Preparing for a Deployment

Garry did get his early promotion to Major which was very exciting since the whole family got to be there.  We are extremely proud of him and all the hard work he does.  

We have been busy preparing for Garry's deployment since he got back from training.  Along with spending as much family time as we could during Garry's 3 weeks of block leave, we also had a long list of things we had to do before he left and the list seemed to keep getting longer.   The military does not make anything easy and being overseas it seems to be even more difficult.  

Sophia was first on our list.  We had to get her birth registered.  This entailed two lengthy forms that hopefully we filled out correctly to prove our citizenship and hers.  We had to give them our Passports, an original or certified copy of our marriage license, and yes, my divorce decree (certified copy) from a previous marriage that ended almost 10 years ago!  Once we get her birth certificate and passport which takes 6 weeks because it is done at the US Embassy here, I can apply for her social security number.  Please keep your fingers crossed that we did it right because if not it will be even more difficult to do once he is deployed.  Next, we had to go to IPAC to add Sophia as a dependent and have them enter her into DEERS so we could then enroll her into TRICare our insurance provider.  Oh yes and I have to get them her social security number as soon as possible.  HA!  

Next, we had to get new ID's because of Garry's promotion which was great because mine was going to expire while he was gone so that was on the list anyway.  Wills are something that is difficult to think about and even harder when someone is deploying into an extremely dangerous area, but we needed to do them so we did.  Then of course I needed a General Power of Attorney for Garry and a Power of Attorney for a local friend here to take care of the girls in case something happens to me while Garry is deployed.  

Garry and Sophia waiting patiently while I finish paperwork

Then we tackled base daycare.  I had to fill out two books and get them notarized at the legal office, one for each child, to enroll the girls into the Child Development Center (CDC)/daycare.  This paperwork included physicals signed off from their physicians, shot records, ANOTHER power of attorney along with other stuff I can't remember.  The lady who enrolled me even joked that soon they will be asking for our right arm along with a DNA sample for enrollment.  While Garry is deployed, I get 10 free hours per child free at the CDC, to bad it is impossible to make an appointment.  It fills up fast and you can only book 3 weeks in advance NOT anything past that time frame.  I tried:(   

We bought a new iMac for the house so Garry can take the MacBook.  I love the new computer!  An area rug was also another necessity so the girls can lay on the floor and play.  I even got the girls Christmas shopping done, but I'll address that on another blog so the Grandparents can have some ideas of what to get.  I will also video Garry reading books tomorrow to Ava so we can play those while he is gone.  A photo album is something else on my list but I'm going to wait till he leaves so I can get as many photos of him as I can before he leaves.  I found a website that will make it a hard book so Ava and Sophia won't destroy it as easily.  Ava and Sophia also have their own Daddy Dolls.  They are dolls with a full length picture of Garry in his uniform.  He will record a message for each doll so the girls will  each have their own message.  

Oh yes and how could I have forgotten!  Remember how I said Garry had 3 weeks of Block Leave.  Yep, didn't happen.  The day we had an appointment for our wills he got called into work.  We had a babysitter arranged from 9-3 and he gets called into work!  So basically, he only got about 1 and a half weeks worth of leave.  The whole thing is just ridiculous and I will leave it at that.  We were on a race to get as much done as we could and luckily we were able to get the important stuff completed and were even able to take a mini vacation.  We did the best we could and made the most of our time together.  I can't believe he leaves so soon.  Time has flown by and I hope it continues so he gets back faster;)