Happy New Year!

Wow guys, I really suck. Not gonna lie finding the time to blog is super difficult!! But with the new year comes new goals and blogging more is #1 on that list!! 

Coming into this new year I have a lot of goals; here is the short list;

1 - I have had a very strong tug at my heart lately to better my life, not just physically but spiritually as well. I am not exactly sure where that path is going to lead me right in this moment but I am excited to start exploring what exactly spirituality means to me.  

2 - Take (and print!) more personal photos. This is where blogging will tie in! I am going to participate in a 52 Week Photo challenge  (know any good ones? I would love to get some recommendations in the comments!) to make me take out my big camera more in my everyday life and not so much just for work! I thought about doing a 366 challenge but I feel like I know I would fail at that! 

3 - Read more!!! A couple of years ago I was reading a new book every month and I miss it!! I miss having that chill time at the end of the night to invest quiet time and just be in the moment with my book and my hot tea. So I am going to start up again. 

4 - Get rid of some of our crap in this house! I hate clutter. And I am married to a closet hoarder. When he was still in the Air Force I took deployments to my advantage to purge stuff that we didn't use. Well, it's been a lot harder to find the time to do that since he no longer deploys! So no I have to get him on board which is easier said than done but I am determined to simplify our life this year!

5 - To love more. To give my time to my family and friends more. To not get so swallowed by life that I don't take time for my family and for myself. My plan is to take Sundays and Mondays as my off, unplugged days. Devote Sundays to my family and Mondays to housework. I have been so overwhelmed with trying to find that work/life balance and I refuse to feel that way this year! 

So there it is y'all! The short list. There are a few more personal and professional things I have on my list but these are the ones that matter to me the most! 

Here's to making 2016 a great one!

We are Moving...Again.

Wanna talk about a C R A Z Y turn of events?!?!

Let's bring it back for a second and start at the beginning shall we...

It all started back on our trip from Cali to Augusta. Dan got a call about an immediate opening with L3 working with the MC12s in Fort Huachuca, AZ. This is a dream job for Dan. Not only does he know the MC12s inside out, L3 is an amazing company to work for! So of course this is something he wants baaaaaaaaadly. He even got in contact with one of the Head Honchos there and talked with him about the job and fell even more in love with the job.

Well this is basically where things go from "Yay we are moving to Georgia" to  "OMG are we really going to drive back West and move to Arizona???!!" You see, Dan emailed Head Honcho and got some amazing news; This guy wanted Dan. Told Dan that he would back him 100% if Dan would go fill out the application and go in for an interview.

So after countless "Should I do this?" conversations I convinced Dan to take the interview. I knew this was a dream job! Not only the job itself but L3 is an AMAZING company that really takes cares of its employers. Our doubt with taking the job was moving back West. We had been DYING to get to the East coast so we could be closer to our families. We wanted our kids to grow up knowing their Grandparents and to grow up close to their Cousins. Were we really ready to leave that dream behind and move hundreds of miles away again? The deciding factor was we knew that it would (( hopefully )) only be 18 months. So Dan set up the interview.

Dan flew out to Greenview, TX on Wednesday morning. One Thursday morning he had the interview that lasted almost 3 hours. I was a nervous wreck waiting for him to call! (( Shout out to my amazing sister -- Happily Ever Mullendore -- for being there for me )) And then I finally got the call...

He was offered the job -- Oh God we are moving to AZ. But we aren't going to be in AZ -- Whhhhhhhat?!? Please this is just going to be worse isn't it. They offered me a job in Savannah, GA -- OMG whhhhhhat?!? ... Que instant tears on my end.

We aren't leaving the South!
Our babies are going to be near our families.
I get to live in a D R E A M location!
We aren't going back West!!!
WE'RE MOVING TO SAVANNAH!!!!

Happy does not even begin to cover my emotions right now. I am so very very proud of my Mister. I am so so very thankful that we get to stay in the South and close to our families. After all the bad we have gone through here in Augusta, all the red flags, all the "what the hell is going on?" -- it finally all makes sense. We aren't where we are supposed to end up. We aren't able to settle and feel "at home" yet, because we haven't made it home!

So what's next? Well, we will be moving to Savannah within the next month. We knew about the interview so we only unpacked what we NEEDED. 60% of our home is in boxes in the garage. We are currently on the hunt for a home and planning a trip out to Savannah in the coming weeks to look at places and hopefully find one quickly! We are excited and very very happy about this change in events. Now hopefully we can settle down and start this next chapter with out any more curve balls!

Getting Settled

I wish I could start off this post by saying that things have gotten better since the last post but sadly they really have not. Things are still crazy chaotic. We are taking things slowly and just going day to day. But there were some pretty good things that have happened ::

We have gotten into our home FINALLY! This has made life a little more stable. I will do a full post of it once things aren't in boxes. We are surrounded by boxes. But the boxes are full of our stuff! 

We got a few new pieces of furniture and new TV for the place. The couches we had were leather and the leather was pealing off, so they were due for an update, plus they were way too big for our current living room and would not have fit. We got this AMAZING sectional from Ashley Furniture, it's so comfy and I am in love with the color! 

We also upgraded our kitchen table to something slightly bigger. I am IN LOVE with it. It has a butterfly leaf that can fold down and make the table smaller if we need it to. And it has a bench seat which is perfect for the kiddos. Our old table was eight years old. It was one of Dan and I's first purchases together when we got married. 

And Daniel upgraded the main TV. He has worked SO hard the past nine years in the military and the last new TV he got was when he returned from his very first deployment back in 2008. This was his "Congrats on Getting Out" gift for himself. I'm not going to lie, it's a pretty amazing TV! I love that it has WiFi so I connect right to Netflix and beige watch my shows! 

We FINALLY got our stuff delivered on this past Sunday. Seeing this big truck pulling up in front of our new home was the best thing ever! It took them ALL day to unload the truck. There were only two guys and they took LOTS of brakes. But our stuff is here, nothing is broken or missing, so I cannot complain. This was our last military PCS and I am SO happy to say that we NEVER had any issue with any of them!! I have heard horror stories from other friends about their PCSs going very very very wrong. 

We really haven't done much unpacking at all. The kitchen is basically done. We have the desk and computers in the office. The kids fall clothes are unpacked. And our beds are up. That's basically it. We really are in no rush to get things unpacked. We are enjoying quiet lazy time and taking it easy. BTW -- That first night in my own bed after 2 1/2 weeks in hotels was AMAZING! I have never missed my bed so much. 

We also ventured out and checked out a local Dairy Farm that hosts a "Pumpkin Patch" yearly. Let me just tell you, this thing was sad. We were very very spoiled by Bishops in Cali. They kids had a BLAST but it was so not worth the $30 to enter the place. It was defiantly a one time thing. 

 

#AinsleyScot has started school. She seems to be adjusting just fine. I really like her teacher and her classroom has a smaller amount of students in it so I feel really good that she is getting the attention she needs and will be catching up quickly. The top photo is from her first day there and the bottom is from her School Picture day. I may be basis but she sure is one beautiful little girl. 

Like I said, we are SLOWLY getting settled and it's starting to feel like home. Now if we could just get this job situation figured out that would be great!!