Four Months Later...

Here we go!  Well, 4 months have passed and life here has been, well, busy.  I still work 7 days a week: 5 in the classroom, and then 2 days at home preparing for those coming 5 in the classroom.  I love being there, I really do.  It's just so hard doing it with a husband who's job calls for him to work more than I do and most often in other time zones.  So, it is what it is.  I will leave the job in the classroom for the job inside the home.  I'll probably go back to school and work towards something even better that I can do sometime in the future.  Like, when Ava's in Kindergarten, kind of future.

I've managed to get really excited for an upcoming move, although we're not sure where we're headed yet.  I have a gut feeling you'll be hearing me talk of high heat and the west here soon enough.  But, Curt has yet to fill out a dream sheet so for now, we just wait.

We are still hoping to make this family of three a family of four, and believe it or not, we were so very close.  Back in January, I found out I was pregnant!  We were thrilled that after months of trying with no success before the deployment it happened so quickly when he returned.  It felt so natural because little Miss Ava was also a post deployment baby.  We felt like God had a plan for us and that was why we waited so long.  We shared the news with family and the closest of friends.  However, about 2 weeks in to the pregnancy, things started happening that, well, shouldn't have been happening.  Those things, well, they got worse.  When all was said and done, we had 3 emergency ultrasounds and on the 11th week, our sweet #4 was without a heartbeat.  In true military wife style, I took the news alone while Curt was on the west coast for work.  My mom, thankfully, was here as we knew that the way things were progressing could take a turn for the worse and I certainly didn't want to be alone if that were to happen.  I had a D&C to help close this chapter in my life and was told by my doctor that we should wait until we were all physically, mentally, and emotionally prepared to try again.  And so, we wait...

I pray to God that we never, ever have to go through something like that again.  It was 11 long weeks of living in fear and hope at the same time.  I felt so helpless as I tried to make a cozy home for this little life inside of me.  I know that He has plans for me, for us, and for our family.

As I look optimistically to the future, I'm really excited to welcome a summer that has ample opportunity for this family to make their way up to Pennsylvania for as much time as we can, knowing that our time on the east coast is limited.  While North Carolina has been good to us in many ways, I feel like I never gave this assignment a chance.  I miss our close friends and while it goes without saying, I miss my family.  I ready to start over in a new town, in a new home, and hopefully with some friends that I love enough to call my family.

**While this news obviously isn't a secret to some, it's not something I chose to broadcast on FaceBook.  Thanks for sharing your comments here!  :)

Life: Updated

Well, well, well...

Where to begin?!

I think the most important thing to write about is that Curt is H-O-M-E, HOME from "A-can-a-stan" and we are just elated. I mean, what could be better?! Curt went off to save the world in the middle of September and we weren't expecting him to return until about mid-March. Well, around mid-October, he called to let us know that the squadron was set to send home about 1/3rd of their force due to down-sizing. Thanks, Obama! We didn't find out he was officially coming home right before Thanksgiving, PTL, and 5 days before Christmas, he was here. I mean, could we ask for a greater gift?

The answer is clearly, NO!

Seeing how Curt was on his 4th deployment and most of the guys there were on their 1st or 2nd, they "asked" him if it would be okay to send him home. Phew!

To put into words how excited we are to have Curt home is impossible. There are no words. We're just so thankful he's here.

Curt's now stationed in the OSK at work and he's attached to the Fighter Squadron, the Chiefs. What's the OSK, you ask? The answer is, I have no idea. He's in the Weapons part of their squadron and that's about as far as I can get you. You'd have to ask him, I guess. Here's the best part! I'm the new Key Spouse for this squadron! (Keep your laughing to a minimum...) Don't even ask me how this all came about but I'm just hoping I didn't bite off more than I can chew.

More about Curt...

