Chaos has become normal.

So a little update from us: we have indeed decided to buy a home. When we researched it all out, it just makes sense- our mortgage is going to end up costing less than it would for us to rent someplace out. And our money will be going towards OUR mortgage instead of someone else's. We met our realtor for the first time yesterday and absolutely love him (see picture!) He comes with a wife too! They work together as a team, which I love, because you get both perspectives on a home. They made us feel comfortable from the get-go. And they are very straight forward with us- "you don't want this home, we won't let you buy this one" etc. And they are constantly bantering back and forth in that we've-been-married-for-41-years kinda way. We are also very thrilled that they are incredibly supportive of us shopping in a price range way below what we were pre-approved for. They are wonderful and we have no doubt that they will take good care of us!

So we looked at about 6 houses yesterday and were pretty encouraged with what was out there. We didn't feel that overwhelmed, until we both woke up at 3am last night with what I would call "stress dreams". Our heads were both swirling with house layouts. :) It was pretty funny. We were up watching "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" until almost 6am. I hope this isn't a habit. So now the new question is where do we stay for the next months while we look for a house? We're hoping to get into some kind of short-term place that is decently priced and safe. Our hotel is kicking us out tomorrow! But we already made two friends one of the first days we were here who said we could stay with them after they close on their house in mid-August. I never thought I'd be without my own home for so long! Hopefully I'll just appreciate our new home that much more. We'll be master clothes-rollers and car packers by the time this is all said and done. And it has been nice having housekeeping... :)

Air Force stuff has been good, and kinda frustrating. Today we spent several hours just trying to get all our paperwork in order (there's SOOOO much of it!). But Nathan was excited because we went to a place on base called "Rod and Gun" and discovered that they have hunting and fishing opportunities on base! He's sitting here reading me all this information as I type. Nate doesn't have to start work until next Wednesday, which means we have the next week to look for a home. I'm really hoping we find one soon so we can get this ball rolling. The Lord knows. So for those of you who talked about coming to visit, we may have to postpone those times until October! I guess that's all for now.

House Hunting

So we're in the middle of looking for a place to live up here- and it's STRESSFUL! We thought we were just going to find a 3 bedroom house to rent, but the more we considered the present housing market, our housing allowance from the military, and the tax credit for first time home buyers, we are looking into the possibility of buying. It's scary, but kind of exciting. We still need to meet with a mortgage broker and realtor to weigh the options. We definitely don't want to jump into something prematurely. Thats how bad debt happens.

Life has been crazy since we got here. We arrived late Sunday night and checked into one hotel. They were out of rooms for the next 10 days we needed, so Monday we had to find another place to stay. In the meantime, Nate had to go to base only to discover that no one knew he was coming (organized gov't at it's finest)- so he had to sit around for a few hours. We had to sit through other in-processing things that day too. But that day we did get to look at the base housing that Wright Patterson offers. It's nice, and close by- a good backup if needed.

Yesterday, I believe we looked inside 6 houses (to rent), talked to about 5 different people about all our questions, and drove by about another 4 houses on our list. I made a ton of phone calls- and we probably drove more than 60 miles just in the city. We saw some good places, and some ugly ones. And now I understand why realtors encourage you to paint your walls a neutral color to make your selling chances better. We saw one house with a LIME GREEN kitchen! And another with white/black checkerboard wallpaper. Yuck! But I feel like yesterday, we learned a lot about the area, just from the people we talked to and the hours of driving through the city we endured.

I am a bit overwhelmed, and tired of eating out. And to top it off, they've given Nathan some various meetings and things to attend in the next few days. One car is getting complicated up here! But, its always nice to just come back to the hotel, take a shower, and rest again, getting ready for the next day. Pray for us and that God's wisdom would prevail, and that we would find a place to live!

What I'm Grateful For.

Well, we leave Montgomery tomorrow morning; and I'm pretty excited. It's a mixed feeling. This time down here has been great and relaxing, but I am really ready to get to Dayton and to start our real life there. We'll spend all next week looking for a new home, and I'm a little nervous about that too! But I know the Lord will provide something for us. And no doubt with some extra room so people can come and visit. So in reflection, here's what I'll miss about this summer:

1. Having no time committments. It has been so nice to not be in a hurry all the time (because there's nothing to be late for). And it has been so nice to have free time. I felt like in Louisville, and my whole life really, most every minute of my day was planned. I'm sure it's my fault and due to my reliance on a daily agenda book (which I'm not using down here!). But it has just been great to get a chance to breathe. When Nathan gets home, most nights we don't have anywhere to go. Why do we feel the need to fill up our schedules with so much stuff? Even if its good stuff like eating at people's houses, having others over, Bible Studies, etc. I was a little burnt out when we left Louisville, and this has been perfect. I want to fight for more "unplanned nights" when we get to Ohio. I think we need that rest.

