Jude's Birth Story

 Jude Blake Thompson

Born on May 13, 2021 at 8:16pm

8lbs 12oz - 21.5in long

Jude is here! My son is actually here! That’s so crazy to say. My son. My handsome little boy. 

I wanted to get induced at 39 weeks and I went into my appointment the Friday before and I got checked to see how dilated I was. With my girls I was dilated to a 1 by 36 weeks so I thought for sure I’d be at least a 2 by now. I was absolutely shocked when my midwife said I wasn’t even dilated. Shocked. What the heck? She couldn’t even strip my membranes since I wasn’t dilated.  They scheduled for me to come back in to see if I had progressed at all. If I didn’t dilate then I wouldn’t be able to get induced. I decided to try all the tactics to get myself to dilate. The main one was to “curb walk” where you walk with one foot on the road and one on the curb. It’s as fun as it sounds. We did a lot of curb walking. 

My parents decided to come on Sunday and I was so nervous that they weren’t going to let me get induced and then my parents came up for nothing! It was so fun hanging out with my parents and Trevor and the girls as we anticipated the impending arrival of Jude. They couldn’t get me scheduled for an appointment until Tuesday, unfortunately. I was frustrated because it kept getting pushed back. I thought I’d get induced Monday when I hit 39 weeks and now I couldn’t get in to get checked until Tuesday! 

I was so nervous for the appointment since it would determine if I could get induced the next day, but hallelujah I was dilated to a 2! I was so relieved! My midwife said someone would contact me to tell me when I could go in and when they finally did they said I couldn’t go in until Thursday. The 13th. Fantastic. I hate odd numbers. Just so happens all 3 of my kids were born on an odd number! 

The night before I became a little panicky. My dad and Trevor gave me a wonderful blessing that filled me with comfort. I’m so grateful for the priesthood in my life. Throughout this pregnancy, Evelyn had been so excited. However, the night before she became so distraught over us leaving. When we were putting her to bed she started bawling and saying, “I want you guys to come back”. It absolutely broke me and I started bawling too. She just kept crying and repeating that. I just held her and Emma until she finally went to sleep. I was a little sad thinking it wouldn’t just be us girls anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I was soooo excited to get Jude here, but there is always a little bit of mourning that happens when having a baby. You tend to mourn your old life because you know it’s going to change even if it’s just a small change. I was a little melancholy that night. 

They told me to come in at 6 in the morning, but to call at 5 to make sure there was enough room. That meant that I needed to wake up at 4:30 to get ready. Of course, I couldn’t sleep that night. I finally drifted off to sleep around 1 in the morning. 3.5 hours of sleep. Lovely. I woke up and hopped in the shower and started getting ready. I called at 5 to see if I could still come in at 6 and they said to just come in at 7. Seriously... Well, there was no use in trying to go back to bed, so I decided to curl my hair and do my makeup because why not. 

Said a quiet goodbye before we left! I was sad to leave them!

They told me to get something to eat beforehand so we went to Chick Fil A! I can’t even tell you how much money we’ve spent at Chick Fil A during this pregnancy. It would be embarrassing. We drove to Layton Hospital and it was the most beautiful morning. I’m grateful all of my kids were born in the spring and born on beautiful days. 

We arrived at the hospital and got checked in. My nurse was super nice and seemed to be about my age. I changed into my beautiful blue hospital gown and she hooked me up to the monitors and gave me an IV. I absolutely loathe IVs. She put it in my arm instead of my hand which is nice but it was pretty painful and uncomfortable still. I told her that I wanted an epidural but that I had some complications with it when I was in labor with Emma. When I got it my blood pressure plummeted quickly to 72/40 which is way too low and I literally felt like I was going to die. Dramatic I know. I told her I didn’t want that to happen again and she reassured me that she’d do everything she could so that it wouldn’t happen. Do you feel a sense of foreboding? 

Gowned up and ready to have this baby!

Mom & Dad

Finalizing his middle name!

Why does my belly look like I'm carrying twins in this picture!?

So swollen!

