Month of the Military Child

I first wrote this in early April, and chose not to post it until it felt "finished"...

April is the month of the military child, and it seems appropriate that it is within this month that we determine our children's future.  Nick and I have decided that we will continue on with our military service for the next three years.  It is a decision that comes months, heck, years, after we first started the discussion.  It has been a highly emotional, agonizing conversation.  One thing that I know is true, is that the Lord has a plan for us, and He never promised it to be easy.

Nick has been overcome with a very intense need to assume the command of the Special Operations company that he has been slated for. We don't know what path we are intended to take after he finishes that commitment, three years from now, but I have faith that God will show us the way when the time is right.

I would be lying if I said that I felt complete peace about our next step.  I have been praying that my heart catches up with my head.  I know this is the path we were meant to take.  The military life is a difficult one, but then the civilian world offers it's own challenges.  When I take a step back and consider that caring for my family is what I believe I've been called to do,  I recognize that the military does not impede that.  It might pose extra considerations given the separation, lack of routine and, most difficult of all, a concern for Nick's safety, but there are trade-offs.  I know that we have Nick's job satisfaction and security, quality health care and I am able to stay at home to raise our girls, which is something I don't know would be feasible in the civilian world.  As challenging and tiresome as my job is, I will protect my ability to do so with great ferocity.  I suppose our future path is proof of that.

I also feel as though God has equipped me with the best possible tools to be successful in this next step.  He has provided Nick a job in a town where I have an incredible support network and a church family I love dearly.  I have my beloved Mom's Day Out program, awesome doctors and a grocery store with people who know me by name.  I have a lay of the land, and know where I want to find our next home.  I am a manageable 5 hour drive from my sister and her beautiful family.  My children will benefit from growing up near family, which has always been a non-negotiable in my book.  Most important, I have faith that has taught me that,

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." (Phillipians 4:13)

As for now, my dear friend Marin, our realtor, came over yesterday to get the ball rolling with the sale of our house.  I have a home inspector coming over tomorrow to prepare a list for our handyman to complete before our house goes on the market in the beginning of May.  I have found a fantastic rental home for us in Leavenworth, Kansas, that has every item on our wish list.  We will move to Kansas in July for just under a year while Nick completes training, where he will be at home with us for that full year.  We will return to Clarksville in the summer of 2013 for Nick to take command.  The command will last for two years.  After that, only God knows where we are headed...But, as much as I never thought I would say this, I can see how this scenario is the answer to our prayers.

Completed April 26, 2012...

Speaking of answered prayers, God continued to reveal His plan to us in the last week, and it's a bit different than we originally thought.  But better.  So much better...

Last week, the day our Kansas rental agreement arrived in our mailbox to be signed and returned, Nick received a phone call from his boss.  He asked if Nick would be interested in staying in his current office for the next year instead of moving to Kansas.  With the permission of the Commanding Officer of the Regiment, they waived Nick's required training before assuming command because they needed his experience in the "shop" with the upcoming officer turnover this summer.  While he will need to deploy, for a 30-60 day rotation, he will otherwise be at home working the same schedule that he's had for the last year.  (In the days following this development, we learned that, due to federal budget cuts, Nick's year group likely would not have been granted orders to the Kansas training as the fewer slots were being reserved for more senior Majors.)  Because we will remain in Clarksville for another three years, we have decided to upgrade our home rather than rent as we would've done upon returning from Kansas.  We are busting at the seams!

In the last few weeks, we have been preparing our home for sale.  Reorganizing, painting, manicuring the yard, scrubbing down every nook and cranny, we've been hard at work.  I have already been working drills in my head for last-minute showings...Throw the girls in their carseats, turn a movie on for Emmy in the car, and clean feverishly until it's go-time.  The fewer showings the better in my book, which is incentive to price the house well and sell quickly!  Trying to sell a home with two kiddos and two dogs provides many handicaps, but I am determined to overcome them and come out on top!  I am relishing in the (temporary) cleanliness of my home, and recalling how less-frazzled I feel in a minimally-cluttered environment.

We have been scouring the area in search of a home that meets our very long wishlist, and, by a very fortuitous turn of events, we just may have found it.  Even though I don't consider myself to be a superstitious person, I still don't want to even risk jinxing our luck by mentioning the details before it's confirmed.  All I can say, is that I am praying that we have found our new home, in which I can do my dream job while Nick does his.