The heavens declare

As I sit and write this, I am in the backyard of our new home in North Carolina and it is a gorgeous day in May. It is a perfect 73 degrees outside and there is a gentle breeze. I am rocking in one of the chairs that goes with my new patio furniture set given to me by Tim and Dylan for Mother's Day. I am looking at the lush green grass and trees that surround me. And I am listening to the silence that surrounds me, except for only a few chirping sparrows and cooing doves. The dogs are quietly resting in their pen and Dylan is fast asleep. The house is all clean and I feel better than a pregnant woman should! This is truly a beautiful moment. No, it is not a dream...it is reality. And I am savoring it. After the months of seperation and transition that we endured, this is truly a moment of Heaven on Earth, a blessing from the Lord. I am truly thankful to Him for all he has done to bring us back together as a family, to get Tim off to a good start with his ministry, to give us a healthy baby and pregnancy, and to bless us with a good home and the luxury to be a stay-at-home-mother. My heart is full of gratitude, Lord. I do not know what the next curve in the road holds for us, but for today I'm rejoicing in the serenity that befalls me.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

Psalm 19:1-2

Our days here are slowly turning into a routine. Tim begins each day early with PT and returns home to us for breakfast and a shower. Then it's back to work at 9am and most days it he is home for lunch with us. At the end of the work day, we are back together again for dinner and family time. With the deployments that will come our way with Army life, I am grateful for this time of togetherness. The biggest thing I am grateful for at this point is the light I see in Tim's eyes...the assurance I see in his face as he is partaking in the ministry that the Lord has called him to. There is no shadow of doubt or hint of a question...just confirmation from the Lord. He has spent much of his time getting to know the soldiers in his battalion and making it known that he is an "accessible" Chaplain, with the prayer that when they are in need they know they can turn to him. The Chaplain that he is replacing has been mentoring him but will soon be leaving. In a couple of weeks it will be all Tim (and God!). On Sundays we have been visiting the various Chapels on post to try and find the one that suits Tim for ministry the best and that suits our family's needs. Each Chapel is so different and unique in its makeup. There are some similarities to a civilian church, but it is definitely Army-flavored. I hope once we settle on a Chapel that we can plug ourselves in to minister there. I also hope that we can find a Bible study or Sunday School for Tim and I and an AWANA type ministry for Dylan (and eventually Jordan). One Sunday morning service just isn't enough...I NEED and WANT more in my spiritual diet than that. It is definitely taking some determination on my part to get in personal Bible study time, or else I just run dry spiritually. I think I realize that I was spoiled through all that came my way from the Scriptures at our home church. Last week I attended a Chaplain's wives event, and it was a great experience. Every month or so, the Chaplain's wives get together for a coffee or a dinner in an effort to get to know one another. This month they had a dinner at a nice, historic restaurant in Fayetteville. The food was good but the fellowship was even better. I met so many wonderful women whose husbands serve in the US Army as Chaplains here at Ft Bragg. Undoubtedly I was the newest Chaplain's wife (and maybe the youngest :) but it did not bother me. I am learning to glean from the best and to find wisdom in those who have gone before me down this path. I am thankful that such a community exists and look forward to finding my niche within.

Pictures of our on-post house

Here are a few pictures I took of the outside of our on-post house. It is a nice, newly refurbished duplex in a GREAT neighborhood and we are happy here. Since I took these pics, the lawn care guys came and trimmed back the tall bushes so they're not quite so bushy!!

Front view of the house

Left front view of the house

Left side view of the houseRight front view of the house

Carport view (the couch is gone!! Sold at the post-wide yard sale!)

The post-wide yard sale went well for us...we were able to rid ourselves of alot of things that we can't use/don't need/don't have space for anymore since moving here from our larger house. And we made a pretty good profit too! We got to know some of our neighbors better and met some new neighbors. All in all it was a great day! God continues to bless us here and we continue to find our joy and satisfaction in His presence.

