Christmas Peace

My friend Megan wrote a beautiful post that is a great follow-up to my last one. Though many are hurting, we know that the Prince of Peace comes to offer hope! If you don't have time to read the whole thing (which you should!), at least scroll down and read what's in green toward the bottom...

A Revelation

I have been given an amazing gift this Christmas season. It was probably costly, but not expensive. It is laced with beauty, but not found in diamonds or jewels. No, this Christmas season I've been given the gift of understanding.

Understanding how awesome it is that Jesus came to our world.

Understanding the idea that He began His journey to redeem the world on that lonely Christmas night.

Understanding what the true meaning of Christmas is all about.

In my devotions, I've been reading about the promise of Christ throughout the entire Old Testament. How Christ has reigned supreme since the very beginning of time. God revealed Christ for the very first time when He said to the serpent, "You will bruise His heel, but He will crush your head." Again, He declared the promise to Abram when He declared that "all the peoples of the earth shall be blessed through you." Abram knew God wasn't talking about Him, but of the One who was to come through Abram's line of descent. David received the promise of the Messiah when the Lord God said, "your kingdom will reign forever." Again, David knew it had nothing to do with him, but everything to do with God redeeming the world.

In the book of Isaiah, we find four songs of the servant, which can also be referred to as Messianic prophecies. One that has always been read during the Christmas season is Isaiah 9:6-7:

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this."

What I find to be amazing are the verses that precede this text, rarely ever read together:

"Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan - The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For unto us a child is born...."

Do you see what I'm getting at? How incredible it is that the one who brought peace came in the form of a baby! I have many other thoughts on this that I will write in another post, but for now I want to focus on the issue of peace. Reading my friend Sara's blog the other day, reminded me of the war-filled world we live in. Having her husband as an Army Chaplain, I doubt that she is ever able to think otherwise. It is sad for me to read stories of real people who are losing their lives. Men and women who are fighting for our country, but also wars that are taking place around the world that we don't even know about. Civil wars like the ones in Africa, tribal wars, religious wars, etc. take place always. Will peace ever come to be in this world of hatred and hurt?

Yet, in this passage in Isaiah, God says that there is One greater than all of this. There is One who will bring peace. And peace means so much more than just an absence of war or an inner calm. My devotion suggested it as, "completeness, wholeness, fullness, soundness, firmness, safety, well-being, prosperity, and contentment." Being a Wonderful Counselor indicates wisdom and royalty; "Mighty God" is associated with power and victory; "Everlasting Father" points to His eternal and divine origins; and "Prince of Peace" means he brings peace and well-being to the earth.

It is so humbling to me to think of my God coming to earth as a human. Think of a baby you know and love; maybe your own child. Think of Christ in that precious form. Knowing that those tiny hands would be nailed to a cross. That those tiny little feet would take the grueling steps toward redeeming the world as the world threw insults and hatred at him. That his sweet, soft skin would be covered in stripes of blood. And that through all of this, we have the promise of peace. True peace that no President, pastor or peace treaty can provide.

Why is it we tend to bypass this great truth? Why do we only look to the cross on Easter? For truly, that little baby was looking to the cross on that miraculous Christmas night. I will never cease to be thankful.

Updates via Crayon Box

We had a great time away last weekend! Jon got a 4-day weekend (thanks to Columbus Day), so we headed up to the mountains of North Carolina with some friends from Fayetteville, Rocky & Carolyn. It was so good to get away for a couple days and be with friends. I was a little concerned about how Sophie would do with the two golden retrievers, but she fell in love with them! If only they would have stayed still long enough, I think she would have "loved" their eyes out!

We went out on the boat, and Jon & Rocky found an area with really thick mud... we had fun! Carolyn and Sophie stayed clean on the boat!

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Those pics were taken with Rocky's phone. Remember when we were kids (well, at least when I was a kid) and we had toy cameras? We'd hold them up and have everyone say "cheese" and pretend to take their picture. If only we actually had all the pretend pictures taken with the toy camera at my grandparents' house, I think we'd have some stories to tell!

