Number 8.

I am feeling rather nostalgic today. I think when major life changes are happening, you tend to look back on how life is right now, and how it will change in the coming weeks and months. I tend not to think in years, simply because my life has changed so drastically from year to year that I can never expect things to remain the same for long. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I love new things and change. It keeps me from getting too stagnant and stuck in a life rut.

Anyway, we are gearing up to leave DJ's first home. Since graduating high school, the 16 months we have spent in this apartment have been the longest I have spent in any home/dorm/place. In 5 years, I moved out of my childhood home and have jumped around to 7 (yes, 7) different places. How is that possible?

1. Home I grew up in
2. Dorm at College
3. In-laws house
4. Mom and Dad's house
5. Moved to J street in CA
6. Deployment: Moved back home with parents
7. Moved to F street in CA
8. Moved to current apartment when pregnant with DJ.

Pretty crazy, right? I never minded before. I was young, with really only my needs important. When David and I moved in together after being married for 1 year, deployments ruled our life. Now, it's DJ. We moved to where we are in the hopes that we would save a bit of money each month, and that we would live in a better city for his daily life.

Now that we are moving YET AGAIN due to orders, I am looking back on the experiences I shared with this home. I can remember going into labor here, bringing DJ home from the hospital, decorating his room, watching him look out of the low windows, taking walks, going to the pool... the list goes on. And while I am sad that we are leaving the only home that DJ has ever known, and the place where all of my memories with him were made, I know that NEW memories will be created at our new house.

We will make new friends, decorate a new room for a BIG(er) boy, discover new playgrounds, and adjust our lifestyle to fit our new environment. Fingers crossed (and lots of prayers), we will add to our family in our new house.

Change is good.