I'm craving...

My cravings are all about the power of suggestion. I see a picture or commercial or Dave says something and suddenly I can't get it out of my head.

So the other weekend I was looking through the ads and there was a picture of a spinach salad with strawberries, nuts, and cottage cheese...that's what I wanted. Dave laughed at me a just shook his head at me, but as we were about to go grocery shopping I won and got all kinds of yummy salad ingredients. Dave thought my salad was so pretty he decided to take a picture.


Last week, I wanted meatballs and crescent rolls (after watching food network where these ingredients were in 2 completely different shows). I decided to create my own little recipe, for what I'm now calling meatball sub bites. I had frozen meatballs that I just cooked up in pasta sauce. I unrolled the rolls and put 1 meatball with whatever sauce stuck to it and I meant to put some cheese in, but I forgot. Rolled it up into a little bundle and cooked in it the oven following the directions on the crescent roll tube. They were super yummy and I dipped them in the leftover sauce that I cooked the meatballs in. Dave liked them too, so I'm sure I'll make them again.

Our little princess!

On Wed we had our second ultrasound here in SC. This time baby was cooperating with the Dr and we were able to see it's a girl! We've thought it was a girl from the beginning, but it was wonderful to confirm that. The Dr made sure her brain, heart, and spine were developed properly, which they are, and then started looking for a gender indicator. Right away we were able to see between her legs and there was of course nothing there. This of course doesn't mean it's for sure a girl, so he kept searching and finally got a perfect shot saying "Oh that is a classic girl." The Dr said that everything looks good and she is very active. As for my health, everything is good there too. Over the past month I've gained 5 pounds, that puts me about 3-5 pounds shy of what I should be at. As the nurse said , not really sure where even the 5 pounds is though. We are so excited to be having a little girl and already can't wait for her to get here....it's going to be a long wait to March. Here's a few pics from the past few weeks

Dave got a new dress shirt and tie, he looks so snazzy.

20 weeks! Half way there!

And here she is! Eliana Elisabeth Nigh

A little update

I know I haven't written in awhile, and I have no excuse as to why I haven't written, so sorry. I realized today we have been in Columbia for nearly 2 months already. That's how long I lived in Phenix City total. The time has really flown by. I think it's because Dave and I are back together, no more living in the barracks for him. We are really enjoying our time together again.

We went to the zoo a few weeks ago. I'm sure Dave suggested it just to make me happy. When we drove into Columbia, I saw a billboard advertising for the zoo and said I wanted to go. It was the perfect day for the zoo, not too hot at all. It was so nice to get out of the house and do something different. We saw lots of animals and took a lot of pictures (they are all on facebook), but forgot to take a picture of the two of us together, oh well.



For Dave's birthday, we went to a corn maze, no pics of that, we went at night. That was another fun date.

We also had a ultrasound in the last couple weeks. We were hoping we might find out what the baby is, but no such luck. Baby had it's legs crossed and wasn't showing anything. Our next ultrasound is in 2 weeks and it will be a more detailed look. We did get a great picture anyway. It was so amazing to see our little one. Dave was so excited and happy, he looked like a kid on Christmas. I can feel it kick now, which is weird and very reassuring that everything is ok. We've also started looking at car seats and strollers and thinking about what else we will need. It's becoming more and more real.

Guess Who's Back...

Hello, everyone. Yes, it's me...the Nigh family soldier! I've returned to the lofty forefront of our tiny little corner of cyberspace. I don't know that I necessarily have a whole lot of news to share on here, so much as I have my own perspective to offer on some of the things that Lisa has already posted about my time in Basic Training and Officer Candidate School. But, it is a lot of time to cover in just one post. So, forgive the repeats.

