The BIG Trip! Part 1

     One month almost to the day from my last post, and we are now in our apartment in Korea. We are still waiting on our household goods, but we are comfortable with the loaner furniture that the Army provides. But, I shall sum up this last month for myself, and anyone who cares to learn. We really enjoyed the extra time with my family and on our next to last day in Kentucky we visited the pedestrian bridge to fulfill Keilah's request. Justus is due some major love when we return stateside, as we weren't able to fit in last trips to IHOP or Skyline.

The new and old bridges at sunset

I just love some good architecture

The kids with their cousin-in-laws? 
Beth is my sister-in-laws sister and she and her two kids joined us for our walk

  We got home that evening and I realized I desperately needed new shoes! So on our last day, we packed in the morning, then headed out to run some errands in the afternoon. I got in the car and it wouldn't start and the steering wheel wouldn't move. Shep had done something to lock it. Fortunately Keilah had the since to google and found the solution to get us on the road. I dropped off the kids to use their Christmas present from my brother-they saw Jungle Book, and I did some errands. Went to a car wash to have the car cleaned and vacuumed, bought new shoes, one more suitcase, and then got the kids and took Asher to use his collection of Toys R Us gift cards to get some new toys for the road. From there we headed to have dinner with my brother and sister-in-law one more time and bonus, I got to see our niece Erin who traveled in from Missouri for a conference.

Blessed with the best In-laws EVER!

We headed home to load the car with all our suitcases, and I proceeded to have the worst nights sleep ever. Every time I dosed I had a near panic attack thinking (dreaming?) of everything that could possibly go wrong over the next three days as I traveled half way around the world with four kids. I would wake up thinking of my life verse Philippians 4:4-7 , and our Fort Campbell verse Joshua 1:9, yet my flesh would not cooperate with my heart, so I was up at 5 and made a facebook post about my weary evening. I have a newfound sympathy for anyone who suffers from anxiety. Because suffer I did! We had to be on the road by 9 so that we could get to St. Louis and ship the car. This was a new task for me, we stopped by Scott Air Force Base for lunch and just a little gas to get us to the airport and me to the shipping place. Thank God for a teen driver. She actually drove through all of Indiana to Scott, because my lack of sleep had caught up with me while I was trying to navigate morning rush hour through Louisville. We made it to our hotel and they allowed an early check-in and I headed to the port. 

Inspection time: Thank you Lord
for your many mercies

I need to acknowledge all the saints that prayed for us through the travels. Especially those that saw my facebook post, that I had hesitated in making. Our culture is such that there is pressure to only show strength, and I was a little scared to show my weakness. I am so glad that I did. God reminded me that the Psalms are filled with David calling out and showing his "weakness" and Paul tells us that it is in our weakness that we are strong, because then we allow God in. So I praise God for my weakness and the saints that stood like Aaron lifting Moses' arms. Because their prayers paved a smooth path for our travels.  For example, the "boss" at the shipping yard showed Mercy, that I don't think he oft does, and allowed my car to begin the shipping process even though I was 1 hash tag above a quarter of a tank. He said to leave it running with the A/C on high. By the time I was in to the inspection garage, the young men were telling me that I was above 1/4 and would need to go pay $20 to have the tank pumped. The "boss" said "No, she's fine". The car was turned off, and when it was turned back on. I was exactly 1/4 tank.

Feeling the prayers and much better
after a good night's sleep and getting
past the first step of shipping the car.

My friend Marsha, came and picked me up at the port and drove me back to the airport. It was so nice to see her again. I worked with her husband Scott at a group home for teen girls when we were all young newly weds. I was privileged to attend his ordination and now he's an Air Force Chaplain. (none of us had military service on our radar back then). The kids and I ordered chinese per the sweetest counter clerk's recommendation and headed to our room for the night. I was asleep by 9 and my kids followed soon after. Justus even set his alarm for 7 AM to make sure we were all up and ready for our shuttle to the airport. Other than Shepherd almost leaving his violin behind (it never left his side again) we had no issues at all getting all of our bags checked (8 checked bags, 5 carryons, and 5 personal) and making both our flights. The first flight wasn't full and we all had plenty of space. The second flight, however was full, and was a tight fit. I could see one lady smile with relief as I had Keilah trade her aisle seat next to Asher for Justus' middle seat between strangers. Shepherd was by himself, and wasn't feeling well when the flight began. I asked a flight attendant to check on him and she asked "Is your mom on this flight? A lady was asking about you and I don't want to give information to a stranger." He assured her I was, and that he was feeling better.