Anyway... a couple weeks ago we were at a friend's birthday party, and this little boy had a toy cell phone. I thought it was hilarious when he held it up and said, "Say cheese! I'm gonna take your picture!"

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Yes, I have entered that stage of life. The stage where things like goldfish and Cheerios are bought in bulk. I officially feel like a mom.





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I have also entered the stage where I go to sleep on a Friday night with snare drums playing in the distance. (read: I went to bed before the high school football game was over.) And that was AFTER sleeping on the couch for a half hour. And when I did go to bed, can you guess what was competing with the snare drums for playing time in my mind? "Super why, Super why, with the Super Readers, we're gonna fly..." If you have never heard those words, you are apparently not presently in that stage.

Ah yes, how the mighty have fallen. Some of you know how ardently I have kept Soph from the TV. Well, she still watches very very little. But what can I say, at 6:30 in the morning when she thinks it's playtime, a lap tray full of Cheerios and PBS Kids allow me that few extra minutes of sleep on the couch...

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Sophie is pulling up! Of course, the first place she did it was her crib... Jon went in to get her and found her standing up at the end! Time to take out the bumper... Since then, she has started pulling up on pretty much everything. She gets such a look of accomplishment on her face when she stands up!

She loves to watch the rain from the slider. She also loves to play with the blinds.



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Jon has been super busy. A lot of marital and PTSD issues come out in the 60-90 day window after redeployment... which we're currently right in the middle of. So, his counseling load is incredible. He really is glad he is able to help so many Soldiers, but we're both looking forward to things calming down a bit.

Every couple of months, he has EOC (Emergency On-Call) duty. There is a certain cell phone that all the Chaplains take turns with. That way, if anyone needs a Chaplain after-hours, they don't have to track down their unit Chaplain... which also means no one needs to give out their personal numbers. It really is a great thing - a lot of problems that happen happen at night and on the weekends. Jon has it right now and was up from 2-4am on the phone. Again, it's so great to help people - and great to pass the phone off to someone else! :-)

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I start a new class on Monday. Blah. I took Classical Social Theory last term (which I loved, by the way) and am starting Contemporary Social Theory now. I am really not looking forward to it. I love the actual subject matter - it's the reading and writing I hate. More so the writing than the reading. From the syllabus, this class looks like less work than the last one, though, so hopefully it will go ok.

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All for now - have a great weekend!

Weekend of 603d

My pumpkin candle is lit, and I'm eating carrot-sweet potato-ginger-lentil soup. The windows are open, because it's in the 70s. Aah, fall.

We had a great weekend- albeit incredibly busy! Friday evening we had a farewell dinner for Jon's Commander. That basically entails an hour of mingling, a nice dinner (it was at an Irish pub instead of the typical roasted chicken-beef stroganoff meal we're used to having at these events!), followed by another hour of speeches and gift-giving. It was cool to meet some of the spouses of the guys Jon deployed with, but I could do without the hour of speeches...

After that we went out with Aaron & Jenny. Aaron was Jon's roommate in Iraq, and Jenny and I also became good friends while they were deployed. They're leaving in a few short weeks to go to their next duty station- sad to see them go!

Saturday was the battalion "Welcome Home Party"- basically a 5-hour long picnic. It was pretty fun. Jon got to push Sophie on the swing which she LOVED!! She had been on one before, but not since we were up north over the summer, and never with Daddy! Somehow everything is just more fun with Dad around...

Sunday after church we headed over to Aaron & Jenny's- Jenny & I went to the Commander's wife's farewell with the spouses (Aaron and Jon stayed with the kids- I could get used to that! ;-). Another chance to talk and eat food- gotta love it! I think the chocolate chip cookie dough cheese ball was the highlight, but maybe that's just me... Dawn went out of her way to make me feel welcome in the unit, even joining in the middle of the deployment, and I appreciated her a lot. She has a son about 6 months older than Sophie, so it has been fun to watch the kids grow! It was great to get together with all these spouses one last time, as many of them will be leaving soon... only in the Army are you one of the "old hats" after 6 months in a place! :-) We came back, made homemade pizza, and hung out past Sophie's bedtime... again...

