The List

So it doesn't look like we will be getting the spot in Nebraska.  Bummer.  It looked pretty great.

So we waited for the list.  It actually came out a day early which was surprising.  I'm pretty sure it was one of the only times the military has been early for anything.  ha ha
So the only openings for Tony's rank and job are these...

Barksdale- Louisiana (Shreveport)
Ellsworth-South Dakota (Rapid City)
Hurlburt Field-Florida panhandle
Langley- Virginia (Hampton)
Minot- North Dakota
Nellis- Nevada (Las Vegas)
Tyndall-Florida panhandle
Whiteman- Missouri (Knob Noster/Warrensburg)
Cannon- New Mexico (Clovis)

We were less than thrilled.  None of these we consider to be great places, or places that we would want to go.  Never the less, we will be going to one of them, so we will have to make the best of it, and look for the positives in all of them.  Even with that, there are a few that we absolutely do not want to wind up at.  WE have left them off of our "dream sheet" in the hopes of reducing the chances.   This does not eliminate the chance by any means.  The Air Force will do what wants.  

The places we for sure don't want to go:

Cannon-  Even though it's only 2ish hours from my home town and where my parents live we've heard terrible things about the base and town.  Dirty drug town.  Also, I know what the weather and scenery is like and it's not pretty.  Ha ha. Also, it would most likely mean lots of deployments for Tony.  And, I've lived in that area for 25 years.  I would like to experience something new while we have the chance.  I will cry if we get sent here, no offense to my family. :o)  So, the positive for this place is only 1- Close to Mimi and Pawpaw.
 
Nellis - Middle of the desert and in Las Vegas.  I do not want to live in Las Vegas with children.  Have heard a lot of people that have been there saying that they wouldn't want to be there with their kids at all.  High crime rate. Positive for here-It's supposed to be a nice base and there are some really neat military planes and exercises that happen there. Housing looks nice.

Barksdale- Louisiana.   From what we've heard it is a dirty town also, and a friend that grew up there said she would never want to live there. Positive-It's in the south, and only 5 hours from my sister in the gulf of Texas.

Minot- North Dakota.  Need I say more?? ha ha  From what we've heard it's in a very remote area, fairly expensive to live there and COLD!   I found some positives today- only 50 miles from Canada.  I don't know anything about that part of Canada, but still pretty cool to be able to go there.  Housing looks nice, the schools on base are rated well, (We home school now, but don't know if we will forever.  Having a 2 year old and a tiny baby will make it hard.  Heck, it's hard with a 15 month old, and 4 year old.  It would be nice to have a good school  just in case. We take it a year at a time.But this post is not about that, so back on topic) Northern lights. 

These three places were left off of the our list in the hopes of not getting them.  We'll see how that works.  we are trying not to get our hopes up.


Whiteman- Missouri.  Tiny base in the middle of nowhere surrounded by tiny towns.  To be honest, I haven't found out much about this base yet.  70 miles from Kansas City, so not too far from a larger town, but possibly too far to go super often. I lived not too far from there once when I was a kid for about 6 months. It's a pretty area, but not sure if it's the same over in Missouri.   Positive-Check back later, I'm still working on that.

Langley- Virginia.  In the Norfolk/Va beach area. However, very expensive cost of living and really bad traffic.  Probably neither of those are as bad as it is here, but I've had more than my fill of awful traffic and having to pay an arm and a leg to do anything, including parking! Also, we get a cost of living allowance here, and we won't there.  Positive- Only 2 hours from Tony's parents, 3 hours from Washington DC and lots to see and do in the area. 

Tyndall- Florida Panhandle.  Heard the traffic can be bad, and I've had 3 years of summer.  I'd like to go somewhere with more of a seasonal change.  Haven't done a lot of research into this one yet either.  Positive- Nice weather, close to the beach. 

Hurlbert Field- Also in the FL panhandle.  About an hour from the above location. Haven't looked much into this one either.  Likely a high deployment base for Tony as well. Positives-We have good friends there, nice weather, close to the beach.

Ellsworth- South Dakota. This is actually my top choice. Cold and remote.  Probably not as bad as North Dakota. Positives- I have friends there,(from my hometown actually) they really love it.  Lots of people that have been there love it.  Seems like a cute, family friendly town.  Even though its a fairly small town, it has a Super Target, so I'm good. ;o)  Nice housing. Close to Mt. Rushmore. very pretty part of the country.

So there it is.  One of these places will be our home for the next 2 years or more.  Praying hard about it, and having to remind myself often that wherever we go is exactly where God wants us to be. He has a plan and purpose for us there.  Wherever we go will be closer to family than we are now, and cheaper to fly to if it's too far to drive.  We literally have a possibility to go almost all over the mainland USA.  From as far West as Nevada, to as far East as the coast of Virginia. (Doesn't get much farther east than that) As far North as northern North Dakota and as far south as Florida...with a few points in between.  We actually have little to no say in which one of these is out assignments.  Maybe that's a good this.  It's totally up to God. (And the Air Force, but He has control over even that)  

Now we wait. We will get an assignment anytime after the 18th...most likely after the 25th though.  It's going to be a LOOONNNGG couple of weeks!  Stay tuned!  (I'll be looking for more positives for some of these places while I'm waiting)