Jim and I.
22 years ago my husband decided to enlist in the United States Air Force. But luckily at his very first military assignment to Minot, North Dakota, he met me and swept me off of my feet and we fell madly in love. Well over the last 20 years that we have been married the Air Force has been really good to us by sending us to Germany, Panama, The Netherlands, Florida, Illionis, and Nebraska. But unfortunately every chapter must come to an end and as of today, this chapter of our lives is done. My husband is offically retired from the United State Air Force after 22 years of service, on March 1st, 2012. Most people when they retire from the military do a retirement ceremony. We did one for Jim in November right before left to move here to Poland to start our next chapter of our lives. So for all of those friends and family that are reading this, “THANK YOU,” for making the 22 years of Jim’s career a GREAT one! And to my husband when he reads this, “I am so proud of you for the last 22 years of service that you did in the Air Force and I love you!”
Here are few of the pictures of the day out of the 250 that were taken.
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- Jim and I.
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- Us and our friend Steve.
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- Family picture time!
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- Guess who finally woke up?
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- Our dear neighbor, Uma Atie who we thought more of as our grandma getting her “Thank You” gift.
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- Jim giving me a necklace as my “Thank You.”
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- Our oldest daughter, Lydia, getting a necklace from Jim to say “thanks” for having to go through all that she has.
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- Jim giving his speech.
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- Our friends Mike and Kandice, oh the stories they could tell you about us!
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- It is hard to believe the dear friends we made over the 6 years we lived there!
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- Jim giving his speech. I love man in uniform!!
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- Jim being presented his retirement flag by his Canadian military friend. I love working in an international community.
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- The kids gift to Jim.
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- The hardest part of the ceremony, me pinning Jim with his retirement pin. Yes there were tears.
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- I got what is the Spouse Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of the Air Force.
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- One of the many certificates he got throughout the ceremony.
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- Jim and our great friend Steve who was the retiring officer of the ceremony.
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- Our littlest slept through most of the entire ceremony.
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- I still have his basic training ID card so we had to have some fun with it on the cake.
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- Cake anyone? Yes, I know it is bulging on the side. I add just a bit to much lemon curd in it.
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- The shadowbox we had custom made for Jim.
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- 2 of Jim’s cohorts in crime during marching season!
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- Jim giving his supervisors an inside joke.
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- I LOVE that smile. I melt every time!!!!
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- The receiving line.
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- Jim’s way of saying “thanks” to Steve for helping with the ceremony.
So what is one of the proudest moments you have of your spouse or loved one?
Never a Dull Day in Poland 
What a great accomplishment! What a great way to support & praise your husband. I am so proud of you (LOL).
Now on to the next chapter of you all lives-Poland.
Pamela
Still Dating My Spouse
http://www.stilldatingmyspouse.com
When you marry the right one it is easy to support and praise them!!!
So so true!
Thanks for this great post!
Pamela
Still Dating My Spouse
http://www.stilldatingmyspouse.com
Well done Kelly and Jim congrats on your official retirement.
Thanks Wayne!!!
What a milestone in both of your lives! I’m sure it’ll take some adjustments on both of your parts but you’ll enjoy this next phase of your life & marriage. Congratulations again!
Thanks!
Congratulations to you both! Miss seeing you here. So…are we on for next year?!
Thanks! We are still not sure yet but it looks like we will be coming back the end of April for a quick visit, so I will let you know!
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Congrats on your retirement. Now you will have to go out and make an honest living! Just kidding. Hope you enjoy your new job and take care of one of my 3 favorite nieces. Looks like a really nice retirement party. God’s blessing to you and your family.
Wait!!! I thought I WAS your favorite! ;p
Thank you to you and your husband for your service to our country! And congratulations on retirement!
Thank you.
I’d also like to thank you, your husband, and your family for all of your sacrifices that you made. We are forever indebted to our troops. I hope this new season of life is exciting and peaceful.
It is going to be exciting that is for sure!
Congratulations, and best of luck to both of you as you enter this new chapter of your lives.
We are looking forward to it.
Congratulations! That is definitely an event for celebration! And thanks for serving!
It was a celebration that is to say it mildly!
