How Christmas Went for Us

1. Abby wakes up at 1:00 am, cries off and on for three hours. Poor husband gets up with her multiple times to rock and read a story or sing a song...
   
2. Alarm goes off at 6:00, so I get up and make cinnamon rolls and do prep for dinner
3. Matthew's up to help me get the "junk" out of the hens around 7:30. I gagged when I stuck my hand in there to try and get all that stuff out...
4. Abby finally wakes up around 8:00! I carry her upstairs to open presents! She was super quiet (still sleepy) and just stared at everything wide-eyed.
5. Abby goes back down for a nap about an hour later. She only opened a few presents, because I didn't want to go too fast or overwhelm her.
6. Abby gets back up! Opens more presents, eats cinnamon rolls with daddy, and then gets her stocking.
7. Long day of playing, watching movies, eating, cooking, etc
8. Abigail goes down for a nap around 3:00, my mom calls crying, telling me thank you. All three of her kids (who aren't exactly financially "comfortable") pitched in for a kitchen aid mixer!
9. Dinner is served! Abigail gets up, super cranky, and goes back down for the night around 6:00ish
10. Jasmine poops in the kitchen, and the toilet overflows as a result. The bathroom floods, and we had to soak it up with 10-12 towels. Matt wasn't happy.
11. We bust out Monopoly! Matthew whoops my butt twice.

It was a nice Christmas, eventful! We're just so homesick... Matt hasn't spent a Christmas with his family in four years. We are so ready to be in Cheyenne, much closer to home.

And of course, we have a couple prayer requests!

• Pray that we find a home! We're looking into buying at this point. It'd be cheaper for us, except that with VA we have to pay the closing costs up front (anywhere from $2000-$4000). So pray that the finances come, or else that we can find a rental home in our price range that allows for two large dogs
• Pray that we find a job! The perfect one for us, that fits our schedules and our needs...
• Pray for finances! There's a lot of stuff coming up that requires more money than we have right now. The puppy needs shots, Matt needs his CDL, and he has a birthday, and then we move... all in three months time. So just pray that God would bless us and guide us with all of this. And that we wouldn't stress about it too much.
  

Being A Parent Just Changes Everything...

I am always amazed at how your view is changed once you have kids.

I'm speaking, this time, of Christmas. It used to be about what I'm getting, what I'm giving, what food we're eating, and where we're spending that morning. But this year its different. Everything is about Abigail this year.

She's old enough now to rip off the paper from the gifts, she's old enough to enjoy presents, toys, and even the yummy food. So now, instead of wondering anxiously what's under the tree for me, I'm anxiously awaiting her reaction when she gets up in the morning and sees all her new things!

I'm also a little homesick. I wish I was back in Junction to see my new nephew, Parker. And to see my grandparents. I wish my mom was here to watch Abby's reaction. I wish I was enjoying all the yummy food. I wish I was able to spend all afternoon with the Storey family, laughing at their strange antics and constant teasing. I wish we'd had the money to go home this year. And really, I wish we were there for Jen and Jess in this time of healing.

Side note: Jen and Jess gave birth to a beautiful little boy. After trying for a year to get pregnant, she had her little one at 27 weeks, and he was born still. Details aren't needed, but he sounds amazing. We know that he's in heaven celebrating this Christmas with the birthday boy himself. But its still very, very bittersweet.

Anyway, we're homesick. But we're trying our hardest to stay positive. I'm making a dinner (cornish hens, asparagus, mashed red potatoes, and apple and pecan pies) and I'm even venturing out to bake cinnamon rolls from scratch. Scary!

We're also reminding ourselves that from here on out we can go home for all the holidays we want. Being in Cheyenne is still the desire of our hearts, and we're living each day looking forward to our move. We're both so ready to be out of this town, away from these people... it just time for a fresh start.

This blog is getting long! Oops... As always we are reminded of the Ultimate Sacrifice. We are reminded that God sent his only son into a wrecked, ugly world. He started with a humble beginning, lived a worth and holy life, and died a graphic death. All for us. For me. Out of love, wholesome, strong, unending, love.

And so, at the end of the day, no matter where we are, or what we have, or what we're eating. The focus should still be on those facts.

Green is a no-go

Well we got our confirmation yesterday; no army for us. In order for Matthew to switch branches he would have to get out of the Air Force first and then re-enlist in the army. But he would lose all his prior years in service; we'd be back at the bottom of the totem pole again.

So obviously God does not want us in the military. Period. To us its just the end of a long, amazing journey. But now that we know, we can look forward to something new and exciting. I think we're finally OK with all of this. Matthew's finally coming to see that it wasn't necessarily the Air Force "screwing him over", it was more of God leading us away from this. Its very, very bittersweet. We've had a great three years in the military, and we absolutely loved the experience and the lifestyle. We're not sure why God has lead us out of this place, but we trust that He's doing what is best.

The next step for us is looking at other jobs, in the "normal" civilian world. Matthew's studying for his CDL, which he'll take in January. We're scraping together the money so he can get HAZMAT added to his license. It looks like that will really push him over the edge for getting a job in truck driving.

We're actively searching in Wyoming, hopefully Cheyenne. But we'll go where God leads us. We've been pricing houses, rentals, all that fun stuff. So now the prayer requests have changed.

