First full day back from Iraq!  Many changes I want to put into place and am excited to get going.  It began this morning with waking up at 5AM and getting ready for the day.  I told Darcy that I want to get the kids ready for school and let her sleep in.  Why?  Not for the sake of being a “good” father or even a “good” husband but because I CAN!  A year in Iraq and the inability to do so was sorely missed.  I love my God and my family!

Finally online!

Wow!  It has been forever since I posted and journalled, all because of being on the road travelling to Ft. Jackson and after arriving, having problem with the cable modem in my room.  Finally, some brief comments in the approaching midnight…

The last post was T-minus 8 days.  At T-minus 5 days (Wednesday, 1/31/07) I left home at 2:20PM and headed for Ft. Jackson.  In between, I completed the”cardboard” airplane project for Caleb but ran out of time to paint it.  I intended to have  a lot more completed but as usual, the consequences of procrastination kicked in and convicted me to the gallows!  (When will I learn?)  Then i cleaned the garage and spent Monday and Tuesday packing and getting the garage squared away.  I had wanted to leave on Tuesday but the weather report indicated a storm in pretty much all the areas of travel.  I thought it was better to await and drive after than among the worst of it.  This also allowed me an extra day with getting ready but prolonging the inevitable.

I’m sorry Darcy, Cosette, and Caleb for procrastinating.  The consequences are always more than I intended.

CHOBC – T minus 8 days

Saturday: I spent another 6 hours on Caleb’s project today and finally got to a point where it is ready for paint. I fear that Darcy may have to start up that phase of the project because I am running out of time.

We went to dinner with my family.  It was a send-off and brought about by the generosity of my brothers Giang and Viet.  They have shown such generosity for so many years especially while I was in seminary and I am indebted to them for teaching me much in the area of humility.  Thank you, my brothers.

I also dicsovered a marriage communication conference that may be a great resource for Darcy and I called Love & Respect.  I pray that this is so since after 18 years of marriage, there’s still some strain in our communciation.  Additionally, if the program works out it may be a great resource for the Army.  I wrote to the speaker (Emerson) and asked him if I could use their DVD conference tape and workbook distantly – wife in one location and husband in another, sounds like the Army, huh?  With the Army-wide divorce rate at 70%, perhaps…  I look forward to hearing from him soon.

P.S. I did not enough time to post this until now.