`When Uncle Sam Calls The Shots

Well we are down to our last 6 or 7 months in Hawaii!!  We have mixed feelings about this, but mostly we are excited.  Very excited.  I love so many things about Hawaii, and will be forever grateful that we got this great opportunity to be here.  But it's time to go.  The beauty of the Island doesn't make up for the fact that we go over a year without seeing our families, and my niece will be over a year old before I even meet her. Yes, it's time to go...now. Yet, even though we have only a few months left before we put all of our belongings adrift in the ocean for several weeks...we have NO idea where we are going next!  I'll tell you, not knowing where you will be living in just a few months, yet knowing that it will for certain be somewhere different than you are now...well, it's not the best feeling. However, it's something that countless other military families identify with.
The other day I got an email from Tony while he was at work.  The conversation went something like this:
"How about Nebraska?"
Me:
Hahaha! NO!
(You see, a girl from Texas would never want to move to Nebraska.)

Then we see an article about Omaha being the top place to raise families. Interesting. Then we ask some military friends that have been stationed at Offutt AFB before about it.  All positive responses.  Hmmm...We do some more research on the base and area, and suddenly....This girl from Texas WANTS to go to Offutt!  What?!?  How?!  Suddenly, we both want to go to Offutt.
So Tony applied to be sent there as our next duty station. And now we wait....and wait, and then, we will wait some more.When Uncle Sam calls all the shots, you spend a lot of time stressing waiting. If he is accepted for the position he will have to extend his enlistment in order to take the job, so that's another confusion. My poor husband has been reading through hundreds of pages of Air Force rules to try to learn how it all works.  To add to that confusion...we just discovered that the earliest that we would be leaving the island will be in my 36th week.  The latest that I am allowed to fly.  Hmmm....Back to the rule books....  Aside from the fact that a 8-12 hour plane trip will be hugely uncomfortable at 36 weeks, that would likely mean that all of our belongings will be somewhere on the ocean when I'm 40 weeks!  Not good! So now we get to see how/if we can get our move bumped up a little earlier.  This could have me making that very long airplane trip across the ocean with 3 girls, and a large belly/small bladder all by myself!  My sweet hubby said that if anyone could do it, I could.  :o)  He's so sweet.
If he isn't accepted for the job in Nebraska, then in a little over a month a list will come out that has all of the places that have openings for someone is his job and rank.  We then put that list in order of preference, and then we wait... We can put up to 5 places on our list...provided the list of options is that long.  We have some friends that recently had their list come out, and it only had 1 option!  That made it easy for them. ha ha  While we wait, we will plan for the location that is at the bottom of our list to be where we will be assigned. ;o)   Cause let's face it...Uncle Sam doesn't care too much about what anyone wants.
Honestly, I'm not too worried about where we are going.  We know that God has it totally in control, and we will end up exactly where he wants us to be!  He has guided our steps and blessed us so clearly in our military adventure, and I know he will continue to do so!  The good thing about our first assignment being overseas, is it doesn't matter where on the mainland we end up, we will feel like it's close to family! :o) However...I just want to know where that place is!!  AND, I want to have a house and a bed for the new baby.
I have lots to do to keep me busy while I am waiting I guess...I have to try to make my house look like no one has lived here the last 3 years.  I should get on that...cause once we DO find out where we are going, all kinds of crazy is going to break loose. And even though 6 months sounds like a long time...I know it can fly by!