So Sorry

Well Folks I have failed you completely. I have not kept you up to date on the kaftyness of the Krafts. However, there has honestly not been enough excitment happening here to report. Jeff continues to excel and learn all there is to know about tanks and other armored vehicles. He turns into a little boy when he gets to go shoot the big guns at the range. I have certainly enjoyed having the freedom to enjoy every chance I have with Jeff without the responsiblilites of work. I'll admit recently I have found myself twiddling my tumbs trying to figure out exactly what I want to do with my life. All in God's time. I have made a few friends, one in particular I have come to enjoy on a daily bases. Laura's husband is in Jeff's class so their schedules are the same. She is expecting her first baby girl in August. I have had the privilage of experiencing this with her by attending doctor's appointments and looking at baby registries. As much as I enjoy being with her while she experiences these things personally, I am very content in being joyful for her and her future baby girl. At my count I know 12 people expecting or who have had a baby in the past 6 months. At times I feel very overwhelmed by babies and talking about babies. But I know in my heart it is not the time in our lives to be blessed with such a gift. I have kept myself busy by learning to crochet (self taught), scrapbooking, and taking AFTB classes. I recently graduated Level III and hope to continue on to Instructor training. We are looking forward to moving to Ft. Benning sometime in the fall. Please start praying now that housing on post will be available and that I will find a job that will allow me to have an extended visit to Germany. I will do my best to be more consistant in updating you.

In the process

We have been in a whirlwind of a week. Monday the movers came, Tuesday we drove to our new house, Wednesday we did something I can't remember, Thursday our household goods arrived, and today we started unpacking it all. My Goodness! Our new home is very cute. Old but cute. Hardwood floors through out all the rooms with dark beige walls and dark brown molding. Stone tile in the kitchen and bathroom with sage green walls. Basically kind of perfect for my stuff. We have 2 bedrooms, living room, dining room, an office "nook", 1 bathroom, and kitchen. We also have a huge basement with 2 other storage rooms, only problem is I don't do basements. BTW the laundry room is down there. Yikes. I managed to get the kitchen unpacked with the help of my sister who generously devoted her spring break to tagging along with Jeff and I to KY. Today I attempted to start our bedroom, but it isn't done yet. Finding places to put things will be a challenge. We don't have as much closet space as we did in our apartment. Its weird because it seems like we have more space, but at the same time we don't. My sister leaves Sunday and I am preparing myself for the void that will inevitably unfold after she leaves. I've been scoping out my neighbors and so far I've established that the people next door have a husky but are never home. There is a couple who looks like they are expecting their first child and they have a very happy puppy. Plus they have waved at us a few times so I'm seeing some potential there. LOL it has been so long since I've had to make new friends I forgot how to do it! Church hopefully on Sunday and maybe that will put us in the loop of social connections.

New Adventures

As you can imagine there has been nothing interesting going on in our lives until literally this week. I have been working, Jeff has been living and working in Ft. Benning and now we are finally embarking on our new adventure.

So to catch up:

Last Thursday (18th) Jeff finally received offical orders which told us he had to report to Kentucky Feb. 28th, in a week!! The only good news was that I was included in the orders, so the ARMY IS MOVING US!!! This is fantastic news since I was severly worried about my glass table. That Friday (19th) was my last day at work and I said good bye to my sweet babies and kids. Saturday I went to Athens to view my cousins Showchoir performance and he did an amazing job singing and playing his guitar, I was so proud. Then home to clean and pack for weeks trip in Columbus,GA for Jeff's graduation. Monday I had a shopping date with Jeff's mom and then drove down to Ft. Benning.

