Vaillant Family Update

We received notice of Eric's change in orders on June 6th.  We quickly started making appointments and getting things in order to obtain family medical clearance for an overseas move.  We submitted everything on our end about 2 weeks after we found out.  After months of waiting Eric received his military orders to Yokota AB in Japan on August 17th.  We quickly started making calls to get our movers and flights scheduled.  Eric basically spent one whole day on the phone just trying to find out who to call to schedule our flights.  This process has been a struggle for sure and we are just so ready to be done with it.  Unfortunately the movers could not come to our storage units until September 6th so my parents are overseeing that for us since Eric's report by date is August 31st.  We will fly out of Dulles International on Monday, August 29th.  We have an hour layover at JFK in New York then will fly straight to Tokyo which is about a 14 hour flight.  Because we booked so last minute we could not fly the military flight direct into base.  From there we will take a 3-4 hour shuttle to base.  We should arrive on base a little after 9pm local time on Tuesday, August 30th (8am local time in MD) so it should be pretty awesome to still be awake.  :)  I am a little nervous about the trip but praying the boys will handle it well and we can all get a little sleep on the way.  We will attend orientations on base Wednesday and Thursday morning at 8am so just hoping we can make it through.  Hayden will likely miss the first 4 days of school but hoping to get him registered on Wednesday which will allow him to start on Friday.  We will look for preschools for Lincoln once we get a little more settled.  We will stay at a temporary housing facility while we wait for a house to open up (1-4 weeks on avg).  Once in a house they will give us loaner furniture until our household goods arrive...sometime in October.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we make our way in a new country.  We have heard a lot of great things about living in Japan and we are so ready to experience all it has to offer.  I know Eric is anxious to get back to work and back in the operating room too.  It has been a blessing to have him off for so long but we are all ready to get back to normal life and a family routine.  Well this momma sure is anyway.  :)  Just wanted to give one last update before we leave!  Here is our new mailing address and most recent family photo.  I'm sure it won't take too long for me to be back on the blog.  Looking forward to posting about our experiences in Japan!!! 

The Vaillant Family
PSC 78 Box 681
APO, AP 96326-0007