we made it!

I'm borrowing a friends computer to post that we officially made it out of RI and into the wonderful state of VA!! We've already seen two family friends in D.C. and are staying with friends tonight in VA Beach. It was a loooong drive yesterday from RI to DC and pulling the trailer was a challenging, especially with some bad roads, but we're done and safe and sound and very very blessed. Will leaves tomorrow for RI again to move our stuff out and I'm staying with the boys up here. We're so exhausted. Thanks so much for all the prayers. We felt them and needed them. Time to rest, finally. night

one last packing post

My husband is outside methodically packing the car (suburban) with engineering precision while my almost 4 year old son is trying to fall asleep in our room (his is too hot and he got a late nap 'cause I was gone to Will's graduation) so here I am blogging one last time before I don't see a computer for a week or more. :) I know I'll miss it, but I actually think it will be relaxing too. The kids are off their usual schedule because of this crazy week, but they sleep really well in the car so I'm hoping that naps will come easily tomorrow. They'll need it. So will we, but since we'll have to go to bed when they do in the hotel room tomorrow night, it will be our chance to catch up ... assuming they go to bed at a normal hour (8ish).

I'm also interested in how they'll do in sleeping bags on the floor of our mostly carpeted house in Norfolk. The bedrooms are hardwood and the living areas and eating area is carpeted. I think I want them to sleep on the carpet b/c it's softer, but then I can't close the door and "put them to bed" b/c it's all open. This also would mean that I can't stay up late although I'll be on an air mattress so I can be in the bedrooms. Maybe I'll just pad their bags with some blankets I'm bringing. I'm sure they'll be fine. Half the time Charley would rather sleep on the hard floor and has many times.

It will be interesting to see how we'll pass the time with only the things I packed in an empty house. My plan is to let them play outside in the dirt and water, a lot! I already packed bathing suits and sunscreen. I also plan on visiting a lot of friends and maybe finally getting a Y membership. I have no idea when our household goods will arrive. ugh. I hope we don't have to wait too long. To that end, I overpacked, just so we wouldn't have to fish necessities out of boxes once they do arrive.

Well, my wonderful hubby is done packing. I'm sure he did a great job and we have room for a few extra toys for the boys, maybe even a trike or two! The neighborhood we live in down there is great for walks. There's so much shade and the streets are wide and since the neighborhood is so secluded, the streets aren't that busy. I can't wait to be back. Plus we can see the water at different points throughout the neighborhood b/c it's on a peninsula. I hope the boys like their new home and new friends and new everything. I wonder when they'll understand we're not coming back to RI (for a long time). I hope they're ok with it all. I know they'll enjoy the adventure anyway.

Next stop, D.C., then onto warm, sunny Virginia!

Blessings!

Oh yeah, a big Happy 2nd Birthday to my youngest, Ben, this Sunday, April 27th!!! I can't believe he'll be two already! I was barely pregnant with him when we first moved to RI. :) Happy Birthday Ben!!

crazy days

ok, just a quick blog to update you all on the craziness going on around here (which is mostly in our minds) :) So, most of you know, we're moving in 2 weeks! ahhh, crazy! We just got finished throwing a massive 2 year Ben Birthday/Going away party. 27 people in the house, crazy! :) It went really really well though and my prayers all week were answered: the rain held off until the last guest drove away, then it started, crazy! (well, not considering who I was praying to). So the kids were able to go outside for a bit.

I got creative (or anal, depending on your perspective) and made signs for the different rooms and places in our house where things would be happening so people would know where to go and what they could do. Signs included, "food" area, "crafts/toys" room, "smaller ones/nursing" room, "coats, shoes, purses" room, "bouncer" area, and last but not least "W.C./potty". :) We had kind friends who let us borrow a huge bouncer that actually fit in our basement and the kids loooved it, plus it really helped with kid/crowd control. I also borrowed a big, plastic, round, kids table that seated about 6 kids and put craft stuff on it for the kids who wanted to 'make things'. It was so cute to see them all sitting there with the little foam stickers, colored pencils, glue sticks and kid scissors. Plus, all the toys were in that room so the mess was contained to one location, yay! :) I still have to clean it up though :) I'm actually looking forward to it though, ugh, I know, it's weird. Then, just when I thought I was being overly detail-oriented (yeah, you know), it turned out that the nursing room (which is the boys small bedroom, complete with changing table), was used a number of times for nursing purposes and for sleeping babies!

