RUCKER LIFE

Hello all,

I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post! Jeff has been back from SERE for quite some time now! haha...oops! He returned from SERE badly bruised and 15lbs lighter but at least he made it through! He said it was the most horrible thing he has ever gone through (worse than deployment) but the best training he will ever receive!

A week after he got back from SERE, Jeff started Primary, which is when you learn the basics of flying a helicopter! He was very excited about flying for the first time! About a month or so ago he had his "family day" where I got to come out and watch him fly all day! It was really awesome! It makes this whole flight school thing feel more real when you get to actually see your husband fly!! (Which is HOT, I might add ;) ) Family day was fun and I enjoyed getting to see him fly and do autorotations and run on landings... haha I know some lingo! ;) He had his check ride for primary about a week and a half ago and PASSED! Yay!

Now, he is in the instrument stage of flight school, which is where you learn how to fly using only your instruments without being able to see anything out the window (like if you are flying in the clouds)! He just had his first instruments test on Tuesday and made an A! Yay! He has a couple more weeks in instruments, they are only flying in the simulators right now but I think they'll be in the helicopter next week...

Then he will move on to the next stage which is basic war fighting skills! After that we will find out which aircraft he will be, which we are hoping for Blackhawk! So, please keep him in your prayers that he gets that! If he gets Blackhawk, we will have a 2-3 month holding period before he starts the Blackhawk course, and if he gets Apache it is an 8-9 month holding period! (yikes!) that would not be fun! I really don't want to be here that much longer. If things go according to plan and he gets Blackhawks then we will be out of here hopefully by September 2010!!

Our top base pics are: OCONUS: Germany and Hawaii, CONUS: Fort Lewis-Washington (30 mins from Seattle), Savannah-Georgia, Fort Carson-Colorado, Fort Campbell-Kentucky(it's only 45 mins from Nashville), Fort Hood-Texas (really don't want this one!!) I am very excited about where we might end up next year!! I love living in new places! Germany would be amazing because I would LOVE to travel around Europe! But, we shall see!! :)

On my end, I'm doing well, I'm working at place called Aureus International and I enjoy my job! I got lucky, there isn't much job opportunity around here! I usually only get to hang out with Jeff on the weekends because he has to study so much but I don't mind because it gives me time to hang out with my girlfriends! I'm the type who needs her girl time! haha I have some really awesome friends here!

This past Friday we had some friends over and did some pumpkin carving and played games! It was a good time! I will try and post some pictures, but I'm really bad about that! haha

Our friends, the Redleys, just had twin baby boys! They came 7 weeks early and are still in the hospital but are doing really well and breathing on their own, but please keep this family in your prayers! We are hoping they get to come home soon!

Other friends of ours, the Brooks, are expecting their first child this week! A sweet baby girl named Alta James, If Brenna doesn't have her by 5pm today, they are inducing her tomorrow!! I can't wait to meet baby Alta! So, please keep this family in your prayers as well!

Babies babies all around I tell ya!!! The first McCarthy grandchild will be here in January!! My brother Philip and his girlfriend Autumn are expecting a baby girl named Ashlyn, she is due January 31st!! I'm very excited about being an Aunt! I'm technically already an Aunt-in-law to my neice Jordan :-) (Jeff's side)! haha

Jeff and I will be celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary next week on Nov. 8th!! Yay! I can't believe it has already been a year!! Crazy how fast time flies by!!! We are going away for the weekend, not sure where to yet, either up to Birmingham, to Atlanta, or down to Destin, FL!I'm looking forward to a weekend getaway!! :)

Last note, Jeff and I will not be home for Thanksgiving, we are going up to Chattanooga, TN to spend Thanksgiving with my Uncle John and Aunt Tracie, which we are really looking forward to! We're going to run a 5k Thanksgiving morning called the Grateful Gobbler! haha It should be a good time!! We will however, be home for CHRISTMAS!!! Yay! We'll be in town from Dec. 20- Jan 2!! So, if you want to see us...get in line!! ;) haha

Till next time!!!.................

SERE School

Hello All!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post! I'm really bad about keeping up with this! I think part of my problem is that I want to post pictures with the posts but haven't had time to put the pics on my computer yet!

So, Jeff and I have been living in Alabama for 6 months now! Wow! I can't believe we have already been here half a year! It feels like we just got here! Time is flying by!

