An Uncertain Future

I am a creature of habit. I hate change and I hate uncertainty. When something in my life (especially something I had planned for the future) changes, I worry non-stop. I go over numerous situations in my mind, thinking of every possible outcome (and usually the bad outweighs the good).

Our future is up in the air right now. We'll be in Germany for another two years but after that, we don't know. Will is leaning towards getting out of the Army but honestly, life outside of the military scares the living crap daylights out of me. The military has always been a part of my life. My dad enlisted when I was two and even though he only stayed in for four years, I grew up right outside of an Army base. I enlisted into the Air Guard at 18 and stayed in for 10 years only getting out because we were moving to a completely different country. When Will and I got married in 2010, he had already in the Army for almost three years. No matter where my life has taken me, the military has always remained a constant, a certainty.

I understand that being military gives you a false sense of security at times. You feel as though you can't survive in the civilian world when in reality, people survive everyday. I don't know if I could. I just don't know if I'm ready to leave the world I know to enter a world of unknown.

Germany, Here We Come!

Well, not at this exact moment but very soon.
One thing about the military is that there is never a set plan. You have to be flexible because things can change at the drop of a ACU/ABU hat.

This has never rang more true until about two weeks ago. Will's recruiting orders fell through and he decided to call Branch to see if there were any bases open right now. They told him that we had a choice between Alaska, Korea or Germany. Of course we picked Germany. We are excited. I, however, am completely freaking out. This will be our first move as a family and to make it more nervewrecking, it's overseas. There are so many details that we need to work out such as only being allowed to ship two dogs (we have three), only one vehicle shipped at the government's expense (we just bought a second car), etc.

This will be a crazy experience for us but every single person that I have talked to who has been stationed in Germany loved it. I really think this will give our family a much needed break, a change to spend time together and an opportunity to see lots of places in Europe.

Of course this move will bring about many changes in our lives (like a temporary end to my National Guard career) but we are accepting it with open arms and realizing how lucky and blessed we are. I'll keep you guys updated on our planning and moving over the next few months!

We're Offically Trying for Baby #2!

It's official. I have been Implanon free for over a week now so we are officially trying to conceive. We are super excited and hopeful that it won't take us long to get pregnant again.

We're even more excited because this pregnancy will be a bit different than the last one. Although Will will be leaving for school at the beginning of next year, he will not be deploying (as long as nothing changes with our orders) for the next three years. We're happy that our family will be able to grow and strengthen with both parents here instead of being deployed although we understand that deployments are something we will have to deal with as a dual military family. Being together is not something we take for granted so as long as our orders stay the same, we'll cherish this extended family time.

What's Going On

I just wanted to do a quick update on what's going on in the C. household. Will received news that he will be going to school early next year and once he finishes, we will be moving to a new area. We won't know for sure where we will be going until next year but wherever we end up, we'll be there for two years.
I'm excited and nervous but also thankful that we have plenty of time for this information to set in and even more time to plan our move. Another thing that we are planning is baby number two! I had originally planned to have my Implanon removed this month but after doing a little math, we realized that Will may not be able to be home for the birth (again). Although it could take months (or even years) for us to get pregnant again, we've decided not to take any chances and will be waiting until August instead. Even though I have to wait a few more months, I'm still excited at the thought of having another baby. Until then, I'll just hold as many babies as possible (which is easy with my new job).
Other than that, things are good here. We've been enjoying some good weather (although it is pretty chilly today), spending lots of time with Liam and preparing for the summer. Have a great weekend everyone!

Way to Go Will (And Our New Furry Addition)!!

Yesterday was a big day for the C. family. Will was notified a couple weeks ago that he would be going before the promotion board so until yesterday evening, our household was pretty tense. Will was doing a lot of studying as well as getting his Army dress uniform, or Class As, together. Then Will found out that he had to take a Physical Training test the morning of the board. This definitely added to his stress levels. But after all his hard work and preparation, Will passed the board!

To celebrate, I found a gift for him: A Shorkie (Shih Tzu and Yorkie mix) puppy!
"Puppy's" (she doesn't have an official name yet) old mom told me that she did not fit their lifestyle (not really sure what that means) but we were excited to invite her into ours. So far, she's a good puppy (although I had forgotten what life was like with a puppy). Artemus isn't too happy though. I really hope that she grows on him but until then, we'll just try to make sure to keep an eye on them. Well, here's the new addition!

She looks like an Artemus/Mitzi love baby!

Will's Home (End of Operation New Dawn)!!!

Early (early) yesterday morning, Liam and I went to pick up Will who just finished his second year-long deployment in Iraq. We were super excited and more than ready to see the end of this deployment. We arrived at the ceremony site an hour early and got to chat with other wives. Finally the time came for the soldiers to file into the room and stand in formation. Once the soldiers were dismissed from their formation, Will made his way to the bleachers where we were standing. After greeting each other, I handed Liam over to Will and to my surprise, he didn't cry.

Over the last day, we've been working getting to know each other. Will and Liam have been getting along great (Liam even lets Will put him to sleep when I'm not around). Liam still prefers me which I didn't expect to change (he's a mama's boy) but I love seeing the boys together.

I know that it will take awhile before things are "normal" in our household again but it definitely feels good to have our little family together again.