Back in the Saddle

Well, we have now been an Active Duty Chaplain family for 6 months and so far it has been quite an experience. Darrell is in his element but the amount of pressure he is under can, at times, be unbelievable. I think that the Chaplain Corps is one of the most under appreciated facets of our military right now. They work incredibly hard at a very emotionally draining job and yet are seen as weak because they do not enter physical combat. Trust me when I say that our military Chaplains battle daily with forces we cannot see or understand whether it is religious, physical, or mental. They have to be able to treat all soldiers diplomatically even when that soldier wants to do nothing to help themselves. They also are on constant call and have a hard time even making definite plans with their family because they never know when a crisis is going to come up. They are a pastor and counselor along with being a Soldier. Darrell is the low man on the totem pole in a small Battalion but still has over 400 soldiers whose mental/emotion well being he is responsible for. I pray daily for all our Chaplains that God will give them the strength they need to deal with the constant emotional upheaval and for their families who deal with it second hand.

Finally.....We have orders!!!

We have officially received orders and will be heading to Ft. Hood, Texas the first part of February. We are very excited to be moving into the next stage but very sad to be moving away from all our friends and family here in Kentucky. So far I have been extremely busy looking for a house and checking out schools online and basically trying to get all our HHG organized before the movers come. Some sites that have been great for us is www.ahrn.com and many of the sites linked from the Ft. Hood site. The Killeen newspaper www.kdh.com has helped too. Hopefully this move will go smoothly and the kids will transition seamlessly into their new schools.

Finally!!

We are finally approved for active duty and have tentative (word of mouth) orders to report to Ft. Hood in January. I can already see such a huge change in my husbands outlook as he knows he is finally, after 6 long years, going to be doing what he feels called to do. He can't wait to report and really start working on the mission field that he has a true passion for. It is going to be a huge adjustment for us but I know without a doubt that God is in control of all things and will bless our family if we are obedient to his call.

Update

Well...things are looking up in the Army department here. Darrell FINALLY got attached to a reserve unit and will drill with them until he goes before the board again to get approved for active duty. I am so glad we are finally seeing some things happen.

Music

Not a lot has been going on lately so I thought I would post a video of one of my favorite Christian bands. Enjoy!

Stimulus Smimulus!

I am so fed up with the whole stimulus package debacle. Who in their right minds spends more money when they are broke. In my own budget, when I am tight and have a hard time making ends meet I cut out non-essentials such as redecorating, new cars, etc. Why are our government officials having such a hard time with this concept?

Don't even get me started on the Republican turncoats in the Senate. May the rot in unsavory places. I wonder which devil they sold their soul to? Was it for more money in education, building, whatever for their state or was it the promise of a new job when they hopefully lose their future bids for reelection.

Finally, when did it stop being elected by the people for the people. 63% of Americans are against this bill in its present form yet it is still being rammed through Congress. I am so disappointed in our elected officials. Obama's chance is over and yeah I am not impressed.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well it has been extremely busy since I last posted. We were hit with a major ice storm and without power of 4 days. Let me tell you, I was not meant to go without electricity, cable, or internet. I was miserable and the kids were miserable. Darrell couldn't get to work for a couple of days which makes our checkbook miserable too. However, we are now back up and running. The kids are finally back in school and hopefully everything can go back to normal for a little while.

On the Army front. Darrell finally got all of his stuff together and it looks like he will probably be attaching to a unit here. As long as nothing changes, it also looks like he will be deploying sometime within the next year. I have very mixed feelings about it because I know it is what he wants but at the same time I really hate him being gone for a year. It also leaves us in a kind of limbo when he gets back as we wait to see if he will be able to go active or not and how long that will take. I know I just have to leave it all in Gods hands but that is not always the easiest thing to do.