I am writing this post with such an array of emotions. The first one though is simply, we made it!!! 10 1/2 weeks ago, I never would have thought we were going to even make it through the first week of separation, let alone 8 1/2 weeks of it. To say that the past 2 months has been hard would be an understatement. The emotions that you experience through that kind of separation is something really only other military families can understand. It. was. hard. But I will be the first to admit that it was worth it. Not only did both Tim and I grow through this and as a couple, we also saw growth in our children as well. Our family is simply stronger as a result of this. Tim has accomplished so much by completing basic military training and I simply cannot express how proud I am of him. A couple weekends ago, we got to the chance to see him get his airman's coin and graduate and be recognized as a valuable member of the world's greatest Air Force. My heart beams in pride for my husband. I know this post will fail to convey all of that pride but I am going to try my best to fill you in on our amazing weekend. A weekend filled with precious time together and creating memories to last a lifetime...a weekend celebrating my best friend and other half, Airman first class, Tim Schramm!
We began our journey around 4:30 pm on February 10th. My parents drove to my house right after work and helped me finish packing the last few things in the van before heading out. Of course, we hit rush hour traffic, accident traffic, and every possible delay out there within the first 2 hours. I honestly thought we would never make it!
I was excited, anxious, nervous, and just ready to be in my man's arms! I was mostly anxious about the trip itself. We knew in advance that it would likely be a 24 hour drive and sure enough, 23 1/2 hours later, we had arrived! The kids did SOOO well. WAY better than I ever thought they would. Other than a lot of fussing through the night as they each tried to sleep in an upright position for the first time, they couldn't have been more perfect for such an excruciatingly long trip.
My mom took this video :)
I was excited, anxious, nervous, and just ready to be in my man's arms! I was mostly anxious about the trip itself. We knew in advance that it would likely be a 24 hour drive and sure enough, 23 1/2 hours later, we had arrived! The kids did SOOO well. WAY better than I ever thought they would. Other than a lot of fussing through the night as they each tried to sleep in an upright position for the first time, they couldn't have been more perfect for such an excruciatingly long trip.
I had found these head supports online before the trip and was hopeful that they would help the youngest 3 get at least somewhat of a better nights rest with less of a sore neck the next day.
Morgan's lasted all of like 2 minutes before she had ripped it off her car seat and it was lost in the abyss of crayons, stuffed animals, pillows, and a wide array of toys, otherwise known as the floor of the van.
Megan's lasted until I kept seeing her like this. :-o Then I made her take it off and we just used pillows to help her.
But Ryan's proved to be quite helpful and I think it has a lot to do with his age. I definitely thinks its a great investment for younger toddlers/babies. I think Megan was just too big for hers.
Anyway, the kids did lots of coloring, playing with their leap pads, and just talking and being excited to see Daddy.
I have to include this video of Ryan getting a lemon at breakfast. He squirted it in his eye and his face was just so funny! However, he didn't think so! :)
My Mom and Dad were seriously rock stars...they drove through the whole night and I was just the one who had to deal with the kids. Not having to drive through the stress of being tired was such a blessing and my parents proved yet again, how amazing they are! It wasn't until the last 50 minutes of the trip that we resorted to the DVD player to keep the kids entertained and then they became their typical zombie selves. :)
Ryan seriously was probably the best traveler of all and he was the one I was most concerned about! Other than the fact that we had to get him out at every stop to walk around (because he can't go to the restroom without being able to stand up), he was fantastic. Still smiling after 23 hours!
We arrived to a GORGEOUS sunshiny and warm day, got checked in to our hotel and then found our way around the base a little bit before getting dinner and heading to bed. I don't know what Tyler was saying or doing here, but that green grass and sunshine HAVE to be posted! :)
Bedtime was INCREDIBLY easy that night. It took me 15 minutes to get all 4 kids bathed and asleep. They were exhausted.
Ryan without his binkie and asleep means that he was REALLY tired!
After I got the kids to sleep, I spent more time getting things organized, clothes picked out and ready for the morning, and just thinking about a lot. I got overwhelmed with emotion just thinking about the journey we had been on and the excitement of seeing Tim the following morning. I couldn't believe we were finally there!
The next morning, I was up early, before the kids even woke up, to go to the family briefing. Tim's parents drove me there and my parents stayed with the kids to get them ready. The briefing lasted about 45 mintues (it felt sooo much longer!) and then it was time for the Airmen Run! This would be the first chance we would have to see Tim, even though we wouldn't get a chance to talk to him or touch him yet.
A pic of Team Schramm getting ready to cheer on our Airman! We are so proud!!!