So, going all the way back to March 9, the day that I left. At the MEPS in Milwaukee, while I was sitting and waiting for hours on end, my sweetheart came and tapped me on the shoulder. It was wonderful to see her and difficult at the same time, as I knew that I would not be seeing her again for a very long time. I was called back with a number of other people to receive our travel briefing, then we had to wait for the MEPS people to call us up to get on a shuttle for the airport. Then, I bid a tearful goodbye to my Lisa before leaving her for what would seem like a very long time. My flight got delayed a little and we got into Atlanta fairly late. They couldn't fit all of us onto the bus that was there to take us down to Fort Benning, and I ended up with the unfortunate lot who got to stay behind and wait for the next bus. We did finally make it to 30th AG, the reception battalion at Fort Benning, around midnight. But, rather than put us to bed when we got there, they took us to get our PT issue and fill out our first round of paperwork. It was a really late night. The next week or so would be very much the same, wake up early to screaming drill sergeants, go eat, then stand in line for shots, stand in line for paperwork, stand in line for haircuts, stand in line for eye exams, stand in line for clothing, stand in line for dental x-rays, I swear we sometimes stood in line just for the sake of standing in line. Then of course, we would eat lunch, followed by more standing in line, then eat dinner, followed by standing in formation (a nice change from standing in line...I guess) and finally going to bed. I'm fairly certain that one of the missions of the reception battalions is to make certain that the new soldiers are all familiarized with the Army's standing principle of "hurry up and wait" before they even get out into the regular Army. They did a good job. I got it.

Then, on a Tuesday afternoon, all of us who were lucky enough to be leaving 30th AG brought out our bags and threw them on trucks which drove off to be delivered to our new home for the next 10 weeks. We were not as fortunate as our bags. To the sound of our new Drill Sergeant's cadence, we marched over to the company area of Bravo Company 2nd Battalion 47th Infantry Regiment on Sand Hill. Over the next 10 weeks, we would crawl through dirt and mud, climb ropes, repel down ropes, throw grenades, go through a gas chamber, march many miles with heavy packs, practice room clearing, learn combatives, march more miles with heavy packs, shoot M-16s, shoot machine guns (including the 50 cal, ooooooh baby!) Of course, you mingle that with a good smoking from our Drill Sergeants from time to time. Every letter from friends or family was like manna from heaven! Every letter from Lisa was like pizza from heaven!! It was easily the hardest thing I had done in my life to that point. But, it was worth it. I would never want to do it again, but it was worth it.

After Family Day and Graduation, where I got to spend the better part of the day with my wife, as well as with my Mother and Father-in-law, including a visit from my brother-in-law and fellow soldier, Chris, I was shipped off to OCS. It seemed like a very long bus ride across post when it really wasn't. It probably felt like a long ride because I was under the impression that I would not get to spend the weekend with my wife as I had thought I would. The new area was an intimidating one, probably because it was new and unfamiliar. But, I would learn to enjoy the new freedoms that I would have as an officer candidate. Unlike Basic Training, we were permitted to have our cell phones, which allowed me to call Lisa every night! The barracks we stayed in were laid out like a dorm, so I didn't sleep in the same room with 60 other guys and get every cold or other upper respiratory infection that everyone else got. We got every weekend off, which was the best thing of all! I actually got to spend an occasional night with Lisa. This was all such a nice, pleasant change from Basic where I barely heard from Lisa, let alone saw her. Of course, one pleasant little surprise out of all that time with Lisa was that we would discover that we were expecting our first child!

Graduation and commissioning was great! Lisa's parents were there, as well as our nephew, Lucas. My friend and former roommate, Sean, and his girlfriend (now, fiance), Heidi, were there. My parents were able to come! That was really nice as I had not seen them since I left for Basic. They were out in Utah so that they could attend my sister, Becky's, wedding which was the day after my graduation from Basic.

So, I was a newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant. What was the first thing I did? Along with Lisa, I packed up all of our things at our apartment in Phenix City, AL and we drove the five hours up to Columbia, SC where we currently reside.

