Military Spouse Appreciation Day!!

It's Military Spouse Appreciation Day, and what kind of MilSpouse blogger would I be if I didn't take a moment to recognize it? To all of my MilSpouse readers, past and present, thank you! Enjoy your day and know that you are appreciated.

Today, I will be hopping along with a few of my favorite military blogs:

First up, I'm joining in The Military Spouse Appreciation Day Hop hosted by Household6Diva and Riding the Roller Coaster. If you are coming from there, welcome! My name is Randi, and this is A Modern Day Fairy Tale. I have to admit, if there is one thing I hate writing...it's introductions!! I never know where to begin!! But since this hop is all about being a military spouse, we'll start there. You can read my whole fairy tale story here, but to sum it up: my husband and I met during his second deployment through his sister on MySpace...we fell in love before we ever saw one another in person and were married shortly after he returned home. That was over five years ago, and despite the critics in the beginning, I still love that man more than anything. We recently made a big move from Camp Pendleton, where my husband had been for his entire military life (I'd personally been there over 5 years), to Indianapolis where he is now a recruiter. It's not an easy job but he loves it, and I love that he's

happy! It's certainly an all new adventure for him and for our family!!

On my blog, you'll find a little bit of everything- stories of military life, stories about being an Autism mom, stories about faith and stories of projects I've tried: recipes, crafts, etc. I am also a consultant for Thirty-One Gifts and more recently, Blessings Unlimited so you will see occasional posts about those as well!! It's truly an eclectic mix of all things that make up our family. I hope you'll stop by again!!

I'm also linking up with Wives of Faith's Military Spouse Appreciation Blog Carnival, with today's theme: Why I Love Being A Military Wife.

I love this theme! So often, it seems we focus on the negatives of being military wives- the deployments, field ops, long hours, being away from family...and yes, it all really stinks. But there are some great things too. As I mentioned above, my husband recently became a recruiter. A few weeks ago, a young couple came in. He was excited to join the Marine Corps, but she wasn't so sure and had a lot of anxieties about it (she actually suffered

with anxiety, something I understand all too well, having social anxiety myself). So, my husband asked me if I

would talk to her, share my experiences with the Marine Corps to help ease her mind. I told her what I am telling all of you know...the bad stuff, sucks. Plain and simple. BUT there are so many great things about the military that makes it a great life despite all that- you just have to see the positive.

For me personally, the experiences are the best part. Now, I've not seen the world like my husband has, but I've still seen more than I ever would have had I not married into the military. I grew up in a small town. Like we didn't even have a post office, small. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my hometown more than anything, but I was a girl with big dreams and there just weren't a ton of opportunities there. Had someone told me in high school that I

would be moving to California soon after, I'd have never believed them. Though it was a dream of mine, it seemed out of reach. But when I married my husband, that's where I went! Crazy! Before then, I had never been on a plane. I had only been in a few states to be entirely honest. Because of the military, I not only got to live in California, but I got to travel...many times, across the US. I don't know that there are many people who can say they've driven cross country, but I can say we've done it OFTEN. (And by train a few time!! Talk about an

awesome experience!) After my hubby's third deployment, another dream of mine also came true- Disneyland!!! I think it was more magical for me than for Shaun, but it was again an experience that I may have never had were it not for the military.

Now, I could go on and on about the benefits of military life and what those mean to me. I'm a recruiter's wife now. I've seen the benefit tags, I know what they can do for me...but I'll just stop there and simply say that the military life has allowed our family to have a great, though not always easy, life. We've gone amazing places, met amazing people. I've felt the sense of pride when my husband is thanked for his service. We've had that magical moment of being reunited after a deployment that makes it all seem worth it, and a sense of accomplishment that we survived. It has pushed me out of my comfort zone, and forced me to be a better, stronger person. Though it is something in the beginning I would not have wanted and not have chosen for myself, now that I have lived it, I would not trade our military life for anything!!