Questions, Questions, Questions

Mr. H and I have been scouring the internet looking for info on Okinawa. He has been submitting paperwork to whomever will take it since we have NO ONE appointed to help us with this process. I think we're supposed to have a "sponsor" to walk us through this move, but we haven't gotten that contact info yet. His recruiter is young and just isn't too familiar with this process yet. I hoped he would have given Mr. H. a name of someone to contact, but he didn't.

He submitted our housing application last night. I thought they would look it over and let us know which housing type we would get. But not, we have to attend a class within 2 days of arriving at Okinawa, THEN we will know where we'll be living. So apparently, this is my first taste of me not being in control. I mean, I won't know what my house will look like, what the floor plans are, what to pack for it, until 2 days AFTER arriving!? I know all you seasoned military wives are laughing right now...

In spite of that, I'm okay with it. Since all of this is so new, I'm just along for the ride.

Duty Station Choices

Mr. H. received a phone call on Tuesday from his recruiter. His commissioning service is scheduled! I can't wait. Any friends and family who would like to attend are welcome to. I have no idea what the address is. The service is at 1pm on October 3rd in KC.

The same day, Mr. H.got a phone call from his detailer. A detailer is the guy who advises Mr. H. on his chaplaincy career. He gave us 6 choices:

Crete, unaccompanied
Japan, deployable
Japan, non-deployable
Florida
Georgia
California

Crete was out for me. I didn't want to start our military life off with a separation like that. Japan (deployable) was out for me because once again, I didn't want to start out with him being gone AND in a foreign country all by myself with 4 kids. At first my choices were California or Florida. Georgia didn't seem exciting enough. Mr. H. wanted Japan, deployable, above all the others.

Mr. H. and I discussed the different assignments and what his "job" would be at each one. His heart's desire is to be deployed with Marines/Navy. So, I decided that he should do what he wants to do. Why not start off with something you're excited about? So, we chose Japan, deployable.

I'm excited and nervous all at once. I'm excited to begin this phase of our life, but I am a little nervous about being in Japan by myself. I've been researching it like crazy in the last 2 days. It looks beautiful, housing looks fine, and there is so much to see and do. Ancient ruins, an awesome aquarium, Tokyo Disneyland, deep sea fishing, beaches all over the place.

Our island is pretty small and there is at least one million people living there. Check out this map. If you "grab" the map and move it around you can see it in proportion to the rest of Japan. I have heard that the island is about 450 square miles, with 1.3 million people living there. Let me put that in perspective: the county I live in is 800 square miles with only 7,000 people! This will be a whole new ballgame for us!

Check out these photos. Feel free to vacation here with us! Start saving for that 15 hour flight!

He's In!

Mr. H. went to Washington (this sounds like a book title...) last Wednesday-Thursday. His plane was to arrive at 6:30pm Thursday, but instead, kept getting delayed. The 4 kids and I were pretty much in the van for about 4 hours waiting for him. The airport has nothing for little kids, so it was either lock them in the van or chase all 4 of them in different directions at the airport. Thank goodness for laptops and DS's.

We were told that he would hear back 1-5 days after the interview. I expected to hear something on Tuesday (today), but he received a phone call on Friday afternoon. His recruiter called to let him know that he was recommended by the board for Navy chaplaincy. He came bursting through the house and I thought something bad had happened the way he tore into the house. He got it all out in spite of his jumping and whooping and hollering (really, I've never seen him this excited). We were thrilled, of course! Our oldest son said he was embarrassed to see Dad so excited! :)

However, our hearts are breaking for our friends right now. Please hold Mr. and Mrs. T. up in prayer because I am sure they are devastated. We know that the Lord's ways are not our ways and all we can do is fully trust Him. And I know sometimes that doesn't seem good enough, does it?

Mr. H.'s mom and dad took our kids this weekend and he and I got a lot done on the  house. We're getting it all ready to sell. Houses aren't moving too quickly in this area, so we're putting it on the market asap. We have to trust the Lord in this, too.

Next up for Mr. H. is his commissioning service in KC. We don't know when that will be exactly, but after his security clearance comes through and his commissioning documents are done, that date will be set.

Then, he's off to ODS (Officer Development School) in Rhode Island. We will be separated for 3 months. The longest we've been apart has been about 2 weeks and I missed him like CRAZY!

It's a Small World

So, I started this blog and didn't really expect to get many followers. It was just a place for me to write about our journey in case anyone else was going through the same thing. Well, it turns out that I got a few readers and even a few followers! That was a surprise to me really.

There is one family (hello, Mr. and Mrs. T!) that has been reading this blog for a few months now. I had no idea that they were following, who they were, or where they came from. I was totally oblivious to the fact that they were even aware of what I wrote.

Anyway, our lives have intersected dramatically in the past few days. You see, Mr. T's family is pursuing the Navy Chaplaincy also. So they are right where we are. And that's not too odd, right? But the crazy ridiculous thing is that Mr. T. and Mr. H. will be roommates in DC this week! How crazy is that? I think it's amazing that the Lord would put them together.

Mr. T. and Mr. H. were copied on the same email from a Navy Chaplain so Mr. T. contacted Mr. H and addressed his email to "Mr. H." (I still don't really know how they put 2 and 2 together about Mr. H on the blog and Mr. H. in real life.) So, now we've already struck up a friendship with these two. There's nothing like having a friend who is going through the same thing that you are! Their future, also, is riding on the results of this week's interview. It's a scary and exciting place to be, but makes it even easier to know that you have friends who are there with you.

I don't believe in coincidences. I believe the Lord orchestrates and plans "coincidences." What a great thing.

And, the latest is that Mr. H. will receive his itinerary for the DC trip tomorrow. Then we'll really know what's what.

The CARE Board....as it stands now.

Mr. H. did get invited to the CARE board on September 8th. We were under the assumption that every applicant was guaranteed this final interview, but we have found out differently. You are invited. We were thrilled to hear that he was going and even more excited that it was by invitation only!

Then  his chaplain recruiter called back and said there was a snag....Since his paperwork went through so close to the September 8th date, he may not be able to make it. This Chaplain said to block the two days off next week because more than likely he will be going, but just a head's up that he may not be able to squeeze in. Ugh!

So now we are planning on him going next week, but preparing just in case it doesn't happen. If he does not make these boards, he'll make the October one. Which seems like an eternity away!

We're praying for patience.