We hung out for a while and I was still only dilated to a 2. Before they even gave me the Pitocin for the induction, I was already contracting every few minutes and could feel them so it looked like I was actually already starting to go into labor. They gave me the Pitocin after a half hour or so of being there and the contractions definitely started getting painful pretty quick. My nurse came in and said that the anesthesiologist was going to be gone for an hour and a half and asked if I wanted to get the epidural now. I wouldn’t normally get the epidural so quickly but that made me a little nervous that he’d be gone so long and that my contractions were already so painful. I decided to get it now instead of later. 

The anesthesiologist came in and got everything set up. He was super nice. It all happened really fast and everything went smoothly and it was over before I knew it. He told me to let him know if I felt lightheaded or dizzy and left the room. I kid you not, he left the room and I instantly felt lightheaded. Oh no, this cannot be happening again. All of a sudden I couldn’t get a breath in and Trevor said I went really pale. I was gasping and I felt myself blacking out and I remember saying, “What is happening to me?” Trevor said that I was saying other things and my speech was super slurred. Another nurse was called in and she upped the drip on my IV and gave me some medicine to regulate my blood pressure because it had dropped again to 83/47. 

My nurse seemed a little panicked. She had this little packet and broke it and put it under my nose. Apparently, it was some kind of smelling salts and I think it was to keep me from passing out but it kind of made it harder for me to breathe. They put on an oxygen mask and a cool towel on my forehead while Trevor fanned me and the blood pressure medicine was starting to kick in so I was finally able to breathe and not feel like I was blacking out. It was an intense few minutes and it left me completely exhausted. It was so much worse this time than it was when I was in labor with Emma. Trevor was super stressed out from watching all that and feeling helpless. 

They had stopped my epidural during all that so the anesthesiologist came in and restarted my epidural but lowered my epidural dose and told me it was because I’m considered a “lightweight” and couldn’t handle the normal dose and that I didn’t have enough fluid in me yet. After he left, I started feeling well enough to take the oxygen and towel off. After about 10 minutes the room started spinning. I started feeling lightheaded again and Trevor said I went completely pale again, too. Oh no! It’s happening again! I started feeling like I was blacking out and couldn’t breathe and again, my nurse put the smelling salts under my nose. I got back on the oxygen and had more blood pressure medicine since it had dropped to the 80s again. I had to have the mask and towel back on for a while while they pumped even more fluids in me. They stopped the epidural again until I had 2 liters of fluids in me. Once they restarted the epidural again I, thankfully, didn’t have any more episodes. But, thanks to those episodes, I had to keep the blood pressure cuff on for the rest of the day. 

After resting for a long time I finally felt well enough to take the oxygen and towel off again. I basically just slept off and on in between checks from the nurse, my midwife, and the anesthesiologist. I was completely exhausted already. How was I going to push a baby out?

We had told my nurse how easy the labor and delivery were when I got induced with Evelyn and she must have communicated that with my midwife because she later came in to tell us we should expect to be there until late in the night/ early morning. To be honest she was a little condescending. We honestly didn’t have any expectations or hopes about how long it would take. My midwife was a little annoyed that I got the epidural so early which kind of annoyed me that she was annoyed! I didn’t expect to get it so early either, but that’s just how it worked out. My nurse was called to the postpartum unit so I had a new nurse.

Thankfully, the epidural was working and I could still feel Jude moving which was such a comfort to me. I expected to not be able to feel him when I got the epidural and that made me a little sad. I also could move my legs this time, too. We basically just hung out for most of the day. My mom came and visited us for a little bit. I was so grateful that she and my dad were there to watch my girls. Trevor went for a run while my mom was there. 

The nurses and my midwife kept checking me and Jude wasn’t dropping very fast and I also progressed pretty slow. Around 6ish the nurses switched shifts and I had a new nurse. Around 7 my midwife came to check me again and said I was at a 7! She left and I think she expected to come back much later. About 10 minutes after she left I started feeling horrible pain in one spot and it felt like my epidural wasn’t working in that one spot. It was the worst pain I’ve experienced. I started bawling my eyes out because the pain was so intense with every contraction. My nurse was surprised at my pain so she decided to check me. I was so shocked when she said I was complete and at a 10! 

