Coming to an End...

10 months left, that's all we have! 10 more months left in Germany, 10 more months left of being an Active Duty Army family. 10 YEARS of service for Nathan is coming to a close! He officially started his ACAP process yesterday. He came home with A TON of things that he needs to read. It's all about going from military life into the civilian world. I am sooo excited, but also scared. I've read a lot of horror stories on how families can't make it out of military life {granted this was at a time when our government wasn't as screwed up as it is now, so civilian life should be easier... we'll see}.

Why??

The decision for us, for Nathan to end his time in the Army, was a simple one. We looked at what was best for our family as a whole & our happiness in general. It all came down to Nathan wants to fly helicopters, he wants to not be taken advantage of, we want to be together, and the current state of the government & how it affects our daily life now, being Active Duty. The plain & simple fact is, Nathan can easily make 3 times what he makes now as a TI over maintenance for Apaches, in the civilian world. So even if he didn't want to go to school for something else, we'd have a substantially better life outside of the military. How does that makes sense? How can a soldier, someone who selflessly serves this country, puts their life on the line, make around the poverty threshold income? Does that makes sense? Let me answer that for you, NO. It doesn't. All the scandals, the messing with our pay {basically on a monthly basis} is ridiculous & uncalled for. For us it didn't come down to a good or better decision. It was quite clear; staying would end up being detrimental or leaving & being able to provide fully for our family.

What's the plan?

Well, for the past several months, Nathan has been researching different flight schools. He's going to fly helicopters :)  One college that was on his top 2 list actually contacted him! So, it's looking like we'll be settling in Denton, TX for the next 4ish years, if not permanently! {at the end of schooling, they will offer him a position that actually pays pretty well, but if he has a better offer, we'll probably go with that}. I'm soo looking forward to living there! We'll be in the States {duh}, obviously much closer to family, but not so close that's its not fun to see them {my family lives in Kansas, Nebraska & Florida. Nathan's live everywhere but mostly in Iowa & Missouri}. It's a warm climate. Yes, I love fall, hoodies, jeans, hot chocolate, but I hate snow. It'll be nice to live in a place where it doesn't get very gloomy for 3 months {or 8-9 months like Germany!}.

While Nathan will be in school full time, he'll also be working. Most likely he'll be doing some kind of aircraft maintenance work. I'll be doing photography, which is part of the reason why I decided to get this business started here, so that I would have some kind of portfolio worth looking at for when we settle in Texas. John will be starting preschool & Ellie will be following suit not long after {wow, did those words seriously come out of my mouth?! my babies will be old enough to start going to school! I think I'll need the next 10 months to comprehend that lol}.

So the countdown is officially on! Both Nathan & I are ready to live a "normal" life. We are SO looking forward to being homeowners-- no more renting for us!! It's annoying having everything {almost} dictated to you. I'm grateful for the opportunities that the Army has provided us. We certainly never would've lived overseas. It's opened my eyes & truly makes me thankful & proud to be an American. Germany is a great place to visit, but living in a Socialist country is not very awesome {yes, we do in fact have to live the way the Germans live... we are on their turf!}. We definitely miss America & its freedoms in this household! We've made some great friends, survived deployments & separations, which have made us stronger & closer as a couple & a family.

I'm so proud of Nathan & his love & commitment for serving our country. Not just anyone can do what he & so many other soldiers do, but he has more than done his time. 10 years. 3 deployments {15 months, 12 months & 5 months (cut 7 months short due to injuring himself)}. Living in 4 different countries {Iraq (twice), Afghanistan, Germany (twice), & South Korea}.

South Korea

South Korea

South Korea-- He's so young here lol {his first duty station}

South Korea

Iraq

Iraq

Iraq

Nathan & his younger brother James served in Iraq Nathan's first time together. Nathan & James had this picture made of them defending their mother & in honor of their older brother, John.

Iraq

Iraq

Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan