Sundays in Oklahoma

Another Sunday has come here in beautiful southwest Oklahoma. Sundays are particularly peaceful here. I especially enjoy taking a drive around post late on Sunday evenings. It's such a contrast to the hustle and bustle that defines Monday morning on a military post. Of course, one of the main things I love on Sundays is having the privilege of attending chapel here on post. It reminds me of church back home except for one thing: there is the constant, keen awareness of people coming and going; new people as a result of recent orders for them to join the Ft Sill team, as well as people who have received orders to move on to the next step on their journey. I especially enjoy meeting soldiers who are here for AIT or the Captain's Career Course, or any other temporary assignment. It warms my heart to know that they took time out of their "temporary" assignment to join us in worship. Of course, most of us are here "temporarily," but theirs is even more temporary than ours is.

Of course, Sunday chapel is followed closely by Sunday lunch. Most Sundays, we come home and fix lunch for the three of us. This is sometimes followed by a nap, or a movie, or playtime in the floor. Some Sunday afternoons we decide to venture out to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Such a beautiful place filled with all types of wildlife. No two trips there are ever the same. Some trips will result in a close encounter with a buffalo, while others allow us a glimpse of just how "long" the longhorn cattle horns are. Sometimes we drive over to Elmer Thomas Park and let Kristen feed the ducks and geese. She loves that so much, and I must admit, I love it too. There's just something surreal about being so close to God's creatures that are so different from ourselves. Plus I get to take lots of pictures and create wonderful memories with my little family. I'm hoping Kristen is old enough to remember these things when she gets older. I remember some things from when I was five years old, so I'm hoping she will be able to do the same. If not, at least I have pictures to show her. I really wish she could stay this age forever. I'm going to miss my little innocent, inquisitive 5-year-old when I'm dealing with a 15-year-old with an attitude. :) But, such is life. I will enjoy her as much as I possibly can at this moment, and all the moments in between.

On this particular Sunday afternoon, we will be finishing the decoration of the Christmas tree. Yes, I know it's before Thanksgiving, but since we will be gone for 11 days out of the Christmas season (!!!!!) I decided to go ahead and put it up so we will have time to enjoy it now before we go home for Christmas. Plus, there's just something magical about experiencing Christmas through the eyes of a child. To see Kristen's face light up when she sees the tree is so worth having all our neighbors think we're crazy for putting it up this early. :) That's another thing I'll miss when she gets older.

Well, since Sunday has dawned, it is now time to get ready for chapel. Happy Sunday everyone!

~Moving Right Along~

It is hard to believe that it has been about 5 months since we moved to Ft. Sill. In some ways, it seems like we just got here, yet in other ways it seems like forever since we left home. It has been bittersweet. I can honestly say that I don't have any real complaints about Ft. Sill so far, or even Oklahoma for that matter. I know people who hate it here, but I guess it's all in what you're used to. I left home with the attitude that I was going to like wherever we ended up, since we obviously didn't have a choice anyway. Leaving home was hard enough. It would be ten times worse if I hated the place we were moving to. I'm a small-town country girl myself, so I guess that's why I don't mind that Lawton/Ft Sill doesn't have all of the amenities that a big city has. And if I do get an urge to have a taste of the city life, Oklahoma City isn't that far away. We've been there a couple of times now, and it's certainly lovely and full of life, but it's nice to come back to the mostly quiet Lawton at the end of the day. We have also been to Dallas, and it was quite interesting to see the very place where President Kennedy was killed. Daniel is a HUGE JFK history buff, so this was like the Holy Grail for him. He had wanted to go there his whole life, but he never thought he would ever get to go. I'm glad he was able to accomplish that. Even better, it was on the Army's dime since we were there for a unit marriage retreat. :) The Army definitely has its perks. :) Yes, there are sacrifices, such as deployments. I'm thankful that the first one is done, so I will at least know what to expect next time. And yes, deployment will come again in probably about another year to year and a half or so. But, we survived the first time, and we will do it again. In the meantime, we will enjoy life on the prairie where the wind literally does come sweeping down the plain. :)

Trying this out...

Since I often have people to ask what we're up to since we left Virginia, I thought it might be a neat idea to start a blog. I have seen these and heard rave reviews about them, so I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a try. Not that there's anything way interesting going on right now, but I'm sure there soon will be. And who knows, what may not be interesting to me may be way interesting to somebody else, and vice versa. :) I will update as often as I can. If I bore anybody, please feel free to speak up and say so. :) I will post more details later about things we've seen and done since we moved to Oklahoma. Bye for now. :)