My anesthesiologist came in and put fentanyl in my epidural and upped my epidural dose but it honestly was too late because it was time to push! Everyone quickly came in with their supplies and gear and got in positions. The nurses held my legs and had me start pushing immediately. I pushed for about 25 minutes and it was so exhausting. His head started coming out and my midwife said to do one more push to get him out. It didn’t work. I felt Trevor’s nervous energy and he said, “Lacy you HAVE to push him out now.” I knew something was immediately wrong by his tone of voice. Trevor was panicking and he never panics. 

They put me flat on my back and had me start pushing in that position. My midwife was trying to pull him out while I continued to push not on a contraction. After a minute of him being stuck, they finally pulled him out. His face was dark purple and blue and his body was completely white. He was lifeless and not crying. They placed him on my chest and I was frozen. I didn’t know what to do. I hear Trevor say, “Is he okay? Is he okay??” No one is saying anything and the nurses are sucking stuff out of his mouth and fiercely rubbing his body. They delayed cutting his cord in the hope it would help him and after about a minute they told us they were going to take him across the room to work on him. After they took him, I heard the most beautiful sound in the world, his cry. 

I cannot even describe the relief I felt hearing him cry. The color was returning to his body and the color of his face became pink. They brought him to me and laid him on my chest. The whole time he just grunted with every breath and the nurse told us that since he is grunting so much it tells them that he can’t breathe well. So they took him back to the little care station across the room and did something called the CPAP. Trevor said they put a tube down his nose that sucked liquid out of his belly or lungs. I’m not sure. They also had a mask on him to create pressure to get the liquid out. They told us they’d have to do 3 rounds of this for 30 minutes each and if he didn’t pass then he’d have to go to the NICU. Thankfully, after the first round, he passed and they put him back on my chest. 

We were able to do skin to skin and we got to enjoy really seeing our baby for the first time. It was such a joy to hold my son. I couldn’t believe my Jude was finally here and that he was okay. I was so full of gratitude and relief. 

First time holding my son! I was so happy I promise! Just a little traumatized!

What happened was something called "shoulder dystocia". His head came out and then he turned and his shoulder got stuck. Apparently, it's considered a medical emergency and can be life-threatening. I read that it happens in 1% of births so it's pretty rare and super scary. My midwife told me that since it happened, it will most likely happen again if I have another one and I'm most likely to hemorrhage. So most likely (unless Heavenly Father has another plan for us!) Jude is our last.

They gave me a box of food to eat and side note: it was the best turkey sandwich I’ve ever had! Ha! I was ravenous. They transferred me to the other bed and wheeled us all upstairs. After all the intense chaos that was going on it was so nice to be in our quiet room and feel peace. We just snuggled Jude and said many prayers of thanks that he was okay and safe and healthy in our arms. I couldn’t stop saying, “Oh I love him!” I tried feeding him and he did so well! Although he was super sleepy! After that traumatic evening, I don’t blame him for falling asleep! 

Mother & Son

Look at the chin! He was a chunk from birth!

Swollen and bruised. Poor guy!

After a while of snuggling him, feeding him, and getting checked by a bunch of nurses we decided to get some sleep. We had the nurse take him to the nursery which is always the hardest thing to do but very much needed. They brought him in every few hours to eat. It was nice to get some sleep after such a rough day and I let Trevor sleep as much as he could so that I could rest more in the day while he watched Jude. 

We hung out and facetimed everyone and my mom came and met Jude later! They would only allow one visitor and no kids were allowed. So sad.  Later that evening I took a shower which is always so nice after having a baby! I got nice and clean and when I came out my first nurse from when I was in labor came back to say hi! She told me she’d try to when she left and I figured she was just saying that so I was so happy to see her! Then later they gave Jude his first bath while we waited to see if we could be discharged that night. Luckily they allowed it! We left the hospital at 9 at night which seemed super weird, but we just wanted to get home to the girls! 

Meeting Grandma!

First bath!

