The Cabbage Patch

7 Quick Takes Friday ~ My Running Thoughts Edit

 

~1~

The shootings yesterday took place at the SRP or Soldier Readiness Processing Center.  This is where soldiers who are deploying go to take care of business in different stations.  For instance, there's a legal station to take care of your will.  A medical station to make sure your shots and health records are up to date.  I know that soldiers also go through the SRP after a deployment but I don't know what they do.  Ben is readying for a deployment.  He was there all last week and this past Monday.  

~2~

The commentary on the news was just too inane at times.  Really, MSNBC?  Salon.com and Rolling Stones magazine for analysis?  And, by mentioning that one of the guns is a semi-automatic?  A semi-automatic is just a regular handgun that you don't have to cock the hammer on each time you take a shot.  It's not what most people might picture when you hear the word "automatic" when talking about guns.  

~3~

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law were visiting for Ben's promotion ceremony.  He didn't get to spend hardly any time with them.  He got locked down and didn't make it home until 10 last night.  They left this morning.  My children loved having Auntie to themselves since she traveled without her children.  

~4~

We went out to dinner after waiting around for my husband to come home.  It was eerie.  On a Thursday night at 6:30, we would've normally waited for a table especially as we were a party of 7.  However, there were rows of empty parking spaces and lots of space in the restaurant.  We were seated right away.  To put it into perspective, a whole soccer team came to have dinner and were seated almost immediately.  I'm sure all the businesses (especially the restaurants) learned how dependent they are on the soldiers in this community.

~5~

Ben is just devastated by what has happened.

~6~

I'm troubled by how long it took them to close down Fort Hood.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm happy we were able to get away.  But, why did it take so long?  The incident happened around 1:30.  We left at 2pm to take the coffee urn back to the club.  They didn't start the procedure to shut down until after that.  Also, how can you stay away from windows and take shelter when places weren't letting you in the buildings?  I have a friend who had to take shelter in her car with her children because the buildings she was outside when the sirens went off wouldn't let her in.  Just how safe were we sitting in our cars?  I cannot even stress just how close we were to getting stuck.   

~7~

I have learned what an awesome community I am a part of; IRL and in cyberspace.  I thank everyone for their concern and prayers.  It was a truly rough day.  And, I will do what our priest suggested.  I will say a Hail Mary for each person killed and for each person injured.  Even the shooter as much as I'd rather not (sorry, I have to be honest).

Photo credit:  Photography by Cho aka my brother

Tragedy

We had a wonderful promotion ceremony and reception.  I have pictures which I will post later today or tomorrow.  

I have a need to talk about yesterday and the shootings on Fort Hood.  During the reception, one of our friends was called away back to work.  He told us he had to go back to the hospital as there had been a shooting with 15 casualties.  Never would we have imagined that it was an ongoing incident.  Ben left to get his photo taken for his records; he needs to keep updated and since he is now a different rank, he needed a new photo.  We needed to return the coffee urn to the what used to be known as the officer's club.

So, off we went.  It took me a bit longer to figure out how to get to the club from where we were.  I knew where it was but not in relation to where we were.  Once there, my sister-in-law, Sue and I took the urn and their bowls to the club.  I parked in the wrong place; the rear of the building.  The first door we came to was locked; chained and padlocked from the inside.  We were both taken aback.  So we kept going around the building to find a door.  

Then all hell broke loose.

Literally.

A siren went off.  I couldn't hear all the words but heard something about windows and take shelter.  Sue told me to give her all the stuff and to bring the car around.  I took off running.  As I was running, the siren went again.  I jumped in the car and drove it around to pick up Sue.  They wouldn't let her into the club.  Here's a siren telling us to seek shelter and the buildings were already locked and the soldiers couldn't get them open.  We just loaded the urn and bowls back into the car and drove off.  I came to the intersection where I needed to turn left on to leave the installation.  The light was red.  I ran it.

In the meantime, the sirens are continuing.  I drove through and exited the gate.  As I was leaving, a gate guard was running out to close the gates.  We barely made it.  I shudder to think what would've happened if we had not made it.  No one was letting us into the buildings and we would've been stuck in our cars the whole time; no doubt freaking out.

