Getting to Know this Mom in the Trenches

Being a mom is one of the hardest and most important jobs in the world, but for several women out there, including myself, being a military wife is equally as trying.  So, when you are both a mom and a military wife, you know what it's like to be right there in the trenches of life.  Some days are calm but others days you feel you're being fired at and attacked from all directions, wishing you could just yell, "Retreat!" and fall back to a safe zone.    This blog is about my life and the trials and triumphs I experience while being a "Mom in the Trenches."
     I am a twenty-seven year old married to Jeremiah, the man of my dreams.  I grew up in small midwest town, El Dorado Springs, MO, which my husband lovingly calls, "Mayberry."  I had a wonderful childhood filled with fun memories and tons of family traditions.  My family has always been close and over the years as us kids have gotten older, we've grown even closer.  My husband was in the Army Reserves for four years before he switched over to active duty but during that time, he completed two deployments to Iraq as a Combat Engineer.  Now, I stay at home with our son, Emerson, while my husband works as an EOD (Emprovised Explosive Device) soldier in the United States Army.  His job is basically to diffuse IEDs and anything else that might potentially go "Boom" downrange.  Needless to say, his job can be a bit on the stressful side.
He completed his EOD training at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida this past year, and we are now stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia.
     We were expecting my husband to deploy for the third time in the next few months, but we recently received word his unit's deployment has been pushed back.  This was great news, or at least I thought it was.  A week after hearing there deployment is being pushed back we found out we are expecting our second baby!  My first thought was that he will be home for the birth but then I realized, he will be leaving when the baby is nearly a month old and miss his/her entire first year.
       As a military wife, there is constantly that wonder in the back of your mind, how long will you have your soldier; will these next few months be the last?  As we are out at the beach or exploring the town, I wonder with every click of the camera and every moment that's captured as the shutter lens closes, "Will this be a picture that I look back at in a year and say, 'Man, I wish he was still here.'"  Aware, that the road of wonder and worry can be a dangerous road to go down, I quickly remind myself that life is uncertain no matter who you are or what you do, and that God's grace will always be sufficient regardless of my circumstances.  So for now, I am living life to it's fullest, not taking for granted time with my husband or my son, fully recognizing that none of us has a promise of tomorrow, for tomorrow is another day, another battle, to be fought from the trenches on the homefront.