Every Two Minutes

Every 2 minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted.

 1 out of 6 women have been the victim of an attempt or completed rape in their lifetime.

Out of all rapes, 77% are committed by someone the victims know.

Rape is the most common violent crime on college campuses.
I don't know about you guys, but these number is just far too high in my books. 

No matter what someone is wearing, or the amount they had to drink doesn’t mean that they “ask for it”.

 NO means NO!

This past weekend I had the extraordinary honor to participate in a 5K to raise sexual assault awareness on Camp Lejeune. It is so important to me that people are educated and help raise sexual assault awareness in the military, campuses, at parties and just in any situation. Rape isn't just a for adults either! It is so so so so important for people to teach their children about good and bad touches. If they don't know that it is wrong from any person to touch them where their bathing suit covers, abuse could go on for years! So please, I'm begging, start educating them young. There are so many great books that explain what sexual abuse is without scaring them in any way like here, here, or here. If you're not ready to have the full blown talk at least let them know that if they are hurt in anyway, that they can tell you without fear of getting in trouble. In most cases they think a) no one will believe them. b) they will be in trouble  or  c)they will get hurt if they tell. Children need reassurance that it is not their fault. They also need to know that their abusers secret only stays safe if they keep it! But, moving back to adults, it's important for any sexual assault victims to tell the police immediately. Police can gather evidence up to 72 hours after an attack!  It's a scary thing, but all you are doing is telling the truth. In court, they are bound by the law and you are only bound by the truth. So report it and take a stand! Let everyone know that it is not okay to violate anyone in anyway. The 5k turned out great! Although it was for a VERY serious matter,  we had a ton of fun with it. Here is how it went... 

                  me with my good friends, Nikole and Tricia, before the race  

all of us again!

Our AWESOME shirts! 

Having some fun! 

Nikole finishing the race, WITH a baby!       

During the race!

Tricia finishing the race! 

Finished last out of the three of us, but I was so proud! 

Military Monday:Pride

Marine Corps Birthday Ball 2009

When you’re a military spouse, you hear the term “moto” a lot.
Moto in military lingo basically someone who is very motivated, typically the “boots” right out of boot camp but by your first year in that motivation goes away in most cases. I don’t know why, but it just does.  Yes, some cases are taken to the extreme but I don’t know why it’s so frowned upon.

My high school graduation June 2010

I never really considered myself being a “moto” wife. But I have always been proud of my husband and of our country. This deployment especially brought out the pride in me. There is a reason for that. No it’s not just because I am the wife of Cpl. Matthew J. Voorhies of the United States Marine Corps. And no, it’s not because I want to feel that extra happy feeling on the 4^th July this year. It’s because it’s the only emotion I can feel so I wouldn’t feel anger and want to punch everyone in the face.

Marine Corps Birthday Ball 2010

When I go to sleep, alone at night, pride is the only thing I can allow myself to feel so I don’t hate other wives who have never been spent a week without their husbands.

Pride is the only thing I can let myself feel when I get to hear his voice so I can restrain myself from crying.  

Having pride is the thing that helps me drag out of bed in the morning knowing that I still have months to go before seeing my husband.

Pride is what keeps this over emotional wife sane, when I forget that he’s gone for a just a moment when I see a Marine in his cammies from behind and just for that a minute, I see him.

Marine Corps Birthday Ball 2011

Some people say “ it’s just part of the commitment you made”, but knowing that doesn’t make things any easier.  So yes, I have an “I love my marine sticker” on my car. And, of course, I appreciate when someone says thank you for the sacrifices that I, as a military wife, have made for our country. And yes, I get an amazing sense of happiness when my husband writes me a letter telling me how proud he is of me for being so strong.

Our Wedding 2011

I just have overwhelming need to just share why exactly I feel the pride I do. Some might consider military wives “over the top”, but no one knows what it’s like to be strong until it’s the only choice you have. 

Our Wedding 2011

On a happy note! I finally got to skype with Matthew. We weren't sure if we would be able to at all this deployment but I am so thankful and blessed that I was able to :) He's growing a mustache since he never was allowed to grow one at home. He affectionally calls it he MEU-stash.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things-1 Corinthians 13:7

Military Monday: Sticker Crazy!

WARNING: I might have gone a tad bit sticker crazy and this may have been the cheesiest thing you’ve ever scene. Oh! and I am NOT a professional photographer by any means.

For this “Military Monday” I thought I would share a recent care package I made for Matthew. Matthew loves sweets and snacks. Loves would be an understatement. I wanted to give him the sweets he wants but still find a cute way to do it so. So, with the help of google and pinterest, this is what I came up with.

First off, you need to decorate the box.

(Pardon my terrible penmanship)

then of course Buddy and Soto needed to decorate something too :)

Now for the super cheesy stuff, Matthew's treats.

He absolutely loves the Arnold Palmer ice tea lemonade. Luckily, before he left I found the most perfect thing ever for him! 

I told you it was cheesy......

