Wordless Wednesday | Say CHEESE

The True Story of How My Husband Jinxed Himself into Marrying Me

Once upon a time there was an adorable guy named Jesse.

Who told his mom he "would NEVER marry a girl named Jessica."

*ahem*

How did that end up for him?

Until next time,

      theJESSES

                          #neversaynever

We Survived ALS!

He did it! He graduated from Airman Leadership School (ALS.)

Jesse finished five grueling weeks of class, mountains of homework, papers to write, group projects to work on, volunteering, and studying for tests... all the while surviving (barely) on about 5 hours of sleep a night!

I'm pretty proud of him. And us as a family. We somehow made it through without too much drama! (Lily and Sam called it "Daddy's work school" haha) Now it's time to get back to our regularly scheduled broadcast of panama night shifts. Which ironically sound way less intense than the last five weeks!

The graduation ceremony was really fun for me. I love seeing everyone all snazzed up in their Air Force best. I'm still a sucker for getting chill-bumps when everyone chants the Airman's Creed.

Plus do I really have to mention how nice it was to get dressed up, wear high heels, and get out of the house for the night? (HUGE thanks to Kirsten and Dana for watching Double Trouble for us!)

So CONGRATS Babe! And to everyone in his graduating class. Job well done! I tip my milspouse hat to you all... I don't know how you do it and I greatly respect you for the sacrifices you make!

Air Force Wife Lesson #11... Being Thankful

Jesse had his first TDY recently. I can't remember exactly what that stands for, but just think of it as a short deployment and you'll be good to go. Sometimes, they can be 3-6 months long (which is basically a deployment in my opinion.) And sometimes they can be only a few weeks.

J's was only three days. 

It was more like a business trip ;o) Not anywhere dangerous... and actually a really cool experience for him, both professionally and personally. He got to visit some weather flights that he forecasts for. They were able to see the other side of the equation of their job. He seemed pretty excited about it. 

Since it was such a short TDY, it's not like I was inconvenienced or even really had time to get lonely. But I did think about the fact that I was alone. And I thought about what it must be like for pretty much every other military family I know, facing last-minute TDYs and loooooong deployments. And I wanted to be more thankful. 

I want to be thankful for the fact that we haven't had to go through a deployment, yet. It might seem selfish or strange to be like "I'm thankful because I compare my military experience with other wives and mine has been CAKE!" but it's true! I can't help it!

When he joined, I remember that deployments were a four-letter word in my mind. I was terrified of the fact that we were volunteering for a life where Uncle Sam was going to tell us where to live and when to move and would eventually separate us for times. So yes, I'm thankful that it just hasn't been that bad for us, yet. 

The D-word will eventually visit the Aiduk family. And I'm sure it will suck. But it's part of military life. And we'll be just fine when it happens. Until then...

...I, for one, am glad it hasn't happened, yet!

A Big Thank You to My Love for the Last Four Years...

Happy 4th Air Force Anniversary to us! 

I know it's been said a billion times, but I really am proud of this guy for his service in the AF. This weekend marks four years in... and as his first enlistment comes to a close I am shaking my head at how crazy this journey has been for our family.

When Jesse joined, we had 1.5 kids. When he graduated from tech school we had two babies.

And now here we are, two big girls and a fantastic European adventure!

All because he works long hours at a job that isn't easy. Serving a country that is great. And it means a lot that he serves our country... but so much more to me that he serves our family. The benefits don't come without cost, and I am eternally grateful. 

We've got a great big 4th anniversary celebration planned! The cheesecake just came out of the oven and the champagne is chilled! 

Prost! Cheers! To the next leg of our adventure. May it be even better than the last!

He's So Cool, and Did You Guys Know Computer Guts are COLORFUL?

The other day I was sitting on the couch reading out loud to Jesse while he tore apart one computer and, using some new parts that had just arrived, turned it into two computers! 

I wasn't really interested in the process, which is why I was reading to him instead. BUT THEN.. then I realized how colorful the computer guts were! You know how much I love bright colors! And the rest of it was so intricate and visually appealing that I just had to grab my camera :o)

As he continued the taking-apart-process, he found something that made us both laugh...

