The Fort Hood Area

I started this blog forever ago, but we just got Internet on Friday, September 19, and we have been so busy unpacking our boxes. So, here is what I started. It is a little about the area around Fort Hood...

Wow! I have never seen so many strip clubs, pawn shops, tattoo and piercing parlors, title loan shops, etc., in one place in my life. It is so sad to see how the secular world "caters" to these young, naive soldiers who are earning a nice income and don't know what to do with their newfound "wealth." It is so disappointing to see.

There are a lot of U-turns to make around here, and we couldn't figure out how to get back on the main road we wanted and we ended up taking a back road that was SCARY! I have never seen so many strip clubs. We know to never go down that road again, especially at night.

It is also very flat here and very brown. We do have some squatty "trees" in our yard, and I can't wait to see if the leaves will fall off or not. I don't know what kind of trees they are. I will hopefully post some pics soon.

We had our first taste of authentic Mexican food the other day. Now, I have always been one who knows Mexican food. Afterall, I waited tables at a Mexican restaurant when I was in college. Michael and Victoria always ask me what things are because I know my Mexican food. When I looked at the menu at the restaurant last week, I didn't know what things were. I had never heard of some of the items. I actually had to ask the waitress questions!! Victoria asked me how I knew that this was authentic. I told her because I didn't know what everything was on the menu.

I ordered the chicken fajita nachos. Victoria ordered two beef fajita soft tacos, and Michael ordered something I can't remember. My nachos were so different. We are used to melted cheese poured over the nachos. It was definitely shredded cheese melted over chips the size of half a flour tortilla. They were HUGE! Victoria's tacos looked fabulous. Beef with lettuce, tomato and cheese. She could only eat one. Michael's meal was interesting. It was two corn "tortillas." But the tortilla's were about 3/4 inch thick! Between the tortillas was ground beef, cheese and a type of pica de gallo. It was interesting. I think next time we will try the fajita beef, not the ground beef. We will definitely go back.

Well, I have to get back to my unpacking. I think we will be unpacking for the rest of the week.

Until next time, have a blessed week!

Laura

Car Trouble, Yucky Houses, and Hurricanes...Oh My! PART 2

Car trouble overcome, we move on to yucky houses...

We were blessed to rent a house from another chaplain who has moved to Germany. When we got to Texas on Sunday, we drove by the house to check it out. Oh no! The chaplain told us the master bedroom was larger than ours was at the parsonage. This bedroom was definitely smaller! We couldn't have smaller! Our bedroom suite is way too big for smaller. And, the other three bedrooms were cracker jack boxes. The gate on the fence was hanging off its hinges. And, this was just from walking around the outside of the house. We were very nervous now and were beginning to regret signing the lease after only seeing pictures of the house. Michael and I decided we would be at the rental agency first thing in the morning. I started praying and didn't stop...

By the way, Victoria was so sick. She was coughing and sniffling and blowing her nose like crazy. I got her Nyquil...for the first time. She slept all night.

Monday morning, we left Victoria at the hotel and went to the rental agency and told them we were not pleased with the outside of the house and the discrepancy in the size of the master bedroom. We asked to see the inside. We met the locksmith with new keys at the house. Oh. My. Gosh! No way was this house going to work. The rooms had old, peeling wallpaper that looked dingy. We thought they were all painted walls. The refrigerator was moldy and mildewed on the inside. Ewwwwww! We knew it would not work for us. We went back to the rental agency and told them so. We asked if we could get out of the contract. They e-mailed the owner. We would have to wait. Until then, we looked at two more houses and found one we loved. LLLOOOOOONNNNNGGGGGGG story short.......after 54 hours of tortuous waiting, we were let out of the contract since the owner never responded to a single e-mail the rental agency sent to him. We were tickled! Now, the agency told us that they had told the owner that there were things he needed to do in order to rent the house, and he wouldn't do it. We figured that maybe God used us to show the owner what needs to be done so that the house is in condition enough to rent out. We are just grateful and give the praise to God for getting us out of the contract and into a lovely home that we can't wait to live in.

We learned a great lesson: Never sign anything sight unseen. Victoria saw the anguish it caused us and said that she would remember this lesson so she doesn't repeat it herself in her adulthood. Good girl!

And about Hurricane Ike, we got maybe 30 minutes of light rain, and that's it. It has been extremely windy, but that is all. So, we missed the hurricane.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. We cherish those prayers. By the way, Victoria is STILL sick. But what a constitution! That child can take Nyquil and stay up ALL DAY LONG!!! I don't know how her little body can handle it. I take 1/2 a dose, and it knocks me out for two days. What's up with that? It's crazy!

Until next time, have a very blessed week!

Laura

Car Trouble, Yucky Houses, and Hurricanes...Oh My!

We had the Graduation Banquet on Wednesday night, September 3. We got to dress up again. We had a very nice time.
  


Graduation was moved to Thursday. Here are a few pictures from graduation.     

Michael graduated with the largest class ever to go through CH-BOLC. It was a wonderful ceremony, and we were fortunate enough to hear the Chief of Chaplains speak again. We have heard him speak twice previously. He is such a godly man, and we, as a nation, are blessed to have him over our chaplains in the military.

