A Magical Adventure!

A Tale of Pajamas

Today was Tamy's birthday. She turned "The Big 30." I had the day off because we work 2 or 3 days then break for 2 or 3 days (I'll explain later). Around 10:00 am the doorbell rang. Evie and I ran to the door to see a nice old man with flowers in his hands, an arrangement of orange tiger-lilies.

(A good thing for all of you to remember is that orange tiger-lilies are Tamy's favorite. Don't believe me, then check the wedding pictures and take a gander at her bouquet.)

After taking the flowers and setting them on the table, the nic

e man returned from his van with another basket, this one filled with fruit, beautiful, large pieces of fruit. Grapes, apples, oranges, etc, more than we would be able to eat. The fruit was from her grandparents, and the flowers were from her parents. When Tamy awoke from her "morning nap," she marveled at such wonderful gifts.

Later in the afternoon we bartered the children to someone for money. Once we were free we drove off and out of the city as fast as we could go, to Columbia that is. Our destination remained a good 45 minute away. We were able to talk and laugh together in the van the whole way there with no interruptions.

Our quest that evening was to watch a romantic movie at the cinemas. Alas, due to my poor planning and miscalculation it was not to be. But fear not! There was more to do. We ate and giggled at Red Robin, then visited a children's store full of cool things for toddlers (and me). After buying a few presents for Joseph, whose birthday is on October the 8th, we headed to, of all places, a game store. Now I know what you are all thinking. "Isn't this supposed to be Tamy's birthday?" The decision was actually hers, and a rather anxious one. She wanted to buy a game that we played about 4 or 5 years ago called, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. But, she didn't stop there, she wanted to get all 3 games of Prince of Persia, to watch me replay them, so I bought them for her.

(Here is the movie that is coming out soon)

After our fun in random stores came to an end, we went into J.C. Penny's to buy my real gift to Tamy, pajamas. Were these lavish or silk pajamas, or Pajama Grams? No. They were fairly inexpensive, casual pajamas. Before you judge and scorn me with your pointed finger telling me what a shallow husband I am, listen well. I have learned a valuable secret that some men would kill for. A secret to knowing what is inside of a woman's heart. Here it is: Listen to her.

From the time when we were just friends, the time we were courting, to the present day, Tamy has told me her hopes and dreams. As someone who wants her to be the happiest she can be, I have taken it upon myself to fulfill those dreams and wishes. A fairy godmother or genie of the lamp

is not the only way to have your wishes and dreams come true. Listen to these magical words:

A dream is a wish your heart makes,
When you're fast asleep,
In dreams you lose your heartaches,
Whatever you wish for, you keep.

Have faith in your dreams and someday,
Your rainbow will come smiling through,
No matter how your heart is grieving,
If you keep on believing,
The dream that you wish will come true.

Dreams can come true but it takes a lot of effort to make some of them happen. Tamy wanted a Ball, I took her to one, she wanted to ride a ferry, we did, she longed to see Italy, we toured all across the country. She desperately wants some nice pajamas while she is pregnant, so I bought her 3 pairs. Now my beautiful pregnant wife is a happy pregnant wife too. Husbands listen to your wives when they tell you the secrets of their hearts, act on them, and they will let you in further.

Later we picked up the kids, put them in bed, and watched some of her favorite shows. Overall, it was a magical day!

Tamy in her new pajamas!

Our House

Without further ado, here is our house!

The front

This is the side of the house. Yes, 2 car garage- very spacious. In the inside it looks like it used to be a room. Comes with a basketball hoop!

Our neighborhood from the front

Neighborhood from the left side

Back of the house

Backyard looking right from the house

Backyard scanning left from above picture

Fire ants!

Our modest living room

Playing in our new living room

The kitchen- Picture being taken in eat-in area; room behind Tamy is the dining room

To the left of this photo is a laundry area

Evie's closet

The other 2 kid's room

Main bathroom

Master bedroom- 2 closets

Master bathroom

Here is our view

Hope you all enjoyed!!!