For the time being, I am snowbirding (which really only means working until my class starts.) I was able to go up to Fort Lee, VA and compete in a 5K run at the Sustainment Bowl. It was fun! I finished 7th out of 20 runners and my team took first! Other than that, my job here at Fort Jackson has me recording classes at the NCO academy on post. It's a pretty decent job that, if nothing else, keeps me from going stir crazy until my class starts. I look forward to moving on in my career, though.

So, there you have it. Not the glorious, trite, witty missive one might expect...but, hey...I've been out of it for awhile. Give me some time, it's just my first entry in awhile. Hopefully, I can muster some more...soon.

Another new apt

So just when I was feeling settled in Phenix City, we packed everything up and moved to South Carolina. We will be here for a little longer than our last residence, but not much longer. We've been here for 2 weeks and finally unpacked everything and cleaned so we could take pics. So here's the tour of our apt. We will start in the garage because we almost never use the front door.

Dave bought a shelf and set it up in the corner there to hold all the boxes we are saving for the next move, along with a few other things that didn't have a home inside. Walking in and to the left is the living room.

You can see the front and patio door and the office area.

Here's the office area/laundry room. The apt came with a built in desk, which we weren't expecting, but was really nice to not have to buy one. Behind the closet doors are the washer a dyer, they also came with the apt! We get to put off buying new ones a little longer. Dave didn't take a pic of them but they are nice. They are full sized which seems huge after the little ones we had in Phenix City.

Here's the other side if the living room. Now you can see the garage door and the dining room. We have another little bar area from the kitchen, but our stools are way to short. They sit there anyway and make a great horizontal surface to catch things when we come in.


Close up on the dining room, it's still empty.

Here's the kitchen. There isn't nearly as much cabinet space as Phenix City, but I fit everything in and I like it.

Here's the hallway as seen from the living room, by the office. The kitchen entrance is on the right, the bedroom straight ahead and the bathroom on the left.

Here's the bathroom, it's big which is new for us. Plenty of counter space for both of us.


It has a huge garden tube! Neither of us have taken a bath in it yet, but we've sat in it and discovered that we can both actually stretch out and the faucet is above the tube so that's not in the way either.

The bathroom has a door into the bedroom (as you could see in the first bathroom pic) and here is the view from there. The bedroom door is just to the right.

Here is the other side. You can see the door now and the closet.

The closet is bigger than the bathroom in Phenix City. Ok, that might be a stretch, but it is BIG and came with shelves for my shoes.

Well that's the apartment. And as a bonus for reading all about it....
You get to see the first baby bump picture. This is 13 weeks.

wishing for our scanner...

So we have a scanner in WI, but if I had it hear with me in GA/AL I would scan in the sonogram picture I got today. Yes! I'm pregnant. I've made it past the date of my previous miscarriages and today I got to see the baby and hear it's heartbeat, so I'm feeling very confident and ready to tell people. Honestly, you aren't missing much with the pic. I'm not very far along yet, due in March. As the ultrasound tech said right now our baby pretty much looks like a grain of rice in the pic. The other thing I wish was that I knew how to get a recording off my phone, then you could enjoy the muffled sound of the baby's heart. The Dr is very pleased with baby's heart rate and development thus far. He said everything is right on track and looking great. I go back in again in 3 weeks. I started another blog about the pregnancy. Dave and I are both very excited and hoping for the best.

The last few weeks...plus apartment pics!

So, Dave has graduated from basic and is now in his 6th week of OCS. He will be branching this week, which is where he chooses what he will do in the army. More on that later in the week.