We very carefully drove home. The first drive with a newborn is so nerve-wracking! We got home and my parents had the girls wait in the living room while we brought Jude in. They were so excited! It was so good to see the girls again! They absolutely beamed while holding and looking at him. It was so sweet. They had decorated the house with balloons and “It’s a boy!” signs everywhere and my dad had bought me flowers! They’re all so sweet. 

I’m guessing because of the traumatic birth he has something called “small airways disease” which our doctor told us could affect him short term or basically all of his life. Well, which is it? I guess we’ll see. It doesn’t seem to be affecting him too much, luckily. Just some intense retracting when he breathes. Other than that he is a strong, big, healthy boy! 

I'm so grateful Jude is here and well! He really is the sweetest little guy. He has brought so much joy into our lives already. I’m so excited to see what he becomes and I’m so happy he’s a part of our family! I’m so grateful for my parents and all their help! I seriously couldn’t have done it without them. I’m so grateful for a loving husband who was/is with me through everything. I feel so lucky to have him by my side. And I’m so grateful to Heavenly Father for his hand in all of this, and for blessing us with such a sweet boy. I’m so grateful for him watching over us and that everything ended up okay. My heart is so full and my cup runneth over!

Air Force Basic Military Training Graduation

This past week I went to San Antonio for Trevor’s graduation! It was seriously the best experience. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to go. I really don’t want to forget anything about this amazing week/weekend so I’m going to try to be very detailed. Also I’m a very proud wife and I can’t help it, so this may come off a little bragging! So if you don’t like bragging, cheesiness, and long, over-detailed posts then turn away right now! And as for the videos and pictures, we were pretty far away from most of it and my editing and videography skills are seriously lacking so they're not the best!

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday morning after we got everything ready, my dad and I said goodbye to my mom, Emma, and Evelyn. I cried. The only time I’ve been away from Emma overnight was when I had Evelyn and I had obviously never been away from Evelyn overnight. So I was freaked out to say the least, but I made a pact with myself that I would enjoy this trip and not be a nervous wreck worrying about them. After an emotional goodbye we hit the road to Las Vegas.

We got to the gate and waited. I went to the bathroom right before we were going to board and I get a phone call from Trevor. Now I thought if I get a phone call from Trevor any time before graduation then that is a bad sign and means he is getting recycled. So when I see that he is calling me my stomach dropped. I mean I’m literally about to board the plane! But he says, “I have 2 minutes to tell you that 1. I made Honor Grad and 2. I got Top PT Male and this is where I’m going to be.” What a relief and so cool!

When I fly I’m always excited and nervous. We had some turbulence that freaked me out but the flight went by super quick. My dad and I were sitting across from each other in the back and he had been talking to some lady the whole time and I was watching some videos on my phone. I then heard my dad talking louder and then I feel a hand shake my shoulder and I look up to see my best friend’s older brother Matt! It was so strange to run into someone on the plane! He lives in San Antonio so he was flying back home with his family. It was so crazy.

While I was waiting for my bag at the baggage claim I saw a bunch of bags that said Air Force on them and it made me so excited! We got our car and checked into our hotel.

It took forever to get to sleep. I had to wake up at 4 in the morning (Texas time which is 3 our time!) so I wanted to get to sleep early. I was waaaay too excited to see Trevor and waaaay to nervous about my girls to sleep. So I only got in a few hours.

THURSDAY

It seemed like I blinked and it was 4. It took me a second to wake up but once I was up the excitement hit. I’m going to see my husband today! I was so frustrated because my hair was NOT cooperating. The ONE day I want to look good my hair looked terrible. I blame the Texas humidity. 

We then made our way to Lackland Air Force Base! I was freaking out because I was so excited! Throughout the past 2 months I watched soooo many videos and vlogs about BMT and especially graduation. So it was so exciting to see in real life what I had been seeing on the screen.

We hit the gate entrance around 6am and since I have a military ID we got in pretty fast. That thing sure came in handy! We immediately headed to the Pfingston Reception Center (PRC) and got in line. At 6:15 they opened the doors and we waited for the orientation to start. It didn’t start until 7 so they showed a video of the graduating class while we waited. I saw Trevor a couple of times from when he had first got there. It was so sweet to see his face. During the orientation they made the spouses stand up. So embarrassing. 