1 week and hundreds of boxes later...

We have officially been in our on-post house for 1 week now. This week has been chaotic to say the least. I knew how much stuff was in our storage unit, but seeing it get unloaded AGAIN here at our new house overwhelmed me all over again. I have had to constantly remind myself that these 'things' are not just 'stuff' but 'blessings from the Lord'. We basically went from a 1650 sq ft house to a 1320 sq ft house...with most of the same stuff :) It has been a challenge and physically exhausting (for a pregnant girl) to unload all these belongings, sort through them, and find a home for them. Today we had 15 feet of trash lined up at the street for trash day! Praise the Lord for decluttering...it feels SO good! Next time we will declutter BEFORE we move. Thank goodness for the post-wide carport sale this Saturday!! Fortunately, Tim had requested 10 days of "permissive leave" so he has been here every step of the way. I could not have done this with out his help, and the help of my parents who were here for the first couple of days after the move. As of now, we are 95% unpacked (I shall pace myself for the other 5%) and are going to spend the next 3 days of Tim's leave time enjoying ourselves and relaxing. Since I have been given the gift of being a WAHM (work at home mom...very part-time), we can finish up the household later and enjoy our family time now. Fort Bragg is really nice. Our neighborhood is great, really quiet, lots of sidewalks and parks nearby, and a pool just at the end of our street. The people here are very friendly and our neighbors are great. We are surrounded by several Chaplain families, which is so cool! Dylan is very happy to be settled, to have his own room, and to be with his dad again. The Lord has indeed blessed us and taken care of us during this time of transition. He even allowed us to purchase a 2009 GMC Acadia for me to drive, that is paid in full!! We have been visiting a different protestant Chapel each Sunday in an effort to find the one where Tim would best like to serve. So far they have been like Goldilocks and the 3 bears...too hot, too cold, too big, too small, maybe some that are just right but we will keep looking for a couple more weeks...all the while praying for God to show us which one. I was surprised to find that alot of the attendees at these Chapels have been retirees. I am glad, though, because this makes for a nicely well rounded congregation. Both in and out of the Chapels, the people here seem to have purpose. For me, that makes for such a nicer atmosphere. I pray that Tim and the other Chaplains here can help the soldiers see that their deeper purpose is to glorify God and be satisfied in Him.

Dear Jordan,

Your daddy and I are busy deciding on a middle name for you. We haven't quite figured it out for sure, but there are a few things that we DO know for sure. Even as little as you still are inside me, just 20 weeks big, we love you oh-so-very-much! You will come into a world where you are as loved as a little one can be. Your daddy is extremely excited to be having a girl, since he's already got his boy. I think he is looking forward to spoiling you and watching you wrap him around your tiny finger! I can't wait to hold you and smell your sweet skin, and see how much you look like your brother :) Jordan, besides being loved already, the thing your daddy and I hope the most for you in this world is that you (and your brother Dylan) know how wonderful and real God is. We are spending our lives following His voice, not because we are afraid of Him or because we have to. But because we want to and we love Him with all our hearts. We know that He is as real today as He was in the pages of the Old Testament (that's in the Bible; I'll show ya!) and that He is still in the business of loving and saving people. He is someone worth giving up your life and its comforts and conveniences for! Our deepest prayer is that someday you understand and can worship God this way. For now, just know that He loves you so much that He gave up his little baby... Waiting with open arms, Dad & Mom

