Planes, Rain and Automobiles

 

It's  been a crazy couple of weeks (and/or years?)  After a trip to SF for fleet week, we did a week in Dallas,Texas in severe rain.  kk LOVED his first plane ride but Blueberry was not quite as pleased about not having the freedom to crawl/play.  We survived the flights none the less.   Our time in Dallas was spent with family from both sides ending with a stunning wedding for my cousin and her new husband. I could not be more thankful for the opportunity to make memories with our Texan Family as we transition to this new chapter of life.  

We made it home just a few days before Halloween.  I'm not a huge fan of this holiday but it's always fun to have an excuse to gather together with those we love.  We dressed up TWICE this year. Friday:  bb was a ladybug and kk was a race car driver // Saturday:  both kids were pilots. It was ridiculously cute. 

After Halloween, we packed up our candy and what felt like our whole house and headed a few hours out to an Air Force base where KK had an  appointment for his initial flight physical. 

( I wrote that a while back but the story kept unraveling. I finally sat down in our long road trip today to write this ...)   

I've been meaning to update since thanksgiving. I'd like to blame the busy holidays but I think if I'm being honest  I'm avoiding it. The entire process is so hard on my heart. First there is the Air Force side that is just so process driven as we push hard to cross every "T" and dot every "I", sprinting to the finish line fight against time for KK's age waiver but also the social aspect of it all. Preparing my heart to be a single parent for a while and acquainting myself with how people ( myself included) guard their hearts from disengagement. 

Part of the contingent job offer to be a pilot in the Air Force is a flight physical. They want to know he is in optimum health before they invest millions in training him to fly. We were well prepare for that.  Kris has definitely done more than his fair share of physicals, all with out a hitch. We were not concerned.  We booked a room and hauled the family out on the 3.5hr road trip to do several days of appointments.   Maybe a first clue that things were going quite as expected should have been the massive storm that seems to follow us everywhere we go or even the fact that they scheduled his first appointments on a "wingman day" where most of the base was shut down for training/ team building.  They did dilate KK's eyes which rendered him useless for DAYS! ( you should have heard the whining about how he is "blind" ha! Know your audience! I had little sympathy and may have laughed a little too hard)  The other big thing that happened was he did not pass his hearing test.  It was a huge blow. It felt as if our sand castle had washed away in one swift wave.  That first day they tested him twice BOTH not passing.  He has had his hearing checked many times and never had any issue. When he finally made it back to work ( due to his dilated eyes! ) he met with our units flight medicine group to retest thinking maybe is was a faulty machine or human error... Anything.  Huge relief as he passed and qualified in the highest tier of hearing standards.  It was noted that there was very slight hearing loss in one ear. This passing report was sent to the original flight dr and passed up the chain to get approval.  It felt too easy but we were just happy to be back on track as days tick away towards KK's impending doom...I mean 29th birthday! 

We had hoped to get an approval right away. I'm personally eager to be in the land of stability and out of limbo but it seems we continue to make out home in the "in between."   Just before thanksgiving, we received a call that his medical clearance was flagged and kicked back for more testing.  This time KK went alone as the soonest they could get him back was the same day we had planned our 5 hour road trip for the holiday. My poor husband ended up driving 11 1/2 hours that day.  AGAIN, he passed,just as before, with just slight hearing loss in one side but still in the highest tier of standards.  They had decided to mark it for a waiver -not that it would hurt his ability to fly- but that they wanted it checked yearly to assure nothing was changing and there were no underlying conditions causing the hearing loss. At this point we expected it to take a month to get approved and to get orders cut for officers school. We were also advised to move forward and to plan to be in the mid Jan class.  

It's very hard to continue to prepare for separation , moving, finances of leaving and what not with no sure thing. No guarantee that of where we'll be or when.  YESTERDAY, we received a call that AGAIN the medical was kicked back. This time they wanted to test to be SURE there were no tumors causing this ever so slight hearing loss.  Again, we dropped everything to drive out and test.  You will be happy to hear that there is absolutely no evidence of any tumors. AGAIN, his passing tests will be submitted for approval with just a few short weeks left until this class. He does have a slot on hold for him but the recruiter admitted today that she's in the process of figuring out what it means if his misses the deadline. 

Here's the thing, we serve at the mercy of the King.Our creator. The one who holds the world in his hands and the inventor of time itself. His plans are perfect and his timing supreme even when it doesn't feel like it to us.  We will continue put our trust and hope in Him alone.  I can  not count the vast quantity of times in our life that Gods plan was better/greater than anything we could come up with on our own. His timing is perfect.  

Please pray along side of us as we petition for swift movement in the AF approval process but also if that is not His will for peace in our hearts as we wait. 

MEPS

After our quick run to the bay for FLEET WEEK ( which was AWESOME), KK worked one day and then back to the bay for MEPS.

