Deployment Survivor

Thank you to Amber

for having this awesome idea of connecting deployment survivor stories over at her blog.

It's hard to believe that we are halfway through our fourth deployment. I'm very proud of my husband an I for getting married at 18 and THIS month we will be married 9 years, and now on our 4th deployment. I love my husband tons, and I'm very Proud of him for the man and the Soldier that he is.

On our very first deployment, we only had our one son, at that time he was only 11 months old. We lived in an apartment at this time in Washington State. My husband was deployed the first day everything happened in 2003, surprisingly he was only gone 4 months for this. He missed our sons first birthday, and came back in July of that year. To me, these 4 months seemed like a long time, especially with the start of everything happening and being scared TO DEATH, I would watch the news ALL THE TIME! Little did I know this would be the first OF MANY DEPLOYMENTS!

Our second deployment I had a 6 week old baby, and a 2 year old son. We got pregnant with our second child not long after he returned home from this deployment, only to deploy when she was 6 weeks old. We had just bought our first house 2 months prior to him deploying 2 weeks before our daughter was born we moved in. But, not long after he deployed the kids and I Lived with another family on for fort for 2 months. That way I could work part time during the days, and she could work at night. Two weeks after he was deployed, our daughter ended up in the hospital for 3 days. She was automatically checked into the hospital after her 2 MONTH CHECK UP. They told me she was UNDER WEIGHT, from the WEIGHT SHE WAS BORN AT. After 3 days they released her to come home. Josh had came home for Christmas this year when our son was 2 and a half, and our daughter 7 months old. He returned "for good" that year 2 days before her first birthday. He was gone a total of 10 months.

Then it was the unexpected third deployment. I found out I was 2 MONTHS pregnant when he left, after he had left. I had to let him know on the phone WE WERE HAVING OUR THIRD CHILD! He re-arranged his leave to come home for the birth of our son. It was a struggle to get to the point of having our baby. I was a supervisor working full time, up until I was 7 months pregnant and the store closed. The kids were in daycare. A week after the store close our daughter ended up sick and in the hospital. SHE COMPLETELY STOPPED EATING, for a few days. I knew something was not right. She spent 3 days in the hospital before they released her, she was 2 and a half at this time. When we got home from the hospital, OUR DOWNSTAIRS WAS FLOODED. A small piece of a pipe had broke and flooded the dining room, family room, kitchen and living room. ALL THE FLOORING HAD TO BE REPLACED.Plus the heater that had gone out, and the pipe. IT WAS A NIGHTMARE. Thankfully we had great family and friend to help the kids and I out, after just being release from the hospital with our daughter and being 7 months pregnant. Just a few days after this, our daughter got sick, and did just opposite of before. For a few days she couldn't keep anything down. She ended up back in the hospital for 2 days. One month after, we were rear ended in an accident, I was 8 months pregnant, and my mom was driving. We were sitting at a red light and a car wasn't paying attention. Everyone else in the car, my mom and the other two kids ended up fine, I ended up having CONTRACTIONS. And my mom took me to the hospital, the contractions were AUTOMATICALLY 2-3 MINUTES APART! The DR. told me if the baby wants to come, they weren't stopping him. Thankfully I talked our little on out of coming and told him daddy was coming for his leave a month later to see him. Our baby ended up being FIVE DAYS LATE, and weighed 8lbs 13 oz. Daddy returned back to Iraq 1 week later. Three days later, our baby was checked into the hospital overnight with the RSV virus. Thankfully he was okay. This was the same deployment that Josh's unit lost a soldier, very sad. Josh has worn a black bracelet since his passing in 2007. Josh returned home 4 months later. He was home 2 months after the deployment, and received orders to move to Maryland in 2 months. We had to put our house up for sell and the kids and I were in Washington another 4 months with out Josh, with only being able to see him 4 months after a year long deployment. His orders were for him to be in Maryland, December 10th. We missed Christmas with him this year, our youngest sons first Christmas.

We moved to Colorado after Maryland. We moved here in December 2009, he deployed 3 months later. We are currently on our 4th deployment, but almost to the halfway point. I was hoping and praying that we wouldn't have to go through anymore deployments after everything that happened on our third deployment. Boy was I wrong. We have 3 kids, ages 3, 6, and 8, and their dad has been gone about half of their little lives. I'm glad that we are about half way through this deployment and will see him for his "vacation home" this month (cannot say when do to OPSEC), but I have now realized, we are NO WHERE CLOSE TO BEING DONE WITH DEPLOYMENTS. This one is harder because it is the first one with out family around. I have had to build my own support system, and we didn't live here long enough before he deployed for him to help me build my support system. I'm just anxious for when I do get to see him this month, and I CANNOT WAIT FOR THAT MOMENT. I dream about it. I will even sometime stop during the day and day dream about him walking through the hallway at the airport on his leave, and boy I cannot wait!