Hi,
To start things out my name is Nicole Lynne, I am 20 years old and I am pretty stoked that your even taking the time to read this.
If you wanted to know, this is what I look like...
Yes, I know, I look like I'm about 16, but hey, at least I know I will age well...at least I should, my mother did!
Some other things you should know about me..I am a photographer, and I will be putting quite a bit of my work up here. I really hope you will enjoy it. Also, I am obsessed with zebra print, if they had a zebra print template for this page, it would be being used. I have a zebra print blanket, a stuffed tiger that is zebra print, glasses & sunglasses and quite a few other things.
I love to shop, like most girls do, but mine is like a stress reliever. I love going by myself and just looking and taking my time and think. I think a lot when I shop, about everything, it helps clear my head. I have a huge problem with talking myself out of buying everything, which is probably a good thing.
I am a country girl. I loved my 4-wheeler, I love to fish, I have no problem with getting dirty....just don't ask me about cars..they still confuse me.
I have an amazing family...even though were going through a really hard time together, we know we have each others backs, and that's all I could ask for.
My friends are better then I deserve. Colleen is an amazing girl that I have the most amazing privilege of calling her my best friend. Alyssa is one of the hardest working women I know and has been so blessed to have her here to help me through this process with Jordan (more on that later). & Ariel is my oldest friend who I love and cherish so much. We have had our crazy up and downs but I still love her, she is an inspiration, she really is.
Then we get to my husband, yes my husband. I know what your thinking..."oh but your so young, why get married now" and what I have to say to you is "why not?"
Jordan and I have been together since we were 14, we did break up once...for 4 hours in 9th grade, but that doesn't count. We have together for 6 years, we grew up together, we lasted longer then most marriages these days. He is my best friend that I can tell anything too, my hero, and my rock. Right now pretty much sucks though.
You see, about last January he came to my house and flat out told me that he was joining the Marines. Now, you can imagine my reaction, 4 years at the time and there was never a discussion, just a "I'm going to do it Babe." Lets just say after he left that night I went into hysterics, Colleen got that phone call, not pretty. The man that I want to spend the rest of my life with is going to join the military. Never saw that one coming, not in a million years. I remember telling him that night "Well, were going to get married then, because your not leaving me just being your girlfriend."
Long story short, he was put on the delayed program (which I can't think of the name right now) and on our 5 year anniversary, he proposed.
He was set to leave December 13th, 2010. The months leading up to that were tough, but some of the best because late summer he moved in with me. It was our first taste of what our married life was going to be like. It was tough though, because I knew that him being with me everyday would make the 3 month boot camp so much harder, but in my head it was worth it, and I don't regret it to this day. We had a couple arguments, but nothing that wasn't solved by that night. We are both strong believers in the whole "don't go to bed mad" theory. At that point time just kept moving faster and faster, and before we knew it, it was time.
I remember that day like it was yesterday. I did so good though, not a tear until Sgt. Laurs was talking about them leaving and going through the stuff that they couldn't take. It was pretty bad out, crazy snow storm and the bus was late. We waited at the recruiters office for a good 2-3 hours before the bus got there. That's when the tears came. We walked outside, we hugged and I balled like a little baby. Wanna know what his last words were to me?
"I better come back to you in one piece!"
Yup, last words, still makes me giggle a little when I think about it. I'm not exactly the graceful type, I mean I fall going up `the stairs more than I have ever fallen down them.
It was hard thinking that this was it. It was the last time I would see him for 3 months, last time I would hear his voice.
Christmas stunk. I tried to be happy. My family sent him this picture for Christmas though. He liked it :)
A little bit after Christmas however, I moved in with my Aunt Dawn and her boyfriend Mark in there new house. I don't think I could ever thank them enough for what they did for me. I think I might me a little psycho by now if I was by myself still.
I quickly became one of those girls who knew the exact moment the mail was going to arrive, and I would pray that there would be a letter, just one letter, to get me by for the next couple days. I strived for those letters, as did he. We hadn't spent that long away from each other for 5 years and then we had to handle not even being able to speak, it was one of the hardest things I have ever done.