Ben ended up in lock down for 6 hours.  It took him 2 1/2 hours to get home.  It was quite a relief to hear his key in the lock.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Baptism Edition

Well, almost wordless.  This is Rosebud's baptism photo.

 

Photo of the Photographer

My dear friend took this picture.  This is why there are hardly any pictures of me.

More Halloween Pictures

Halloween

 Presenting Han Solo, Padme Amadala, Princess Leia, and our Baby Wookiee.  Aren't they cute!

Kid Thoughts

Last night at dinner, talk turned to the deployment.  The topic which apparently has been on every kid's mind came up.  Honey summed it up in one sentence, "Are you going to die?"

We tried to reassure the children as best as we could but my heart was just aching.  They seem so young to be wrestling with these worries.  It took all I had to not burst into tears.  For us, this is a reality.  We lost our very best friend and "uncle" in Iraq.  I asked Ben, later, how he felt.  He said it was very, very difficult.  We steered the conversation away.  For Honey to voice a worry means it's been bubbling under the surface for a while.

Last week, Pumpkin piped up with, "I won't be sad you're gone, Daddy.  Because I'm going to have a necklace with your picture in it."

Ben is now on a search for a locket for his baby girl.  

They Must Be Smaller

When I was younger (in my teens) and learning to sew.  I came across a contraption and came in those nifty starter sewing kits.  I couldn't figure out what it was.  When I finally learned it was a needle threader, I scoffed.  Why would you need something like that?  Oh, the arrogance of youth.

Now, I wish I could find the one that came with the girls' sewing kit.  I'm sure the eye of the needle has gotten smaller.  It must be.  It couldn't possibly be because my eyesight has worsened.  

7 Quick Takes Friday (volume 55)

 

~1~

A dear friend's husband is coming home for R&R.  He has yet to meet his youngest, who is 5 weeks old now.  Can you imagine that emotional reunion?  I can't wait to see the pictures of Gary with his youngest.

~2~

I lost my Gymboree coupon.  They used to just have a universal code you can use, but I guess they've done away with that.  Each coupon has an individual code.  Sheesh!  I need to buy a few more things for my girls.  The boy has outgrown their pants but not their shirts.  Luckily, he has enough shirts.

~3~

The last couple of Fridays have been COLD.  Usually, I don't mind the cold weather in October, but it makes for a very unpleasant hour at the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil we are participating in.  The mornings, 10-11 sounded great back in August.

~4~

We will be having houseguests in a couple of weeks again.  My mother-in-law and sister-in-law will be coming in for Ben's promotion ceremony which takes place on November 5th.

~5~

We have had an unusually cold, wet autumn thus far.  Usually, the heat lingers on into October.  I think we'll even have cold weather on Halloween.  Now, I hope it stays cold through Thanksgiving too as usually, we are all usually in warm weather clothes.  There's nothing worse than cooking in a hot kitchen in a very warm November.

~6~

I still have costumes to make.  Many, many costumes to put together.  Well, 4.  Ben is working on parts of it, but the sewing falls to me.  It would be easier if I would just fork out the money for it.  I don't know why I have no trouble paying $65 for ballet costumes but can't seem to pay a lot of money for Halloween costumes.

~7~

School has been really light these days.  Luckily, we are getting loads of science (Magic School Bus) and history (Liberty's Kids).  I hope to get us back on track Monday.  The beauty of homeschooling is that we flow with the curve of our lives. 

Visit Jen and Conversion Diary  for more.

In Memoriam

 

This image was the last that Michelle saw of her husband.  He was returning to Iraq after his R&R where he was present for the birth of his son, Jake.  

I miss you, Dave.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Pumpkin Patch Edition

 

 

 

 

No Email

Apparently, Road Runner is having some email issues.  So, I'm feeling a bit crippled.  It's not good that I feel that way.  But, it's my contact with my world at large.  If you need to contact me, please use kcpowers4 at hotmail dot com.

Update:  It's working now.  It figures that things will work out once I post something.

7 Quick Takes Friday (volume 54)

 

~1~

Today we are headed to the pumpkin patch.  It's going to be muddy as it has rained for days and the ground is soggy.  

~2~

My mother-in-law and her husband came for a visit this past weekend.  We had a great time as we always do when Gramma and Grandpa visit.  The children spoiled rotten but then, that's what grandparents are for.  They come from Massachusetts and I think, expected warm weather.  Instead, they were subjected to a cooler than normal temperatures and no sunshine.