When we arrived in Seattle, our friend's father met us at the airport to take part of our luggage to his house to store for the next four days as we visited with his son's family, dear friends from Fort Knox. I was only able to rent a sedan, and there was no way we could fit all our luggage. After sending off half our stuff, we visited the USO for a bit to unwind and allow traffic to die down as it was now 5:00.  I got my rental (they tried to upsell me) and headed to the lot. As we walked in, the lady there asked what I had, then asked if I would like a free upgrade to a minivan. I was floored and about cried. I just kept saying, "Really? Free?

God Bless You" and shook her hand as we picked out a very nice Sienna for the weekend. As we drove out of the lot, I heard her directing a small family to the compact that they had reserved.

We drove to my friend Janelle's without a hitch, no getting lost or missed turns and were welcomed into her beautiful home. The kids all picked up with each other like it hadn't been 3 years since they'd seen each other last. We enjoyed four wonderful days with them and I got to get some visits in with other friends, like Barb Perez from Ft. Eustis days, Becky (Rebekah) Hall Lacy-my best high school
friend whom I hadn't seen in 20+ years, and Rebekah Krause and her awesome sons (also Ft. Eustis) including Abel, whom we hadn't met yet. Once again the kids all picked up as if they'd seen each other a week ago.

Barb, Keilah and I

Becky Hall and I

Hieblets and Krauselets together again!

The Beddall's were amazing hosts, and fed us home cooked meals every night, including a pizza night using their outdoor pizza oven. Justus has decided that we NEED one of those. He and Shep earned their keep by chopping wood for the oven, and Asher helped collect eggs from the chickens. Keilah earned her keep as well by entertaining princess Jenna. I had so much fun visiting with my friends, that I forgot to get pictures with them. The ones I have were because my friends said "Oh, we need a picture". Thank you Janelle and Jonathan for your warm hospitality.

Watching Mr. Jonathan put the pizza in.

1000 degrees of goodness

Sunset in Rochester

Justus just loves when we point out his size :)

Keilah and her new little sister.

The highlight of the weekend, the boys had so much fun.

We walked all over Seattle with the Krause clan as our guides visiting Pike Place Market, walking up to the Space Needle, and then back down to the waterfront through the sculpture garden and then to the Pier where Rebekah had to catch her ferry back home. I love how friends can pick up like no time has passed even when years have.

Homeschoolers gonna homeschool everywhere,
getting a lesson on Parrot anatomy.

Mary Poppins I'm not.

Can't visit Seattle without seeing the gum wall.

dead fish

I didn't expect to see this in Seattle.

Fruit and veggie market

Flower Market

Temporarily Homeless-in April, the month of the military child.

My 4-Hers.

It's done. We've attended our last Awana, 4-H, and PWOC, had our last parties with friends and we finished painting, cleaning, and clearing and on the 31st we turned in our keys to the place we called home for 42 months. Painting was the most significant break in turning 11120 from our home to a place that held our stuff. At every duty station you create a new "family", a tribe if you will, of people that make life sweeter because it's shared. And Fort Campbell was no different. We found wonderful friends here that will be dearly missed even as we look forward to finding our Daegu Tribe.











Many questioned if it was worth it, painting all those walls. And we say YES! Even dealing with the stress of priming and worrying (which I really shouldn't do...when will I listen to God on that one?) about whether we would have to pay (we didn't). For the last several years this place felt like our home because we made it our own, even adding landscaping and created a land mark, "Oh, the house with the red living room."




So now we are staying at my mother's house as we wait for my passport to arrive and pray that we will all travel together. I tease her that having us so close for awhile will make it easier for us to be so far away for awhile. It's not easy having a family of 6 move in with you, especially when you aren't exactly sure when they'll leave!

Missing the baby. Easter with my siblings and their kids.

