The Army Life

Did you see the new little graphic at the top of the page? The one that tracks how much longer until we move to Fort Hood? That's right--moving day is approaching. Brad's branch manager has informed us that we will report to Fort Hood on July 1, 2010. At the latest. Of course, we don't have official orders yet, so things could change--but for now, we are planning on arriving in Killeen, TX with 2 cars, 2 kids, and a dog on July 1.

Which means...I have a a mile-long to-do list chasing me. We have a slew of small home improvement projects to complete before we put our house on the market in late March. Painting, re-grouting the bathroom, gardening--oh my! I have to clear out every closet, attic space, and corner of the garage to purge ourselves of all of the crap we've accumulated in the past three years in this house. Somehow, I'll have to keep the house immaculately clean and show-ready while it is on the market--which means I need to pack up about 3/4 of the kids' toys to keep them off of the floor. I have to figure out what we'll need to personally move and what we'll need to store with the moving company, since we will probably be living in an extended-stay hotel for at least a month before we get housing. The next few months should be challenging and very hectic, to say the least!

I am sad to be leaving the friends we've made--we have so many wonderful people in our lives, it breaks my heart to have to say goodbye. We'll have to plan some weekend trips to Dallas after we move--and they are always welcome to visit us in Killeen (which is just a short drive from Austin, so there is SOMETHING to do nearby!).

We have a wonderful church home, great schools for the kids, good neighbors, and a wonderful community we live in, so it is difficult to leave all of that behind. But I also look forward to the new adventures we'll have, the new friends we'll make, and just "shaking things up" in our lives. This will be the first move where Aiden really understands that we're leaving, the first move that he'll leave friends behind, so I am anxious to see how he handles it all. But knowing my little guy, he'll cry a little when we leave, but adjust quickly and jump into the adventure of making new friends and starting a new school with a smile on his face. (Fingers crossed!)

Pray for my sanity in the next couple of months, that I survive all of this moving craziness!