Life in limbo...

I keep making these promises to you, post after post, that we have so many things going on at the moment and a lot of news to tell.  I've been waiting with baited breath to report something to you all, but life instead remains in limbo. Constant limbo.  This is not to infer that life should be predictable because that would be boring, of course, but we really seem to have an unusually large amount of things up in the air at the moment.

There are some things we do know.  We do know that the Army is keeping us here in Germany for another year.  In order to do this, we will likely need to move to another post.  There is a slight inkling of a chance that we could stay where we are and Big R could do his next from assignment here, but that is uncertain regardless of how much we hope for it to be true.  It's amazing how much this slight detail changes so many things in our near future though.  This isn't an uncommon situation for an Army family.  In fact, we are asking a lot of the Army to think we should know everything already.  In this regard, I make a terrible military spouse.  My dad always tells me I am his daughter, and with that comes the incorrigible characteristic of having zero patience. The only person (aside from my father, of course) that is less patient than me is Big R.  The consummate planners in us need to be in the know so that we can map out our futures.  Isn't everyone like this?  You aren't?  Well, that explains a lot...

We are relatively certain we know what Big R will be doing for the Army next year.  That is always subject to change, but it seems fairly solid right now.  As for me, I know that I will be a mother of two little boys here soon, but beyond that my future is looking mildly hazy.  I am chasing down two potential job opportunities at the moment; both could be promising, but neither could materialize.  One is an attorney position with the Army here in Bamberg.  Between federal job freezes and other competitive factors, that job is a wild card at the moment, so we will wait and see. The other is a professorship position teaching law at a satellite campus on a post near Big R's new assignment (assuming we move).  The job is in person with the open possibility of later teaching online courses.  Even if we are able to stay here in Bamberg next year, I will probably do all I can do make that position work.  The assessment process is lengthy and I will be enormously pregnant for most of it, so here's to hoping the little guy doesn't try to bless us with his presence too early.

My big goal of going back to school is starting to become a "maybe" factor as well.  The biggest driver to whether I can still attend the program this fall is if we move over the summer. Big R's new assignment is much more rural than where we are now, and internet availability could take the better part of six months to get us connected to the virtual world.  It never ceases to amaze me how dependent we can become on technology. I still have some time before all of my application materials need to be in hand with admissions, so that is helpful.

The most emotionally consuming part of my life in limbo right now though is my father.  He remains critically ill.  We are keeping our faith and our hopes high that each day he will climb to a healthier place.  Each piece of good news elates our hearts, and each dose of negative news breaks them.  I have moments of great strength and other moments where I break down for what seems like no reason. Mostly I just miss him, and I am and will be eternally grateful for my family and those that have been able to be by his side through all of his illness.  

All this limbo mumbo jumbo aside, we are living life to the fullest.  My pregnancy is going extremely well.  I just started my third trimester (crazy!!!), and my last appointment showed that the baby and me are super healthy.  I took the much dreaded prenatal diabetes test this week where they starve you, make you drink a liter of glucose laden syrup, and poke you with a needle what seems like a dozen times.  Despite my best efforts otherwise, by eating sweets every chance I get and consuming my weight in chocolate, I am not even close to demonstrating any diabetic tendencies.  Ah, huge relief - haha.  My blood pressure is good, with no hypertension in sight, and the anemia I've been battling since the beginning of this pregnancy is finally under check. Our newest furry member of the family, Lando, is a dream come true.  We are literally falling more in love with him every day.  Little r is growing up before our eyes, AND we are on the glorious path to potty training (finally!).  This is a moment I honestly didn't think I'd see before he graduated from high school.

This weekend we are doing what we do best.  We are heading off on another adventure.  Tomorrow we leave for one of our favorite places on earth - Alpbachtal, Austria - where we hope to have a relaxing winter vacation in the Alps.  My big 'ol pregnancy body won't be hitting the slopes this year, but we have high hopes that little r will make great waves in his skiing ability with Big R.  In the meantime, I'll be strapping on my snowshoes and taking our war hero on a fun adventure in the snow.

See you when we get back!  xoxoxo

p.s.  We asked little r if he was going to be a skier (like Big R) or a snowboarder (like me) when he grows up.  I figured this was a lost cause because the kid has never heard us talk about snowboarding.  His answer?  "A snowboarder."  Hahahahahaha, how do you like them apples?