Such is life in the military.

Well, we are halfway through this deployment and I think that time is finally starting to go quicker.  The kids are back in school and the two younger ones have just started soccer.  Soccer season lasts until the middle of October and Jonah's already talking about wanting to play flag football when soccer's done.  Having a routine and schedule is so helpful!

We also found out this past week that our big move to California and Germany is no longer happening.  For reasons that I'm still trying to fully understand, the military has cancelled our orders and we are staying here in Oklahoma City until further notice.  I am trying very hard to find the bright side in this turn of events.  We were all looking forward to the change and the chance to become a family again in a new place.  But what can you do? 

The kids are currently trying to persuade me to get a second puppy to add to the household.  After looking at puppies from the local animal shelter's website today I have a feeling that I won't be able to hold out until the hubby comes home in a few months.  Wish me luck in that endeavour!

I am really really trying to keep up better on this ol blog but life has a funny way of getting in the way of my good intentions.

The last month in a nutshell.

Wow it's been awhile since I posted.  In the month that has passed I have driven myself, 3 children and one dog from Oklahoma City to Charlotte, NC; Charlotte to Daytona Beach; Daytona Beach to West Palm Beach; West Palm Beach to Goose Creek, SC; Goose Creek back to Charlotte; and Charlotte back to Oklahoma City.  I attended not one but two family weddings, met some new family members, saw old friends, and made new ones.  It was a long trip, but I am very glad we made it.  My sister made a beautiful bride and I couldn't be happier for her, my niece and my new brother.
During my first stay in Charlotte I recieved a phone call from my deployed hubby informing me that when he gets back from the desert, we will be moving to the West Coast for 6 months and then from there we will be going to Germany for a few years.  We are so excited! 
We're almost two months into this deployment.  It seems like he's been gone so much longer.  I'm hoping time starts going quicker once the kiddos go back to school.
Today though I got a big surprise from my hubby.  A HUGE bouquet of flowers.  Little things like this make me smile and really help me get through the days without him.

Deployment Countdown

Last time the hubby got deployed I made a big countdown calendar to hang on the door to help the boys get a sense of how long Daddy would be gone.  Noah turned 4 while he was away, and Jonah was just a year and a half.  I added all the special events so that they could have things to look forward to and make the time pass.
Then when the hubby got sent to FLETC in 2010 for four months I made another one.  It's sort of become a tradition when he leaves for more than two months at a time.
I finally got the calendar made for this tour and man-oh-man is it big.  The biggest I've ever made. 

It's three posterboards tall and had to be hung on the wall instead of the door this time.  We don't have a return date this far out, just a projected homecoming day.  I went about a week and a half past that and I'm praying I don't have to add more paper.

Remember.

To those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, and also to their families who find the strength to go on afterwards, this military wife gives you her sincere thanks and appreciation. Because of you and those who continue to fight for our great nation we can enjoy the freedoms we have come to take for granted.  God bless our troops and the ones they leave behind.

I can smile.

Friday morning I woke up to a quick email from the hubby telling me that he arrived safely.  I hadn't heard from him since Wednesday afternoon between flights and I was trying to keep calm.  I know from previous deployments that I have to be patient, but just because I know that doesn't mean it was easy.  I kept reminding myself that no news is good news.

Then, Friday afternoon my phone rang with a number I didn't recognize and I almost didn't answer.  Boy, am I glad I did!  It was my hero on the other end and it was so great to hear his voice.  I wasn't expecting a phone call because in the craziness of pre-deployment, we forgot to buy calling cards.  All three of the kids happened to be in the house at the time and I put the hubby on speaker but didn't tell the them who it was.  I said "Okay, say hi" and when he did, you should've seen the way their faces lit up! 

He called again late last night (his early morning) and I went to bed for the first time all week with a smile on my face.

And again this afternoon my phone rang (I don't think twice now when that number shows up on my caller I.D.) and the kids all got to say hello.  We can't wait for his internet to get hooked up so that we can Skype.  But until then I will soak up every second of every phone call and replay it in my head until the next time my phone rings.

Mixed emotions.

Alot has happened again.  We moved into a newer house on base (which is AMAZING.)  I still hate Oklahoma but at least I love my house.  Noah's finger is completely healed and will not need surgery.  Hallelujah!   The kids are out of school for the summer.  I hope I can keep them busy over the next 3 months!!