I knew with that number of people, there had to be activities, but for the age group (0-5), and amount of space, organized activities were probably not a good idea. So they were able to spread out around the house doing different things, including outside and the flow went really well. The moms were able to relax and eat fruit and veggie and deli trays (yes, I'm in pre-move keep it easy and simple mode), while the dads ran the bouncer and kept watch outside and chatted as well. I thought it worked out well for all. (of course, I hope the people who read this blog and also attended agree) hi! :)

Of course, things got a little chaotic around cake time, but fortunately, come genius thought up a cupcake cake, where cupcakes are put close together and iced as if they were one big cake. This made it sooo easy to hand out cake quickly and easily to the anxious little kids below. It was a Thomas the Tank Engine party, so Ben got a bunch of Thomas stuff including a backpack and sleeping bag we plan on using for the move.

I asked everyone to bring a picture of their family for our memory books for the boys so we could look back and remember all our friends from RI. Of course, half of them are Navy so we won't see them here again, but maybe on the road somewhere else. It was so great to see all of our friends (after a looong winter of practical hibernation inside) and let the boys say hi again to all their babysitters, who were also invited. I made special gift bags for them to say thank you. I also had fun using foam stamps to stamp the kids gift bags. I got the little white bags from Michael's and the boys' bags had a frog on them and the girls' bags had a butterfly.

Well anyway, it was such a blessing that so many people could come out and celebrate with us and I hope they enjoyed it too. It seemed like everyone had a great time, especially with the diversity of the crowed, i.e. church friends, Navy friends, neighborhood friends etc. It's always interesting to me when not everyone knows each other. I love watching people dynamics and wondering who will enjoy talking to whom.

ok well, I'd better go to bed. Will and I worked on a new set of 'to dos' tonight and now that the party is over, I'm officially in move-mode. Tomorrow begins the preparation with the vehicles, cleaning, oil/fluid changes, tire balancing and rotation etc. Then, since next week is Spring Break, I plan on getting some babysitters to help with the kids so I can complete some last minute projects and stuff that's difficult to do with the boys around. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. I'm mostly praying that Will and I will be able to keep things low-stress and calm for the boys. They really pick up on big changes etc. and their attitudes show it and although I have a very positive attitude about moves in general, the fact is we have a lot to get done and moving is in general, a stressful thing, sooo, please pray that we handle it well and balance things well so they don't feel left out in the meantime and are still at ease by the time we get there. I know they have no concept of the fact that we won't be coming back here, but I'm hoping they'll be ok with that, especially once we re-introduce them to old friends and fun places and the warmer weather! :)

Good night, God Bless!


ps. will post pics soon (i hope)

missing YOU!

This morning, I'm missing my home state of Texas ... Blue Bell ice cream, bluebonnets, warm weather, humidity, (not mosquitos) :), flowers in bloom in my Mom's backyard, the smell of all the flowers in bloom in my Mom's backyard, shorts, tank tops and sandals, neighborhood swimming pools, my Houston peeps (ok, well Texans in general), the awesome Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the wonderful Houston Rockets who just made the playoffs! :) I don't know when I'll be able to make it down there soon, but at least I know that our nearby Norfolk friends are anxiously waiting and praying for us. It's so nice to feel wanted and I can't wait to see them again and how big all their kids have grown in the 2.5 years since we left (well, 1.5 years since we visited)! :)

the forsythia are about to bloom!

