-- Frank McKibben
¨*♥*¨*•♫♪ We Wish You a Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♥ ♥ We Wish You A Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪...And A Happy New Year!♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪... Merry Christmas Everyone!!!
2009 Edition of Living Life with the Fitzner’s ~
This past year has been full of many new and unique experiences and life changes, as well as a few trials and tribulations that have shown us yet again how gracious and merciful our God truly is!
The first half of the year was spent in Montgomery Alabama while Scott finished his Master’s Degree at Air Command and Staff College. Our experience in Alabama was a once in a life time journey to include a true family year with Scott home every night which is something that we have not had for many years. We made soooo many wonderful friends through our neighborhood, church, school, and different activities we took part in. June 8, 2009 was one of the happiest days of our Air Force career as Scott received his Master’s Degree. We are very proud of him for such a high accomplishment!
Disneyworld was our next adventure. We had the most amazing time with our family and Scott’s brother Chad, wife Michele, and our two adorable nephews-Tyler and Zachary. We rented a condo and did Disneyworld for a full 7 days! We created lots of very special memories and it was a once in a life time opportunity to go on vacation with our family. The kids LOVED every minute of having the chance to hang out with their cousins whom they dearly miss. As soon as we came back we packed out of our house in Montgomery and hit the road to move to Washington DC.
The 12 hour drive turned out to be uneventful until we arrived at our new “home”….well, what was to be our home. Long story very short, as rehashing this story is not my favorite, the house was not anywhere near suitable condition, so we had to live in a hotel for almost a month while we looked for another place to live. We found a wonderful realtor through dear friends of ours and she found us a nice home. The kids first “friends” in our new area consisted of the life guard at the hotel, the workers at the front desk, and the people that were staying in the room next to us in the hotel. I wouldn’t want to relive that situation, but everything works out for a reason and we were very well taken care of by many people. Yet again it was another moment in time where we saw God’s love and protection over our family!
Just about the time we actually thought we were settling into the “big city life” of DC, we found out that Scott is deploying to Iraq for a year leaving July of 2010. Currently he is at the Pentagon managing the budgets of five different weapon programs as the PEM (Program Element Monitor). Essentially he interfaces with the warfighters in the field to get requirements, works the budget through the Air Staff, and interfaces with the Congressional Staffers to walk the budget through the process of becoming law. He will be doing Foreign Military Sales work over in Iraq which is unique in that they are rebuilding the Iraqi Air Force from the ground up. We will be in the DC area for a 4 year tour so when he returns from deployment we will have 2 more fun-filled years left to absorb this area and all it has to offer.
There have been many positives that have come out of this move. The kids absolutely LOVE their school, have made some great friends, and have the most amazing teachers! They are both excelling, and by spending time volunteering at school each week I get to find out what is really going on inside the classrooms which is nice. Megan and Riley are actively participating in Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts. They are both learning new skills, how to help others, and serve the community. We have found a church that is a great fit for our family that includes an incredible children’s ministry. I am working on helping start a military ministry outreach in our community, so stay tuned for the progress on that for 2010.
I think that now after about 6 months we are starting to feel like this is “home.” It has been a very different experience for us as we are used to having the house set up, hosting a party, and knowing everyone around us in a few weeks. It is not quite like that here, but everyone we have met has been sooooo kind, warm, and welcoming to us. I would say that week by week we are getting to know more people and expanding our circle of friends. We find ourselves going on “many adventures” on the weekend-from National’s baseball game to apple picking, to the Kennedy Center, visiting the National Mall, going to a live turkey farm, and seeing the Radio City Rockettes… we seem to be keeping quite busy and truly starting to enjoy the area.
Despite the few “hurdles” we have had this year we are truly blessed. There are many more positives than negatives that have come to our family through this year and I have chosen to reflect on those instead. The greatest positive is YOU and how much you have been a part of our lives. Whether you are local and we see you regularly, chat on the phone, send emails, Facebook, or blog it’s the relationships that always matter the most. No matter how much time passes or how much technology is introduced, the real core of our life and the heart of it all are the special friendships and bonds we create year after year.
This Christmas we want to thank YOU for your love and support, and for the blessing you are to our family. We wish you a spectacular holiday season and all of God’s love to warm your heart throughout 2010.
With Love~Scott, Alaina, Megan, and Riley Fitzner
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