Today is the day that we've been dreading since late last year.  My hubby left for deployment.  We were able to get family gate passes so that we could wait with him there until he boarded.  It was very emotional.  He flew in civilian clothes so when we started hugging and crying we got alot of side glances and I even saw a few people roll their eyes.  It made it that much harder for me.  I don't wear my emotions on my sleeve and for people to just assume I'm overreacting to a business trip really made me upset. 

The kids had a hard time with it...especially Noah and Sophia.  Noah's old enough to understand it more than the other two.  And Sophia is so in love with her daddy that she didn't want to let go.  It was rough.

My heart is so full of love and pride for my husband, yet it is empty because he is not here.  I am fighting within myself to stay strong for my kids who need me now more than ever, but all I want to do is go to bed and not get up until these six months are over. 

Now we try to dry our eyes and hike up our boot straps and move on. Not every day will be this hard and we'll get into a routine. Soon our lives will look normal on the outside but to us each day will be anything but.  Life must go on and I pray it does so quickly!

I. Am. Tired.

I know I promised to keep this blog up better and I really intended to do just that. But then life got in the way. We were in Nashville for 4 days for a hockey tournament and we had just somewhat gotten back into a routine (as much as you can when it's Spring Break and rainy everyday), when Noah decided it was his turn for an ER visit.
Yesterday while roller blading out front, he bit it HARD and broke his finger. He has road rash from head to knee on his left side and did quite the number on his pinky finger. Thank you Jesus that he rememebered to wear his helmet or things could've been much, much worse. He's all splinted up right now and we have an appointment with an orthopedic doc on Monday for a cast. There's a chance he may need surgery to have a pin put in, but I'm praying hard that's not going to be necessary.
And wouldn't you know it, the hubby is leaving for yet another TDY this weekend so he won't get to be there for the fun of casting and, if needed, the surgery.
God bless whoever invented colored dry erase markers...there's no way in this great wide world that I'd be able to keep all of our upcoming doctor visits straight if it weren't for color-coding each family member!
We are barely 1/4 of the way through 2012 and I'm already spent! I really hope that I have the stamina to get through this deployment when it rolls around in a couple months!

Get back on track.

Wow.
I can't believe it's been a full month since I last posted. SO MUCH has happened since I last updated. I will go more in-depth throughout the week but here's a quick recap:

Hubby came home from TDY number one. The next day we celebrated Jonah's 8th birthday with a great party at the hockey rink. Day after that we headed down to Dallas for our only family vacation this year- a tour of Cowboys Stadium and an overnight stay at Great Wolf Lodge. Expensive, but so much fun! Pictures to follow soon!

Hubby left again about a week later and was gone for 5 days. In that time we realized that Jonah's minor twitches that he'd been having were getting much more severe. I ended up taking him into the ER fearing he was having a seizure. We were given a preliminary diagnosis of Tourette's Syndrome and have an appointment in April with a pediatric neurologist.

Hubby got back about a week and a half ago from TDY number 2 and things have slowed down some. We're getting back into somewhat of a normal routine (which will fly out the window come 25 March when he leaves, yet again, for another two weeks).

Oh, and we also found out last week that four days after hubby gets back from his third TDY, we are being moved into another home on base so that our current home can get remodeled. Pain in the hiney: yes. But a very welcome one! Our current house is around 60 years old and I honestly don't know how it's survived the winds we have here in Oklahoma. We have had nothing but headaches and problems since we moved in last year. Our new house was built in '09 and has a TON more square footage than our current place. Noah is thrilled because our backyard in the new house will back up to the yard of his best friend. And we also realized that one of Sophia's buddies from school lives on the same street so she'll have a friend right away too. (I also really like his momma so I'm relieved as well, since I'm not a huge fan of most of the neighbors we have now).

So that's where we're at right now. Lots to take in and deal with, but we're doing it. I promise to come back and add recipes on Mondays (I've got a load of goodies tried out from Pinterest!), upload pics from Dallas and our upcoming trip to Nashville, and keep you up-to-date with Jonah's diagnosis once we've seen the Neuro.

