This year has been an extremely busy one for us. In January, Nick went to school to change his MOS. He is now in the chemical corps, and he is really finding his niche in Army life. He finished up with school in March, and when he got back, we pretty much tied up all the loose ends in Ft. Hood, TX and prepared to move to our new duty station, Ft. Stewart, GA.
We started our round-about road trip in the beginning of May. Some interesting things happened on our road trip. We stayed overnight in a hotel in the Killeen, TX area and ended up waking up a little late to start our journey. We got about 30 minutes away and then Nick realized he left his cell phone in the hotel room, so we backtracked and went to get it. This put us behind, but as we would see later, it was a very good thing. Our goal was to make it to Joplin, MO by nightfall. There were terrible rain storms hitting and also tornado warnings. When we pulled up to our hotel, we found out that we had missed the tornado that blew through by about an hour. Wow. If we hadn't had to go back for the cell phone and waste that hour, we would have been right on time for the tornado. We definitely counted our blessings that night.
While we were in Missouri, we stayed with Nick's family and had a fun time visiting. The girls have friends that live in Granny and PawPaw's neighborhood, and they had a blast visiting with their friends. I was also able to meet some dear internet friends at the St. Louis Zoo and we had a wonderful time getting our families together. While we were in St. Louis, we visited Shriners Hospital for an appointment that Hannah and Sophia had to be evaluated for scoliosis. If anyone is looking for a charity to donate to, I would highly recommend Shriners. They were excellent with our children and this wasn't something that we had to pay out pocket for. The military doctors at Hood weren't very familiar with juvenile scoliosis and we were getting told different things by different doctors, hence scheduling the appointment at Shriners.
Sophia does not have scoliosis as we were originally told at Hood, but Hannah does have it. They believe it may be caused by a leg length discrepancy and they gave us a lift to put in her shoe and hope that this will even things out for her and we can go to the Shriners in Greenville, SC in May 2009 to have her checked out again. We are so thankful for the friend that recommended Shriners to us and so happy that we went there.
After we left, MO, we went to Nashville, TN and stayed a couple of nights and took the girls to the Nashville Zoo. That was a really fun experience. After that, we headed to Pigeon Forge, TN for our PCS vacation. We generally don't go on vacations any other time except for a PCS move because of issues with finances and leave time, so we try to make the most out of our Army moves.
We stayed at a really nice lodge in Pigeon Forge that had a neat loft in it and it looked very rustic, like a log cabin. We used our military discount and had 2 days of fun at Dollywood. I recommend that park to anyone. It is very family friendly and had plenty of rides for everyone, even for Evy. We had a really fun time and were sad when it was time to go.
After we left Pigeon Forge, we stopped in Ashville, NC, and then in Columbia, SC. On our way to Augusta to stay with another dear friend of ours, we were able to drive through Aiken, SC and see the plantation house that belonged to my grandmother and that I visited many times as a child. I was amazed at the difference when we drove by. The new owners have done so much work restoring the place it was almost unrecognizable. It was like the difference between seeing someone's bones, and then seeing them with skin on their bones. It really amazed me. We were also able to go to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried and visit their graves.
We spent 2 nights with my dear friends in Augusta and had a fun time. It was so nice to be able to eat home-cooked food after all that time on the road and it was nice for the girls to have friends to play with. After that, we headed to our new town.
Hinesville, GA is much smaller than Killeen. I think that every time the Army moves us, we just keep downsizing in town sizes. We stayed in Army lodging for 10 days while we looked for a new home. There was a wait list for the Army post housing and we had already decided that if there was a wait, we'd look for off-post housing. We were looking at rentals and were having a hard time finding one large enough for our family and still within our price range. Enter, Rebecca, our Century 21 realtor.
Rebecca is one of the nicest, most honest, and decent people that I've met here in Hinesville. In my mind, I had likened realtors to used car salesmen. We had already been "burned" by one such person, who showed us a beautiful brand new condo that was in our rental price range, we had the girls all excited, showed them their new rooms and when we went to sign the rental agreement, suddenly it was no longer for rent, but sure, we could buy it if we liked, never mind that it was about 20,000 out of our price range for buying.