Fosburg Odyssey

A Day At Work- I got lucky on my reporting date. My orders stated that I was to report on September 6th, a Sunday. Well, if you know the Air Force, you don't do any reporting during the weekends or holidays. Monday just so happened to be a holiday. Tuesday was a different matter. I had no idea where or what to do, but I knew I needed to be somewhere. I had found out my squadron and building from some Airman that were at church, so I knew where a building was and that was it. At 5:30 am I got up and dressed in my ABU's on a quest to find where I was supposed to be. I headed out the door at 6:00 am and arrived at the building a knew about around 6:20 am. The building was closed up with no way to get in. I talked to some airman who were doing some PT to find out when the building would open. An hour later I was back and managed to gain access to the building. Where to now? I had no idea. Luckily someone there did and told me where I needed to be.

I met two 1st Lts that were very helpful with information and what I needed to do. They flagged down a Captain who escorted me around to where I needed to be. If they is one thing I can say about the Air Force so far, it is that they have always made sure I have been taken care of or armed with the knowledge I need to succeed.

Here is the run down:

I was permitted 8 days of leave to "find a house," which started on Wednesday.

I am part of the 9th Squadron here at Shaw and I will work in the NOSC (Network Operations & Security Center) as a Crew Chief. I get to work with a really big screen that looks like something you would see on the movies. Actually it seems like it will be really boring except for all the troubleshooting we have to do. The NOSC is at the staff level which is just under the base level (or if the base is the first level, the staff would be the at the 2nd). What that means is I am getting pretty good experience, but I don't have any airman under me.

We deal with operations directly in the Middle East so there is no "off at 5 see ya in the morning." Instead, we all work in shifts- morning, afternoon, night. We are just about to start 12 hour shifts in a few weeks. The way it will work is 3 days on 2 days off. Actually, everyone is pretty excited about it, its like having 2 weekends in 1 week.

As for deployments I found out that we don't fall into the regular batches set for deployments. Because we are communication we need to deploy a lot. One 1 Lt I met said he has deployed 4 times in about 3 or so years. The deployments last from 30 to 45 days. I know, kind of weird, but that's how I like it.

Spiritual: I have felt the hand of the Lord in my life since we made the decision to join the military. My first pick for a job in the AF was Intel. Once a year I talked to an Intel Officer; 1st year, said they deployed for 4 months every other year. 2nd year said 6 months every other year, 3rd year, 9 months out of the year, scheduled to go back next year. The Lord has been very aware of our desires as a family and our concerns. I felt His hand when I was told that I would be in communications. I feel His presence here in Sumter, SC as we learn about my duties and obligations. I know that Tamy & I will continue to be guided by His hand and feel His presence around us as we continue to walk by faith, with one footstep always in the darkness.

Finding a Van- Our first order of business was to find a van suitable for our growing family. I had already done hours upon hours of research on vans in Moscow. Our aim was to find one around $5,000. Only problem was, we had no idea where to look. Craig's list is where we found four vans: 3 Siennas and 1 Honda. After making the phone calls the only place open that evening was the dealer with the Honda. We took it for a test drive and liked what we experienced. It met all of Tamy's expectations and the dealer was a nice guy. He told us we could have it for $6,700 after all taxes and fees. All the other vans save the 98' started at $7,000. The next day we went back to claim our 'Odyssey.' That is the fastest I have ever bought a car. Here it is Mama Bear driving her new pride n' joy!

House Hunting- Once we had our van we ditched the rental saving 100's of dollars. Now to find a house. We used a service called AHRN, it is a service military families use for finding a house. During ASBC I spent hours looking at houses and made a favorites list. You may not know this, but in the military you are giving what is called a BAH. BAH basically means it is the money giving to you for a house payment rent/buy. It is based off your rank and dependents. I scoured the land for houses below and above our BAH. We knocked it down to about 20 choices. Here are some photos of what we looked at.

The Lake House- We turned down a house with a pool overlooking a lake. The house was actually kind of crumy and the lake was small and dirty, but still, if we had wanted it could have been ours!

The one with me all the way at the end had me dreaming. What should be a dining room would have worked beautifully as the entertainment room!

This room is a little too small.

Stay tuned for scenes of our next episode: Our House!