He's been a "Major Select" for about a year, I think, and he's set to pin on Major in about 2 months. Hello, raise! (Pay and rank...yes, please!). He finally finished his Masters Degree after a late start due to this lil thing called, "Weapons School". How he didn't walk out of that with a Masters in SOMETHING, I'll have no idea. But, I'll keep my opinions to myself. He's also a "School Select" and I do believe that in the coming years he's headed to another school. I think that's all I need to say about C and his latest ventures in the Air Force.

We're proud of our pilot and will continue to follow him and his dreams around the globe!

Now. More about my dreams. :)

As most of you know, I decided that going back to work would be a fantastic idea while Curt was deployed. Well, I'm here to tell you that it was quite possible the craziest thing I've ever done. Like, what in the WORLD was I thinking?! Here's the thing, I'm really passionate about my job and was finding myself up until about midnight each night doing plans. Well, when you need to wake up at 5 and get yourself and a toddler out the door by 6:45, you're going to run into some problems. Especially if you're doing it solo. My hats go off to all the single mama's out there. Holy smokes. You're my hero. They pay here in the country side of NC is peanuts. So, while the extra cash we've put away because of my return to the classroom has been great, the stress that came along with it was more than I bargained for....a lot more. I'm finding that the girls I work with each day have been a gift from God because they constantly have me laughing and smiling. Who doesn't want a job that makes them laugh to tears on a daily basis?! I do think that these girls coming into my life was a blessing, and for that, I'm thankful.

What else am I thankful for?! Well, my mom decided that this past summer she was ready to put away her plans and pencils and retire after 39 years of teaching, so any time I had steams of stress pouring out my ears, she dropped whatever she was doing and came to my rescue. That's right, an 8 hour drive south, just to play and love on Ava so I could get some work done.

Let me give you a for instance: Ava had a stomach flu in October that last 11, yes...ELEVEN, days. Like, for real?! Two visits to the pediatrician and one to Urgent Care. I was paying a babysitter $100 a DAY to stay with her. Holy crap. After the 4th day I waved my white flag and my mom came down to take over. While I didn't pay her to be here, if I did, she would have been worth 5 x's the amount I was paying our babysitter. I mean, 11 days. We're still recovering from that nightmare.

What's new with Ava? Oh geez, where to start. She's a beauty, we think. I could stare at that sweet face for days. And...she's smart. I take the credit for taking the time to teach her while she's playing but I give Curt the credit as far as her genetics are concerned. She knows more than some of the children in my Kindergarten class and she's three. I know, I know. Parents are their kids biggest fans. But, this girl is something real special. She talks to me like a grown up. It's just plain crazy. She has whole books memorized, VERBATIM. And while they are books she's heard a couple times, that's it. We're talking after a week of reading, she'll read it right back to you. She hears about 4-5 books a night and it's a requirement as far as Ava's concerned. She will not let you put her to bed without some reading. How can this teacher deny such a request?! She's got a ton of her letter sounds down and she's growing all the time. She writes her name, my name, Mimi's name... She can spell a couple things too. I mean, it's crazy. I can't wait to see what we take on next! I'm happy to say that song and dance is still Ava's #1 passion. She's obsessed with dance and the expression she puts out when she's singing is downright...funny...great...amazing. She bows at the end of every performance, even when no one is watching. We start ballet again tomorrow and she's THRILLED. Ava loves her day care and talks of her friends all the time. The owner/director is there from open to close and he runs the school with his sister. They're amazing. Her teacher takes great care of her and she never cries when we drop her off. I'm so thankful for her little school and they way they care for my child. I would expect nothing less than perfect for Ava. I am her mother, after all.

Thank you for checking in on our family! Now that Curt is back, I'm really hoping to get back into my blog. Plus, I have some pretty decent purchases to write about as well. Most importantly, we welcomed a new Louis into the family. Major. ;)

What's up next for this little family of ours?

That's a great question.

We're most likely going to be moving in the coming year. To where?

We still want more kiddos running around. When?

Only time will tell...