Anyway, that was our weekend. Lots of fun!

As soon as I can find my camera cord I'll be posting some pictures of Soph... now that Jon is home, I'm not so diligent about taking and uploading pics. The fact that I haven't been able to locate my battery charger since Michigan might just play into that too...

Ok, much to catch up on- later!

Remix: Supporting the Troops

Last Saturday we spent some time with two couples, the husbands of which were deployed with Jon in 05-06. We had an incredibly fascinating conversation (gotta love those 2am solving-the-world's-problems discussions! :-) precipitated by a question posed from Jon.

First, let me give some background- Shawn has been in the Army in one fashion or another for 16 years. Active Duty Enlisted, then later as a National Guard Officer. They have a 12-year-old, an 8-year-old, and a 1-year-old.

Andrew (aka "Mac") has been in for... uh... a little help here, Lori? I don't know. I think longer than I have been alive! He was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and has led a fascinating life. He also spent time Active Duty and National Guard, Enlisted and Officer. He has deployed with the Army 3 times (I think?) and last year went back to Iraq with Blackwater working security.

I tell you that just to say- this group is as "Armified" as any. Experiences are broad and varied.

So when the question was posed: "What does supporting the troops mean?" - the answers were equally as broad and varied.

I think that's what was most interesting to me. For each of the three Soldiers and each of the three spouses, it meant something different. It meant different things to each of us both on the giving and receiving end.

What we agreed on was that it is different for everybody, and that basically, if a person FEELS like they're supporting the troops, they are. Or, if a Soldier (or any other person in uniform) FEELS supported, then someone is doing the supporting. We agreed that it is an attitude above all, but that actions must follow.

Lori made a great point that love languages play into it- which is why how Mac feels "supported" and how Shawn does and how Jon does is different.

Some thought that the yellow stickers on cars were a great sign, others thought it was a futile showing. Some thought packages and letters were great, others wanted to be left alone. The guys (and spouses) appreciate being thanked by people, though most admitted that was more because they know it really meant something to the person saying it than that they wanted to be recognized. The idea was also thrown out that getting involved in the political process- even just understanding the war- is the best way to support our troops.

I think it's easy to find ways living in a place like Savannah, Georgia, where every other person you see is military. But what about someone living in Cedar Springs, Michigan, who possibly NEVER sees or is exposed to the military?

I have a lot of other thoughts on this. Our conversation the other night was well over an hour long...

But, before I rant too much, I'm going to ask again, whether you're a member of the military, a spouse, or a civilian- What does "Supporting the Troops" look like to you? You can read people's comments the last time I posed this question here.

Just curious.

Vacation!

You know how when you know you need to do something, the longer you put it off, the harder it is to ever come back and actually do it?

Welcome to my blog. Sorry for the silence.

We've been busy! I am stewing some actual real thoughts for later this week; for now, it's bullet points:

~ We went to a cabin in Pine Mountain, GA last week for a few days. Full kitchen, cable, fireplace, jacuzzi- that's my idea of camping! :-) (Jon swears that's not real camping... whatever... close enough for me!)

~ While there, we visited the Little White House in Warm Springs. FDR went to Warm Springs to help his polio before and during his presidency. In a time where heated bath tubs had yet to be invented, natural springs that flow warm (an average of 88 degrees year-round) were very helpful for sore muscles. He had a house built there that later earned the nickname Little White House. I would highly recommend this site- it is fascinating. I really appreciated that, instead of using it all for himself, he donated much of his own money- and raised more- to open a center there that other people could come to- especially kids. There were pictures and videos of him playing in the pool with these kids who would otherwise never be able to swim- very cool.

~ We also went to the Naval Civil War Museum in Columbus. It was pretty interesting. I don't know. I don't really like war. I don't like people dying. I don't particularly enjoy seeing it and reading about it. The only thing I hate worse than the thought of people dying is the thought of people dying in water. I hate open expanses of water. I wouldn't have married Jon if he were in the Navy instead of the Army.

I joke.

Maybe.

