Promotion Pics

Yep, it's me. No, I am not on valium. I am standing on attention and trying to make sure I don't smile or lose my bearing, as well as stay upright.

I have more pictures, which I posted to myspace. I wish we would have remembered our camera, but the young man who took the promotion pics did a decent job.

And now, I really am a major and I haven't screwed up too much about saying I am still a Captain. Woo hoo. No donuts for me to buy!

We move next week. Oh the joy! We are completely NOT ready!

Tropical Storm Fay...Missed

Everyone is home for the day. Looks like Tropical Storm Fay passed us by with nothing more than a lot of rain yesterday. Today is mostly clear and sunny. Pretty muggy though. I am just thankful it wasn't a hurricane. I think we have a good plan, but I would prefer not to have to act on it.

Mason and Micah put Derek back to sleep, so I am starting the grading process for this weeks papers. I have some I could completely grade, but I don't really want too. Today is Sunday, I want to relax and be a bum.

I finished my ACSC class this week. Not sure what I got on the final, though I am sure I will find out soon enough (SIGH ). The teacher is more anal than I am used too, oh, and things have been, well, CRAZY throughout this term, so I am HOPING for an A, but would not be surprised to get a B.

Derek is going to have to work for the next 6 days straight, which is going to suck! I have a 4 day weekend next weekend, however, I have the boys, so I am not sure if there is any benefit to it. I am going to try to get more boxes packed, though I feel we are at a stopping point with that. We are still using a lot of the stuff, so I think the 10 days I am off will be spent packing one or two boxes at a time, taking them to the new house and unpacking there. Not a lot of fun, but the best I can think of. Not sure we are going to get the letter we need from the landlord to get the move paid for, so we are on our own. Darn the luck.

The kids are back in school now so we can start setting a routine up. BD is still working at Whataburger, but that's only 10 hours a week or so. Plus, she has a college course in the evening. busy year for her. Basketball starts soon as well. Alexis and Mercedes will be starting back to martial arts in October. They both need the activity. The doctor is concerned about their weight. We are trying to control their food intake as well, which is hard because we want to feed them if they are hungry. It's a parent thing.

I am not sure if Alexis likes the new school, btu she's not been overly negative about it, so I am hopefuly that things will go well. It will just take time, and then next year she will be in high school. I am not sure how I feel about that.
Cedes seems happy with her class so far, but for her it's always been a social event, so I don't foresee any major problems except getting her to do her schoolwork like she should.

Micah and Mason are doing well. They enjoy their daycare and seem to play well with the other kids, so I am content ot leave them there.

It looks like I will be staying in my current unit until we leave. That is not a bad thing for me. I will be moving to another flight commander position in a year or so, then possible deploying so that should cover me untuil we leave. It's something of a relief since I was looking at having to take a remote to make sure I didn't get screwed. My boss seems to think I have a strong chance of being a squadron commander. I am not sure that's where I want to go, but if it happens I will take it and do the best I can. It would be hard on the family, but good for my career if I can keep from being fired. That's a what-if though, so no use stressing over it now.

Saturday

Not a whole lot going on. Derek is off becuase he has training all of next week. Yea! Guess there are some minor benefits to him being a regular employee now, other than the paycheck I mean.
We might not have to pay for our mose. Woo hoo! The military just started a program to help out, but we have to get documentation fgrom our landlords which is easier said that done.
We are now done with school shopping now. Thank God! I am so glad we only do this once a year. Plus, I still have to take Mason to get some new jeans. He actually grew. Amazing!
We are looking forward to the kids going back to school and getting back into some semblance of a schedule. Alexis has to be driven to school until we move because the she had to change schools. The zoning here is unbelieavable! However, once we move, she can ride the bus so all will be well. She's also talking about trying out for volleyball. Not sure how that will work for her, but I am all for it. Hopefully we will be back into a routine soon. That makes things so much easier.
I am almost done with another ACSC class. It's been pretty crazy with everything going on, I am surprised I have done as well as I have. I have a chance of getting an A, but it is not a sure thing. I take the final next week.
I am also in week 3 of teaching my second set of classes. Classes go for 9 weeks so we have a ways to go. It's a lot of work, but I am getting back into the routine. That helps. I am loving routines these days.
I am gained several pounds back over the last few weeks because of all the crazyness so now I am back to the diet plan I have been on. I am hoping to get down to 125. I will settle for 130 though.

Interesting...

Perhaps I should NOT be listening to audio books to improve my mind. I am listening to Western Civ right now and the instructor made a point that has been continuously floating around in my head. Now, to set the stage, I am a Christian. I believe in God! I am not trying to be heretical, or blasphemous. It's just a thought.

The instructor was discussing religion and its importance to the foundation of culture as we know it. He made a comment about the 10 commandments. Specifically, the one saying: Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me. Now, in modern times, we read this that there are no other Gods and there is only one true God. However, if you put it in context (according to the instructor), you can believe in other Gods, you just can't worship them above the Christian God. Around the time that Christianity was founded people believed in multiple Gods and picked based on their needs at that moment.

Why has this been banging around in my head? Well, it kind of makes sense. If I were to agree with this principle the: I am not a bad person for believing that there is a Muslim God, nor am I a bad person for believing there are other deities in other places around the world. As long as I only worship my God and believe in him, then I am still Christian. Crazy, isn't it?

In this scenario, Christians can allow other people their religions and not feel threatened. It begs the question as well, was this what was meant by: Though shalt have no other Gods before me? Or did it change over time because Christians felt threatened by other religions?

So many questions.... If you are interested the audio book is called: The Foundations of Western Civilization and it is taught by Professor Thomas F. X. Noble, University of Notre Dame.