THE Visa is here!

If I was the kind of person who streaked after a big win for the hometown team, I'd so be streakin' right now!!! Judah's visa finally came...the day AFTER we were supposed to leave (oh, the irony). And get this, in order to get the visa, we had to go and sit at our former address (which, awkwardly, was being moved into by a new tenant as we set there) for 6+ hours to wait on it to be delivered. After waiting forever with two cranky boys, we decided to call it a day and left. But, on the way home we ended up encountering and chasing down *two* different UPS drivers before we finally held the visa in our hands. I felt like standing and singing the chorus from The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Jim said he felt like hugging the guy. Jim's not a hugger.

So, Judah is now the proud (albeit completely indifferent) owner of a United Kingdom visa. He can now get a job and help put food on the table. Oh, I forgot to mention the best part. After we finally had the visa in our hands, Jim gets a call from his commander at Eglin saying that his new commander over in England now wants him to wait another two weeks to come so that they can more easily shift some schedules for someone to come and pick us up. Am I kidding, you ask? No.

We're going to ask Monday if we can go ahead over and Jim just take some PTO before his report date. He'll need time adjust to the time difference before he starts working anyway. Praying for that to be a go ahead for this next week.

You ever notice how, every now and then, God has a tendency to let you see just how much of a pessimist you are? He shows me pretty often. I was complaining to my dad this evening about how much of an ordeal this had been and how we were planning on putting in a complaint to Eglin's passport/visa office regarding it's total mess-up with this visa. I go on and on and on and he listens (which, believe it or not, he's extremely good at). And when I'm finally finished ranting, he calmly says "God let it happen for some reason" and changes the subject. Not that he was disregarding me by any means, he was just reminding me to live by Romans 8:28. And it really got me. Especially considering all he's been through recently (as well as for the last couple of decades or so).

How can I complain  about this, when I have been so blessed with a loving husband and beautiful baby boys and WE'RE ALL TOGETHER (Jim wasn't forced to go on over)? This also gave us the chance to visit more with our families in SC, which was a blessing. What's a couple of weeks? I too often forget that God is not far away. He's right here in the midst of things. He's completely in control, and as the saying goes, His timing is perfect. I don't know why I always have a tendency to forget that. Maybe I can come back and read this blog the next time I feel like complaining.

Our Family Photo--courtesy Newcomer Photography

Hello Bloggees!

        So, I've decided to take on the blogging world and keep family and close friends informed of our various adventures (or non-adventures at the moment) via Blogspot, as opposed to posting info on Facebook because I don't want to bore everyone unnecessarily. So, if you're interested in knowing what we're up to, check the blog from time to time! I'm really going to try to keep it updated. It's not like I have anything to do, considering I only have to take care of a 2-year-old who could have given Houdini a run for his money, and a newborn who apparently considers me to be a much better swing, bouncy seat, and floor play mat than the actual objects.
So, here's the scoop on our current situation:
          We're here living at the Eglin Air Force Base temporary living facility, which, in all honesty, is a little hard to live in (think duct tape being used as a wall patch and feet turning mysteriously pitch-black after walking around 30 minutes barefoot). But, hey, it's a place to stay for cheap. We're off to SC tomorrow for the last time before Christmas 2011. We'll be able to visit some family, which we're excited about. We were supposed to leave for the UK next Thursday, but it looks as if that isn't happening. The sergeant in charge of passports and visas here royally messed up Judah's visa and sent it to the wrong place (but won't admit it;). But, anyway, supposedly it's "in process" now.
 So, thank the Lord, Jim's commanders here and at Lakenheath (UK) are very understanding and granted another extension of his time here until we are able to get the visa (which hopefully will only be another week or so.  We were afraid they'd make him go on ahead. A lot of commanders would have done just that. At this point, we really, really, really wish they'd just let us have Judah over there, but whatever. There's SOME reason (other than irresponsibility on someone's part) that we're still here, if nothing other than God wanted to teach us patience and grace, which, I tell ya, are difficult "fruits" to maintain. It's so easy to have the kind of reaction that the world would have, and I must admit, both Jim and I have had the world's reaction a couple of times during this ordeal. I recently read this quote and it really convicted me:

You don’t have to be like the world to have an impact on the world. You don’t have to be like the crowd to change the crowd. You don’t have to lower yourself down to their level to lift them up to your level. Holiness doesn’t seek to be odd. Holiness seeks to be like God. - Lucado

Cheerio for now! (Totally going to go all Brit with the lingo so get used to the cheesiness.)