That is really neat! And thank you for serving our country! I love all the pictures of the event! And congrats to your hubs. May the next chapter of your life be even more fulfilling!
The military treated us good so I am sure this next chapter will be just as fun.
WOW what a great post! It is so sweet of you to honor your husband in this way. Thank you for his service to our country. I know exactly which base you were at in NE- OFFUTT. Go huskers 🙂
That was a GREAT assignment!!! The BBQ restaurant in Belleville was AMAZING.
Have fun in retirement, and welcome to the ranks of “veteran” status
Thanks but now we feel old.
Congratulations on reaching such a major milestone! The celebrations looked wonderful and very meaningful. All the best to you and your family in the future!
Thank you!
I am jealous that you’ve gotten to travel so much! I need to make traveling a priority this year. I love the layout of your blog, by the way, with the scraps of paper and “Polaroids.” I am curious as to whether you will travel so much now that he is retired.
-Viva, from dailycitron.com
Being in the military had it’s perks but there were the disadvantages too like not seeing some of my family members only once every 5 years or longer! 😦
I am glad you enjoyed my layout, I am redoing my design and layout because I have grown a lot more then I ever dreamed. But I will keep these special features.
Thanks for sharing your husband’s special day with us! This is the first time I’ve been to your blog – I look forward to reading more about your adventures in Poland!
I promise you there will be MANY more to come!
Thank you to you and your family for 22 years of support and service of our country! Enjoy the next chapter in your lives! My maiden name is polish 🙂
It is crazy how small the world really is!
Wow! That sounds like an exciting life, I look forward to reading more of your stories!
I don’t know about exciting but definitely interesting!
I was moved by your words and your pictures..and I don’t even know you! But that’s the power of a good blog. (BTW, you two don’t look old enough to be “retiring” from anything.) This post was a lovely tribute to you and your family.
Thanks for the sweet words. He enlisted when he was eighteen, so we started young and finished young.
Thanks for the many years of dedication and service! All the best to your family in future endeavors. Makes me wonder – of all those places you’ve lived, where will you choose to settle down now?
That is the million dollar question!
Congratulations! I really enjoyed looking at the photos from the ceremony. It is also pretty amazing to have lived in so many different places in the world 🙂
In my wildest dreams I never would have thought I would have lived in those places either!
Congratulations to your husband on his retirement – great photos there and it sounds like you’ve had a rich and full few years!! All the best for your next venture in Poland! Beautiful country!
We have defiantly been blessed.
What a wonderful milestone for your family!! That must feel amazing!! I love all of the pictures (and how they look like paper laying on your blog page ;)) Congratulations and Welcome to your New Life!!
Thank your husband for his service from me abd thank you for standing by his side all this time. Heard too many divorced military stories.
I am not going to say it has been a piece of cake the last 20 years, we have had our share of rough patches but luckily we were able to overcome them.
Congrats to you and your husband and thank you both for your service to your country! What an exciting opportunity to start the next chapter of your lives together, and you get to share it with the world through your blog.
And I have to agree with one of the previous posters – you do not look anywhere near retirement age!
Great Blog, what movated you to move to Poland? I only visited briefly but thought it was fantastic. Thanks for your service to your country also!
It is were the hubby was offered a great job with great benefits! That and we haven’t seen this part of Europe yet so we thought why not.
It will be nice now that you are retired. Enjoy it!
Wow, what an accomplishment. So I wonder, what made you choose Poland? I’d love to hear more about it!
My son was in the hospital as a baby, and our very favorite nurse was from Poland!
It is were the hubby was offered a great job with great benefits! That and we haven’t seen this part of Europe yet so we thought why not do it!
What wonderful fun… and also hard work … to move around the world! Have a great time in Poland. One of my favorite friends in the world already bought her retirement property, in Poland!
Where at? I am not sure if I want to live here for the rest of our lives but it is nice for now.
Congratulations to you and your husband. How exciting for the next chapter of your lives to begin.
Stopping by from the 100 Comments event.
http://www.AsToldByLisa.com
Thank you for sharing this special time and for those years of service. Hope you’re loving your new life!
New beginnings are very exciting, and as a military family, you’ve had many. Best wishes in this new chapter of your life. Any chance you know some AF friends of ours…the Kees?
