In Memory Of

Today, on Memorial Day, people have all kinds of traditions, ranging from BBQs, family picnics, yard games, going to the movies, etc etc etc. I ate two huge meals today, and feel like I'm full enough to go 4 days without eating again. We laughed with both my family and Matt's family, made memories, and enjoyed each other's company. It was awesome.

People had lots of statuses today, saying to remember the men and women who are fighting for us. Matt got several words of thanks today. I know that everyone is thankful for the service of our military, as they should be. But today isn't Veterans Day. Today is Memorial Day - the day that specifically honors those who have fallen. Who made the ultimate sacrifice. Who loved our country enough to put it all on the line and who paid the price for our freedom. Today is in memory of those who came home in caskets with flags draped over them. Those who never made it home; who's resting places are in some foreign land, or at the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Today is really about them.

I wrote several posts in April of 2010 when one of Matt's fellow Marines from 1/3 was killed in Afghanistan. The first post was here. It shook me to my core - my worst nightmare. I still find myself thinking of the Swenson family, and of Curtis's widow a lot, but especially today. There are many other Soldiers, Marines, Sailors etc who have paid the ultimate price and who left behind families and loved ones whose lives will never be the same.

Today, we remember them.

It is because of their total and complete sacrifice that I have the freedom to sit around the table with my family, eat fried fish, play Apples to Apples with my in-laws, and laugh with my former Marine husband. While I am always thankful for all of the military for what they do for us, today, my mind and my heart go out to those who gave it all and paid the ultimate price.

For now, they watch over us from above.

2 Years Since My Move

2 years ago, on January 27th, 2009, I made the biggest move of my life.

Not only literally - moving to a new house, but figuratively. It was the biggest change I'd made in my entire life. I moved from the state I'd lived in my entire 23 years, and moved out to Oahu.

I would live there for 9 months on the Marine Corps Base with my husband while he served the rest of his active duty contract. But he wasn't there waiting for me when I moved on 1/27/09. He was in the last month of his second deployment to Iraq. He didn't join me until the first day or two of March in 2009.

I didn't move alone though.

My dad came with me, and stayed with me for 8 amazing days while I navigated the streets of Oahu [literally, with a guidebook. I didn't have a gps or smart phone then and I still don't.] and deciphered my way through becoming a functioning Marine wife living on a military base.

He helped me deal with base housing and get our base house. He helped me to pick out and buy a car. He helped me furnish the house with many trips to Ross, Kmart, Home Depot etc etc. He helped me scout some killer garage sales and score some awesome furniture. He helped me to become familiar enough with the highways and streets of Oahu so that when he left 8 days later, I could drive by myself. He helped make the biggest move of my life conquerable.

Plus, it was fun! It was bonding time, just us two, in Hawaii!





Anyway, today marks 2 years since that fateful day when we boarded the plane in Brainerd and began our journey to Oahu. I had a crazy mix of emotions - mostly excited and thrilled the day was actually here after months and months of waiting and planning and anticipating it's arrival. But I felt sad too. I was leaving my family and the only home I'd known for my whole life. And I had 6 weeks to kill before Matt would be there with me.

Those 9 months that we spent on Oahu were some of the very best months of my life.

There's not a day that goes by where I don't think of Hawaii in some small way. I miss it. Badly. But at the same time, I know that's not where we are supposed to be. Oahu was amazing because we were living on base, in a house we didn't have to buy or really pay for [BAH took care of it and we never saw any transaction so it didn't feel like we were paying for it], with the Pacific Ocean in our backyard, seriously. Matt had steady income and amazing friends. I had some of the best Marine wife friends I could have ever asked for. Weekends were spent at the beach, walking around Waikiki, at BBQs with friends or driving around the North Shore. We had 4 sets of visitors and got to play tour guides and show off this amazing place that we lived.

But now, our friends from the Marines are all moved off the island or will be shortly. Our house is occupied by someone else. Matt is no longer an active duty Marine, but one in the Inactive Reserves. Our home is here now, in Minnesota. Oahu wouldn't be the same, without being able to know that we could cross the mountains on the H3 and go home after a night in Waikiki.

Minnesota might not always be where we will live, but for now, it's just where we're supposed to be. That's a little bit of a sad truth, because we loved Hawaii so incredibly much. But it also feels good too, to know that we are where we're supposed to be. And truthfully, we have no idea where we'll be in a year, two years, or 5 years. But for now, this is just where we're supposed to be.

