A-10 Graduation

So last Friday Andy graduated from A-10 training. Thursday we went to an incredible event called the "Range Tour". We traveled on a bus 3 hours outside of Tucson to an active range in the middle of the desert. This is where all the pilots go to practice dropping missles and firing the gun. Tyler was quite the traveler and did tremendous for just being a week and half! Be sure to watch the video of the A-10 firing the gatling gun at the end! Family photo...love the stylish earplugs, Tara :)
Sister Pam, Myliah, and nephew Jack




Andy receiving his certificate of completion from his squadron Commander
Class 08 CBD
Group shot!
Tyler's so proud of daddy :)

Dad in the simulator

"Cutting the cake" after the ceremony
We had a class halloween graduation party the next night. These are the spouses from the class...including Marge Simpson in front :)
These are the crazy cats we will be going to Germany with. Someone help us please!!!
Yes, our Christmas outfits have yet again made their appearance!

Tyler's First Week

It's so hard to believe that Tyler is already 1 week old today! What a blessing this lil' man has been to us in just 7 days. He truely is a miracle and anyone who can hold a precious child like this has no reason not to believe in a mighty God!! The first night was rough trying to catch up from lack of sleep at the hospital while acquainting ourselves with a new baby. Thankfully after a couple of days we got into a routine and Ty is nursing great, sleeping lots, and starting to really open his eyes and explore many new things already. We are blessed with such a chill baby (thus far :), and are having such a blast with him. Georgia is slightly jealous but we are doing our best to make sure she is not forgotten :) Enjoy this pictures and video at the end!

Tyler William Korsmo's Arrival

Here is a quick update to the new little guy. We're so proud of our little man, and can't wait A couple days to go...

Just a quick nap before the big pushing. Quick dilation and a knot in the umbilical chord helped speed up the process. Great work Tara!

Before:

After:

Here he is...8-minutes old and seeminly pretty chill thus far. The doctors ran a bunch of tests and they say that he is "gifted"... he is in the top 99% in terms of athletic ability, ingenuity, good looks, charm, 'manliness', and 12 other catagories. What lucky parents. The new Family (minus Georgia)

Chicken legs? What you talking bout fool?

What a fun little guy. If I didn't say earlier...6lb 3oz, 19" long, born 29 Sep 08 at 4:23pm.

Hitching a ride.

38 Weeks

Hopefully this will be the last post with my pregnant belly! I officially am 1 week out from my due date and definately ready! Other than some inevitable nerves for the delivery; we are pumped to meet the lil' guy. Doc still thinks I won't go past October 6, so it could be sometime this week but it's all up to him and the big Guy upstairs! I have been having some intense contractions and low back pain in the last week but they are not regular enough at this point for me to go in. We have his temporary "nursery" ready to go, and house half packed for the big move early November. We are excited to have visitors once Tyler arrives and are awaiting Andy's A-10 graduation ceremony on the 10th...hopefully I won't be in the hospital during that time!! On a side note...I chopped my hair again! Was at Target and saw a Cost Cutters across the street...without any tought, 6 inches were gone :)

Korea & Germany!

So, many of you may already know but we got our assignment! We have known for a while that Andy and his entire A-10 class was going to be sent on a 1 year remote deployment to South Korea. We we went back and forth on what to do with Tyler, Georgia, and myself for the year. It is possible to bring family and while some do it; others do not. There are many reasons why we have chosen to stay back in the states; such as not having primary medical care for Tyler and myself. Other concerns were risking to find a fully furnished apartment off base as many airmen have occupied these right outside of the gate due to on base construction. We would only be allowed to bring 600 pounds of our total household goods for our entire family! Not much allowed for standard necessities!! With intense work hours; we would prefer to have a family and friend support structure with a new baby. Finally, we have prayed and talked intensely about this and feel that this is where God is leading us. We have not closed the door on moving over if He choses to guide us in that direction at any point this next year. For now; we feel an incredible peace about this decision and are excited for many opportunities to see each other. (If you look at the map below; Andy will be stationed an hour outside of the capital city Seoul on the northern part. The base is called Osan AFB...http://www.osan.af.mil).

