Settling in--in the Southwest.

Us with our anniversary cake in IL.

Today officially marks three weeks since I've been in our new home. Hard to believe! Since AJ's week of leave life has continued as usual, without anything terribly new or exciting to report. I've been doing the stay-at-home-wife thing, since I'm waiting for graduate school to start on June 28th. I'm slowly getting to know the area, although once in awhile I still panic and think I'm going to accidentally leave the country. I'm also getting acquainted with some of the people AJ knows, both Army and civilian. So far we've been invited to dinner with two different families, which was nice. One of the families is an Army family, so I now have at least a couple Army acquaintances. I've been invited to the main park on post with them and their kids, which means we get to hang out, play with kids, and get a tan all at once ;)

Chester the Friendly Cactus, a gift from my mom.

I've finally registered for graduate school classes and have finalized my field placement for this fall and spring. Yay! After two interviews, both of which accepted me, I've chosen to work with an agency that provides services to children. I'll be working within the foster care program, which means my clients will be children with complex trauma. I'll provide counseling services, manage a caseload of children, train foster parents, and work with a team of professionals including a psychiatrist, psychologists, social workers, teachers, the court system, and foster families. I'm going to learn a ton, and I've been told that they already have a project for me to work on! I'm really excited to take the next step in my career.

Last week was our anniversary, which we spent quietly by going out for sushi, one of our favorite treats. We dressed up in the same clothes we wore to leave our wedding, had dinner, and then celebrated with some cake purchased by my mother-in-law :) Not super eventful, but nice enough for us.

View from our apartment complex.

So that covers the basics of life down here. AJ and I are still getting reacquainted as husband and wife after nine months of being apart. To clear up what seems to be a common misconception, we never felt like we got a "second honeymoon" after being together again or during AJ's week of leave. For many military families, living together again is often just as hard as being separated. Things change when you're apart from your spouse for almost a year, especially if you've only been married a year and lived together for just two months of that year. Many Army couples find themselves working to rebuild the intimacy necessary for marriage after being apart. So, although we agree that being together is wonderful because that's how it should be, it's not quite as romantic as many people seem to expect. ;)