How we got here

I decided to start a brand-new blog to update everyone on how Blake is doing while he is away for training. But first off, I wanted to share our story of how we got to this point. I know several people have no idea why we chose to go with the military so I'm hoping that this will give all of you a better idea of what we have been thinking.

It all started about 2-1/2 years ago when both Blake and I got fed up with his job. Blake is such a good, loyal, hard-working person and having him come home day-after-day complaining about his job got pretty frustrating. We started looking for different jobs in San Juan county, all over the state of Utah, as well as in different states. We just wanted to be happy and find a good job for Blake where he was actually appreciated for what he did. So one day as I'm doing another job search; this time in the St. George area, I came across a page that listed several different types of jobs you could do in the National Guard. Neither one of us had ever brought up being in the military, so I was surprised when I actually thought it might be a good option for us.

I didn't say anything to Blake for a few days because I thought he might think it wasn't such a good idea. However, when I asked him about it later that week, he said that he had had a similar experience at work. A friend that he worked with was in the National Guard and had talked to Blake about joining. He told him about the benefits and other things and got some ideas into Blakes head that he really liked. He admitted to me that it had been a few days and he still hadn't told me because he thought I would be the one to say no.

So that's how it started for us. We both started doing research to figure out if this was really the right choice for us. We had made a lot of not-so-good decisions before and we wanted to know as much as we could about this before jumping in. We both felt really good about him doing this from the very beginning. Blake did as much as he could to lose a bunch of weight so he could qualify and no matter what he did it just wasn't enough. so finally, after 2 years of not getting anywhere he was finally able to drop enough weight to qualify. He had been told he should go in as an officer because he already had a bachelor's degree and the pay would start off a lot better.

But the day Blake went to talk to the recruiter about his decision to go in as an officer he found out that there were no officer positions available in Utah. His recruiter told him he could either look out-of-state or go with a different branch. He didn't really want to move out-of-state for a part-time thing, so started looking into other branches of the military. After he researched and read as much as he could find about the Navy he decided that was what he wanted to do. He did however, have to go through the Navy reserves because he has too many dependents.

After a few attempts to get in, and a few bumps along the way, Blake enlisted in the Navy Reserves. He was scheduled to leave for basic training in March, but requested to leave earlier if a spot became available. We found out a few months later that he would be leaving in January. Along our journey to this point, we have both felt like this was the best thing for us to do. After countless prayers, and trips to the temple we know we are doing the right thing. I am so proud of Blake and what he has accomplished thus far. He continues to push himself farther everyday.

We made this decision for our family and hope that everyone will support us. We are so grateful for our friends and family who support us. Now the time before he leaves for basic is only 8 days away, and even though I worry about my ability to care for my family for 5 months alone, I am excited for this new adventure! This will be an experience that neither one of us will forget, and one that will change our lives forever!