We will be leaving Arizona early to mid November and heading to Sacramento, CA to stay with Andy's parents. Andy will leave first week of December for Korea and I will be living with them for a few months until I can make my first trip out to see him in March. Since they live so close to Travis AFB, I am able to fly with Tyler for free, Space available, on their military aircraft whenever I want! We are planning to go three months apart and 1 month on as I am able to visit Korea for 30 days at a time. Sometime in April I will be heading with the Honda and trailer to live with my friend Eve at Columbus AFB in Mississippi for the remainder of the year. I will continue to fly up to CA and wait for space A hops to visit...or maybe we will meet in Hawaii!!! (yes please :)) I am hoping to take advantage of this time to see my parents in Indiana and visit friends & family in MN as well. With all that said, we ask for your prayers and support during our upcoming transition and for continual guidance from God...we are excited to see what he has in store for us! That brings me to my next topic....GERMANY!
As of a few weeks ago, we received our "follow-on" assignment; meaning where we will be stationed for the 3 years after Andy's Korea tour. Andy called me on a Friday at about 5:30 saying that the "drop" came down. This basically means that out of the A-10 bases to select from (Tucson, AZ, Valdosta, GA, & Spangdahlem, Germany) they tell you how many openings are at each location. Now mind you, it has been our dream to live in Germany for a while now. Typically you are given your top pick based on how you ranked in your training class...not this time! They rolled dice! Did you read that??? They rolled dice for their assignement!!! I couldn't believe it. Andy and one other guy rolled a 6 for the two spots available; which means they got it! We will move there sometime next December ('09) or January ('10) once Andy comes back from Korea. We are super excited for this amazing opportunity to explore Europe and to eat some good, authentic Brautwurst :) Being 100% german; I will be in heaven! (looking at the map you will see "Rhine Valley" which is in between Frankfurt to the east and the country Luxembourg to the west. This is the area we will be living. The base is called Spangdahlem AFB...http://www.spangdahlem.af.mil.. in the quaint village of Spangdahlem, Germany). If you feel like speaking Deutsch; come and visit!!

Shower Time!

This past Sunday, my dear friend Haley hosted a beautiful shower at her home. My friend Eve (who sent out the invites) coordinated with her to make this a "mail shower" where you mail the gifts to Haley's home since most people are out of state. Anywho, Eve and my friend Rebecca did an excellent job making the invitations and the "advice" cards that were sent to many of you...I really enjoyed reading them and need all the advice I can get :) Haley put a ton of work into the cute clothesline decorations and wonderful spread of food-you rock!! It has been such a blessing getting to know her during my time here in Tucson and I know our pups Georgia and Polly appreciate our friendship too...means more playdates for them! In addition, my Minnesota friends Lacey and Ann coordinated the "diaper bag game" by mailing a diaper bag filled with goodies that we had to guess the price of. It was a wonderful surprise and Ann if you are reading this...I know the Reeses were your idea :) Love them!! To all you ladies: Thank you so much for throwing me this shower. I feel so blessed to have wonderful friends like you who are a Godly example of support and love during such a new and exciting time for us...thanks!!!! Haley and I with the oh so yummy food we are about to devour!!
"Tyler William Korsmo" on the yellow cake with choc frosting...my fave...thanks Haley :)
The clothesline of belly progression photos...what a cute idea!!
Opening gifts with a rather weird smile on my face :)
Ahhh...yes....Butt Paste!

Tyler will be so cute in his "My First Thanksgiving" ensemble sent from family in Minnesota :)
Reading cards (and still don't know what's up with the weird expressions on my face)
MY STROLLER!!! Thanks to my MN family :)
The group of gals at the shower...Andy's mom, sister, Aunt, and niece, along with some spouses from Andy's training class. Thanks for coming out everyone!! And to all of you who are reading this from out of state: thank you for showering us with gifts from afar (isn't that in the Bible somewhere??) Although you may not be the 3 Wise Men; we appreciate all the efforts put into mailing these wonderful gifts and cannot say thank you enough...our hearts are so full :)
At home after the shower to say hi to Andy
Andy attempting to figure out the baby sling...I told him he was close :)
Great picture of Andy & mom in the squadron for a quick tour and lesson on a mock A-10 cockpit...looks like she could be the next fighter pilot in the family :)