 
We are loving this opportunity to be with family (our birth Tribe) and seeing those who will be with us our entire lives. I immerse myself in the memory making and try not to think of what we will miss by being half a world away. Although, we have been very blessed in having always lived close enough to regularly visit so that our kids still feel like they know their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins and we aren't too much the stranger to my siblings children either.  I am looking forward to being able to mail them all packages with special Korean treats and hope my family will be willing to post lots of pictures to facebook, and updates of the mundane parts of life for us...hint hint!  Today I'm catching up on work, sorting papers, and sent Mike off with the kids to make memories at the zoo.

April is also recognized on military installations around the world as the month of the military child. All those little humans known as "dependents" on official forms but in reality are some of the most independent people I've met. Typically these kids move every 2-3 years, saying goodbye just about the time they truly feel settled into a place.  I regret at times that the choice my husband and I made to make the military a career means they don't have the same roots we had by growing up in one community then I think of all the opportunities we've had because of the constant moving.  I also remember that God knew this was the future for these kids, and He has grown in them amazing character traits of openness, discernment, adaptability, perseverance and resiliency that will benefit them throughout their lives.

Dusting off the blog for a new adventure.

Big changes are afoot! Hiebtown is relocating to South Korea. So each of us are trying to find ways to record our new adventures. The kids will likely start Vlogging, but as I prefer the written word this is where I'll go.  Right now we are sitting in the midst of a partially empty home. A move to Korea requires more thought than other moves, even other OCONUS (outside continental US) moves. Because the army limits your move to only half your normally allowed weight. And weight is determined by rank. That means based on our rank, this family of 6 is allowed to move 5500 pounds to Korea courtesy of the US army. When last we moved we were overweight by about 3000 pounds.  So for this move, a MAJOR weightloss plan was in need. A normal OCONUS would have 2 moving appointments Unaccompanied Baggage, which is essential items you would need when first arriving, like bedding, towels, and some kitchen gear, and HHG or Household Goods, which is everything else and takes longer to arrive. For Korea, a third move is required for NTS or non-temporary storage.

To prepare for all these moves, we have had to go through every item we own and determine which category and subcategory it belongs in, think like an outline for a paper.

A) Korea
   1) Hand carry
   2) Unaccompanied Baggage
   3) HHG
B) Storage
   1) NTS
   2) with a family member
C) Move On
   1) to Family
   2) to Local friends
   3) Salvation Army
   4) Trash

Then we began the pile making. And that's how we have lived for the last few weeks, with piles growing in the garage and living room. Hoping that kids would "respect the pile". And each time a mover comes in they think the whole house is "their pile" until they finally listen as we show them what they are really moving.


I read The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up as I prepared for all the sorting. And the method really helped us pare down. As confessed bibliophiles we were able to reduce our book collection by at least one third. My fabric and other craft items were reduced by two-thirds. And we were able to bless others with items we no longer need.  Not only are we physically lighter, I feel mentally and emotionally lighter as well. With every item we've asked "Does it bring us joy" Because life is stressful enough without having your home stress you as well.

The Unaccompanied Kitchen Pile :)

The first pile of Unaccompanied went really well. I put all the kitchen goods on the dining room table and the soft goods in the living room and they handled the packing quickly and efficiently.

The Second shipment was equally organized with the Living room, craft area, and dining room table being designated. However, the company only sent 2 packers, and 1 of them was quite possibly high and spent as much time on his phone and "taking breaks" as he did packing. I felt very sorry for the other guy. Plus they didn't have a truck to load into. I was thankful for the box of locks we kept out, as we needed to padlock a few items that didn't get placed in a box.







The hard worker told me more than once it was good our bow had locks on it. When the truck finally arrived at 4:09 one of the late arrivers, kept trying to carry off our toolbox before I could get the lock on it, once I realized it wasn't being boxed or wrapped. All of these were loaded into a truck and will be repacked into a crate at the warehouse. I'm cautiously hopeful that all our belongs will actually arrive in Korea.










Now we're preparing for our NTS move which comes Monday and Tuesday. (Did I mention that it has been a different company each time?) This will be the bulk of our furniture, all our christmas decorations, and lots of pictures and a few household items we aren't taking with us.  Over Easter we'll move the items that are staying with family, including a piano.  Hopefully our perseverence in purging and prepping will provide for a pleasant PCS. (that sentence was written with my college English professor Joe Britton in mind).

