It's back! (for now) :-)

So it's been a while. Just reopening the blog to announce that Benjamin is engaged! Well it hasn't quite been that long but it seems like it :-) Last night Alain and I were having trouble remembering when a certain event happened, so I looked back at the old blog. It was so fun looking at all the old pictures and reliving old memories I had forgotten. So Alain says I should start it up again. And then he saved the link on the iPad so it would be easier for me to work on it. So he really wants me to do it :-) So I will!  Hopefully I can keep it going, but no promises!

This is actually a good time to start it up again, because we are once again in a season of major transitions!
**Alain will finish up his residency (woo-hoo!) in December and we will be moving to Fort Campbell, KY, where Alain will be working as a staff physician at the hospital on base. It still seems a little surreal to us that this season of our lives is coming to an end.  Alain has worked so hard and I couldn't be more proud of him!

This man is seriously an amazing father.  In the midst of one of the busiest work seasons, he makes time for big memories like trips to pumpkin festival and the state fair, or minimally a light saber battle or dance party before bed. I just love him so much, and these kids don't know how good they have it!

**Our move--We have no idea yet exactly when this will take place, but probably mid-January some time. Fort Campbell was #1 on our places to be stationed, so we are so excited to be heading there. God is so kind!  We will be within a one day drive of my family in Maryland, and only 7 hours away from my family in Missouri so we are excited to get to see them more often. Also our excellent friends David & Samantha Martin, and their 2 girlies are also stationed at Ft. Campbell, so it will be a wonderful reunion. SO glad to be going to a place where we already know people!!

My big helper and my warrior princess. Seriously don't mess with her ;-)

**A new princess joining our family--As most know from Facebook we are expecting another little girl to join our family in January (hopefully before our move, lol). Her name is Priscilla Joy, and we can not wait to hold her in our arms. Benjamin now understands that baby Priscilla is in my stomach, and he occasionally will ask me to "open it" so he can see her. :-)

The cupcake we had specially made so we could find out new baby's gender as a family 

So as excited as we are about all God has for us as we start off the new year, it's a bittersweet transition, as we have been so blessed here at Ft. Hood. We have a wonderful church family and great friends in the Residency program that we are sad to leave behind.  Such is military life I know, but it doesn't make it any easier!  It is faith-building though...God richly provided for us at Ft. Bliss and Ft. Hood so I can honestly say I have no anxiety, only anticipation of what God has for us at Campbell!  Another sad thing is to be leaving behind Texas, where we started our marriage and our family. So many good memories here.  But this world is not our home and nothing like military life to teach you that!  So onward we go to a new temporary home :-)

Please be praying for Alain as his board exam is Tuesday! The day after we will be leaving for a trip to Louisville, KY to go to a medical missions conference.  Alain is hoping now that he is done with Residency to be able to do some short-term missions work, and my parents have graciously agreed to join us there to watch the kids, so we are excited to go and see what doors God will open for us there.

Also, some of you know that I have been fighting a bad case of excema.  Well, still fighting it, but several things have helped including a corn & gluten free diet, and an amazing lotion made of coconut oil infused with lavender and chamomile, plus a couple treatments of steroid creams when it gets out of control.  I think there is probably more alterations to my diet I need to make, but I'm going to wait until little Priscilla is born before I pursue those or any additional allergy testing. Thanks to those who have been praying for me!

Until next time :-)