Leavenworth or Bust!!

Well it's that time again, moving time. This will make our 4th move in almost 9 years, compliments of the good old US Army :). For me this will be my hardest move probably just because we are leaving home, aka Alabama, AGAIN .But on the flip side I have got to spend a little over two years back in Bama! I have enjoyed family time, spending lazy days with  my best friends and finally found a church we adored. Ethan was born in Alabama and James actually got to attend a MMO program for 2 years in a row! He is 4 and has been to 3 different ones. Picking up and moving to the unfamiliar is hard. I often ask why I married a military man because I don't like change at all, I am a very structured, scheduled person :). All I can say is God had a plan for me :).

After drying my eyes from goodbyes I hit the road running! So we left out on Saturday July 16 to drive to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, home of the largest military prison :). Since Shawn decided to do a full DITY move (where we move our selves entirely) we had to drive seperate vehicles since he had the boat to pull. So I drew the lucky straw to drive the boys..lol. So we loaded up on movies and snacks and hit the road running. We made a few stops along the way so the boys could stretch but overall it was a pretty smooth ride. Ethan did remarkably well which was my biggest concern. Even now at almost 2 years of age he is the worst traveler. We timed it so that after we stopped for lunch he would take his nap which would put us stopping for the afternoon once he woke up. it worked out well. We drove about 5 1/2 hours and stopped for the night. We let the boys swim before supper and bedtime which helped wear them out.

We got up on Sunday morning to begint he final drive to our new, temporary home for the next year or so. We finally arrived that night and I was VERY pleased with the home and the neighborhood. It seems like a lot of ILE students live here and there is a playground 2 houses up from which is awesome!! The boys loved their rooms and James loved the fact that the house is a "stair house". The house has 2 levels but we use the downstairs for a playroom which is awesome. The living room, dining room, and bedrooms are all upstairs. It has a nice fenced in back yard and deck. Overall I love the house!

I attended my first PWOC meeting last Tuesday. This is a bible study for military spouses which is awesome, being back in the military population is so refreshing after being away for almost 2 years. I hope that I am able to build some great friendships out of this group. James and Ethan both clung to me when I dropped them at the childcare rooms but when I returned they both seemed to be fine. I hate leaving them when they are upset.

After unpacking some boxes I explored the town...Wal-Mart is 0.3 miles from our house! Lots of good shopping within 30 minute radius. I think I was more excited to hit the commissary!! I know that this is a huge adjustment for us. Moving definitely was as hard when we didn't have children especially children who comprehend moves and miss their friends and families. I pray daily that i can provide what the kids need to make the transition as easy as possible. James has been defiant and difficult lately but I hope once he begins a preschool program he will be ok.

This is Army life...many moves and changes still to come :) since we have 12 more years to go!