Breaking Radio Silence

I'm not sure how these past few months have passed so quickly, but they have. And we have had so many wonderful things happen. Evelyn has been growing and learning so fast that sometimes we can't quite wrap our minds around all the new things she says and does.

Jordan has stayed busy with training and is now T-6 complete, meaning he is just over half way done with training! He will move onto the next phase of training when he will fly the T-1 which is the trainer for all cargo & refueling planes. People always told us that this year will go by fast, and its hard to believe it when some days seem to drag on, but the weeks go by quick and here we are almost halfway done!

Evelyn has transitioned well into her toddler bed and she is in full-blown toddler stage! We experienced our first toddler meltdown in public last week. It was over a swing. To be fair to her, it was approaching lunch & nap time. But it was pretty epic. A lady sitting on a bench near the scene pointed out how strong willed she was, I just smiled and nodded. Knowing full well she gets her strong willed-ness from me I can only hope that my strong willed brain can help her overcome the frustrations that come with this trait. Or we'll just clash a lot. Either way these toddler mood swings, attitudes and daily adventures will make for good days and bad days, but they will all be worth it. Right? 

With my time off of working as a nurse this year I've learned a lot about myself, my career and my family values. I learned how precious this time I have home with Evelyn & our new baby girl is irreplaceable. I always hear people talk about missing the years when their kids were little and not in school and how precious those memories are to them. I honestly never took those words to heart because isn't every phase special when raising children? But these last few months with Evelyn learning and changing while challenging me daily, I have never believed those words more. She is funny, sassy and smart and I can't imagine missing this time because I am too focused on my career. 

Not too long ago I had plans of applying for graduate school while here in Oklahoma and starting once we moved back to Michigan. But as our time here rolled on and we had a good six weeks of colds, little sleep and daily challenges, I felt un-settled about that decision. Going to school at this time in our lives means that I would be distracted for at least the first 18 months of our new baby girl's life, and that made me incredibly sad. After talking with a great friend and colleague, I realized that I can go to school anytime, and that I needed to be there for my family. The nature of Jordan's career is one that takes him away from us, and this means that I have to maintain as much stability and normalcy as possible for our children. I will be going back to the workforce while our kids our young, but just maybe in a different way than I had planned. 

Some of my friends in Enid! 

These next two years still include a lot of training and changes for Jordan's career. We decided to go down this path and focus on his career to open more doors and opportunities for him and I would never change our decision. I love where his career has taken us so far, and I'm excited for where it will take us in the future. For now, we are going to fully enjoy this stage of life that we are in and take advantage of all the fun, giggles & adventures we have in store. 

Easter 2015