Despite the chaos and the grief of saying goodbye to the friends we made here, we are very excited about our new adventure and I look forward to sharing it with you :).

Yes, it's that time of Army year again

I am so irregular at blogging, guess we know it will never become a full time career. But, alas, after 7 (yes I said 7) very blessed years of having my husband home it is indeed our turn for a real deployment. By real I mean, pack up the belongings you are going to a war zone for a year deployment. For those that read me before, we don't really consider Haiti a deployment, more of a TDY. But anyways, 7 years, almost to the day (I think as we don't have our papers in hand yet) my Beloved will be headed to Afghanistan to work providing religious support to the soldiers stationed there (and any other duties he decides to pick up) This time I won't be counting days on the blog we know it's set for 365 with a 14 day break somewhere in there. Instead I plan to focus on counting my God sightings.

You see, I went to the PWOCI conference recently and kept leaking. By leaking, I mean that I kept tearing up and I didn'thave any idea why. So, finally I just said "God, what's up? Why do I keep leaking." and He said "Fear, you're holding it in and pretending it's not there. Turn it over to me." So boy howdy, the flood gates opened and I let out all that fear and the tears that went with it. "But," God said, "this isn't a one time thing. You're going to have to do this every day!" Now this is where some coolness comes in I got to spend several hours on Saturday with Sarah Horn, author of God Strong-the military wife's spiritual survival guide. See, with a deployment coming up, you take all the deployment classes and avoid the one's that say things like "ministering to PTSD families" (which is one of the fears I'm daily turning over". See this book was born from her own journey of deployment, and I needed exactly this encouragement. Because during our first deployment I was so didn't know an ACU from an ACS. So, I'd packed up and moved home to be close to my family and church. But, now see I'm a veteran army wife. I've been around a bit and learned some acronyms and even PCS'd a few times once was even DITY. So, after Haiti, I was feeling pretty Army Strong, I've got the skills to handle a deployment now, God can take a rest (or so I was thinkng!)

Another wonderful teaching from the weekend was from Priscilla Shirer. She taught from Genesis 28:16 and Jacob's journey from his home to another town to find a wife after betraying his brother. It was a hard, desolate journey and he stopped at a certain place, and taking a rock as a pillow, slept halfway between here and there. And where for the first time he encountered God for himself. The faith of his father's truely became his faith.

She taught that "there is good stuff in the hard stuff". Well, I know there are lots of hard things, but for this family we are walking squarely into some hard stuff. I can't say that I'm excited about this like I have been about some hard stuff of my past. But, I'm determined not to leave any good stuff behind. So if you don't mind today and in the future (if you keep reading I guess you don't) I'm going to share the good stuff in the hard stuff. Mainly, so that I'll have the record. My altars will be built that I may return to see what the Lord has done and if by chance this encourages you or helps you to know God a little better then that's an added bonus.

Today's hard stuff, watching my husband pull out his stuff, the little things that mean something to him and make him happy. The stuff that he wants in "his space", certain books and tchotchkes that are uniquely him, and loading it all into black plastic boxes. Seing my kids pick legos and build him houses to take so that he'll have a part of them with him. My five year old building lego people to represent each of us. My ten year old saying "I'm going to hate not having a dad for a year." Then, the bickering. I wish I could say it was just the kids today, but I was short tempered and on edge too. See it's so much different when it goes from playing out in your head to living it in reality. And those black boxes in my living room are real. But, you know what so is MY GOD!

Here is how He's shown himself to me recently-facebook. Yeah, I said it, facebook. Yesterday I posted a need for a used digital camera, He answered the request in half an hour through a highschool friend I hadn't seen since graduation until we "met" again on facebook. Then today another sweet friend, who has borne a decade+ long cross with faith, grace and dignity posted, on facebook, lyrics to songs all day that just encouraged me and lifted me up. Songs of God's faithfulness in our weakness. So, while I still was on edge, was able to listen when God first prompted me this morning that K's short temper with her brothers was not hormones but the pain and reality of watching her daddy pack. See she was only 4 when he went the first time and this whole war thing was new, she and her 2 younger brothers had no concept of time or war. But, now I have 4 and two of them were born into a time of war. They do not yet know what it means to live in a country that isn't at war, and for practical purposes, neither do the older two.

