"Keep Calm and Carry On"

When we first got here and started visiting stores we noticed theses signs in the gift shops that stated 'Keep Calm and Carry On'.  They seemed to be very popular and the more places we went the more we  saw of them.  We were intrigued.  We had to find out what these signs meant.  


Luckily, when visiting the home of a lady who was selling a couch we were interested in buying, her British landlord just happened to be in her house looking things over.  When we were standing in her kitchen talking I noticed she also had one of the signs.  When finishing up business with the couch and getting ready to leave, I had to ask her, "We've seen these signs everywhere.  What does it mean?!"  


Well, she didn't exactly know herself.  She knew it had something to do with WWII, which is something I never would've guessed.  So, she turned to her landlord and asked him to explain it better.  From what he told us, and a little research I did later on, we learned that during WWII there was a Ministry of Information committee formed by the British government to design morale-boosting posters to be displayed throughout Britain during the testing times that lay ahead.  


'Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution will Bring Us Victory' and 'Freedom is in Peril' were the first two posters that were displayed.  'Keep Calm & Carry On' was the third poster to be designed, but was only to be displayed once Germany invaded Britain.  However, this never happened.  So this sign that's so popular today was actually never seen by the public during WWII.  The posters were all destroyed, except for a handful which were hidden and later on discovered.

So, apparently the phrase has just become really popular and people still find it reassuring even in our modern times.

So, 'Keep Calm and Carry On', my friends!

And, of course, there have also been numerous variations to the phrase, such as those seen below...

       

The Ride is Almost Over

I told you all I would talk to you when I got to the bottom of the roller coaster, so here I am!  The ride isn't completely over, but the worst of it is.  We survived the twists, turns and bumps and for how crazy the last couple months have been, I cannot believe how smoothly the last two weeks have gone.  

Allen and I were constantly busy making phone calls, getting organized and straightening out details and everything (almost) actually worked out!  I cannot praise the Lord enough or give Him enough glory for everything He has done for us.  Everything worked out so smoothly that I cannot contribute it to anyone else other than my God above.  

This was our itinerary for our last week in Grand Forks... 

Monday: movers boxed up our entire house

Tuesday:  movers shipped our boxes

Wednesday: separate shipping company boxed and shipped our unaccompanied baggage (necessities) and the cleaning lady we paid cleaned the entire house

Thursday: final inspection for our house

Could that have worked out any more perfectly?! 


So, once Tuesday evening rolled around, we basically no longer had a bed to sleep on.  So, our awesome and extremely gracious friends, Adam & Bethanne, offered for us to stay with them. It was absolutely wonderful!  We felt right at home.  They were able to provide us with anything we may have needed, Bethanne planned and cooked dinners for us that I did not have the time or energy to do and kept us company for our last couple days there.  Deep down we were all hoping that maybe "too much" time spent together would make it easier for us to say goodbye.  But, unfortunately, it didn't!  We loved every minute spent together and it was just as difficult to say goodbye as we had originally expected.  

Adam and Bethanne's son celebrated his 1st birthday party on Saturday.  Allen and I wanted to stay in Grand Forks to be able to celebrate this with them.  We were so glad we were able to be a part of it!  We left directly from his birthday party to drive to PA.  

Leaving from the party was awesome because we share A LOT of the same friends.  We were able to say one final goodbye to all of our good friends and most of them actually saw us drive away :'(   

So, if you're not aware yet, we are in Pennsylvania!  We arrived on Mother's Day around 6pm.  We drove straight through the night before and made it to our final destination in about 23 1/2 hours.  Not too bad with two kids and two vehicles (one being a '79 bronco)!!  The kids were awesome!  They slept off and on throughout the entire trip.  We stopped a couple times to let them get out and play and wouldn't even cry when we put them back in their car seats.  They were amazing!  Allen's Dad and Stepmom, Geniene, flew to Minneapolis and met us there to help drive us back.  What a relief!  Without them we definitely would have had to stop.  They made the trip so much easier on us.  