..a pretty nice sized piece of broken glass! Which we laughed about because we both knew what it was from... my ginger-ale explosion of last year.  If you want to read about it, here's the post.

We laughed because we just can't believe no one got hurt AND the fact that we are STILL finding glass, almost a year later! The computer was in a corner on the other side of the tv... how it got a piece of glass inside it is beyond me! Moving on...

I love that J taught himself how to work on computers. He's such a nerd. A cute nerd. My cute nerd ;o) 

So there you have it. Some random pictures of the insides of our computers. And broken glass. Just because.

Or rather, the moral of the story is "Oooooo computers have pretty colors inside!"

Fun in the Sun | Gran Canaria | Wanna Get Away?

Vacations.  We have taken an unfairly awesome amount of vacations in our time here in Europe.  It's not our fault - we kind of HAVE to, right? ;o)

The Canary Islands are amazing.  We left Germany during a chilly rainstorm and we spent 6 days on the beach WITHOUT OUR KIDS.  (High five to Stephanie!)  Then we came back to more dreary German weather.  Typical.  (In Germany's defense, we have seen some pretty awesome indian summer days this week.  I even got to take the girls' birthday photos at the Japanese Gardens before it closes next week!)

But yeah, it's dreary weather time in Germany already.  So the lovely boost of sunshine mid-fall was just what I need to prepare for another winter here.  I think between my tan lines and my pictures, I will be able to cling that those memories of vitamin D for quite awhile now.

I was actually a good girl and took a much needed break from my camera most days.  But here's the facebook link to the pictures if you want to see some more.  Thanks Babe for the great trip!  I'll treasure the memories as I snuggle up by the fire this winter!

He Did So Awesome

You know how you can tell your anniversary date day was awesome?  When you wake up at 11:45am the next day and every muscle in your body is sore.  

Our 5th anniversary celebration last year (the three week train trip around Europe) was obviously one of those "once in a lifetime" or maybe "once every five years" kind of things.  But that's still kind of a tough act to follow.

But as our anniversary approached this year I was just like "hey Babe let's do something fun for our anniversary."  We have a decent sized list of cool local activities that we've been meaning to try but never get around to.  And we both desperately want to break out of the dinner & a movie date night rut.

What I did not expect was for my husband to go into stealth mode and get a babysitter for 24 hours so we could do ALL THOSE THINGS we've been talking about doing!  In. one. day.

Reason #1 my muscles are sore:  Two and a half hours at a high ropes course!  We haven't done something like that together and it was so freaking fun!  There were parts I was scared enough to pee my pants and parts I was challenged enough that I almost gave up... but it was such a great experience to have together.. working through the tough parts and enjoying the fun parts (zip lines!)

Reason #2 my muscles are sore:  My first ever nine holes of golf!  With my first ever very own set of golf clubs!  To say I did good would be a dirty lie... but it was definitely fun and I definitely want to do it again!  And again and again since I am the proud owner of a pretty set of clubs and all!

Reason #3 my muscles are sore:  Indoor go cart racing!  And I might be exaggerating here, but these suckers went FAST!  I have all sorts of bumps and bruises, too, because the track wasn't just a simple "la-la-la-weee" circle... there was all sorts of "WHOA HOLY CRAP THERES A SHARP TURN" moments and I definitely hit the barriers a few times and also spun out once.  But it was so awesome! Jesse lamented when we got back in the Saturn that it just felt so sluggish to drive hehe.

So those were the three main attractions of yesterday's Date Day of the Year.  It also included breakfast at my favorite diner, a couple beers on the roof of the high ropes course building, slight sunburns and possible dehydration, almost wanting to take a nap but instead showering and heading downtown for dinner in Ktown and meeting up with friends. Oh and I hit a bullseye at one of the bar's dart games!  And how can we fail to sing Jesse's praises for waking up at 8am and picking the girls up by himself so I could sleep in? 

Happy anniversary Babe!  Six years, man!  Hard to believe.  Thanks for the awesome day yesterday.  Perfectly executed... right down to the perfect weather I'm sure you planned for ;o)  It was the best!  Love you tons.

Slow Down, Savor, and Cherish...