See, now they know that sometimes daddy's don't come home and sometimes daddy's come home missing parts of their body, mind, or soul. So they will have to learn for themselves, that while we don't know what God has in store for us, He will help us find the treasures buried in the stones, if we let Him. So as my sweet sister reminded me in her post on facebook on a past day. When things are bad, and we're not wanting to go to the hard place, once again we turn to Jesus and pray as he did. "Not my will, but thy will be done." So, dear friends, it's hard for me to say this, but don't pray for us to not have to endure the hard place, but pray that I and each of my children will find the treasures buried for us there and make the rocks our pillows and that at the end of the journey when we return to being a physically united family that we will reap a great harvest from the seeds that are planted now.

Blessings to you.

an historic fourth!

So, I finally have something to Blog about :). One thing we had realized when we left Knox is that we hadn't taken full advantage of the area and made an effort to actually see what was in the surrounding area, in part because we were so close to home that we stayed with what was familiar. We determined that we would not do that again. So, we decided that we would brave the unfamiliar crowds and go to the 4th of July celebration at Yorktown. I've been reading an awesome book on the Revolutionary war and am currently obsessed with the founding of our country. So it seemed perfect to celebrate our nations independence at the same place where it was finally secured.

First we decided to use the light infantry approach to this event. One backpack with some necessities vs. my idea of Heavy armor, the big yellow wagon to carry supplies for a full day's march. We arrived by 3, since we'd been warned that the crowds were bad and we'd have a hard time finding parking. We parked in row H, parking was not an issue. We hiked into town in time to see the Fife and Drum corp perform next to the yorktown monument. They were amazing, all aged 10-18. Then we walked down to the free kids events, some lines, but for seasoned Thunder attendees, it was like having the place to ourselves.

The kids inflatables were set up accross from the Thomas Nelson house. Thomas Nelson was a signer of the declaration, and gave his fortune to the revolutionary effort. It was amazing to hear the Declaration of Independence read from the steps of his home. Then a bell was rung 1x for each colony as their signers names were read. Yes, I got teary as we recited the Pledge and the Fife and Drum corp played the National Anthem.

From there we found a great seat on the curb to watch the parade, a true small town affair complete with scout troops, shriners, and representatives of the armed forces. Having enjoyed the organized aspects of the day we headed to the river. For those familiar with the area, they know that the "beach" isn't very large at all. But, we had NO problem at 7:00 finding plenty of space for us to set up camp and let the kids play in the water for a bit before the fireworks.

Again, as seasoned Thunder attendees, we weren't sure what to expect from the fireworks. But, Yorktown did our Founders proud. From our location on the water, it seemed like the fireworks were right over our head, they were huge and well planned. We quite enjoyed ourselves.

Then, we prepared for the hike back to the car and the LONG wait we'd been warned of. Nope, we were in the car by 10 and home at 11. Tremendously well organized and enjoyable day. So, we are now taking reservations if anyone wants to come and go with us next year.

Blessings

catching up and another "Punk kid" story.

I apologize for the long silence. We've been very busy here. We now have 3 yellow belts in the house and 2 more chomping at the bit to get started. Baseball season has also been going, and it's been a painful season. J's team has only won 2 games this season and of course, I missed them both. But, Dad was there.

On the homeschooling front we've made it through our first round of standardized testing. We passed. I was terribly humbled from my original attidude of "the standard is so low?" to Thank you that the standard is where it is and it's been enforced to me the error in using these tests to judge a child's education.

We did enjoy our long weekend for Memorial Day. We celebrated K's b-day with a beach party. She loved it and it was a lot of fun getting to hang out with the grown ups while the kids played in the water. I'm trying to convince J to do the same...so far he's resistant.

On Monday we went to our favorite beach at Ft. Monroe. After swimming and sandcastle building, we moved to the "fishing side" of the beach and explored the rocks and collected a container full of sea life. We found hermit crabs of all sizes, baby crabs, a jelly fish, lots of shrimp, and some type of fish that we have yet to identify. I spent way too much time trying to get a picture of the big hermit crab coming out of his shell. Many thanks to my friend who let me use their camera!