Almost Done with One

We are finally close to the end of the hubby's first training. One week from today and he'll be back home. For about a week. Then we'll have to say goodbye again for training numero dos.
Of course my emotions are all over the place. I'm excited and have butterflies in my stomach because we haven't seen him since 8 January...which by next Friday will be two days shy of 6 weeks. I'm so happy that my kids get their daddy back and that I get my hubby back (wink wink). But knowing that we only have him home for eight days before he has to leave again sucks. And I also have the nagging thoughts in the back of my mind that every TDY that passes is bringing us that much closer to the big goodbye in May- his deployment. God only knows how much we're dreading that one.
This will be his first deployment in 6 years. Yep...you read that right. We are so SO blessed and I don't let that fact escape me. We've been able to have Daddy home for all the big events for six years now and we got very used to that. And that fact makes this deployment that much harder. Last time hubby was deployed, Noah was 4, Jonah was almost 2 and Sophia wasn't even a glimmer in our eye. Now we have a 10 year old, an 8 year old, and a 4 year old Daddy's girl. The boys are older and more aware of what's going on in the world and that their dad's job is a dangerous one. And while Sophia doesn't understand it like the boys do, she's still having a hard time wrapping her head around it. Daddy will be deployed over her 5th birthday and to Daddy's little princess, that is the end of the world. We're planning to have a late birthday party for Jonah (who just celebrated his birthday last week, but Dad was away) and an early birthday party for Sophia in May before hubby deploys. Unfortunately he'll also miss Noah's birthday in October. We're still working out something super special for him.
The hubby and I are trying to come up with ways to make the deployment easier for them. I found an Etsy seller (Carly's Homefront) that makes photo pillows for military families. All we have to do is purchase the pillow ($10 each) and email her a picture of hubby in his uniform and she will make a Daddy pillow. This is going to be a HUGE help for the kids. Every night they'll be able to hug "Daddy" and see his face. Talk about reassurance for little minds. We also decided to get the kids each their own Survival Bracelet. These are all over the place now and I've seen many a military member wearing them since I've became a military wife almost 11 years ago. They're a simple strand of paracord woven into a bracelet, but with one strategic pull they come apart and the paracord is available for use. Now of course I don't intend to have my kids in any type of situation that will warrant the pulling apart of the bracelet, but we thought it would be a good tool to help them "survive" the deployment. Any time they look at the cord on their wrist they'll remember that they're just as strong as their daddy and they'll get through this too. And earlier this week I recieved an email from MyAirForceLife.com and it had this link to a new website developed for kids whose parents are deployed. It's called Military Kids Connect. There are all kinds of resources for kids (ages 6-17) and parents too. I signed the boys up for it and will definitely make it a regular computer-time stop for them.
And then there's trying to help us stay connected with each other. We'll write letters and emails and I'll mail him care packages. We'll have some chances to Skype and email and talk on the phone, but they will most likely be few and far between due to the nature of the hubby's job. I cannot go into detail but basically he won't have access to computers/phones/etc much of his deployment. While he's been away at training we have decided to "challenge" each other. We're doing a monthly challenge up until he deploys, where we each set a health/fitness goal for ourselves, and if we meet the goals, we reward ourselves at the end of the month with something we've been wanting to do, but haven't justified spending money on. Then, when he gets deployed we are going to set a long-term goal for ourselves, and keep each other accountable with emails/phone calls as often as possible throughout the 6-9 mos he's away. If we can achieve the "Big Goal", we will have a bigger, joint reward upon his return. We haven't nailed it down yet but we're thinking that a weekend away just the two of us will be just what we'll be needing after almost a year apart.
It's not going to be a piece of cake, and I'm sure I'm going to complain and be pissed at the military at least once while he's gone, but I will do the very best I can to be a supportive wife and a good mom (and dad) to our children back here at home. Because really, the best thing I can do for him is to keep the homefires burning and assure him that we will be okay.

First Goodbyes of the Year

Today the hubby left for his first of three pre-deployment trainings. This one will have him gone for 6 weeks. During that time he'll miss Noah's volleyball season, Jonah's 8th birthday, and Valentines Day.
I am frusterated with myself because I was pretty weepy this morning. I know that six weeks is a long time to be away from someone, but I'm a military wife dang it! I should be able to handle a month-and-a-half stint like it's nothing! And then I keep thinking that if I had a hard time with him leaving now for the East Coast for a few weeks, what am I going to be like when May rolls around and he leaves for an entirely different country for 6-9 MONTHS?
Part of me feels like I have no right to be upset that he's leaving for awhile because we've been so fortunate with deployments. Our military life has been a cake-walk compared to other military families. So who am I to shed a tear over a mere 6 weeks?
But the other part of me says that I have every right in the world to be sad. Hubby reminded me (as I was apologizing to him for being a crybaby) that NO time apart from each other should be easy, and when we say goodbye for more than a day or two and it isn't hard for us, then that's when we should be worried.
And I know that he's completely right. It's just hard for me to show weakness when I feel like I have to be strong all the time.

