A Glimpse into the Lives of our Military Families. Guest Blogger #4 Chris
When I had the idea to have some of Operation Love (OpLove) clients write guest blogs on here, I was stoked at the response. Several of my clients responded saying they would love to write about their experiences dealing with deployments and their experience with me, their OpLove photographer. My hope with these guest blogs is to help others who might be going through deployments of their own, whether it is their first or tenth, by reminding them that they are not alone in what they are dealing with, and perhaps even helping them deal with any issues that they might be having while their loved one is away in a dangerous place. If we even help one person with these blogs then we have been successful. I would also like to give the general public a view into what our military families go through and the sacrifices they make. So many people have no idea, I know I didn’t before I got involved with OpLove. By putting a more human face on our military I am hoping that there will be more compassion and respect for the men and women who live their life every day working for our government with little to no rewards, just because they believe in what they do.
So please welcome Chris my fourth guest blogger. Her love story is one made for the movies, and since I am apparently a big sap, I once again had tears running down my face reading it, so make sure you have tissues handy and don’t read at work! Thanks for sharing your family’s story Chris!
I like to joke that I’m a professional dependent. But a military lifestyle is the only one I’ve ever known. I’ve been in DEERS all but one year of my life. My dad was in the Navy for a few years and eventually retired from the Air National Guard. My mom was in the Marines, but separated to start a family. And I’m married to an Air Force fighter pilot.
Before anyone goes jumping to conclusions, my husband and I don’t have one of those typical “Top Gun” or “An Officer and a Gentleman” romance stories. In my opinion, our story is better than anything Hollywood could write. You see, I didn’t marry a military man…. I married the boy across the street.
I met the boy who would be my permanent partner in crime when I was 7 years old. We grew up together playing football, basketball, and home run derby at the park up the street. He tutored me in math, I helped him write his papers or work on his Spanish homework. He was the guy that all my boyfriends liked to hate. I know he had a few girlfriends in that boat too. We were the best of friends – nothing more nothing less.
Eventually, we both went off to college. We had chosen schools in different towns but were only an hour away from each other and still were in touch. In 1999 and as college graduation loomed, he casually mentioned that he was going to go take the AFOQT, the entrance test for the Air Force. My heart started pounding… what does he mean he was going to go in the Air Force?!? He was supposed to be right by me for the rest of my life, like he always had. I figured out real quick why none of my relationships ever worked out – somewhere along the line, I had fallen in love with my friend. Luckily for me, he felt the same.
He joined the Air Force in April 2000; later that year, we were married.
Graduation from OTS, July 2000
Like a lot of Americans, our lives changed drastically on September 11, 2001. We knew the type of military career that would be in front of us once he finished pilot training.
His first deployment was in February 2003 in support of OIF. But rather than flying his airplane like we assumed he would, he was on the ground supporting the air strikes.
First Homecoming, May 2003
Our older daughter was born in August 2004. Four months later, he deployed to Afghanistan.
Second Homecoming, May 2005
We moved to Texas in early 2006 and, later that year, had our younger daughter. In 2009, we moved to South Korea and finally, in October 2011, we moved to JBLM, WA.
Our Family, October 2011
PCSing here (a fancy military term for move), we knew that a deployment was in our immediate future. And we knew this one was going to be different. This time, he was going to be gone longer and we had two children. But we worked as a family to prepare for the deployment. To get ready we talked, we learned, we loved, we questioned, and most importantly we prayed. We engaged our church, our daughter’s school, our neighbors, our friends, and our family.
Daddy-Daughter Dance, October 2012
He left for his third deployment early November 2012. Skype was a luxury that we only got every few weeks if we were lucky as the internet was usually too slow to support the feed. But Facebook chat kept us going strong. The girls being older helped too – they were able to write to him, to read what he wrote them, and to send him funny notes and drawings.
One foot in front of the other, checking the days off, we kept the family going strong. I say we because it was a collective effort. There were days that I just wanted to roll over, throw up my hands in the air and say “I quit. MERCY!!!!” But this life doesn’t happen in a bubble. I had more than my fair share of support. Sometimes it would come in the form of my girls stepping their game up and folding a load of laundry, or it would be a quick hug from a friend or co-worker. However the support came, it was there and it was constant.