I kept a pink folder type thing that I put every single letter in, and every single letter was carefully put into paper protectors and put in order. I wanted to document that stage of our lives, so we could look back on it and know that we made it.
We didn't spend Christmas, Valentines Day, or our 6 year anniversary together. That was hard, but I never really fell apart.
There was one time that I had a complete break down though, like non stop crying for 4 hours break down.
I missed his call.
I was devastated, and I know he was too. I was at work and I have that neat little feature on my phone that translates your voice mails into text so you can see the voice mail before you read it. Well I was checking the time and saw that I had a voice mail, so I checked it, and the first line read "hey you." and I knew. That was our thing, whenever we call each other it's also "hey you". I lost it. At work. I ran to the back trying to make sense of the message, but I couldn't understand it because I was crying to hard. I finally calmed down enough to actually hear it and it cut him off at the end. I was beyond upset. I called his mom, and my mom, and then Colleen. You must understand that that phone call was the first time I had heard his voice in 2 1/2 months, and it didn't even sound like him. I knew he would be different but that voice mail definitely had me thinking that maybe he was going to be more different then I though he would be. I did end up getting another call that night about 4 hours later, that lasted no more then 30 seconds, but that was enough.
A couple weeks went by and there was one letter that will stand out to me forever. He asked me what I would think about getting married at the courthouse on his 10 day leave. Of course I was ecstatic and started figuring out right away what we needed and how we were going to make this work. Then I got to thinking however, if he was asking me about this, he probably has a good idea that he wont make it home for our July wedding. That was kind of upsetting, but at the same time, I was going to be married to an amazing man within a few weeks!! I didn't have much time to be upset because before I knew it, it was time.
I was traveling with my very soon to be father-in-law, Brad, and his wife Deb. The morning that we were suppose to leave for California was...stressful, to say the least. Our plane was cancelled. But Deb, amazing Deb, found us a way to get there. We didn't land until about 9pm Cali time, which is midnight at home, but we were there. We made our way to the hotel, settled in and I got ready to finally see him, after 3 months I didn't know what to expect, but I knew that I was so ready to just finally be with him, that it didn't matter.
Bet it wouldn't surprise you if I said I didn't sleep well huh? Well...I didn't.
I woke up so early that morning, nerves does that. Got ready to go and we were off. Honestly...I don't remember ever having to wait so much in my life then I did that day. They would bring them out in front of us like this...(he's the one in the front row right behind the guy in the yellow shirt, third one from the left)
but we couldn't say there name, or hug them, not yet. Not only did they do this to us once but a couple times. It was getting really old really fast. But then the time came. He was released and of course I was the last one to find him in the crowd, the rest of the family had already found him, but when we found each other it didn't matter. His face lit up and he had a smile that I hadn't seen in so long, nothing else mattered.
Well we rushed off the parade deck (which is a big cement area where they do drills and stuff like that.) and he went off to go and get one of his bags. Not going to lie, it was awkward at first but it didn't last long. We were happy...see?
Then he had to get, and the next day was graduation, and after that he was all mine for the next 10 days. Yeah, I know, that doesn't sound that long, but to us, it was heaven. He was exactly the same, he was just more confident, and it was amazing to see the change in him.
The Wednesday that he was home, we got married.
I was stressed that day but saying "I do" was the most amazing feeling that I have ever had.
Now it's 3 weeks later, and he's gone again. He can call on his libo, which is usually on weekends, but this weekend he doesn't get any. It's hard, sometimes I think that it's harder then boot camp because right now I don't know when I will see my husband again. Yes, I get to talk to him, but as soon as I get off the phone, I go back to not knowing, and waiting. I'm not a patient person, never have been, never will be, so you can imagine how hard this is.
I just got to keep thinking that soon enough we will be together for good...at least until he get's deployed..why did I sign up for this again??
Well, now that you got the run down on how life got to where it is now, I think it's time for me to go. Tomorrow will be more on how I'm handling being a newlywed without the other half, and also dealing with other problems. Be excited...oh come on, I know you are!!
If you read all of this, thank you. I hope you enjoyed it a little. Trust me, my life has never been a dull one.
Toodaloo for now,
Nicole Lynne