Holiday Rush

Geez.  Before I could even get around to getting Lily's Halloween photos posted we headed to Sears last night and had Christmas photos taken.  So before Fall turns to Winter here they are!

Pumpkin Carving!

Proud Artist!

The traditional pumpkin!

Cutie p'atootie!

Posing with Oma next to Daddy's Jack o' Lantern.

With an a'nautrale Mommy and Daddy.

Lily may be saying "I'm Done!" but Mommy and Oma are happy and proud!

Hope you enjoyed!

Cayce and I have made the fiscally and time conscious decision to live in base housing in Norfolk.  There are so many factors that go into choosing a house in Norfolk, safety (crime is a huge issue), commute, space, value for dollar, and overall "cuteness" of the home.  I've been soliciting the oh so generous help of some fellow Navy wives up in Norfolk in this house search.  However, every time I find something I "love" there is some fatal flaw.  A lot of homes will only accept one "small" pet, or the commute would be bumper to bumper traffic for an hour one way, or no fenced yard, or there seems to be a den of sex offenders in the neighborhood, or once the crime blotter is checked the neighborhood is rife with larcenies, burglaries, vandalism, and even a murder or two!  That was only going back to the end of September!!!  So I have been very stressed on this search.  We kept flipping back and forth between whether or not we would be able to take the time and money to travel to Norfolk for searching in person.  It was going to be a stretch, and finally, after speaking with another Navy wife up there I just decided to take a hard look at our finances.  After some manipulations I figured out we can forgo our Basic Allowance for Housing, and opt to live completely on the Navy's dime.

I actually feel so much better about this.  Now that Cayce is returning to a ship he will be out of the home often, and safety was my number one concern.  While in Jacksonville I gave some thought to safety, but now that Lily's here I want to live in a home where I don't need to worry about who's living down the street.  I want to be able to sleep at night not worrying about what craziness is going on outside our door.  This way Cayce will also have a minimal commute, and we'll have better access to all the amenities and services on base.   All of the homes have fenced in back yards, and electric and water is covered.  There are tons of different housing communities on and around all the different bases in Norfolk.  At this time we have no idea where we'll be living.  The only downside is that we may get stuck with a 2 bedroom.  :-P.  We do still plan to go to Norfolk and tour housing simply so I can have some sort of an idea of what type of home we'll be living in.  I am so excited!!  It's kind of fun to get surprised the day we arrive in Norfolk.  We'll drive in, show up at the housing office, and they'll hand over the keys to our brand new home.  I'm looking at the bright side here!  I could hyperventilate about the lack of planning I can do not knowing where we will live, but I'm choosing to think of it as a mystery and one of the many fun parts of military living. :-D

Wish us luck!