WHERE DO I START?

The name of my blog is The Fairy Tale. A whopping 2 weeks into our relationship, Bryan wrote a song for me with that title. My husband is my knight in shining armor. I can't remember what life was like before him, and I certainly can't imagine my future without him. But I guess for the short term I'll have to figure it out! Maybe one day I can update the blog with stories of us instead of how he's doing at war. For now I'll skip over the last 11 years and 8 months!

Our Army life has been short but so very long. Bryan was sworn in to the Tennessee Army National Guard February 24, 2007. Since then he's been to Basic Combat Training at Ft. Jackson in Columbia, SC, Officer Candidate School at Ft. McClellan in Anniston, AL, Officer Candidate School in Smyrna, TN, Basic Officer Leadership Course II and Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course at Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA, and pre-mobilization training at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, MS. Whew...I just went through three very long years in one sentence. God has blessed our Army lives with the best family and friend support group we could have ever imagined. That's you! Thanks to you all.

Because Bryan and I have spent a good bit of the last three years apart, we've been reminded to never take each other for granted and to make the most of our time together. I'm proud to say we've done just that. I wouldn't change a thing. Most of our time was spent at home and our families have been so gracious and understanding. They've understood when we've wanted to have gatherings at "Belleau Wood" (home) rather than driving to Brownsville or Hernando. Bryan NEEDED his time at home. We made lots of memories.

Bryan is an Infantry Officer in the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment. He's a born leader. And he's not only a leader in Uncle Sam's Army, he's a leader in God's Army as well. God called Bryan into the military. We've endured some pretty hard times since joining, but we've grown much stronger. We often refer to something we heard Chuck Swindoll say once...if you are comfortable, you probably aren't in God's will. Boy is that true! However, the peace and strength we've been given is almost overwhelming. We are in God's presence and we soak it up like sponges!

I could go on and on about us. I love us. I'll spare you and get on with it. I'm sure you're all interested in how our soldier is doing.

He left for Kuwait Saturday, April 10th. His mom, Gee (I know same as my Mom!), and I went to Camp Shelby to spend a few extra minutes with him each day and to hopefully see him off. We were there Wednesday through Saturday and were fortunate enough to spend lots of good, quality time with him before he left. Thank you, Lord.

Bryan made it safely to Camp Beuhring, Kuwait. He's in the middle of the desert and adjusting to the new time zone. I'm not sure his nose and throat are adjusting to all of the sand/dust in the air, however. They will with time.

The USO is a God-send to our men and women at war. They provide a phone bank where troops can have a 20 minute phone call FREE OF CHARGE each day. If it weren't for this, we'd have to use Bryan's cell phone which is $2.50 per minute. Of course, we could email and facebook, but there's nothing like hearing his voice. I'm sure he feels the same.

The first day in Kuwait was an off day to catch up on sleep. I believe he slept from 3am to 3pm. Some of the next day was spent on the range in order to zero their weapons. Instead of zeroing the first hour, they waited for camels to get off the range! It's a completely different world. Wednesday the USO provided entertainment - The Zac Brown Band. Bryan loved it. They will be performing on the Academy of Country Music Awards this Sunday night and are supposed to use some of the footage shot at Camp Beuhring during their performance. How cool!

Bryan will be heading to Q-West, which is outside Mosul in Northern Iraq. We hear good things about this spot. It could be anytime between now and Sunday.

I realize this particular blog is long and probably a little random. I promise it will get better and easier to read! There's just been so much going on that I feel the need to explain it all.

I'll update often, I promise. Love to you all.

Ang