Updating the Will

Today was one of those days that depressing but necessary. We had to update our wills. It's part of hubby's checklist for deploying and it makes sense to do, but it's something that just completely smacks you in the face with the reminder that your husband's job is DANGEROUS.

Not that military wives ever really forget that, it's just that sometimes-especially when he hasn't deployed in years-you kind of put the danger part of the military on the back burner. But then days like today come along and you are jolted back to reality in a hurry.

I'm glad we have a plan in place "just in case", but I'm relieved that particular item can be checked off the to-do list.

New Year, New Goals

I've never been one to set New Year's Resolutions...even as a teenager I thought they were kind of lame. I've seen so many people set them and fail, and it just never appealed to me.

But this year is different. This year the hubby will be TDY/Deployed for most of the year. I have found in previous deployments that the best way to get through every day is to have a routine. So I'm challenging myself to keep on top of things. And I think that by setting these few goals for myself, it will make me a better mother, wife, and person.

This is my plan for the year and I'm going to use this blog to keep myself accountable.
*Be more positive. I'm a huge pessimist. Always have been, just ask my mom. But as I said on facebook the other day, this year I am forcing myself to think of at least one positive thing every day, and write it down so that I don't forget what I'm blessed with. It's going to be a long hard road for us this year and I think that keeping a gratitude journal will help me stay upbeat despite hard times.
*Be more organized. I found a printable blog planner online, my notebook for keeping track of Etsy orders and of course I have my planner that I cannot live without. I intend to spend a few minutes at the beginning of every week planning my blog posts, days that I need to run errands (so that I'm not going to the same stores every.single.day like I do now), and I'm hoping it will keep me better on top of my Etsy orders so that my turnaround time is faster.
*Keep my house in guest-condition always. I have made dry-erase chore charts for the kids, and I am also going to make a weekly chart for myself. It will have one or two major tasks a day so that I'm not spending an entire day just cleaning the house.
* Complete one project each week. Whether it be for the kids, my house, or a gift...I want to have something to keep me busy and creative aside from my Etsy shop.
*List 1-3 new items every week in my Etsy shop. I would love to be able to list something new every day, but lets be honest...I just don't see that being feasible when I have orders coming in. And I know that some weeks will be busier than others, so at least one new listing may be the only thing I can do once and awhile. But I think that giving myself a reasonable goal will be much better for my shop!

You are all given permission to get on my case if I start slacking. I plan to post pics of completed projects each Saturday, and I will have a What's New series with links to new items in my shop. So if you see that I go a week or more without updating, feel free to nudge me back into reality!

It's a New Year.

Happy New Year to you all! (If there's any of you left out there after my lackluster blogging performance as of late.)

I am really going to try to be better with my blogging this year. I got a new cookbook for Christmas and I fully intend to try every. single. recipe. in the book so I should have lots of new recipes to blog about. And Pinterest has a wealth of recipes I want to try my hand at too.

I can't promise that I will always be positive...but I promise to do my best. I have to admit that I am already looking forward to 2013...by then we will be debt free (aside from car payments), my hubby will be back from his deployment, and we will *hopefully* be getting ready to PCS away from Oklahoma. But I am really going to work at being more upbeat. I need to be strong for my kids and I don't want them to see me crack.

I pray that the year is full of blessings for us all, and that we come out on the other end stronger than ever.

Life's about to get crazy.

Well, the time has come.
The hubby is getting deployed next year.
We knew it was coming, so we were pretty prepared for it. We've been so blessed that this will only be his third deployment (in 11 years) and that he hasn't had to be deployed since 05/06. So. Blessed.
What I wasn't prepared for, however, was all the pre-deployment training he'd have to do beforehand (thanks to the new job) and the moving-up of the deployment date. We say our first goodbyes in about a week and a half.
He will miss so much of 2012...the entirety of Noah's school volleyball season and most likely all of baseball season for the three kids as well. He'll miss all three kids birthdays, Valentine's Day, my birthday, Memorial Day, 4th of July, my sister's wedding in July (which all three of my kids and myself with be in), Noah's first day of middle school, Jonah's first day of 3rd grade, Sophia's first day of Kindergarten, Halloween, and possibly Thanksgiving and Christmas. We do know he'll be home for Easter and his birthday, but aside from that we're not guaranteed.
It's going to be tough, I'm sure, and it'll definitely be hard on the kids because the boys don't really remember hubby's last deployment, and he's never been gone for more than a couple of weeks since Sophia was born. And she is definitely a Daddy's Girl. I'm keeping my head up and pressing on.
Because honestly, what else can you do when you're a military wife?
I REFUSE to be a pouty, crybaby wife. Yes, I'm frusterated about the timing because now I have to get myself, the dog and the kids to Florida this summer alone, and I'm not quite sure how that will work out. And I'm frusterated for the kids that he'll miss so many things that are big for them. But I have to remember that we've been a damn fortunate military family and I need to be thankful for that.

