Ben's Commission into the Navy

Ben was offered a commission into the Navy last month, the kids and I threw him a surprise "CONGRATULATIONS!" party.
He's worked really hard on this and it's something he's wanted for a long time...we are so proud of him!

Monday we made the trip to Richmond for Ben to take the oath of office to become an officer (Ensign) in the United States Navy Reserve. He's a Champlain candidate until he finishes school.

After taking the oath, he had about an hours worth of paperwork to sign. I wasn't prepared for this part of the morning, but I was super thankful that kids can easily be entertained by random things found in a purse. First, we took some pictures.
Then we made silly faces with sunglasses and talked about what Christmas activities we wanted to in the next couple of weeks.

Then a very kind, but clearly not-a-father, Officer, gave the kids 2 small Navy bouncy balls. Thanks. I spent the rest of the time trying to convince Eli that throwing balls at other Officers was not polite and then asking Alison to chase the rolling balls all over the office. Yikes! I'm not sure what he was thinking.

A lot of people have asked how I feel about all of this. I feel good about it. I know it's a positive thing for our family and just one of many accomplishments Ben will achieve in his life. The slight anxiety I occasionally feel only comes from the unknown of life. But, that unkownness comes from everything, not just a Navy life. I don't know what next several years looks like. I don't know what being a mom of 3 is like. I don't know where we'll live or where Alison will go to school and I certainly don't know what Navy life looks like. But I'm living one day at a time, relying on God's strength. I'm sure there will be many ups and downs along the way, but that would be true even if Ben wasn't in the Navy.