some big, big news. BIG.

(WARNING WARNING: THIS IS A LONG ONE - And no, I'm not pregnant. We've got Rudy, remember?)

It's actually been quite a week in terms of big news. We got iPhones (super cheap because I'm a bargain hunter). We got a dog. Jon is leaving Jon and Kate +8. Hellooooo, it just seems that the timing is perfect to launch this as well.

Short story: Andrew is applying for the Navy. And he already made it through phase 1 of 2 (!!!)
Long story: As you all probably know by now, the boy has been unemployed for almost a year. Sometimes I can't believe that it's been that long, that we've made it this long without falling apart at the seams, that the Lord has been so good as to bless us with the patience and strength to get through this time. But as the months started rolling by, we started wondering what the next step was. Andrew was considering the military B.P. (as we call it, before Page), so it was already on his mind, but we decided long before we even got married that the military wasn't the best setup for newlyweds. And we put that idea to rest.

But then, after many conversations about Andrew's passions and long-term goals, and after he made incredible grades this summer (the program he was considering B.P. is very physics/math heavy), we decided to look into the military option a little more. And after a lot of planning/praying he's pursuing a program in the Navy that would make him an officer on a nuclear-powered submarine. At this point in the process, his application has been accepted (!!!) and he's waiting on a date where he'll go to Washington, DC for several rounds of final interviews. I have to mention that the application process is supposed to be the hardest/most competitive of the whole process, not the interview. So I'm uber proud of this smart man that I married for getting through that phase. In September, they accepted 24 out of 25 interviewers in DC, so we're hoping for the same stats at his interview! If he's accepted in DC, it's official right then and there. He'll leave on the payroll and start planning for OCS (bootcamp for officers).

Here's the scoop (if accepted):
1. OCS for 12 weeks in Rhode Island (Rudy and I will hold the fort down back here)
2. Move to Charleston for a year so Andrew can go to nuke school (Charleston? Ok, twist my arm, I’ll go…)
3. Move somewhere else close to the water. Andrew will spend 2 years going in and out on a submarine (Rudy and I will hold down that fort, ticking away the days that Andrew’s gone and making the most of the days when he’s around)
4. Move somewhere else where he would have some sort of desk job for 2 more years (i.e. Pentagon, ROTC at a university, teaching at the nuke school)
5. DONE. The commitment is up after 5 years (including school) and he'll essentially have a degree in nuclear engineering and some awesome leadership experience.

All in all, we're really excited about where the Lord is taking us with this. It's an adventure and we welcome it with open arms. We’ll keep you updated on the details as they come in. In the meantime, we’d love a prayer or two in our name.

“Sometimes the only way is jumping, I hope you’re not afraid of heights…”