After the loooong orientation it was time to go outside for the Airmen’s Run! This would be the moment I get to see Trevor for the first time in 8 weeks! Outside in this arena type place they had coned off a little runway for the Airmen to run through. We all lined up on the sides and there was a Sgt speaking on the loud speaker and she had us yelling and cheering while we waited for them. Then she announces that she can see them! Their dorms were in the distance and we saw a huge group running from it and in the front were some people carrying flags. Then the Sgt announces the people running in the front and she says “Holding the US flag and Air Force flag are this weeks Top PT athletes; Airman Basic, Trevor B Thompson..” (You can hear it in the video). It was such a cool moment hearing his name announced over the loud speaker.

They ran in cadence and different squadrons had different cadence songs. They all looked so sharp! When Trevor ran passed my dad and I screamed (I sounded like a fool as you can hear in the video. I just can't yell..) and Trevor totally glanced sideways at us but when we talked to him he didn’t even hear or see us! But in the picture he is definitely looking at us. They ran back towards the dorms and turned around and ran back again. Before they turned around Trevor handed off the flag to the guy who got 2^nd PT Male. Which happens to be a guy that Trevor raced against in high school! How crazy is that!? He’s from Cedar City! After that they ran back to the dorms. We weren’t able to talk to them or anything. I was disappointed because in the videos they had a small presentation for the Top PT Male and Female but I guess they did that before just in front of the other trainees.

My dad and I got something to eat and then went back to the PRC because I had a spouses orientation to go to. When we were done they led us all out to the same arena as before for the Coin Ceremony and everyone was already seated in the bleachers so my dad and I had to sit super high up which was lame.

They had this revelry music playing for a long time while we waited. I saw some trainees lined up on the side of the bleachers and I knew that was the Honor Grad’s because of all the videos I had watched. Then the band started playing the drums and the Honor Grad’s marched out in one long line. There is something so fascinating about watching them march. Honor Grad’s consist of the top 10% of the graduating Airmen so there were only about 30 this time. The announcer said, “The Honor Graduate program permits up to 10% of each graduating class to be recognized as Honor Graduates. This is both highly competitive and extremely difficult to achieve. To earn the title of Honor Graduate each Airman must excel in every aspect of Basic Military Training to include: An exceptional performance in dormitory inspections, military studies, drill, physical training, and above all - be recommended by their Military Training Instructor and Squadron Commander.” I was so proud to hear Trevor’s name get called again. They had a little presentation for the Top Honor Grad and I guess Trevor was pretty close to getting that. Then they marched out again and joined their flights.

Then the band marched out to the front and in the distance by the dorms we could see the flights marching towards us lead by their MTI’s. I just can’t ever get over how cool it is to see them all marching together and in sync. They all got to the front and the MTI’s say “cover” and they all took tiny steps to line up closer. It’s so weird and hilarious to watch.

They started off with a prayer and after some speakers they started the actual Coin Ceremony and the MTI’s handed out their Airman’s coin. (For every achievement the Air Force hands out coins so Trevor got 2 that weekend. One for Honor Grad and the Airman’s coin. He also got a medal for getting Top PT Male) Then they said the “Airmen’s Creed” which gets me emotional every time especially at the end when they yell “And we will not fail!” and then sung the Air Force song. Then they announced that we were able to go “tap out” our Airmen! The Airmen couldn't move until someone tapped them out so if their family didn't come then they had to wait until someone else tapped them out.

I was so nervous! We were on the top so I waited a little bit to go down because I wanted it to be less crowded when I saw him. Plus I had to quickly fix my makeup and make sure I looked okay! Hah! I only waited like an extra 30 seconds so it wasn’t like it was a long time. Walking down there I was so nervous! I rounded the corner of people and I saw him and we finally locked eyes! He wasn’t allowed to move until I came to him and when he saw me he started smiling but was trying not to at the same time because he’s not supposed to break form haha. It was so cute! When I saw him I couldn’t help but run to him. Having him put his arms around me and squeeze me so tight was the best feeling in the world. I can’t even describe how amazing it was to be holding him again. We just hugged and laughed and said “How did we do this!?” Trevor really teared up which made me tear up! He doesn’t cry often so it was so heart warming to see him cry over seeing me.

