Mike and I met at WKU, at a party, in September of 1996. He was in ROTC, and his best friend, Roy, was dating my sorority sister. He called me, and finally asked me out after talking FOREVER about his high school life in Bonn, Germany. (Those of you who know my husband, know he LOVES to talk!) We went our first date to see the movie "Tin Cup", and the rest is history as they say. We were engaged a year later, in September of 1997. He totally surprised me by flying in from Georgia, which is where he was attending OBC. I was having dinner with our friend, Roy and his girlfriend (now wife), and in walked Mike Tharpe. He came up to me, got down on one knee, and asked me to be his wife. We were married May 23, 1998, a week after I graduated WKU, in the little church I grew up in in BeeSpring, Kentucky.
We then moved to Fayetteville, NC, home of Fort Bragg. We spent 3 great years there, and then moved to Augusta, GA while Mike attended the Advance Course. We lived there 4 months, and it was there that Mike received orders to Korea. We put our stuff in storage, and I lived with my parents in KY for a year while he was there. He went to Korea in January of 2002, and we met in Hawaii in June for 2 weeks for some R&R. His family met us there as well, and we had a wonderful time. We rented a jeep wrangler, and we drove all over the island of Oahu. (We both can't wait to go back again).
In October of 2002, I flew to Korea to spend 2 weeks. Yes, I flew by myself--it was quite an adventure. It was a LONG flight to say the least, but it was so worth it. We toured Korea, and then went on a trip to Beijing China. We climbed the Great Wall, which was AWESOME!
Mike arrived back to the states in January of 2003, and then we moved to Maryland. He was stationed at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. We bought our first home, which was a cute townhouse, in New Market, MD, in Lake Linganore. We loved it in New Market--it was so quaint. Mike had his company Command with Alpha Company of the 302nd Signal Battalion, which he loved. I was working as a Marketing Recruiter for a Rheumatologist at AOC of Maryland.
And then, life got really good...in November of 2003, we found out we were pregnant with our first baby. It was an uneventful pregnancy, thank goodness! And in April of 2004, we found out we were having a little girl.On August 24th, 2004, I arrived at the hospital around 5:00 p.m. My contractions were already 5 minutes apart. My labor went really well. Emma's heart rate would fluctuate, and they would have me lay on my side and it would return to normal. But when I was dilated to 9.5 and ready to push, her heart rate took a serious dive and did not return to normal. So off to the OR we went to have the c-section. Emma Caroline was born August 25th, 2004, 2:03 A.M., at Frederick Memorial Hospital. She weighed 8 lbs, 12 1/2 oz, and was 21 inches long. I was totally in love...(and exhausted!)
In January of 2005, we sold our house in New Market, and moved to Fort Knox, Kentucky. We bought our second home here (in Rineyville), and still live here actually. 
Mike, me and Emma took a trip to Germany in June 2005 to visit Nana and Grandpa. Emma was wonderful on the flight, and did great with the time change. Nana and Grandpa drove us all over Germany, from the North (Cuxhaven), to the South (Bavaria), and we even spent the night in Schonburg Castle in the Rhine River Valley. We had a wonderful time. We celebrated July 4th at the Ambassador's house. Below are some photos from that trip!
Mike, me and Emma took a trip to Germany in June 2005 to visit Nana and Grandpa. Emma was wonderful on the flight, and did great with the time change. Nana and Grandpa drove us all over Germany, from the North (Cuxhaven), to the South (Bavaria), and we even spent the night in Schonburg Castle in the Rhine River Valley. We had a wonderful time. We celebrated July 4th at the Ambassador's house. Below are some photos from that trip!
Celebrating July 4th, 2005 at the Ambassador's house in Berlin
Grandpa, Nana and Emma--July 4th, 2005
Mommy and Emma in Berlin Germany
Schonburg Castle, where we spent the night
Our room at the castle
A view of the Rhine River from our castle!
We found out we were pregnant with our second baby in November, 2005. It was another easy and uncomplicated pregnancy, thank goodness! And in April of 2006, we found out we were having a boy!
We found out we were pregnant with our second baby in November, 2005. It was another easy and uncomplicated pregnancy, thank goodness! And in April of 2006, we found out we were having a boy!
Gabriel Allen Tharpe was born via c-section on August 15th, 2006 at Ireland Army Community Hospital at 10:00 A.M.. He weighed 7 pounds, 3 oz., and was 20 inches long.I will always remember how calm he was--so different then his big sister's arrival. He and his daddy were in the room waiting for me when I got out of recovery, and he was just looking around with his beautiful eyes wide open and alert. Our family was now complete...
In August of 2007, Mike made the decision to leave the army after 10 years. It was the right decision, and he now is employed at Humana in Louisville as a Project Manager. We celebrated his new job, and decision to leave the army, by taking the kids to Disney World. We all had a wonderful time!
And now, Emma is almost 4 and Gabriel is almost 2, and Mike and I just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary! I cannot believe its been 10 years--what a great 10 years its been!
1 comment:
Great job, boo!! I love it! More pictures please. :-)
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