Doing great

Josh is doing awesome and there is talk about moving up his graduation so I will be sure to let everyone know! Sorry I never write here! Give me a call if you want more info. Love everyone!

Hey guess what everyone???? I get to see Josh in 57 days and a wake up! That is what is keeping me motivated!

I talked to Josh on Sunday and he is LOVING his life. He is doing awesome at everything and is very pleased with his decision. Graduation is still planned for May 21st! I can't wait! Give me a call if you have any questions about it.

Thank you to everyone for all your prayers, I know they are helping us both!

SOOOO SORRY!!!!

I know I am supposed to be doing this everyday, but I have been trying to stay so busy that it seems to be taking the back burner! For all who want it and don't already have it, this is EXACTLY how letters to Josh need to be addressed:

PVT Philpott, Joshua W.
B Co 1/48th IN BN
1st PLT Nightstalkers
495 Iowa Avenue, Unit #15
Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473

Also, the back side of the envelope, under the pointed part needs to say in pretty good size:

1st PLT

He would love to hear from anyone I am sure!

On a side note, he is doing well. His letters are full of excitement and thrill at his life and what he is doing with it!

I feel like if you don't get to see me everyday, sometimes this blog would come off as a mopey, sad outlet for me, but I really am doing much better than I expected and am counting the days til I see him again!

G'night!

I talked to Josh for 15 minutes yesterday! He is doing amazing! Loves his life and thinks I should be able to talk to him every Sunday. I will post his address tomorrow for those interested in writing him.

He sounds absolutely certain that this is where he is supposed to be in life and for that I am truly greatful!!!!

He called and I got some letters!!!!

Well everyone....Josh is doing excellent. He said he has been stressed but is loving every minute of his life! He is still in processing but hopes to ship to his basic unit Monday.He said he has been told he sounds funny. I was sure that would be the way that happened. He said that he is in awesome shape and is ahead of pushups right now. He sounded amazing and I am just on cloud nine!

I have no news from Josh today. Just missing him and trying to stay busy! Keep praying for him everyone!

One Week Done!!!

Sorry for the no update but nothing much has happened. I am finally getting used to the house without Josh and I don't find myself avoiding home or sleep so that is a definite improvement!

I got a generic, pre-typed postcard from Josh yesterday. It just said he was there and safe and would send me his address soon. He mailed that from the processing unit so he has not yet transferred to the basic training unit. The postcard was pretty much the same information from the short phone call the other day.

The weekend is coming to a close. In my book that means I have made it through the first week Josh has been gone! 16 more to go!!!!

Be sure to keep checking. I hope to hear from him soon. It is easier to write on the weekdays.

Bye!!!!

What a difference a day makes! I miss him, but am settling into this life day by day.

Not much news. I did get his confirmation of arrival call. It lasted 25 seconds! Hesaid he wanted to tell me he was there and safe and adjusting. He said he hoped to call me soon and give me more details. He sounded ok. But not great! I am sure there were tons of people around though.

Pray he was ok!

Well I slept so bad last night it was unbelievable. Josh called me at 4 this morning. He said he didn't sleep good either. He was off to MEPS for processing. He called a little before 8 asking me to fax a copy of my drivers license. I thought he had this but oh well!

Heard from him around noon and he was at the airport about to board a plane to Chicago.

He got to Chicago and ate McDonald's and then they boarded to go to Missouri.

He was made group leader of the three people headed from Knoxville to Missouri. He said it was pretty cool. I guess he was in charge of making calls if flights were delayed and getting them all there in one piece.

I hope I sleep better tonight. I was so proud of Josh everytime he called me today. I love and miss him so much.

It finally arrived

Well today is a bittersweet day. I am in bed and so is Josh. Except he is in Knoxville and I am here.

I dropped him off at about 12:05 today. I came home to get him and we had our nice cry and goodbye and then I think we were good to go.

He rode in a van with 6 other guys to Knoxville where they checked into a hotel and got meal vouchers for the evening. They are going to get a wake up call early in the morning to go to MEPS and process and then leave town. Josh thinks that he will get to fly because he is the only one going to FLW. He got to call me a lot tonight and will call me in the morning, but that will be it for a few weeks. I am so proud of him!

Well it has been awhile since I have come on here, but Ryan has been bugging me about it soo...here you go Ryan!

I suppose I may have been avoiding coming on here simply because it just continues to mean that Josh will be gone! I have my good days and my bad days. Most are good though. I feel like I already miss him...is that possible?

Josh had drill again this weekend. They told him they would issue him uniforms next month. He won't be there though. He will be in good ol' Missourri! 21 days from now, just 3 weeks (yikes) he will be in Knoxville at MEPS set to leave out the next morning! MEPS is the Military Entrance Processing Station.

I sometimes wish there was a way around this but there isn't. Not one that will make him as happy as the thought of going and dominating something for 3 months will. I know I will get to talk to him more after basic training so I am not nearly as worried about the last two months he will be gone. He deserves to feel good about himself and his life again. He missed out on that so much. He is an excellent example of a man. Someday he will be a wonderful father and this is the start to the way our lives were meant to be!

Well this has no news in it, just some profound thinking....prepare yourselves....

Last night we went out to the bowling alley in brainerd because some of the people at home depot wanted to bowl. Now I am not much of a bowler....so Lauren met me out there and so did a friend from work. We went to the bar as they were having karaoke and sang for a bit.

Here is the part that scared me. I was in that bar for maybe and hour and a half while Josh was bowling and found myself just wishing he was in there. How in the world am I supposed to get through the 6 months he is gone?

Don't get me wrong, I know I will make it. I just never realized just how hard it would actually be!

Sorry there have been no posts. Not too much has been happening. Josh is right now at our old high school working out with the Ranger team. Last night at the gym a guy came up to him (he was wearing an old ranger t-shirt...) and asked who he was. The guy is this year's ranger commander and told Josh he was on the wall in the ROTC room and of course this caught Josh's attention. Long story short, the guy said he should come say hey to Sgt. Barnes and work out with him so he's there.

Josh was supposed to go to a future soldier's competition on Sat. but they rescheduled it for a different weekend. He was sad, thinking it would have been nice to look good against all the others :)

He talked with his recruiter this morning and everything is still in order.
Josh's (and mine too ) best friend Daniel is headed to MEPS ( Military Entrance Processing Station) this weekend to take the ASVAB and have his physical done. It's in Knoxville. We are hoping everything stays in line there for him. They both are hoping to go to basic together.

I am going to order the invitations for Josh's party soon. It just makes it seem that much more real. I know I have had my one big break down over all of this, but that doesn't mean I won't have a bunch more too! It is a strange feeling to look at him and touch him and know that two months from now, he won't be here for that....

Intro.

I am sure if you all are reading this it is because you know all about what is going on in our lives!
Josh has finally decided to join the Army! When it comes down to it, he should have done it a long time ago, but he has lived the civilian life and now is one of the lucky ones who knows this life is not what is best for him.

He has not enlisted active duty. He is in the Army Reserves. This means that, long story short, they will send him to Basic training (on March 3rd), he will then go to AIT(advanced individualized training) for an electrical position and then he will come home (July 15thish)

When he comes home, the Army will pay for him to finish his degree at UTC (more than likely it will be in Exercise Science). He will also be involved in UTC's ROTC program.

When it is time to graduate, he will commission with the Army as an officer. This will be a quick paced time for us as we will more than likely between the summer months after that be relocated (on the Army's dollar of course :) ) to a permanent base somewhere. It could be anywhere from North Georgia to Japan...

After he returns this summer from all of his training and while he is in school, he will go to drill one weekend a month. This is just some physical fitness and other training the Reserves requires of you. Two weeks out of each summer Josh will go on a mission to do work somewhere also. This could be anywhere from Texas to Turkey. He will not work during this time.

We are extremely excited about all of this! It is very apparent that although we had more than we deserved in life, it didn't mean we were as happy as we could be.

I will use this blog daily, to update everyone on Josh and what is going on in our lives. While he is gone, I will post anything I've heard from him here.

At this point, he has attended one weekend drill.
He said it was boring and they didn't do much. He also mentioned how out of shape people were and even though he is older to be starting this journey, he HAS somehow been dubbed as "THE HULK" in his unit.

Stay Tuned for any updates.

I will post daily.
buhbye!!!!