Birthday in Iraq

It could be worse. I could be celebrating my 21st birthday in Iraq and that would simply be the most depressing birthday ever. I'm sorry to the many soldiers who had their 21st while over seas. As it is, I'm celebrating my 22nd year of life so its kind of a whatever birthday. I'm not upset about being here though. It isn't like Thanksgiving or Christmas.  A day that's all about me isn't half as fun as a day that's all about family. I'm very blessed that I didn't miss either Holidays, despite being mobilized Oct-Jan. However, I will say that they weren't the same. There was a general feeling of angst I felt the moment I arrived home for both the Holidays. With just four days to spend with friends and family, I continually counted down the days until I had to leave. That was horrible. But, in roughly 7 months, I will be able to enjoy Autumn in all its beauty and holiday excitement! 


I keep hearing a lot about marital unrest in my unit. I've heard countless stories of spouses back home having issues with the distance, threatening divorce, and in some cases, divorces are already in progress do to this deployment. It makes me sad to see all of the emotional anxiety that goes with a failing marriage. I know that Matt and I are both young and our betrothal/marriage in September is even younger, but I feel so optimistic about our life together. It's partially whats been getting me through the year. Some may attribute this to being in the honeymoon phase, but I think about how hard we have worked to keep our relationship happy and healthy and I'm sure that is the biggest reason we have endured so well. We have been working especially hard at building a fortress around our marriage to make sure any temptation is quickly stomped on and forgotten. We also compromise really well. Most importantly, I know we both continually pray for God to strengthen our relationship and we ask for his continual presence to help us grow closer to him and to each other. I want our kids to look back on us and say, "that's what I want my marriage to be like." Because I know I have looked back on my parents marriage that way and my grandparents. I can even look at both my brothers relationships with their wives and use them as guides to a successful marriage. 


Anyway, to switch gears again, I haven't done much more in the way of planning the wedding. The following things are pretty much done and figured out though so I think I have time to simply browse around the knot. 
*Wedding Dress - Check 
*Bridesmaids Dress- Check (They have their fitting May 7th!) 
*Flower Girl Dresses - Half way Check. My two flower girls have their fitting sometime in the summer and the dress are being made by a friend of the family. SOOO Excited about this. 
*Chapel - Check 
*Reception Hall- Check 
*Photographer - Check 
*Caterer - Check 
*Rehearsal Dinner - Check 
*Limo - Check 
So most of the big stuff is figured out... here's the stuff I still need to worry about. 
*Guest List 
*Invitations 
*Honeymoon 
*Veil 
*Centerpieces (Although I think those are mostly figured out) 
*Hair 
*Matts Tux
*Groomsmen Tuxes
*Mother of the Bride/Groom dresses 
*Make-up 
*Salon
*Wedding bands 
*My Dress Fitting/Altering 
I think that's all.. off the top of my head anyway. The thing I'm stressing about most is the guest list. A few months ago before I left for Ft. Hood, Matt and I did a rough draft guest list... it was crazy. We had like 300 people we wanted to invite. So we decided to up the list from 175 to 200. However, I wish I could invite anyone and everyone. But weddings are expensive! Especially when it comes to the reception. Space + Food = $$$$. 

I'm a fan of this style tux for Matt. We both decided that he would look best in a regular tie. For some reason, Matt and Bow Ties seem comical.