~3~

Ben has found out he is deploying in mid-November.  That can mean anything in the Army.  I had hoped for after Thanksgiving but that's okay.  I'm keeping the good thought that the sooner he leaves the sooner he returns.  I won't even think that he could always be extended.  Positive thoughts, right?

~4~

A dear friend found out she is pregnant.  I'm sooo happy for her.  She found a good caring doctor who is doing all he can to ensure this is a "sticky baby".

~5~

Today is our turn at the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil.  We pray from 10-11 CST in front of the misnamed Women's Clinic every Friday.  Last week it rained the whole time.  I think it'll be dry this week.  This past Sunday, was the life chain in our town.  It saved at least one baby's life.  This woman had gone to the Hope Pregnancy Center confused and unsure of what she wanted to do.  They told her to pray about it.  On Monday, she came back to the clinic and said she was going to keep the baby.  What made up her mind?  The life chain which she encountered on Sunday.  She felt if all those people praying in the rain wasn't a sign from God for her to keep a baby, then what is?  I had tears in my eyes hearing this story as did the gentleman telling me the story.

~6~

Sister and Honey are dancing in this year's Nutcracker.  Sister is a mouse and Honey is a bon-bon.  I'm quite excited as I am each year even though I grumble sometimes about the time commitment.  I do enjoy it.

~7~

With Ben leaving soon, I'll just (my friends will know what I mean), we have one last chance.  Please pray for us.

Go to Conversion Diary for more!

The Dahk Side

Overhead today from Pumpkin:  Now you will comprehend the powah of the dahk side.

Too much Star Wars, maybe?

Deployments

Ben will be deploying sometime in the near future.  We've been blessed (he would say cursed) with only one short 6 month deployment.  That's not to say that we've been together day after day for years.  The past year has been the longest time we've been together for consecutive days and I was the one gone for a couple of days in April.   

We've been enjoying Ben's leave these past couple of weeks.  He returns to work on Thursday where he will sign in and learn more details of his deployment.  This starts the beginning of stress.  Already we are close to the constant bickering that happens near separation.  Deployments are even harder (yes, I know this even after just one).  

So, we prepare.  We prepare by packing in as much fun as possible in the time we have left.  We prepare by purchasing all his necessary uniforms.  We prepare all necessary legal documentation.  And, we prepare by discussing what can be considered morbid things; details of a funeral.  We have to be brutally honest and realize that even with a "safe" job, he will be in harms way.  I would feel better with Iraq, but he's slated for Afghanistan.  So, we discuss things so that if something should happen, decisions have been made to help alleviate some of the stress during a tough time.  I don't know if other military families do this, but we do.  

Oh, and Ben will promoted to Lieutenant Colonel next month.  I'm proud of him; and the pay raise is nice.

Unintended Blogging Break

I've been away.  Not physically.  Just trying to get things together.  Trying to figure things out.  Working on ordering my life (very slow process) plus we've had guests.  I hope to start blogging again more regularly soon.  

Constitution Day ~ Second Amendment Edition

 

 

 

 

Kids

Brother:  I want to be like Father Richard when I grow up.

Pumpkin:  Bald?

Happy Day!!

What a happy day!  My dear friend, Jess, delivered this morning at 6:37.  I'll let her tell the birth story but let me just say that the traffic onto post (military installation) was horrendous as soldiers were going in for PT (physical training).  Congratulations!!!

We Remember

Where was I?  I was with my parents.  I had just had Sister 12 days ago and was very tired.  She was not a good sleeper (and wasn't until she was about 2).  Ben was up in Missouri which is where we lived.  We thought we were getting out of the Army before Sister was born so I had moved in with my parents so the transition would be easier.  Obviously, we didn't get out of the Army.

Ben called me to let me know a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.  I pictured a small two seater plan and was upset he woke me up to let me know that.  I had no idea.  

I spent all day glued to that television even though after a while, it was the same thing over and over again.  

My mother-in-law called that morning too but it was not because of the terrorist attacks.  My sister-in-law had lost her baby in utero and she was calling to let me know.  Those two events are forever linked together.

I stopped watching the TV when Brother started whining, "No more building.  No more building."