Why, hello there blog!

I've missed you! Yet again, time has flown by and I haven't had the time to stop and document it. It's the norm! And I'm OK with that! Life is life! And life is CRAZY busy!

We are SO close to our move now. In exactly 2 weeks the movers will be here to pick up our household items. And a little over a week after that, we will be headed north! It still hasn't REALLY sunk in that we are moving to Alaska. It's been a dream of ours for a long time to visit Alaska and go on a cruise. Joining the military, we never thought it was going to happen. But NOW... NOW we are MOVING to Alaska for FOUR years! Not just visiting for a cruise! And it is all thanks to the military! lol!

With the on coming move there is anxiety and worry and panic and and and.... well, a lot of other emotions that I just can't pin point. We've been here at Barksdale for over 7 years now. Regardless of whether or not we liked it, it has been home. It is where 2 of our children were born, and it is the only home all 3 of our children have a memory of. So, I am starting to get a little sentimental about leaving this place. Along with the annoyed "I hate Barksdale" memories... there are the "firsts" of each of our kids. Kenzie learned to walk in the first week we were here. We were staying in billeting on base and she walked from the coffee table to me sitting in the middle of the room on the floor with my arms wide open for her! I even remember what she was wearing! Adam says that I have a photographic memory and I remember EVERY little detail. I wish that were true. I do remember a lot! But, not nearly as much as I would like. I am glad I have all of these memories of this place. Even though we have not liked being here this whole time, it is still dear to my heart and I am going to miss it.

I am really going to miss the wonderful friends we have made here. Being in the military, friends come and go. But, then you make these amazing friends who are stuck at the same base with you and you tough it out together. We may not see each other often, but we talk and try to help each other through. And we watch each others kids grow up before our eyes. They understand the frustration of living here and the excitement of getting orders to another place. But, it still hurts to say goodbye.

I know it may sound kind of silly, but I am going to miss the place where my kids have had speech therapy and occupational therapy for the past 5 years. My kids have all gone there at one point or another since Nicholas was a baby. All of the women there have made such an amazing impact on my kids. It is hard to think we are going to be living somewhere else on not seeing these ladies on a weekly basis. We are there 3 days a week now. So, they are a big part of our lives.

But, living the military life, this part is inevitable. It is bound to happen. Usually it happens a lot sooner than this! So, in a way, we have been blessed to have been here for so long. Our kids have had a bit of stability, consistency.  Mackenzie has only switched schools once so far. And that was in the very beginning of pre-k. She has had a lot of the same friends since she stated this school. So, of course, she is taking this move the hardest. She is over the moon about moving to Alaska! She is excited and she just cannot wait! But, she is having a lot of the same anxiety I am. She knows she will be leaving her friends of 3 1/2 years. She knows she is going to have a different teacher when we get up there, and she loves her teacher now. So, she is having a hard time dealing with that as well. She just said goodbye to one of her best friends last week. They got orders overseas and Mackenzie didn't want to let them go :( It was tough to see, she was a mess. That is one of the things I hate the most about the military. Putting my kids through the goodbyes. Either saying goodbye to their friends and school, or saying goodbye to daddy for a deployment. { luckily, we have only dealt with the deployment once and just a few small TDY's here and there}.

The military life is not for the weak. It is definitely something that takes a lot out of a person. But, it is also something that gives a lot back. Whether we see it or not. I don't know where we would be without the military. Our life has shaped around it and I honestly cannot picture our lives outside of it. I can't say that I don't dream about the day we get out, because I do. A LOT. But, the military has provided for us. It has given us everything we have needed {even if we have had to fight for it a bit}. It has also given us many opportunities that we otherwise might not have had. So, I am thankful for this lifestyle. With ALL of the ups and downs. { though, it would be even nicer with more UPS!! lol!}

When we first got engaged, this is not where we imagined our lives to be almost 10 years later. My husband gave up a lot when he joined the military. It was definitely the best thing he could have done for us and our future family. And I appreciate his sacrifice so much. Not just the commitment he gave when he signed his life over to the military, but I appreciate the sacrifice he makes every day, going to work for people who don't show him any appreciation for the hard work he willingly does every day. I'm definitely blessed to have a hard working husband that puts his family above his own desires.

I guess this post kind of went all over the place. Lol!! But, then again, they usually do! Haha! Anyway, as much as I am nervous, panicked, anxiety ridden... I am also excited, and very much looking forward to this new adventure! New memories will be made in Alaska! And they will be just as precious to me as the memories I have here at Barksdale. There will be less "firsts" up in Alaska, but LOTS of fun I am sure!