Week 15

Could it really be?? I am still in a state of disbelief that this is actually the week that we travel to Newport to see Will GRADUATE!!  As of today, he is in his 15th week at OCS and is gearing up for graduation.

It has been so comforting knowing the past three weeks have involved so many more privileges for Will and his class.  They were able to get their phones back, go on a field trip to Boston, watch movies, and even have liberty to leave base for the evening.  While there has been more fun for class 13-15, it has also come with more responsibility.  As candios they are in charge of the new Indocs and "welcoming" them to OCS and making sure they are prepared to meet their Drill Instructor.  

It is amazing to hear the excitement in Wills voice and hear about how high the morale of all of his classmates is.  Even though everyone is still exhausted and working so hard, being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel gives them such immense hope!  Privileges as simple as being able to drink coffee has been a game changer for Will(understandable, given that is my drug of choice).  

Of course all of this good news and excitement always comes with lessons to be learned.  The past few weeks I feel like God has been teaching me an enormous lesson on "Would you just trust me? Ive got this".  When Candio Phase was upon us and Will had passed all of his tests he developed a staph infection on his leg.  Luckily there was no more tests to be taken but an evolution called Capstone that was mandatory for becoming a Candidate Officer.  There was a period of 3 days where Will thought he might be ordered to stay in his room during Capstone and possibly result in rolling.  Yes, after all the tests, celebrating and nail biting we were facing the big ROLL word again.  Those three days were spent praying and begging God to give Will favor despite this major wrench thrown in week 9 plans.  The moral of the story was not "stress out until things are okay" but rather "give it all to God and know that His plan is the ONLY plan".  In the end Will was given perfect favor and was ordered to stay in his room with the exception of participating in Capstone, such a relief!!

Trust in the Lord with all your heartand lean not on your own understanding;  
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I must have heard this verse a million times growing up and it was so easy to memorize and was a "go to" verse in tough times.  It dawned on me that I knew the whole thing but really stopped listening after the first line.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" is kind of a warm and fuzzy command that sounds nice but to realize that the only way to have a truly straight and blessed path is to give it ALL to Him is not so easy and fluffy.   I hate to admit that I have been a fair weather follower when it comes to giving ALL of my worries and thoughts to God.  Many days I live the "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, until your husband is met with and unexpected illness that may result in him rolling" version of the verse.  Further looking at the verse I remembered that MY understanding would probably result in me moving into an ice cream parlor to daily drown my sorrows.  At the end of any uncertain time God has completely shown me HIs sovereignty I feel like He is just standing in the corner giving me a big wink saying "I told you, Ive got this!"   I am alway so amazed and thankful what the Bible can show me through a verse I thought I knew up and down.

After jumping that silly hurdle, the words for the past two weeks have been Orders and Wisdom teeth.  While I was convinced otherwise, there is life after OCS and Will has been waiting where we goes next after Rhode Island.  We knew that Nuclear Power School in  Charleston, SC was the next step to working on Subs but we didn't know when that would come.  Fortunately we now know that Will has been given 18 weeks of OHARP(recruiting for the Navy) which will allow him to work a normal schedule and be with us as our newest little man joins the scene.  I am so excited to know that we will have Will around till December, however we still are waiting to hear where they need him to recruit.  We are hoping to find this out by the time we get to Newport!  On the other side, for whatever reason, WIll was told he needs his wisdom teeth out and has been recovering from that for the past week.  I hate that I couldn't be there bring him milkshakes and take care of him, but I have really enjoyed the selfies that have come my way! (Sorry Will hehe)

As for Mr. Wilbur and I, for the past two weeks you could find us either at the beach or at my sisters travel softball tournaments.  Little mans obsession with swimming in the ocean has me concerned he may dry up like a fish in the three days we will be in Newport from being on land so long.  I am so thankful that me and my very big belly can plop down on the beach and watch little man jump waves and wear himself out.  A day in the sand and salt water makes for an exhausted two year old!  He has also taken up a liking to watching his Aunt play softball every weekend, along with smooching on all the girls in between games.  He hasn't quite gotten the grasp of only cheering for one team but we love the enthusiasm of the cheers as he stands right outside the dugout!  