But- Jon really enjoys boats and history, and he went to the Tea Room with me the day before...

~ On the way home we stopped at a big peach farm for some homemade cobbler and ice cream! They had some big tractors at a playground- Great-Grandpa Nave would be proud...

~ We went to our friend Mac's birthday party on Saturday! It was supposed to be a surprise... alas and alack, such things rarely work out. Mac and Jon became good friends on their first deployment, and it was so good to get together with them. We talked about how we all (Mac & Lori, and Shawn & Tracy) got together at their house just days after they got back from Iraq... little did we know what would happen! Two babies, Jon went back to Iraq, Mac went to Iraq through Blackwater, Mac & Shawn are gearing up to go to Afghanistan next year... things have come full circle, it seems...

Ok, I suppose that was more paragraphs than bullets. Ah well, whatareyagonnado.

Anyway, here's some pics of vacation!

Getting ready for about 15 years from now...

As you can see, Sophie loved the FDR Museum... btw- that little "Moses" is in her hand pretty much all the time- she'll throw down a teething ring after about 10 seconds but has been chomping on him for weeks!

She must take after her dad- she's a little water baby!

Sophie striking a Vana pose- notice the title on the wall...

Wedding pics

First of all- she got it! My friend will be flying to China tomorrow! Please continue to keep her in your prayer as she begins this new ministry!

Well, we're down to single digits! I have everything I need to do broken down into days so the few days before Jon gets home I can pretty much relax. I just have a little more to do tonight then I can cross today off! I have realized that, since having a baby, I have had to be MUCH more organized with my time. This week has been especially hard, as Jon has essentially nothing to do... except chat online with me! I LOVE it- don't get me wrong- it's just hard to get my to-do list done! :-) So, my most productive hours of late have been between about 9pm and 1am. Oh well, I tend to be a night owl anyway!

Here are some more pics from the wedding, from my sister-

my brother Matt and sister Andrea

The whole fam, minus Jon. Gotta love those semi-posed shots where 4 different people are holding up cameras and no one knows where to look or when to smile...

the happy couple...

Update on my friend

I was able to chat with "A" tonight! (If you haven't read my previous post, you can do it here.) I'm sure that by the time most of you read this the story will have changed again... but I'm equally as confident she will need your prayer in whatever stage the "story" is in!

Here's the latest:

I went to the consulate this morning (I got there about 5 minutes before it closed) and tried to apply for a tourist visa. The woman at the service desk told me that in order to apply for this type of visa, I needed to have a flight leaving China as well as certified hotel reservations. After leaving the consulate I got in touch with a friend (a classmate from Moody) who gave me access to his computer all afternoon to try and get all of the paper work together.

I now have a plane ticket to Thailand in September, as well as a hotel reservation - BUT I am having trouble getting the hotel reservations emailed to me, with the "certified" red stamp. Please press into prayer particularly that the ALL OF THE PAPERWORK would be done by tomorrow morning and that it would be sufficient for the consulate tomorrow morning. The woman at the consulate this morning was helpful, but extremely firm that visa restrictions are very tight and increasingly difficult to obtain.

I am also having difficulties with my domestic flight within China - I've had to change it several times now, through a travel agency in China, and will have to change it again, but have to wait for the travel agency to open in a few hours before I can contact them.

From chatting with her tonight, she is *fairly* confident this will all work out... IF her paperwork is in order. If not, well, she'll go back to her parents' and try to figure out what her next move is. Please keep her in your prayer as she is physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted at this point. The trip was brief and emotionally difficult, she is anxious about her new ministry, and needs His peace to get her through this. Thanks so much- I'll keep you posted!

Please pray...

A dear friend of mine has been a missionary in China. She came home this month to see her aunt (recently given only a few months to live) one last time... and is having problems getting back into China. When she gets back she will be working with prostitutes in a creative access country... obviously a dangerous and intense ministry...