We had such a blast last week. Tuesday we had a very elegant formal dinner with Jeff's Cadre and classmates. Wednesday was by far the most exciting day for me as I went to greet my grandparents in the hotel lobby and sitting there was my MOM and my BROTHER!!!! They flew in from Germay that day to surprise me. Of course I immediately burst into tears and did not stop crying for at least 30 minutes. I really missed my family. Thursday was Jeff's graduation, I was so proud of him. He looked so handsome in his uniform and we were both so excited that we finally got to pin those butter bars on! We came home for a minute then drove to Athens to see my Sister play Lady Montegue in "Romeo and Juliet". I have a very talented family....what happened to me? =0)

Jeff drove up to KY yesterday and will spend this week looking for a house and hopefully getting leave to come home in time for the movers who come on March 8th. So, I am home organizing and preparing for our first big move. After 6 months I will finally get to be with my husband. WHEW!!

Like I said....There has been nothing going on in our lives until literally this week.

Horse races and Derby Hats

Well folks it is official we will be heading to Fort Knox, Kentucky after Jeff's graduation in February. He got his first choice which was Armor and he has been so excited ever since. Looking up all the tanks he is going to learn about and reading up on all sorts of things about Branch training. Needless to say he is pumped. We will not find out exactly when we will be heading that way until the first week of Feb. I am a little worried about working out the moving situation. We have been told that Jeff will still be in TRADOC mode (training mode) so I will not be included in the orders which effects everything. BAH (basic allowance for housing), whether this is a PCS or TDY in route, is there housing, and etc., etc. You can see how it can get overwhelming. Who really knows if Jeff is going to be there to help or not? We are so super excited though. I lived there years ago but Jeff has never been. Some friends and I have decided to go to the Derby just so we can buy fancy hats. LOVE IT!! Anyway, God will work all this moving/housing stuff out and we will be great. It hasn't hit me that we are moving to a different state. I've been in the same place for almost 6 years. The longest I have ever lived anywhere, so it is weird to think I'm starting my brand new adventure with the hubby in a new state. GET THIS: My parents started their Army career together at Fort Knox, KY with a black cat and a black dog. WE are starting our Army career together at Fort Knox, KY with a black cat and a black dog. Eerie huh?

Our Christmas

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2010!!

Overlooking the grounds at Biltmore...we're going to live there one day

It was really cold

Fire!

Already sleepy...Christmas Day

Where are you Christmas??

How did this happen? How did Christmas come and go so quickly? I swear I thought I was ahead of the game with Christmas presents. The next thing I knew it was a day before Christmas and I had barely even started. The moments I usually try to cherish during this season seemed to pass so fast. However, I did enjoy those moments while they lasted. Like setting Christmas up with my sister and hubby, listening to the our favorite Christmas carols, and drinking egg nog. Or driving to the MANY places we wanted to be Christmas Eve, day, and the day after with Jeff and enjoying just sitting quietly next to him. Despite my best efforts to subdue my emotional craziness, I was a little disheartened. I missed my family and with my Dad's deployment only a few days after Christmas they were constantly on my mind. Jeff was so compassionate and knew just when I needed a hug. We really had fun though. Seeing all of our families (the ones in state) and not having to worry about work was very relaxing. Santa was very good to us and we used some of our "Santa" money for our vacation the following week. What a relief it was to know I didn't have to be at work for 11 days, including weekends. I just needed a break and I got it. God is good. Asheville, NC is so beautiful and there was snow!! Okay, a little bit of snow but just enough to make me and Jeff happy as we crunched through every pile we found. We skied, shopped, visited the Biltmore, and got ourselves a couples massage. Fabulous. The wonders of technology made it possible for Jeff and I to video chat with Daddy just two days after he landed in Iraq. It was great because we got some great advice, aren't parents awesome?! Sunday Jeff and I were very quiet and sad, we drove down to Ft. Benning and I dropped him off and headed back home. I think Hayley and KitCat were very happy to have their spot back in the bed. But I was still a little lonely. Anywho, we're back in the swing of things and counting down the days until Jeff is assigned his branch in two weeks. We are very excited about that. Off to bed, looking forward to seeing my sister tomorrow. She survived the new security measures at international and stateside airports. Albeit a little frazzled.

A Quote to Inspire

Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long.We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious... and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
~ Walt Disney