Sorry the name doesn’t sound familiar. We are not the average AF family most of the hubby duty stations have been working with all 4 branches not at typical AF bases, we were only at 2 real AF bases.
Welcome over the pond… good luck with your new adventure. Life is such a wonder!
Thanks! My son is off to your neck of the woods in June for some gaming convention.
Congratulations to your husband! My Grandpa was in the service and my Grandma was a civilian who came onto the base to work in a secretary pool. They knew each other three months and were married just before he had to go off to WWII. They have such a great love story, it sounds like yours is very similar. 🙂
I love stories like yours!! Do you know where your grandpa served during the war? Mine served in Brazil of all places during the war fixing planes.
What an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations to you both. It is such a lucky thing in life to have found your perfect match!
Wow, Poland! I guess you’ve been in so many countries now that you can settle anywhere. I live in a country where you’ve been too, the Netherlands. Although maybe when you were there I was living in England, where I lived for a long time. No air force, just academia. 🙂
I saw that on another blog that you posted to! We just left the Netherlands 3 months ago. We were there for 6 GREAT years in the Hoensbroek area. We would go back in a heart beat. Where are you at?
Oh, you’ve only just left! I’ve been in the Netherlands for the last 6 years. No idea where Hoensbroek is, though. I’ve heard of it, but must check Google Maps. I’m living near Utrecht, so quite central in the country.
It’s part the Brunssum are or about 20 minutes from Maastrict.
I think my proudest moment for my husband…I don’t know if there is just one but one that comes to mind was after my husband finished teaching these middle/high school kids to do android programming, the outreach program did a video clip of it and I couldn’t wait to post the video on my blog for all to see! Thanks for sharing your photos. Congrats to your husband for retiring and good luck in Poland!
It’s nice “meeting” you through Blogelina’s comment tour!
Congratulattions to you both! I think it’s awesome that you and your family are living and learning in another country. My parents migrated from Haiti years ago, and I love that I’m American and have traditions from another country. What a cool blog.
I would love to visit Haiti someday!
Congratulations to both you and your husband! What an honor and so glad you celebrated his time of service.
So are you moving from Poland? What is next?
We are already here and loving every minute!
Congratulations! and best wishes!
Congratulations on the new chapter of your life, I am so happy for the both of you and it is so lovely you even got a little present how thoughtful!! Thank you to you both for your service!
Wonderful pictures. Congrats to you all. How exciting to be in Poland!
How exciting all the travel you have been able to do. Now you will really be able to have fun enjoy.
I love all the pics. Thank you for letting your husband serve, I know it can be trying on the family. But it sounds like you’ve had some really neat adventures! Enjoy retirement!
My proudest moment so far of my hubs is when he graduated in a degree he loved!
Congratulations to your husband. Please thank him on my behalf for 22 years of service to our country. Good luck with the next chapter of your lives!
Congratulations! It looks like it was a wonderful ceremony.
thank you to you and your husband for your years of service. what a beautiful party. and i LOVE the shadowbox you had done!
Thanks to you and your family for serving our country and congrats on his retirement. For me it is not my husband but my daughter who at 16 gave her live helping one of her friends.
THANK YOU! So much for your service! I have had many family members in the service. What a great sacrifice your family has made for ours. Thank you!
🙂
Lisa
Congratulations! You must be so proud of your husband. So what does the future hold for you and your family?
What a beautiful moment. I know you are proud. You should be.
Congratulations to your husband (and to you) on his 22 years of service, and now his retirement. On behalf of a grateful nation, we thank him for his service and you for the sacrifices made to support him. My best friend also recently retired from the USAF after 22 years, and her celebration was a remarkable and moving event.
Much joy to you both in your new civie lives!
Peace and good to you.
Congrats to you and your husband! I give military wives credit… I don’t know how well I would handle my husband being gone for soooo long all the time. … btw, thank your husband for me!
Thank you for serving our country. You have my deep gratitude. Thank you to your husband and thank you to you for sharing him with us.
