Days 9-11.

Day Nine.
Best Challenge of 2009.
Being Husband-less.

So I have it good compared to most people who are in the military. I know that. But, I think between 2008 and 2009, I realized just what the military was and what was expected from a husband who serves in the army. It is not always hard, but isn't always easy either. Ammon slept here most of the time, but with his hours from 0445 to 2200 (Ammon tells me that I need to learn military time if I'm going to be apart of it the rest of my life. That is 4:45 am to 10:00 pm in case you don't know. You just minus 12 and you'll get the time. It still takes me a minute to calculate the time when I hear Ammon say it), we never saw him. That was the biggest challenge of the year. Yesterday in church, one of the counselors in primary spoke in sacrament and she talked of her marriage and when she first was involved with the church and the military. She said that right after they got married, they went to their first duty station, he dropped her off and said, "I'm going to the field." She just stared at him. "What does that mean and when are you going to be back?" He responded he didn't know and left. That is just the military. I remember going to a ward party last month and a wife there told me her husband was in the field. It is just an understanding that we don't know what they're doing, where they are, when they'll be back. We understand each other when she says that because we know that means we're on our own. That means it is up to us to cook, clean...take care of the kids. "Being in the field" is a term that all husbands understand and wives have to get used to. So, Ammon was "in the field" a lot this last year. You just nod and kiss him as he leaves the house. You can't depend on a time he is told he'll be done because it is never right. I learned a lot about the military last year, but I learned more about myself. I learned what I need to do to keep sane. I learned what groove I needed to get in so I could keep things in order and how to take care of Matthew without much help at all. I think that was the biggest challenge but also the best one for me.

Second Place: April 2009 and our financial hardship. Ammon would come home with 5 bucks in tips from the Wynn a night and we still paid our bills, our tithing, kept fed and even moved across the country with our own money. I look back at our financial spreadsheet from that month and wonder how on earth we even made it. It is unexplainable and I know the Lord had a hand in it completely.
Honorable Mention: Being called as Primary secretary. I was called into a presidency that couldn't tell me what I should be doing and it was up to me to find out and how I could help them out so that the primary could run more smoothly. I was very humbled and realized that the spirit needs to be with a presidency for it to accomplish anything. I learned how much I needed to do and I gained a huge appreciation for any secretary of any organization. I also learned I wasn't as good as I thought I was and that is always a hard thing to learn.

Day Ten.
Best Album of 2009.
Backstreet Boys "This Is Us"

I'm loyal. I can't say I'm a Backstreet fan unless I like their music. They released a new one last year and I loved it. I think I always will no matter what they release!

Second Place: Jericho Road "What Matters Most." I found this album finally on the internet and got it for Ammon's birthday. We listened to this everyday when we were dating and we "lost" it two weeks after we got married. We've been looking for it ever since and have listened to it fifty times. We love it.
Honorable Mention: David Archuleta's Christmas album. He has an amazing voice and I love Christmas music. I got goosebumps first hearing it. He does a great job.

Day Eleven.
Best Place of 2009.
Home.

I'm going to have to agree with Erin on this one. Home is so...not really a place. I have realized that since being married and moving five times. Home is where we are! Home last year was in Vegas, in Henderson, in Kentucky. Home is where Ammon is and where Matthew can be raised in a good, healthy, positive environment. Home is where I can cook Ammon dinner and where we can sleep in peace. Home is where Ammon comes home to and where people are invited and where they can feel the spirit. Home is where you can have complete control over how it is run. You may not control most things in your life, but you can control where you hang your clothes, how clean your house is and where you put what in your kitchen. I remember flying back to Kentucky after our trip to Austin and it felt like home before we had even landed at the Louisville airport. I think Home is just where you feel loved, where you are comfortable and where you can feel peace away from the outside world.

Second Place: Elizabethtown, Kentucky! With a small Target and a mall with only ten stores, at 25 minutes away, E-town is our closest thing to civilization from Fort Knox, especially since it has actual restaurants.
Honorable Mention: Church at the Brandenburg Chapel. We are the only ward in our building and it takes us about 25 minutes to get there, but over the last little while, I have really become quite fond of our little "ward" that seems more like a branch on most Sundays.