I'm so excited that spring has almost sprung up here in RI. Lord knows there are so many things I don't like about the NE, but I have yet to see a more beautiful springtime anywhere. (Maybe the looong, cold winter was worth it, naah) :) All of the bulbs are beginning to come up, crocus, daffodils, narcissus, hibiscus and so many more that I can't even name. Yes, I miss my TX azaleas, crepe myrtles, bluebonnets and wild flowers, but the tulips and other bulbed plants around are are exquisite! I'll try to take some pictures to capture it, but I think you'd just have to see it for your own eyes. There's a field up here where they keep dividing and replanting daffodil bulbs and it turns into a photo op for most families once they're all in bloom. We haven't done it yet, but this is our last chance while we live here and the boys are such a young, cute age so I'm going to try. Hopefully they'll all be in bloom before we leave in 3 weeks and what a send off we'll have as all of the flowers will seem to wish us well with they're beautiful, colorful blooms!

simple Easter and family update

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I posted (minus earlier this morning). I feel like Will and I have been overwhelmed in thought and activities. Thoughts about our move, money and possibly buying another house in the Norfolk area, and activities such as volleyball, voice/piano lessons, church activities, school tests (for Will) and the general stress that accompanies all of this.

We're studying a book in our women's Bible study called "Calm My Anxious Heart" and while I don't think I feel anxious or worried about any of this, I do feel excited and I also feel the partial weight of a decision that will affect our future. Just to combat any potential for worry (and hopefully stress) I decided to finally set aside some time to specifically pray for awhile about all these decisions. I tend to take the "pray as you go" approach throughout my day since I rarely find myself with an hour or so of time (that I'm actually awake and lucid enough to think), but thankfully, this time (and God) found me a couple of days ago in the afternoon when everyone in the house was napping. I admit, my mind wandered some, but I managed to keep coming back to the "house/money" topic. This time, though, I tried to focus on the "praise" part of prayer because I feel like I too often assume the "Lord please help me with this and that" posture. So even though I wasn't praying about what I needed help with during the entirety of my prayer time, I felt that by trying to praise and glorify God (basically tell Him how awesome He is) I was communicating that because He's so great, I want to seek Him in everything and I want His guidance in every area of my life (hence, covering the house issue) :)

I didn't feel any major decisions were magically solved by this prayer time, however, I did have a peace of mind that at least I had sought God, and no, I don't think this one time absolves me of any others, I just felt that it helped me know and recenter myself with the knowledge that, "yes, I actually did pray to God about this, yes I am continually seeking Him in my prayers throughout the day, and yes, I can expect His direction and guidance and peace as we continue to walk in the path of these major decisions."

Anyway, other major news, we finally have a confirmed move date: April 26 & 27 (Ben's 2nd birthday) Will and I will drive the family down to Norfolk to live in the house we already own down there. Will will return to RI to finish his last week of school and move the household goods out when the movers arrive April 28-30. Then I will receive our stuff whenever they get down here, hopefully that Friday, so any VA friends reading this, please help me find babysitters for the boys or consider taking one for the day. :) Then, after Will finishes school that week, he will drive down and join us that Friday or Saturday, May 2, 3. He starts a 5-day school on May 5, then has a week off to help us get moved in. During this week, we'll work on the house and hopefully get it rental ready, as well as keep searching for another house. We'll only move some of our things in, but if we don't find a house we like, we'll just move everything in and look for something next year.

It's so relieving to finally have a date. For those of you who have kept up with the saga, we thought we were moving last year, but neither the orders nor an explanation ever came through. This time, we're really moving. Finally.

Because of all that has been going on, we will not be having the large Easter meal that we usually have, including lamb. We'll be going simple this year, although I'm still not sure what that will look like. I think all I hope to do is make it to church, have an Easter egg hunt with the boys, and most importantly, tell them about why we celebrate Easter, about Jesus dying on the cross to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, and rising again to conquer death forever and bring us new life eternally with Him. I asked Will if we could have communion as a family, but he thought the boys were a little young for that. I mean, obviously they wouldn't get it, but I thought it might be special to start as a tradition that they would understand later. Maybe next year. :)

Well, may you all have a blessed and Happy Easter! He is Risen, He is Risen indeed! :)

completely random

Super Tuesday is almost here... are you excited?!! The field is being narrowed, decision time is coming.

Hilarious, Night Rider is coming back! The next thing you know, the Smurfs will be on!

The Hunt for Red October is such a cool movie!

I'm still hoarse & flemmy from a week ago ... this has to end! I'm almost out of Mucinex.