If you remember, I mentioned earlier in the blog that "almost" everything was taken care of.  We are still trying to finalize plans of selling our Jeep (which is still in ND) and our visas are also still processing.  I'm not sure if we'll be able to get into England without them or not...  Anyway, prayers would be much appreciated for these two areas.  

As for our time in PA, we are hoping to see most family and friends before we head over to England.  Our flight leaves in the evening of the 29th.  We'll fly out of Pittsburgh and then from Chicago straight to London.  So exciting!!  If you're a friend of mine in ND, we miss you already!!  If you're a family or friend in PA, we hope to see you before we leave!  We've already been enjoying our time here, as you can see below...

Poppa Jones helping Eva drive the Go Kart

Blakey cuddling with Aunt Lexi at Living Treasures Park

Visiting with a long-time friend, who just happens to be a military wife also!

Easy Go, Easy Come. It's Officially Official!

So, I feel that this blog is necessary because it seems as though many of our friends and family do not yet know what's going on with our move to England.  This is easy to believe considering, we barely know what's going on with our move to England.  "What move?," you ask.  "I thought you weren't going to England anymore," you say.  Well folks, we're still going to England!  Yes, I know, we told you we weren't going and we believed it ourselves.  The Air Force seems to believe that everyone likes roller coasters.  Well, I don't!  I'm afraid of heights.

My last blog explained everything that was going on that led us to believe Allen's orders were going to be cancelled.  As time went on, though, we learned more and more information.  We finally discovered that not only could Allen still receive his bonus money if he extended rather than re-enlisted (which he wasn't eligible for until May 8th, 2012), but that if he chose not to take these orders (which we were considering so that he could get a "base of preference" closer to home once he re-enlisted) that he wouldn't be eligible for a BOP.  What it boiled down to was....Go to England or Stay in North Dakota.  Well, we want out of here!

As much as we've enjoyed Grand Forks, we are certainly ready to experience something new.  Also, Grand Forks AFB is considered a black hole that military gets stuck in.  We're taking the opportunity to get out while we have it.

Up until today, we haven't been able to do much preparing for this trip because Allen didn't have his orders.  Personnel was sorting all of the issues out in order to write Allen's orders.  Without orders, Allen can't do anything!  He can't schedule our final inspection on our house....He can't schedule the movers to pack our house....We can't apply for our visas!....  Without orders, it's as though you're not even moving.  So, we have been not-so-patiently waiting on them in order to move forward with this move.  I asked Allen, "So when you do finally get orders, is it going to be chaos?".  "Yes!" was all he answered.

Everyday, Allen goes into work and I'm sure the first thing he does is check his email to see if he received those darn orders yet.   And I wait to receive his text telling me.  Before today, nothing.  Half an hour ago I received the text I was waiting for.  "Orders!"  it said.  "Woohoooooo!!  Finally!"  I replied.  So, let the chaos begin.  It's finally official.  We are actually going to England.

Allen's report date to RAF Mildenhall is the same, May 31st.  We are hoping to leave Grand Forks on May 13th to drive to PA and spend two weeks with family before we depart tentatively on May 28th for London.  Hang on everyone!  We're approaching the downhill of the roller coaster.  I hate this part, ahhhhhhhhh.  See you all at the bottom!

Easy Come, Easy Go

Well, this blog was short-lived.  It turns out we're not going to England.  It's not official quite yet, but we know the exact date the orders will be cancelled.  Why?!  I can hear you asking, if you haven't this news yet.  Let me explain...


It turns out that Allen, being a Senior Airman, has a newly decided high year tenure of 8 years.  This means the AF will only let him stay in for 8 years before he needs to separate.  The military is cutting back due to the war being over.  If Allen took his orders to RAF Mildenhall, it would put his enlistment at 9 years.  However, because of his job as an Air Traffic Controller he is exempt from the majority high year tenure of 8 years and is actually allowed to stay in for 10, since he is in a position that is much-needed in the Air Force.  It all adds up, right?  Not exactly.


