Just an update

Hi Friends! We finally, FINALLY, made if off of the Island of Oahu in one piece after the longest 3 weeks imagineable. It was an incredible last month in Paradise but there is nothing like staying in a hotel room for 11 days with a 1 year old to make you ready to move on!

Noah handled the packing, moving, staying in different places so well. But he was a bit insecure with all the changes - he still can't figure out where his doggie and kitty are! He had a really hard time getting used to sleeping in places other than his room and eventually discovered he loved sleeping between his mom and dad (never has he done that on a regular basis before!). We are thankful that we don't have to share the bed with a toddler anymore now that we are out of the hotel room. He had several nights that he was really restless as he tried to understand what all the changes were about but he knew that as long Dan and I were right there, he was okay.

The packers did a phenomenal job of packing our belongings in 3 days and shipping our stuff onto Louisiana (it should arrive the second week of August - right around the time we are hopefully closing on a home). We were very blessed to have such efficient and professional movers. When we moved from South Carolina, we weren't so lucky: one of our shipments got packed up and taken directly home with one of the movers never to be seen again... Not cool!

We shipped our Camry off on 18 June and it actually might already be waiting on us in Louisiana - that was an easy process for which we were thankful. We passed the Pathfinder onto our friend, Lori, and are excited to purchase our new SUV once we get to Louisiana (we are heading to Dallas to make that purchase - only 2 hours West of Shreveport).

Staying in Waikiki was a wonderful way to say "Aloha" to our home of 3 years. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and had a fabulous view of the ocean and lots of room to "live" in while there. The village is literally that: a village. There were so many great places to eat and shop within the Hilton property (there are about 4 towers surrounding the property which is oceanfront). They have everything from flamingos to penguins to turtles and parrotts roaming the village, two Starbucks, about 6 pools and a waterpark - we LOVED staying there! And all on the Air Force's dollar, too!

However, no matter what the paradise is that we were staying in, we were ready to go on about Day 7. We had done so much outprocessing and eating out that we wanted some rest with our families. So now, we are just outside of Washington, D.C. visiting my in-laws and will head to Alabama by way of our condo in Panama City Beach, Florida next week. We are realllly happy to be with our families right now. Living so far away for so long makes you appreciate the time you have with everyone more than you can imagine.

The trip to D.C. was a crazy one. The Air Force flew us as far as Dallas on an overnight flight on which Noah slept the whole time. However, Dan and I got about an hour combined of rest which wasn't good. Then we had a long layover in Dallas before getting on the flight to D.C. We got a call from the airline saying that our flight was going to be delayed indefinitely so since we were traveling on orders, we asked to be rerouted onto another airline to get us into D.C. at a normal hour. I will spare you the details but we got routed onto an American flight instead of US Air and in the process, all 7 of our bags got lost (we had a lot because we are living out of suitcases, a pack n play and had Noah's carseat with us) AND my beloved Maclaren stroller was left at the gate when we boarded our Dallas to D.C. flight - NOT COOL, AMERICAN.

Needless to say, when I realized that we had to file claims for 8 pieces of luggage and cargo, I began to seriously choke up. We were exhausted, dirty and so frustrated. The airline lent us an ancient carseat so we could get Noah to his grandparents' home and we came with him in the hopes that our bags would soon arrive. So far, we have gotten 4 of the 8 pieces and are praying the rest find their way to us today. Noah's clothes came but not Dan's and not mine. EWW! We need to change clothes and soon!

My sister and brother in law, Annie and Todd Beall, are making their way to see us today and are bringing our doggie, Piper (who is staying with them for a month and a half). We are so excited to see all three of them! And Noah is having SO much fun with his Grandma Carol and Grandpa Brad. They are enjoying themselves with him as well, I think :) We are looking forward to a fun filled week with them and are hoping to finally get some rest with Noah in his own room and Dan and I in ours.

I have hundreds of photos from our last few weeks in Hawaii that I will upload soon and post our favorites. So hang tight! We miss our Hawaii family so much already - my two sweet girlfriends, Stacie and Melanie, came and spent the last couple of hours with me at the hotel and I was just overcome with how much I love both of them. We miss you all: the Smiths, Stacie and DII, the Herreras, Maggie, the Tebedos (now in Georgia themselves), our church family, the Walters. You all were so good to us and are a part of our hearts forever. And as Melanie, Stacie and I say: "We didn't say 'goodbye,' just 'see ya later!'"

More soon, I promise.