In June, I finally got a job! Yay! It is very difficult to find a job here because we live in such a small community and there is a TON of competition... but thankfully God has blessed me with an awesome job! I work for a company called Aureus International, we make flight suits! If you fly a helicopter, you can buy one of our suits! lol I'm a business administrator and love learning more and more about the company and our products every day! The people I work with are amazing and down to earth and I fit in perfectly! I couldn't have hoped for better!

Jeff left for SERE on July 13th and comes back this Sunday! Yay! 21 days without my husband or even speaking to my husband has been very interesting! It has definitely been a test of my strength and I believe I am passing with flying colors! SERE which stands for Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape, is a 21 day field training for soldiers who have a high risk position. It teaches them the techniques and the knowledge of how to react in a hostage situation if their helicopter were to ever go down in enemy territory. It is a very difficult and hard 3 weeks for the guys where they are broken to the core mentally, emotionally, and physically! Even though it may be tough and they be beaten up a bit when they return, I am very grateful that they receive this type of training! I will feel much better when my husband deploys knowing that he is prepared if this type of situation were ever to occur! With that said, it has been very easy for me to cope with him being gone, because I know it is for the better good and I know that God is watching over him and me as well, and keeping both of us safe while we are apart!

I am so proud of my husband and what he is doing for our country! There is nothing more attractive than a man who serves his country! I am so lucky to be an Army Wife and I consider it the ultimate privilege to be able to love a soldier the way that he loves this country and me tooo!! ;) Being apart from me has also taught me a lot, it has given me more patience, and it's definitely given me more appreciation for him and for who he is and how he loves me! I CAN NOT WAIT TILL HE COMES HOME!!! I can't wait to wrap my arms around him and kiss him and I probably won't want to let go for a really long time! lol I know 21 days is only a blink of eye in comparison to a lifetime or even a deployment, but at least during deployments you get to talk to him! Not always, but a lot! Oh, and Bear is missing his daddy greatly and I'm sure he will probably pee all over himself in excitement when he sees him again! lol

Ending note, I would not have been able to get through this time if it wasn't for the amazing friends God has put into my life here at Fort Rucker! We are so blessed with soo many friends and it's awesome to have others with you who are going through the same thing! Most importantly, we've got God on our side, to keep us company to love us no matter what and I know He would never give me something that He knew I could not handle!

I hope all are doing well! I will be sure to blog about his return and let you all know how he/we are doing! (It might be a couple of days, because I plan on taking him hostage, if you know what I mean!! haha ;) )

Till next time....

Life In Alabama!

Hello all! 

I have finally gotten around to updating this thing! Sorry it has been so long! I told you I might not be good at keeping up with it! Let's try this again! haha 

Jeff and I have been living in Alabama for about 3 months now! It seems like we have been here for so much longer! In the 3 months that we have been here Jeff has only had class for about 3 weeks....haha which means we have had A LOT of together time! It's kinda ridic! lol But I'm not going to complain, I know once he starts his primary flying, I'll never see him!  So, till then we are enjoying our time together! 

Jeff was suppose to leave for SERE (survive, evade, resist, and escape) today, which is a survival training all pilots most go through to train them on what to do if they ever become POW's during combat. It's basically a 21 day course in the wilderness where they starve, get beaten up, and don't get to talk to their wives for 21 days!! Ugggh!! It's gonna suck! lol BUT, anyways... his SERE school got postponed AGAIN! So,  now he won't be going till July 12th! Which means we have the whole summer together! 

We went to Panama City for the weekend last week with a bunch of friends and it was a ton of fun! We stayed at Tyndall Air Force Base in a 4 bedroom house for dirt cheap! Then we all chipped in and rented a pontoon boat and cruised in the bay and hung out at the beach! It was awesome! We love going to the beach and having it so close to home! We have become quite the beach bums! haha It's great!

Since, Jeff doesn't go to SERE till July, we decided that I won't get a job till after he gets back from SERE because I'M COMING HOME for the month of July! YAY!!!!!!! I'm so excited! I can't wait!  I am however, going to be workin the Bama Jam Music Festival here in June! I'm going to be working the beer stand! haha But, that means I get into the 3 day concert for free! The line up includes: Taylor Swift, Pat Green, Brooks and Dunn, Kid Rock, Alan Jackson, Blake Shelton, Gary Allan, Los Lonely Boys, Charlie Daniels, Jason Aldean, and many many more! It's going to be awesome! 

