Josey got a new job!

Hello friends, family,

Some of you may already know this. But my husband got a new job! It's been killing me to keep a secret of this magnitude for almost a month. Not that I can't keep secrets . . . it's just hard keeping exciting secrets like this. Like when I get pregnant, it's really hard for me to wait the 12 weeks. But I do it. I just need to distract myself.

This new job is actually a complete career change. He's going from being a middle school band teacher to being an Air Force band conductor. Still conducting, still band, but the caliber of musicians, very different. This has been his ultimate career goal, this job. We didn't think he'd get it for quite some time because 1) he hasn't even finished his master's yet 2) he's still really young and hasn't had a ton of conducting experience.

But, he qualified for the job! He has been taking conducting lessons from a retired conducting professor from Indiana State. He also has been in touch with the band director here in Colorado Springs. He's been working hard all year long. He sent in a DVD of himself conducting in February, and he made the first cut.

The second audition was in person, in Washington D.C. Joe conducted the band there for about 20 minutes, and then he took a very difficult music theory test for about an hour and a half. I don't mean to brag (maybe I do a little bit), but out of the 12 contestants, only two of them passed this exam, one of them being my husband.

So what does this mean for our future? Well, there is still much uncertainty. First, Joe needs to get out of the National Guard. He's working on it right now. It should be okay, but it's turning into a lengthy process. Second, he needs to finish his master's, which will be accomplished in July. Third, he needs to go to 13 weeks of Officer Training. That will be either the end of July or the beginning of August. All in all, my husband and I will be separated for about 4 months. And we have yet to find out when this Officer Training will actually begin, and where we will be living afterward.

So, mid-June, I'm going to go live with my parents for the next 4 months. I'm excited, and so are my kids! Hopefully my parents will still like us after that long of a visit? I will miss Joe greatly. He will get to come and visit between his master's and Officer Training. But it's still a long haul.

It's going to be a very thrilling career change for him! We will be moving around a lot, and I'm excited about that. There are 15 bands, mostly in the continental U.S. There is a band in Germany and one in Alaska. So we'll see where we end up, right? This is all for now; if you want more details, you can email me or call.