Back on home turf!

I simply cannot BELEIVE how well that move went! Okay, yes I can. It was obvious that the hand of God was just all over it this time around--no doubt about it! The housing inspection was a breeze, the two days in the hotel went well, and the flight was so flawless that it was just eerie at times! We took off a half hour behind schedule but had such a strong tailwind (at one point, over 140mph!!) that we arrived in Atlanta when we were expected! One further surprise (okay, it was a surprise to me, and one more example of a lack of communication between us since it was NOT a surprise to Pete) was having his dad make a drive from Johnson City, TN to meet us at the airport and drive Pete over to the vehicle processing center to pick up our van! Yes, within an hour of arrival in Atlanta, we had our OWN wheels!

We just had a blast in Atlanta for the short little stay we had; Jamie just MADE the weekend taking to her "Uncle" Chuck and having him wrapped around just about every little finger on her hand within....oh, half an hour! I had one teeny (probably not so teeny to the three bewildered folks trying to figure out what to do with me) glitch in the Mall of Georgia as a rather sudden blackout overtook me, but thankfully I was able to catch on and sit down before I went flat on my face right there outside Build-A-Bear! The trip from Atlanta to Florida went well, but the drive from Quincy to Huntsville was SOOOOOO long that we were just completely wiped out by the time we arrived last Wednesday afternoon. However, we had a house on base waiting on us when we arrived--and when we finally got to look at it, we realized that at that point, God was just showing off! It's PERFECT--couldn't have fit our family better if it had been engineered just for us, and the base is every bit as gorgeous as we remembered. Sunday was the first time in three years that we've had the opportunity to go to more than one church service, and it was a bit of an adjustment for us, but one that is long overdue, and we are SO thankful to be able to have a church family to fall right in with--you don't realize how much you miss it until you finally get it back!

Yesterday, I made the long drive back down to Quincy with Jamie and Dani to spend a few more days with my family and pick up Kelsey, Morgan, our ginormous "puppy" Jake, and the new little stray kitten that Kelsey has taken in and given an unfortunate name....Booger. I'm exhausted, but feeling incredibly blessed and more than ready to get going on this new phase of our lives. Next week, I'll have new OB appointments, WIC appointments, and even the arrival of our unaccompanied baggage (almost two weeks early!!) to occupy my time, but for now I'm still reeling at how wonderfully orchestrated this move was...and not on OUR part, that's for sure! God showed us at every turn that He was truly in this transition, and I'm sure the next few years hold something wonderful for us!

Last few days

Our time here in Germany is swiftly drawing to a close, and the days seem to be coming in rapid-fire succession lately! Pete shipped his "toy" Porsche last Friday, so we're down to just the one borrowed vehicle (thank goodness everyone seems to have two cars!) and that means there's just no more getting out as a family. Sunday was, um, interesting, to say the least. Jon and Kelsey had to spend the night with friends in Frankfurt so they'd have a ride to church, then they had to ride the train home!

Jon is doing his "official" (read: final) swearing-in today, meaning he is now official property of the US Army. He only has one more day left at home. I *should* be falling apart, but I'm still in one piece. For now. I got a small taste of what "good-bye" feels like on Sunday when we said our farewells to three of the families that are leaving to go back to the States....and Jon. As we sang "Blest Be the Tie", Pete had the most pronounced vibrato in his voice that I've ever heard coming from him, and that started a domino effect of tears, then giggling as we all (as in the WHOLE congregation) tried to stop sniveling. It was pretty pitiful.

Our final pack-up and shipment of the rest of our "stuff" is Friday. Then we have the weekend to prepare for our final housing inspection. There are moments when it still doesn't feel real, but I'm sure it WILL--like next Tuesday morning when we lug all of our baggage up to the hotel!

Hmm, I wonder if we'll have wireless internet access??