Wednesday, September 10, 2008

An Army of One





It's official.

Nathan is officially an officer of the U.S. Army. He received his commission today and is now a Second Lieutenant. I've always has a great respect for our country's men and women who bravely and honorably defend us. Every time I see someone in uniform I want to go up to them and personally say thank you. Of course being the chicken I am, I've never done it, but I think one day I will get the courage to do it. Wow. I'm scared to say thank you and these people put their lives on the line. I need to shape up!

While the Army isn't something I'm unfamiliar with, I'm really not all that familiar with it either. My grandfathers were both in the Army and my dad was in the Army. But by the time I got around to my earthly existence, everyone was out. I've seen pictures and read journal entries and heard stories, but that's it.

A couple years ago one of our previous Bishops in Logan had the terrific idea of inviting soldiers and their spouses from our ward (at one time we had something like 4 or 5 soldiers in the Middle East serving from our tiny student ward) to give a lesson for a combined Priesthood/R.S. meeting. He did this twice for us and both times were very emotional and special for those who attended. We learned so much and gained a new appreciation for our troops.

I'm so proud of Nathan for making this commitment. I know a big reason we did it is because the Army pays for his schooling and specializing will be easier, but we made this decision knowing that there would be a possibility of deployment (however small the chance is). Never, ever did we think the Army would be an option for us, but when Nathan came home about a month ago and mentioned that the Army representative came and talked to the new dental students about recruitment, something went off inside me. A strange mixture of peace and excitement. Somehow I knew this path was our future. We prayed about it and felt it was right for us. I'm so glad we followed the promptings of the Spirit, I know we'll be blessed for it. Way to go, Nathan! Congrats!


Nathan being sworn in


It's a deal!


It's a happy deal!
I actually picked this picture because his face here reminds me of Emma A LOT.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . <@> . . . . . . . . . . . . .

And anytime there's a camera around, there are two posing kids running to be in front of it.

4 comments:

J. Baxter said...

You guys are obviously amazing people. Tell your husband thanks from me! Mine is a veteran of the first Gulf War (I was in high school, whilst he was over there risking his life) and I've thought many times about what it would mean if he were to re-inlist.

Thanks for sharing this with us! It's very inspiring.

Anonymous said...

Wow that is so awesome!! Good for you guys. Now the two posing kids are so dang cute!! hopefully they will always like having their pictures taken but not likely! :)

Unknown said...

Wow, that's neat. When I started reading the post I was like, wait a minute, isn't he in dental school? Then I kept reading. That will definitely be a blessing to have dental school paid for. Good luck to you all.

Leanne said...

Awww, congrats! So, we never got that phone call. I guess they didn't need it...We miss you guys!