What's In Store for Us...

Well, I really haven't written in awhile-I blame that both on our hectic lives right now and my laziness.

So let me catch you up. Eric and I have still been having a good time here in Clarksville. Since he's been clearing from post, he gets home most days around 2pm, so we have had a lot of time together.

On the 2nd, Eric had the Promotion Board. This was pretty much a job interview, promotion, and multi-question exam...all rolled into one. If he passed, he would be noted as promotable--which means once we're in Germany for a few months, he would be promoted to E5 (Sergeant). He has been studying nonstop for weeks upon weeks. I've been quizzing him on packets and packets of information over all sorts of information: Army programs, rituals, laws, weapons, you name it. He was pretty nervous the night before, but I knew he had the facts down. (I even had some memorized myself, from repeating them so often.) He of course passed...with flying colors! They even said he was the best of the day, and a "perfect" soldier. I was so proud! And he was incredibly relieved.

Now, Christmas seems to be right around the corner, and the Army finally gave us an OK to buy our tickets back to Washington. Our winter break schedule will look something like this:


The Army was going to pack & ship all of our household goods on the 21st-22nd (which is why we are having different flights home). But of course, in true Army form, the schedule just changed and now they are getting all of our stuff on the 17th...and its too late to change our flights...of course.

Here's an explanation for our trip to St. Louis. The Army ships our car to Germany for free, and even pays for us to get to the closest shipping port. The closest one to us is St. Louis, Missouri. So we will spend the night of the 4th in a hotel in Nashville (since we'll have already vacated our apartment in Clarksville), we'll drive the 300 miles to St. Louis on the 5th and have them ship good ol' Rita. We've decided to do a little tourism that night (since we'll probably never be in that town again) and then we fly off to Germany on the morning of the 6th.

It's going to be a crazy month, and definitely some hectic days here and there. But we are soo very anxious to get home and see our families after so long. Especially since we'll be moving even farther away from them.

As for now, I need to figure out packing...didn't we just unpack?!

See you all soon!!

Thanksgiving

Well, by some miracle I created a Thanksgiving feast that looked great, tasted great, and came out of the oven all at the right time. I am thankful for achieving that goal.

I am also thankful for this man.

Happy Veteran's Day

Eric has slowly revealed to me his experiences serving over in Iraq. We’ll just be driving to the grocery store and suddenly he’ll begin spilling all sorts the details of miserable days he spent in that hell. The heaviness of his stories will fill the car, and remind me of the reasons I am so proud to be married to the man who’s serving in our nations Army.

On the eve of Veteran’s Day, a day that in past years meant little to me, and in the wake of the Ft. Hood catastrophe, I couldn’t be more proud of our troops and the 2 veterans that mean the most to me. Eric: my handsome husband who has proved his strength as a medic in the Army. And Blair: my oldest brother, a humble man who served in the Air Force over 9/11.

Our troops are the great people that protect our great nation.

One great thing about Clarksville, and perhaps also hugely true about this area of the country, is how patriotic this place has proven to be. American flags more common than sidewalks, dozens upon dozens of signs and banners boasting “We Support Our Troops” and “Welcome Home”…they remain up year round. Every other car displays 101st Airborne stickers, yellow ribbons, and words of encouragement. This town is not only full of enlisted men and women, but the families that love them.

After the 9/11 attacks, President Bush said that “[America is] the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world.”. I couldn’t agree more, and God bless our veterans for keeping that fire strong.

Happy Birthday Mr. Holland!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I hope you have a great birthday weekend! I wish so badly we were there to celebrate the big 5-0 with you and everyone! Thanks for being a remarkable father. Sending lots of love your way!

Tennessee Fall

So far, autumn in Clarksville has been gorgeous. It's been an average of 70 during the day, and bright blue, sunny skies too. Perfect weather for walking and exploring this little southern town we live in. So yesterday Eric & I grabbed my camera, jumped in the car, and went off to show off what the landscape here has to offer. It was so fun finding raccoon tracks, getting stuck in the sticky red Tennessee dirt, watching swans, and pretending we were talented photographers.

Here are our favorites...

Halloween!

Eric and I brainstormed a long time about what our costumes should be. We finally got the idea as we were wandering through a craft store and noticed how much Christmas stuff was already out and on sale. So, we bought 2 hats and went from there. It made for a pretty hilarious night.

Bridget's outfit: courtesy of my closet + the kids section at WalMart. My ears are actually "Spock" ears we found when renting some movies.