Here is an email I received earlier today- I got a brief update a couple hours ago that she is still stuck and it's not looking good... (I am leaving out her name because of the sensitivity of her ministry)

As you know, "A" was supposed to fly back to Beijing today. I just got a call from one of her friends who was at the airport this morning to see her off. She said that there is a problem with A's visa. Her visa doesn't expire until the end of the month, which should have been fine. But, apparently, she had to be in country by July 11th. They would not let her fly all the way to Beijing on that visa. They did let her fly to Chicago, and once there, A will go to the consulate and try to get a new visa. She has a flight booked from Chicago to Beijing tomorrow. This is an urgent prayer request as she will need to get her visa by then - which would be unusually fast. But, we know that God can do this if He wants her on that flight! For today, please pray that she could make it to the consulate before it closes, that she would talk with someone who can help her, and that she could get her visa before her flight leaves tomorrow.

The Great North Part I

I have had this post up working on it several times now... I need to just go ahead and post this and finish it later!!

Ah! Another update! Today's will be presented in bulleted form, for ease of reading...

~ I have gone to the PWOC at Hunter (where Jon is now stationed) twice now. It is a very small group- just 5 or 6 women- but I am so much looking forward to being a part of their fellowship! They are all so eager to learn more about Christ and build a community. I have felt SO welcomed there already and plan to be in leadership (of course, with a group that small, EVERYONE is in leadership :)

~ We made it to my parents' a day early! I had it all planned out... I was going to put Sophie in her bumbo on their porch, ring the doorbell, and hide... unfortunately my dad happened to walk into another room and happened to look out the window the same exact moment I was crouching and running across the yard with Sophie... oh well... they were still surprised!

~ We had a great time with them, and she loved it too! She went on a couple walks with Grandpa, and loved it when Grandma fed her her applesauce!

~ We then went to Jon's dad's on Wednesday evening. She wasn't too sure about Poppy at first, but was giggling for him by the end of the night! (I think the bananas I was trying to feed her factored into her initial displeasure...)

~ On Thursday, we all loaded up to Jon's sister Emily's for the day. Another sister, Sarah, was in town, so Sophie had a great time with all sorts of cousins! There were four new Fisher girls this past year- three of them were all there that day. Of course, we couldn't get them to all look at the camera at the same time, but it was great fun! Eliza was born last May, and Alice is about 6 weeks younger than Sophie. In every picture, one or two of them is reaching out to grab another... I think the pic below is my favorite!

~ Sunday we went to my "old" church- it was so great to reconnect with people! They recently built a new building, so in many ways it feels like a whole new church. I look forward to being able to go there a couple more times while we're here!

~ Yesterday Sophie and I are took the day "off"- we spent the whole day at an empty house by ourselves! The last two weeks have been so busy, with so many new people, (in addition to what I already mentioned, on Saturday we came to Jon's brother's house, and yesterday we went to my brother's) - Sophie really needs a couple days to settle down.

~ This morning we went to Pine Ridge Bible Camp, where I worked in various roles for 7 summers. As I walked in to talk to one of the staff, a cabin leader (what PRBC calls "counselors") was asking a question about something. Brenda said, "Why don't you ask Sara? She's a veteran!" Jon doesn't understand why I keep going back to a "closed chapter" in my life- but I spent so much time there, I just can't stay away! :-)

Ok, that's it for now... more later!!!

Update!

I'm back!

We got moved in fine- it actually wasn't nearly as stressful as I was anticipating! Thanks so much to Andrew, Lori, Misty, Jenny, & Dawn for helping in various ways! Couldn't have done it without you!!

We were here for a whopping one whole day before packing up and heading to Atlanta for the weekend! We closed on the house Thursday morning and left from there. Leah & Katie, two of our students from Grace, came over to Rocky & Carolyn's house for dinner (see girls- I told you you'd make it on the blog! :-) We had a great time hanging out and catching up!

Friday morning we went to the school for the Awards Ceremony. I don't think ANYONE saw Sophie without commenting on how much she looks like Jon! I think my favorite comment was a staff member saying to Carolyn, "I saw Sara, then I looked down and saw Jon... in a dress!"

Saturday we went to Hudon & Carolene's (Sophie's "adoptive" grandparents)- Sophie loved taking her nap on Carolene!