After lots of hugs, kisses, and tears we went around and Trevor introduced us to some of his buddies. He introduced us to the Dorm Chief and his dad is a Colonel in the Air Force so Trevor was excited to meet him. The Dorm Chief joked that Trevor really was the Dorm Chief because Trevor had helped him so much!

Thursday was only a "Base Liberty" so we had to stay on base for the whole day. We went straight to the Base Exchange (BX) and ate. It was so nice to be with Trevor! We were instructed not to hold hands or show any PDA but Trevor’s MTI told him a little bit is not too bad, but I was so paranoid about Trevor getting in trouble! He obviously didn’t care and held my hand and hugged me a ton. After we ate we went bowling and Trevor’s parent’s arrived while we were there. We went to the mini mall after awhile at the bowling alley. Lackland is such a big base! It seriously is like a small town. The mini mall was pretty much the same size as the mall here at home. Everything was a lot cheaper too which was cool. We looked around and ate again and just hung out and listened to Trevor’s stories.

Trevor told us that everyone always asked him questions during BMT and we laughed thinking it was a joke but seriously throughout the day we kept hearing “Thompson” and people would be asking Trevor questions. It was pretty hilarious. Also everyone called Trevor "The Machine" or "Cyborg" because he was such a good runner! One mom said her son refers to him as a "PT God". haha! 

Trevor had to be back to his dorm at 8 (No, he wasn’t allowed to stay with us overnight..) so we drove to the dorms and took pictures. He looks so dang good in his ABU’s. I’m in love. Haha! It was lame saying goodbye to him. The day went by too fast!

We then drove Trevor’s parents to their hotel. It was ridiculous trying to get there. The streets of San Antonio are so incredibly confusing! Once back at our hotel my dad got a phone call from my mom saying that my grandpa was going to pass away any moment. My dad really needed to be with my mom so we made the decision to have him fly back home. We booked the flight for the next night. I was a little nervous to be by myself but I was fine. I fell asleep pretty fast since I had woken up at 4!

FRIDAY

Friday means graduation day! My dad and I picked up Trevor’s parents and went on base to the parade grounds. We weren’t late but we didn’t get there early so our seats were terrible. The trainees were dressed in their “dress blues” and were all lined up in formation when we got there. Trevor was in the “flag flight” so he had to carry a flag which he wasn’t too thrilled about because apparently its super uncomfortable.

They started out with a prayer again, recognized some higher ups, and played the national anthem. Then the trainees marched down the “Bomb Run” for the “Pass in Review” which goes passed the bleachers. Luckily Trevor was on the end so we could see him clearly when he walked by the bleachers. He looked so sharp! They played the Air Force song while they marched back into formation. Then they marched forward and someone spoke. Then they recited the “Oath of Enlistment” and were welcomed to “The World’s Best Air Force”. They are officially Airmen! Then they recited the “Airmen’s Creed”. The ending gets me every time! Then they announced that we could tap out our new Airmen! Since Trevor was in the flag flight we had to meet them over by the flag shed.

This sounds so dumb but when I saw Trevor up close in his “dress blues” I was a little star struck! He was so handsome! He was helping someone pin on their ribbons onto their jacket – always helping someone.

We took some pictures and drove over to his dorm. The families were able to go see where they had been living for the past 8 weeks. Trevor told us he made his bed extra good that day haha! I was super impressed how good it was made and how pristine his locker was. Apparently he was one of the best ones when it came to locker checks which shocked me because he is not normally a clean person! Hopefully that sticks!

Trevor showed us his Top PT plaque, Honor Graduate award paper, Top PT paper, and performance summary. On the Honor Grad paper it says, “Honor Graduate Ribbon awarded to Airman Basic Trevor B. Thompson in recognition of outstanding performance in Basic Military Training. This award is given to those Airmen who have consistently achieved excellence in Dorm and Drill Performance, Physical Training, and War Skills & Military Studies.”

