However, Zach and I arranged for him to come back to Illinois over a 4-day weekend in October. It was dangerous, militarily speaking, because they (The Army) had no idea he left the area. I picked him up at the airport in Peoria and we drove back to Illinois. Only my sister knew he was coming. We showed up at MidAmerica National Bank to surprise his mom. She was so shocked to see him standing there! Then we walked down the street to where my mom was and surprised her too. No one could believe that I'd kept such a big secret.
We enjoyed the weekend together, knowing it would be our last for a very long time. Zach returned to Arizona that Monday and I went back to life as usual.
He deployed on December 13, 2007. He called me on Christmas morning to inform me that he'd finally made it to Iraq safely. He was exhausted after traveling and spending time in Germany and Kuwait. I was so excited to hear his voice and to know that he had finally reached his destination.
We were able to communicate fairly regularly by email and phone during his entire deployment. For that, I am thankful. I don't know what life would've been like had I not been able to talk to my love on a regular basis.
The deployment months dragged on. I was in school, so that kept me busy. Zach switched between day and night shifts and, because of the time difference, we were often on opposite schedules. However, we always made time for one another because we knew that it was important for our relationship.
Finally, in June of 2008, Zach had reached the midpoint of his deployment and was granted leave to come home. He arrived back in the States on June 3rd and I was BEYOND excited to be in his arms again. We enjoyed yet another Sodbuster Days and actually won the backseat driver contest!
We also arranged with our photographer to have our engagement session while Zach was home. We spent the day at the studio and Glenwood park taking pictures and enjoying our time together. Our pictures turned out great!
Well, with being engaged goes planning a wedding. Zach and I worked together while he was home to work on some of the big decisions. We chose a photographer, a church, and our reception location. It was so great to be able to make those decisions together as I knew that I would be making many smaller, detailed decisions without him.
June went by all too fast, as did all of our time together in the past. Zach went back to Iraq and I started gearing up for my freshman year of college.
My mom and I started getting into the wedding planning as July 2009 grew closer. She was a great help in the planning and I don't think I would have stayed sane without her. Sure, she got irritated with me at times, but I know she loves me.
In August, my mom, best friend (and bridesmaid) Allison, her sister, Ashley (also a summer 2009 bride) and I headed to Springfield for a day of dress shopping! Amazingly, Ashley and I both found dresses that we fell in love with and this whole "wedding thing" was really starting to become a reality. Shortly after that, I took all 5 of my bridesmaids to Springfield and we picked out dresses for them. I was so happy to have some of the major decisions out of the way.
During all of this planning, Zach was still in Iraq. He worked at the Help Desk at Camp Taji, about 10 miles north of Baghdad. While he was deployed, he was promoted from PFC (Private First Class) to SPC (Specialist) Lotz. I was thrilled to hear of his promotion and oh-so proud of my soldier.
Also in Iraq, Zach competed in the Soldier of the Quarter competition. It consisted of a physical fitness test, a written test, and he also had to answer questions in front of a board of "higher-ups". He competed at the Battalion level and won! Then he traveled to compete at the Brigade level. Unfortunately, the night before the competition, Zach got out of bed and threw his back out of place. Because of his "injury" he was unable to compete and had to let the 2nd place soldier take his place. It was a devastating blow for him.
After he had recovered, Zach got the opportunity to compete again. Again, he participated at the Battalion level and won! I was so proud of all of his accomplishments because he'd worked and studied so hard for them.
Finally, February 2009 rolled around. Zach would be getting back to Arizona at the very beginning of March, so I made arrangements to fly down and be there for his homecoming.
On March 3, 2009, I was reunited with my soldier for good. Well, not technically for good. I stayed in Arizona for a few days, but soon had to return home to finish out the school year. Zach came to Illinois just a couple weeks after I left Arizona. He visited over Spring Break, so we had plenty of free time together. Soon though, he headed back to Fort Huachuca and we planned on not seeing each other again until just a few days before the wedding. However, that didn't quite happen.
I couldn't take it anymore! I was tired of being away from him. I made two trips to Arizona in the next two months. I visited after school was out at the end of May and then again at the end of June. In June, I purchased a one-way ticket and then drove back to Illinois with Zach and his buddies. We were all coming back to prepare for the wedding.
Speaking of the wedding, the day was quickly approaching. We arrived in Illinois around June 20th and had a few last-minute things to take care of before The Big Day. It was great to have Zach around to complete the finishing touches and make our wedding day the best day of our lives.
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