Love seeks to understand

Man it has been a minuet since I have been on here LOL. The past few Dares have been just for me is one of the reasons I haven’t blogged. I really didn’t even want to post what they were about only because they were and still are very personal "just for me". Things have been Crazy at times but a good kind of crazy! Well actually there are pros and cons to how crazy it’s been. Pros- we have been busy between birthday parties to go to, Purse parties for Ash to make some money which is always nice! Pampered Chef Parties for friends to make some money and to get some stuff for us at a discount which is also always nice! Taking Chase to school which is wonderful because if you know my son he is just like me 100 miles and hour non stop, He manifests energy out of thin air! All he has to do is look at a can of Soda and he gets a sugar high. Grace expanding her vocabulary and explorations/torments and it seems that even though her vocabulary is growing she has focused on only one word "NO"! Ohhhh it drives us CRAZY to say the least. Now for the Cons- really the major con to being so busy is how fast the time fly's, as most of you know I am a Recruit Division Commander (RDC) and I am on "Hold" right now. For those of you who don’t know an RDC is a "Drill Instructor" for the Navy and being on Hold is what we call having a break, I have graduated 5 Divisions in my first year here at RTC Great Lakes, which is normal for us to do. I went on hold last June to FQA (Fleet Quality Assurance) we do the inspections on the Recruits. Time off there is great! And that is where the Conn comes in since I have all this time off to spend with my loves; the time goes by way to fast. As of now I only have 4 months left until I go "Back on Push". The hours when that happens are going to suck again, 18-20 hours a day 7 days a week. I will go to work when the kids/Ash is still asleep to turn around and come home from work when the kids are asleep. Leaving no time for Ash and I, which after all the problems Ashleigh and I have had, along with Reading the Love Dare, I will not let happen again. You have to make time for those who matter most to you! I’m going to be completely honest with you and myself. At the end of the day yes I am still a First Class Pettyofficer in the United States Navy, but when the time comes is the Navy going to be there for me when I'm having a crappy day? Is the Navy going to be there when my wonderful wife is so sick that she can’t get off the couch to take care of herself and the kids? Is the navy going to be there when my kids go off to college or what ever they plan on doing? Most of you would say yes but I’m asking those questions on a very personal, intimate and emotional point of view. My answer is NO, at the end of the day my family are those who will give me what I need to feel whole again, they are the ones who will make me smile, they are the reason's that I strive to be the best, they are the reason's I can and will not fail. They are the motivation that I have needed to be so successful in my career. Let me rephrase that last statement! Ashleigh is the motivation that I have needed to be so successful in ALL I do. It took me so long to realize that, do I regret that it has taken me so long to realize? A little, only because if I would have noticed sooner then my Wife and I would not be as close as we are this very moment! Do I wish I could take it back? Absolutely not, this is the path that has been chosen for me through a higher power that I am not going to question as to why, only thank him that it has been an eventful one. Which brings me to the real point, today’s Dare.

"How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding" - Proverbs 3:13

Prepare a special dinner at home, just for the two of you. The dinner can be as nice as you prefer. Focus this time on getting to know you spouse better, perhaps in areas you’ve rarely talked about. Determine to make it an enjoyable evening for you and your mate.

This one could be a little difficult only because we can’t just ship the kids off! So for today’s they will be included in dinner plans LOL. For tonight I am making Chicken tacos in the Crock Pot, Little does Ash know but I AM MAKING DINNER!! I’m not going to give away all my details on how its going to be set out but we are going to have an Adult conversation tonight, because there are things that each of us would like to know more about! You can’t know everything in 4 years stuff changes from day to day. For instance if you would have asked Ash what is my favorite Soda a few months ago, She would reply with Mountain Dew. If you ask her now Coke. And that is just a small example. I will post tomorrow on what dinner was like and the things (if not too personal) I learned more about. Or you can just wait until later tonight for Ashleigh to post her blog to see what she bragged about! Until tomorrow readers have a great day.

-Justin

“Blessed, indeed, is the man who hears many gentle voices call him daddy!”