2. Some of the friends we've made down here. All of us are going different ways, and it will be sad. But I guess I'm gonna have to get used to it in the Air Force.

3. Time for hobbies. It's not something I really planned for in Louisville- there's too much other more meaningful things to do. And sure, fellowship with a friend is probably more valuable than making a scrapbook page about our honeymoon, but that's not to say that there isn't room in life for that too. I tend to compartamentalize EVERYTHING into spiritual and non-spiritual. But I think that doing something I enjoy at reasonable times and in reasonable amounts can be honoring to the Lord. I've enjoyed reading, exercising, sleeping in (is that a hobby?), and scrapbooking. And hope I'll get to do more of it in Ohio.

4. This season with my husband. I know it's not over, but it's been great for Nathan and I to kinda get away on our own and learn to depend on each other more. We needed to be removed from some distractions and comfortable environments to really realize how much we need each other, and need a strong marriage. We are thankful to the Lord for giving us this time away together. It's been a rough year, and we finally feel like we're coming more and more out of the difficulty into that "honeymoon phase". We still argue, but are learning to work through it better and love each other better too.

Well, I'm out of time. Nate is in a big tournament this morning- so off to sit in the heat for 3 hours! I guess it's worth it. :)

Happenings.

Well, I don't really know what to write about, but feel as if I should come up with something because it's been like a week. Things are still going well down here. Nathan has been swamped with reading and studying for a huge test he has this morning. I will be glad when that is over for him, so he can relax a little more and enjoy some things. Tomorrow we are driving to Pensacola to see the Blue Angels. I am excited to lay on the beach and watch them.

Also, last weekend we had 4 days of break, so we drove 8 hours to Hot Springs, AR with some friends to see one of our friends, Josh Ruth. It was a fun weekend! We camped out to save money, got rained on in our tents, toured the city, and just spent some good time with old friends. It was good to see some familiar faces again after being down here for a month.

On a different note, I am getting anxious for the "next thing." I haven't been able to really pinpoint why, and often struggle with this anyways. Just not being able to live in the moment and enjoy it for all it is. But I went to a Bible Study at a woman's house the other night, and realized I just really miss having a home. I mean, our hotel room is nice, but its a hotel room. And I'm just a homey person. Nate jokes with me about getting a new place and said I'll have it up and ready in 3 days. And he's probably right. But I know with leaving here means leaving a more relaxed lifestyle with minimal responsibility, so I am trying to soak up this next week for all it's worth. I finished a 450-page book I was reading (can't tell you the last time I did that)! And I'm looking forward to spending more time with Nathan.

This summer has really helped me to appreciate him more. I take a lot out on him. I am easily irritable and angered, and unforunately, he deals with the brunt of it all too often. He is incredible at handling my emotion and hardness-of-heart. And he just loves me and takes care of me so so so well. I feel so safe and cherished by him. I watched that movie, "P.S. I love you" last night, and it was horrible! After crying for over an hour, it really brought to my mind the brevity of life and the absolute necessity to cherish the ones we love the most while there's still time. It truly convicted me of the way I speak to and treat my husband, and how my life would fall apart without him. He is precious, and loves me with the faithful and tender love of Jesus, even when I wrong him and don't give him the honor and respect he deserves. I just praise God for blessing me with such a wonderful man... just another thing I didn't deserve.

So, I guess that about wraps this one up. Louisvillians can look for us possibly in two Sundays (July 19th), before we head up to Ohio to find a place to live. We miss you all, but are so thankful to God for giving us this precious time away.

Family Pictures

We went to the beach last weekend to meet my parents who were there for a business trip. It was so much fun, and the weather was beautiful. My Mom called me a few

days before we came and informed me that we would be taking a family picture- so to bring a white shirt and khaki pants.

Saturday night came along, and the whole family dressed for the photo-taking occasion (some reluctantly). So for the next hour and a half, we took approximately 100 pictures. I thought it was fun and a good idea. But what cracked me up was that, in the span of time we were outside, a family of 4 walked out dressed just as we were. No kidding, 20 minutes later, ANOTHER family dressed like us came out on the beach. And 20 minutes after that, a family of like 15 stroll on out to the beach for a similar photo adventure. There was a whole slew of the white and khaki club.

My little brother, who wasn't very happy with this whole process, muttered under his breath, "How original!" The nice part about it is that each family kinda helped the other one out by
taking the big group pictures. It was all quite an experience.

The pictures turned out great, and because I'm a woman, I actually enjoyed most of it. Nate and I were kinda scuffling that night, so we had to fake that beautiful beach romance! It was pretty funny, and actually helped us get over our differences. I can laugh at this whole process now and how common it is; but no doubt, check back on here in about 10 years, and I'll probably have our kids dressed in white and khaki for those beautiful beach pictures! Or maybe hunter's camoflauge (if it's up to Nathan!).

Being on Base.

