I want to put together a little introduction... to fill in some of the events from the past few years... and then try to write more frequently.. about thoughts on life... so this might be more wordy than I plan on making these things....
We are living in Leavenworth, Kansas right now and really enjoying it. We moved here in June for an Army school I'm currently attending. It has been a tough year. We lost my Dad on December 30th, 2011. It has been a tough year of readjusting and trying to know how best to help and lead my family through these things. My Mom came to live with us for a few months. I think that was good to sort through some things.. and help make life more manageable for her, as we worked on plans for things. Mom moved back to PA at the end of April of this year. We made a trip back there with her to get her settled in... and go through some things at the house with her. She seems to be doing really well there on her own now. She has her ups and downs.. but that is part of the new normal.
Having Mom with us in Florida... and working through all of those things really made the grieving process hard for me. I felt a need to stay strong continuously. Moving to Kansas was really the first time to allow the reality of missing my Dad to sink in. It has been tough on top of working through getting settled here and balancing a pretty demanding academic load. I went on a retreat a few weeks ago called Marked Men for Christ (https://www.markedmenforchrist.org/). That retreat was a very powerful event for me. I felt a great deal of healing as a result of that time with God. I would recommend the ministry to anyone out there- if you are considering it.
Oh wait.. i forgot to fill in some other spaces... Yeah, we were living in Florida for the past three years.. from July 2009- June 2012. I was working at an Air Force Base there... It was a very different assignment, but I feel like I learned a lot through the process. I wish I had attended this school prior to that assignment, but that's alright. Life is good.
My sister has been battling cancer for the past year. She was diagnosed a few weeks before losing my Dad in December of 2011. I know this year has been very difficult on her as well. Tough...
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Our house in Kansas is great. We are renting a house on 80 acres of land... it's great! We have a small chicken coop with a dozen chickens in it... We have about 2 acres of grass.. and the rest is woods. The kids love playing in the woods.. and so do we. Traci and I made some new trails in the woods this weekend.. It's a lot of fun.. I've got another week of Archery Season before rifle season starts. I hope I can get a deer. That would be great.
Hunting is fun. I don't take it too seriously though. It is a time for Elijah and I to spend together. Even if we aren't the most silent and scent void hunters in the world.. we have fun together out there... and that is good..
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Today Elijah and I went to our first NFL football game. The Chiefs got beat by the Broncos. It was fun. Some friends from the chapel gave us the tickets.. so we had some fun going there together.
Ok.. good night for now. I'll try to write more frequently.. and with some insights about our life these days...
Take care! Steve
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking time to give us the update!