Now we might move in April. Tune in next week, it could be March! :) Praise the Lord! He's in control! He knows my steps before they're taken.

droopy day

This morning, I feel like that character, Droopy, from Looney Tunes. I caught a cold earlier this week and instead of recovering pretty quickly, like I usually do, it's been getting worse. It started in my throat and chest, which is weired b/c I usually get a head cold first and then it goes into my lungs.

Anyway, I'm just tired and keep coughing and can't breath very well. The kids are being pretty good, just energetic as usual. I just want to curl up in bed and sleep instead of keep up with them. At least Will is coming home early after a big test he has this morning. They're watching VeggieTales right now for a short break, then Ben goes down for a nap and hopefully Charley will play quietly for awhile, or some snuggle with me. :)

He came in this morning and told me that he prayed to God for me to feel better. I thought that was so sweet. He spent the next 1/2 hour looking for different things to pray for ... Daddy's big test, more snow, when the zoo opened, etc. :) I love hearing this, even if he doesn't completely understand. It gets really interesting when he tells me what God tells him back. For instance, he said God told him that the zoo was going to open in 5 minutes, and that God said yes to more snow. So cute. We'll talk about listening and meditating on God later, but for now, I'm just glad that he's developing such an open dialog and hopefully feeling like God is always near and can always hear him ... such a precious fragile time ...

I love being reminded how I can come to God like a child by my own children ... with a hopeful, "eyes wide open" spirit, with complete faith, and mystery. It's even better combined with my own adult faith and the experiences I've had so far and all the ways God has shown me that He's alive and active around me, but also forcing me to grow up with the struggles that He allows me to face, and the patience He has for me when I slowly face and recover from them, and the blessings that He gives me during the trials like a supportive and loving husband, extended family, and far off friends that pray for me even though we haven't seen each other in years. too many blessings to count ... helps me remember that with a God like this, I needn't fear moving to a strange new place b/c it's more of a fact that God will provide for us, than faith simply b/c He's promised to and b/c He's proved it in the past.

the roller coaster goes up, the roller coaster goes down ... weeeee

... and so the roller coaster that is our possible move location, time, date, etc. begins again. We went through this last summer when we thought we were going to D.C. and nothing ever happened. Now we know for sure we're leaving, but don't know where. :)

Roller coasters are exciting and fun, but scary at times. So far, the exciting part is wondering what job Will is going to end up with and trying to imagine my life in whatever random place it is. The scary part is knowing that if we don't end up in Norfolk, I will miss my friends there very much.

Mostly, I try to imagine all the positives of a "new" place we haven't lived before. I love exploring, finding a church, meeting new people, finding fun places, parks, special things about that place. It's a good thing I like this part b/c I pretty much have to if the move is going to be a success, not only for my attitude, but in an effort to teach the boys to enjoy new things since this will probably be the first of many moves in their Navy lives.

One good thing is that Charley has been asking to move into a new house for awhile now. I have no idea why b/c we really hadn't started talking about moving yet. He said something about a tree dying at this house, I'm not sure what he's talking about. BUT, I'll take it and run. We started talking about moving after that and he's ready, although when we actually move, I wonder how he'll feel. He has such an adventurous spirit, I think he'll be fine. Ben is too young to understand things, but with Charley around to play with him, I think he'll do well too.

Another part of our roller coaster is finding out which ship Will will be attached to and WHERE that ship happens to be in its deployment schedule. We had a possible San Diego option pop up yesterday with a great job that Will would love. The ship deploys in June - Dec. so I would need to prepare for that happening right away almost! Wow, that will be a lot to deal with ... moving to a new area and hubby taking off. I have a plan though and I know God will give us the grace we need, and hopefully the support as well. We had plenty of support in Norfolk, it's been harder to come by here in New England, but hopefully in a new place, with new and different needs, we'll find our way. God has always given us what we've needed when we needed it. For instance, Will has been home a lot here in RI and life has been a lot more relaxed than it will be on a ship, so we haven't been "in need" as much here. This might not make sense to non-military people, but I think military families will know what I'm talking about.

One final loopty loop that could be a part of our ride this year is the possibility of baby #3. We want to start trying soon and as always, we're praying for God's timing and blessing.