We need a home that will allow two big dogs, within our budget. If you want specifics I'd love a 3 bedroom home for under $1000.

We also need a job, obviously. I don't think one will be hard to find. But prayers that it fits well with our family. That Matthew will get paid enough for us to live off of without me working, and that he'd still be home a comfortable amount.

The other big thing is right now we don't know if Matthew will get paid for the time he should be in. March-August. We're praying yes. If so, he'd get one big check (we think) to reimburse him from the time he should've spend in the Air Force. Does that make sense? We probably won't know that until he starts out-processing (in March). But if that could happen, that would really help us out!

Thank you, to all our family and friends who have supported and loved us through this whole mess of life. We cannot repay you for all the encouragement you have given.

Not Going Green?

Well we got some more news last night. Apparently Matthew isn't able to enlist in any other branch of the military either, because of the way his separation paperwork is coded. We don't know why, there's no reason for it. We can go into the Rushmore Center and ask them to re-do the paperwork, but they might say no. If they say no?

Then we're not supposed to be in the military. We prayed that God would just send us a clear sign, yes or no. And if He shuts that door, then its for a reason. We don't know why, but we know enough to trust in His Sovereignty.

So what does this mean? Matthew's studying for his CDL right now, he can take the test for $80 (as apposed to over $1000 if he wasn't military) so we're going to do that. And the military will pay for us to move back to where he enlisted (Grand Junction). But honestly, we're leaning more towards moving to Cheyenne.

We've been looking, and he can find a job there as a driver. There's always houses for rent, and its a really great location for us. Our family is all right in that area, and we do really love the town. Plus, it has Chick Fil A! Seriously though, there's a lot that's going into this decision and we're still praying that God would lead us to where we're meant to be.

Ultimately we're doing fine. This whole journey has really strengthened our family and our marriage. The Air Force has changed my husband in so many great and honorable ways. We have been blessed to spend three years here, and develop these relationships. We know that God is doing something big in our lives, and we can trust in His faithfulness. We have not forgotten the promises He's made to us. I fully believe that He is protecting us from something. I don't know what it is, and I don't care. Divorce? Maybe. You know the divorce rate in the military is huge? Matthew's job has a 98% divorce rate. Not comforting. Or maybe a death. We know that our government isn't what it used to be, and we would like to have the option to flee to Canada if we need to. :)

Seriously though. Pray for Matthew, pray for guidance and understanding and peace. He's taking everything personally, and he feels so defeated every day. I just want healing for him, I want him to know that it'll be alright. And pray for our family, as we transition into a whole different lifestyle.

And who knows? Maybe they'll change the coding and he'll go army. We're just going through it all and weighing our options...

From Blue to Green

I am happy to say that we are in our new house, and our internet is hooked up! So here's that lovely update that you've all been waiting for!

We met with the army recruiter a few weeks ago, to determine what steps we need to take. First, we needed a "conditional release form" to be signed by Matthew's commander. This form basically lets us leave the Air Force early and go straight into the Army. Without it we'd have to finish up in the Air Force (which is the end of March) and then wait a certain amount of time (usually 6 months) before we could enlist in the army. And then we'd have to wait some more until an opening in boot camp came up. So we didn't want to do that.

Well we just found out last night that his commander is going to sign that release form. Thank God! We prayed about it, and basically said "if this is where you want us, then just make it super easy to get there". Looks like that's what He's doing...

So here is what we need as far as prayers go:
1. That Matthew's job would transfer over. As of right now there's a list of about 45 jobs that don't transfer, because they're overmanned in the army. If Matthew's job doesn't transfer he has to go special forces. Which we don't want. Even if he fails out of special forces, he only has two options as a job, and we don't get to pick which one it is. So we're really just praying that he can stay in his same job.
2. Matthew has to go back through boot camp for 9 weeks. Obviously Abby and I can't go with him, so we're most likely moving back to Colorado. We need prayer for Matthew, and also for Abby. Being away from daddy for nine weeks probably won't be easy for her!
3. We're not sure yet if Matthew has to go back through tech school too, but if he does then that's another six weeks away from us. So right now we're praying that he can just go straight from boot camp to his duty station.
4. Finances. We don't know if the army will pay to move Abby and I back home. We're really praying that they'll cover it, because otherwise we'll be in a very tight spot.
5. As long as we're praying... we would love to be at Fort Carson, in Colorado Springs. It would be so close to home, and my little sister's college. I know that eventually we'll have to move away from my family too, but we just would really like to have some time closer to our friends. Especially during such a lifestyle change!

Praises? God is continuing to provide for us! My very good friend offered to let Abby and I stay at her place; she has two extra bedrooms and her house is fully baby-proofed already. Matthew and I both think it'll be a perfect fit. We're also thankful that even though he has to go through boot camp, he won't loose any rank or pay. Actually, he'll be getting paid a *tiny* bit more, since we'll be separated.

Overall we still feel very blessed, and we actually are really looking forward to this change in our lives! Matthew's been very frustrated and angry for a while with this base and the people he's been under. I really believe that God is leading us away from here, to a much better place. We feel so blessed to have Him as our guide and protector.

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future".