Heading Home!!!

Well, just wanted to let you all know I'm heading home tomorrow. My passport still isn't in yet, but I have an opportunity for a job on post which I'm hoping to interview for when I get back. I so can't wait to see Michael!!! :)

Spent the day shopping with mom today. Didn't do as much damage as I thought. I need some shoes still, but we'll see when I come back. I should be back in about 3 weeks.

Love to you all. I'll post again next week!!!

I have spent the last two days enjoying the company of family. Yesterday I spent the day with my "new" family. It was a bittersweet day as it was the last day with the Knaggs. As I write this they are on their way to Australia. It's interesting when you join a new family. I mean, I've known these people all my life, but now I see them in a completely different light. They have become the others in my life. I have always respected the Knaggs, but now I can call them Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Jime, which I'm so proud of. I have gained a sister and three brothers. Ally makes me laugh all the time. I can just look at her and start to giggle. She gives the best hugs let me tell you. Then there's Steve, who unfortunately was not with us yesterday. And then there's Jon and Jason. You can't ask for a better family. On top of that there's cousins, aunts, uncles, and extended family. I'm honored to call them my new family. They are all very special people to me and it's always a joy to spend time with them.

Today I spent the day with my great Aunt Jo. She's 93 years old and a crack up. She's gotten to the point in her life where she can't be left alone, and looking at her now makes me remember how she was. Believe me, she's still got it, but she just likes to ask the same question every few hours. I think she's just making sure I give her the same answer!! :) She is the last Koza on my grandmother's side. She still remembers everything from growing up, it's just the more current things she really can't remember.

So that's what I've done for the past 2 days. Spent time with those I love, those that I'm getting to know better, and those that make me smile. Please pray for the Knaggs as they are embarking on their new adventure. They will be missed at home by everyone. I'm so happy for family!!!

It's getting quite boring being home. Everyone's working and I'm not. My parents have decided that if i'm here longer than two week, then I need to get a job!! I'm hoping to be able to go back soon. I'm calling Ft. Dix again tomorrow. Michael starts Jumpmaster School on August 20th, so I need to be back before then so that he can pick me up from the airport before school starts. I just want to get back to the routine that I had just started to get used to. I miss my volunteer job, I miss my husband, and I miss our apartment.

I went to the Montclair Corps on Sunday with my parents. It was so nice to be home. I miss church. There isn't a Salvation Army anywhere near us. We're so spoiled in the SA that when you try a new type of worship, it takes time to get used to. Anyway, it was so nice to see everyone. Caryn and I had lunch together. Her apartment (my old one with her) is looking more like Caryn. Then I was able to catch up with Suzanne out at Star Lake for an hour. Gotta miss the long chats with her. Tomorrow I'm off to fight at Citibank - how can anyone be ineligible for a Debit card??? I didn't even know that was possible!! Then I'm having dinner and spending some time with the Knaggs clan before the big move to Australia.

Love to you all!!!!

This post is for David Baker!!! :) Just to let you know what I've been up to. Yesterday I spent the day at THQ hanging out with friends. It was so great to see Jon, Mhairi, Amber, Kathleen, Stephanie, and a slew of others. Then it was off to see my bestest friend in the whole wide world, Alison!!! And of course Jessica. Can't forget about her!

I'm missing Michael, which is understandable. It's funny in relationships. We've never spent more than 2 weeks together at a time when we were dating. We've now been around each other for a month and it's amazing. I miss my apartment in Italy - pictures will be coming soon! I got used to "our" place.

I've posted some new wedding pics on the Flickr so take a look. Here's a preview:

Michael hasn't even seen these pics yet!!! Hope you're satisfied David!!! :)

Luv ya!!!

I'M HOME!!! Well, at my parents house at least. I landed yesterday afternoon after sitting at the Venice airport for 4 hours. Our flight was delayed for an hour, so Michael left me at the airport to go back to post. It's nice to be home with family. The Knaggs' picked me up at the airport - it was great to spend some time with them in the car. We came to my parents house for dinner and Andrew & Patti were down too. By 9 pm my eyes were burning since it was 3 am for me and I had been up for 24 hours. I went to bed around 9:30 and was up at 4 am. The time change coming this way is so much easier than going back. Hopefully it won't take me a week to adjust to the time change back to Italy!

Anyway, I'm hanging out at home today, going to get a rental car, and then who knows what's left for today. I'm hoping to stop by THQ tomorrow after I go to Michael's bank. But as of now, plans are all over the place.

Michael called me this morning. He slept on my side of the bed last night. I guess he's gotten used to me being around!!! :)

Well, for those of you I'm going to see soon, I can't wait to see you. I promise once I see Mhairi, that I will have some pics posted on Flickr.

All my love! KT:)

So I lied.....I was able to get back to post. We are all moved in. Yesterday some friends loaded up their truck with the rest of Michael's stuff and brought it all over. The only left to unpack is all of Michael's hanging stuff in his car. It's so wierd moving into a new place. The kitchen is gorgeous, but without storage. The guest room has all the "stuff" in it right now. I'm hoping that while i'm home, Michael will take the initiative and go through it all. It's mostly his stuff anyway. I still don't have a dresser so I'm going on a month of living out of my suitcases. We're hoping to go get some furniture tonight and tomorrow.

Today is Michael's 28th birthday. He said it's the first one in 6 years where he has someone to celebrate it with. So here are our plans for the evening, dinner out somewhere and furniture shopping!!! He's actually pleased with that.