On the performance summary it has a section and it says,“1. Military Bearing and Discipline – Exceptional recruit. Impeccable grooming and uniform wear. Superb attention to details. Role model, inspires others. 2. Motivation and Attitude – Outstanding self-started with a positive attitude. Sacrificed own comfort to ensure team’s success. Consistently showed leadership ability.” The next section is labeled “Instructor Comments” and it says, “Airman was hand-selected for the position of BEAST Monitor and led 48 trainees during various tactical deployment exercises. He was chosen for this position because of proactive leadership and can do attitude. Most notably, he distinguished himself by earning the highest PT score out of 337 graduating Airmen and was recognized as the “Top PT Male in BMT” for his week group. He encouraged the flight to come together and to earn the highest average EOC score of 8 graduating flights, effectively earning “Academic Excellence” accolades. He has become a model Airman and will be a productive and valuable asset to the Air Force. This Airman has proven capacity to handle the most difficult challenges and succeed beyond expectations. My recommendation… Technical Training Student Leader. Finally, trainee was recognized as an Honor Graduate and graduated within the top 10% of 337 Airmen.” Wow.

Then as we were walking out we passed Trevor’s two MTI’s and I think Trevor was unsure if he should introduce us and one of his MTI’s, TSgt Williams, got “offended” that he didn’t introduce us to him and MSgt Maghamez! So Trevor brought us back and I was super nervous haha! These were the two men who had been yelling at my husband for 8 weeks! But they just went off about Trevor which surprised him because he said they never compliment anyone. They both said that he is one of the best trainees they have trained academically and physically. They commended him on his willingness to learn and how he came in as a leader. MSgt Maghamez told us that because of Trevor they are implementing a new program for trainees that come in with exceptional PT scores, academics, and leadership skills to be recommended for the more important jobs like Pararescue, etc . I thought that was such a compliment. He just continues to impress me!

While we were walking around a huge plane flew right over us! It’s so fascinating watching all the different planes flying around. I really enjoyed being there and I could honestly see myself living on base. I just felt good and safe.

That day was a “Town Pass” so Trevor was able to leave base. That was only the second time since he had been there. On Thanksgiving people can “adopt” a trainee and so he was able to go to someone’s house to eat. We went to Whataburger because it’s Trevor’s favorite. We had one in Arkansas and we missed it so much! My dad had to catch his flight so he dropped Trevor and I off at my hotel and he took Trevor’s parents to get their rental car. It was so nice to be with Trevor and hang out just the two of us. We were there for a few hours but it seemed to fly by. I missed just being with him.

Trevor’s parents picked us up and we went to Mamacita’s for dinner. Dang Texas sure knows how to do Mexican food. It was so good. The restaurant was so cool too, I wish I would have taken a picture. Then they dropped me off at my hotel. Trevor, always the gentleman, walked me to my room. It felt like we were dating again while he was dropping me off! I was fine sleeping alone in the hotel room, but I may or may not of put the chair in front of the door!

SATURDAY
In the morning Trevor and his parents came and picked me up. We went over to the mall next to my hotel and shopped around. The first store we went in was the Disney store because Trevor wanted to get Emma something. Aww so sweet. While we were in there I got a phone call from my mom telling me that my Grandpa Louie had passed away only 20 minutes before. It was heartbreaking to hear. At the same time I was happy for him knowing that he would be back with his parents and brother and no longer in pain. I loved him so much. Although It was expected it was still extremely hard, but I felt at peace for him at the same time. I was so grateful that I happened to be with Trevor in that moment. He was so good at taking care of me. I still tried to enjoy my time with Trevor because knowing my Grandpa he wouldn’t have wanted me moping around.

After shopping for a bit we went to the movie theater and watched “Thor: Ragnarok”. It was so good and so funny. Definitely made me feel a little better. It was a super fancy movie theater! It was so nice to sit and cuddle with Trevor while we enjoyed the movie.

