Are You Sitting Down?

You military wives know that when you hear those words over the phone or in person, "Are you sitting down?" it could mean one of a myriad of things from your active duty husband...a quick deployment, a future deployment, "I'm stuck in xxx because the jet is broken," a much longer debrief than expected, an unexpected diversion to another town due to bad weather, a quicker move, a change in duty location, difficulty obtaining orders, or any other thing that could possibly happen in the military...to include good things too (the others are just more dramatic!)!! And in the 4.3 seconds that the question is uttered and you sit down, they ALL go through your head...and then some!!!

Okay...so, rewind to April 8, 2009...the phone rings, I answer it, it's Cody. Not unusual for Cody to call me here in the middle of the day to ask how things are going and tell me when he will be home, so I think nothing of it. We are to leave the next day to go to Harrogate, York and Newcastle for Easter weekend. Here's the conversation as best as I can remember it:
Me: Hello
C: Hi
Me: Hi
C: Are you sitting down?
Me: (heart beats fast...because, there's that question! I immediately think, he is having to fly out now for something and won't be going to Harrogate this weekend. Jackson and I will just go ourselves...but what a bummer!) Yeeeees?.?.?
C: The squadron's closing.
Me: Okay. When? (I'm thinking within a year's time...nothing moves fast with the military!)
C: By the end of the year.
Me: December?
C: Well, more like September.
Me: Okay.
C: (now, knowing me well...he follows up with this) I don't have any more details.
Me: Okay. So we're moving.
C: Probably.
Me: Okay. But I was just starting to like it here!
C: I know. I'll be home in an hour or so.
Me: Okay. (And then, I get off of the phone and realize that means we must leave our church here. I start to cry...and then, like every other time we move, try to pull myself together.)

So...now...I have you hooked!! And, by now, you're asking the following questions:
1. So, why is she waiting until NOW to blog about this??
2. What is going to happen to them??
3. Where will they be going??
4. When will they be moving, if they are moving??
5. Will Cody be flying again??
6. What happens????

And, believe me, those questions have been going through my head for the past 2 1/2 months. Before I go any further, I just want to say that Cody and I have felt at peace about all of this and have been praying and completely knowing that God has a plan for us, and this was included and that we can always trust Him to take care of it. Remember, I'm convinced that this assignment, for me, has been a lesson in trusting God with everything, and this situation put all of that to the test...and it's only just beginning!

So, fast forward to last night...because last night, it all came together and I can now answer ALL of those questions for you! God answered our prayers and gave us the desire of our hearts. And, I believe, He did it with a smile on His face and the words, "Here you go, my children...enjoy!" As of last night, we are officially in "speedy move mode," as Cody will be part of an August course back in the US to requalify to fly the F15C Eagle...at RAF Lakenheath in England. What does this mean...it means Cody will be operational for the USAF again and we...will only have to move 8 HOURS DOWN THE ROAD!!!!!!! We are hoping to do a "door-to-door" move, so no airplanes, boats or household goods arriving in a different location than we are or getting lost somewhere in transit!! Our prayer is that it will be a much smoother move than our move here a year and a half ago...but then again, there's only room for improvement in that category!!

Telling Jackson has been interesting...I think he's a bit confused...but what two-year-old wouldn't be!! He keeps picking up individual toys and asking me if he can take them to the new house. Bless his heart! He is so sweet and so incredibly adaptable. He seems to think it's pretty cool that a big delivery truck is going to take ALL his toys to the new house! We'll see how that all goes on moving day...which may be 3 weeks from now!!

So, if you've never been to Cambridge, we'll be all of 30 minutes from there, and London is just a mere hour or so from us! We'll keep you posted as we get "posted" somewhere else!

I will end this very long post with a video that Cody has put together of all of our adventures here in Caledonia...which is the "poetic" name for Scotland.