The girls and I kept busy during the deployment. We planned trips, outings, and activities to keep us moving. I ran two half marathons and finished my Master’s Degree; the girls had Girl Scouts, AWANAs, gymnastics, and baseball. We went to Florida (twice) and Texas. We had dinner parties with friends and watched a ton of musicals and other fun girly movies. Before we knew it, July had come.
A girlfriend of mine reminded me of Operation Love Reunited. She was planning to use Shauna Kruse for her own homecoming a week before ours. I looked her up and we were fortunate that Shauna was available to shoot our homecoming as well. She met up with us as we were having a snack and waiting for him to come up the escalator from customs.
After 270 days, 9 hours, and 15 minutes (but who’s counting?) of waiting for him to come home, he did just that and stepped off the elevator at SeaTAC. My breath was absolutely taken away when I saw him standing in front of me. Or maybe I was finally taking a deep breath for the first time since he left. Not a picture on the computer. Not a white screen with instant messaging dialog on it. No. It was my husband, my babies’ daddy, my favorite partner in crime – and he was standing right there hugging my girls. It took every bit of grit and determination to not fall to pieces.
The “first kiss.”
So happy to see Daddy
I don’t know what I would have done if Shauna hadn’t been there to capture those moments for us. Because of her, we have a beautiful album of our reunion to share with our family who couldn’t be here. You can feel the excitement and emotion in the moments she photographed. To say that I am thankful for her and for Operation Love Reunited would be a gross understatement of my feelings. To have someone volunteer their time to you is an amazing gift. And one that I will always remember…
Shauna, thank you for taking care of our family photos. Like the photographers who took my other two homecoming pictures, you will always be a part of the Oliver family history.
Thank you Chris for sharing your story. I love hearing the love story behind your strong family, and I appreciate you allowing me to be part of such an amazing moment. Chris actually does some blogging herself, and she shared her “Day Zero” (http://randcoliver.blogspot.com/2012/11/day-zero.html ) post that she wrote the day her husband left, as well as her blog from day 75. (http://randcoliver.blogspot.com/2012/11/day-zero.html ) I highly recommend reading both, as they give insight into what goes on at home during a deployment, and really show how strong she is. I enjoy the way she writes, and might have to follow the blog for this sweet family.
I am so very happy that I found Operation Love, and I will continue to volunteer with the organization as long as it is around. I will NEVER charge a military family to photograph their homecoming with their loved ones. It is the least I can do to give back to families who sacrifice so very much for our country. If you need to find an OpLove photographer in your area, or if you are a photographer interested in giving back, please go to http://www.oplove.org for more information. Thanks for reading, please feel free to share this blog, you never know who might need to read it. Look for another guest blogger coming soon!
Feeling Thankful
As we enter another Memorial Day weekend, and I am hearing about all of the “great sales” and everyone’s plans to camp, or party, or BBQ, I figured it was good to put out a reminder of what this weekend is really about. Yes, it is a three day weekend for many (and probably well deserved for those hard workers!) but I hope that everyone takes at least a moment to remember that it is really a way to thank our military members for their sacrifice, in the past, the present and the future. I wrote this last year, and thought I would share it again as it is a good reminder for everyone, including myself.
“As I lay on the beach today, soaking up the sun and listening to the sounds of the waves crash to the shore, and the seagulls making their calls, I heard a loud plane fly overhead and barely glanced at it. At that moment it hit me how very lucky we are to live in a country with all of this beauty and peace. How privileged we are to hear a plane and not think twice about it, while people in other countries have fear in their hearts when they hear that noise, wondering if there will be another bomb dropping that will destroy another part of their lives. Whether they will still have a place to sleep that night, or if their families are safe.
As much as I don’t agree with most of the decisions politicians who “lead” our country have made, and I certainly don’t believe in war, I am grateful to live here, and oh so grateful to the men and women in our military who sacrifice so much to keep us safe and oblivious. Who have been sacrificing time with their families and loved ones in this war that has now lasted 12 years.
So please remember what this holiday is about. It’s not about getting drunk and partying, and it’s not about the sales at all the stores. It is a way for our country to thank those who have lost their lives serving for something they believe in. It’s about the men and women who are still overseas serving their country, and it’s about the families they leave behind. It’s about being with your family, your friends, your loved ones and being thankful that you have that time with them when so many people don’t. So take a moment to be grateful, and and send a prayer or positive thoughts to our men and women overseas. Take a moment to thank a military member, or take a moment to thank a military spouse for holding it together while their soldier is away. Happy Memorial Day weekend to you all.”
