I'm Following This One

Being in the military I get to meet a lot of amazing people.  Of course, we only get a limited amount of time together, but, hey, I get a lot of friends on Facebook that way. 

Seriously, though.  Once Candi and I got (somewhat) used to the pain of moving away from our friends and family (or them moving from us first), we came to treasure the cornucopia of experiences and backgrounds that we're blessed to interact with and learn from. 

Some have come through the joy and stress of adopting a child (or multiple children).  Some have dealt with life threatening illnesses and diseases.  We've become close with people who are just starting out in their marriage and we have been able to be an encouragement to them about the realities of a biblical marriage.  We've met others who have lived a full life of sacrifice and love in their marriage and we've been encouraged by them. Some have been forced out of jobs because of their faith in Jesus Christ.  Others have been threatened with the same and after standing on their convictions, God was able to demonstrate that He's not a myth or delusion - but rather faithful and good - and that He cares for His children.

Each and every experience and person is so different yet they are all strung together by one cord - their faith in God through Jesus Christ.  And our faith has been strengthened all the while.  Truly the words of Hebrew 10:24-25 have been proven true to me: "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the matter of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching."

One of the most recent blessings to our lives is the McNeals.  You can read more about their experiences here.  I'm definitely following that site and I'm glad to be able to share their lives for two months or so.

July 4th, 2011

On the 4th of July weekend we traveled to Enid, OK, which is kind of unusual because it's not much different than Altus... still Oklahoma.  Enid however is a bit bigger and so they have their own Home Depot, their own Starbucks, and even though we didn't visit it I'm pretty sure they had a Dairy Queen somewhere in town.

Of course the only thing that could get us to Enid is dear friends. 


This just happened to be some friends that we were stationed in Japan with.  Between the two of our families there were five young ladies and two young men.  Within minutes of being in their house they had managed to drag a hose out, attach it to a toy slide, lay the end of the slide on a tarp and cover the tarp with dish soap. 

                                       Shablam! Insto-matic water park!




Shortly after, we went for a walk by the "pond."  That turned out to be a water hazard on the city golf course.  It was still a nice walk.

The definition of trust.

For memory's sake, this is the tree by which I ate my first ant - a surprisingly enjoyable citrus flavor.

Where's Waldo?

The second day was full of guy stuff.   

The fish didn't bite.  They were just plain scared.

 We walked a quarter mile across a lake (which only put us in three feet deep water) and laid out a trot line.  I was quickly education that it's not used to catch "trot." 

The rest of the afternoon was filled with the pictures below.






I'm proud to say that the boys are a pretty natural shot. 





 Christian nailed a bottle from about 25 feet.  Those rabbits on the base golf course need to be on guard.
 

Wyatt successfully shot my sunglasses somewhere in the range of 15 feet (they were on the bottle... not on me).

A pretty much unforgettable weekend. Thanks Phillips'!

DMZ #1 - I Got a Ticket to Nowhere

I visited the Demilitarized Zone early in January with four others from the Haven.  It was an amazing experience that I'll have to chop up because there's much to be said.  The overall jist is that the North Korean government is actively attempting to take over the South.  It's strange to see people of the same nation in a position of such extreme and determined war.  America had it's civil war, but they fought and it was done.

The Republic of Korea (South) has done several things in hopes of unification under a free and democratic government.  They built a reunification complex for families in the North to visit the families in the South.  However, no families are allowed out of N. Korea because they might try to defect. (more on that later)  Economic deals have been made for RoK businessmen to build factories in the North to provide income for the populous.  Of course, the pay goes to the government prior to "dispersal."

The RoK also built a full-size railroad and station with plans to operate completely through North Korea into China and Russia.  The station is manned daily, heated, and maintained for the time when the war will end.  There is also a display of railroad ties that the Korean President and President W. Bush signed at the station's dedication.

"May this railroad unite Korean families." - George W. Bush

I was able to take the opportunity to shake the big guy's hand.



And I thank God for protection.  I slipped in the snow.  The train stopped in time.

A Fine Farewell

Simply put, we had a crowd of people over today for a goodbye (and kind of birthday party - there were lots of treats on hand). Thank you Hart family, Aunt Judy, Allerton family, Biel family, Dusek Family (missed you, Michelle), and Ross family. To make things simpler Candi decided on hot dogs and side dishes. To make things more complicated I decided to make "gourmet" hot dogs. We had tangy, Southwest, Seattle-style, the Works, and cheesy dogs.

How could I have forgotten to grill the onions!

We had a great time! Once again, I thank the Lord for our trampoline. I couldn't have asked for a better time of family and friends before I leave. Everything that was important to me was there today (except for those unable to come) - thank you all.

The Pumpkin Patch

This is from the Pumpkin Patch in Wilcox. The weather was beautiful, the company was great!

Vacation pics - Day 2

This was Disney Day 1. We met Travis and Kristi +4 and Don and Patty +1 at the gate and on we went to fun! It was a great time for sure. I was thankful for the crash course that Wendy had given four years prior. It really helped know how to navigate.