The End

A mere 6 years ago, I, with my eyes full of tears, dropped a very scared Dave off to the Military Processing Center in downtown Phoenix. We did not know the amazing ride that was ahead of us, but we were very aware of the 9 month separation (our first one) that awaited. We had been married nearly 4 years and had two amazing children by that point. Oh that separation was difficult, very very difficult. And 9 months later, again with tears in my eyes (after enduring at 14 hr flight with two toddlers) reunited with Dave in Italy. We were greatly blessed in our time there and until we have settled now, I felt like Italy was my home. We welcomed our twins and we were lucky for that assignment. Dave spent much of the time leading up to the twins being born away, but then he spent 12 months home without leaving for as much as a weekend. We were lucky. The Lord knew I needed him home with me. And then, after 3 years, it was time to go. Again with tears in our eyes, we headed to Washington for a whirlwind of life to take us the last 2.5 years in his enlistment. We spend 6 months in Washington and Dave left to the middle east for a year. The kids and I took the 12 months he was gone and went to live with my mom. Oh the second separation was bad, but much better than the first. We headed back to Washington for another grueling 8 months where we debated and struggled over staying in the military or getting out. We eventually decided to get out and Dave's end of service leave started in April. As of yesterday, Dave has officially completed his military service. I cannot describe the difficult feelings related to leaving the military behind, but I can describe the freedom I feel. It is amazing. So yesterday marked the end of a chapter in our life and today started the cover page to another.