Last weekend Jesse was mowing the lawn and he came inside with a little flower for me, which he deposited in a shot glass on the windowsill and left to finish the lawn... without saying a word.

We were fighting a lot that day.  But as I watched him with the flower, I smiled.  We fight a lot, so the fighting, while it's difficult in the moment, isn't that big a deal.  They say opposites attract, and I say opposites also fight a lot.

This flower lasted well over a week in that tiny shot glass on my windowsill.  And in the evenings, it caught the light just beautifully.  And made me smile and think happy thoughts about my marriage.

Here it is another night.  A completely different look.  Still gorgeous.

One of my favorite things to do with my camera is freeze the tiny, beautiful details of my life so I don't forget them.  We forget things so easily, don't we?  Like when we're fighting "a lot" with our spouse, we forget how much we love each other.

But the sun still shines.  I need to remember these sunny details in the moments where the "big picture" of life seems bleak.  Or frantically busy.  Or covered with pee.  (We're still in the potty training trenches...)

And as J and I approach our 6th year anniversary, I smile...  

Love you Babe.  Thanks for the flower.  

The Night We Listened to a 270 year old Oratorio in an 800 year old Church

Date nights for us are pretty dinner-and-a-movie-ish.  But we recently branched out a little and acted all cultured and cool by hanging out with Handel.  

When Uncle Floyd was visiting, we were walking through the 12th Century Cistercian Monastary (or Abbey Church, as it's called) in my village.  And I was telling him how it was on my before-we-leave-Germany bucket list to see a concert at the church.  I'd noticed that they do them, I just hadn't gotten around to dragging us down to see one, yet.

And then he said, I know which one you should see... THIS ONE... as he pointed to an add for Handel's Messiah.  

I was giddy with excitement because a) I actually recognize parts of the Messiah.  (Hasn't everyone sung or heard the Hallelujah chorus?) and b) Uncle Floyd recognized the name of the Luxembourg orchestra performing!  I trust anything my Aunt, Uncle, and Mom say about orchestras and such because they're all music nerds.  All of them met as music majors in college and know how to play cool instruments, sing real pretty, and now teach music.  Their opinions are legit on this matter.  

So I figured out where to purchase the tickets (wasn't that hard... we have a tourist office in Otterberg and they speak English!) and we got to sit with every old person in Otterberg ;o) for this amazing concert.  Now I would be lying if I told you we weren't just a little bored at points.  It's a little long for people like us who prefer to see an action movie for a date.

BUT even though we were the youngest people there and the seats were uncomfortable and we were super glad to get out into the beautiful sunshine and head to our beer garden for dinner, I was still so excited that we got to see it!

I was nearly goosebumped to death when they sang these words.  SO COOL!

Thanks for the awesome date night Babe.  Next time we'll see a movie, I promise ;o) 

Houston, We Have an Almost-Working Thumb!

Warning: fresh stitches and battle wounds on display in the following photo...

Wanna know the best way to ease your poor stiff thumb back into moving?  Video games!  Duh.  

The surgeon wanted him to get it moving as best he could with the bandage right after surgery... he didn't have much mobility and was in a bit of pain, but it was enough mobility to use the Xbox for the first time in months.  Which is good, because I bought him the new Assassin's Creed for his birthday and he was finally able to use it!

After we took the bandage off he had to try to touch his thumb to each finger and all sorts of tasks I take for granted.  I sat there watching him struggle with his stiff joints... and I played with my own thumb.  They're kind of amazing, those thumbs of ours!  If you're bored today, take a few minutes and really check out the things your thumb can do!

Unfortunately for Jesse, his thumb will probably never perform 100%... but at least he's out of a cast and able to move it now.  It's still bruised and swollen from the pin-removal surgery and it still causes a little bit of pain, but I'm relieved that we're that much closer on the road to full recovery.  Boys and their skiing accidents.  Oy veh.

Sammy has enjoyed parking herself right under Daddy's arms while he plays games.  It's pretty darn cute.

We're just taking it easy this week and it's been really nice!  (Top excitement on my list: a re-do of my traditional "perfect day" birthday celebration... every year I ask to sleep in as long as I want and then we go out for dinner as a family.  Jesse can finally take care of the girls so YAY for belated birthday fun!)

