All Good Things Must Come to an End....

The day comes faster and faster each moment.  The "to-do" list gets longer and longer.  I have actually thought of making a list of "dones".  It's like making a list of "to dos" but as soon as you write it you get to cross it out.
November 1, 2010 will mark the end of an era in my life as Major James Grogan's wife.  No...not divorce!  Retirement!  The Major will be retiring after 20 years of distinguished military service!  Thus the end of my time as an active duty military wife.  No worries...I have no plans whatsoever to start playing Mah-Jong in the "Combined Ranks Club".  From here life can only get more interesting because I know God has always had His Hands in it.  The good...the bad....and the ugly...all for a reason...all for His Glory!
So here goes...my list of "dones"...or better yet..."done-so-far".

Fell in love with a military man and married him...not my plan and sooner than the Major had planned.

Worked together in Glacier Park our first summer of marriage before he went active duty...the Major was a rafting guide...I packed the trips.

Emergency landing in a small aircraft!  Almost drowned in a Class 3 rapid on the North Fork of the Flathead river!(these were not on the same day)

Moved to Mississippi....definitely not our plan!

House broken into...not in the plan.

Moved to New Mexico...again...not our plan! 

Kate was born...definitely in the plan!  Just sooner than WE planned!

Now here is where I start learning a bit about myself...when Kate was 3 months old the Major(he was a 1st LT at this point) was sent to Logistics school...in Colorado!  This would be the first...but not the last time we would be separated for a long period of time. I learned to be very independent.  I learned a bit of what it would be like as a single mom, I learned that nights without my husband next to me sucked.  I also learned that God does not give  us anything we cannot handle!  I also made my first cross-country road trip by myself with a baby.  Albuquerque to Denver then on to Bozeman, MT for 2 weddings then onto Whitefish, MT for a 3rd wedding...all without my husband. The best thing I learned....He made me strong!

Sarah was born!  YAY...definitely in the plan!

Experienced the immense fear as a handgun is pointed straight at me in a parking lot in Albuquerque...not fun!

The Major goes to Little Rock for 4 months for C-130 training  when Sarah is 2 weeks old....not fun!

Receive orders to Alaska...YAY!! orders changed to Japan...NOT YAY!

Pack the house, clean the house for inspection(thank goodness for helpful Colonels' wives!) load the trailer and rush 2 year old to emergency room for excessive vomitting!  Then move to MT while the major finishes training in Little Rock then finds housing for us in Japan.

When Sarah is 8 months old we are allowed to fly to Japan to meet up with the Major.  What a long trip with 2 children under 3 years!  I didn't sleep for more than 48 hours!

We get settled in...over the jet-lag.  A week later...new to a foreign country(that drives on the left side of the road)  I am rushing my husband to the emergency room.  He is diagnosed with spinal meningitis and the flight doctor says "if he lives he will have brain damage"...and then leaves the room!  OK...more of the..."He does not give you more than you can handle"...ok...got it...after a stay in the hsopital...all is well! God's plan!

Experienced my first earthquake!  On the 7th floor of our apartment building that is on "rollers" so that it won't crumble. The major slept through it...

The Major receives orders for SOS...in Montgomery, Alabama.  We have only been back together as a family for  2 months and they send him back to the states for training.  And yes...as soon as I could I packed the girls up and we flew to St. Louis then rented a car and drove to Montgomery....by myself.

Experienced my first typhoon...all the flight crews were called up to ferry the aircraft to safety leaving the wives and children to "fend for themselves"...this is when I figured out that if the military wanted you to have a wife...they would have issued you one! I also kindof got use to the major being gone and not knowing where he was located! And I taught English to Japanese children.

After 2.5 years in Japan we asked to be transferred to Abilene, TX! YAY!! Lots of deployments! Not Yay! More 3 day road trips to see family while the major is deployed.  And here I discovered that it is possible to drive 18 hours in a day!

Went to Germany to join up with the Major...just me! First time to leave the girls for any length of time..yikes! Did not like being away from them for 2 weeks! But I did learn something about myself....I really love to drive fast!!! Germany...autobahn...convertible...you get the picture!

Transferred to Little Rock...not our plan....decided to homeschool...never was this our plan!  But definitely His plan as it has been an amazing time with my daughters.

Lost 4 family members in a matter of 18 months including my grandfather who was my favorite person on this earth next to my husband.

Made wonderful life-long friends that helped me through the multiple deployments!

Watched my husband being sent off to war.  not the plan....never is when it comes to military life but always knew it could happen.

The major came home safe and sound....definitely in everyone's plan!!

Transferred to Beale AFB(where???)  in California...not on the spectrum at all!!  And this is when our little family almost fell completely apart!  But God knew what He was doing and put people in our lives for a reason!

Waited impatiently but prayerfully 4 times in the past 2 years while the major was in surgery.  Experienced the near loss of his life because of one of these surgeries going wrong. God has plans for this man!

Graduated our eldest daughter from High School and sent her to college all the way across the country to a place she knew no one!  I learned that Kate is a very strong woman!!  And her sister Sarah is following right behind her.

And today...this is what I know....
A woman who loves a military man WILL follow him to the ends of the earth...even if it was not her plan!
Any military man is blessed to have a woman love him so much that she will do this!
The Code for military officers is more like "guidelines" to many...but adhered to by the best!
Military wives are the fasted mode of communication as well as the biggest hearts!
My husband is an amazing man...hungry for knowledge, for life and for Christ and he fills our home with laughter!
My daughters surprise me everytime I turn around.  Both are growing into women that when they wake in the morning, Satan hides!
God puts people in your life for a reason...some stay and become family...some become a cherished memory...some become a lesson learned.

What I have learned about myself....
I am strong and independent to a fault...and I am learning to get over the independent part!  I am dependent on Christ for everything!
I love my family and I love my friends...and if they do not know this...I am doing something wrong!
I love opening our home and our hearts to everyone...we have been blessed by those who have chosen to stay in our hearts!
I wear my heart on my sleeve and plan to leave it there!
I am learning that I cannot fix everything that happens in life. 
I have learned that the heartbreaks of my children are harder to take than my own.
The most important thing I have learned...that when I fall to my knees I am raised!

My life has been an adventure...so far...I cannot wait to see what He has in store for me next!

p.s.  I will write something soon on everything the Major has done...but that could be a book!