And We Are Here!

So...we arrived in Jacksonville, NC on Wednesday, July 1st! There is so very much that happened between my last post and now, but it will take a few posts to update you. We are still unpacking (and probably will be until we get ready to move out in about 6 months) so I only have time for a summary right now! Edmond and I drove up here last week and found a house to rent. It took most of the day to find something and then do the necessary paperwork, but it all worked out! We got back to Pensacola on Sunday, finished packing and loaded the truck on Monday. Woke up Tuesday morning (still had to finish loading the truck) and then were on our way to Georgia to spend the night with Edmond's sister, Casey (her house was right on the way, almost exactly halfway to NC....it was nice that Riley didn't have to endure a 12 1/2 hour drive in one day)! We then got to Jacksonville Wednesday afternoon and haven't stopped! We are exhausted, but making some progress. In a later post I promise to include pictures, fill you in on our thoughts about leaving Pensacola/moving to Jacksonville, and tell about Riley's exposure to the Swine Flu (we are past the incubation time so he should be in the clear)! Ok, that's all for now!

Off We Go!

Well, this will probably be my last post for awhile (but I will keep reading yours so, Andrea, keep giving us baby updates)! We found out Monday night that we are moving next Tuesday. Craziness! Edmond and I (we will be dropping Riley off with grandparents along the way) are driving to Jacksonville, NC tomorrow to find a place to live for the next 5-6 months. Then driving back to pick up Riley on Saturday and then back to Pensacola (I almost typed Baton Rouge...I still think I live there I guess!). We will finish packing and then load up a U-haul on Monday and then leave first thing Tuesday morning. This will definitely be an adventure.

Here are a few pictures from Edmond's winging ceremony and the weekend. We had such a great time with our families and friends! And I am so proud of my husband. He has worked so hard to get here! It is still kind of surreal! Anyway, enjoy the pics and as soon as we get settled back in, I will post again! Oh, for some reason I did not get a picture of Casey (Edmond's sister), Stuart and India. They came in as well, but aren't in any pictures. Sorry! Our wonderful friends Greta and Ryan are standing with Edmond in front of the helicopter that Edmond did all of his training in. And there are 2 things I want to say about the family picture: 1st, I promise I tried to put shoes on Riley...they just don't stay on these days and if you are wondering, I am standing next to Edmond's parents and he is standing next to mine (most of you know that, but wanted to clear that up for those of you who haven't met our families)! Ok, bye for now!

Hula Skirts and Leis

(I decided to make this post a little more interesting with the picture and a catchy title!)

So, we got the news a day early!  We will be going to the Marine Corps Base in Hawaii for our first permanent duty station (about 3-4 years). We are so very excited!  We will actually head to North Carolina for about 6 months while Edmond learns to fly the specific type of helicopter. The helicopter he will be flying is actually one of the safer types and I was very concerned about that. Of course there are some details that I'm a little worried about (like they will only ship one of our cars out there), but overall we are excited.  I'm sure it will hit me soon how very far I will be from family and friends.  This will definitely be the most difficult part of this experience.  But....how many people can say they've been able to live in Hawaii!  So, we are thanking the Lord tonight for putting us where He needs us.

Relaxin' Riley

Here are a few pics of my baby taking it easy this summer.  We go for a walk/stroll at least once a day in the evening (when it's  little cooler) and sometimes in the morning as well.  He likes to prop his foot on the stroller and it looks like he is just so relaxed.  He also thoroughly enjoys bath time.  I was so excited when he started to really "play" in the tub that I went out and bought some bath toys.  You know what his favorite toy in the bath tub is?? The cup we use to rinse his hair after shampooing.  Go figure!!

Home Again Home Again Jiggety Jig

Edmond always says this (the title) when we are returning home, whether from errands around town or a trip and it just always makes me laugh!! It reminds me of the "This Little Pig Goes to Market" song that you sing to babies when you are playing with their toes!  Anyway, we are home again.  This past week has been very very busy!  We returned from Savannah, GA last Tuesday and had the rest of the day Tuesday and Wednesday to relax.  Then on Thursday, my family came over for our summer beach trip (it was supposed to be a trip for Edmond's winging ceremony, but as you know.....)!  We just stayed with them during the day and then came back here to sleep.  Riley slept well at their condo during the day, but his nights have been horrible ever since he came back from Pineville and I just didn't want them to have to deal with it!  We had a blast with them.  Karleigh and Clark are swimming so well and Brody is just cute little Brody!!!  Here are some pics from our time with them.

