Saturday, January 9, 2010

We Were Surprised

Yesterday Tony went to sign the papers to apply to trade bases. We were told it would probably take a few days to find out if it was approved or not. They were behind in the office and it would probably take longer than usual for us to hear from them. So we were very surprised last night, when Tony checked his account with the Air Force online and saw that our next base would be Hickam AFB! We were not really expecting the trade to be approved, much less in half a day! (Now why can't the Air Force always do things this quickly?!)

We did not go looking to trade bases. The guy Tony traded with came to him wanting California. We thought and prayed about it and decided to go ahead and apply for the trade, even though our chances were slim of it being approved. We didn't want to pass up an opportunity like this, just in case. We were happy with the possibility of either place. We just want to be where God wants us to be. So we left it in God's hands, not that we can ever really take control anyway! We were at peace with wherever He put us.

There are pros and cons to being there, of course. The biggest cons would definitely be that we would be farther away from from my family, and a lot of his family. We plan to take advantage of all the Space-A travel that we can though, and come back to visit as often as possible. I don't know that being in Hawaii would cause us to visit less often than we would if we were in California. It would possibly prevent them from being able to visit us as easily. However it doesn't cost as much more to fly there as opposed to California as I thought it would. It will all work out, as we are confident that God has a plan for us being there!

On the pro side, it will probably be easier to see Tony's parents than it would be if we were in California. The experience and opportunity that it would be for our family and especially for the girls is another pro to us.

I know that my family is not excited about this for us. That's ok, I understand. Even though it makes me so sad to make them upset. We have always seen my family pretty often, so this will be an adjustment. I'm praying that God will give them peace and excitement for us.

We have lots to do in the next 2 months to get ready for our adventure. I'm very excited to follow God in this next step. Our first order of business once we get there-swimming lessons for me and the girls!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Hello 2010

I hope that this new year has gotten off to a great start for all of you. 2009 was a year of many changes for us, and there are a few in store for us in 2010 as well.

This time last year we had just decided that Tony would join the Air Force. Look how far we have come in 1 year! We survived the 2 month separation with limited contact for Basic Training. The girls and I moved 300 miles to be with him at Tech school. We are now half-way done with tech school. This time last year I would not have believed that I could go for 2 months without my husband, and move pretty much by myself! While it wasn't fun or easy, I wouldn't change anything about it. Everything we went through was used for learning and putting things in perspective. Our marriage and family as a whole has been made stronger and better because if it.

We look forward to our big move in the Spring. There is a possibility that we may not be moving to California after all. A guy that is in Tony's class came to him wanting to trade bases. He wants to go to the base in California that we have been assigned to. In exchange we would be going to the base that he was assigned. The base that he was assigned is Hickam AFB. I'll save you the time of Googling it and just tell you where it is....It's in Hawaii.

There are pros and cons to being in Hawaii instead of California. (More pros in my opinion.) :o) The biggest pros (aside from the fact that well, it's Hawaii) - are that I already have a friend there, and it would be a lot easier to see Tony's parents more often. They live in Okinawa. In the 6 years that we have been together Tony only sees his parents on average of once a year. They have seen Natalie 4 times, and Gabbie only twice. It would be harder to see my family, ( big con) but I would love the opportunity to spend more time with his parents. We would also make a little more money living in Hawaii as opposed to California. In the end we decided that you just don't turn a chance like that down. It may not happen again. SO, we are in the process of waiting to see if the trade will be approved. It may or may not be approved, but at least we aren't passing the opportunity up! We hope to know in the next week or two what the outcome is. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much...but some days it's really hard! :o)

Either way- whether we move to California or Hawaii- we have a big adventure awaiting us in about 3 months! I'm excited to get to our base and get settled. I'm ready to find a good church and make some friends. Natalie has also been asking about going to gymnastics lately-I think she misses it! Once we get settled we hope to get her back into it. She really loved it, and can still do some flips even though she hasn't had any classes in a long time.

I don't make resolutions, I never keep them so what's the point? Ha ha. My goals are pretty much the same every year. *Try to be a better friend, wife and mother than last year. *Learn to trust and follow God more. *Manage my time better. Those are a few of the basics. This year for sure I plan to... Do new things, see new places, and make new friends!

Blessings to you in 2010! Thanks for checking in with me as we start this year off. I hope we can end it together as well!