The Cat's Out Of The Bag!

Okay, so I promised that I would share our BIG NEWS soon and I am. I've waited this long because I wanted to be 101% sure before I told the world, and I wanted to tell those closest to us first. After 10 years, the Navy in it's infinite wisdom has finally decided to move us. We have had times where we hated Virginia and everyone in it. We have had wonderful times with friends. We've had laughing and crying, we've shared our kid's births, birthdays, Christmas's, Easters, Thanksgivings, joys, sorrows, pain and heartache, and almost 1/3 of Jon and my lives, our children's entire lives, and basically our whole marriage here in Virginia. With all it's flaws, we have come to call Virginia "home".

We've seen so many friends come and go and made lasting relationships here. But that is all coming to a close. After years of trying to get a new duty assignment, we finally have one. In November (we detach from the Enterprise in November, but won't have an exact date for leaving until we book our flights), we will be moving to the BEAUTIFUL island of Hawaii!! To say that we are excited is an understatement. We are so excited and happy to be going to such a wonderful place and feel completely blessed that our 2nd duty station is somewhere so wonderful. But our joys are muddled with feelings of sadness. We will miss our friends here in Virginia dearly. We are very sad to be leaving those friends who are truly family to us and our church home. We MIGHT be here for Thanksgiving, but will be spending Christmas in Hawaii because Jon has to report no later than December 19.

This is a big move for anyone, but with it being our first "real" military move, it's especially big for us. Please keep us in your prayers. Pray for my sanity. Pray that I am able to complete all the arrangements for the move in a timely manner and without complications (because I will be the one planning the move since Jon is deployed basically until we move). Pray that God gives me strength to be there emotionally for the kids as they deal with leaving the only home they've ever known. Pray that the kids stay as excited as they are now. Pray that the move would be smooth and speedy. And please pray that we can settle into our new home in Hawaii, make friends, and find a good church home there.

When we came up for orders once again this year, knowing that the Enterprise was being decommissioned, I knew we would move. But I never dreamed it would be off of the continental United States, to a place totally surrounded by water, where my only way to reach my friends and family back on the "mainland" would be through Skype, phones, or Airplanes. Reality is still slowly setting in for me and I'm not afraid to say that I am having a hard time with it all. We ARE excited, and we KNOW how blessed we are to be going to such a wonderful place. But we are still sad to leave those we love and the life we have known up until now.

We love you all!
Mya, Jon, Amara, and Tayani