How Our Lives Have Changed...so far

CC just started week 3 of FTO. He's loving his FTO, and we are enjoying our days together. There really hasn't been much going on that's very different. CC is doing very well. They are already grading him at an average police level. (Yay for him!) So, just a few things that I've noticed:

• We watch a lot of cop shows (COPS, The First 48, Police Women of _____, Rookie Blue, etc) and CC seems to pick them apart on how either the case will get thrown out or that wasn't proper procedure.
• I'm still going to church alone, and everyone asks me where my husband is.
• I realize after hearing stories from CC's day that there seem to be a lot of really stupid people out there.
• It's hard to plan anything with CC - and even if we do plan something, whatever day it is, CC will have to stay late that day, and only that day.
• I no longer plan things with CC
• Even though he's on day shift, our sleeping schedules are still so different with me being on summer break and staying up late. (And this effects other areas in our lives, as you can imagine)
• Guns aren't so bad. :)
• I really don't enjoy cooking.

I believe we have this week and next with the day shift. We're still not sure what is next schedule will be, but I'm just trying to be flexible! Overall, there are lots of great things going on these days! Many learning experiences! I just know that this is another way that God is trying to teach me that I can't let my Type A personality run and plan my life! :)

Man in Uniform...or not?

Now I may be silly, but that's still up in the air, but I was kind of excited about getting to see my man all dressed up in his blue uniform with duty belt on and everything. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be that way. CC came home from his first official day on duty, and came in wearing his undershirt and uniform pants. What's up with that?!

I asked him where all of his stuff is, and he left it in his locker at the department. Come on?!

Not that the uniform gets me all excited and ready to pounce on him (like some of our wonderful friends assume) but more of a this is cool and it makes it official. Otherwise, how is there proof in my head that he's actually doing this Police thing?! If I don't see it, it makes it much harder to believe it. I don't know, like I said, I may be silly or something, but I really like seeing my man in his uniform.

His response to me last night was this: "You get these little fantasies in your head, and when they don't come true, you get all upset about it." Now, since he knows what I would like, maybe he'll come home all dressed up for me??!??!??!

PS: He is on first shift for his first round of FTO, which is their 6 am - 2 pm shift. This is good, except for the idea of staying up late and sleeping in. But we do have most of the day together. He also has to work Sun - Thurs, which just means I'll be doing church by myself. That's okay too. CC was teaching and we were the "directors" of the class, but in preparation for CC's schedule, we handed off some of our duties to others until we knew what his permanent schedule would be. Although, yesterday I began to wonder if it would have been easier to ease us back in to spending so much time together!! :) (I love my husband!)

My OFFICER!

We are finished!!

CC's Academy graduation was this past week! What an exciting time.


It was so great to meet all of the people that CC had been talking about for so long. All of his Cadet-mates (I think I just made that up, yes, I did) had lots of great praises about him. His teachers and higher-up officers had lots of good things to say about him. It was also wonderful to know have them thank me and all of my sacrifice to have him go through this training. I know this is a career move for him, but I have found (and many of you have told me) this is a career for both of us! He came away with the Top Academic award as well as Top Cadet! He did well and everyone here was very proud of him. God allowed us to persevere through these times, and it was hard, but I know it's going to be worth it!

This also brings the much awaited gun carrying. CC has been very good with it, and of course all of our loved ones, family and friends, have been very interested in seeing his gun and talking about it. CC is just so skinny that he has to be extra cautious in his concealing because the grip on the gun easily sticks out. We are in the process of looking into a gun with a shorter grip, he just doesn't have it yet. CC has been consistently checking his shirt, and sitting a little funny, just to try to make sure it's not so obvious! CC told me this morning on our way in to church that his inspectors told them a clue to a rookie cop is that they wear the "cool" sunglasses and are constantly checking their shirt to make sure their weapon is covered. It's so true!! It's new though, I won't start making fun of him too much until it's been a few weeks! And surprisingly, I have not been too weirded out by this gun thing. I'll get used to it I know.