Oh! And, he could live on fruit and cream oatmeal 

Of course, every care package needs some "not so fun" stuff like hygiene products

And, laundry detergent. I add a little lavender essential oil to my powered detergent so he'll love it :)

Then of course no care package is complete without some photos

Since Matthew is on a ship, the chances of getting to skype are slim to none. So, we made sure we got him a pelican case for his laptop and we are sending flash drives back and forth with little messages so we can at least see each others faces. I had to make sure I wrote PG because people automatically assume you are sending some risque.  

I also sent him a book that got great reviews, I bought the wife version of the same book For Better or For Best "understanding your husband". I thought what better time for him to read this type of book than when he's bored on a ship for months! :)

He likes opening presents, so I just wrapped the book in plain paper and stickers.

Now, for the Best.Card.Ever! Matthew always teases me that I "love" the amish because it just so happens that a lot of my favorite books and authors are written about the amish. It's sort of a running joke, so I found the perfect card to send with the care package :)

Haha, too clever right? I know, sometimes I'm too cool for my own good.

Then of course I had to write a big explanation pleading him to read the book I sent, so I covered the card in stickers too :)

Then, I just had to assemble it.

And there you go! The cheesiest care package ever, and he's going to love it! 

 “Three things will last forever—faith, hope and love—and the greatest of these is love” -1 Corinthians 13:13

my first, and last week as a "Roadie"

I lasted a week at texas roadhouse, but before I get to that story...

A little trip down memory lane for you guys, I've spent a good chunk of my work life in restaurants. In 2007, when I was 15 before I was even able to drive, I started working at a local restaurant in my home town as a hostess and when I was 16 I got bumped up to server.  A big shout out to my family for being so supportive during that time. My mom and step dad, who I affectionally call donnie bob or daddy number 2, drove me to work every time I had to be at the restaurant at 7 in the morning and picked me up well after closing. I can honestly say I am so blessed to have amazing parents who supported me wanting to work versus going to school homecoming games or dances.  But, back to Richards. There are times I hated that places, and yes I do realize hate is a rather strong word. But it was true; there were time where if I never had to go back there, it would be too soon. But, there is a part of me that loves that places to death. And again, I do realize love is a strong word. It’s true though! I made some of my best friends there, and most important it was where I “learned the value of a dollar”. And boy, did I ever learn the value of a dang dollar! I was very fortunate to be able to have the job that I did, especially because I was from such a small town area. As a matter of fact, I was from the smallest county in Indiana. Most of my memories of Richard's were fond, but not all of them. I can honestly say that throughout high school I probably saw my manager, Steve, more than I did my own parents. My best friends were the people I worked beside every day...and I do mean every day! We were literally like a family. One day we hated each other, and the next we were laughing together while wrapping silverware and wanting to switch shifts. My customers was the best too! I mean of course there were always "those" customers that made you mad before you even got their drinks, but my regulars were awesome. To this day, I have never waited on people that were as cool as my regulars. Sure, they wouldn't leave the best tips but they made my bad days great. I remember when matt broke up with me, don't worry it was only a two day break up. Well my hands down favorite customer, Bob, talked with me about it and told me not to be upset by some dumb "jarhead". It made me feel 100% better! I worked there until it was time for me to move away for college, in August 2010. 

 This was taken after my first morning shift.

Of course, this was during my mysapce phase and I was bored at work

My friend, Britt, always made my shifts better!

My very best friend, Danielle, the night before I moved

Excuse the terrible quality, but this is a picture of me and my favorite family ever! My two best friends and "aunt" Heidi :)

And then there was Crackerbarrel. I was only "unemployed" for two weeks before I got hired. All in all, it was a great place to work. Nice people, nice customers, but a lot bigger than what I was used to. I worked at two locations. One being Crackerbarrel in Orange Park, Florida. And the other being Crackerbarrel in Kingsland, Georgia.  I was very fond the Orange Park location. The people were some of the best and professional people I've ever worked with. Plus, the pay was great. And by great, I mean fan freaking tastic. I made more in working a measly 3 or 4 shifts a week then I did working 6 days a week in Kingsland. But, I moved to Kingsland because Matthew and I got our first apartment together, yahoooo! To understand why I quit Crackerbarrel, you have to understand Matthew's work schedule. He was "down" at work for 5 days, and home for 5 days. Sometimes those 5 days home were never guaranteed and I didn't want to spend the days I did have with my husband, working  and him missing out on awesome things like home cooked meals. Because, of course, I wasn't one of the fine few that was able to work the morning shifts. So, my time at Crackerbarrel was short lived. I did make some great friends and on my last night there they gave me a proper send off. 

Yep, they threw whipped cream all over me. 