The first 2 weeks

We are coming to a close on our first two weeks here at Ft Bragg. It hasn't been too far from what I expected, with the exception of the fact that we have been living in a one-bedroom hotel! Tim does PT early each morning with different soldiers from the companies in his battalion and then comes home for breakfast and a shower. Dylan and I get to eat breakfast with him (which is a real treat and different from our former life where we all got up at different times). Tim is also able to come home for lunch since he works so close and his lunch breaks allow plenty of time for that. His day finishes up between 4:30 and 5pm and then he is home for the evening. I'm sure there will busier days and times when he can't come home to see us so much. In fact, I know he will have to be "out there" some lunches and evenings with his soldiers in order to meet them where they are with God's message of hope. But I have so enjoyed having him around and being a family again. Practically speaking, I wish I had done a couple of things different. One of which is to keep my child's shot record handy instead of packing it. If so, I could have enrolled him in part-time day care and taken advantage of the many classes/briefings/meetings that are offered to spouse's. There is not alot to do during the day in a 300 sq ft hotel room, so I wish I could have gotten out and gone to the spouse's orientation and the PWOC (protestant women of the chapel) meeting. Also, since I love to walk and exercise, I could have explored the many beautiful trails here on Ft Bragg. I guess there will be time enough for all that in the future. Also, I wish I'd brought more movies for Dylan to watch (Red Box has been our friend!) and more outdoor toys to play with (i.e. riding toys, balls, etc.) Anyways, live and learn...and the next time we PCS (permanent change of station...restation) I will know better. This morning Tim started his day with a 2-mile ruck march where he toted a 35 pound ruck sack on his back while marching. The past 2 mornings he has run 4 miles before I even got out of bed! His stamina amazes me. After September I will have no excuses not to get super-fit with him. For now, baby Jordan keeps me grounded :) Tim has had alot of time to get to know his Chaplain Assistant as well as a few others C.A.'s this week. This afternoon he is participating in a memorial service for a soldier who was killed stateside over last weekend. Memorial services have to be a Chaplain's least favorite duty, yet it is probably what families of fallen soldiers benefit from the most. I pray that Tim is someday able to lead in this kind of ministry in a way that Supremely comforts the hurting and gives Hope to the grieving. I also pray that his spirit, his light, is not dimmed by the darkness of these events. We will be moving into our house on Monday (3 more days!!) with the help of my parents. It is soooo good to have family who is able to come and help! I will post pics of the house when I get some.

Easter 2009 -- He is risen!!

Here are a few more pictures from our morning. It was cold here at Ft Bragg for our sunrise service.
And here is the first of my "belly shots". This is Jordan and I at 19 weeks. There really wasn't much to photograph until now. The bump is kind of hard to ignore at this point!

Easter festivities

The slide show above is of our family picnic as we gathered just before leaving Columbia. Both sets of Dylan's grandparents were there, as well as Aunt Liz and Uncle Robert.

This morning we spent some time exploring the post. We drove around and looked for street signs and landmarks -- only getting lost a couple of times! :) After lunch and a nap we took Dylan to what was listed in the paper as an "Easter Egg Hunt" at the local youth center on post. We decided to skip the beforehand festivities (who schedules a kid's event to start at 2pm? It's like the universal nap hour!!) and just to go for the Hunt. We arrived a couple of minutes before the Hunt was to begin. The best way to describe it is PANDEMONIUM! There were about 300 kids jockeying for position as workers threw thousands of pieces of candy on the lawn of the youth center. At the blowing of the whistle the kids took off and scooped and foraged the candy. Not exactly the representation of the meaning of Easter we want our kids to grasp! :) So pint-sized Dylan managed to get about 4 pieces -- and then it was ALL gone. In less than one minute that lawn was completely clean! Anyways, Dylan had a good time but was a little overwhelmed with the whole situation. Here are a few precious pictures.

After feeling a little "let down", we came back to our hotel-home and dyed Easter eggs. I guess we didn't take the time to properly explain what to do with the little color pellets because as soon as we gave one to Dylan to put in the vinegar he put it straight in his mouth!! It was the blue pellet, now less! Thank the Lord they are made of food grade, non-toxic dye! Here are a few pictures of the finished product.

Tomorrow we plan to attend a sunrise service on post to celebrate our risen savior. Tim is going to visit various Chapels until he finds one he feels he and we fit in with and then plug into the ministries there. Happy Easter, everyone!