Monday's Thursday Thirteen

1. We were working on getting to Atlanta last Thursday and by the time we got to the hotel and hit the ground, we were running full-steam. I will be updating today and again this Thursday.

2. We went to Atlanta on a marriage and family retreat with other members of the battalion. The retreat was a great chance for us to get a quick vacation in before school and football and Travis' new baby Soldiers really got into their cycle. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we had a great time. We got to the hotel (which was great, by the way), checked in, had dinner and then we had a session for the couples. Friday before 6:30 was free time for the families. Most of them went to Six Flags (as we did). We got back, cleaned up, had dinner and then another session. Saturday we had sessions until 2:45, then we took the kids to the weenie mall by the hotel, came back and then we had date night. We got back on the bus Sunday around 11 and got home about 4 yesterday.

3. Travis seemed to think after our first two sessions of the retreat that it was geared more toward newer couples and couples who have had problems in the past. By the time Saturday was over, I think he changed his mind a little. We both agree that we took a lot away from the retreat. Chaplain Josh did a fabulous job, as did his wife, Katie, who helped him teach a couple of the sessions. Thanks for all your hard work!

4. The retreat was sponsored by the Chaplains' program. Everyone that signed up knows what military Chaplains "do." Everyone that signed up knows that Chaplains are ordained ministers. Why then, were they so mad when the Chaplain brought a tiny bit of God into the sessions. He actually made an effort to keep the teaching as neutral as he could and he told us he was going to shy away from forcing the religious side of things out of respect for those who do not practice religion. Yes, he did make some references, but he truly made an effort to make our classes as benign as he was able.

5. I think I may have the dining room ready for use either tomorrow or Wednesday. When we moved in, the movers needed a room to put the things which didn't have a "room" in which to belong since we down-sized so much. So, the dining room became a dumping ground for our orphaned crap. Orphaned crap is really hard to deal with. The treadmill is in our bedroom and it is the home for the stuff that used to live in the floor-to-ceiling shelving in our master bedroom in Texas. They are all things which hold huge importance to us (kids' trophies, yearbooks, the vases Travis got me in Korea, Travis' father's flag from his casket, toys my grandfather made and stuff like that). I have no Earthly idea where I am going to fit it all, but I will work something out.

6. I think Nolan's first football practice went pretty well. It killed me to not stay, but I left. I severed the umbilical cord. Then I got lost in the Shandon area. I want to live in Shandon. Had I stayed, I would have been among about two dozen parents to remain on-campus and watch their kids. I think Nolan needed me to go. He also didn't know that I got back half an hour before practice was over so I parked (and he didn't see me) and watched from the truck. He did pretty well. Thanks to his previous football coaches and Coach Avery from wrestling at Fort Bliss, as well as the Dad-man for his conditioning. He is not the biggest kid on the field for the first time in a long time. He is not the slowest and his skill level is pretty much spot-on. He used his hustle and I am proud of him.

7. Shandon rocks. If our stupid house in Texas would sell, we would SO live in Shandon. Travis and I agreed over the weekend that we don't live in the ghetto. Our complex deserves two words. Ghet Toh.

8. I have laughed more belly-laughs in the last week than I have in a super-long time. My Travis is really funny.

9. We might be making a quick trip to Charleston over the weekend if we get the time and a chance to escape. I am excited. We are going to take the little pups, so we can't do anything major, but we are planning to use the trip as a recon mission for a future trip.

10. I think I might like to go to Fayetteville this weekend to visit the brother in-law and his family soon. I haven't seen him or his branch of the fam since 1995. Nolan has never met any of them. Amanda doesn't remember them.

11. I am so excited school starts a week from today. You really have no idea.

12. I am thinking about looking for a job once the house is completely unpacked. I am not sure yet, still thinking, but I wont be taking anything that requires me to be out of the house on weekends or when Travis or the kids are home. They are my first priority.

13. I still have crappy phone service on my cell at the apartment. This morning I was talking to my mother. In our 45 minute conversation, we were disconnected six times. Yes, six. I don't want to get a phone line until we are ready to get our internet connection up. We aren't ready for the internet connection, so we deal with crappy cell phone service. Please be patient. Plus, I don't really have the extra time to talk right now, until I am done with the house and the kids are in school.Love you guys!