...until May then.

On Sat night we had a small going away party for Steven. He wanted to have the opportunity to see everyone before he headed off for basic training. So we decided to have an informal get together at CiCi's Pizza. I very much want to thank those of you who were able to attend. Of course, it was mostly family, but his friend Matt did come and join us. It was a very nice evening.

The last couple of days sure have been crazy. We had initially been told that he would be leaving on New Years Day and when we got to the recruiters station on the first we discovered that his ship date had been moved to Tues. So we had built up all this anticipation for an emotional goodbye just to have to take him back home with us. It was a relief and a let down all at the same time. I was thrilled to have 24 more hours with him. The bad part was that a snow storm was heading our way and I was now going to have to drive him back to the recruiters station by myself ( Jimmy wasn't able to get time off again). And I was going to have to bring the girls along. They cried more than I did by the way.

Another benefit of have an additional day was that we were able to try and track down the shower shoes he was going to need. Have you ever tried to buy flip flops in the winter? It was an impossible task. Thank God sister Bonnie and brother John were there to help. Steven and I drove out to Fletcher in the snow to pick up some soccer slides, perfect for the shower. It was also nice because he was able to spend time with some of the family he had not had the chance to say goodbye to.



As it is right now, Steven is spending the night in Charlotte before flying to Kentucky tomorrow. Basic training for him will be at Fort Knox and will begin officially in another week or so. He will have 12 weeks of basic and then immediately start his job training, which will take an additional 5 weeks (I think). So He will be due to graduate in Late April or Early May. About 3 weeks before graduation he will be told where he will be stationed. He does get to put his favorite locations on a wish list so to speak, but there are no guarentees. I am not sure he knows where he wants to go but he may put Germany or Italy on his list. Those locations are very hard to get however, so he will need to put some type of realistic base as well.


He was excited and slightly nervous at the same time. He was disappointed when he didn't get to leave yesterday and we decided not to call and tell anyone because he didn't want to say bye all over again. I hope everyone understands. He called me tonight from Charlotte and sounded good. He was going to bed soon in anticipation of having to get up at 0400. My next contact from him will probably be in the form of a letter. I will definately keep everyone updated via this blog. I think he will appreciate letters or post cards regularly. I will post his address as soon as I get it.



Please keep him in your prayers. He is in for a very exhausting next few months. And he will need all the support and positive thoughts we can muster.