Our family's military involvement has changed our lives forever. My wife and I met in the US Army while stationed at the same base in Germany. We quickly fell in love right in time for me to be re-assigned to a unit at Ft. Lewis, WA where I would deploy to Iraq immediately. I was sent to one of the most volatile areas of Iraq, where my unit and I were continuously faced with all types of insurgent attacks. Meanwhile, Teresa was also re-assigned to Ft. Lewis, WA as well to the unit that would be replacing mine upon completing our time over seas. When I was told that I would have the opportunity to take leave to return back to the United States, I knew that I would also have a chance to ask Teresa to marry me. Although she agreed to be mine forever, the laws of Washington state would require more time than what we had before I had to leave on the plane back to the sandbox. After some negotiation... I had convinced Teresa that our only option was to fly to Las Vegas, NV where I heard that marriage was instantly possible. Within less than 36 hours, we had flown to Las Vegas, got married and were back in Washington just in time to catch my flight back to Iraq. Flash forward six months... Teresa's unit is replacing mine and we share a few awkward days together while violence ensues around us. As everyone else in my unit couldn't describe their happiness in leaving that terrible situation, it was also indescribable for me to convey the feeling of leaving my newly wed wife there for a time not specified. I got back to Ft. Lewis, WA and decided to transition out of active duty military. After a few months of Teresa being in Iraq, she was involved in a vehicle rollover that left her with a dislocated arm and banged up body. She returned back to Ft. Lewis to re-cooperate for about two months and then was sent back to finish up her tour in Iraq. When Teresa's unit returned back to Washington after completing their tour, it didn't take long for there to be a little baby on the way. ;-) We decided to move back to my home state of Georgia where my family all resides so that our little baby boy could be surrounded by love and affection. Since then, transitioning from military to civilian life has entailed it's own challenges. We have been affected by the difficulty of finding employment, chronic pain due to service-connected disabilities, and the pre-mature birth of our baby girl. Yet still after the challenges that we have had to endure, we are proud to have served our nation and are grateful for where we are in our lives. The chance to find peace of mind within our busy lives doesn’t come often and the opportunity to get-a-way for a few moments to unwind would be greatly appreciated.