We rushed from there to graduation! I am so happy for all these kids... hmm... maybe not "kids" anymore! :-)

It was really refreshing to hang out with Rocky & Carolyn. She even commented that she wasn't sure how it would go- we usually are together as couples! It was so great, though- it's nice to know that friends are still friends, even when circumstances pull us geographically apart.

In Sophie news, we've been doing solids for a couple weeks! She is doing so well- I am so proud of her! She's rolling over, scooting all over the place (though quite accidentally), and talking up a storm!

My week... and a half...

You may have noticed I've been missing- I had a good friend in town last week and was too busy to blog! Here is part of what has happened since my last post...

~ 1st Brigade came home!!! Beth and I went to 3 welcome home ceremonies (they arrived on 14 different flights). What an exciting thing to be a part of! It is held at a parade field. You can just feel the excitement, suspense, anxiousness, and joy in the air! People start gathering about an hour before the anticipated arrival, and there are several short videos showing on a huge screen (you know, entertaining things like Army Safety and 5 Years of War...) The soldiers fly in to Hunter Army Airfield (about an hour from here- this is actually where Jon is stationed out of now) then are bussed over to Ft. Stewart. The announcer periodically announces how far away they are, followed by cheering. (well, except for the time that he announced "They're 30 minutes away!" 10 minutes AFTER announcing "They're 25 minutes away!")

When the busses come through the back gate, the announcer tells everyone to stand up and look to the right... and just about then, you can see several big white busses coming down the road! There is much cheering, clapping, and waving while they go by.

The next 5 minutes seem to take FOREVER- and I wasn't even waiting for my husband! The soldiers pile off the busses, get in formation, and FINALLY walk through a line of trees! There is a short ceremony (the National Anthem plays, the Garrison Commander talks for like a minute- literally- then we all sing the 3ID song and the Army song)- then, the GC says, "Audience- go congratulate your soldier!" or some such thing- I think once it was "greet your soldier" and once it was "attack your soldier"...

At that point, the crowd rushes out to the field. It was interesting for Beth and I to stay in the stands at that point, and just observe. Dads who were meeting their babies for the first time. Others who said good-bye to newborns and are coming home to toddlers (15 months is a long time...) Some wives literally ran and jumped into their husbands' arms, while others just stared at each other from a few feet away before embracing. It was quite moving.

~ Having Beth here was WONDERFUL! We met in the beginning of 6th grade- we were both in Student Leadership Council and met in the hall on the way to the first meeting. We have been friends ever since. It's funny to think that I have been friends with Beth for well over half my life. I'll admit, I was afraid having her come for a whole week that we would run out of things to talk about or get on each others' nerves... but neither happened. I'm trying to get her to fly down in June and drive back up with me... or marry a soldier... maybe both...

~ I went to our Hunter Spouses Club luncheon on Tuesday, and met several new people. One is Jon's roommate's wife- it was really great to meet her. Another is a new wife- been married 8 months, is expecting in 6 weeks, and her husband deployed last Saturday. I am so glad that she came out to the luncheon- as I've said before, the best way to meet people is to get yourself out there! It is so easy to be miserable and have a pity-party... the best way to combat that is to enjoy the good things about the Army.

~ Sophie started giggling! She doesn't do it really often- every couple days or so- but it is GREAT! She seems to laugh the most either while or right after eating... I think she takes after me in that... I love this picture- "What are you talking about? I'm not eating my hands..."

~ The house has been showing about twice a week... now we just need someone to want to buy it! :-)

~ Classes are going well. After I got over syllabus shock, I don't think it will be too bad. Midterms are next week already... gotta love 8 week terms...

~ I took over keeping track of our Chaplains' Spouses Roster- the lady who was doing it is PCSing. Not a huge task, but it will be great because I can get to know the new ladies as soon as they move in, hopefully getting them plugged in to the group. I look forward to that.

For now, I am working on trying to not feel like an 8th grader as I work on my science vocab terms...

Friends!!

Sophie and Layla... mere seconds before Layla thought it would be a great idea to attempt to use Sophie as a jungle gym...