Summer is starting, but my kids will be still working through their math and grammer books. And throwing in some History and Science (mom's fault). Maybe they'll finally listen when Momma warns them about putting things off. It'll be hard when their friends get out in 2 weeks and they'll still have to finish book work before they can play. (maybe it'll help keep them motivated during the next school year?)

Oh, I did have another "find my children's missing toy" encounter in the neighborhood. My very first blog post recounted my hunt for the kids missing playhouse. Well, after a weekend at Great Wolf Lodge, S was missing his bike. Frustrating, but, the child needed a new bike. He'd outgrown it and the chain was constantly falling off. However, there is still that annoyance that someone would steal another child's bike. Forward a few days, I'm driving K somewhere and as I'm going down the street see three kids huddled around a bike, S's Bike! I slam on the breaks and jump out of the car. I ask the kids, who are trying to figure out how to put the chain on, where they got the bike.
Kid 1: "It was the missing kid's bike".
Me: "what missing kid"
Kid 1" The cops said this bike belonged to a missing kid"
Me: "it's my kid's bike, and I know where he is"
Kid 2 " Ummm"
Me: "so, do you mind if I take my child's bike back to him?"
Kid 3 "No"

So, I picked up the bike and threw it in the back of the car. S was glad to have his bike back and learned a lesson on making sure that it's put up, at least I hope that he learned the lesson since he was recently blessed with a new bike!

Blessings!

a little life and a book review :).

Well, I leave my little snippets on facebook and sometimes forget to write more here. It's been an eventful week. S got knocked in the mouth by a baseball requiring a trip to the ER. He lost a tooth there (that was already loose) and another one the next day. 2 more are also loose from the incident. But, he handled it like a trooper. It's interesting how the big events can be handled calmly, but the little cuts and scrapes result in howls like he's dying.

We got back into the groove with the rest of life, PWOC on Tuesday, Mike was still off, so he took the boy's to speech while I went to a volunteer recognition thing and shopping for PWOC. Then we returned to TKD. Man, taking 2 weeks off really affects the body. My soreness returned on Wed. and is still here. I stayed for my first "advanced" class and finally learned my fighting moves. Which K also learned tonight. She was a slave driver making me and the other boy in our group practice them over and over. And while I was working with the advanced class. She continued to practice. I will not be surprised at all to see her making black belt. Today I learned my second kicking combo: a round house spinning back kick. Lot's of fun. Love being the warrior princess. K just wishes it didn't require so much sweat!

Speaking of warrior princess, I'm reading this AMAZING book. It's been out for a few years Captivating by Stasi and John Eldredge. My sis-in-law gave it to me awhile ago, and just recently I felt the uncontrollable urge to begin reading it. If you, as a woman, have ever felt, as Stasi writes, "something deeper than just the sense of failing at what she does. An underlying, gut feeling of failing at who she is. I am not enough and I am too much at the same time. Not pretty enough, not thin enough, not kind enough, not gracious enough, not disciplined enough. But too emotional, too needy, too sensitive, too strong, too opinionated, too messy. The result is Shame, the universal companion of women. It haunts us, nipping at our heels, feeding on our deepest fear that we will end up abandoned and alone." then I strongly suggest you read this book. It's not a "how to be the Proverbs 31 woman" book, it's a how to see yourself as God sees you. How to begin the journey to becoming the irreplaceable woman of His story that He created you to be. I'm continually plagued by self-doubts and questions. I've made choices and live in a manner that is quite different than others in my family and life have done. I'm stubborn and just rebellious enough that I continue on. While feeling that I'm too...something. But, I must say that this book has turned my eyes to face some of those demons that plague us as women. I haven't thrown off all the questions and insecurities yet, but this book is definitely helping to direct me in the right direction. (And how great is it that one of the chapters is indeed titled warrior princess? -an aspect of ourselves that K & I became more in touch with when we began TKD!) So girls, I suggest you pick up this book, and begin the journey of discovering the You God designed and not the you, the world, the church, and anyone else whose thrown in an opinion says you should be.

Blessings