In the last 6 weeks, I found a apt, went to WI for a week, flew home with my kitchen aid mixer, drove 7 hours to get to new apt (over 2 days), drove back 2 1/2 hours to my sister for a few days, bought a ton of furniture and other apartment necessities, and best of all have spent every weekend (but the one I was in WI of course) with Dave. On the final walk-through before moving in to the apartment we discovered that the AC, ice maker, and garbage disposal were all broken. Because it is unbelievably HOT here our very kind land-lady found someplace with AC for us to stay until it was fixed. Since moving in I found a leak in the water line that runs to the ice maker, the chain in the toilet broke so it wouldn't flush, a leak under the bathroom sink that was over an inch deep and moldy, something else wrong with the toilet so it wouldn't flush again, and 3 live roaches (3 dead/dying). Despite that I really like our little place and as the maintenance man said I'm just getting all these problems out of the way now (it's been over a week since anything has broke)



Here is the living room from the corner of the room by the front door. We bought almost all our furniture on craigslist. The couches have safari printed pillows, which isn't really my thing but they are growing on me. I LOVE the coffee table, it's huge and has 4 baskets under it. By the way no kitchen table here we just eat on the couch or on the stools.


Here is the living room from the opposite corner. Now you can see our awesome TV cabinet.


This is the view from the front door down the hallway. There are 3 closets on the right. 1 a "coat" closet but it is the same size as a bedroom closet. 2 the linen closet that I use as the pantry. 3 the water/ac closet which also has room for the vacuum cleaner, the trash can, and a few other cleaners and things. The kitchen is on the left.


The kitchen is small, but not too small. It has a lot of cabinets, some are still empty.

The bathroom is down the hall on the left just past the kitchen.

This is a close-up of the towel rack/shelf that I installed all by my self. I'm so very proud of it. Dave looked at it when he came home on the weekend and said I did a good job.

Walking into the bedroom this is what you see.

Here's the bedroom from the far corner. The bed is a queen size elevated air mattress. It's actually pretty comfy.

Last is the laundry "room" it is actually inside one of the bedroom closets. I didn't know how I felt about this, but we liked that the washer/dyer was included. Now it doesn't bother me at all. If is was still a closet it would likely be empty anyway.

That's the apartment!

The Final Countdown...

I can't beilieve it's already here. The time moved so slow and yet so fast. In just 3 days I will see my sweetheart again. Sadly we will only be together for a few days then he's off to OSC. Happily he will get weekends off in OCS sometime.

I got a letter from him ealier this week. He wrote about his FTX 3. They go out in the field for several days (I think Wed to Sun) and they run missions as though they are in a war zone. Dave said it went really well. He got to lead his squad a couple times and really enjoyed that. At the end of the exersice they march back, a 10 mile march back. He said it was long and hot as it was Sun afternoon/evening, but not to bad.

I talked with Dave today! He sounded so good. We of course can't wait to see eachother.

I don't really have much else to add. Next week will be a busy week and I will have lots to update on after that. I cn't wait!

3 letters and 1 phone call later

Thats right, I've put off writing for not 1 or 2 letters, but now 3 letters and 1 phone call. Sorry...I kept meaning to write but time just got away from me and before I knew it it was time for bed and I was exhausted. Today I determined I had to write before I got any more behind. So I suppose the best way to catch up is to just start at the begining. So the first letter is from 4/19-4/25.

This week was very full for Dave. Monday he had a 5 mile march to the hand grenade range. I bet you can guess what they did there. That's right he learned how to properly throw a grenade. I guess I knew there was a right way to throw one, but I'd never given it much thought, just a chuck it in the direction of the bad guys kinda thing. Dave was so nervous on his first turn with a live one, thats exactly what he did. All the practice went out the window. "I just whipped that sucker out there and ducked. " His next turn was much better, he used technique and was able to throw them farther. Then they marched back.

Tuesday they had to rehearse for a change of responsibilty ceremony. One of the Drill Sargents left and they got a new one. After that he went to the pharmacy to get his Rx for his ear infection. The remander of the day was spent moving gym equipment around and setting up a classroom. I think for the ceremony, but I'm not really sure.

Wednesday he learned more about IEDs and other field drills. They slpet out that night. He said it was beautiful and now wants to go camping when we are together again. He didn't have a tent, but if he wants to camp with me we will be in a tent.