So, on the 2 year anniversary of my move to Hawaii, I am thankful that I got the chance to live in Hawaii. I'm thankful that the Marine Corps let me call it home. It was truly one of my biggest blessings, especially to be able to share it with my husband.

Aloha, Hawaii. We'll see you again someday.

In Memory Of Pearl Harbor

America changed on December 7th, 1941.

Up until then, life was carrying on per usual, with the Sailors and Marines of Pearl Harbor going about their daily routines. Then, in one swift moment, everything changed.

When you attend the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, you watch a 15 minute movie before you are taken by boat out to the memorial. I've seen the movie twice and both times, there is one moment that made my heart skip a beat. That moment is when the bomb hit the USS Arizona and the deafening explosion sounded. You watch the moments right after the attack, and you can see the young men standing around, shocked. Their world was turned upside down, right before their eyes, as one of the Navy's ships burned and sank.

The Wipipedia page for Pearl Harbor included this description: "The battleship Arizona was hit with an armor piercing bomb which penetrated the forward ammunition compartment, blowing the ship apart and sinking it within seconds."

1,177 men were lost on the Arizona. The sunken USS Arizona is their final resting place and the memorial serves to carry on their memory.
There were other service members who died in the days after Pearl Harbor as well, and all are honored there. Markers tell the story of each submarine, what happened to it, and who was lost. The entire park serves as a place to immortalize these men's memory, and for us to go and pay our respects, as many have no final resting place but here, in the harbor.

As we honor the 69th anniversary of the attacks on Pearl Harbor today, I remember back to my two visits to the USS Arizona Memorial in 2009. The rusty turrets protrude out of the calm waters of Pearl Harbor. Oil still leaks to the surface, 69 years later. In the reverent quiet of the visitors who go to Pearl Harbor, who stand before the wall of names, and try to grasp the effect that day had on our nation's history, it seems those Sailors and Marines whose lives were lost will never be forgotten.

Veterans Day and An Email

I got this in an email last night. I just love it.

1. Pray
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and unclutter your life.
7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.
12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13.. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.
16. Carry a spiritually enlightening book with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20.. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life..
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try
and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25.. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good 'Thank you Jesus .'
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31.. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
32. Sit on your ego.
33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU.
'If God is for us, who can be against us?' (Romans 8:31)

I also want to say a big ol THANK YOU to all of the past and present veterans of our amazing country. For all the sacrifices they have made, all the holidays and big moments they've missed while they were serving our country - I want to thank you. And also, a big thank you should be said for the silent ranks - the families who have sacrificed so much as well. I'm not just saying this because for 4 years, I was one of those silent ranks. They sacrifice as much as their veteran counter part does, just in different ways.

To Matt, for all you did in your 4 years in the Marine Corps, and for the leap it gave us for our civilian life, thank you. I love you.

God bless America!

The Elder Family - [Brainerd, MN Family Photography]

This family lives in the same southern Minnesota town that my cousin and his family do - that's where the connection was initially made. My cousin's wife talked to Molly, showed her the photos I took of my cousin's family in August, and then Molly emailed me about possibly photographing her family. Apparently Molly had a sister who lived up here in Brainerd, so it she said it would be easy for them to come to me for a shoot. Perfect!

Then, things worked out perfectly when Molly and Chad and their two darling kids were up last weekend, and I had some free time to fit in their shoot. The weather was warm, and while the leaves were almost dropped, we still managed to squeeze some fall color into their session. It was a blast.

Molly told me that her sister, the one who lived up here, and her husband were going to be dropping by the park we were shooting at and she wanted to know if I could snap a couple photos of the two of them. Here's why - Mike is part of the National Guard, and this spring, he is going to be deploying for a year to Iraq. Mike and Jennifer have 4 kids, and this is his first overseas deployment. He's been in the guards for 20+ years, and while he's volunteered to deploy various times during his service, he hasn't been able to deploy yet. If you aren't familiar with people in the military, you might think 'Why would you ever want to deploy?' Well, there's just something about going where you are needed that makes the men and women of our armed forces sometimes want to go. For themselves. They don't WANT to leave their families, of course not. But the deployment is something that they need and want to do. That's where Mike's at right now.