Congratulations. One of my husband’s proudest moments was when he sang all the verses of the National Anthem at his brother-in-law’s retirement from the USAF. Verse 3 says: Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand, Between their loved homes and war’s desolation: Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n rescued land, Praise the Pow’r that hath made and perserved us a nation.” It was very poignant.
Enjoy the next 22 years
thank him for ALL of us – he deserves all of our thanks!
That is so nice of you to be so thankful and honor his accomplishment in this way. My husband served for 4 years in the US Air Force and that experience is something he will never forget. It was a great life building experience. Unfortunately for us the travel is what made him hang up his hat so early. We just could not stand being away from our families. I guess you could say we were a little more than home sick.
What a fantastic house! Is it yours? I could look at that picture all day. Congratulations to you and your hubby as you walk through another door and into a new dawn. Make the most of it. Deb
No the house isn’t ours but it is cute I thought too!
Having had my Dad in the Army I know how emotional a farewell can be. So much of pride and a bit of trepidation too about facing ‘civilian’ life. Wishing your family all that’s good.
I was so proud of my husband getting his current job. The competition was tough and we had been waiting for a few years for him to get the perfect job.
Thank you husband for his service to our country. And thank you for supporting him in his journey.
My husband was in the Navy when we married but he changed careers soon into our life together. He would have had his retirement probably this year. I think about that at times when we learn of his friends he knew back then and they too are retiring now. What is the next step? They are young enough to start another career. Many do.
I am proud of my husband. He actually joined the military in search of something new and to serve. It was the reason he started his career he is on now and he has provided for us ever since. He had a great foundation.
~Allie
Congratulations and thank you to your family for your service!
What a wonderful accomplishment. It’s easy to see why you are so proud of him!
How exciting! Have fun celebrating a new stage – and thank your husband for his service for me. 🙂
Congratulations! What a beautiful tribute to your husband and hero. Enjoy this new chapter of your lives. Blessings!
Congratulations to your husband on his retirement, and kudos to you for being so supportive during his trek around the world! I wish you two the best with the new chapter you are starting. 🙂
Thank you Jim for your 22 years of service to our country. I hope you guys enjoy the extra family time together.
Recently my husband received a special privilege. It was such a great honor.
What a blessing. Hats off to Hubs for serving and to you and your family for lovingly supporting him through that period.
I loved our days in the military and miss it often!
What a great post! Congratulations to both of you!!
suzy
Great accomplishment! Thanks for sharing it with us 🙂
Thanks for sharing your photos! Hope you can enjoy life there!
Congratulations and many thanks for your families the service. Thanks for sharing the photos.
Have fun in this next chapter of your life.
Congrats, now you get to see him all the time. This is a great accomplishment. I myself have 10 years in the Army. Now he can just lay back and do nothing LOL. Great post and enjoy the next 10 years, where every it takes you.
A big THANK YOU to you husband for proudly serving our country!
My husband was in the Army then National Guard for a total of 20. Congrats to both of you and blessings for your lives ahead of you! Thanks so much for sharing the pictures.
Thanks for the sacrifices you both have made, and to your husband for his service!
Congratulations and Thank you so much for your service, which makes it possible for me to have freedoms! Can’t wait to see your adventures in your new phase of life!
What a wonderful day! Thank you for serving our country for so long! I hope that you guys will have great joy in retirement.
A big thank you to your husband for faithfully serving out country for 22 years, and to your family as well. Best wishes on your new life in Poland,
Congratulations on the retirement! My husband did 14 years in the Marine Corps and it was very hard for him to leave…but he didn’t want to miss out on any more of his daughter’s growing up 🙂 I wish you both good luck in your next adventure!
Congratulations! and thanks to both of you for your service. Yes, wives serve in their own way, I know I am a retired military spouse. The next chapter will be bring new wonders, enjoy.
Stephanie
http://www.royalmajestea.com/blog
Congratulations! and thanks to both of you for your service. Yes, wives serve in their own way, I know I am a retired military spouse. Enjoy the next chapter .
Stephanie
http://www.royalmajestea.com/blog
That’s a great accomplishment. Something that you guys can definitely be proud of.
