Moving Day again

It's moving day again. We've had lots of transition the past few months and hopefully this move will help us be settled for a long time to come. Here are some pictures of our new house. Most are from the sale listing, so consider them the "before" shots. We have already done a lot of work. Like painting all of the trim outside and touching up the other areas that needed it. What a huge difference a coat of white paint makes. Justin's been trimming trees, removing moss from the roof, getting the water heater and heat pump working and installing a house water filter system. There's more to do. This house needs a little love and we can't wait to get started making a forever home.

 The back of the house.

 The amazing shop.

 The trellace is a little overgrown, but has a healthy wisteria plant on one side.

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 A fun play structure. It needs a little re-enforcing, but I think it will be fun for the kids.

 Our very own chicken coop. Guess we will be learning about chickens this year.

 The side entrance. The old nasty hot tub is going to go though. Can't wait to figure out something fun to put in it's place.

Ah, Military Life

Some things in life are just hard. Unfortunately there is usually no way around them. Like the game says "can't go over it, can't go under it, can't go around it, guess we'll have to go through it..." One of the hardest things about being a Military Kid is that you move, sometimes a lot. When you move you have to make new friends, and the worst part, leave old friends behind. When we left WA, Bug left some great friends behind. One of them was able to come and visit this summer. They had such fun, it was like they were never apart. Bug still talks about when we get back (crossing fingers) so that he can play with his friend.

As a Mom, you want to shield your kids from heartache. Also as a Mom, you know they have to go through it to learn and grow. It's one of the hardest things about being a parent. I do know, as a grown-up having moved 9+ times, that you do make new friends and the very best part is that you get to keep the ones who move away. We now have friends in far corners of the world and I love that. In fact, we have neighbors here who we have known since Bug and his Friend were in pre-school together.  As a 9 year old boy, it's hard to see past next Tuesday.

In our new house here there are lots and lots of boys. In the park behind our house they are free to play ball, tag, football, spy kids or whatever they want. They all have a great time back there. A couple of months ago one of them moved away and everyone was sad. They all moped around for days. This week another family moved on to a new Military Adventure, leaving us another 2 boys short of a fun time. The 3 oldest boys were all in the same class at school and some of the same school activities. They loved hanging out. It's so hard to say goodbye. This morning Bug looked toward thier house and said, "School will not be the same today." No it won't, but new adventures are in store, and we wish them well. 

My head is spinning...

It's been a busy, crazy couple of weeks around here. Preparing the house for tenants (hopefully), selling the truck, buying a commuter car, school commitments with kids, seeing friends, preparing talks for church, Ombudsman training, retirement ceremonies for dear friends, a sidelining illness and I don't even remember what all else. Just too much. Meg has taken up her binky again. I would too if I thought it would calm me down. This weekend my grandma is coming and Justin's Dad. Should be fun. Bug has a school play tonight and no school tomorrow. He's excited about both. It's the last weekend with our stuff for a while. Still need to pack for the road trip. Which means the car needs cleaned out. I think my GPS was stolen out of my car, but maybe it will turn up after all under some long forgotten something in the car. It's scary in there.

Good things have happened too. I had a wonderful lunch with some of my very favorite people yesterday. It was good to chat and see everyone for a while. I have had dear friends come and help me clean up the house. It looks better than it has since we moved in. I was able to share some thoughts with friends at church and that was very nice for me. I am also preparing a brief talk for this Sunday. It changes your perspective on the week and I am grateful for that. I get so wrapped up in stress that I forget to enjoy the happy, good moments that happen as they happen.

I have another 4 days to blog from here, and then it's onto more adventures. Wish us luck. (Oh thanks Mom for the post card. You are a talented woman.)

It's Officially Official

We FINALLY have our marching orders, and they didn't somehow change to Guam while we were waiting. Not that we don't love our friends there, we just don't want to live there again. Now I can do small things like.... setting up our move. Getting on the housing waiting list. Requesting medical records. Notifying the school. You know, small stuff like that.
We leave for Sunny San Diego by Feb 10 and have 20 days to get there and report. Looking forward to new and different again.

Where to live, where to live....

The Navy has decided there is no way we can stay in the beautiful PNW past this winter. We must move to somewhere Justin can be of more use to them. (Again, I am NOT in charge here.) So our choices were Saratoga Springs, NY doing a teaching job, or Point Loma, CA near San Diego, doing a maintaince foreman job. We leave sometime in late January, early February. Where do you think we chose? Stay tuned for the answer, coming as soon as "official" orders arrive.

Hurry and Wait-- UPDATE

UPDATED AT THE BOTTOM!

One of the strangest things about being a Navy Family is that you never really know where you are going to live 6 months from now. Sometimes you can be reasonably sure, but a lot of times things can change in an instant. I learned a long time ago to live my life anyway, make plans, make friends and roll with the punches. It's too hard to live on pins and needles not knowing what the future holds.

This week we are waiting for promotion results. And waiting, and waiting.... They are taking their sweet time posting them, when we know the board dismissed 2 weeks ago. I am compulsively checking two different websites that will have results posted about 5 times a day. What does a promotion mean to us? Besides the little pay grade increase, it may mean another move. Not a move next year sometime, a move this summer. Who knows where to or what his new job will entail. What does the future hold? Who knows, but I have to put my faith in my loving Heavenly Father who will take care of us from any corner of the world. Ah, the life of a Navy Family. Will keep you posted.

UPDATE: the list is out. His name isn't on it this time around. Not that he's not qualified, just that other people were too. There are only so many spaces for lots of people. Maybe next year. The good news is, we are in WA for another year. Yeah!