We're moving to South Korea!

Once we received word that me and Cooper would be command-sponsored and joining Owen in South Korea many of our family, friends and co-workers wanted a way to bridge the distance and experience our latest adventure alongside us. This blog is meant to do just that. So, this first post includes an overview of our 2011 and the story about how we came to be moving to Korea.

           

2011

On February 22 our perfect baby boy Cooper was born. Only 3 months later and Owen was deployed to the Middle East for a 6 month tour. This was a difficult but as a military family we knew if was inevitable and we endured.

On a Saturday morning in late November Owen called from the Middle East to tell us that he’d been given a non-voluntary 1 year assignment to Korea beginning a mere two months after he arrived home. My first words were a resilient “how do we go?” There was never a moment of contemplation - I knew that we'd do whatever it took to be together. 

The days and what became weeks following were filled with small milestones on the journey to get Cooper and I commander-sponsored. In December we learned that Cooper and I would be joining Owen in Korea for a 2 year tour with a February 28, 2012 report date. 

We were (and are) overjoyed to be together but there was so much to be done in a short period of time including transitioning out of my advertising job, renting our home, finding homes for our dogs, selling two vehicles and moving – not to mention welcoming Owen home and the holiday season.

To get through the overwhelming schedule over the next two months it was necessary to take one big change at-a-time. So, Cooper and I got ready to welcome Owen home after a long, 6 ½ months.  We prepared the house, dressed Cooper in a “Welcome Home” onesie, put out the flags and waited with baited breath to see him again. On a chilly evening in the middle of December it finally happened – we saw Owen. Nothing warmed my heart more than to see Owen get to hold his now, 10 ½ month old baby. The next few days we didn’t talk about the changes that were soon to happen but instead just held eachother tight.

Only a week and a half later it was Christmas closely followed by New Year’s and we traveled to visit family in Lubbock and Dallas.

Now it was finally time, to start planning the big move!