An Heir of Grace » Military Life

Update: Missouri

December 8th, 2008

Three seasons have come and gone since my last post. I have wondered many times if I was ready to hang up the keyboard and find a final resting place for my archives, but deep down I knew the desire to write would surface yet again—and it doesn’t surprise me at all that it happened at three o’clock on a dark, chilly, December morning. Some things don’t change.

I actually began thinking about blogging again when I met a young man who is a good friend of Bren’s from school. He has taught himself web design and I thought it would be neat to have him customize my blog for me. It will be awhile since I’m still working on the design details, but I decided not to wait for the new blog to begin writing again.

To briefly summarize the past eight months:

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Moving — Again

April 13th, 2008

Is it my imagination, or did the girls look like they had fun last night? (Hint: the bikini top-wearing fashion statement is related to me in some way). Amazingly enough, Bren got to sleep by 3 a.m. and was rested enough to keep from falling asleep in church this afternoon.

While I sat in the truck this morning waiting for Bren to emerge from her friend’s house, I rolled the window down so I could smell and feel the cold air. It hit me just how much I am going to miss about Alaska. I love the cold, I just don’t like the brutal frigid air. After I took this pic I hung my hand out the window and tried my best to memorize how good it felt. I know soon enough I will be hanging my sweaty hand out the window, letting it float on the hot Missouri summer air.

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Posted in Church, Family, Military Life, Alaska | 1 Comment »

Hellooooooo?????

March 30th, 2008

Thought I would stop in and grease the blogging wheels here at An Heir of Grace. I’m drafting a post that will explain some big changes that are coming up in our lives rather quickly. Look for it tomorrow (Mon). I kept getting interrupted and didn’t finish it tonight.

This weekend Bren attended the ROTC Ball in Fairbanks with her friend G. They had a wonderful time and she reported afterward that the Ball was much more fun and classy than the prom was last year. Thankfully she has decided to forego the prom this year, even though she’s been invited by an upperclassman. Having a teenage girl can be expensive this time of year! But, as you can see by the pic, I think she’s worth every penny. The girl cleans up perdy good :)

click on pic to enlarge

Posted in People, Family, Military Life | 1 Comment »

November 16th, 2007

The leadership tour that I didn’t want to attend today turned out to be fun and fascinating, and I’m very glad that I went. I didn’t get pics at all our stops unfortunately, but the ones I did get I share here.

preventive maintenance of an F-16

F-16 cockpit

View from the air traffic control tower. The runway is being plowed.

Another view from the ATC. On a clear day Mt. McKinley is clearly visible.

We toured the facility that keeps us alive when it’s 50-below zero F. Here the coal burns at 2000 degrees F. We got to peek in with a protective face shield.

Posted in Military Life 2059 | 3 Comments »

Women 1N De M1l1tary

January 12th, 2007

I grew up in a mi1itary family, I joined the m1litary when I was 19, and I married a career m1litary man. I have known many excellent active duty m1litary women in my lifetime who have been poster ladies for w0men in the m1litary. In jobs where physical strength is not a component in performing a the job well, I think women can and do perform on the job as well as, if not better than men.

All that said, over the past several years I have come to think that America’s m1litary would be stronger if it was void of women.

This realization came to me this evening at a baby shower (odd, I know!) after I took part in a discussion in which I became a bit negative while talking about young people in the military. Something was needling me, but I wasn’t quite sure what. I thought about it during the rest of the shower. Sitting in the car after afterward with a few friends, out of nowhere I said I no longer think that women serv1ng in the m1litary is a very good idea. No one said anything. I contined to think about it all evening.

Once I was home and ready for bed I came down to the livingroom with the laptop to blog, but checked the news first. I was appalled when I saw this article. This woman is married with two children. How does she expect to be treated by men (and women!) in her duty section after this?

I’m going to have to sit and think about this more and write out my reasoning for the conclusion I have come to on this women 1n the m1litary issue. When I do I will combine it with this post and hopefully it will be coherent. I’m much too tired to continue on this line of thought tonight.

If you are a regular reader here and have any specific thoughts on this issue, please leave a comment or email me, as I would like to know what you think (especially family). If you are just surfing through, feel free to leave YOUR thoughts, but don’t criticize me for mine.