That's pretty much all that has been going on here!  A lot of my friends are popping up pregnant here, which is crazy! They say it is in the water here in Fort Rucker! Let's hope that it doesn't happen to us just yet! lol We would like to wait awhile! One of my friends just had an adorable little boy named Holden, and another good friend just found out she is pregnant with TWINS! Which is super crazy! We are enjoying life here and love all our new friends! I promise I'll try to keep everyone updated for often! Till next time.... Here are some pics!

Bear in the moving van on our way to Bama! 

Summer, Me, Jen,  and Krystle! 

Some of my new awesome friends!

Rachel and I at the Lessard wedding in Hville!

My new awesome neighbor! I heart her! :)

Officer's Wife!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a week or so! It has been crazy busy in the life of the Johnsons! As of February 4, 2009, Jeff is an officer in the United States Army! Yay!! I am now an officer's wife! haha! I am so proud of him! Now that he has graduated WOC school he will be starting his flight school in about 2 months hopefully! We are not sure exactly how long this bubble will be but hopefully not too long! We are still in Alabama, this past week we have been house hunting and scouting out all that good ol Enterprise and Dothan have to offer (which is not a lot!!)! LOL! Friday we drove down to Destin and walked along the beautiful white sandy beach! I am going to freakin love living so close to the beach! It is only 1.5-2 hrs away! While we were down there we shopped around in this really nice outdoor mall and then went and saw "He's Just Not Into You." It was good, I liked it a lot! :) 

Oh, on another note! We found a house! Yay! It's a red brick town home that is only about a year old! It has 2 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths! It's 1,600 sq. ft! Comes with a washer and dryer and has all stainless steal appliances with gorgeous dark cabinets! Our master bath has a jacuzzi tub and we have a balcony off of our bedroom with french doors! I am sooo excited I can't wait to move in! Oh and another plus, our friends Jeff and Cinthya Jensen got a townhouse there too!! So, we are going to be neighbors! It should be some fun times! The Johnsons and the Jensens! lol We think it's funny!  (Ours is on the far right!) 

Jeff and I head back to Fort Worth tomorrow! Finally! I miss our dog Bear so much! I hope he doesn't think we abandoned him! haha! We are going to spend the next week packing everything up and shopping for the last few furniture items that we need (i.e. tv for the bedroom, entertainment center for the living room, rug for living room, etc.)! Then we are loading up the moving truck on Feb. 16th and we'll be on the road to our new home in Alabama on Feb. 17th! Move in day in Feb. 19th and I CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Anyways....that's all I've got for now! See ya! :)

Roll Tide!

My sister Lauren and I drove to Tuscaloosa yesterday! We didn't get here till midnight which really sucked but what can you do about it. Being back here brings back so many memories! It is crazy to see how much everything can change when you have been gone! It is weird being here and not knowing anyone anymore. All my friends have graduated and moved away!  So, I  have been hanging with my sister's friends this weekend which luckily they are all really nice! lol! 

I have been sick the whole time which really sucks! I don't know what's wrong with me! My only symptom is nauseousness...I have felt really nauseated for the past 48 hours and it won't go away. Nothing else is wrong with me but that. Before you start speculating... no I am not pregnant! I know that for a fact! lol

On another note, I get to see Jeff tomorrow! Yay! I can not wait to see him! We haven't seen each other in a month! We are going to look at places to live tomorrow so I 'm pretty excited about that! I just hope I'm feeling better tomorrow.  I hope we find a place that we just love! At this point I am just so ready to be with Jeff and have our own place that I don't even care (to a point! haha). 

Anyways, once all these people here leave and head out to the bars I am hitting the hay! I have to get up really early to drive to Fort Rucker! So, I wish they would leave already! haha... 

Till next time........... 

House Hunting

So for the last several weeks I have been house hunting like crazy! I can not tell you how many websites I have been browsing through trying to find the perfect place for Jeff and I to live and start our new life together! We will be in Enterprise, AL for only 2 years while Jeff goes through flight school! Since we are only going to be there for 2 years we decided that we should just rent and once Jeff graduates from WOCS we only get 10 days to find a place, which is why I have been constantly looking for weeks! I think I pretty much have it narrowed down to several different places. Now it's just deciding whether or not to go with a house or a town house (which requires no lawn care! lol) I don't care either way. I just want something that is nice and has a big kitchen! What I'm looking forward to most is decorating! I love to decorate and I'm really excited because this is our first home together, just the two of us! :) 

Before Jeff left we went and bought new furniture! I'm really excited about it! We bought a new couch, love seat, ottoman, 4 poster canopy bed, 2 night stands, dresser with mirror, and tall chest w/ drawers! Oh and we bought new mattresses and a new flat screen TV! So we are all set to setup house in our new home!! I can't wait to finally unpack all my stuff that has been in storage and setup our new furniture! You just gotta love fresh new starts!!!! 