I had never known anything of the military until I was with Nathan. I always swore up and down I'd never marry anyone in the military. All I attributed it to was moving every two years. Well, clearly the Lord had other plans, and gave me an AMAZING husband, who just so happened to be committed to the Air Force for at least 4 1/2 years. I had never been on a military base before we got to Montgomery. So I thought I would write some things I have found interesting, and really really nice (some weird too):

1. Every building on base is the same color- terracotta roofs and tan walls. It's really easy to get lost.

2. You have to go through security gates every time you come back on base. It's kinda scary the first time a man with a machine gun walks out and asks you for your ID. But I felt really cool the first time I flashed my military ID without Nathan in the car, and they let me in. "Oh yeah, that's right."

3. I was reading one afternoon at 5pm only to hear our national anthem playing outside. They play another song outside at 6am. It's kinda creepy.

4. It's strange to walk outside at 7am and see masses of people in the same clothes walking toward the same place. It's eerie.

5. They have just about everything you would want on base. It's like it's own small town- grocery store, department store, post office, library, pool, chapel, thrift store, golf course, bowling alley, movie theater, furniture store, gas station. Literally, you don't have to leave.

6. It's strange to be walking into the grocery store with a huge cargo plane taking off from the runway across the street from the parking lot.

7. You can only drive 25mph on base. And you get pulled over and ticketed for talking on your cell phone!

8. EVERYTHING is in military time (2:00pm=1400 hours). I am constantly trying to translate to figure out what time I am supposed to be somewhere.

9. There are abbreviations for everything. One wife saw a book called Air Force as a Second Language. I'm constantly asking, "What does that three-letter acronym stand for?"

10. It was awesome to get a doctor's appointment on the same day I called! And I picked up my prescription and didn't have to pay a dime. Government insurance beats the cheapo plan we had!

There's probably a lot more things that I may remember later. This really is a culture shock, and its own little world. But I'm beginning to like it.

(the picture above is the overhead view of the base we're on)

What Are We Doing?

Hey everyone. I don't know who is really going to read this or keep up with it, but I thought I would start a blog to keep people updated as we travel and move. I've read other people's blogs in trying to figure out what you're supposed to write in these things. I also feel all this pressure to be super wise and spiritual and reflective; I guess we'll see how often that happens! But I like the idea, and enjoy reading other people's posts. So maybe, even for us, this will just be a way to track the things we're doing and the things God is teaching us in our everyday lives.

So, what are we doing? Well right now, we're in week 3 (of 6) in Montgomery, AL where Nathan is in "Air Force school". He's gone pretty much every week day from 7-4, doing various training things and learning more about planes and missiles and other things I couldn't even venture to explain. Sometimes they do physical activities too. The next three pictures show Nate participating in something called Project X. It's like an obstacle course, team-building activity where they have to figure out how to get to the finish line with only a certain amount of supplies. There are certain areas they can't touch (red zones=bombs) and they have to work together to figure it all out. I got to watch from up above, and the Colonel running the whole thing was giving me all the answers so I could laugh at them. There were some obstacles with water, so that if you weren't careful, you fell in. Got to see a couple of those too- pretty funny!

The boys also play an Air Force game called Icarus. Nathan says it's dodgeball hyped-up-on-crack Air Force-style. There's all these crazy rules, but its fun to watch, if you can keep up with whats going on.

I think he's having a good time. He is in a group with mostly married men, so that's fun. And they're mostly inside all day, which is a good thing here with temperatures near or over 100 degrees every day! The humidity is what'll get ya.

As for me, I have minimal responsibilty and I love it! I spend most days sleeping in a little bit, going to free classes they offer at the gym (I'm sore most days of the week), spending time with other wives I met here, reading, scrapbooking, going shopping, etc. My life is pretty easy here, and I love it! I'm thankful to the Lord for this time of no running around or being busy. He knew what I needed. It's so refreshing! Some of my friendships here have proven to be very encouraging. The first few women I met are believers, and we've grown very close pretty quickly. You form relationships fast in the Air Force because everyone's kinda in the same boat. It's nice.

We've been doing a lot of fun stuff on the weekends. One outing was Military Appreciation Day at the Baseball field:

The only thing weird about the whole baseball experience was the mascot. The team was called "The Biscuits", but that's not what their mascot was. A giant anteater? You be the guess. I think if I was a small child, that thing would have scared me! There were fireworks after the game, so that was fun!

We also got to see Stomp while it was in town. Nathan LOVED it! He's always banging around on things, so it was really fun to watch the way they made rhythms with almost anything! It was money well-spent.

That kinda sums it all up now. We're enjoying ourselves a lot! We miss Louisville, but are enjoying this new adventure the Lord is taking us on. In 3 weeks, on July 17, we will be done down here and basically have to go straight to Dayton, OH so we can find a place to live! Until then, we'll survive the heat and enjoy the time.