The Chris and Annie story

Ah, the love of my life.... what can I say? He stole my heart at the age of 16. We did the whole high school sweetheart thing, dances, dates, hanging out on the "ooga" seat, etc. Then he went away to boot camp and I wrote letters daily to him. He wrote me a few times. We had a lot of long distance between us through boot camp, AIT, and him moving to Florida while I was still home in Louisiana. Eventually, we got our act back together and I moved in with him in our teeny tiny little first apartment. 6 months later, we decided to up and get married. I was 20, he was 22. We moved into a bigger apartment and got a cat. Our time there was fun as Chris' sister lived in the same complex as well as some really great friends of ours. We got pregnant, had a miscarriage, and bought a house next. We got pregnant again, worked our butts off, got our house settled, loved our cat and new neighbors, and had a baby girl (Angelina). Chris was working as a land surveyor and I was a co-manager of the Gymboree store in the Avenues Mall. Our little life was pleasant but hard. 9/11 happened and Chris had just gotten out of the Marine Corps. He wanted desperately to do something for our country and for our family (times were rough!) so he enlisted in the Army. Off to Virginia he went for training. Lina, Champ and I moved to New Orleans. Champ passed away right after we moved and both of us took it hard. He was our first baby and we love(d) him so much. While Chris was busy studying the anatomy of a helicopter, I worked at a bank and Lina stayed at home with my MawMaw. Once Chris was done, we moved to Fort Campbell, KY. We made some stellar friends there! Chris was gone a lot and the adjustment to being an active duty family was difficult for both of us. We made it through though and had another little girl (Addison) while at Campbell. We also somehow managed to get ourselves two bulldogs while at Campbell. hehe! I was beginning to enjoy being a SAHM and Chris, although deployed a lot, enjoyed being a soldier. Dreams were bigger then being a just a joe though, so he put in his packet for flight school. He was picked up on his second go 'round and off to Ft. Rucker, AL we went. Chris went through WOC school and Flight school. I got pregnant... again... and we had a baby boy (Caleb). Our bully Amos decided he did not like having a brother, so he went to live with a great family with lots of other dogs and some older kids to love on and play with. Chris graduated from flight school and now is a proud Blackhawk pilot!! He had to leave shortly after graduation and the birth of Caleb to go to Egypt for a 15 month tour. I still stay at home, teaching Addie preschool stuff and playing with Caleb while Angelina goes to second grade. We miss each other very much and the kids miss their Daddy. We look forward to him coming home in April and then moving to wherever the Army sends us. It's been a crazy and chaotic but wonderful and loving ten years of marriage (13+ years together). I wouldn't trade it for the world.

And there you have it, the Chris and Annie story!