Post-Op Update

His thumb has officially been operated on!  The surgeon was so cool and super clear with us... he's very confident that J will make a full recovery and very pleased with how the surgery went.  There are a handful of pins in that there hand that I love.  But they'll come out in a few months.  For now, it's rest rest rest and keep that hand elevated.

He joked yesterday night that I should have a call button like the nurses because I'm so nervous to even leave the room for twenty minutes in case he needs something!  He's in more pain than he will admit and I hate seeing him this way. But hopefully he'll be feeling better in a few days.  He has two weeks convalescent leave from work, so plenty of time to rest up and recover.

I hesitate to whine about my woes, since I'm not the one who has a few pins and a nice new throbbing incision on my hand.  But man yesterday was a long day.  I'm so thankful that Tiffany was able to watch the girls overnight from Sunday-Monday, because Monday morning J and I left the house at 5:30am... checked in at the hospital at 6:15... didn't get him into surgery till almost 11... didn't leave the hospital till almost 3pm...

I spent most of the time reading in various waiting rooms.  I nervously twirled his wedding band on my thumb.  I spilled coffee all over my book and my wallet.  (Good thing I love the smell of coffee!)  And I got pen on my recently dry cleaned white coat.  I was a hot mess, apparently.  By the time I got Jesse home and settled in for a snooze, got some groceries, and picked the girls up, it was almost 6pm.  I set an alarm to wake up at roughly 4 hour intervals to make sure I keep J's pain meds going strong for the first 24 hours.

I'm exhausted.  Jesse's exhausted AND in pain.  The girls are all sorts of tired from being dragged and shuffled all around the KMC for the past week...

So today I'm determined to make sure we all rest.  Family pajama day... snuggles on the couch... lots of books and movies... and hopefully a long nap for all.  

Ski Trip to the Alps Did NOT Go as Well as He'd Hoped

Jesse went to the Alps this weekend for the first time.  So that was pretty cool.  

He got to see Neuschwanstein Castle.  Also pretty cool.

But he broke his right thumb on his second pass down the mountain.  NOT COOL BABE.

And then, as if I hadn't had enough heart-attack-phone-calls for one weekend, he and Chase were in a really bad car accident on their way home!  Thankfully they weren't hurt, but instead of getting home early from their trip so we could try to get J in to see the doctor's at LRMC (our US military hospital), they waited around for hours taking care of the probably totaled car, then took the train all the way home and didn't get in till well after midnight.  Super super SUPER NOT COOL!

So yesterday was a fun fun visit to the hospital for the orthopedic doctors to confirm what the German doctors in Garmisch said:  My Love needs thumb surgery.  

While we wait for the swelling to go down (he gets to spend most of the day giving us all a thumbs up) we have another appointment with the doctor tomorrow where we'll find out whether they can get him in for surgery on Friday or Monday.  

In the meantime the girls are really excited that we brought them home a new "toy" cast to play with ;o)  

He's So Manly

So I was making coffee the other day when J was home and I asked him which mug he wanted...

He shrugs and says "I don't know, surprise me."

So I did.

I thought the floral pattern really complimented his eyes.  I just wanted to be a punk ;o)

Daddy. My Girls' Hero and Favorite Jungle Gym

The First Five Years of Forever

Today's our five year anniversary!  How crazy is that?  This picture is from the weekend we got engaged.  Easter weekend, 2007.  He wrote me that the Friday he proposed and I said yes was "indeed Good Friday".

Rewind to the weekend we fell in love.  Valentine's weekend 2007.  We were supposed to fly with his sister to Florida where I would *gasp* be meeting ALL the extended family at his grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary shindig.  But there was a huge snowstorm and our flight through NYC was grounded.  So we chose instead to go to Cape Cod.  My first trip out to the home he grew up in.

I got my hair cut kind of short that weekend.  Jesse took me to the salon and waited patiently as I got my hair done.  He read from a newspaper... and he tore out a little article.  After I was done getting my hair cut I asked him what he had and he smiled craftily and wouldn't show it to me.  Not yet.  