Thursday morning they packed up their "camp" and went to learn how to shoot an anti-tank rocket launcher and a M203 grenade launcher. Sadly they only got to launch dummies, except for 2 lucky ones, Dave was not one of the ones picked :(

Friday, Dave had his second PT test he did 56 push-ups, 74 sit-ups, and a 13:25 2 mile. His score were 78 (P-U) 91 (S-U) and 98 (run). A total score of 267! Only 3 points away from graduating with honors! I'm so proud of him. I know he will do it easy and I told him so. For the rest of the day they were at the range and worked with red dot sights and weapons malfunction. Once it was dark they got to use night vision goggles and infared lasers. How cool is that?

Saturday they did pugils which he explained as using the gladiator stics to beat eachother up. He did very well at this as he fought a guy who was easily 40 lbs heavier and trained in Kendo.

He says his health so slowly improving, his ear infection is almost gone and doesn't mention it in his next 2 letters so I assume it is all better.

Next came a phone call...

He called because he thought our bank account seemed lower than it should be and was worried that something was wrong with his pay check. Nothing was wrong, he just wasn't thinking about how much the few bills we have do add up. No matter why he called, he called and we got to talk for about 10 min. It was so wonderful. Hearing his voice was the highlight of my week.

My next letter came on Monday. It was a special surprise letter just for me! He just wanted to write me a tell me how much he loves me and send it on it's own so it would be different. I deffinitly wasn't expecting it and it made my day.

I got the 3rd letter today and it picks up right were the 1st letter left off in his week. He mentions getting letters from friends and family and how nice that is. Thank you to all who have written him.

Monday was as he said "an honest to goodness training day." They were at the range and shot a M249 SAW and a M240 B machine gun. He liked both of them but the M240 B was his favorite of the 2. Uncool part of the day the 6 mile hike at 18:00 (6:00PM), super hot and humid.

Tuesday was a easy day. Getting fitted for Class As. He loves his and can't wait to wear it at family day and graduation....though part of that is that he gets to see me.

Wednesday was a long slow day. 1st and 2nd platoon went and did one thing and 3rd and 4th had to wait till Thurs to do it. Dave is in 3rd fyi. While they waited they didnt do much at all. Some of the OCS candidates put packets for graduation together.

Thursday, as I said they switched and 3rd and 4th got to go and 1st and 2nd did nothing. They were trained in bounding and overwatch drills. I'm not really sure what that is, sorry. He did have to do something with a partner that involved going down ranage and covering your partner. I think that is bounding, but I could be wrong. His DS said Dave and his partner "Too Tall" did great. Dave really likes that DS because he is rough and tough when needed, but also cool and laid back. Dave said the DS reminds him of my brother, Chris, but he hasn't quite figured out why yet.

Friday was the best day at the range so far. He got to shoot a M2 .50 cal. He LOVED it.

Saturday, he worked on urban ops. Sorry don't really know what that is either. Sometimes I think he forgets that I don't know all this military stuff yet. He did talk about clearing rooms so it must be somthing about that.

He is loving Basic. He has had several oprotunities to share the gospel with others. Wearing garments has started lots of conversations. He has had one friend that has been coming to church with him on a regular basis and a couple others who have gone once or twice. I'm so proud of him and what he is doing.

OK....so I think it's time for a little update on what I've been doing, though it is not nearly as exciting as Dave. Most days I play with my niece and nephews and hang out with my sister. I write Dave every night and mail a letter every Mon, Wed, and Fri. We are getting ready for her baby, which should come next week. My brother-in-law said something today that has sparked an interest with me on something I might like to do. A book review blog. I read so many books already and I can never remember what I've read and haven't read and what I thought about it, why not write a little review. I haven't figured it all out yet, but I am deffinitly intrigued by the idea.

The Latest Letter, 4/12-4/18

Picking up right were the last letter left off, Dave went to sick call on Monday to have his ear infection re-evaluated. The doctor said it was still a little red, but that it would be alright. It wasn't...He went back to sick call on Sun and spent the enitre day there. Hopefully by now he is feeling better, but please keep him in your prayers.