Each time we go to the beach, my mom likes to take a family picture!  My brother could not make it this year because he is busy with Physical Therapy school!  But, here are some of the pics we took.  Please ignore the wind-blown hair!  It was blowing like crazy and there really wasn't much we could do about it.  

What do you think....I think my brother-in-law looks so much like Kris Allen, this year's American Idol winner.  I keep thinking there is someway we could get rich off of this!

After the weekend with my family here in Pensacola, we left early Sunday morning to go to Ringgold, GA, to visit Edmond's family.  We stayed there until yesterday morning.  As usual, Riley had some really rough nights.  I figured he would because we were in a new place and he slept in the room with us.  Oh well!!! We will get it all worked out soon!!  We had such a wonderful time visiting with our family!  My youngest niece, Kayleigh, just seemed to be enamored with Riley!  And he seemed to feel the same way about her.  It was really cute.  Here are a few pics from that trip!

Catching Up!

Since I haven't been writing very many posts lately, I decided to do one to catch everybody up on Mr. Riley and what's been going on in his life lately.  First of all, on Mother's Day weekend we drove to Pineville to spend some time with my family.  Riley had his first official swim.  The water was still pretty chilly so we didn't get all the way in.  He seemed to like it though.   Riley has also had some good hang out time with Dad lately!  The picture of the two of them was from Memorial Day weekend.  Riley is wearing a onesie that my friend Bevanne made for him! 

 

Thanks Bevanne....we love it!  A few weeks ago, some friends of ours (Ryan and Greta) threw us and another couple from our small group a going-away barbecue.  We had so much fun visiting with everyone.  And Riley LOVED their dogs!! Poor things, I think he scared them a few times!  We are really going to miss our church family when we move.  I am going to try to be good at keeping in touch.  Riley also had his last day with Mrs. Jan, his sitter.  It was really sad because she has just been such an answered prayer!  Most of you remember that we had a rough daycare experience and I really thought I was going to have to quit my job.  Then we heard about her.  We couldn't have asked for someone better.  She had all boys at the time Riley was with her.  How funny!!  Anyway, that's about it!  Today is my first day at home (and not at work or on vacation) with my son.  It's so wonderful!! I'm even dressed with hair washed and make-up on.  I wasn't sure if I would get out of my pj's!!!

Change...I don't do well with it!

Today was supposed to be a very exciting day for us!  We were going to be finding out where we would be living for the next several years. But....things changed!!!  This is Riley after we told him about the change...he' s little frustrated!  I wanted to write this post last week when it all happened, but knew that I would just end up complaining to all of you. So, hopefully now that I have had some time to let it sink in (and after a wonderful relaxing trip to Savannah, GA celebrating being finished with flight school, being finished with work indefinitely-me, and our 2 year anniversary) I won't be the full of complaints!  First of all, as a mentioned in the last sentence, one huge praise is that Edmond is indeed finished with flight school!  Woo hoo!! I am so proud of him.  It has a been a very long and hard road and we are just so thankful that the Lord pulled us through.  I know that we will have difficult times ahead, but we will trust Him through that as well.  Ok, so during his last week of flights we were really hoping for decent weather.  If the weather did not cooperate then Edmond's flights could have been cancelled and he would have been bumped to the next winging class (which would also delay our "finding out" of where we would be moving).  But it did cooperate and all was well, until Wednesday night!  We found out that the guy in charge of the base (can't remember his proper title) decided to change the cut off date for the June 5th winging, from Friday to Wednesday!! Well, Edmond still had one more flight to do on Thursday!  So...yes, he will now not get his wings until June 19th and we won't find out the moving news until June 16th.  To help myself deal with all of this, I have been thinking of all of the positives to come from it!  Here they are: we will have a little more time here, we will get to travel some in the next few weeks to see our families, and the most important....the longer it takes Edmond to get his wings, the longer it will be until he could be deployed!  So, the Lord has His ways!! He also knew that He needed to continue teaching me a little about patience!!! Ha....