Monday already??

What a weekend! We made a whirlwind trip up to Atlanta to see friends- it was so much fun!

We started out at Hudon and Carolene's house for lunch. This is a couple that Jon lived with when he lived in Fayetteville the first time, before he met me. They absolutely fell in love with Jon (how could you not?), and I have enjoyed getting to know them over these past few years as well. Since Carolene couldn't get Jon married off to anyone in her own family, she has "adopted" us- though Sophie has 3 grandparents, 6 great-grandparents, and 1 great-great grandmother still with us, there is always room for a set of adopted grandparents as well! Carolene just couldn't bear to put her down all day- and Sophie seemed to enjoy getting loved on!

Then we went to Rocky and Carolyn's- these are good friends of ours from when we lived there. It was so great to reconnect with them! The last time we made plans to get together, Sophie changed them by deciding to enter the outside world that same weekend...

Sunday morning we went to Fayette Bible Church- I realize more and more how little I matter when I have a baby in my arms! It was great to see not only people from the church, but several of the students as well! (though it was weird that a couple jr. high boys who were shorter than me when we left now tower over me, only a year later...)

After that, we went to Jon's old guard unit for his farewell and awards ceremony. I'll let you read Jon's blog about that (hopefully he'll post tonight...) but suffice it to say it was REALLY cool- I'm so proud of him!!

Sophie must have been so tired from the weekend that she only got up ONCE in the middle of the night! I have been working on spacing out her feedings a little more and getting more scheduled- knock on wood, but I think it may be paying off! I fed her at about 8:45pm, she woke up at about 2:45, then not again until almost 7! For being a wee 7lbs, I don't think I could ask for much more...

Anyway, I'm off to unpack and do laundry! Hope y'all have a great day!

Our Weekend

Rocky and Carolyn, some good friends from Fayetteville, visited us for Memorial Day weekend. We had a great time! On Sunday we toured Savannah, including a historical bus tour. Okokok, so I know it sounds corny, but really, I thought it was quite fascinating. Savannah has such a rich history that such things are informative and interesting. We followed it up with a progressive dinner- appetizers at one place, dinner at another, and topped it off with dessert... now that's the way to see a city! (btw- the pictures were taken AFTER dessert, after a long day of walking around the city...)



On Monday we toured the Warrior's Walk at Ft. Stewart- you can read about it at my husband's site. After a great steak dinner, we sent them on their way and spent the rest of the evening recovering from a busy weekend! (Man, I must be getting old... this used to be par for the course...)

My Sunday

I did something tonight I have not done for a LONG time: attended an after-evening-service fellowship dinner.

Now that I'm doing Kids Church, attending an evening service has become much more important. (Even though I still make it for the last 45 minutes or so of the Gospel Service after packing up Kids Church, it doesn't fulfill my need for what church should *feel* like.)

With Jon gone this week, I ventured out on my own to a local church here in Hinesville. I sat near the back, and about five minutes into the service I realized, when they all filed in late, that I had inadvertently sat in the teen section... when I looked across the auditorium and saw Misty, a new friend from PWOC, I took the opportunity to move.

After the service, she convinced me to stay for the Chili Dinner... and I'm glad I did! Okokok, so I didn't meet anyone new (other than a few people who smiled and shook my hand then promptly forgot I exist), but it was great getting to know Misty a little better. She hosted a get-together Friday night (PWOC has them monthly), and that was the first time I ever really got the chance to talk to her. This is their first Duty Station as well, and about 2 months after they got here her husband deployed. I'm looking forward to spending time with her!

And I have to admit... I'm a sucker for potlucks. I have always loved them... what can I say, I'm a casserole girl...

I also finished my first paper for my new class: American Social Problems. I can already tell this course will be WAY better than the last two...

btw... if you don't frequent it, check out my husband's blog- he just posted some picks of his trip to Vicksburg today!

time to say goodbye

I began this morning yet another thing that has been on my "to do" list for a long time...

I am in the process of going through all my pictures from middle and high school. It is pretty interesting, looking at glimpses of the people and things I used to hold so dear.