So please keep us in your prayers throughout this year. If we randomly come to mind, take it as a sign that maybe God wants you to send a prayer or two our way. And as always, we'll always be in touch here in the blogosphere. :)

not moving . . . again

I guess I forgot to mention this in the months since we've been back home from our very long Christmas vacation but, it doesn't look like we'll be moving to D.C. after all. It's kind of funny because we only expected to live here for 10 months and when we finally leave next May, it will have been almost 3 years! Will just kept getting different assignments and so we kept getting extended. Actually part of the reason I didn't say anything earlier is because we haven't really known for sure. In fact, we just didn't hear anything and Will was assigned to a ship out of Norfolk next year instead of D.C. and it was never corrected or changed and so . . . waiting . . . waiting . . . never hearing anything different and here we are, it's May and I can say with 90% certainty that we will not be moving to D.C. next month. So, I think it's safe to announce, finally! : )

I'm going to miss family and friends that we have there that we thought we'd see, Will's Aunt Donnette, the Willhites and the Burkmans, and all the wonderful things there are to do in D.C., especially for kids. Oh well, if Will stays in the Navy long enough, I'm sure we'll get stationed there eventually.

The good news is that we won't have to do two moves in 2 years because after D.C. we were going to have to come back to Newport for Department Head school for just 6 months and now we can just stay here and do it. Another plus is that we'll get to Norfolk sooner and I'll get to see all of the friends we left behind there: Tab church family, the Lowes, the Chevaliers, and many others. We also miss our house that we still own down there. Renting it out is going well, and we're not sure if we'll buy another and keep renting it, or move back into it. I really liked that house. That's another blog though. :)

Anyway, that's the latest on the moves front.

BIG MOVE NEWS!! "Capitol, just Capitol"

Soooooo, I can now safely announce that we'll move to D.C. in June of 2007!! We're so excited to experience a new city, especially since we'll have some close friends who are moving there just before us. D.C. is such a great place for kids with all the great museums and parks and I think Ben and Charley will be at a fun age to enjoy it (1 and 3). Will is going to be stationed at the Pentagon and should enjoy a very busy, and challenging job there. He feels very blessed to have this assignment and I think we'll really enjoy our time there. Thank you all for your continuing prayers and love.

and behind door #2 is . . .

ok drum roll please . . . trrrrrrrr :) I've been waiting to post the big reveal on our next move location for a month or so, but I should preface this by saying, "WE DON'T HAVE ORDERS YET," so anything can happen. BUT, we found out that Will has been selected for an internship in the CNO's office at the Pentagon working on special projects for a year beginning next June after he graduates from the War College. We'll be in D.C.! Tada!! I'm really excited about this for a few reasons: first, I think D.C. is a really cool town and it will be so much fun to explore all the museums and fun places for kids with Charley and Ben. Second, we have good friends who have also been assigned to the pentagon and we'll be living on the same side of D.C., hopefully in the same area, and so we'll get to hang out again! Another neat thing about living there is that Will's Aunt Donnette lives there so we'll get to see her more! I look forward to exploring the area's many different types of retaurants (we tried a great Lebanese one there once) and shops and events that surround such an amazing city. One of the best things about this area though is that it's so close to some great forests, parks, and hiking. We'll also get to visit Annapolis more and our friends there, as well as Norfolk, and the interesting Civil War areas just south of D.C.

Anyway, that's the big news and we feel blessed and excited. Even though Will's hours might be long and crazy, it's still nice that he won't deploy or be assigned to a ship for another year which just means another year to be there and enjoy the boys' childhood, which is even more special when you're in the military and you never know what's coming next on a ship. Again, we don't have orders yet, and those of you in the military know that that means anything could happen still, but it's very probable so we thought it was ok to let everyone know. After the D.C. tour, Will still needs to come back to RI for department head school, but I don't know if we'll all move up here for the few weeks or months that he's there, or if he'll just be a geo-bachelor for the short time and then we'll all move to our next duty station together.

As always, thanks for all your thoughts and prayers as we find a place to live there and make the transition. We'll keep you updated on our progress in this direction as we get closer to the move.