So, I gladly snapped some photos of Mike and Jennifer. I'd like to ask you to keep their family in your prayers this spring - I know what deployments are like on the home front, but I never had any kids to take care of. Jennifer will be helping 4 kids through a year of missing their dad, all while she misses her husband. So yes, I think they would love all of our prayers.

Without further ado - Molly and Chad, thank you for asking me to photograph your family and for being flexible to squeeze it in when we could. I think you will be happy with the results. Mike and Jennifer, it was a pleasure to meet you and I hope our paths cross again in the future. Enjoy the next 6 months and God bless you both, and your kids, as you go through the year of the deployment.

xoxo, Laura

His One Year Anniversary of EAS

Today marked one year since Matt's EAS from the Marine Corps.
[EAS - End of Active Service]

In March of 2009, Matt came home from his second tour to Iraq - his last deployment with the Marines. It was one of the best days of my life.


One year ago today, he went to his last day of work, dressed in his camis for the last time, and came home a civilian. Well, as they say, once a Marine, always a Marine. But his days working as a Marine were over.


[PLEASE excuse the horrible selective coloring. I'm too lazy to plug in my external hard drive to look for the better photo, and I was testing out special-effect settings on my Point & Shoot that I didn't know it had. It just happened that Matt came home while I was experimenting. Don't judge my photography based on that. :)]

In the year since his EAS, we moved back to the mainland from Oahu, visited his family in California for a week, drove to MN, visited, left on our 40 day cross country road trip, came back, celebrated my FAVORITE holiday [Christmas], settled into our apartment, Matt started school, I built my photography business, and we have gone through a total adjustment. The beginning was rough, lots of squabbles and learning how to be civilians again. Matt had to learn to assimilate into a non-military community again. He went from being a Sergeant and highly respected by the Marines he worked with, to being just another 23 year old guy in college. With 18 year olds who thought they ruled the world. [He was there once, as an 18 year old college freshman.] But it was a hard adjustment.

Now, looking back on the last year, we can't believe how fast it's gone. We're stunned at how much things have changed, and thankful for where we are at now. We are thankful for the times we had and the people we met [Matt, his friends, and me, the wives!]. But we are also extremely thankful for the civilian life we have created. We are excited for the future, for Matt's graduation from college at the end of next year. For what's to come after that. Exciting things lie ahead, and we are pumped to see what God has in store!

So, on this 1 year anniversary of Matt's EAS - his entry back into civilianship [is that a word?? It is now!]... I want to say Thank You to the Marine Corps, for helping to make my husband who he is today. For helping his with his priorities, and for giving him the drive to succeed in everything he does. Thanks for making it so we got to live in HAWAII. Thanks for introducing him to people we never would have met otherwise. Thank you for giving him the memories and experiences he took with him from his four years.

We look to the future, to the next year. Where will we be another year from now?

Here is Matt, 1 year since his EAS. Working on my car, teaching his 15 year old brother a thing or two about the auto world. Loving life.


xoxo,
Laura

Wednesday Wonders

Today has been one of those "I Miss Hawaii" days, which always brings with it "I Miss My Marine Corps Friends" too. Hawaii and the Marine Corps went hand in hand for Matt and I, which was a sometimes good and other times bad thing. Good because it gave us the cushy life that we got to live for the 8 months we were there. Bad because by the end of our time there, Matt was so excited to be done with the Marines [and me too] that it in return translated into "We can't wait to leave Hawaii!" The minute we left the island, we missed it. Well maybe not the minute, but within a week, for sure.

I am so very thankful that we were given the opportunity to call Hawaii 'HOME.' To start our married life under the same roof in paradise. What a blessing we were given.

I'm happy here, in Minnesota. I really am. I am not sad all the time. I am not melancholy and nostalgic all day, or even every day. But at times, I succumb to the memories and I think that's ok.

I know that I have to 'bloom where I'm planted' as a wise person said a few months back. I am.

But still, I left part of my heart and a whole lot of good times behind when we left the island.

So, tonight, for my Wednesday Wonders post, I am dedicating it to Hawaii. To the awesome people we met there and all the fantastic memories we made. I am forever grateful for each day spent on that beautiful island, with the amazing people that the Marine Corps brought together.

[This post is also inspired because I dug my Point & Shoot camera out of my purse and recharged the battery, realizing there were 800 photos on it. I dumped them onto my computer and found some gems that I forgot I had. These photos are unedited [hello red eye?] and I love them just like they are.]
























Aloha ♥,

L