The “H” Family
A little over a year ago I received an email from Stephanie asking if I could do some pre-deployment photos for her and her family since her husband would be deploying for 9 months. Of course I said yes, and on a grey day we met at Owens Beach to get some photos of her little family. These photos were fun, but there was also a tint of sadness to them since they would soon be saying goodbye to Rob for nine months, so the grey day seemed the perfect setting. I remember it was raining when we all got to the site, it stopped long enough for us to take photos, then started pouring again as soon as we got into the car. Little Sophia was adorable, although very serious, but had these bold blue eyes that she fixed on me for almost every photo. Even then I could see the love shared between the three of them.
While Rob was deployed, Stephanie and I started talking, and found that we had a lot in common, and I got to learn more about their amazing love story. It was wonderful to connect with someone who understood a lot of what I have been going through with my guy being deployed, and it helped so much to have that person to talk to. I couldn’t wait for Rob to get home so that I could capture their homecoming, one made so much more meaningful to me since I had done their photos before he left, and now that I knew their story. Their homecoming photos are some of my favorites that I have captured while volunteering through Operation Love. The emotion that I captured makes me tear up and smile almost every time I look at them.
Which brings us to the recent family photo session. It was so wonderful to have a session with this family that didn’t have the emotional heaviness of a looming deployment, or the hurry up and wait atmosphere of a homecoming. Stephanie’s parents were in town, and we had a beautiful, perfect Seattle day for our session. We met down at the Seattle arboretum (along with everyone else in Seattle!) where the cherry blossoms were in bloom, and everything was a deep emerald green. There are some photo shoots where everything just comes together perfectly for amazing photos, and this was one of those sessions. The lighting was amazing, the backgrounds were beautiful. the people were happy and photogenic, and we were having a lot of fun. The resulting photos are definitely some of my favorites to date. And little Sophia? Oh my! So adorable with her blonde curls, her blue eyes and her little chubby arms and legs. And she was a happy little girl. She would walk towards me as I was taking photos until she was close, then she would whisper “hi” and run away. I spent the entire shoot with a smile on my face. So nice to have happy family photos with this family. I look forward to many more in the future. Here are some of my favorites from our day.
Maedean’s first year….
Last weekend I did Maedean’s 12 month session, and although it was a great session, it was also bittersweet. How could a photo session with such a cutie pie be bittersweet you ask? Because Maedean was part of my “Grow with Me” program, which means I got to see this sweet little girl every four months for the first year of her life. Not only that, but her grandfather also purchased a baby/belly package which means I have actually been photographing her since before her birth. So yes, I become a bit attached to these little ones and it is bittersweet doing the one year shoot knowing that I don’t get to see them every four months after that. I love getting t know these little families and watching them grow, and I hope that they will continue to come to me year after year, and when they have new additions to their families.
Enjoy the progression in the growth of this sweet little family….from growing in her mom’s belly, to a busy one year old. There is so much love in this family, Maedean is one lucky little girl.
So loved before she was even born.
So loved before she was even born.
Mae was one of the best newborns I have had in my studio. It took a lot of hard work, but she actually slept for us. Yes, we were sweating since we had the heat pumped up, and we had to wash 4 of my blankets and backgrounds because…well, that’s what happens when you have a naked 7 day old. But 5 hours later we had some beautiful photos of this sweet little girl.
7 days old
7 days old
7 days old
Our four month session was at Golden Gardens on a beautiful summer day. Maedean had grown so much since her newborn photos and definitely started to show some of her quirky and cute personality.
Four months old
Four months old
Four months old
Four months old
Mae’s eight month session coincided with my holiday mini sessions, so we did a combo of holiday photos and regular 8 month photos. She is so darn cute! Got the most smiles out of her during this session.
8 months old
8 months old
8 months old
8 months old
8 months old
Which brings us to her one year session. So cute and oh so very busy! I had trouble getting her to stop long enough to get a photo of her sweet little face, but at the same time, that is what these sessions are about right? Capturing the age of the subject and what that age entails. Which at one year old means that they are on the go!
One year old
One year old
One year old
One year old
One year old
I hope you enjoyed watching Maedean grow as much as I did. Hopefully I will see her in my “studio” again soon. If you know someone who is expecting, or has a new baby, send them my way so I can capture their growth in the best way I know how…through amazing photos.
Through the lens-Kruse Images & Photography 