When we moved to Carolina, I decided to go a different route and try my hand at nannying.  I love it! During the day I take care of a 3 year old little boy and in the afternoon I take care of him and his sister who is 7. It's the best job ever! I watch batman, go to the park, and color all day! But with summer break coming up I will be out of work until school starts back up in the fall. My employer is a full time student at a local college. So, that brings us to Texas Roadhouse. I applied for a waitressing position and got hired the very next day. It is GREAT company to work for. Don't get me wrong, the company is wonderful and it is a great place to work....just not for me. I should have known better than to even applying. I feel terrible because I told a lie when I quit, and I am probably on a no hire list now. But it just wasn't a good place for me to work. I'm not claiming to be a Jesus freak or holy roller, but there are certain things I like to surround myself with. I'm not claiming that I never curse, but it seemed like every five minutes I was hearing someone drop the F bomb and it seemed like every single person smoked. That doesn't mean they weren't great people, I'm sure they were, but that is just something I don't like to surround myself with. Then they always wanted me to "break out of my shell" but I'm just naturally a quiet person. I can get whatever job I have done without screaming or yelling. Basically, I felt like a minnow in a catfish pond. I had such high anxiety that it just was not worth me risking my health for only two months of extra cash until I started nannying again.  So there you have it what lead up to my first, last and only week at Texas Roadhouse.

My only pictures as a "roadie"

Military Monday!

Yes, this is my bathroom. And yes, I write on my mirror with dry erase marker.

Welp, I am two weeks down on this deployment. I can't really say the exact number of days I have left due to OPSEC. But, let's just say I could pretty much have my own little bundle of joy in the time I have left. Boooo! But, I thought since it's "Military Monday"I would explain some of whats going on with Matthew's deployment. The first thing anyone affiliated with the military has endure is the OPSEC lecture! Sounds fun, right? OPSEC stands for operations secruity. It basically means we can't post any specific dates, locations or important information for the world to see. It's not only in place for spouses and family members to obey, but services members to follow as well.

Sometimes one could hear someone talking about an "OPSEC Nazi". Let me just point out that I am not one. But, OPSEC is only there to ensure the safety of our troops. All it takes is for one person to send a tweet or post a status about specific date and the dam breaks. And by dam breaks I mean; homecomings get moved, communications to your loved ones get cut off, or the worst case loose lips can quite literally sink ships. 

But, how about I share something that I AM allowed to give details on. Starting with some information about the ship Matthew is on.

The USS Iwo Jima is apart of the 24th MEU. MEU stands for the Marine Expeditionary Unit. You can actually look online like here and find a lot of interesting information on the 24th MEU and all the ships apart of it. I am sure there are a lot of different explanations of what they are doing while out to sea. But, what I took from the pre-deployment briefs was that they will sort of be like "first responders". If anything happens they will be prepared to help. Of course they will be doing things on the ship that doesn't include waiting around for action. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean they are waiting for war to break out. They can be there to help in situations like natural disasters. I hope my explanation helped give you some sort of insight especially since I am not an expert on the subject by any means.

I can't thank those who have supported me and Matthew enough. The kind words and gestures have helped more than anyone could possibly know. Please continue sending prayers or good thoughts our way and the whole 24th MEU!

For I am the Lord, your God. Who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you-Isaiah 41:13

My Fur Babies

Being that Matthew and I are still pretty young, babies aren’t in the card for us right now. However, we do have two little fur babies that I wanted to brag about! So let the proud mama bragging begin!

A few weeks before Matthew and I got married, a big change happened in our life. Okay, so it wasn’t a really big change but at the time it was a big change. When we were stationed in Kingsland, Georgia Matthew would go to work for five days straight and then come home for five days straight. It had some pros and cons. One of pros was that my brother-in-law was on the same schedule so when they were at work my sister and I had a lot of girl time since when the guys were home we didn’t talk to each other that much because we were enjoying the time we had together. Then, out of nowhere, Matthew got switched to different schedules so I got pretty lonely, pretty fast. It was a good thing because that is when I met my good friend Becky, but at the time I was just super lonely. That is when we decided that it was time to expand our family!

Meet Soto

When we first got Soto she was a tiny little bugger.

She was also a facebook addict

And, a little stuck up. She only ate certain brands of food and always has her nails done

She's super sweet, and is a little attention getter. I always joke that she's like a dog because she likes to play fetch and loves to rough house. Speaking of dog......

We decided that when we moved to North Carolina and found out that Matthew was deploying that it was time to get a guard dog. We also have ADT, so just try breaking into my house robber! We went to petsmart national adoption day with full intentions of adopting a little puppy.  But, we fell in love with this guy. 

Meet Buddy

This is what buddy looked like in his poor little crate. I knew it was love at first sight when he got so excited to meet me that he knocked me over. He name was originally Prince, but like any good adoptive parents we got rid of that name fast.

He loves getting his picture taken

And he loves taking naps

Sometimes he sleeps like this

and sometimes he sleeps like this

 All in all we were so blessed to have adopted such a happy and great dog. He's a little hyper, but he's still just a puppy. A sixty-two pound puppy, but a puppy nonetheless. I may curse his name every now and then because he wakes me up in the middle of the night, because he's a hole digger, and a chew anything in his sight type of dog. But I love him to pieces! Okay, fur mama bragging done :)