Just when I thought giving birth might keep me from ever finishing telling our little tale of graduation in Newport, I decided to pick back up and finish in the hopes of inducing labor.
Saturday morning snuck up super quickly as all the families were invited to come watch class 13-15 in their final PT session. It started promptly at 6:30 which might be sleeping in for all of our friends at OCS but for wives and toddler who are used to sleeping till 8:30 it felt like the middle of the night. Fortunately, it was beautiful that morning and the anticipation of graduation put a little pep in our step. It was exciting to see the whole group doing push ups bear crawls knowing that they have done this almost every day for the last 4 months and that this would be the last time to do it together. The whole run and PT session took only 15 minutes or so and we were all greeted by our sweaty sailors who had a little free time to grab donuts before the big event. I consider myself a bit of a donut snob having lived in Memphis for almost 10 years and having experienced Gibson's on a pretty regular basis. However, I was blown away by how good "Ma's" Donuts were in Newport, so yummy!! If you are ever in Newport you must give it a try. I thought my husband was experiencing it for the first time with me but it turns out, Ma's caters to the chapel on base for church every Sunday, so he got to enjoy them once a week!
We dropped Will back off for the last time and headed back to the hotel to take a quick nap before graduation. My sister and I may or may not have bought our graduation dresses during week seven of OCS for Will, and spent days staring at them so excited to wear them! However, by the time we were getting ready for the ceremony I would have been content with wearing a burlap sack!
We pulled up to the field just as the class was lining up to march across to the field. They all looked so official in their dress whites and don't you know the second we walk up Little Will started with pointing and shouting "DA, DA, DA". He had no idea which man he was pointing to but surely his daddy was in there somewhere. I had underestimated what a special experience the whole ceremony would be. The band was set up in uniform and the front of the field had a platform where their class team sat, and they even had a special entrance for the Captain who was the guest of honor.
Then came our Ensigns, it was surreal to see them marching across the field in perfect unison to the music. Luckily Little Will thought the music was perfect for dancing in between his continued "DA" shouts every 2 minutes, just in case anyone forgot his Daddy was out there. He did great until he didn't…about 10 minutes before the ceremony ended we started a two year old tantrum. I quickly found the stroller and resorted to some snacks to keep him quiet in fear any of the nearby Drill Instructors might put me on my face for having the screaming child. Just as little man settled down I got to pay back attention to Will and all of his classmates take their oath to office. In a matter of second the season that was so tough and felt so long came to an end as they cheered and tossed their covers(hats) in the air. Thanks to sunglasses I fought back the tears quickly enough for no one to noticed, but left alone may have just found a corner and sobbed happy tears. This was by far the most emotional moment of the whole trip and no one around me knew it because I didn't want to be the weepy pregnant girl and knew pictures still had to be taken!
We waited a few minutes while the class to proper pictures and then were greeted by our favorite guy. It was the perfect moment for a salute! We were able to snap some pictures and pick up Wills last paperwork, then headed to downtown Newport to celebrate with lunch. It was just as I had pictured. We found a local, cute spot on the water and all gorged ourselves on lobster rolls and fruity cocktails(or virgin pina coladas in my case). It was nothing fussy but just a relaxing afternoon and a big sigh of relief with some of my favorite people. Little man was surprisingly well behaved and we got to walk around downtown for a little while checking out all of the cute shops Newport had to offer. I wish we didn't have the impending "lets hope Chelsea doesn't go into labor in Rhode Island" worry otherwise I would have loved to have spent a few more days checking out this precious town. I didn't mind one bit missing out knowing that we got to change into comfy clothes and head home with my best friend on board!
Oh yeah! I almost completely left y'all hanging on the next step for us. Just an hour before graduation started Will called me informing me he had finally received his orders. For the next 19 weeks he will be recruiting in Philly several days a week until he reports to Power School in December. This is such an answer to prayer since OHARP will allow him to be home and working a normal schedule as Baby #2 arrives. We will also be blessed with the help of my big crazy family as we will continue to stay with them for the next few months in South Jersey. Just another reminder that God is so good and His timing is PERFECT!
As I sit here writing this two and a half weeks later, I still sit in awe of the way God perfected the timing of everything that has happened to our family in these past few months. OCS was by far one of the toughest times Will and I have faced as a couple but by far the most rewarding. It has given us such an appreciation for the smallest moments spent together. The past two weeks have been filled with sleeping in and enjoying the beach, waterpark and all the unhealthy food New Jersey has to offer. I feel so undeserving of all of the blessing God has planted in my path and am so grateful for the lessons learned. I truly don't know what I am going to do when I have THREE boys making my heart full. Given that my due date is today, here is to hoping we become a family of four sooner rather than later!!