Welcome To Our Blog!

Welcome to my new blog! I have never done this blogging thing before so we will see how well I do and if I'm capable of keeping up with it! I figured it would be a good idea to start one since Jeff and I will be moving to Alabama soon and this is a good way to keep all our friends and family updated on our new journey!

Let's start with out we got to this point! Jeff and I had our first date on January 27, 2007! On our first date Jeff took me to the Stock Show and Rodeo here in Fort Worth! I was very excited about our date and we had a blast! It was not your typical first date! We all know how popular the rodeo is here and that it is very likely you will run into someone that you know! Well Jeff and I not only ran into all my best friends (who I had no idea that they were there) but we also ran into my whole family! haha... Luckily meeting the best friends and parents on the first date did not run him off! After the rodeo we headed back to my apartment where we ordered in some lunch and watched a movie! Later on we went out Downtown with Lori and Matt where Jeff proceeded to spill an entire beer on me! Just perfect! LoL... Well the night ended with Jeff dropping me off at my apartment at the end of the night! It was the most perfect first date ever! It's all history from there! We have been together ever since! 

Jeff was re-activated by the Army to Fort Hood in May 2007 where he spent a year training soldiers going to Iraq! During that time we dealt with a long distance relationship which was hard at times but we got through it! He got to come and visit often! Absence does make the heart grow fonder! Well since he had been re-activated Jeff decided he was just going to stay in the Army and retire! With that said, he began the process of applying to flight school!  Jeff decided he wanted to fly helicopters because when he retires in 10 years it is something that he can do in the civilian world! 

On April 11, 2008 Jeff proposed!  I was so shocked and surprised! We had talked about it but I wasn't expecting it to happen yet! After it happened I couldn't wait to start planning our wedding but we weren't able to set a date just yet! We were waiting to find out if Jeff had been accepted to flight school! Well I started planning some of the details and finally in August Jeff was accepted! We were very excited! We still weren't sure when flight school would start. We knew it would be either October or January and I was hoping on January because I wanted an October wedding! Well, I decided to move forward with the wedding planning and I found a venue but the only available date was November 8th, so I thought..PERFECT! I started planning our wedding in hopes of it being on Nov. 8th but made sure that all my contracts would allow me to change the date if I need to! Well, later we found out that Jeff got the December class date and I was ecstatic! Wedding planning pushed full force ahead! 

Finally, on November 8, 2008 Jeff and I were married! It was the most perfect day of my life! The wedding was beautiful and everything I had ever dreamed of! I was so calm the whole entire day! Everyone thought something was wrong with me because I was so calm but I just knew there was nothing to be nervous about! I was marrying my best friend and the perfect match for me! The only time I got nervous was when Alabama started playing LSU!! haha...which I later found out at the reception that Alabama won!!! yay!!! LS-Who?? The reception was a fairy tale and perfect in every way! After the wedding we stayed at the Ashton Hotel for all of 3 hours before we had to leave for the airport! We went to Antigua for our honeymoon and stayed at the Sandals resort and it was just fantabulous! 

After we got back from our honeymoon, Jeff had to leave for Fort Rucker! It really sucked having to say good-bye to my new husband so soon! Jeff was there for a month before he got to come home for 2 weeks for Christmas! Jeff had to return January 2nd and we only get to talk about once a week! Jeff is graduating from WOCS on February 4th! I can not wait to see him! I'm going down to Alabama this weekend to visit some friends in Tuscaloosa and then driving to Fort Rucker for his graduation! After he graduates we get 10 days to find a place to live down there and then we head back here to Fort Worth to pack everything up and move it all to Alabama where we will finally get to live together and start our wonderful life together as husband and wife!! 

So, that brings us to today! I've got 4 days before I leave and lots of stuff to do before then! I'll keep you updated on this very exciting journey!!