Tuesday: They had to do some timed target shooting. They shot at 75, 175, and 300 Meters. He hit 27 out of 44, which is good.

Wednesday: MAC, Modern Army Combatives. He didn't enjoy this very much because they were all on a mat together, and there wasnt much room to really do the things they were learning, otherwise it would have been fun.

Thursday: pre-qualification. If they shot a 36+ they didn't have to do it again the next day. Sadly Dave only shot a 27 :(

Friday: Qualification Day. He shot a 29! 1 shot away from a Sharp-Shooter.

Saturday: bayonet training. Other than the "beastly heat" it would have been great. In the afternoon they had a class on combat opics and close quaters marksmanship. Dave says it was cool but sitting in a chair in the heat made him sleepy and he had a hard time staying awake. That night they got pizza. He really misses pizza and so was very happy to have some.

Sunday: Back in sick call.

That was his week in a nut shell. He says there is a lot more down time now than before, mostly because they are waiting in line to shoot or something. He is still really enjoying himself and once again aside from his ear doing quite well. So everyone knows I'm doing well too.

Please keep Dave in your prayers.

The missing letter

So I finaly got the letter that Dave sent to KY after I had left! I thought it had gotten lost but it showed up today. It was mailed March 31st and covers the week of the 22nd-27th. So pretend that this post was written a couple weeks ago when I had that 2 week break.

He starts off writing about his experience with the gas chamber. He isn't sure if his masked worked at all as his eyes began to water the moment he entered the room, and he started to cough. They had to pull the mask forward, say their name, clear the mask and seal it. It took Dave several times to say it so that his DS could hear him. Then they had to remove the mask and hold their mask in one hand and their rifle in the other. They also had to strap their helmet on. If you messed up you went through again. As Dave was walking out, He had the prompting to doublr check his chin strap. He did so and discovered that it wasn't done properly. He quickly fixed it and saved himself from having to go through again. He thanked God, and I do now. I love when he tells me about the little mircles.

Tuesday, if you recall, they went to the Eagle Tower, repelling. He really enjoyed that and didn't stuggle to much. For lunch he had his first MRE, he liked it alright, says it's not like my cooking, but edible.

Wednesday they did a "Confidence Course", an obsticle course. They did a number of different team building challenges. The only part he struggled with was the rope, his platoon got smoked at PT that morning and his arms hadn't recovered just yet. They continued this on Thursday. On his first time up the rope, he still struggled. When he cam back after lunch, he made it up just fine. His platoon won the challenge for the day! They earned 10 min of phone time (which they promptly lost for being late, talking in formation, and failing inspection on Sat).

Friday they had their 1st field training exercise. They learned about manuvering fire teams, bound and drop, and high and low crawl. They concluded that day with another obsticle course using these new skills. They won again!

Saturday they learned about land navigation. Dave rocked that. He said it was super easy for him.

That concludes his week, he mentions seeing pics at www.2-47panthers.org. I haven't checked that link yet but I know this link has pics. http://www.flickr.com/photos/247infantry.

What Dave did last week

So I got another letter yesturday all about what he did last week. I was so happy to hear from him again so soon.

Last week was mostly BRM (Basic Rifle Marksmanship). He said it was fun, for the most part. Monday they did electronic shooting simulation, to help with teaching the fundamentals. He passed on his first time! Tuesday was zeroing his weapon, that took 2 trys. Wedneday he went on to advanced rifle drills. He enjoyed that a lot. Thursday would have been more fun for him if it hadn't been raining all day long. He had to go out to the 300m range to shot, the rain let up a little by the time it was his turn and he did great. His DS said "Dead all day, Nigh." I guess thats good. The rain picked up almost imeaditly after he finished (a little blessing I'm sure) and he ahd to eat a soggy MRE for lunch. Friday he worked on learing how to breach a room. Sat they were back in the simulator, this time wearing balistic vests, ammo vests, and Kevlar helmets. The full gear made things a little harder for him. They had to get a min of 27 out of 44 shots. After 33 he only had 20, he quickly said a little prayer and nailed 9 of his last 11 shots (blessing #2). Also that was the day he gt to call me (blessing #3)! He didn't say anything about his ear infection, as he hadn't been to sick call again yet, I expect that in the next letter. Keep him in your prayers.

