We're leavin' on a jet plane...

We are Jersey bound!!!

Fun
Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we won't be delayed either getting there or getting back!
I haven't been home since July for Keri's wedding, so this is a much needed dose of Jersey for me. For Mark, he will get to reconnect with some of his Coast Guard buddies and hang out with "B-Bear" (aka Bryan, aka my best friend's husband). I just can't wait to get home!
This whole week I've had zero motivation at work, just knowing that the end of the week couldn't get here soon enough! And after last week's very busy, very crazy schedule, I'm sort of worn out.

Work

I'm really enjoying my new job at the PD, though it is a bit more time consuming and demanding than patrol, I feel comfortable with the new projects and I've really come into my own. As Mark said not too long ago "I think you found you're niche".
It is nice to hear when you're doing a good job too...I was mentioned in the news letter a few times by the chief (which is always cool) and my Lieutenant keeps telling me how impressed he is with my work and how we're going to put in for "employees of the year" as a team this year hahaha. I miss patrol sometimes, don't get me wrong...I miss the brotherhood and friends that I had on nights; but it is nice to see the sun everyday :) The Scurvy is gone and my vitamin D is way up too! hahaha just kidding!

Mark

Mark is reconsidering HFD. After much thought and prayer, I think he is close to making a final decision. Many people have questioned his dependability, and I won't lie...I worried a bit myself; but he has never let me down, and he has never shown me anything less than his best. I am so very proud to call him my husband, no matter what anyone has to say about his career choices. It took us a long time to get past what happened a few years ago with HFD, and I think the timing is finally right. God does things in His own time, and after I tell you what happened, I think you'll agree.

A few days before Mark was scheduled to begin classes for Nursing, he got a call from his advisor. She told him that he was 1 credit shy of qualifying for the "post 9-11 GI bill". We searched high and low for a class that would fit into his schedule, but there were none open. So he called the advisor and told her just to use the old GI bill...we then found out that once you begin the process for the NEW GI bill, you can no longer use the old one. So we would have been stuck with the bill for college. At this time, that just isn't in the cards for us. The next day, Mark found out that they would be cutting his hours at the hospital in half, so our income would be greatly decreased...not to mention Taxes will be due in a few months.

So we sat down and weighed out our options, coming to the decision that canceling the classes and waiting until next semester would be best. It wasn't but a few days later that Mark's dad asked him if he missed HFD. This got him thinking...

Mark told me that he had ducked into the Chapel at work the other day just to say a quick prayer. As he was praying, asking God to show him if HFD was the path that He wanted us to take, the PA system came on. "May I have your attention please" it said..."we will be testing the fire alarm system for the next few minutes..." Take that as you may, but when he told me that, I got tears in my eyes. Sounds like a pretty big sign to me!
Obviously, this won't happen for a while (the civil service test isn't for another month or so and then the next fast track academy isn't until the summer), but it looks like we've finally settled.

I've spent a lot of time worrying about things that are totally out of my control, and I'm finally done. What's that saying? "Let go and let God"...