In 2009, Katelyn Davis, who at the time was newly married to Army Sgt. Jeff Davis, started a blog in order to keep her and her husband's faraway families and friends up to date. The two had been high school sweethearts and grew up in a very small town in Ohio, and Davis quickly realized that they were the only military family that many people knew. She was fielding a lot of questions. That, coupled with her husband's deployment as a medic with the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team to Afghanistan, drove her to find another medium of communication.

"I had been updating Facebook, but then I realized a lot of people we wanted to update weren't able to view that, and I was getting a lot of phone calls and questions and e-mails," she explained. "A blog that everyone could access seemed like a way to get the information out."

So Davis began to post updates, including as many photos as she could, about their life at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, her pregnancy with her first son, Jack, and Jeff's deployment. Almost two years later, Jeff is back home safely, Katelyn is pregnant with their second son and the blog currently lists 77 devoted followers. But that number represents only those that have signed in - meaning she most likely has many more people checking in to see what's going on.

As part of her blog introduction, Davis describes her family: ‘Married young, we face the many challenges that all newlyweds do at a very young age. And add the Army on top of that, and two little boys ... we have a lot to talk about, and to be thankful for!'

"I always tell people that ask how we're handling all of this, so young, that we're just getting the challenges out of the way up front," she laughed.

Her experiences so far have taught her a lot, but she is quick to admit there will be more to learn as their life in the Army continues. As of now, they plan to stay in for 20 years and see where the adventure leads. So far, it has led to new friends and an appreciation for anyone living the military lifestyle.

"I don't think there's a divide between older and younger wives; it is just who you can relate to or make friends with," said Davis, who will turn 21 next month. "All of them are individuals and I don't find one group better than the other."

In fact, she pointed out that the younger wives often have a hard time coming into things, so talking to other wives is helpful. Most of the time, they are older and have been through every situation.

"I try to stay positive. I expect nothing and that way I can be excited when things work out," Davis said. "You can't make plans ... but that is also sort of exciting.

In May, the Davis family will PCS to Fort Campbell, Ky., and Davis will have to tackle making new friends ... again. Luckily, she already knows one family who moved there this past year from JBLM, and she's ready to put herself out there and meet more.  

"You don't know what you are capable of until you are forced - the Army does that for you, it pushes you to take chances you normally wouldn't," she concluded. "That only goes to teach you how strong you already are."

To keep up with the Davis family, visit http://davisfamily2009.blogspot.com.