Fort Riley Kansas

This is going to be our next home. Last week Adam received orders to Fort Riley KS beginning in April 2010. We really never thought the day would come where we would get to leave Ft Drum and still be in the Army. After all this is the only Army base we have ever been stationed at and we've been here over 6 years now. Adam and I are both excited about this move and the change of pace it will bring to our lives. His orders have him working in a meddac (medical clinic or hospital) which means he should not be deploying for the next few years. I cannot begin to tell you how much our family needs this time together. For the past 6 years we have pretty much been on a home one year deployed the next schedule. Adam has had to miss so many major events in Andrew's life. It will be nice to have him around and working a "normal" schedule for a while. Of course this is the Army and they are very good at changing things when they want to so at any time Adam could be moved over into a deployable unit again. However for now I am not going to worry about that. There are soooooooooo many things we have to get done in a very short period of time. Adam is not due home from this deployment until late December or January so I am here taking care of both kids, going to school and now trying to get the house ready to be sold. I am hoping and praying that our house sells without any trouble or issues. This is my biggest source of stress at the moment because we would not be able to afford this mortgage plus living somewhere else at the same time. In the end I know everything will work out but it is getting to that end I am worried about :-) While we have a very busy 6 months ahead of us I am very much looking forward to starting this new chapter in our lives.

Just a quick update. Andrew is doing well in school so far. He is having some issues with his social skills but I think with a little time he will adjust well. He is a really good big brother to Ava. I have been very proud of him and how he is handling having a baby in the house. Ava is also doing well. She is getting bigger every day and is starting to show more of her personality. I think she is going to be lots of fun as she gets older (or lots of trouble..ha ha). I am hanging in there. Having 2 kids instead of just one is an adjustment but it has been easier than I thought it would be. This week I started back to school after my 60 day leave of absence. Granted it has only been 2 days but I am finding it harder to focus and become motivated to get my work done. I am hoping to get out of this funk because I do not want my classes to become something I dread. I only have 4 classes remaining before I have my associates degree. At this point I will have my degree in February. Adam has already told me I do not have a choice but to continue with school and get my Bachelors so now I have to decide if I want my BA in psychology or something else.

The other night Andrew decided to "read" Ava a story to keep her from crying while I cooked dinner. To my surprise it worked, but only for a few minutes.