This year has been one for the books in our family! We have so much to be thankful for, so I thought I'd take a moment the day before Thanksgiving to list just a few of those things specifically... in no particular order.1. Phil made Chief!
Most of our year had been spent worrying and doing our best to trust God over what the future would hold. We had no idea until the 1st of August whether we would even be in the Navy anymore by November. He was denied PTS over and over. It came down to the options of Phil making Chief his first time being board eligible, or we would be getting out. It was a mite overwhelming, to say the least. On August 1st, I received the unbelievable tear-inducing phone call from Phil letting me know he was on the list! Though, as Phil has commented, those anchors he put on do get heavy at times, I could not be more grateful for them.
2. This teeny baby in my belly.
We decided to wait on the decision of whether or not to have another baby after Jeremiah until we felt more certain about it. It took a few years, but I'm really glad we waited. It is all a new feeling again this time. The boys are so involved in the entire process. Not a day goes by that they aren't curling up beside me to watch a show or read a book that they aren't putting their hand on my little belly just to have it there. Joshua was even trying to sing a song through my tummy the other day. They say that by now our baby would only be about 4 inches long, but it's plain to see this baby already has a hold on all of our hearts.
3. My two loving and cuddly boys.
4. Homeschooling.
This one goes hand in hand with #3. I am so thankful for the ability to be able to spend all day every day with our boys helping them to slowly the become these amazing men I sometimes see peep out of their little boy shells. They really genuinely enjoy learning and I really do enjoy teaching them all these new ideas and ways of doing things.
5. Food on the table and clothes on our backs.
This one so often goes without saying, but this year in particular we are grateful for a regular well-paying job for Phil that enables us to not have to worry too much about these things.
I could not be more proud of Phil than I am this year. As hard as those PTS challenges were on me, they must have been 4x as hard on Phil but he never gave up. He kept putting in the effort as much as he was able. After his pinning for Chief I had several people tell me about how well he did in making it through the induction process (which was definitely another challenge in and of itself). Not only did he prove himself worthy to become a Chief to the selection board, he continued to do so by not giving up until the results came out and then again through the induction period that it seemed might never end. He has always been a great provider for our little family and a leader for us in many ways. I am so grateful for my decision early on to marry him. Every year he becomes even more the man of my dreams, though I never would have thought that possible.