Then we headed to the San Antonio River Walk. Wow that place is so amazing! We walked around for a while and decided to eat at another Tex-Mex place. Ughhhh so good. Trevor kept holding my hand and hugging and kissing me! I was so paranoid he was going to get in trouble! Come to find out that another Airmen got in trouble by an MTI that was at the River Walk that day for holding his girlfriend’s hand! Haha we lucked out!

So if we bought tickets to this hockey game then Trevor was able to stay out past curfew so we went and watched The Rampage play. It was actually really fun! I think we all enjoyed ourselves! Trevor was being so silly and I loved seeing him be his normal self! He makes life so fun. It ended around 10 and so they dropped me back off at my hotel with Trevor walking me to my room again. So sweet.

SUNDAY

Last day. I was so sad waking up. Trevor and I planned on going to church and since I was staying pretty far away I just got an Uber so that Trevor’s parent’s didn’t have to come get me since they weren’t going to church with us. It was my first Uber! The day was so foggy and rainy. Pretty indicative of how I was feeling. Since I was checking out that day I had to lug my big suitcase around. When she dropped me off I just sat there on my suitcase waiting for Trevor because I was too embarrassed to wheel it around. All the Airmen look the same so it was hard to find Trevor but thankfully he came walking up to me shortly after. It’s a good thing Trevor is never embarrassed so he wheeled around my suitcase for me. Again, such a gentleman.

We went to the BX and had breakfast and bought a few things. Then we made our way around the base trying to find the church. Trevor's MTI (He happened to be LDS too!) invited us to go to his ward so we didn't go to the building Trevor usually went to so we had trouble finding it. We seriously walked miles trying to find it (with the heavy suitcase and all) and finally gave up because it was about to start and we still had no idea where it was. We came upon some kind of clubhouse and just hung out there and talked until Trevor’s parents came and got us. We had a good chat. Our talk just reaffirmed my love for him even more. He’s so good to me.

Once Trevor’s parents came we headed back to the BX so that his parents could pick up some things. Then we headed to SeaWorld! We got there right when it opened and hardly anyone was there! It was so fun to see the dolphins, penguins, and killer whale shows. The most fun part for me was the roller coasters! Although I’m not a huge roller coaster fan. Waiting for it is what kills me so since hardly anyone was there we had barely any wait. Every roller coaster we went on we went on twice in a row so I really enjoyed myself. I just enjoyed being with Trevor, to be honest. Then the time started ticking away and my stomach started to hurt thinking that I would have to say goodbye soon.

We went back to the base and ate. I was in a very somber mood. I just couldn’t say goodbye again. We headed to the designated drop off spot and I just held onto Trevor the whole time. I just could not do it again. I’m such an ugly crier and I felt it coming on quick. Trevor cries at happy things (like our wedding, sealing, when we saw him at the coin ceremony, etc) and I cry at both haha but mostly sad things. So I was a mess. I couldn’t let go of him again! I miss his heart being next to mine. I miss holding his hand and hearing his voice. It sucked closing that door and watching him walk away while we drove away to the airport.

During the trip Trevor kept singing “I’ll be home for Christmas” because he won’t be able to come home for Christmas and when we arrived at the Las Vegas Airport that song was playing and my heart hurt so bad. I was like, really!? It was so good to see my girls but I felt like my heart was being pulled in two directions. I just can’t wait until we are all together again.

I had such an amazing trip and I’m so grateful that I was able to go. I’m so grateful for my mom, my niece Taylor, and my friend Dawnett for watching the girls and for my dad for coming with me part of the time! And also my in-laws for being there with us! Couldn’t have done that without any them.

I’m just so incredibly proud of Trevor and I’m so grateful that he works so hard for our family. I love that he is so ambitious and that that he is never content with being at the bottom of the totem pole. That he wants to keep bettering himself and keep growing. I’m so proud of all of his accomplishments but I’m honestly not surprised by any of it. I had faith in him completely. His two goals were to get Honor Grad and Top PT and he achieved them and more. I’m so happy for him and I’m so excited to see where he takes us and how much he will grow. I sure love my Airman!