My proudest moment for me of my husband was the day he helped deliver our baby (2 years ago) – it sounds weird but I was sure he was going to get grossed out or not want to even see anything but he stepped RIGHT UP and did everything the nurse told him to do and was coaching me and everything. I was very proud of him! 🙂
Your hubby sounds like my hubby when it comes to childbirth!
What a great post! It’s so nice to see a happy, married couple. There is so much negativity on the internet from women about their hubby. 😦
Congrats on your 20 years of marriage and thank you for your service to our country!
Wendy
Around My Family Table
Few things…
As a child, I always wanted to join the Air Force! I scheduled an appointment with a recruiter and my mother begged me not to go. So, off to college I went. As it turns out, the love of my life was only 2 years away from that day and I’m so grateful for not enlisting for that very reason!
Thank you to your husband for serving our country! I am always humbled by the amount of sacrifice our military is required to make in order to serve. Congrats to you for being able to withstand being an Air Force wife! I have 2 great friends that are married to Air Force guys and they have shared some hard stories. I do not do well being alone and my 2 friends (and I’m sure you experienced this, as well) have expressed their strength in being able to live in faraway places, secluded from family and friends (both friends in Ukraine); wondering if their husbands would be around for the births of their children; not having someone to hand off the children to in the evening because sometimes the hubby wouldn’t come home for a few months; and I am in awe of their abilities to lift up their husbands even when they themselves are desperate for some lifting up. So congrats to you too- you made it!
Were you by chance with the Olmsted Scholar program? Both of my friends are part of that and I find it so fascinating!
Thank you for sharing this with us! How proud of your husband you must be!
Thanks! We did not do that program my hubby was in a different career field in the Air Force.
Congrat on his retirement! I appreciate his hard work and dedication. BTW, I’d love to visit Poland someday. It looks lovely!
Congrats! What a wonderful post! I loved all the great photos, such a beautiful family 🙂
Congrats! We love to travel and it sounds like the military would be such an adventure, with all its ups and downs! Hope the next chapter of your life is great!
Thank you to both you and your husband for what you’ve done! I know your husband was the one in the Air force, but it’s important to remember the families that support them, too!
Congratulations and thank you both for your service. A lot of people don’t realize the family sacrifices just as much as the soldier does. The cake and the cupcakes look Dee-lish!
I made them, so thanks!
What an accomplishment, for both of you. My FIL was in the Navy for 20+ years. I loved listening to him tell all of the family stories from their travels. Enjoy the new chapter in your life. I am sure it will be an exciting one!
Thank you both for your sacrifice and service! Congratulations on retirement… enjoy this next chapter in your lives!
What a fun adventure you are embarking on! Thanks to your husband for his service and to you, also for yours as his spouse and support. God bless and be safe.
Hope You`ll live a more meaningful life as you take the next chapter of your life. God bless!
Your husband will surely miss his job. Hope you`ll enjoy the ride on the next chapter.
We got lucky as he is doing almost the same job on the civilian side of the military so the only difference is what clothing he is wearing!
Congrats on his retirement. One of my hubby’s big achievements was getting his doctorate in english literature. It was a long road, but he did it!
Congrats to the hubby! Mine is thinking of starting his doctorate this fall not sure why he wants one but hey more power to him.
What a fantastic ending to a wonderful career. You must be so excited about settling into your new life. My best to you!!
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What a beautiful family! How exciting to experience the world like that. Congrats on your husband’s retirement and tell him thank you for his brave service!
Christy
http://www.alivinghomeschool.com
Thanks for your service and dedication to your country. Good luck with retirement, and enjoy it.
wow. 22 years! Seems like you all have had a lot of adventures. Congratulation and enjoy retirement.
Great photos! It’s good that you can have more time for each other now that hubby is officially retired. 🙂
Congratulations!! really great pics Thanks for sharing
Thanks a great accomplishment. Congrats!!
Poland, eh? Good luck on your new adventure!
Thank you to your husband for serving our country for the past 22 years!
What a beautiful family you have! Thank you for sharing the pictures. And thank you to your husband for 22 years of service! God Bless all of you!
Happy retirement. Hubby and I have many years to reach that one!
I hope you and your husband have a blessed retirement. Thank him for serving so faithfully. I also thank you for standing by his side. I know military life is not an easy life. God bless!