Dying with Baggage

Khoi To — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:54:18 +0000

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!

Coming Home!

Khoi To — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:31:33 +0000

A few more weeks before I come home from Iraq. Yeah! Hopefully more to post soon…

It’s been a long time…

Khoi To — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:31:24 +0000

A whole year has passed and much has happened. The biggest of which is leaving our home of nearly 20 years (So. CA) and entering active duty Army. So we are at Fort Drum, NY. Nothing much here to remind me of CA. I will try to work on an much needed update before the IRAQI deployment in a few months.

As God wills…

Finally online!

Khoi To — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 07:26:11 +0000

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

Khoi To — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 11:06:03 +0000

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.

CHOBC – T minus 9 days

Khoi To — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 10:31:11 +0000

Friday: This morning, my son was honored with leading his school in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. He was loud and clear and did a great job as I knew he would. There’s a future for drill sargeant there but mommy may have a different opinion.

Cosette is came home with lots of homework this weekend which is unsual. I don’t remember this much homework when I was her age. She is so much better at doing homework than I ever was. I am proud of her.

I also started on Caleb’s AWANA’s (actually SPARKS) cardboard box project. It’s a night of movie watching as they sit in their creation. This year, I decided to build something with wheels so that he can can move it around himself so I started the framing so it could support wheels. The framing then can take whatever shape we decided to build. My son chose an airplane.

What started out as a “simple” project that should have lasted a couple of hours but ended up incomplete at 7 pm. Chalk it up to inexperience… The caveat is that next time, it should be much better. Ha, ha.

P.S. I couln’t post this yesterday due to some problems so had to recreate this.

CHOBC – T minus 10 days

Khoi To — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 05:14:19 +0000

Finally, I took Caleb and my bikes when I went to pick him up from school so that we could practice while we waited to pick up sissy. What a joy it was to see his confidence soar as he was able to start and stop by himself! He cannot stop talking about it and told me that biking is his “new” favorite passtime activity. Ahh… great validation for Daddy!

As I was sitting there watching him ride all around, I could not help but think about the time I first rode the bike… I taught myself by watching my older brother and other kids. I don’t remember where my Dad was nor whether or not he felt any inclination to teach his children. My memories of my childhood are often like this: I remember the event but don’t know where Dad was. At least in the teaching-your-kid-how-to-ride-a-bike category, with Caleb and Cosette, my experience has me improving on the daddy’s role of the To family.

My feelings of elation from watching my children led me to think of how God feels when I finally “get it” in an area He has been trying to teach me. It humbles me to think of His never waning patience waiting for me to come around. I barely have enough patience when my children don’t get it the first time around and this convicts me thoroughly. How precious and necessary then that I should die to myself and let Him have it all. Unfortunately, God is still waiting for this to happen…

Only three more whole days of spending time with the family before I depart for Fort Jackson. The pain of misssing them is already present.

First Post Greetings!

Khoi To — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 22:40:29 +0000

This is my second attempt at blogging with the first one not very succesful due to lack of consistency. It is my prayer that with the commencement of US Army Chaplain school (2007FEB04), I will be more motivated to keep it going to keep my friend and family updated with my daily thoughts. I would appreciate it if you will keep me in your prayers. Shalom!

Khoi