Pressure

I have a friend named Dave Mason. He and I know each other from CHWC and one summer he gave a really awesome talk where he used the song " under Pressure" to reach the kids. I remember him blaring the music in the middle of the talk and it feeling almost freeing to scream about pressure, even if the screaming was in my head. There has been so much happening recently that makes me feel like this. "Pressure, pushing down on me..." It's almost not even worth blogging about!

That being said, this week is a HUGE week for Bernard and I. (NO we are NOT expecting!) This week I head down to Tampa to try and find a house that will become our home...our first house that we'll buy! It's SO incredible exciting for us, but bittersweet as well. I wish Bernard were here to do this with me...you know like a normal married couple. And it's bittersweet to be leaving Franklin. OF COURSE I am more than thrilled to have my husband back- it's been almost a YEAR since we've lived together- but I love Franklin. It was so strange to move back to my hometown and have to try and meet new friends. I found a journal entry from September where I was just bummed about feeling so alone here. It's amazing how quickly things change! I have made such great friends here and for the first time since High School, I've made really great Catholic friends (this is not to say I didnt have great Catholic friends in College, but we were so outnumbered at Auburn!!).

I left Ft Bragg wtih a group of girlfriends that I knew I could call at anytime and they could understand what it was like to be in a deployment. To go through a PCS, a re-enlistment, etc. Now I'm leaving Franklin with a group of girls I can call for advice and know we're coming from the same place. What will I find in Tampa?

Bernard was due home in August (once they extended the deployment to 15 months). We've now been told he's coming home in JUNE...do you know how hard it is to not hold fast to that date like its GOLD?! So the plan is for me to find a house in Tampa and then Bernard will move Gabbi and I in (late June or early July), and then he'll join us there in August once he can report to MacDill AFB.

We're looking to buy in the Brandon/Valrico/Riverview area...I'm so excited to go down and see the cities and get a feel for which one is the best fit for us. We've looked at hundreds of homes online and I have a good feel for what we're looking for and what we're avoiding. USAA has provided us with a great Agent that I'm very excited to be working with, and a long-time friend's father has hooked us up with a great lending agent that's shooting us straight. It's hard to doubt God's hand in everything when I think about how He's provided in the past and how things always fall into place for us. Nonetheless, I OF COURSE feel some PRESSURE going down this week to make such a HUGE decision!

Keep us in your prayers as we prepare for lots of changes, reunions, and challenges ahead! Proverbs 3:5