The Airmen's Run is basically a chance to cheer on the flights as they run in flight formation singing 'jodies.' Tim's flight is the first group wearing tan. Here's the video my mom got of Tim running by. We laughed about this later because I was holding Ryan in my arms and Megan on my shoulders and so I simply could not get any video of this. Plus, I was just kind of soaking it all in. I handed my camera to my mom and well, let's just say that capturing the moments isn't exactly one of her strong points. :) She is known for getting pictures of feet and other random body parts instead of the event or person she is trying to take a picture of. :) Thanks for trying though Mom!
Here's a little bit better video from Tim's parents view...they were in the bleachers on the opposite side of us.
These pictures were taken by the BMT people and put on facebook...I snagged them for your viewing pleasure :)
And a pic from Tim's parents camera...
After the run, we looked at Morgan and she was tearful. We couldn't figure out if she had seen Daddy and was sad that we didn't get to go over to him, or if she hadn't seen him when everyone else had. Regardless, her little face was so sad!
After the run we had a little bit of time before we would get to see the ceremony where Tim would receive his Airman's coin and be recognized as an airman (instead of a trainee) for the first time. We went back to our hotel room and got breakfast and just had a chance to relax a little before the emotion of the next events.
I was incredibly bummed about our seats for the Coin Ceremony (near the top) but we were there and within just minutes of getting to Tim so it really didn't matter!
The flights marching on!
Megan and I were excited!
Tim's flight right in front of us. He is in the back row, second from the left.
This is a clip of Tim actually receiving his coin.
After the coining ceremony was over, they released us to "tap out" our airman. This is where our bad seats were a problem. It took us so long to get to him that he actually had people ask him if he had family coming. They were ready to tap him out so that he didn't have to stand there at attention (parade rest actually) anymore! Once we did push our way through the crowd though, the moment was perfect! Except that Tyler, Megan, and Morgan had gotten lost and we had to find them right after I hugged Tim. :) You can see that in the video that Tim's dad got below.
Tim's mom got some pictures too
Believe it or not, Tim cried for this and I didn't! :) Just happy tears from Tim of course, but seriously the moment was a moment that will be treasured in my heart forever.
Megan was completely smitten with him the entire rest of the day. She wanted to hold his hand and snuggle and just kept telling him how much she loved him and missed him.
Morgan didn't miss a beat either. She was happy to be in her Daddy's arms!
We went back to the hotel for lunch (I had pork in the crock pot for sandwiches) and then just enjoyed the rest of the day to be together.
Lots of tickling, wrestling, lego playing, and just sweet, precious moments. I can't remember a better day...
I've been married to this man for almost 10 years but man...he is HOT in uniform! He's lost close to 30 pounds and is more cut and trim than I have seen him in years. So, so proud to call him mine. <3 p="">
That evening, we happened to be out getting something at our hotel when taps started playing and we got to witness a little taste of the soldier that Tim had become over the course of 2 months. He stopped in his tracts, turned toward the music and saluted until the national anthem had finished playing. What a neat moment to experience!
We had a delicious steak dinner with everyone that evening at the golf course there on base.
Then it was back to the hotel where Tyler got the chance to show Daddy his awesome reading skills and the others had the chance to be read to by Tim for the first time in WAY too long.
Bedtime tickles are the best...
Megan fell asleep with a face of bliss which perfectly described our day.
I am getting so emotional looking through these pics again. I know two months is short compared to many families who have experienced year long deployments or even more. But after our two months apart, the moments together were seriously so precious.
Tim had to go back to his dorm that night but the following morning was the official graduation ceremony. We were looking into the sun the whole time and they were really far away, but it was still a neat chance to see Tim and the rest of his flights (and others) dressed in the blues and marching with such precision.
Here are some videos of the graduation ceremony.
I let Tyler be the one to tap Tim out this time, but he got up to him and didn't touch him and so Tim just had to stand there until Tyler finally got him. :)
Then it was hugs for everyone! :)
Tim's brother got to be with us the whole weekend. It was neat to see both brothers all decked out in their uniforms, even if Jon has a couple more stripes than Tim. ;)
7 years ago, we were at Jon's graduation...hard to believe how much has happened in those 7 years!
So, so proud of this man...words and pictures fail to express it...but just so everyone else understands a little bit more of how proud we are, Tim scored the highest his MTI had ever seen on the end of course evaluation and had he not gotten injured, he would have graduated with honors. (They require certain PT scores in order to graduate with honors and Tim was just slightly short, even though he was set back with his injuries.) His MTI was also very impressed with Tim's ingenuity with some things in the dorm room and told the rest of his flight to look for his face on the cover of Forbes Magazine someday. :)
After graduation, we got to see Tim's dorm. It was neat seeing what he had drawn for us in letters and described in detail. I definitely do not envy them for having to sleep in this environment!
