Sunday, June 28, 2009

Week #4 Semi-Finalist--U.S. Military Spouse Contest

My name is Kristin Stewart and I’m married to Staff Sergeant, Kenneth Stewart who is currently Active Duty for the United States Air Force. Ken is originally from south Florida and was stationed to Mountain Home Air Force Base in 2003, where we still live. We met in 2004 on Match.com and at first I blew him off but found myself needing to kill some time and ended up spending several hours online chatting with him and we decided to meet. We’ve been together ever since and were married in 2006. Ken has deployed to Iraq four times in the last four years of our marriage. His tours are typically 4-6 months long over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

It has been easier to deal with by not having children in the picture but it’s still strenuous putting our lives on hold for half the year and then readjusting only to have him leave again. We’ve seen several relationships that couldn’t last through these deployments and feel blessed to be strengthened by it instead.

Thank you,
Kristin Stewart

Remember....I'll be selecting 1 semi-finalist every week through August 31st and then reveal the Grand Prize winner on Labor Day Weekend. All of the contest details are on my website in the contests section. Please pass the word to anyone you know!
http://sarataneyhumphreys.com/rataneyhumphreys.com/
Don't forget....a portion of my book sales from June 1, 2009- August 31, 2009 will be donated to ASMBA STAR, an outstanding charity for Veterans and their families.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Week #3 Semi-Finalist Military Wives Contest


My husband, Lt. Col. Chris “Gash” Carslon, served 10 years active duty Air Force as first a F-111 pilot and then an F-16 pilot. He was stationed at Vance AFB (Oklahoma) for pilot training, then 2 tours at Cannon AFB (Clovis, NM), a tour at Upper Heyford (England), & Moody AFB in Valdosta, GA). He separated from active duty AF in 1999 and transitioned into active duty Texas Air National Guard. Gets a little confusing for the non-mil folks. LOL. Basically it’s the same pay, retirement, benefits, but instead of working directly under the federal gov’t, he now works for the state of TX. He has been an F-16 instructor pilot @ the Kelly Guard (aka The 149th Lone Star Gunfighters, which is @ Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX) for 10 years (this August).

As all military spouses know, there are always challenges in being married to someone who serves their country. When we first married in Nov 1996, he moved me to another state where, of course, I didn’t know a soul, and then promptly left 2 weeks later when his squadron deployed to Gulf for 4 months. This rotation continued for the two years, where I don’t think we celebrated Thanksgiving or Christmas together until 1999! LOL Throw on top of that all the TDY’s (temporary duty’s – usually 1-3 weeks at a time), cross-country’s, & long work hours, it can be a bit grueling – for him and me! J And while he has the benefit of not deploying now – because hey, if the instructor pilots leave, who’s going to instruct? – there are still plenty of TDY’s, cross-country trips and long work days (and don’t forget that 1 weekend a month deal the guard throws on top of it ). Not that they don’t deploy, but the trips are more to their choosing and the deployments are for more than 3 weeks. But you know, as a spouse you either sink or swim. I’ve known lots of folks who have gotten divorced because they just can’t deal with it. They say they know what they’re getting into when they marry a military person, but I don’t really think anyone knows what they’re getting into, aside from maybe military brats who grew up living the life. It’s hard, but we make the most of it and we’ve made some fantastic friends throughout the course of his 20 years. In my experience, our squadron becomes our surrogate family. You can be hundreds (if you’re lucky) miles from home or stationed on the other side of the world, but one thing you know is certain – you can always depend on your squadron support group. We’re there for each other, help each other, watch each other kids grow up – and most important – have fun together. It’s certainly not a life for everyone, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world.
The picture above is us at the RTU Graduation in May 2009. In normal terms, it was the graduation for the latest group of F16 pilots.

By the way, I think this is fantastic of you to recognize the military spouses.


Cheers!

Missy “Jiggles” Carlson
(yeah, I’ve even been gifted with my very own “call sign”…)
Remember....I'll be selecting 1 semi-finalist every week through August 31st and then reveal the Grand Prize winner on Labor Day Weekend. All of the contest details are on my website in the contests section. Please pass the word to anyone you know!
Don't forget....a portion of all of my book sales from June 1, 2009- August 31, 2009 will be donated to ASMBA STAR, an outstanding charity for Veterans and their families.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Week #2 Semi Finalist-- Wife of a Sailor


My husband is a Missile Tech in the Navy. He and I actually met through an online dating service while he was a recruiter in my area. We dated a year and a half before getting married... just this past March 21st. I haven't been a Navy wife for long, but we have still had our challenges already.


