After a year and a half of applying, testing, and much waiting, Nick finally started Officer Candidate School for the U.S. Navy in Newport, RI. This 13-week journey made him push boundaries physically and mentally, but he finally made it! He never once thought about giving up, and never rolled back a class, which so many around him were doing. It was definitely an adjustment for me as well, since we had very little communication at all during this time.
The week of his graduation, Sydney and I flew out before other families of the candidates were arriving, in order to surprise Nick. I got a contact number of one of Nick's friends there (thanks, facebook:), which helped me plan the surprise. When we landed at the airport in Newport, Nick called to tell me he had liberty that night. I rushed Sydney and I to a taxi, got us to our hotel, ran to our room and changed our shirts, and then rushed back outside. I was all the while texting his friend who was going out on liberty with Nick that night. He told Nick he had to stop at the hotel to make reservations for family on their way out. 5 minutes later, the car pulls up with Nick at our hotel and Sydney and I were standing outside with our "I Love My Sailor" shirts on, waiting on him! It was an unforgettable reunion!
After a fun week of graduation festivities in Newport, we went back home to Memphis for a brief time. Nick was granted OHARP (Officer Hometown Area Recruiting Program), and was able to "work" in the recruiting office in Memphis, instead of having to take leave while waiting to start his next school. After a couple of weeks of OHARP, Nick returned to Newport for SWOS (Surface Warfare Officer School). This was a 3-week course. Sydney and I stayed behind and I got the house ready for movers. The day after Nick returned from SWOS, we had a going-away party with our families, and the very next day, we left Memphis in the rearview for our 4-day trek/vacation to our very first duty station.................. sunny San Diego, California!
We had an awesome time seeing the country as we traveled to California. We stopped and saw Cadillac Ranch, the Petrified Forest, the Painted Desert, the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam, and Vegas. We arrived to our new townhome (that I searched for and found while Nick was at OCS) and it was everything we had hoped for. Great location, great neighborhood, palm trees, and mountains! Our things did not arrive for another 2 weeks, however, so we survived on Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, pre-made protein drinks, cereal, microwave egg whites, etc. and slept on the floor!
We immediately dove in and saw and did as much as we possibly could in the San Diego area within our first month here. Fortunately, during this time, Nick's workload was very light and we were able to spend great time together as a family, since he was informed he would deploy in August. We started visiting churches the very first week we were here, and by the second week, we found our new church home- Newbreak. Newbreak has been such an encouragement and blessing for us! It is so neat to see God's plans unfold for us, and we believe a big part of our placement here is for further spiritual growth. Isn't that always God's plan though? :) He always wants us to grow a little bit more like Him and get to know Him a little bit more every day.
Leading up to our very first deployment, we unknowingly made a mistake, naturally. In efforts for Nick to see everyone before he left, we had our families and friends in and out overlapping visits the entire month that he was leaving. It is always wonderful to be surrounded by our amazing family, but we now know that the few weeks leading up to, and the few weeks prior to a deployment are precious, precious times for adjustment for a military family. Poor Sydney was also worn out from my San Diego tours every day as well! I'm sure there will be many more learning experiences for us along the way!
Nick deployed on August 28, 2010 for a 7-month deployment. Sydney and I have been holding up great! Being in the most beautiful area and best weather in the country sure helps, though! There is so much to do here, so thankfully the time is passing pretty quickly thus far. We have done all the beaches in San Diego, Padres baseball game, Torrey Pines State Reserve, La Jolla Cove to see the seals and caves, Crystal Pier, Mission Beach Boardwalk, Mission Bay Park, Point Loma Lookout and Lighthouse, Rosecrans Cemetary, Coronado Island, Hotel Coronado, the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, the New Children's Museum, Balboa Park, Farmer's Markets, trip to Santa Monica, trips to Vegas, and countless festivals that are always going on around town! When Nick first left, I immediately jumped in to get myself educated on this new military life. I took a 3-day course called Compass, which is a course for educating Navy spouses on everything from Navy History and Traditions, to reading your spouse's LES (paycheck), to dealing with deployments, to many great resources available for military families! It was WONDERFUL! I also joined the Naval Officer Spouses Club, and the Surface Officer Spouses Club. The Surface Officer Spouses Club is great, I attend different events and get to meet other ladies whose husbands have the same job as Nick. Great thing is, they are further along in their careers, so it is an excellent source for me to be able to obtain information and advice to pass on to him!
I am so very thankful to say that I have met some amazing friends here, friends for a lifetime- kind of friends! I met them through another group I am involved in called Heart2Heart. Heart2Heart is a branch-off from our Military Ministry at Newbreak. It is a group of military wives who meet once a week for coffee and Bible study, yet we see eachother many other times throughout the week too:) Sydney and I have the privilege of being a part of their lives and their children's lives, and I already feel like they are our "California family":)
It is SO apparent to Nick and I that God provides, has provided, will continue to provide for us, has blessed us more than we deserve throughout our entire marriage, and has things in store for us that we cannot even imagine. The question is, will we yearn and follow Him to see our story unfold how He wants? YES!!!!!!!!!!!
