Out with the Old and In with the New

The title for this blog was not my idea but suggested by my husband to report on his departure and the arrival of the newest member of our family. Yep, we have acquired our first guinea pig. Joshua has begged for a dog or a cat and finally a guinea pig for years. In our small mobile home where animals must be kept in doors, Jon and I did not feel comfortable with either a dog or a cat, but gave in on a guinea pig. With all of our traveling this summer, we put off getting the little creature until the end of the summer when we didn't have any more traveling scheduled. So yesterday we took a trip to Pet Smart and invested in "Bristles" (named for the stiff hair on his head). Animal and humans are all doing well so far in our co-habitation.

So that was "In with the New" and here is the "Out with the Old" part of the story. This morning we were up and out of the house a little after 0500. We had checked Jon in and had his boarding pass last night so we didn't need to get to the airport too early. As it turned out, since he was traveling in uniform, the Orange County airport TSA officials had him go through the "Employee" security gate so he didn't have to wait in line at all. Of course a pilot and a couple flight attendants had to wait for him to get his boots off since he still had the same screening to go through. But he got through security by 6:00 and headed to his gate where his flight was to depart at 6:45.

There were some tears but I was so tired, I drove home in a fog and went back to bed and was able to sleep for 2 hours. Joshua couldn't sleep and so played with his Legos until I woke up. Then we headed to the beach with good friends from school. We were there about 5 hours and expect to sleep well tonight. It was a gorgeous day and Joshua and I both enjoyed time in the waves. Jon was able to call from the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport before he caught his connecting flight. He hadn't slept on the first leg of his flight due to a bit too much caffeine. Hopefully he will sleep well on other portions of his travel. He isn't sure how long it will be before he can call again.

When he arrives back at the base where he was before, he will only be there a short time before moving to a new base. Once I get his address at the new base, I will post it on the blog, but in the mean time, please do not send him any letters, packages or motomails.

Thank you for your prayers and encouraging e-mails. We are glad to be counting down the final 6 months of our family's separation, but it is not easy. And of course we still have an unsure future when Jon returns next year. We really appreciate your continued prayers.

Sheryl