We are an Uncle and an Aunt!!

We are an aunt and an uncle! On 26 June 2008 at 23:13 Hailey Marie arrived. She weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and she has a head full of hair! She is beautiful!

Brittney's water broke at about 6 am that morning, and I got a call at about 630 from Mr. Tim. He told me that they were on their way to the hospital and I said I'll be there as soon as I can.

I packed and left immediately. TJ wasn't able to be there because he is out on a patrol right now, but he'll be pulling into port tomorrow and then driving home so we can go back to Inglis to see Hailey.

Our Adventure in Chattanooga, TN

Moving to Chattanooga was a great experience. We had never lived on our own before and there we were, making the 7 hour drive to Chattanooga the day after our wedding with a U Haul trailer in tow. It was great and sad at the same time. We had to move away from our family. Saying goodbye to my mom and sister was another really difficult time that still brings tears to my eyes. My sister and I were finally friends, just like my mom always said we would be. And my mom was more than a mom to me, she was one of my best friends.

Once we got there and unpacked, the real adventure began. I thought, "Oh boy. I'm really married and I am really doing this." Being married and living together meant TJ was going to see me at my worse. I stayed out at his house enough to be considered living together before we were married, but this was different. This meant he'd see me at my worse. I'm talking my sweats and non-matching T-shirt, without makeup, occasionally with a mud mask, cleaning the toilet worse. Amazingly, after he saw me like that he still loved me. Whatta guy!

Being married and living together was a big change but so was walking into a room full of people (or in my case, a bowling alley) you'd never met before and attempting to make friends. That was very difficult for me, especially because I was the youngest person there- well, besides Grayson <3. I felt like most people thought they were babysitting me even though no on ever made me feel that way. After a while, though, I made some of the greatest friends. Friends I'll always have and friends that I can always count on- even if it is a MySpace chat. Some of the best memories TJ and I share are from Chattanooga and from the friends that we made there.

We had all kinds of great times in Chattanooga. We camped just about every weekend, we went to UFC fights at Jessie and Todd's house, we even made a few trips to Knoxville, Nashville, and Gatlinburg. We were so blessed to have been able to do all of that so young.

I was lucky enough to not have to work and so I started college in Chattanooga. Chattanooga State Technical Community College. That was a big step for me. I had only been out of school for a year when I started back. And it felt great, a little overwhelming at times, but great.

Chattanooga has a lot of sentimental value for us. That was where we had our first apartment and made so many memories. Man, oh man, that apartment. I do miss it. It was so very hard to leave it when we moved. TJ had left for MK A School about a week before I left to go to Florida. After everything had been moved to storage and my sister, her boyfriend, and I were getting ready to leave. I went back inside to make sure we didn't miss anything and started crying. I sat in the middle of our bedroom floor and cried. It was very difficult to close that chapter of our lives, but I knew that another wonderful chapter was about to begin. I still get a little misty-eyed thinking about it. I know that one day we'll go back. We absolutely love Chattanooga.

Well I just had to take a stroll down memory lane ;).

Our Life Today

Our life today is wonderful. It is getting close to time for TJ and I to decide whether he is going to reenlist with the Coast Guard or get out. We are trying to look at all of our options and make the best choice for us. We are also looking at what decision is going to make us happy. The time we've spent together while TJ has been in has been great. It truly is an adventure. The Coast Guard has really taken care of us and we really do love being a part of the Coast Guard- it is like a huge family. The separation is what has been the hardest.

I am trying very hard not to complain because I really do understand how much worse it could be. This is just pretty tough. It isn't something you get used to really.

As for me, I am in school full time. I am planning on graduating in December of this year with my AA in Business from St. Petersburg College. It is a very exciting time for us. I wouldn't have been able to get through school if it wasn't for the support TJ has given me. He has been really great. Depending on what our next adventure is, I am thinking about starting again in January for my Bachelors Degree. We will see what happens.

The Beginning

Hmmm.. where do I start? I've never really "blogged" before. Well, I created this blog as a way to keep all of our family, near and far, up to date on our lives. I guess I can start from the beginning.

TJ and I have been together since October 3, 2001. We began dating in middle school after becoming very close friends. We weren't always friends, though. TJ used to aggravate me to no end. When we were in 5th and 6th grade together, he'd follow me, try to talk to me, boy.. he'd love that I'm sharing this story. Anyway, he became a very close friend of mine when I went through some tough times in middle school. Soon after, we began dating. We dated through middle school and high school. We even got back together after a short break up in high school.
Fast forward to after graduation. TJ decided that he wanted to join the United States Coast Guard. He had always talked about it and was practically born and raised on a boat. I thought, "Okay. Cool- Coast Guard." I guess I was never expecting him to go. I assumed he'd go to a law enforcement academy and become a cop- his dream job since he was a kid. He enlisted in the beginning of 2005 and left for bootcamp in Cape May, NJ April 5, 2005.

The next 8 weeks were the toughest of my life. I truly knew nothing about the Coast Guard until he went in. I researched and read anything and everything I could about the Coast Guard. A few weeks before graduation, TJ called to tell us where he had been stationed- on CGC Ouachita in Chattanooga, TN. This was very hard for me to absorb. I had never been to Chattanooga before and didn't even know how far of a drive it was. But again, I researched anything and everything I could about Chattanooga, TN.

The time had come to go to TJ's graduation from bootcamp. I started looking at airline tickets and talking them over with TJ's dad, Tim. Tim quickly said, "Oh, we're not flying; we're driving." I thought, "Dear God, an 18 hour car ride with the same man who farts in the car and locks all the windows so you can't get a breath of fresh air. Okay.. I'll do it for TJ." Just kidding, Mr. Tim.. ;). So TJ's dad, his sister, his friend, my mom, and myself packed the truck full and set out to Cape May. That was an interesting trip. Finally, we arrived in Cape May at our hotel.

Later on that day (the night before TJ's graduation), we took a trip down to the Cape May Training Center to take a peek. We were a little disappointed when the guard at the gate insisted we could not go on base "just to look around" when really, we all wanted to go knocking on doors trying to find TJ. So we went back to the hotel to sleep and await daylight so we could finally see TJ graduate.

The morning we had all been waiting 8 long weeks for was finally here, May 27, 2005. We showered, got dressed and scooted out the door to be first in line for graduation. The hour we had before the graduation couldn't have gone by any faster. The ceremony finally started and before we knew it, it was over. We were all racing to TJ as soon as they announced we could. It was very emotional and quite a shock. This person I was hugging and kissing wasn't the same as the person who left, and still he was. He was much more mature and disciplined, but still very warm hearted and kind, not to mention incredibly handsome in his uniform. He walked very squared away and with every salute he gave to his superiors, with every hand that he shook, I was overcome with a wonderful feeling of pride. That was my boyfriend standing in that uniform and this was going to be our life. If I hadn't known before (which I secretly always had), I knew then- this was going to be the man I spent the rest of my life with.

Anyway, we all hopped back in the truck and after a nice long dinner with most of TJ's family, we headed back to Florida. While in Florida, TJ had 15 days until he had to report to Chattanooga, TN. In that time, TJ planned a nice quick trip to St. Augustine (one of my most FAVORITE places in the world) where he proposed in the gazebo in St. Augustine's Square. It was incredibly romantic and very much a surprise to me. Of course I said yes! 3 days later, he had to go to Chattanooga. I rode with him up there and his dad was behind us. We hung out with him for the day and headed out that night.

TJ came to Florida when he could over the next 2 months. He was working hard and still trying to get out of the negative with his leave. Finally, we decided we wanted to get married, soon. We set the wedding date while he was home one weekend and with the help of my mom and sister, we began the planning immediately. September 17, 2005 we were married in Yankeetown, FL in the Winding River Gardens Gazebo.
Well I think this is a pretty good first blog.. long but good. I'll write again later!