Eric's outfit: courtesy of the womens section at KMart (embarassingly enough). We bought the white fabric for his beard and I just cut out a good shape then hand-sewed it to his hat.

Our First Visitors

My parents just left yesterday after a week-long visit to our little place here in Clarksville. I was so excited to see them, and we loved finally having people to see/stay in our apartment. Now that we know we'll be moving soon, they'll probably be the first, last and only people to see it too! Here is a little photo session of what we did while they were here.

We toured some great places on Ft. Campbell. Air Assault Course, monuments, statues, etc.

We went to Nashville for a day and did all sorts of touristy things. We started our day at The Hermitage, the old plantation/home of President Andrew Jackson. We took a tour of his estate, grave site, and giant mansion.

After that, we went to downtown Nashville and did some window shopping. There is always live music in almost every little bar down there, so we wandered into one at around 3 in the afternoon and got QUITE the show. It made for some good laughs. We grabbed some food at a great little bbq place then headed further into town for an awesome show at the Grand Ole Opry.

We got to see rocking performances by Montgomery Gentry, Trace Adkins, The Oak Ridge Boys, and many more. It was so fun to be in such a famous and historic place. Although it took about an hour to leave the parking lot.

We also did some browsing in downtown Clarksville.

And my mom taught me to sew on the machine I got as a birthday present. I am seriously so addicted now. Eric better be prepared!

Look! I made this pillow all by myself! I was so proud.

This is what the men did while we sewed. Watched dumb movies and took naps.

All in all, it was a great week. We really had a lot of fun at the concert, playing cribbage, eating great food, etc etc. Thanks mom and dad for everything! We both enjoyed everything so much and won't forget it! See you for Christmas!

Willkommen!!

Well, by now we are sure you all have heard. Come January we are moving to Germany.

Honestly, we (especially Bridget) were in a state of shock when we heard the news. We definitely 100% did not want Eric to deploy to Afghanistan--which he had been scheduled to do this upcoming spring. However, we thought we'd be relocated somewhere in the US, and Europe sounded about as far away and random as the moon. But the pros completely outweigh the cons, and the horrible alternative.

After the initial surprise wore off, we decided to embrace it as the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that it is. After all, we'll be literaly getting paid to live in Europe for 3 years. How many people get that chance? So we rushed to the bookstore, grabbed as many guides and maps as possible, and started researching what would be our new home.

The more we read, and the more pictures we saw, the more excited we got. Germany, a country the size of Oregon state, was surrounded on all sides by places we could easily visit in a weekend trip. Valentine's day in Paris? Eric's birthday in Amsterdam? Bridget's birthday in Rome? Sounds like we are in for some exciting and wonderful times.

We want to experience and explore as much as we possible can while we're there, and we realize we will have ample time to do so. So get those passports people! We can't wait to add this adventure to our story and would love to have some visitors along the way.

US Army Garrison Hohenfels is located in southern Germany in an aread called Bavaria. Bavaria is like a state of Germany, but more the size of a county in the US. (Shaded in blue on the map.) We'll be located a little north of Munich. I drew a red circle on this map to give you all a better idea of where we will be living. (The red square to the north is Berlin-the capital.)

And here, some inspiring and incredible photos from Bavaria! If only the base housing was one of these places. Think they have rooms for rent?

Getting up to speed...

Well I created this blog a little bit ago, but haven't posted anything. So here is a quick summary to catch ya'll up on what we've been up to.

1. We moved in and filled our little place with lots and lots of boxes.

2. We finished unpacking and decorating. Well, Eric unpacked and Bridget decorated. (Pictures of our decorated apartment will come later.)

3. We bought a car. A 2000 Volvo named "Rita". (Ignore Eric's goofy pose.)

4. We have learned our way around Clarksville...and fallen in love with the countryside.

5. We have navigated our way to Nashville...and fallen in love with country music.

6. We went to the Riverfest. It was pretty much a big fair/festival, and a great place to people watch.
7. We got to go on a marriage retreat through the Army. We had so much fun, met new friends, and appreciated having a no-expense weekend in a nice Nashville hotel!

8. We officially converted to Tennesseers, and bought some authentic boots.

9. We have spent countless weekday mornings getting up at 5am, and driving Eric to work. Or letting him drive himself to work, then having him come back at 8am, dropping him off at 9am. Picking him up anywhere between 2 & 5pm. Or having him stay the night at work between 1 & 10 days. In other words, we have spent countless days having no idea what his schedule will be like.

10. We have missed everyone, relived our (incredible) wedding weekend over and over, become even closer, and have been anxious to come back to Washington.