But if you want to send up a prayer or two for us over the next year, that would be good too. Because I'm sure we'll need it.

Double Digit Milestone

Turning ten is a major milestone if you're a military child. When you hit double digits you get your first military dependant I.D. card. Trust me when I tell you that this is a BIG DEAL for a military kid. And a scary one for the moms & dads.

It's Been a Decade

I don't know about you, but I can't believe it's been 10 years since 9/11. I have spent alot of this past week thinking. Thinking about how naive I was back then (I was 19), how my heart breaks for all the families. And how different my family's life would be if it never happened. I know that the majority of you know that I'm a military wife. My hubby went in before 9/11 and we assumed that he'd just do his service and never have to get deployed. But before he was even out of his training after basic everything changed. So instead of being a peace-time Airman, his ENTIRE military career to this point has been in wartime. Thankfully we've been lucky and he's only deployed twice in 10 years. I know that in this day and age that is NOT the norm and we never take that for granted.
People always talk about how many lives were lost on that day ten years ago. But really, that total is much, much higher. How many soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have died fighting to rid the world of those who committed and backed this horrible deed? The fight is ongoing. Sometimes I feel like so much of America only remembers that day when it rolls around on the calendar every year. But for those who lost a loved one, and for those of us who are military families, that day never leaves you. We remember it. Every. Single. Day.
So here I am ten years, three kids and countless military assignments later and I am still a PROUD American military wife. God bless our great nation and the men and women who put their lives on the line everyday to keep her free.
(These scrapbook pages were made using the "Called to Duty" digital scrapbooking pack from MyMemories.com There's still time to get in the drawing for the free download valued at $40).

Writer's block.

I know I haven't blogged in forever. I keep meaning to put up pics from the cruise but I just havent' had the energy.

Coming back to Oklahoma (I won't even try to kid myself by calling this place home...it NEVER will be) has been a downer for all of us. The kids were so great and well-behaved on our trip, and then we got back here and it was all downhill. I'm sure the heat hasn't helped either...it's been over 100* every day since we got back. Even Jonah doesn't like to be outside.

I can finally say that we have friends here though, which is a good thing. Not many that's for sure, but I've learned over the last few years that it's the quality of friends that you have, not the quantity.

I'm trying to be positive and upbeat and post on here but there's just really nothing to post about. We don't do much of anything...it's too hot to go outside anywhere and our budget doesn't allow for us to do much anyway. We have taken advantage of the Blue Star Museum program and hit up the Science Museum a few times this summer...but you can only go do the same exhibits so many times before the kids don't even want to go. (If you're military you will LOVE this program...certain museums around the country offer free admission to military and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day.)

I will have a few more posts in the coming weeks about school starting. My baby starts Pre-K on the 11th so there will be pictures involved too :)

But until then just bear with me. I'm having a much harder time adjusting to Oklahoma than I ever thought I would. I just can't get out of this "I hate where I live and I don't know when I can leave here" funk.

So have ya missed me?

Wow. I can't believe an entire month has gone by since I last updated the 'ol blog. I seriously feel like it's only been a week or so. Here's a quick recap of the last month of our lives. *Spring Break with a fun trip to the zoo with out-of-town friends. *Multiple trips to the dentist for the kids. Their mouths and our wallet need time to recouperate! *We moved out of our apartment into base housing. *We've had 2 barbecues in 2 weeks. One was a bigger one and one was small scale. But the first was mere days after moving into the house. The hubby says it was his subtle way of getting me to get the boxes unpacked. *Noah has had 3 track meets for school. Now we're getting ready for Easter and baseball...all three kids are playing this year. Oh, and the hubby was told by a neighbor about a base hockey team. I have decided I do not like this new neighbor. ;) Needless to say our busy life is about to get LOTS busier. Bring it on.

It's an adjustment.

Last night my oldest, laid back as can be son had a meltdown.