I still can't believe that in 24 short hours, my mom, youngest sister, Wilbur and I will be making the journey to Newport to finally be reunited with our sweet sailor! We will be driving up Tuesday and meeting my In Laws there who will be flying from Jackson.  I don't think I have ever been so excited to pack for a trip! I can not wait to meet all the LOs that I have been able to connect with on Facebook, see the whole graduation process, spend some time in Newport and most importantly tackle my man!  Its the final countdown!!

CANDIO

At every phase of the past almost three months, in my head I always thought that Will being a Candio would just never come.  This is all part of my insane strategy in trying not to get my hopes up about anything, and is mainly why I have been so hesitant to post anything about last week until it was over, but the fat lady has sung!  Ladies and gents, hell week has come to an end for Will and he passed all four tests!!  This afternoon he will be a Candio opening his big box of goodies! I truly can't believe that in 22 days he will be graduating from OCS.

Last week started off with probably the toughest part of his tests, 8th week inspection.  Word on the street was that it was easier than the RLP but tougher than 6th week inspection.  While they were not screaming and doing pushups, they were quizzed on their knowledge while their room and uniform were inspected.  They wore their "whites" that they will be wearing at graduation, and frankly just the thought makes me weak at the knees.  Next up on Wednesday was a physical fitness test which they do every 3 weeks, where they run 1.5 miles and do 2 minutes of sit up and push ups.  He missed his personal goal by 15 seconds on the run and 1 sit up but met the passing score just fine!  Thursday was the navigation exam and another exam on Friday, and he ended up with a 94 on both.  Is this real life??  From that point it was just waiting to become Candios!!

Can I tell you how hard it was to put so much effort into this Candio box knowing that any one of these tests could mean another roll?  That was not how God intended this time to be though, He wanted me to trust solely in Him knowing that whatever his plan was for Will that it would have purpose and be so much better than my plan.  I know God did not want to see me so terrified to celebrate any one victory because I was so fearful that the next test could mean a huge set back.  Working on the box this week was me stepping out in faith and not fear!

While I am not crafty or artsy by any stretch of the imagination, I did have a lot of fun decorating and filling the box this week.  It was almost like a "how well do you know your husband test".  I would like to think I did pretty well and thought a little outside of what I like and more about the things that would make WIll giddy and prompt me to roll my eyes.  Being away from your LO can give you a whole different outlook on those annoying, gross and immature things that your husband just can't seem to get enough of.  

Here is the finished project before it got stuffed to the brim with junk!

Will has a bit of a man crush on Ron Swanson, so he most definitely made an appearance in the box.  I found this silly little card on Etsy!

In the midst of many pictures of us and the boys, I had to throw in our favorite movie.  While I couldn't actually send a movie, I figured this was the next best thing.  Will took me to see The Five Year Engagement on one of our first dates and it has always been one of my favorites. I glued our heads to Chris Pratt and Allison Brie's body in case you were wondering why they were looking extra attractive in this picture.  Hehe  

Luckily Will tried to get me to watch all of his annoying shows enough for me not to forget them.  He loves Archer and made "Danger Zone" his ring tone for about 3 months, so that obviously made it on the box.  Ron Swanson also made a second appearance and I found the logo for Rhett and Link.  It is some random YouTube talk show that Will would always watch before bed.  You may be wondering what in the world I made that "W" out of and decorated most of this part of the box with…..yes that is bacon.  I found these little bacon stickers and thought it would be a perfect touch for a dude box! 

Finally, here is what we will cram Will's box full with; lots and lots of junk food!  Candy, fruit snacks, beef jerky, cookies, brownies, and more cookies.  He might have a stomach ache after eating most of this but I know these are definitely the way to the heart of Will Fitts.  I wish I could be there to see everyones faces when they get to open their boxes! What a happy day!

Hopefully this post either inspired LOs for future Candio Boxes, or inspired a reader to run to the store and grab some Oreos, either way I would call it a win! 

Thank y'all so so much for all of your prayers, as always.  I do not think any of us could have gotten to this point without all of the support, encouraging words, prayers and lots of Jesus!!