There is an automated computer system that "reads" through all the orders assigned and cancels those that don't meet certain requirements.  It recognizes that Allen is a SrA and that the orders would put him over his high year tenure of 8 years, not taking into consideration his job as an ATC.  Basically, it's a gliche.  Earlier I told you that the high year tenure was a recent decision.  The AF got ahead of themselves and hasn't worked out all of the small details yet.  I assume they are working to fix this gliche in the computer system, but we don't believe it will be fixed in time for us to go to England.  It seems like Allen should be able to go to someone "higher up" to fix this.  Well, let me assure you that he tried his best!  He spoke to the ATC Functional Manager (the top enlisted ATC in the AF!) who confirmed that Allen was correct in his research, that he was exempt from this.  So, he told Allen that he would reassign his orders.  He then told him that the computer system would continue to cancel his orders, since it's automated, but that he would just need to call every time that happened and he would reassign the orders for him each time.  That, also, was short-lived.  About two days after being told this, Allen went to work and found an email saying that the next time his orders were cancelled, they were not going to reassign them.  We assume that either 1) this has become a problem for a large number of Airmen and it would be extremely time-consuming to reassign everyone's orders or 2) the ATC Functional Manager has too many other things more important to deal with.  Either way, we're not going to England.


Allen and I decided that he didn't need to fight anymore to try to get the orders fixed.  We are going to let the AF cancel them.  Are we devastated?  Absolutely not.  Disappointed?  Of course.  We were looking forward to experiencing a different way of life and visiting places we have never been.  However, we both know that the military life is one that often changes very rapidly.  What doesn't change is God's love for us and his plan for our life.  We are absolutely confident that God has us in His hands and will take us where He wants us to be, where He can use us to fulfill His will.  Knowing this just makes us more excited to learn what He really has in store for us.  Maybe we will be closer to home?


The next step for us is Allen's reenlistment in May.  This will give him the opportunity to BOP (choose a base of preference) which will most likely happen within a year.  We're excited to stay in Grand Forks through another summer, since it's absolutely beautiful here.  But with another summer also brings another winter.  We've survived four and we know we can survive one more!


Finally, you may be wondering what's going to happen to my blog.  Macs and Wellybobs seems a little inappropriate now that we're not going to England.  I will continue to blog about our journey through life, however I plan on changing the name.  I haven't decided exactly what it will be, but I do know that the name will revolve around the verse Psalm 139:9-10, which says "If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."  I love this verse because God tells me that no matter where the AF decides to send our family, I know that God will protect us.  I'm excited to see where He will take us next!

Behind The Name

So, I certainly don't consider myself to be a writer in any way, shape or form and, honestly, I can't say I've ever had an interest in starting my own blog...until recently.  A couple friends of mine blog and after reading theirs I decided it was an awesome way to keep in touch with far-away family and friends...a way to display pictures and videos, along with describing new experiences.  It's possibly the next best thing to being there themselves.  And with how rapidly our kiddos are growing, I can keep them updated on them as well, which is probably what they're most interested in!  As Allen (my husband) and I prepare for our upcoming move to RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, we're excited to experience new culture and different foods!  And although we're fortunate to be moving to a country that speaks the same language as us, I'm sure there will be times we get lost in translation.  In fact, I was reading a website for British slang earlier and learned that pants in British means 'underwear'!  Yikes!  I can see this getting us in trouble at some point.  Open mouth, insert foot.  So, this is where my blog name, 'Macs & Wellybobs' came from.  Mac is slang for raincoat, which comes from the inventor of the trench coat, Mr. Macintosh.  Wellybob, aka Wellies in the informal, is what they call their rainboots.  It is short for Wellington boots, named after the Duke of Wellington.  Macs and Wellybobs, two things we're sure to need in England!