He is not really a meltdown type. He's so cool, calm & collected most of the time. He played it off like he was frusterated with his homework, but then I heard the truth in the form of a mutter: "I hate Oklahoma. I wish we never left South Carolina."

And it hit me like a ton of bricks.

The hubby & I had noticed some uncharacteristicly low grades coming home in his folders lately, and a major attitude brewing. Granted, he's 9 and I've been told that the attitude of teenagers starts early, but it was so out of the norm for him. He's such a go-with-the-flow kind of kid. These were signs of him not adjusting, and I just didn't see it. I was too busy wallowing in my own self-pity of hating the crazy, can't-make-its-mind-up weather and longing for my friends and the beach that I didn't even realize he was having an even harder time acclimating that I was. Way to be an on-the-ball mom. Nice.

I feel like it's partly my fault, too, because I'm guilty of voicing my complaints about Oklahoma in the presence of my kids. I realized last night that if I want my kids to succeed in getting used to a new place, then I need to show them how. I can't just expect them to dive in headfirst and come up smiling. I need to show them how to hold their noses and then swim to the surface. I need to give them positives instead of just pointing out the negatives. And I'm the first one to tell you I'm a pessimist, so that's going to be a major working point for me. But if it means that my kids will be better able to cope with a new environment, then I will bust my butt to get myself in the right mindset to make that happen.

It's going to be a process, I'm sure, but I know that they'll get there. We all will.

(It will definitely help if the weather can warm up and keep the snow and rain and tornado threats away though!)

Update!

Ok here's a recap of my life since Christmas:

Christmas day decided about 2pm to drive to see my hubby's parents in Daytona Beach, with the stipulation that we take the kids to Disney World one last time before our big move.

Day after Christmas was spent freezing our tushies off at the Magic Kingdom...but we all had a blast! It was a great last hurrah on the east coast!

The week of New Years was spent getting ready for and dealing with our house being packed up and shipped off to Oklahoma. New Year's Eve and New Year's day was spent cleaning the house for our security deposit inspection. Fun huh?

We spent New Year's Eve with our wonderful friends like we've done every year since we moved to South Carolina. Every night until we left we stayed at their house too b/c we had no beds!

Tuesday, 4 Jan was our last day in Summerville. We left town between 5 and 6pm and drove until we got to Atlanta, where we made our first stop.

On 5 Jan we left Atlanta and drove to Memphis and stayed at a wonderful hotel for 2 nights. If you find yourself in need of a place to stay when you're visiting the Birthplace of Rock & Roll, you need to book yourself a room at the Marriott Downtown Memphis. It's right near the river and there's a door from the lobby that takes you right out to a trolley stop and for $1 a ride you can ramble down the street and get off at any of the cool old downtown places your little heart can desire. We ate dinner both nights at Blues City Cafe on Beale Street. Oh so yummy...and family friendly too.

January 6th we spent the day at the Memphis Zoo with the kids. It was pretty chilly but we practically had the zoo all to ourselves.

We headed out again on the 7th of January and planned on stopping somewhere along the way, but decided when we were about halfway to OKC that we really didn't to prolong the trip yet another day, so we just sucked it up and drove the rest of the way and got into Oklahoma City about 6pm on Friday. We couldn't get into the base billeting because it was a Guard weekend and our reservations didn't start till Saturday. But we found another place to stay and crashed.

Saturday & Today have been spent house-hunting...very unsuccessfully I may add. We're going to go to the housing office first thing Monday morning and see if there's anything available we can get into right away. We're on the list for a new 4 bedroom but that's about a 6-8 month wait. So we're going to ask for an old 3 or 4 bedroom and see what can be done. I'm praying hard that we can get moved in sometime soon...the tiny little 1 bedroom apartment that is TLF here at Tinker is rapidly shrinking with my family of 5. They don't even cater to families over four people...there's only 4 chairs at the table and 4 place settings. I have to admit I cried when I walked in.

On a good note we're hoping to get the boys enrolled in the base school tomorrow so that they can at least get back into a routine...they've already missed one full week and I'm afraid that they'll have to repeat this year if they miss too much more.

As soon as we're somewhere more permanent I'll be able to show pics of our Disney trip and our move. I'm not quite sure where the cord is for my camera right now, and the internet connection is hit or miss in TLF.

Ok well, I'm off to go check my laundry. I've taken over all 4 washers in the building's guest laundry room. That's what happens when a family of five travels for almost a week straight!