4 months in a (very large) nutshell!

I don't know how I let time get away from me, but it sure is a sneaky little bugger. Here I am, 4 months from my last blog and trying to figure out how to condense those months into something that won't be completely boring or way to long to wade through....yeah not looking promising. :-P

Basically, because I'm now working full time, I have very limited down time and that time is usually spent trying to relax with Mark, keep the housing in working order, non-expired food in the fridge and get enough sleep to make it through the next day. I don't know if its the 30 min drive or just the shock of full time hours after a summer-long break, but it sure is getting to me. It has been absolutely wonderful though to have a purpose, be drawing a paycheck again, and to feel like I am able to use my knowledge and experience to help equip new technicians for the real world of Veterinary Medicine. I have my own office, my own phone number, business cards, a computer....I feel so grown up! And while work can be challenging at times, the physical stress is nothing compared to working in a vet clinic, so I definitely have that to be grateful for!

Since I last blogged, SO many things have happened, most of them exciting and some of them have been good learning experiences for us. As you may or may not know, Mark was in UPT with the dream of being assigned a fighter slot, but he had requested to stay here and be an Instructor Pilot for 3-4 years first, and then receive his permanent assignment. Well, his assignment night came and he was assigned the MC-12. It is a pretty new aircraft to the AF inventory so we don't really know a whole lot about it yet, but we do know that we will be stationed at Beale, AFB in California. Quite the change of scenery and not what we were hoping for but God has a plan in all this, our struggle is trying to figure out what it is. It has caused some very in depth conversations for us as a couple about hopes and dreams and what we do when they're not fulfilled but ultimately we're both excited to get to move somewhere new and see what God has for us there.

Once of the most difficult things for me has been the fact that I will be leaving my job after just 6 months to move somewhere new and begin THAT whole process again. Stinky. I think that many people underestimate how difficult it is to be the spouse of someone in the military, and although they normally think about how tough it must be to have them be gone for long periods of time, it has an impact in more than just that aspect. The job field is definitely one of those...especially when the hubby is in pilot training, because they know you'll only be here a short period of time. And I know legally they can't discriminate against military members or spouses, but they do. It happens, and I'm sure if you called someone out on it, they'd have some different reason for why they didn't hire you, but it seems awful ironic when ALL the Air Force wives have trouble finding jobs in any and every field we're in. Ah well, such is the life I have been "assigned". :)

Sometime in the last couple months, I know that Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years happened, but it was all a blur of family, friends, traveling, house-hunting, and catching up on sleep. But if I remember correctly: Thanksgiving was a peaceful, quiet one in the wake of cooking for 13 people and having 6 of those as house guests for Mark's graduation. Over Christmas we flew out to CA to check out our new base and peruse the housing options. We have decided not to live on base, but are planning to buy, and praying that God would provide the perfect house for us, BEFORE we move.... :) New Years Eve we enjoyed a fun evening in with good friends, yummy food, games, burning Christmas trees, and fireworks.

And now I'm back to working hard and Mark is back to hardly working-I mean, waiting for his training!-until the end of January. Then he will be gone for about a month, at which time we will begin to box up our house and live out of suitcases until we begin our cross-country trek the end of March!

Hopefully I will have time to blog again with a housing update before we actually leave...but at my current rate I might not be checking in again until May! :-P So until next time- peace out from the south! :)