So I was very skeptical. Rebecca sent me a bunch of listings via email and as I looked at the ones in our price range, I felt so disheartened. They all looked like dumps, very outdated, way too small for our family, etc. So when we met with her to see some houses, I was already sure that we'd never find something acceptable.
I couldn't have been more wrong. We did look at some dumpy places, some places that were nice but just way too tiny to fit 4 children, and some that were in not so good locations. Then we found a perfect house in a quiet neighborhood on a cul de sac, with a good-sized fenced in yard, a little small, but doable for our family. Not once did Rebecca try to push us into buying a home. When we said we wanted this home, she got right on it and got in our offer quick, just quick enough as another offer identical to ours came in an hour after ours.
Never having gone through the home buying process, we were confused. She walked us through every step and completely took the stress out of it. Everyone says buying a home is stressful, and it is, but the only stress we had was waiting to see if the sellers accepted our offer. The rest, well, it all fell into place, which aligned with our prayers that if this was the right thing for us, it would work out smoothly and easily.
So now we are situated in Hinesville in our new to us home. We have had quite a bit going on since we moved in here. House wise, we have re-painted the kitchen walls and painted the cupboards. We haven't gotten to much else other than that, but we have some painting plans for the spring.
Army wise, Nick has been on a roll since he got here. He left in October to go to a Chemical training course at Ft. Leonard Wood, was home for 2 weeks and then left to another training course up in Indian Head, MD training with the Marine Corps. He has gotten to have some really neat experiences and even though it has kept him away for a bit, these are things that will set him apart from his peers in his career. We have discovered that these courses he has taken translate into college credits (15 I believe) towards a degree in Homeland Security. The MOS change was a scary one, but it is all working out as it should. The best part, Nick is back to working with Soldiers, which is his passion. He is a Platoon Sgt. and while it comes with its headaches for sure, it is something he enjoys immensely and something he is very very good at.
I have just been hanging around doing the day to day things a household requires. I am still into my scrapbooking, but have now taken on a newfound love of sewing. All of the girls will be getting nightgowns and purses sewn by Mommy this year as part of their Christmas. I am still very much a beginner, but I love creating things that my girls can wear and use and that makes me very happy. I also volunteered for a position in our new community. I am the new Neighborhood Watch coordinator for our street in our sub-division. This is the first time we have lived in a "real" house in a "real" neighborhood since we joined the Army and it is important for me to become involved in our community and to help make this a better place for families and children to live.
The girls are doing wonderfully. I am still homeschooling the oldest 3 girls and they are doing a fabulous job. They are such eager learners and still well ahead of their peers in public school. It is something they enjoy just as much as I enjoy teaching them. Hannah is in 5th grade this year, Sophia is in 2nd and Juliette is in 1st. We are really having a lot of fun with our curriculum, which is taking us on a nationwide trip through other countries and cultures. Each girl has a "passport" that we fill in and add a country flag sticker for all the new countries we are "visiting" on our journey.
Hannah, Sophia, and Juliette are quite popular among the neighborhood children. In fact, I had to start putting a sign on the door to please not ring the bell during Evy's nap time, because kids are always over here asking the girls to come out and play. They get lots of socialization with the other children and are so happy in their new home. Evy has finally gotten the hang of the potty and we are now diaper free except for naps and bedtime. I never thought I'd see the days of many diapers end! She is talking up a storm and is quite a precocious little thing, following after her sisters footsteps. We have a great team of doctors who we are working with to try to figure out Sophia's medical issues. We are thankful that she is getting the care she needs and have been happy to rule out some very scary things.
Well, that pretty much brings us up to date. We hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas and that the New Year brings you great joy, peace, and lots of love!!
We miss each and every one of you and you all hold a very special place in our hearts. Don't forget to check back periodically for updates and new pictures!!
No comments:
Post a Comment