Thanks.

p.s. This is a quiet, peaceful blog and I’d like to keep it that way, which is why I camouflaged Mi1itary and W0men. I don’t want every fem1nist in blogland banging down my politically incorrect door.

Posted in General, Military Life | 13 Comments »

I Ain’t No High-Class Broad

November 9th, 2006

Thanks to parent-teacher conferences today and tomorrow, Bren is out of school. The first thing that translates to is: we get to stay up late and get up late. Seriously, I can think of nothing that makes us girls more happy.

My happiness was cut just a wee bit short when my alarm went off at 8:00 a.m. I did have to set it because Rick requested I make up a side dish for a buffet lunch being held at his office at 11:00. I got up and showered, juggling side dishes in my mind as I rinsed Paul Mitchell out of my hair. I’m really really bad at putting food together at the last minute.

I was so proud of myself for making it out of the house before 9:30. I drove to the commissary and immediately noticed the empty ice rink (also known as a parking lot). I searched my memory quickly to see if I had a clue what day it was. The commissary is closed on Mondays at this base. Is it Monday? Is it? Think, brain, THINK! Is it Monday? Brains reply: Relax! Bren’s out of school today. It’s Thursday. We’re not in Virginia anymore where the commissary opens at 8:30. This place probably opens at 10:00.

I love it when my brain comes through for me.

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Posted in General, Family, Military Life | 5 Comments »

O Worship The King

October 9th, 2006

O worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, Whose canopy space,
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

The earth with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy power hath founded of old;
Established it fast by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.

Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

O measureless might! Ineffable love! ~ William Kethe

It was good to be in the house of the Lord today! We sang this hymn which is one of my favorites.

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Posted in Church, People, Family, Parenting, Military Life 1f64 | 4 Comments »

The Real Move-In

October 6th, 2006

Update:

10:32 p.m.- The internet is back up after taking another hiatus,so I’m jumping on the chance to finish up the post here.

We unpacked boxes until 5:00 then went to the club for dinner. I was blessed this evening by our friends, Kent and Leah, who gave me a lovely ivy plant—my first one for the new house! (I still haven’t asked anyone how houseplants survive here in the winter with just four hours of very weak sunlight per day). When we got home I mustered the strength to take the dogs for a walk with Rick and was rewarded with the largest and most beautiful full moon rising I have ever seen. I took some pics (which won’t do it justice). Will have to post them tomorrow.

At around 8 p.m. I finished emptying a dish pack in the kitchen and a fun memory came back to me as I was pushing the paper down into the empty box. When my sister, brother, and I were little and going through a move, my mom would empty one of the huge dish pack boxes (at least they seemed huge to a little kid) and my dad would lift us up and put us in the box to squash down the paper. All three of us kids loved that so much! It’s amazing how I thought of that just then, being that I’ve probably moved 20 times and never thought of it before. I called out to Bren, who was sitting in the livingroom, and shared the memory with her.

Oh, and I called my old little brother to wish him a happy 37th birthday. I love you, Chester!

Well, it’s bedtime and I can barely keep the old eyes open here. It’s been a great, but tiring day!

2:28 – Paperwork is done, packers are gone, unpacking begins. Damage assment so far: a deep scratch in the coffee table, a gouge out of the top of a dresser, plus a bent leg; broken fishing rod (Dad, it’s one you gave me…I’m bummed! :( ) WHERE IS OUR HARDWARE?

1:10 – Rick arrived back with a six-pack of bottled water for the movers and a Diet Dr. Pepper and a Babyruth for me. I sure love him.

12:50 – The crew of five just got done unloading the first truck. I stood duty, inventory in hand, checking off the numbers the guys yelled out, occasionally wiping my runny nose on the sleeve of my sweatshirt. The dogs are in their kennels in the basement and bark their heads off when the home invaders take anything down there. Daisy the ferret is locked in the bathroom. Next time I need to remember to put the toilet paper out of her reach. The second truck is here. Gotta run.

YAWN. It’s gonna be a long day.