1 month down! 36 days to go!

Sorry for the long break here, I didn't get any news from Dave for quite some time. Not that he didn't write me, I just didn't get the letter(s). He mailed off a letter to my brothers in KY the ast week in March, but by the time it arrived I was in FL. They forwarded it on to my parents, but it didn't arrive there in time either. I left Friday for my sister's in north FL. Luckly she had that weeks letter (3/31-4/4)waiting for me! In his letter he says...

He had to go to sick call Thur, because of an ear infection. It was so bad it woke him up at night and his ear drum ruptured. He got a Px for anti-biotics, pain killers, and decongestants. He had to go back to sick call for re-eval on Friday, Mon, and again yesturday. Other than that he is heathy.

He loves getting mail, so keep it coming!

He has learned about first aide, IED's, rifle marksmanship, how to operate the comms systems, and land navagaton. They also did a team building obstical course. He says he would have enjoyed that more if his team had worked as a team (rather than one lid taking over and not listening to anyone else) and if he hadn't fallen in the water (following the kids advice that he knew wouldn't work, but not wanting to fight any more). The rest of the training is going well. He is really enjoying himself.

I got to talk to him on Sat! Our first phone call since 3/24. It was very exciting. We got to talk for about 12 min. He said his ear is doing better and I have another letter on it's way! He is working hard and having fun.

Now my turn....

As I said I'm now in northern FL at my sisters house. I will be here for the remander of Dave's Basic. My sister is having her 4th baby and I will be here to help out a little. I stay busy with my niece and nephews here. We haven't really done anything special, just day to day things.

We are both doing well, though we miss eachother terribly, but like I said only 36 days till Family Day!

I said I'd write and so I shall...

I've gotten 2 letters from Dave already this week.

1st letter is about his week at reception. It went well, he spent a lot of time waiting in line. Waiting in line for food, waiting in line for shots, waiting in line to shower...well you get the point. He got a bit of a cold then to, not bad he said it was mostly his throat and probably because of yelling his responses to the drill sergeant. He is feeling better. He says he learned quickly how to form up and shut up. He has made some great friends and is having a great time.

2nd letter is from Sunday 14th-Sunday 21st. Finishing reception and starting basic. He attended Sacrament meeting and Sunday School (they don't hold a 3rd hour meeting) and really enjoyed them. More shots on Monday. Tuesday they were greeted by screaming drill sergeants and Basic training began. He can't remember what he did everyday after that, they are blurring together. Dave is learning quickly what to do and what not to do, but the same is not true for all in his platoon. "There is a tremendous lack of discipline!" He has already been pulled aside, with others continuing on to OSC, to be told that more will be expected of them, and to lead by example. Monday 22nd they went to the gas chamber and Tuesday 23rd they did repelling. I'm sure there will be more both in his next letter.

He is doing well and staying strong!

My turn

Since leaving WI, I travled to my Aunts and saw my cousins that I hadn't seen in aprox. 5 years. It was great to talk and catch up in person, instead of just on facebook. I was surprised at how similar we still are and how easy it was to feel like we hadn't been apart. That's just how family is I guess. I only stayed 1 night and continued on to KY to be with Chris, Tammy, and kids Ona, Gabe, Triston, and Alexis. I went with Tammy to pick the kids up from school and they were so surprised to see me there, jaws dropped and eyes lit up. Since then I've done lots of playing and helping with homework. I love it! When I'm not playing or helping the kids, I'm writing Dave, reading a book, or playing on facebook. Nothing exciting, but I'm having fun. I'm keeping busy. I miss Dave terribly, but I'm doing good and having fun. Nieces and nephews are great for that sort of thing. I miss Eau Claire and everyone there, but being with my family has been the best thing with Dave gone.