As always, I am blown away by the love and support of all of our friends and family. Thank y'all so much for praying for us, reaching out, and encouraging us at every step. God has surrounded us with some amazing folks!!
I have decided to break this post into two parts for the sake of keeping things short and sweet. I also don't want to skip out on any sweet details!
Last Tuesday was easily the most my heart has pounded in a very long time… I was almost 37 weeks pregnant packing the car to make the 5 hour trip to Newport with my Mom, Sister and favorite two year old. Every hour we got closer to Rhode Island the butterflies in my stomach grew and I was faced with the reality that the almost four months that kept Will and I apart were quickly coming to an end.
I remember the pit I had in my stomach driving over the Newport bridge last time in March wanting to burst into tears knowing I would be leaving alone. This time it was so beautiful with the water full of sailboats, and I couldn't believe Will would be not only coming back with us, but coming back an Officer! Lets just say the arrival to Newport was a much more joyous event in July and it wasn't because of the warmer weather(although it didn't hurt).
Will told me that day he would have graduation practice around the time we would be getting to Newport so he wouldn't be able to see us until after they were finished. I wanted to drive on base and see if we could see them on the field practicing from a distance. As we were trying to be incognito driving around base we were faced with three men in uniform crossing the street, and they were staring right at us. I panicked thinking we were somewhere we weren't supposed to be and tried to instantly turn the car around. My sister then shouts "Its Will!", and since they all looked the same with hats on I ignored her and continued trying to leave. Just as I am thinking we were going to be kicked off base, I realize one of those serious looking guys staring at us was in fact my husband! This was not the romantical reunion I had envisioned but all of a sudden I was face to face with my sailor; stunned would have been an understatement. We knew he was on his way to practice so he just had enough time to stick his head in the window and give Wilbur and I a kiss. I thought little man might be a little weary of this guy he hasn't seen in four months but low and behold he was cheesing from ear to ear and didn't quite know how to contain his excitement to see "DA"
After parting ways and checking into the hotel, we were able to go back on base and visit with Will for a little while. We went down to a little jetty just as the sun was setting, and it was absolutely picture perfect for a proper reunion. We watched planes fly by, said "DA" about 200 times, and little Will even got to open a present from Dad(I brought this as a buffer in case Wilbur was a little forgetful of Dad at first). Luckily the gift just added to little mans elation to be back together with his best buddy. It was just surreal to be standing and talking with Will after what felt like years apart. Since Will didn't get liberty that night we dropped him off right after it got dark and headed back to the hotel. Everyone was exhausted.
Wednesday was a whirlwind. We woke up to crazy thunderstorms and I snuck out to attend a class for Navy spouses, leaving the girls and little man to sleep in. The seminar was intended to inform us on anything from deployment to moving to proper etiquette for different Naval events. I could not recommend this class enough for any spouses able to go to something like this. I learned so much! This was followed up with some down time at the hotel before the "Hi Moms" Reception at the Officers Club.
We picked up Will and headed over for some hors d'oeuvres and a chance to celebrate Will and his classmates on their accomplishments. It was so special to see all of the class in their "Whites"; you could feel the pride beaming from all of the LO's. They gave different awards, recognized the class team, and went through different Navy traditions and toasts. It was a much more moving reception than I was expecting. I may or may not have had to fight off some tears attempting to ruin my makeup.
Just in case anyone was thinking everything went according to plan…..Will and all of his class were so nervous to be wearing their whites. They did not want to be the one that spilled anything on their crisp looking uniforms, and you could tell none of them were really kicking back and enjoying themselves completely because of it. While Will was able to dodge little Wills shoes, his flying drinks and snacks, don't you know as he goes to pick him up his belt buckle catches little mans knees and scratches him. Of course my husband ends up being the one with blood streaked across his perfect uniform just as the reception was getting started. I don't know which one of my boys I felt worse for. Luckily only a couple people noticed the stain as we were leaving and we were able to crop it out of pictures. Just another silly story for the books.
The night was wrapped up with dinner at the same restaurant Will and I went to when I dropped him off. I am happy to report that I did not have to choke back tears between bites this time, however I was pretty distracted by a certain man in uniform dining next to me. Everything seemed a little brighter and the lobster fritters definitely tasted better knowing tomorrow was the day we had long been waiting for. Stay tuned for Graduation part 2!!