I was up til 1a.m. this morning painting Bren’s room so it would be ready for her furniture to be moved in today. When I was finally finished peeling the last of the painter’s tape off the baseboards, I laid on the couch, reached over to the computer and decided to try to access the internet. Oddly enough, it was connected, so I should be able to post throughout the day. Maybe. You never know how these things will go.

8:43 – the guys came to pick up our loaner furniture. Someone at the housing office must have called in a favor because these guys usually don’t begin rounds until 9:00, and also, they are never scheduled to come on the same day as the movers lest everyone arrive at the same time. I always feel twinges of uneasyness when we get special treatment, but I’ll take this one. We borrowed a vacuum from our neighbor, the house is empty and clean and ready.

Posted in General, People, Family, Military Life | 7 Comments »

Back to Reality

October 5th, 2006

Our household goods are here :) The delivery is set up for tomorrow which is nice; we’ll have a three-day weekend to work together to get the bulk of the boxes emptied out.

The next few days are going to be very busy, and since we no longer have the wireless connection at home, my postings may be sporadic until I get the DSL hooked up. My goal is still to post daily, though.

We didn’t go to church last night. Rick is still sick with a cold and was completely wiped out when he got home last night. I made the command decision to stay home and make him go to bed early. Bren was also tired after spending almost four hours working on a project at the library after school. Me? I’m just enjoying my last couple days of being a lazy housewife before it’s time to unpack the house.

Bren woke up this morning at 5:30 cursing her XX chromosomes. Since she was ready for school early I drove her through BK for breakfast then dropped her off at school. I’m now sitting in the billeting office, which is a real fun place to be early in the morning. There are four other people sitting around looking at laptops, ESPN is on the widescreen t.v.; luggage, janitor, coffee, travel plans, cologne. It’s 27-degrees outside. Life is good.

On to orientation.

Later then ~

Posted in General, Church, Family, Parenting, Military Life | 6 Comments »

In Search of a Desk…and a Packers Win

October 3rd, 2006

206b

I really enjoy driving Bren to school; the morning rush to get ready to head out the door is over and we can relax and chat on the way. When we moved into this house and Bren got on the bus that first day, I felt gypped. I missed our morning small talk, kissing her goodbye, and watching her walk through the school doors. Bren missed her thirty extra minutes of getting ready time! So for now, I get out in the morning and take my girl to school. We have a lot less time to chat, but always enough to remind her to rely on the LORD during her day.

After I dropped Bren off this morning (Rick had the day off work and slept in), I came home and fell back asleep on the couch. This loaner furniture that the housing department provided for us is wonderful, but Rick and I have been trying to share a full-sized bed, and it just isn’t working out anymore. I am normally a very heavy sleeper, but even I was waking up several times during the night, and that, I surmise, is one of the main reasons why I’ve been so wiped out during the day; I’m not getting a good night sleep, and neither is Rick. Being that I am the better sleeper and can do so just about anywhere, I have taken up nighttime residence on the ugly, but very comfortable couch. I like sleeping on couches, but I’m not sure why.

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Posted in General, Family, Parenting, Military Life, Sports | 2 Comments »

The Neighbors

September 22nd, 2006

The day after we arrived here in Alaska we set up an account with a communications company for our cell phone service, landline, and DSL. The rep told me I could come back this week to pick up the modem which I tried to do yesterday. She looked up the account and after a few minutes of searching and verifying my info, we discovered that I gave her the wrong address. That created a bit of a mess.

On my way home I decided to stop by the address I had given her to let the people know what I had done. After all, they will be getting our first bill. The woman’s name is Dawn (easy to remember…Dawn/Donna), and they also had just moved here. She took the news well and went by the rep’s office to make sure their account hadn’t been troubled by my foible.

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Posted in General, People, Family, Military Life | 5 Comments »

House With Dogs

September 20th, 2006

Yesterday I came over to the billeting office to use the computer. I typed up a big long post about getting the house, and then poof it was gone. If anyone out there in cyberspace runs into a lost blog post, send it home.

So yes, we have a house, and we absolutely love it—there’s so much space! The loaner furniture showed up shortly after I signed for the house, then later we went to Family Services and picke up dishes and small appliances.

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Posted in General, Family, Parenting, Military Life | 2 Comments »

First Day of School

September 18th, 2006

Bren loved it.

