WOW, have I got some news to share with everyone, I'll start with Sunday...

Prior to leaving for Alabama, Chris was vigilant in taking care of himself, keeping a healthy distance to anyone who had the slightest symptoms of illness, taking his daily vitamins, and exercise. This man was in excellent condition. What would a perfect situation be for storytelling if something did't happen? The day after he arrived, he slipped on a rock and sprained his ankle (see picture). He says his ankle has been fine, a little sore but nothing worth getting sent home for. While he was telling me about it, he had a slight giggle... I think we both know why, I'll call it, "Chris luck".

I do have some news that everyone has been anticipating for the last couple of months, "where in the world are we going next?" I had thought of every situation and was prepared for anything, or so I thought. As Chris put it, we are going to "the other side". I had no idea what to think, nor was I prepared for what he had to tell me. "We are going to Korea", he says with excitement. I was turned upside down and all I could think, "could they have sent us to a place farther from home?"An entire world away, driving distance to family is not an option. Tears were welling in my eyes, my body was fighting my need to weep. I had to be supportive, not ruin the 5 minutes I had on the phone with my husband in 2 weeks. I was not ready to leave to leave the US. The call ended and I was devastated.
We have 2 options, 2 years in Korea as a family or he goes alone for 1 year.
When we finish this tour in Korea (11 years in the military) we will have been stateside for a total of 2 years max. This news left me with rocks sized boulders in my stomach, I sulked for the night.
I had to prepare to tell the kids that we were heading overseas again. I envisioned tears and "WHY US?"(as I had been doing all night in my lonely pity party).
The morning came and it was time to tell them the news. I sat on the couch nursing my coffee, both hands cupping my mug, running all the explanations through my head, preparing myself for the drama and the tears. "Girls, daddy called and told me where we would be moving next", groggy eyed, all 3 girls stopped in mid-morning rush, they leaned forward as if I was going to whisper and they would miss what I was going to say,"We are going to Korea". What I heard next was a stadium like cheer! They were so excited and I sat offended. How could they be so excited about taking on such a daunting adventure and so far from family?
The immediate comments are as follows; Haley, "yeah, cheap Korean food"... Isabelle (the girls of few words had the most to say) "oh cool, I have been doing some reading about Korea and I think they have Panda Bears". Not wanting to diffuse their excitement I wipe away my straggling tear and joined their excitement. "Ok, crazy ladies...finish getting ready!" I sat there stunned, my mind was reeling, how could they possibly be happy about this?
...Later that day after much thought...
How could I wish anything else less than excitement from these kids? As parents, we have embraced every move as an opportunity, knowledge and adventure! I was very proud of these kids. They took news that could easily be seen as devastating and saw it as a lifetime opportunity. Is there any other way to live in the military?