We spent Thursday evening loading our cars and headed out Friday morning at 8 a.m. Unfortunately, we encountered car trouble within minutes of pulling out of the hotel parking lot. Michael’s car was not doing well. So, we found a auto store, Michael got what he needed and put it in the fuel tank. He said he was still having problems as we drove. We made it to Augusta, GA, where our dear friends live. We couldn’t reach them by phone, so we stopped by there house. :O) That’s a sign of a good friend...just stop in without phoning first. (We tried!) Holly let us in her house of refuge and called Doug, her hubby. Doug thought it sounded like something else, so Michael worked on the car some more and fixed that. It didn’t work. Michael went to Doug’s work so Doug could hear it firsthand. Michael tried something else; it didn’t work either. The car was good enough to continue on. So, after lunch with Holly and the girls, we headed out again. On the way to Birmingham, my car hit 200,000 miles. I LOVE my car. :O)


We made it to Birmingham, our next stop for the night. We went out to dinner with our friends Grace and Alan at Mudtown. It is excellent if you ever get the chance to dine there. Of course, we have to take our bird with us now since we are moving. She seemed to being doing pretty well through all of the traveling.


Michael and Alan golfed on Saturday and for lunch, we ordered a Chicago Pan Pizza from Tortuga’s. OMGosh! Fabulous! Soon after lunch, we said farewell to our friends and were off.

I followed Michael the entire way because we were concerned about his little car.

We stopped at a rest area in Mississippi, and as I pulled into my parking space, I saw friends of ours from the chaplain’s school! I couldn’t believe it! It was Michael’s battle buddy, Paige, his wife, Ashley, and their beautiful daughter, Caris. They were on their way back home to New Orleans. We were so happy to see them and spent a few minutes chatting before we all got back on the road. God is so good.
Paige and Ashley at the graduation banquet.



We made it to our final stop of the day, Ruston, LA. Friends from the chaplain’s school offered their home for us to stay in on our way to TX. We met up with Jeff and Libby and went out to dinner. I can’t remember where we went, but it was very good. I know Michael and I crashed that night. We were so tired. We went to an early church service with Jeff and Libby on Sunday, and then, once again, we were back on the road.

Michael’s car continued to cooperate, and we made it to Killeen, TX, within about six hours. Here are shots of our first moments in TX.
  

We were going to check into the Holiday Inn Express because they allow pets, and we have our little cockatiel with us. Unfortunately, only smoking rooms were left. Thankfully, more friends from chaplain’s school were staying there with their dog and cat. They said they could watch our little bird, and we got a room down the road at another Holiday Inn. So we left Grace with them and checked into our own room. It seems like things are running together and I can’t remember what we did for the rest of the day. Oh well. I know we ate something somewhere. LOL!

I have written a novel. But, tomorrow, I will tell you a little about the “yucky house!”

Until next time, have a blessed week!

Laura

Graduation Update....

It's official! Prayer works. You heard it hear! (As if we didn't already know.) :o)

Michael's graduation WILL be held in the original place, the Solomon Center. Praise God! AND, the chaplains will wear their Class A uniforms (their nice green ones, not the cammos). Yay! God has worked it all out. It has still been moved up to Thursday instead of Friday, but that's okay. No problem. 

We made other changes to our own schedule. We are going to load up the cars tomorrow after graduation and stay one more night here. We will head out early Friday morning. Phew! We have too much stuff to load and would be so tired if we tried to leave Thursday.

Thank you so much for your prayers. It means so much to hear from you and know you are praying for us. I hope that none of you are affected by Hanna, Ike, and Josephine. 

Have a wonderfully blessed week.

Laura

Egad and Gadzooks!!!!!

Well, the Army has thrown us a curveball. Michael was supposed to graduate on Friday at 2:30. There are many chaplains who have friends and family flying in for the big day. Due to Hurricane Hanna headed our way, the Army has moved the graduation to TOMORROW at 2:30. It has thrown everything into a tailspin. Our friends and family who were coming are no longer coming. And, instead of us heading out on Friday, we are leaving tomorrow. The Army wants to be able to have housing for people being evacuated from the coast. 

On one hand, I'm happy that we get to leave a day early. On the other hand, I am so sad because graduation may not take place in the really big Solomon Center and may take place in their classroom. We went to a friend's graduation last year and loved the structure and formality. It was so nice. It will be so cramped and crowded in their small classroom. Please pray that it will be in the Solomon Center. Also, please pray for all of the people being evacuated.

Until next time (which may be in Texas), have a BLESSED week and stay safe.

Laura

We're Almost Done Here

Can you believe our time in SC is almost over? Time really has gone by quicker than we expected it to. Michael is just about done with all of his classes. My classes begin tomorrow. I'm looking forward to my Officer's Wives Classes. I'm sure I will learn a ton of stuff. We are also headed to another formal banquet on Wednesday evening, so be on the look out for Michael and me dressed to the nines again. How fun!

We will leave Friday after Michael's graduation to head to TX. Please pray for us as it looks like we will be driving through Gustav, Hannah, Ike, and/or Josephine! Good grief! Of course, pray for the people who may lose everything they have. How sad. I hope it isn't as devastating as people are expecting it to be. 

Hopefully, the rain won't be at Fort Hood when we get there. We really don't want to have to unload in the rain.  

Please pray, too, that none of our furniture or things were hurt in the move and that we get everything moved in safely. 

Thanks for your prayers, love and support. 

Until next time...God bless!!

Laura