For the very last time

The last box was loaded, the last crate sealed for the very last time. It was a bitter sweet day. We are ready to go back home, but we will miss this life that we have had for the last 18 years. If you aren't in the military, you may not understand. Being part of the military community is a different life; a different culture. We will truly miss it, but we are looking forward to the next chapter of our lives. We have made so many good, lifelong friends along the way. For that, we are truly thankful.

Let the packing begin

Today was day one of our household goods packing. We had two guys who were amazing, we thought. One guy was upstairs and got the boys' rooms and our bedroom done. There was another guy downstairs who got my pottery (all 8 boxes which took 2 hours to pack) and the rest of the kitchen and dining room done. Tomorrow they have the closet for storage in our bedroom, Sarah's room, another storage room and the living room to do. I think they'll do the garage the last day. They will easily get done in three days. They are doing an awesome job ~ we gave been pleased so far.

We keep telling each other that this is the last time we have to do this. Praise the Lord!!!

It's Offical

It is now offical. Effective 1 January 2010, Allen is relieved from Active Duty and will now be MSgt (ret) or Mr. Orahood.

Allen's retirement ceremony was today. One more thing checked off. It was really nice. Our friend and former neighbor played the bagpipes at the beginning and Joshua played the American national anthem on his trumpet. Our good friend, who is also a chaplain here, was the officer in charge over the ceremony. It's really hard to explain it all; it was just a really nice ceremony. Allen's speech was just amazing. He did a really good job. I am so proud of him. You can tell he was well liked and respected by his coworkers over the years. How lucky I am to have his as my husband and best friend. God has truly blessed me beyond belief.

It looks like this is really happening. Our unaccompanied shipment was picked up yesterday. We also said good-bye to some dear friends yesterday who got here just 3 months before we did, so we've known them the entire time we've been here. They have 4 boys, three of which are the same ages as our boys. Their oldest two were really close to Caleb and Joshua.

Next, our household goods get packed out next MTW. After that, we just go through the motions really. We have to clean our house, but luckily our landlords are so great; they don't expect it to be white-glove clean. Praise God.

Last Wednesday, we said good-bye to the group that we go to Bible study with on Wednesday nights. That was tough; and it's only going to get tougher.

God has truly blessed us with this assignment though. And we are truly thankful. I will do my best to keep you all updated with the rest of our move ~ God bless!