Perfectly folded and rolled shirts, socks, underwear, etc. Tim was neat and organized before...even more so now!
The hangers had to be evenly spaced...like, with a ruler. I'm not an MTI or anything, but, to me it looks like that one shirt on the far right is a little off... ;)
Tyler, of course, fascinated by the weapon (a training one of course...)
Ryan trying on Daddy's hat for size
What a handsome dude!
After this, we were going to go to the river walk in San Antonio but we literally couldn't find a place to park even remotely close so we made a quick change of plans and ended up at the San Antonio Children's Museum instead. I don't remember all of what the river walk has but I'm quite certain that our plan b was a far better option!
Lots of fun activities for the kids to enjoy!
We did walk to the Alamo after we finished at the Children's museum. We could have spent a significant amount of time there as there is a lot of history to read, but it was a little above the kids so we just toured it and were on our way.
Tyler thought Tim's hat was cool. :)
The next day was Saturday and a day with nothing else on the schedule except spending time together! We wanted to go to Sea World, but it turns out, they didn't open until the afternoon, so we ended up filling the morning with a trip to the park at our hotel and just lounging.
Then we went to In and Out for lunch, a REAL treat! We didn't think there were any of these east of Las Vegas so I was SO excited when I found one in San Antonio! It was cool because they had hats so Tim and I could match. :)
Sea World was so fun, though, a lot of the shows and exhibits were closed for the season.
checking out the penguins
Tyler getting ready to ride his first ever roller coaster
He was very excited!
getting some tips and safety briefing from Daddy
Are you ready Tyler!?
I debated trying to video of Tyler but as it turns out, this coaster was a bit more intense than I thought it would be! I'm glad I had my phone safely tucked inside my pocket! Here is Tyler's after roller coaster face though! He LOVED it!
Tim rode this fish ride (much like the pirate ships that you see at a lot of other amusement parks) with all the kids except Ryan.
Then we rode on the carousel with all of the kids
Megan got to ride her first roller coaster too! Well, I am told that she rode one a year ago when I wasn't present, but since I wasn't there, it doesn't count. :-P
Then, last but not least, we got to see the Shamu show!
The kids LOVED it!
We sat in the splash zone (well, Tyler, Megan, and I did). No one else was brave enough to sit with us. ;) I'm not going to lie, I definitely ended up grabbing both Tyler and Megan to cover myself! :) It was really cool though, EVERYONE around us on every side was completely drenched but we were just gently splashed. Perfect. :)
I don't have any pictures of Sunday until we said goodbye. The whole weekend had been so wonderful and I had simply not allowed myself to think about what would have to happen on Sunday evening. But even though we hadn't thought about it, we still had to go through it...we had to say goodbye again. This was so hard. My heart hurts just looking through these pictures again. Tyler especially made it hard. He understood what goodbye meant this time and he cried the saddest tears I have ever seen.
This just tore Tim and I up even more...ugh...I hated these moments.
It took Megan about 20 minutes of driving before she realized what saying goodbye again meant. I cried on and off the whole way home and honestly, haven't really stopped crying. Goodbye was SOO much harder the second time.
The drive back home was incredibly long. Thanks to storm Octavia, our 23 1/2 hour drive turned in to 28 and we hit a LOT of snow and ice a long the way. Again, my parents are amazing. They were up for basically 36+ hours as they were scared throughout the night of our safety on the roads and didn't sleep. They also didn't trust me behind the wheel and so it was my job to keep the kids entertained the whole time. Both jobs were incredibly taxing and we arrived home around 11pm on February 16th. Well, I arrived home...my poor parents had to get a hotel and then make the rest of their 3 1/2 hour drive home the next day. This inch of ice on the car took several days to melt off in my garage...ugh...I do NOT miss that drive back home!
Many, many thanks to my parents for all they sacrificed to endure this journey with us. I simply could not have made it through the trip and time there without them. They worked extra hours at work, canceled patients, and just gave up their lives for a week to experience this with us and thank you just doesn't do it justice for how much we appreciate all that they did for us. We came home to a clean house, including scrubbed kitchen floors, spotless microwave and toaster oven, a warm fire in the fire place, and our mail stacked nicely on the counter. Our church family just went over the top. We have been so blessed and humbled with all the support and help along this journey and this graduation was like the capstone of all that we had been through. Tim is now in San Angelo Texas at tech school until late July and so we still have a long ways to go before he is home. We will hopefully get to see him over spring break and then again once school is out for the summer. We already have a countdown for spring break (29 days!) and are looking forward to hopefully getting to fly down standby with Tim's flight benefits. Pray that we get seats for that! For those of you who made it to the end of this REALLY long post, congrats! :) And thanks for your interest and support in our military journey!
