We are moving to...

On Thursday, just a few short minutes after complaining about the Army’s delay in telling us where we were headed next, Adam sent me a video of an email in his inbox:

"Good morning, Adam! We’re excited to let you know that you will be moving to….”

The preview cut off there. OF COURSE IT DID. And Adam wanted to wait until he got home for all of us to open it together. I begged him to tell me because I knew my brain and body wouldn’t fare well waiting for the news. But he held strong, and I’m glad he did because it was fun for all of us to find out together!

When I tell you I was SICK to my stomach…I know that sounds dramatic…but the Army buys the cheapest land in the United States for its bases (and there are a few overseas). So there are maybe, like, five good ones and…twenty bad ones. This news was about to determine whether we were going to spend the next few years living in an armpit or butt crack of the United States OR if, by some miracle, we got chosen for one of the few prime locations we were hoping for.

We got to list our preferences a few months ago, however, there are no guarantees in the Army—ever, but especially when it comes to where you’re moving. We were told not to get our hopes up because we picked the same top five that everyone else did: Europe, Seattle, Hawaii, Colorado, and Alaska. Those are the hot spots if you’re choosing where you want to be based on location.

So we listed Europe as #1 (there are lots of bases in Europe; we didn’t get to choose which base/country, the choice was just "Europe"). Our second choice was JBLM near Seattle, and we honestly cannot remember how we ranked the rest of the list, but the others I mentioned earlier were also close to the top.

And thennnnn we waited. And waited. I had dreams of getting stationed in Kentucky and Northern New York. I was like, "Okay, Lord. I get it. You’re preparing me."

Have you guys ever heard the story about how we bought a beautiful house in North Carolina when I was 28 weeks pregnant with Harper, and two weeks later…TWO WEEKS…still unpacking our home…we received orders to move to Fort Benning, Georgia (where we had just moved from and—maybe not an armpit or butt crack…but close)? These things just happen in the Army, and it SUCKS. I am hesitant even to share the news we received because there’s always a chance it could change.

Ultimately, I am constantly reminding myself that God’s plans for our family so far have worked out better than anything I could’ve dreamt up. So, I’m (trying to) hold it all loosely, but it’s hard because…how could I not be excited about moving our family to…

BAVARIA, GERMANY!

Can I just say before I get any further into this that y’all’s lip-reading skills creeped me the hell out? I obviously knew people could see Adam’s mouth, but y’all were on it like white on rice. Someone even guessed, “Bavaria, Germany.” If you’re reading this…girl…I’m impressed, but also, whatttt? No, ma’am, with guessing that. You need a trophy AND a stern talking to.

ANYWAY. We knew by choosing Europe that if we got it, we’d likely end up in Germany because there are several large bases there. However, we had no idea about this base in Bavaria, and we could not be more stoked about the location. I was shocked for hours….I still am, honestly. There were—and still are—so many things to wrap our heads around, I don’t even know where to start. If you quickly Google Bavaria, Germany, you’ll see that it’s beautiful. According to ChatGPT, it's known for its rolling hills, local bakeries, small sleepy German towns, and farms. It’s a rural part of Germany but still super close to Nuremberg, Munich, and Prague!

The details of exactly where and exactly when are still up in the air, but we’ll like be moving sometime around the new year and will be there for two to three years!

My best friend (sadly) just moved from Germany to Japan, and she has been hyping it up since the moment we found out. We’re hearing these will be some of our best years in the Army. The pace of life is slower, the food is fresher, everything is family-friendly, and children are welcomed and doted on by all. And of course, we get to explore a new continent! We experienced all of these things last May when we took our family to Italy, and I can’t wait to fully immerse ourselves fully in all the different cultures of Europe.

There is SO MUCH TO BE DONE before moving overseas—including selling our cars, figuring out what we are bringing and what we will store in the U.S., and working with the Army to coordinate packing and shipping all of our household goods in crates across the ocean (which will take a couple of months to receive once we get there). And then random things pop into my head like—will we have American outlets? Will they have pilates? (No). Will the fridge be so tiny, I have to grocery shop every other day? I’m trying not to get ahead of myself, but the to-do list will be a long one. Good thing I love a to-do list. Aesthetic binders better WATCH OUT because this girl is about to have every piece of paperwork laminated, hole-punched, and sorted alphabetically AND by order of importance to make sure this all goes smoothly.

Normally, I’d be all over Zillow figuring out where we’re going to live, but the Army requires that we either live on the base or, if the base is full, in a home off base that they will help us find. And from what I’ve read, we won’t know anything about where we’re living until we get there. This sounds…a little bit nightmarish for my type-A, I want to know the exact layout and square footage of our home 6 months before we move in, personality. I will say — from the home tours I’ve seen on YouTube, if you’re hoping for beautiful home content, you might want to look elsewhere because military housing isn’t nearly as charming as the little German cottage you’re probably imagining.

Speaking of content, I’m anticipating that living abroad will greatly affect my day-to-day work. Most of the brands I work with are U.S.-based and don’t even ship overseas. There is no Amazon same-day delivery. No Target things to link. And to be honest, I’m looking forward to the forced change. I plan to pour my time into sharing all of our European adventures in long form here on Substack and short form on Instagram Reels and TikTok. But mostly, I want to soak up the time there with my family—it feels like such a blessing to have this opportunity. To be able to say we got to spend a few years raising our kids in Europe…it’s not lost on me how truly special that is.

So here begins our year-ish long countdown and preparation for moving our family to Germany. I can’t wait to share about it all along the way!

Xo, or as they say in German, viele Umarmungen (lots of hugs!)
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