New blog!....and a little about command sponsorship.

So, this is my new blog!  My old one, beautiful ashes, was my first venture into this blogging world, so it was kind of a trial blog; I never intended to keep it long-term.  I won't be posting on it anymore, and will eventually delete it.  This Great Adventure has a completely different feel and a slightly different focus; whereas beautiful ashes emphasized the hope of rejuvenated joy following life's losses, This Great Adventure emphasizes the joy of that life itself.  It will cover a wide range of topics (usually whatever's on my mind that day haha), and will be the method by which I can easily keep family & friends up-to-date on what's going on in mine & Jon's life.

Speaking of........  One of my last posts on beautiful ashes explained a process Jon & I were going through called command sponsorship.  We filled out a bunch of paper, made a bunch of phone calls, and sent a bunch of emails, requesting the Army to move me over to Germany while Jon finishes out the final year of his contract.  We exhausted every possible route by which we could live together this next year; but, due to the Army's time restraints, red tape, and frustrating rules, we were unable to be command sponsored, extend Jon's contract, or be PCS'd to a stateside location.  After taking a lot of time to think and pray about what step to take next, we decided that we would plan for me to fly back and forth to Germany during this next year.  Because I can only visit Germany for three months out of every six on an American passport, I will be back and forth several times.  I have to laugh about this situation, because after all we did to avoid having to do this, here we are.  The only other option was for Jon to stay in Germany and for me to stay here for 12 months; but, as we've been physically together for a total of about 2.5 months out of the 20 months we've been a couple (1.5 months out of 11 months married), we felt that being together as much as we can is the most important thing to us -- more than the cost and craziness of flying back and forth.  I'm really looking forward to it, because although it is completely out of my comfort zone (I rely on stability & consistency), I know it will be an exciting adventure filled with experiences I wouldn't have otherwise.  And, I get to be with my husband!  What could be better than that?!

So, that's the update.  Thanks to everyone who has been keeping us in your prayers; this deployment has been rough, but it's almost over (!!!) and we've been able to handle the difficulties and roll with the punches as they come.  I'm off to have a one-hour massage -- hope you enjoy this beautiful day!