Fast forward to yesterday... when I was reading through my box of letters and cards we've written each other.  And I found the worn article from the hair salon.  And I cried as I read it again...


"The silver-haired man extended his arm as his wife gently laid her coat upon it.  He stood at full attention until she rested comfortably in her seat.  Then he folded the coat neatly beside him while his wife followed his movements with her eyes.  She smiled softly.  They did not speak again until he pulled out a crisp $10 bill and slid it under his coffee cup.


His steak had been a little tough.  She had taken his plate and cut the pieces into manageable bites.  He nodded at her.  Again she smiled softly.  


In between they held an entire conversation without speaking a word. Was it 50 years?  60?  It really didn't matter.  It was a lifetime ago.  Neither could imagine their life without the other. 


Were they young once?  Did he find the courage to ask her to dance?  Did they steal a kiss under a sky as placid as a lake at midnight?  Did he bow to one knee and tell her the secrets that men hide in the caverns of their hearts?  


Did they fall in love the first time their eyes met?  Was she coy?  Did he court her with flowers and letters and winks from across the room?  


Did she cry on her wedding day?  Did she ever look more beautiful to him?  


He touched his wedding band several times, rubbing it gently like a caress on a baby's face.  Her hand shook as she sipped her water.  He raised his napkin to his chin and then she did the same.  


Did they ever keep score?  Did they count times their feelings were hurt?  Did they argue about money?  Did they share each other's dreams?  Did he ever think about leaving her:  Did she ever think about leaving him?


How did they do it?  How did they remain as one when marriages collapsed all around them?  Did they ever stray?  Did they ever think about it?  Did they know they could keep a secret from each other but never from themselves?  


Was there another life he could have had?  Did she regret not saying yes to the man before?  Was she sill his Valentine?  Was he hers?  Had they grown so old there was nothing left to say to each other?


He waited for her to rise before leaving his seat.  He reached down and delicately lifted her coat.  He opened it for her, and she slid her arms inside.  She tried to button it but her hands shook too much.  


She nodded at him.  He nodded at her.  When he finished the top button, he reached up and touched her cheek with his fingertips.


The never said a word to each other."  


By Robert Slager


Happy Anniversary Jesse.  Even though you swore to your Mom that you would NEVER marry a girl named Jessica, I'm so glad you did ;o)  I nod at you.  You nod at me.  There aren't many other words necessary.

Besides "I love you".  Always will.

The iPod Magician

People who are good with technology truly amaze me.  I think it's because I'm one of those people that just learns the basics of how to work my gadgets/computers... and then I'm good to go!  I don't really have the computer brain to figure much else out.

So I'm really glad I'm married to someone who's a computer whiz!  He would tell you that he's not nearly as impressive as he is, but to me, he's magical!

For example, when my beloved iPod Touch of three years gets dropped on the floor and cracked, I just kept using it.  It was only cracked in the corner of the screen and it still worked.  So I cried a little over the loss of it's beauty, but I kicked myself for not keeping it in it's case and just went on with life.  Then I stupidly let Lily hold it for a second at the grocery store.  And of course she dropped it.  And of course the crack extended all the way through the screen.

At this point, J orders a screen replacement on amazon that was surprisingly cheap.  But he warned me it's tricky to replace and it might not work out.  He figured it was at least worth a try.  (So we backed up all my lists and notes and everythingthatismyiPodlife and he went to work)

Alas, RIP my old iPod.  For my amazing husband couldn't quite get the new screen back on without breaking the whole thing :o(  I'm suddenly realizing you're wondering where I'm going with this.  I'm no longer making him sound that impressive, huh?  Bear with me.

SO my generous husband went that very next day and ordered me a used iPod Touch!  It's pretty exciting to have an upgrade... I think it's like two generations newer and so the screen is really responsive and it's super thin and there's a camera!  So fancy! 

But the best part, to me, was that after a few minutes of messing around on the computer he handed me my iPod with ALL MY INFO ON IT!  All my apps!  All my lists!  (And I have a lot of lists, people, so re-listing would have been a long process)  It completely baffles a person like me how a smart computer person does the things they do.  But I'm so glad he can!  Thanks Babe!