I googled what the acronym stood for. I used to know. KK is well aware that if he comes home using an acronym, he better know what it stands for.   This is what google told me:

"MEPS stands for Military Entrance Processing Station. Once you have gone through initial questioning phases with your recruiter and have discussed your options, your recruiter will set an appointment for you to go to the nearest MEPS."

So think like in the movies, how they enlist, then before they ship out they stand in a long line at the doctors in their chonies getting shots/medically reviewed. One would think you should only go through this process once since it is the "ENTRANCE processing center."  We like to do things the hard way so this is KK's THIRD time.  It also came with a story, only fellow military families would laugh at, which ended in the people running MEPS very confused after a miscommunication. They were trying to ENLIST KK. Since he is already enlisted, KK did not find it quite as amusing as I did. Don't worry, after a phone call to his recruiter, they sorted it all out. Gosh, after so much practice you'd think he's be better at it!

The next step is a flight physical. This one will also be an all day event and can not be done here in Fresno. I believe after that we can be issued official dates for officers training.  

So much fun. In the mean time, we have much to cram into 2 1/2 months! Cross your fingers, as KK was nominated for Airman of the Year.  It's like the Air National Guards beauty pageant.--KK loves it when I explain it that way--   So if you win small then you run in the next group/region/whatever up until you win Miss Universe  Airman of the Year.   He has worked very hard and completely deserves it. I'm not complaining over a night out, dressed up and kid free although it's not exactly date night. My husband loves any chance he gets to see me out of yoga pants!

And so it begins...

There has been much debate as to how we would and could saftely publish updates along our journey. The conclusion we have come to is a blog (with some stiff settings--- sorry for that. safety first)  We want to share our journey with you as well as set up a place to check in with us to receive updates along the way.

Let's throw this out there first and foremost: I am not a writter. I will misspell plenty, even with the help of google & spell check. My grammar, punctuation and just about anything thing you can think of will be off. I could blame "mommy brain" but lets be honest... it's JUST not my thing. Hopefully you will be able to see through the dense typeface and  pick up what I'm putting down!

So if you haven't figured it out,  Blueberry is our Little Miss. It's a reference to Charlie and the Chocolate factory when Violet blows up all large and round like a blueberry and is rolled away.  As of a few days ago, she is 8 months old. She may not always be quite so chunky but she'll always be our blueberry.  "The Jets" would refer to the aviation obsessed male persuasion in our family ( KK  & kk - almost 4yrs old).

Lets get down to business ... ( it's okay if you finished with "to defeat the Huns,"  you know I did)

If you are just starting to follow our journey let me give you a brief recap thus far:
We have spent roughly the last decade in a diligent and often painful pursuit towards the end goal of KK  being a pilot in the military. In the process we have had many ups and downs, MANY closed doors, countless hours of school and too many late nights to count ( plus a considerable amount of whiskey purchased for fighter squadrons across the country) We prayer fully stepped into each phase knowing that God did not promise a job but called us to the process.  KK spent the last year or two flying all over the country interviewing for pilot positions with the same answer every time: We LOVED you but hired someone else.  It was clear that where ever we landed it would have nothing to do with his merit and everything to with the particular place God wanted us. KK turned 28years old last February and we definitely thought that was the end of the road as technically he was then "too old" (anyone else offended?!?!) to enter the program. We began preparing our hearts for whatever was next.  God had other plans. After some discussion with recruiters, we found that an age waiver was possible. KK submitted his final application for the Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) program in the Active Duty Air Force.  This was the last hurrah as the age waiver was only good until his 29th birthday. We are soo very excited to tell you he was selected to enter the Officers Training Program ( OTS)  with a pilot slot! God is good.

What does this mean?  Where will we go? When will we leave?  Will we be back to the Central Valley (Fresno/Clovis,CA)?  There have been a lot of questions and not very many  answers.  In short, we do not know yet ( to most questions).

• KK will enter into a long training program to be a pilot. From what we understand, it's not for the weak of heart ( a long program, with long hours and hard work... KK calls this fun)  We have always known that the journey to being a pilot is not an easy one and definitely believe that the last ten years have built a strong foundation to enter into this new chapter.
• The training programs takes place at more than one base over the course of a few years. The beginning will be OTS in Alabama for two months. The family will not tag along for this part but will meet up where ever the next portion of training will happen.
• We do not yet have class dates for OTS but due to the age waiver have been told to that it will be in January. 
• We will not have information about where the next portion of training will happen until roughly half way through OTS (so... late feb? march?). Personally I'm praying it's Texas. You should too!
• We will not be back professionally. At least not in the foreseeable future. Lemoore is a Navy base. The base in fresno is an Air Nation Guard Base.  We will visit, often! 

How can you pray?   Pray for peace in our hearts about everything. It's hard to leave behind friends and family.  Pray for each detail to fall into place just right. There are many moving parts and it can often be very stressful as we try to get everything done in the right order in such a tight time frame. Pray for protection physically and spiritually.  Pray for boldness to speak truth where ever we go  that we would shine brightly as a testament to God's faithfulness.

I hope this clarifies a little for you. I look forward to sharing in our big adventure.