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.)