My mom called me on moving day. It was so funny! My parents have helped me move both times, first Nutley and then Bloomfield, and this time they weren't there. It was a little emotional for me the night before, but all in all I did well. Michael had to move the fridge to plug it in and I had a "mom" moment. I checked to make sure the floor was clean underneath and it was!!! For those of you who know my mom, you may chuckle at that. So our house is looking like a house. We have 4 pictures of family with us, I put a wedding picture on the fridge, and Mhairi is also on the fridge!!!

So that's life right now. We'll have our first weekend in our new home. Maybe I'll even get breakfast in bed!!!! :) One can always wish!! Until next week, I love and miss you all. I can't believe I'll be home in 5 days!

This may be my last post for a few days. We are moving tomorrow afternoon to our new apartment and we will not have internet access for a few days. I probably won't be here on post since I'll be busy unpacking!!!! :) I'm so flippin excited. Anyway, I leave to come home on the 19th, so I'll try to post from there. At least it will give Michael something to read.

I went to the Women's Bible Study this morning, but couldn't stay for the whole thing due to the housing meeting. The women were all so inviting and reassuring. I went with 2 friends that I've met.

We are both doing well. Michael is feeling somewhat better but still a little sore and stiff. It will take a few good months for him to heal, so keep praying for him.

We love you all and miss you!! Hopefully I'll get to see most of you real soon.

For now, God bless!!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been very busy on this side of the pond. We had a great weekend in Slovenia. The weather was beautiful and so was the scenery. We ate lunch at a cafe by Lake Bled and climbed 553 stairs to see a waterfall. Yes, I climbed all those stairs and made it, surprisingly, with hardly any complaining. I think Michael would beg to differ. I'm sorry I haven't posted any pics, but I have no clue how to do it and the computers at the library are very slow. I'll do it as soon as we have our house.

And on to that subject. We looked at 2 places today. They're both in the same building and government owned, which is awesome. I fell in love with the second place so Michael is meeting with the lady tomorrow and we're hoping to start moving in by Wednesday!!!! I'm so excited!!! I can't wait for dressers!! So when you guys start to visit us, you'll have your own room and bathroom. The kitchen is absolutely huge which makes me very happy.

I have a prayer request at this moment. It seems that Michael has 2 injuries. One of them he received while at Airborne School and didn't really know it. He has a lower back injury from a jump 4 years ago that got irritated during his jump week last week. He has fractured his T12 in his back which has actually
shrunk him by 25% or an inch. On top of that, he has a broken tailbone. So the poor guy is in pain. He's upright and walking, but he's on profile which means he's not allowed to do any running. For those of you who truly know Michael, he loves to run. So just keep him in your prayers.

We watched Italy beat France last night at a friend's house. We had a great time meeting another couple and just hanging out. Things are going well here and I'm starting to enjoy it more. I just know that when we have our own place, it will begin to feel like "home".

I miss you all but will see you really really soon. Until then, we love you all and miss each of you. Ciao!!!

Would you like some great news?!?!?! Our command sponsorship has come through and we can start looking for apartments this afternoon!!! I'm so excited! This means we will have more than one room to live in, I'll have dressers to unpack into, and I'll be able to cook!!!! It's the little things in life that thrill me.

We had a good day yesterday. The fireworks were awesome and so was the procession of the state flags. It really is different to celebrate a holiday like the 4th on a military base. It's amazing the pride that shows through soldier's faces. We were able to hang out with some friends, make some new ones, and just relax. Michael started with the new company today, but is also at an EMT class today since his license is expired.

One of his good friends, Danny, found out that his transition paperwork went through and he's hoping to leave the end of August. Michael is really gonna miss him. They've been through alot together so it will be interesting when he's gone. I apologized to Danny yesterday, because they always hung out together so he came over and had dinner with us last night. He can't wait until we get our own place, which makes me think that he may be there all the time!!! :) It's ok - he's a good guy!! And he's single!!! wink wink

Well that's about all the excitement. Caryn, your pics of Music Camp made me very jealous! I can't believe how big Emma and Noah are getting!!!!

Can't wait to see each and everyone of you real soon. Until then, God bless and all our love!

So we're back from our crazy weekend. Michael finally got a chance to look at this blog so he's enjoyed all your comments. Florence was beautiful, but sorry to say the weather was not. It didn't rain, but it was so freakin hot that it was too uncomfortable to be there. Hopefully we'll go back maybe in September and try it again. Michael took some pics and Caryn I took 2 special ones for you!!! ;) Then we went to San Marino yesterday and the weather for that trip was absolutely beautiful. It's basically it's own country within Italy. Again we took some great pics, but I don't have the camera here to post them. I promise to do so soon.

On a good note, Michael just received a promotion. He will be the 'head' medic for D Company. He's really excited for this opportunity and he'll be working with a friend of his. Keep him in your prayers as he takes on this challenge.

I have found out that there's a Women's Group that meets weekly at the church on post. I met a woman this weekend who attends it, so next week I'll be going with her. She said they're doing a series right now and that we've missed alot, but she said that it's great to meet other people. Also Michael and I are hoping to start apartment hunting this weekend. It'll be nice to stop living out of my suitcases - I told him this morning that one of our first purchases will be dressers so that I can unpack.

We met with the travel agent this afternoon, and I'm hoping to fly home on the 19th. I can't wait to see all of you. Again thank you for your posts and prayers. I love and miss you all so much, but I know you're praying for the both of us.

Luv ya all!!!!!