In KY and Dave's address

I made it to my brothers last Monday, it's been a fun week playing with the kids. They keep me busy. I'll leave next Wed with my parents (they fly in on Fri) and we will drive to my sis in northern FL.

I got a phone call from Dave last week. He gave me his address told me he was doing well and loved me and had to go. 5 min is so short.

Spc Nigh, David
345 B Co. 2nd Bat
47 Inf 192 Bde
Ft. Benning, Ga 31905

PLEASE don't forget, Dave can NOT receive packages. Feel free to send lots of letters and pictures.

I'm sorry this is so short, I will write in more detail the going ons tomorrow.....promise....

2 days down....

....what feels like billions to go.

Well, Dave is off. He left Monday/ Tuesday. Monday he went to the MEPS station and he didn't leave for GA until Tuesday. Dad Nigh and I drove over to Milwaukee Tuesday morning and spent the morning with Dave. Our last few hours together were spent sitting in really uncomfy chairs and watching a TV that we couldn't really hear. Not the best last few hours, but they felt great anyway. He left for the airport around 1 and we drove back to Sun Prairie.

I've discovered that it is easy not to think about Dave being gone if I absorb myself in other things, and pretend he is just at work and will be home in a few hours. I've been reading a book, watching TV, talking on the phone, cooking, and getting ready for the long road trip. So far, so good!

Dave was able to call today! We got to talk for about 5 min (never thought I'd be so happy to have just 5 min to talk to him). He sounded great. I can't believe how much I've missed his voice already. He is doing really well, though this week will be pretty easy as it isn't basic yet, just prep for it. He said things were good and that he was doing good. He said he hadn't been able to shower for over 24 hrs and didn't enjoy that at all. That didn't surprise me at all as Dave would often take 2 showers a day if he got too sweaty. The man loves his showers. He sounded very excited about everything and quickly told me about getting his PTs and boots, along with the few other things he has been doing. Still no address, he should get it next week. Sadly, he won't be able to call for the next couple of weeks, so he will have to write to give out his address. I will make sure to pass it around and post it as soon as I get it. once again just a reminder NO Packages.

I leave Sunday to begin my trip. I will drive to IN and stay with my aunt for a day or two. Then off to KY to visit my bro, so the next blog will probably be from there. There I will start some of my craft projects, which I can blog about, and bore all who read with my adoring stories about my nieces and nephews. I'm sad to leave WI, but excited to be so close to my family again.

We're in the Army now!

After 14 months we are ready to write a little in our blog. Dave leaves for basic in just a few days and I promised to start updating so everyone would know how he is doing. I guess I should start with a fast recap of the last year and how we got here.....

In June, Dave started thinking about joining the reserves. By July, we had decided that full time Army would be better for us. It took a couple months to get everything ready. He had to get all kinds of paperwork and take the ASFAB as well as a physical. Dave scored a 98/100 on his ASFAB. I knew he would do great. Because of his score he was able to choose any MOS he wanted. He has chosen Intelligence as his first pick, Aviation as his second, and I'm not sure he has a third just yet (but he won't need it because he is smart and determined and will get one of the first 2). In September, he was sworn in and given his info for basic and OCS, March 9th, Ft. Benning, GA. And so we waited for 6 months. In which time I finished with my daycare business and slowly packed up our belongings and Dave continued working at TV 13.

On Monday, Dave will leave to go to MEPS and ships out to GA on Tuesday. I don' have an address yet but when I do I will let everyone know. Also Dave is NOT allowed ANY packages. ONLY letters! PLEASE DO NOT SEND CARE PACKAGES.

In the mean time I will be traveling to my parents in FL by way of IN, KY, and northern FL, visiting my family in those sates.

I hope to give regular updates on Dave and myself so check back often!