On the way to school this morning Bren realized that she forgot to grab her schedule and got a little anxious, but I assured her she could get a copy in the office. I had to walk in with her so I could give the secretary my cell phone number as a contact, but we separated as soon as we walked in the door. I stopped and watched Bren make her way through the crowd of kids hanging around in the hallway. I wondered how my baby got so big so fast, then thought about how happy I am for her beginning this new life.

The secretary was wonderful. I gave her my number then told her Bren had forgotten her schedule, then she printed off a copy right and walked it to Bren’s first period class to give to her. There were four other new students starting school today, so she wasn’t alone.

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Posted in General, People, Family, Military Life, Sports 2148 | 7 Comments »

One More Day

August 30th, 2006

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Posted in General, Military Life | 4 Comments »

Business of Moving

August 20th, 2006

Life since receiving our Alaska assignment has gone as I had predicted—at breakneck speed. Our days have been full to overflowing with appointments, checklists, decluttering, winter clothes shopping, and an unusual amount (for us) of bickering. Working outside in this heat and humidity brings out the worst in all of us.Rick headed to bed early tonight and Bren is in her room choosing which clothing she’ll hide from the packers. Except for the sound of Good-dog Buddy chewing on his bone, the house is quiet, and since I am pretty alert this evening I decided to read some blogs I’ve been neglecting, and then update my own. Unfortunately, there’s only been one thing going on with us, so there’s not too much to say.

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Posted in General, Family, Military Life | 8 Comments »

Do Yourself A Favor…

August 14th, 2006

Before your birthday check and make sure your driver’s license isn’t going to expire when you add another year to your age. I’ve been driving on an expired license for almost 2 months. Nice thing to discover right before embarking on a 4,500-mile road trip.

For some reason, this weekend I looked at my license and discovered it had expired on my birthday in June. Thankfully I don’t have to retake any tests, but I do have to provide my social security card which I have spent all day searching for. I can’t remember the last time I used it or even saw it. It’s not in the safe with the rest of the important papers, so I’m clueless.

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Posted in General, Military Life | 4 Comments »

The Assignment

August 12th, 2006

Rick got the job in Alaska. It isn’t official yet, as there are a few details that need to work their way in the system, but he does know that The Boss selected him for the job. In military life you learn to hold things with open hands, and we are with this assignment, but as it lay in our hands we are gazing at it in wide-eyed wonder. It’s a beautiful and unexpected gift for which we give the greatest thanks and praise to our heavenly Father.

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Posted in General, Family, Military Life | 6 Comments »

A Little Something

August 10th, 2006

There’s still hope for a move. Yesterday Rick had to call the Assignments office on behalf of one of his troops, so he took advantage of the opportunity to find out of the job he applied for had been filled yet. It hadn’t.

Maybe today will be the day.

Meanwhile, Rick is going to look to see if there are any out-of-cycle assignments he could apply for should he not be hired for Alaska. He told me yesterday he passed on a job in Florida. I think he likes being married.

Posted in Military Life | 3 Comments »

Still Hanging, But Cool

August 3rd, 2006

This morning I was in bed in that almost-awake-but-not-quite stage when I heard IT. IT was the sudden sound of silence produced when a fan stops oscillating. All of a sudden I was more awake than I wanted to be. I lay there and thought out loud Please let the problem be the fan motor and not a power outage. I climbed out of bed and flipped the light switch. Nothing.

I went to the phone and called housing maintenence and got a busy signal for several mintues, so I was quite certain the power was out in other homes as well. When I finally got through, I was told it wasn’t just our house, no one knew what caused the power outage, and no one knew how long it would be out. With that good news and the temperature already in the 90s, I woke Bren, we showered and headed out the door in search of cool places.

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Posted in General, Family, Books & Movies, Military Life | 2 Comments »

It’s Always Time to Pray

July 31st, 2006

Update: Thank you to those who prayed. The interview went “very well”, according to Rick. The Boss complimented him on his resume and said it was going to be a tough decision because all three applicants are very well qualified for the job. What pleased Rick was that The Boss said he would call and let him know of his decision, so we won’t be left hanging like we were after the last interview. Now we wait.

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Posted in Prayer, Dying Daily, Family, Military Life | 4 Comments »

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