Hope

Anyone who knows what's been going on with our family knows that we are in a place of transition.

Jack has officially left active duty and is now serving in the reserves. We sold our camper and are currently staying with my mom while Jack searches for a civilian job. We are prepared to go anywhere at this point which is both exciting and a little bit scary, but we are pretty much used to that by now. It has been so incredibly nice to be back with family and friends after four years of separation, and we are certainly making up for lost time!

That said, being in this place is not exactly easy. The last few months have been full of ups and downs, from miscarriage to job rejection to what has sometimes felt like one disappointment after another. We have certainly been told "no" a lot recently.

However, in the midst of all the uncertainty, we stay strong in our faith, trusting that God will provide as He promises and understanding that His timing is much better than our own.

And among all the "no's" it's easy to forget how many times we have been told "yes." We have so much to be thankful for- notably our friends and family, good health, a roof over our heads in the interim, a beautiful two year old boy... and:

Another little boy on the way!

We cannot wait to welcome our little Joseph Emmanuel into our arms this January.

He is named after my maternal grandfather, among some of our other favorite Josephs: St. Joseph the worker, the father of Jesus, St. Josemaria Escriva, author of The Way, and Servant of God Joseph Emil Kapaun, a chaplain born in Kansas who served and died during the Korean War. Emmanuel is a reminder that God is always with us.

So, yes, things have been uncertain, but we are full of hope for our future, for our little family, and for the new life that I am carrying. Please pray for us during this time of transition!

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Our last year has been pretty crazy! Camper living was definitely a learning experience, and we are thankful for the opportunity we had to do it but thankful to be done! Jack was working so much last year that I really don't have many pictures to choose from. So that makes it fairly easy to do our last year in review:

Mark's first birthday! This is the campground we lived at. It was absolutely beautiful!

Suzy and John came to visit for his birthday, and we had a little party with some church friends. We were fairly new in town so we were so appreciative of the people who came to celebrate!

Jack's parents babysat Mark when they came to visit so Jack and I got to go on a nice date. This is the only picture Jack took!

My mom and brothers came to visit that fall but we don't have any pictures. This is when I came home for a wedding and my mom and I took Mark to the petting zoo.

Mark was a cowboy for Halloween.

Thanksgiving! Mark was wearing an adorable romper made by Suzy.

Family picture taken last fall at the church we were married in when we were home for a wedding.

A picture from last Christmastime.

Jack's good friend Ben was a few hours away from us for some training, so we drove up to see him for a night.

Grammy and Pops came to visit this spring. We had a great time going to the zoo and just hanging out!

We took Mark to an airshow one Sunday. He loved seeing all the planes!

Jack's Change of Command Ceremony at the beginning of summer. He was highly esteemed by his brigade commander and I couldn't be more proud of him and all the hard work and extra hours he put in the past year. He is truly a dedicated leader...and a humble man, as he'd never tell you all his accomplishments!

Our final military ball. Kind of crazy!

We drove down to the beach for a day trip. Mark had a blast and was fearless in the water!

Mark's second birthday party!

Mark's parents, grandparents, two sets of great grandparents, and great great aunt were all able to make it to his second birthday party!

Mark loves his aunt Lala.

Baseball game with Uncle Matt (aka Goon Squad- don't ask)

Driving the boat with Nana! As you can see, we have LOVED being able to spend so much time with those we love.

Mark loves going to Grammy's (or "Mimi's" as he says)!

Mark and I visited two of our best friends in Wyoming: Ariel AND...

Rosser! Boy, was it sweet to see them together. 

Just beautiful!

Mark's big day.... 2 years old! Jessie and I took him to the farmstead and then to our favorite restaurant... Chickfila!

We made him a little brownie cake that night. It's hard to resist spoiling him with all this love since we have been so far away and isolate for the past couple years. :)

I hope you enjoyed this little update. Here's to not waiting over a year for the next one...