Kevin and I met at Ft. Leonardwood, Missouri at Military Police Basic Officer Leaders Course in July 2010. We initially became friends but had so much in common that it’s clear there was a connection. In September 2010, we went on a dinner cruise with friends at Lake of the Ozarks. After a fun evening of dinner and drinks, we both lingered on the boat and shared our first kiss under the stars.
During that weekend apart, I couldn’t stop thinking about Kevin and how perfect to me he seemed. I also kept thinking that it seemed crazy that we had been dating for two weeks and I had already fallen head-over-heels for him! I could see a future with him and it scared me a little because I didn’t think it was possible he’d feel the same way after only two weeks.
Since my flight back to St. Louis arrived before him, I picked up the car and waited for Kevin at his terminal. When I saw him walking out of the airport, it completely hit me that he was the one. The next weekend, Kevin and I went to church and breakfast together, and during our conversation it came out that we came to the same realization: we were soul mates! It seemed crazy that we fell in love so fast, but when you know, you know.
During his deployment, Kevin told me that he decided he would move to Washington. In the National Guard, this required lots of paperwork to transfer units, let alone he was giving up his life in Atlanta to move to be with me. But after lots of paperwork and months of waiting, the transfer was complete and he was able to join a unit in Washington.
After a long year apart, Kevin came home just before Christmas in 2011. On St. Patrick’s Day in 2012, he proposed at Pike Place Market in Seattle, one of my favorite places ever, and I of course said yes! Kevin moved from Atlanta to Washington a few weeks later. He was selected for an active duty position on Ft. Lewis that would allow him to take company command and put him on active duty for three years.
Three days after our wedding, I left for a few weeks of military training in California to prepare for my deployment. By the time I got back, we only had two months together before I left. Thankfully my deployment was cut short and I came home after 5 months.
In May of 2014, we found out we would be expecting our first child in early 2015 and Lleyton Edward Dieterich was born on January 9, 2015 and welcomed into loving arms.
So if you’re doing the math, we got engaged after only a few months of even living in the same time zone! We got married less than two years after we met, and by the time we hit our two-year anniversary we were preparing to be parents. Sometimes people think we did things quickly, but it worked so perfectly for us and I’m thankful every day to be married to a wonderful man and have the life that we do.
If you’re interested in sharing your military love story on Whimsical September, please email me at WhimsicalSeptember@yahoo.com
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Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo
