Oh, Carolina

Gabe and I went to downtown Southern Pines just to walk around - it was a beautiful day today. So I took some pictures... again, only had the phone. Enjoy my North Carolina! I really am going to miss this place...

We saw a really pretty gate and it reminded me of the Secret Garden. :-)

I don't know what kind of plant this was - it smelled like Lavender - but it was really pretty... it had really thin.... leaves or whatever. Like hair.

The same plant.

The railroad tracks upon which very large trains travel. I know this because they make my candle holders shake sometimes. haha

It's Gone to the Dogs

We (Gabe, me, Josh and Kirsty) went to the Dog Park in Southern Pines! All this time we didn't know it was there!! Anyway, it was huge and beautiful and the dogs (Charlie, Samson and Angus) all had a really fun time. They were completely exhausted... at least until we got home and they found a ball. haha Anyway, here are some pictures! All I had was my cell phone so forgive the poor resolution.

Angus facing off one of the big boys.

Well.... the stick was about as long as he was, but that didn't stop him from trying to not only fetch it, but try to run as fast as Sam and Charlie with it!

Angus sniffing around... he couldn't keep up with the boys. :-)

Samson was quite tuckered out.

Charlie - always seeing what's going on!

Hahaha... Angus kept tripping over himself in the grass.

Aw I love my dog!

Angus loves Samson! And Samson tolerates Angus. :-P

Even the energetic puppy got tired!

This picture isn't doing that dog justice; he was a monster! He made our German Shepherd mixes look like puppies!

Samson with the giant dog. Kirsty actually thought it was a miniature horse from across the field.

Best buds!

No, sadly, Winston wasn't there. But I had to put up a picture of him to let him know that Samson hasn't forgotten about him and that he was with us in spirit. :-)

Officially Out as of October 24!

Well.... FINALLY.... Gabe got his orders!! We are officially Army free on October 24, 2008! And for inquiring minds: it is an honorable discharge. Details on the move will be coming soon, but for now we had to party! Which for us means having a couple friends over and eating way too much dessert while drinking some sparkling wine. So we're homebodies... :-) It was a lot of fun and the reason for it made the night that much better! And I should also add that God always keeps His promises. I hope we never forget how He got us through this.

Gabe reading his orders.

The glasses with not only the official 82nd Airborne symbol, but also the Signal Company flash (which is now non-existent...)

How many soldiers does it take to open a champagne bottle?

Gabe's so happy with his celebratory wine!

Gabe's little toast.... Don't judge; he was giddy from the news and the alcohol. Mostly the news. :-P

CHEERS!!

Kissy kissy!

The Walkers! We are going to miss them so much. :-(

Josh and Gabe

Kirsty and I... it's blurry because Gabe took the picture and it is very fair to say he was a bit tipsy.

The Walkers and the Sedberrys. We love you guys!

One Last Jump

Because we are getting out soon, my loving husband was very excited to see a Casa plane flying around above us on our drive home from base. Apparently it doesn't happen all that much. So we went to the drop zone and we caught a really cool jump! THEN (because I think God wanted us to see something so cool) they just happened to also be doing a HALO jump which is very very rare to see! HALO stands for High Altitude, Low Opening (something like that). These guys train so that they jump out above radar and release their shutes below it... or something like that... lol Anyway they have amazing control over their direction and everything. They had a tiny little spot to land in and they all did it - well, a couple went a little further but I'm pretty sure it was on purpose. And - the coolest part - they land on their feet!! Just like James Bond! I was amazed... Anyway! Here are some pictures!

A little random, but we were waiting for them to jump and this Praying Mantis flew on us... and then I went to take it's picture and it seriously turned it's creepy little head and stared at me!!

YES! ON HIS FEET!!

The super-sweet video of the HALO jumpers:

Gabe Came Home....

...for a visit this morning! It was really wonderful. He called me and said, "I'll be home in 5 minutes." It was so wonderful to have him home! He came and laid down with me for a few minutes and then he watched the news with me as he got his stuff together. And the reason he was home was exciting: he was getting a form he needed so that the top guy (I forget what rank he is, but he's the last person who needs to sign Gabe's chapter before it goes to G1 and his actual orders get typed up!) can sign off on it... Which means that it isn't just sitting on a desk somewhere - and it also means that this person cares about making sure Gabe ACAPs (the form he needed had to do with that). ACAPing is very important because it prepares a soldier for getting out: they provide classes on the transition - including a class on building a resume and one specifically for the move so that we know what to expect, they also are a catalyst for a lot of civilian jobs to hire exiting soldiers. Anyway, it was a very pleasant surprise to have him come home for a little bit and it was encouraging to see that his chapter is making real progress. Gabe said that if it gets signed today it will probably be in G1 for a couple days. So we'll see when we get orders. It won't be too long now!

I can even start applying for jobs now in California!

God is so good, all the time!