of 22 I hit my one year anniversary of working at Big League haircuts.  That was a pretty exciting milestone. I love my job and I enjoyed being able to say I’d put a full year into the business.

February and March were pretty easy going with nothing big to report on.

April was the month Scotty asked me to be his wife and we started planning our wedding.  We decided on June 22 of that same year. We both see 22 as our lucky number because that was our jersey numbers when we played basketball in high school. Also in April we took a trip to Vegas with some of our friends and had a blast unwinding before the stress of planning a wedding in only 3 months set in.

May was consumed with wedding planning, and stress, stress, and more stress. We started searching for an apartment that would allow us to keep Clover (my dog).

June is by far the best month of my life.  The wedding planning started finally coming to an end and the stress lifted from my shoulders. We found an apartment and moved majority of our stuff in and got it ready for Scott to move in once we were married. We then traveled to Wyoming on the 18th of June to get all the prewedding preparations in place before Wednesday. I became Mrs. Scott Dearborn June 22nd, 2011.  We had a small, quiet, beautiful wedding on my family ranch in Wyoming. The wedding took place by the river on our property and it was absolutely perfect! We just had our imediate families there to celebrate with us and some local friends, as well as our pastor and his wife. I couldn’t have asked for or dreamed of a better wedding. We then went on our mini honeymoon in Jackson Hole which was also perfection.

When July came we went back to Grand Junction and wrapped up the plans for our Junction wedding celebration. We celebrated with all our close friends and the family from out of town on July the 2nd. What a party! Everyone was dancing and it was such a good time. We felt blessed by all the love we were shown by our community. The day after the wedding Scott and I took off to our honeymoon in Cali. We had a blast at my aunt and uncle’s cabin in the mountains, then enjoyed our beautiful hotel by the beach in Huntington. We also hit up Disneyland and In-N-Out burger while we were there.

In August we settled into married life and started our intro into the military. Scott was still trying to decide between Army and Air Force. Finally, we realized that the Air Force would be the best fit for us with wanting a family and Scott wanting to get into Air Force intelligence.

September was a bittersweet month as we celebrated both Scott’s 22nd birthday and mourned the loss of his Grandma Jean. Whom we both adored and felt close to.

October we traveled to New Hampshire for the funeral. Although it was good to see family it was made difficult by the sad reason we were all together. New Hampshire was beautiful and I enjoyed seeing all the Dearborn family history and hearing all of Scott’s stories of coming to visit his grandparents as a kid. We will forever miss Grandma Jean. She honestly made our wedding so special and we feel so blessed that she was able to join the celebration.

In November, Scott enlisted into the Air Force and we started the waiting for a job game. We shared our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and enjoyed the time spent with family. We also added a new puppy into our home, Hazel. Puppy parenthood started for the second time for me and for the first time for Scott. Not a lot of fun sometimes but her sweet nature makes it worth the naughty moments.

As my last month of 22 rolled in we continued to wait for job placement and our patience continued to wear thin. We decorated our first married Christmas tree, sent out our first Christmas card and enjoyed our first Christmas. The last weekend of December we traveled to Denver and brought in the New Year by watching a Lakers vrs Nuggets game.

I had an amazing 22nd year and 23 has a lot to live up to! This next year will be full of even more change and lots of new memories. When we eventually figure out Scott’s job placement it will be the year we begin our Air Force journey. I’m both excited and nervous but I know God will bless us once again this coming year! He is good!

Jesus: my comfort and strength.

13 Dec

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” -Psalm 23:4

As a little girl I would get really nervous about things. If I heard a sound in the dark my heart would start pattering a thousand beats a minute. If I had to do something outside my comfort zone, same thing. I was very fearful of a lot of things. My mom had me memorize the above verse as a way of being able to comfort myself and find strength in God. Anytime I would hear that bump in the night I would just repeat the verse over and over in my head until I was reminded that God was in control! Even as a little girl I knew my Jesus was the source of my comfort. He gave me the courage and strength to be able to conquer whatever obstacle was in front of me. I never realized just how much I’d appreciate my mom having me commit this to memory.

As I grew older, and wasn’t as fearful of the things the world threw at me, I didn’t see the need to keep this verse at the front of my memory and it just got pushed further and further into the back of my mind. (Funny how quickly we forget the things that bring such comfort.) I still had fears, they just weren’t so severe that they shook my very core.

Today I was sitting on the couch wondering why the heck Best Buy has to schedule Scott completely opposite of my work schedule. I haven’t really seen him in the last two days and I won’t see him at all tomorrow. I miss him a lot with this road block in our time spent together. It’s made me realize just how hard this Air Force life is going to be on me. Even though we still share the same bed at night I miss the quality time to just talk and laugh. With the Air Force I won’t even get the joy of rolling over in the middle of the night and knowing he’s right beside me. He’ll be gone. Three long months of lonely.

My heart went back to that same panic I felt as a little girl standing all alone in the dark. Somehow Psalm 23:4 broke through all the cobwebs and burst to the front of my memory and sure enough ended up on the tip of my tongue again. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” I felt the peace of Jesus picking me up into His arms and telling me “I got this!” A rush of relief swept over my body. My God is awesome and powerful and He has a wonderful plan for us!!!

I’m not going to let this verse slip back into the dusty corners of my mind. I’m keeping it right up front so I’m prepared for any fear that sneaks up on me during these next few years of uncertainty.

Thank you Jesus for being everything I need!

The video game war.

18 Aug

Video games and I have what you would call a love hate relationship. I love them if it involves games I enjoy and as long as it’s a group activity, I’m a fan of them. Sadly though I more hate them than like them. I hate how they suck the male gender so far into them that they don’t even know up from down and they lose the ability to talk to you while playing. You ask a question and you WILL have to ask a second and sometimes even a third time to get an answer. I don’t enjoy it. Lucky for me I have a husband who no longer plays as much as a 13 year old boy. He plays when I’m at work or if there is absolutely nothing else going on. I’m ok with that. He deserves his un-wind time just as much as I do. We just have different ways of unwinding. I like listening to music and relaxing. He just prefers video games. The thing I most hate about video games though are the war games. They put this idea of glorified war in their minds. Gives them the idea that they should all go and fight in the military and become war heros. Bleh. War is nothing like video games. You don’t get to respawn 10 seconds later and have another shot at the bad guys. One deadly shot and you’re dead for good. Scary. I think video games should be more life-like. Throw a love story in there. Maybe that would make me more interested while watching plus it would show the hardship that the woman goes through with their loved one going off to war. Show all the millions of tears shed, all the empty tissue boxes, the love letters we write, the drinks we share with our girlfriends just to be able to talk to someone about the loneliness we feel. Maybe get us some sympathy. Probably not, but it’s an idea. War is not just a joy stick, good graphics, and an xbox headset it’s a real and hard part of the world we live in. I pray I have the courage to be the support my husband needs when he becomes a real soldier, but for now I choose to be a dead beat video game military wife. No support here. ;]

Recruiting office.

3 Aug

My husband is currently at the Air Force recruiting office. I always hate to hear that he is heading there. Sends chills down my spine. I hate to think of Scott in any kind of danger and the Air Force could put him in constant danger. Although this is terrifying, I am proud of him for considering this line of work. He wants to protect me and our future family and he feels as though joining the military is going to help to ensure OUR safety even if it doesn’t ensure HIS. Somehow that brings him comfort. He’s proud to be an american and feels like he needs to do his part. In a way I feel like accepting the military lifestyle is a way of me serving as well. I’m not sure how I will react to leaving everything I know and picking up a whole other lifestyle but I know that God has His hand on these plans. If this is His will for our lives then He will provide.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28

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