Busy!

For most people this is already a really busy time of the year. For us this year, I think the busyness has tripled! We have so much going on. Christmas, new baby, toddler, and an overseas move. It's stressful to move period, but add a few thousand miles extra and it's even more stressful! There is so much involved in moving overseas. In order to move we have to have 2 inspections on our house before we move out. Passport photos, passport application, medical clearance, dental clearance, immunizations, briefings, car inspections, research, etc. There are laws over in Turkey that we have to prepare for. For example, Joe has to buy a new helmet because Europe doesn't recognize DOT certified helmets, they only recognize ECE certified. Joe just purchased his helmet too, so that's more money we get to fork out! We have been trying to weed out all our extra things we no longer need or use to help simplify things. The houses overseas are smaller we've heard, leaving less room for storage. Also before you move to Turkey you have to put all your valuables on a form called a bayename. This is to ensure that you leave with the items that you came with....even if it's broken and no longer works. If you are missing any items that were originally on your bayename, you will be fined a large amount by the Turkish government. We heard of a person that was missing his VCR and was charged $2500 for not having it. They don't mess around over there! So, for that reason we are also weeding out things we aren't sure will work for the next 2 years. Things like our living room tv. We know we want to replace that anyways and it weighs a lot, taking up precious poundage. We have a weight limit of I believe 6000 pounds. That has to include Joe's motorcycle! Lots to do and about 6 more weeks to get it all done! Can we say CrAzY!

Nolan is a really good boy, but is the typical toddler that makes mess after mess. We have gates, but he now knows how to climb over and take them down. Anything in this house he feels if free realm!...I including my shoes in my closet! I found him wearing high heels the other day! Thank goodness Lauren is in school everyday. She goes 4 half days every week. She absolutely loves going! Owen is the most perfect baby!...Seriously he is! Hardly ever cries! I needed him right now! He is making my life so much easier than it could be! Soon we will be traveling to Indiana one last time to visit all the family for Christmas. I know it will be bittersweet. Two years is not that long, but it is when you consider that you won't be seeing your family for that long. We may make it home 1 time, but I'm not even sure of that. It's tough, but I guess that's the price you pay when you have a husband serving in the military. We will enjoy our time over there. I know it!