And so it Begins

Nathan just passed the Foreign Service oral exam this week.  This has been a dream in the making for a long time for him.  Random thoughts and questions that have been swimming around in my head since then, in no particular order of importance or amount of time it consumes my mind.

1.  I am so proud of him and happy that his dreams are continuing to come true.
2.  So... where are we going?
3.  So... when are we going?
4.  I really think this is God's will for us.  Looking back to the last 10 years and even beyond, I can clearly see how He orchestrated the events in our lives, both good and bad, to prepare us for this.
5.  How will our 2 boys and baby on the way adjust to the FS lifestyle?
6.  What are my parents going to say? (They are local and we see them a lot. As as expected, they are gaga over our kids, their only grandchildren.)
7.  I can't wait to try all the local food wherever they send us.
8.  I need to stop thinking that this is going to be like a life of perpetual vacations.  It's one thing to be somewhere for 2 weeks.  Another thing entirely to be there for 2 years.
9.  It's kinda awesome to think that I'm going to be a diplomat's wife.  And to get a special passport.  Does that mean that we get to jump to the front of lines?  Automatically get bumped up to first class?  (Edited to add: sometimes and no)
10.  Are we going to be able to find a solid Christian church and fellowship wherever we go?
11.  I hope it's a a good 3 years before we ship out.  Baby#3 will be about 2.5 years old then, much more manageable on the plane, not that we've ever traveled in the air with a 2.5 year old.  He/she might even be potty trained by then.  J will be 4, NJ will be 8.  We'll be set.  I think.

What's next?  Our whole family has to be cleared medically.  Nathan already has his top secret clearance, so that will speed up the process somewhat.  He got a pretty good score on the OA so I think he'll be called off the register sooner than not.  It's nice that we already live close to DC so we won't have to move or be separated during A-100.

Now we wait.  And keep adding to our list of thoughts and questions.