I have quite literally forgotten that many of those people existed... and yet, I have hundreds of pictures of them.

Some of them I saved, of course. I have two friends from high school I still keep in touch with. Two. I kept ones of them.

I also kept a couple pictures from youth group days (probably because you've been reading, Derrick...)- those really were good times.

But you know what? The overwhelming majority of them I'm outright throwing away. I suppose everyone hits that point in life, the point that you realize all those adults that told you you wouldn't be friends forever were right. I maintain that I still have Sara and Beth... which is more than most people probably do.

I'll admit, it was harder to part with college pictures. Those friends were in the more recent past, and they also were a bigger part of shaping who I am... even still, I only saved a few of the group pictures...

And THEN... there were the letters... boxes of notes from junior high (though now they just skip the paper and text message each other...)

I have moved this stuff several times; not doing it again... so we now have a cleared-out spare room if you ever want to come see us!!!

Who Knew?

Apparently, so I hear, it's basketball season again.

I was invited to participate in two brackets- one with my old work and one with my family -but I wasn't sure I wanted to break my rocking awesome winning streak from last year (okokok, so the ONLY time I won- or participated- was last year...). I bit the bullet, though, and guessed primarily on seed.

So have any of you ever heard of some place called Old Dominion?

There were actually about 6 or 7 teams I had never heard of... I didn't pick those teams.

I am certainly not going to be trash talking, because I don't want it to bite me.

I will just remind you all- especially Josh, Chris, Ken, and Derek- the feelings of utter defeat and loss that they felt last year...

weekend trip

here are some pics from this weekend- we went back to the lakehouse in north carolina with rocky and carolyn. the colors aren't quite as bright as in michigan, but very beautiful nonetheless- especially in the mountains. we rode motorcycles through the smokies to gatlinburg (hence the warm clothing!)- we had a great time! the first picture is off the deck of the house we stayed at, and the others are on the road. in the one of us on the rocks, there is a stream flowing through the rocks- it was gorgeous.

southern beauty

we had a wonderful weekend. carolyn, a good friend and teacher at grace, has a beautiful house on a lake in the mountains of north carolina. i didn't actually take the picture above; i dare say that where we were at was even more beautiful. we drove up late friday night and came back sunday morning- i think even being there was so relaxing it felt like a 4-day weekend. it was fantastic. we have been really fortunate to meet carolyn and her husband rocky. we have "clicked" from the beginning, and they have made the transition much easier for me. carolyn's parents and grandfather we also there; i felt totally at home and relaxed the whole time. it actually reminded me of being at my grandparents' a little- what a warm feeling!

monday, monday

another monday.

a couple weeks ago my 7th graders chose between several topics to write a paragraph on. many chose "why i hate mondays".

ah well. it was a good weekend, but busy. jon had a soccer game on friday, which unfortunately i didn't get to go to. it was an hour and a half away, and since two teachers were already out that day, and jon and josh (the assistant coach) were also leaving (at NOON in order to get to the game on time), i had to stay and hold down the fort. a loud, bouncing, hormone-crazy, pushing-the-envelope fort. the team did win, though; they are now 3-3! this is the school's fourth year with a soccer team; the first three seasons combined they won only one game. i am very proud of them all- coach and players! :-)

we also began the house hunt this weekend. our realtor had emailed us info on about 60 houses (not exaggerating), which we narrowed down to 15 that we drove by on saturday. we narrowed those down to 7 that we walked through with the realtor last night, and a couple of them look like definite possibilities! the nice thing is that we have no date that we HAVE to be out of our current house (it's a month-by-month rental), so we don't have to settle for anything we don't love.

we had two couples from church over for lunch yesterday. that was fun. just like at kent city, jon and i contribute to the oh-so-small population of "married-with-no-kids"- fortunately, we aren't the ONLY ones, so it's nice to hang out together. one of the wives works here with jon and me, and she and i have become good friends. the other couple has been married only a few months, and she is from england- they met while he was working there with Operation Mobilization (a missions agency).

well, i best be going- our morning teachers' meeting begins in one minute. and so it begins again...