This flight school thing is really going to happen

Happy New Year Everyone!  I'll write a post about what we did to celebrate New Year's Eve later.  But first we have more important things to talk about.

This year is going to be FULL of changes.  Most of them relate to Brandon going to flight school and our family's move to Fort Rucker, Alabama.

I haven't posted much about Brandon's flight school stuff.  It's not because I haven't wanted to talk about it, its because I haven't known much about it yet.  Everything in the Army takes forever and is wrapped in about 4 layers of rumor and speculation.  For example, Brandon found out that he was selected for flight school back in July.  It wasn't until November that we found out the date for when he would go to Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS).  Even then it was just a date that someone told him over the phone, we weren't sure if it was real or not.

And we've been hearing all sorts of different things about when I would be moving.  Some people said that Brandon would go to WOCS first and then come back and get the rest of us.  Other people said that we would move with him to Fort Rucker, Alabama right away.

In some ways it's been kind of relaxing to be in limbo these past few months.  We spent over a year worrying about his Warrant Officer application packet, so it was nice to just sit back and enjoy the knowledge that he was going to flight school without actually having to do much about it.

But I've been anxious to start planning our move.  Brandon's been hounding his contact people for the past few weeks and they finally sent over his orders.  Those few pieces of paper contain a wealth of information.

We have Brandon's school date for sure now.  Due to OPSEC and PERSEC I can't tell you the exact date.  But I can say that it's in the spring.

We also know that the kids and I will be moving with Brandon.  We have the option to move after he finishes WOCS, but I'd rather get settled before Brandon starts school than worry about it afterward.

Now this whole thing feels very real.  As in leaving all our friends, filling out lots of paperwork, getting the kids ready for change REAL.

And it's scary, and exciting, and amazing.  And above all else it's a dream come true and an answer to prayers.

Brandon's going to flight school!  He is going to get paid to learn how to fly.  Do you know how long we've dreamed about this?

My favorite song for the past year has been Counting Stars by One Republic.  (You can watch the music video by clicking on the link, but it's kind of a dumb video so I recommend just listening to the music.)  Every time I hear that song I think about Brandon's dream to become a pilot.  The song became our anthem for his Warrant Officer Application. This year I made Brandon a Christmas present with the lyrics to the song printed on a picture.  I took the picture years ago while I was on a flight with Brandon in one of the little USU planes.

(Some of these words aren't the "correct"
lyrics, but they are how I always heard them.)

Our lives are going to change a lot this year.  I'm ready to stop dreaming and start living.