Keira 4 years 2 months

Keira makes me laugh everyday. This is a conversation that we had today:

K: "Mom, when I am six, can I stop taking naps?
Me: "Yes, when you are six."
K: "But Libby will still take naps, right?"
Me: "Maybe"
K: "Then I can say to her, Goodnight Squirt!"

haha....she is great! So...today when she took her "rest" time, she was given a pile of books and told that she could not come downstairs until the clock said 3. When I checked on her, this is what I found.

I have no idea where the doritos came from or how she got them up there without me seeing!

 Keira wants her hair to grow as long as Repunzels (oh I hope not).

She will spend hours drawing and coloring and "making cards" for people.

Keira is very sensitive and gets her feelings hurt easily. But, she has a big heart and a lot of Compassion for others.

The other day, she asked if she could sing with a microphone at church about Mermaids and Fairy's. I politely told her that at church we sing praise to Jesus. So...she made up this song:

Oh what will the next month bring!

Where everything stands

So...a couple of weeks ago, we actually sat down and talked to the Army recruiter for our area. Unlike how it would be as an 18 year old trying to join the military, they don't try to sell you on the idea. The recruiter is aware that Tom has already served and he knows what Army life is actually like. 

We found out that day that it isn't very easy to get back into the military once you have gotten out. Each month a list comes out with available jobs for "prior service" enlistments and your job has to on there. Basically, Tom would have to go in with the same job he had back in 2005 which was a light wheeled vehicle mechanic. There were a lot of things that he liked about that job and the way we figure this would be sort of short term regardless. Once he completes his Bachelor's degree, he will be able to apply to become an officer and at that point, he would move into a computer field in the Army. 

Of course, if they didn't let him become an officer for whatever reason, we always have the option to get out of the Army in 4 years. 

So...Tom's job (91 Bravo for anyone who cares) was one of the few on the list 2 weeks ago. (since the military isn't really recruiting a whole lot right now, there aren't many jobs on the list for someone with prior service.). However, the new list came out Monday and his job is not on there this month. 

This means that right now, Tom cannot get back into the military. Again, this list changes every 30 days and depends on current openings. We will talk to the recruiter again in a month and see if his job is on the new list.

Until then...we are still praying!

From the Beginning

Ok...now that our potential news (and that is what it is to be clear...Potential news) is out, I can rewind a little bit and tell you how this all came about.

The reality is, that since I met Tom, the military has always been in our minds as a "backup" plan. We never talked about it very seriously but casually mentioned it when discussing our future as something that was a potential idea....until recently, that is all that it was.

As most of you know, Tom served in the Army from 2001-2005 so he has already put in 4 years towards his retirement. (At least with the way things are set up now...as we all know, anything could change in a heartbeat). This means, he could retire in 16 years with half pay and be able to get a job in the outside world to supplement. Of course...those are our plans...not necessarily God's plan.

Also, Tom has been in school for the past few years. He finished his associates degree in Computer Science about a year ago and is currently working towards his Bachelor's. Because of this, obviously, our future is a bit undecided as his current job is not in computers although we are very thankful for a steady job that he has been in for almost 5 years.

So, as many of you know, my grandfather passed away at the beginning of June. He was a Marine and proud of it. I would say that being a family man and being a Marine pretty much defined Papa. At his burial with the family, there were Marines there and it reminded Tom of the camaraderie of being in the Military as well as the great feeling it is to serve our country in this way. I think that my grandfather would be proud of anyone in our family who chose to serve in the military.

That being said, there are also many things that Tom did not care for during his time serving and we are well aware that some of those things would still be the same.

Again, this is something that we are pursuing carefully and slowly with much prayer and consideration. If we do go, it will not be until after Janessa has her surgery at the end of January for her Cleft palate. I trust the doctors here and would not want to move somewhere where I was unsure of their capabilities as this could effect her speech.

So....as we learn more, I will keep you all updated but covet your prayers while we make the decision to stay or to go.

Janessa Faith 4 months old

Janessa Faith is 4 months old today...

She is an absolute blessing.  Keira and Libby can't get enough of her and love to be mommy's little helpers when it comes to Janessa.

She is starting to eat baby food now which has been interesting since she has a cleft palate and the food often comes out her nose!

Her favorite things to do are play in her exersaucer, lay on the play mat and bat at toys (she even grabs them and gets them in her mouth from time to time, and watch everything her sisters do.

She currently sleeps from about 8:30pm to 6:30am with an 11:30pm feeding jammed in there.

Janessa is happy, giggly and LOVES to be snuggled. She is also our first baby to suck her thumb (which makes life a little more difficult down the road when she has her surgery.

At her 4 month check up she weighed in at 13lbs. 1 ounce (50%) and 25 1/4 inches long (85%). Her head circumference is 41cm (50%).

Oh the Places we MAY go!

So...I am writing this at the risk of getting reamed out by a few people but I am going to go ahead and write it anyways since we would covet any prayer for us in a HUGE decision to be made.

Let me start by saying that NOTHING has been decided yet at all...but we are in the beginning stages of Tom possibly rejoining the United States Army.

Yes, there...I said it...it is now public knowledge!

There are more positives and negatives to this decision than I care to list right now. Obviously, the fact that both of our families live here as well as our cherished church family and many of our friends which is what makes this decision far more difficult that it would be for some.

However, that being said, there are a ton of great things that could happen for Tom as well as the girls and I if we decided to take this leap. Let's face it...it would be a bit exciting.

All in all, we can make all of the pro/con lists that we want. We are completely aware of the meaning of this and the terrifying parts as well as the fun ones. What our decision comes down to is God's will for our family.

I would ask that you please hold us in your thoughts and prayers as we make a possibly life changing decision not just for us, but our kids as well. Please pray that we will clearly hear God's voice in this and that we will be at peace 100% with our decision either way.

I will continue to post more as God places things on our hearts and minds about this decision. It has honestly been the only thing on my mind for about 5 weeks now so it is time to get it out there and gather some other prayer warriors!