My DH left for his new duty station in Bangor, WA less than two months after we were married. I stayed behind in Michigan and will be here until I either sell the house or find a job in Washington. Single-handedly, I'm responsible for getting the house ready to be put up on the market. That includes painting most of the rooms, tiling, grouting and sealing the kitchen floor, refinishing the kitchen cabinets (including sanding, staining and polyurethaning), painting the trim on the house and much more.


I'm doing all this while I also took a second job in order for us to be able to afford the two households we are currently supporting.I should also mention that I was selected to receive a direct commission into the Navy Reserve as a Public Affairs Officer. I am expecting to commission this week... I'll be a full-time Navy wife and a part-time Navy Officer.


When I either sell the house or get a job in Washington, I'll be trying my hand at transporting two cats and three dogs (the smallest of whom is a 78 pound Greyhound) cross-country. That should be an exciting trip!If you'd like to know more, please feel free to ask or you can visit my blog at wifeofasailor.com.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Semi Finalist #1: U.S. Military Wives Contest

Happy Sunday everyone! I am blown away by the unbelievable responses I'm getting for this special summer long contest. Every single woman that submitted has a great story and each one has the ability to touch your heart. I decided to post their letters as is. What better way to hear from our "Heroines at Home"!

Remember....I'll be selecting 1 semi-finalist every week through August 31st and then reveal the Grand Prize winner on Labor Day Weekend. All of the contest details are on my website in the contests section. Please pass the word to anyone you know!


http://sarataneyhumphreys.com/rataneyhumphreys.com/

Don't forget....a portion of all of my book sales from June 1, 2009- August 31, 2009 will be donated to ASMBA STAR, an outstanding charity for Veterans and their families.



Ladies and Gentleman....I give you Semi-Finalist #1 Amy Fossette: Proud USAF Spouse!!! In her own words.




My husband is a Tech. Sgt in the USAF. This picture was taken right before he made Tech!

We have been together for 6 years, but just recently got married last August 2008. We are currently (and have only been) stationed at Mountain Home AFB in Idaho. We have a beautiful 7 year old boy and one on the way. (Our 7 year old is from his previous marriage, but we are going for adoption for me since she is not in the picture at all!)

My husband was in the USMC for 4 years and then joined the USAF 8 years ago. He works as an electrician in the 366th CES Squadron. Since we have been together he has been deployed twice to the Middle East. Once in 2005 and once in 2006-2007. We are looking at another deployment starting the 17th of June and lasting until the beginning of next year. (But it's not as long as the last one and he has been able to be home for 2 years so we are blessed!) The only thing that disappoints us is that he might not be here for the birth of our son. (I am due July 20th) But at least he'll be here for the first words, first steps, etc!

Our beautiful, wonderful 7 year old son has high-functioning autism, so the military is picky on where to station us next. However, we have such wonderful friends and family close by that we are grateful to be able to stay here for as long as we have! (Even though we had orders to Azores (Portugal) and they got cancelled.......)

We also just added a new member to our family in August........a McNab puppy named Scout who right now is whining at me because he wants to play instead of watch me type this up! Silly boy!

I was working full time until the last few weeks due to his deployment (I want to be able to be there for my kids) and the new baby! Plus this way, I can try to catch up on my scrap booking!!!

That is our story, well in a nutshell at least! Even though we have had our trials and bumps in the road, we can still come out smiling and staying as optimistic as possible! I would not trade my family for the world!

Amy Lynne Fossette
Proud USAF Spouse

Friday, June 5, 2009

Sara Chatting Tonight at The Haunt 7-10pm EST

Hey there!

I'll be chatting at The Haunt tonight live from 7-10 pm EST.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Haunt_at_PNR/
I hope you can drop in and join us. I'll be posting excerpts from my new release "The Amoveo Legacy" and even a sneak peek at Book 2: An Amoveo Heart.

Tonight I'll be giving away a $20 I-Tunes Gift card. It's easy to enter. Buy a copy of "The Amoveo Legacy" and email me the receipt at sarashifter@yahoo.com anytime from 7pm-10pm EST tonight and you're entered to win :)

Best,
Sara

Amoveo Legend Series!

Amoveo Legend Video Trailers