Work starts tomorrow morning for him. Even though I might not get to see him a bunch because of his schedule, at least he's at home! We're actually going to get to go to a little social event on a Sunday evening, TOGETHER! It's been practically 5 months since that's happened! Yippee!! I'm also going to have to remind myself how to cook meals! (It's been so easy to have cereal and small things while he's been gone)

I'm so proud of my officer! I'm so glad he's through with this stage. I've been waiting for this for over a year. Now on to FTO! :)

(I had to post this picture just because he looks so good! A man in uniform is an attractive one! Probably the only time I'll get away with putting his face on here.)

He's Rubbing Off

4 more days! That's it! I can't wait! I still haven't seen CC in his uniform yet, but I know he is going to be a stud! I'm excited! He just took his final today. He'll have some NCIC/TCIC (criminal database stuff I think) talk for the next couple of days, then his licensing exam, then graduation! He keeps telling me graduation isn't going to be a big deal, but I think it is! :)

Anyway, I as driving home this weekend from visiting my parents and realized that CC is rubbing off on me! I began to question different situations to see what an officer would do if they pulled over this vehicle. Or, I tried to figure out what violations different vehicles had. Seriously?! I get on to CC so much for doing that while we're driving, now I'm doing it?! Come on!

For example, there was a truck with a camper on the back end. As I drove up closer to it, I realized there is a human being in the back end smushed up to the window! I wondered for a while if he was real, but then he finally moved his head to look at me, so he was alive! After thinking about it, I called CC to see what he would do if he pulled over the vehicle for some reason (there were several violations on the vehicle, so it was possible). I wanted to know the officer safety procedures, could a person be in the back end of the truck, etc. I'm glad to know, though, that if CC does pull over a vehicle in this situation, I feel that he would be safe! I guess he has learned a little in this Academy! :)

Good times!

Holster #1

In 10 days, CC will officially be a licensed police officer in the state of Texas.

For real?!

CC and I were remembering the whirlwind of our lives this time last year. It was was this time last year that CC was finally hired with intentions of going to Academy in January. He started his new career in law enforcement. It was about this time he was going through Oral Boards and turning in appropriate documentation. It's hard to imagine how crazy life was then. And now, it's all coming true. It's all coming together. He will be official.

And now that brings us to the point where my man will have a gun on his hip regularly. So what does that mean? We have to go buy a holster!

Even though he can't carry his weapon off-duty until next weekend, he wanted to buy his off-duty holster so he could carry his "fake" weapon this week to get used to it. (My hubby is so cute!) He already had looked into what kind of holster he wanted to try. He decided to go with the inside the pant holster since he rarely wears shirts long enough to cover a weapon outside of his pants. I'm sure the next holster will definitely be a back holster, but we'll see.

I think I'm going to just keep a track going of holsters and how many we'll actually go through before he decides what he likes best. So, Uncle Mike's inside the pant holster gets the big #1. After the handcuff issue (which by the way, he's already gotten handcuff set #2 and he's not even started for real yet!) I have realized that it might not make sense to me, it's just a guy/cop thing. He's going to buy gadgets. He's going to find the newest and best new thing to buy. And I have to remind myself that when I began teaching, I was at the teaching store constantly buying all the new bulletin board sets and manipulatives. Now, I tend to make everything myself, but it took me a little while to get out of the store. So, he was patient with me during those years, now I will be patient and let him "play" with his new gadgets. (His are just a tad more expensive than mine ever were!)

I was also sitting next to him in church on Sunday and just realized that I like to sit on his right side (I don't know, doesn't everyone have a favorite side to sit on?) which will be his gun side, and I'm not too sure I'm going to enjoy that. I'm debating on whether or not I'm going to change my favorite side. CC has said he wants me on his right side for gun safety. But, my friends, I don't like guns. I am somehow going to have to get over this.