Friday night, an ice storm hit the Texas Panhandle and left us without electricity, phone, or cell service. The power won’t be back until at least Tuesday or Wednesday.

We drove into town to visit my grandma, check email and take showers. My Grandma has WIFI. Who knew?

Sorry… I’d love to write more but really… I’d rather take a shower and eat lunch.

Have I told you about my college Life Time Fitness class? That’s Evangel’s required physical fitness class known by students as The Running Class.

I got my first B in college in 1996 because I got a D on the run. Ten years later, I can close my eyes and see myself on that track… falling behind… gasping for breath… failing something for the first time.

I leave for Army Chaplain Officer Basic in one week.

After a few frantic days in Springfield, I finally got all of the paperwork ready and the suitcases packed. I woke up at 3:30 yesterday morning, hoping to leave Springfield by 5 so that we could pick up Joel at the Amarillo airport at 1 p.m.

We didn’t hit the highway until 8:40. I was so disapointed. Mom and Dad had to pick Joel up for me. The kids and I wanted to be there, to see him in his uniform. Jeremiah and Sarah had practiced running to him.

I know it’s not a big deal. But at 1:30 we all cried because that was five hours with Joel that we had lost. I had to point out to Jeremiah that it is not nice to tell someone that is already sad and has already appologized that something is their fault… he said, “Oh… I didn’t know.” Yeh well now you do little man.

Ah but we finally made it to Mom and Dad’s and Joel was waiting for us. So were my parents and Jami and her kids.

Dad had his new video camera on. That’s just what I need. A video of me after waking up at 3:30 in the morning and driving cross country for 9 hours.

Joel and I got a few minutes alone while we drove into town to buy the kids a Christmas present. I hadn’t gotten a chance to shop without them. We went to the Wal-Mart in Dumas, TX. Everyone warned that it would be busy. Busy? Could a Wal-Mart in Dumas be half as busy two days before Christmas as the one on Campbell in Springfield is every single day of the year?

Nope.

I did notice a few things at Wal-Mart that are worth mentioning:
1. I had forgotten about pointy toed cowboy boots…
2. I think people are shorter here… is that possible?
3. I saw a teenager dressed like a New Kids on the Block fan…. is it 1989 Day and no one told me?

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It’s good to be home. Good to hold my man for a few more days before shipping him off to Afghanistan and heading to Ft. Jackson for CHOBC.

And of course, it’s wonderful to see my family. Jami has a new haircut that looks great. She’s going to hook me up with her hair sylist so I can get mine cut like it. Yes, yes, I will post a twin pic.

Triple A… No, no not emergency road service… My report card.

Yes!

Ok… So I did do a little dance in the kitchen. But only because I had worried so about that B sermon and a couple papers that were a little short.

My apologies to everyone who bought myself or my children Christmas presents and will not receive one in return.

A large amount of money was given to American Airlines in your name. This ‘donation’ will help an American Soldier come home to see his family one last time before heading off to war.

So… you think I could just print that on a Christmas card with a photo of the kids and Joel at the airport and hand those out instead of presents this year? Because really… I haven’t bought any gifts yet.

Joel just wrote a post about care packages. He’s not asking for himself, he wants something for his soldiers. When they get back to Camp Atterbury on January 2nd, they won’t see their families for eight months. That’s going to be a hard day.

If you or your group would like to send a care package to help make that day a little better please contact my husband. He can give you all the details you need.

PT. Physical Training… or the lack thereof.

As my seminary assignments pressed upon me, I neglected my work out routine. Determined to prepare for CHOBC, I started to really hit it hard when the semester ended. It’s not working out so well.

As I type this, I have an ice pack tied to my ankle for the second day in a row. I can barely walk. I should be running not limping. I sip hot tea to sooth a persistent sore throat and I wonder what medicine would be best to treat a stubborn chest cold. Turns out not being able to breath kind of slows me down when I’m running.

CHOBC is less than three weeks away. I need some prayer. At this point, supernatural intervention seems to be the only solution.