Moved to Germany!

OK, so I'm a bit behind the times. BUT, I wanted you all to know that we're here and doing well. We've been traveling quite a bit and loving every minute of it! I'll attach some photos here and then try to start doing separate blogs for the different places we go so you can compare the beauty like we've been able to.

On this blog, I'll include some pictures of some the castles we've seen including the infamous Neuschwanstein Castle and Linderhof Palace, the Imperial Castle of Nuremburg, the Residenz inWurzburg, and Heidelberg Castle, then a bit from some of the favorite cities we've seen in Germany: Bamberg, Garmisch, Heidelberg, Nuremberg, Rothenberg and Wurzburg.

Steve Receives his Wings!

After four weeks of intense training culminating in a timed (3-hours max) 2 a.m. twelve-mile ruck march in full uniform with weapon and a 50 lb. backpack, Chaplain Steve Glenn was pinned with Air Assault Wings by his Commanding Officer Amanda Glenn (yes, that's me!) in a ceremony at Fort Bliss April 3.

Is that as cool as it sounds? Yes! There are only a small percentage of soldiers who wear these wings, as they must be chosen to take the course and then prove that they are both mentally and physically capable of attempting completion.

They begin to prove their worth in the first two-week session called Pre-Air Assault. In this session, they are physically trained from well before sunrise until well after sundown, sometimes only getting a few hours rest before getting up to do it all over again. From climbing to the top of a 25-foot rope to rappelling from a 50-foot tower with constant physical movement in between, the soldiers must keep going or they are immediately dropped from the course. They must prove that they understand the art of rappelling as well as the importance of every movement for safety purposes. If they do this, they can then move on to the Air Assault Course.

The Air Assault Course is also two weeks long and consists of three stages which include lessons as well as continuous physical training. In Phase I, Air Mobile Operations are studied and soldiers must learn all about the aircraft and their lifting capabilities. Phase II teaches Sling Load Operations -- this is where they learn how to tie vehicles and other items securely to an aircraft so that it (or they -- sometimes more than one vehicle at a time) may be transported safely. They also learn how to set up a landing zone as well as the hand signals to safely direct an aircraft. Phase III consists of Rappelling Operations. Securely tying, jumping and safely helping others soldiers to the ground is the focus and, once again, a person can be dropped immediately (and many are) at any phase in this course. Steve's class was proud hold the record of 91% retention -- 276 started the course; 215, including Chaplain Steve Glenn, finished and received their Wings! Yes, his proud wife got to pin them on!

Because he was the OLDEST in the group, he was also assigned the guidon (flag) bearer (see picture below). I must mention, though, that he came in 16th on the first 12-mile ruck and 26th on the last in front of all those young guys!

Oh, and did I mention his assigned number (the number he was known by) in the Air Assault Course??? 007! Yes, that's Bond. Steve Bond! We're very proud of our Chaplain and hope you are, too!

Going to Germany!!!

Army life has its perks and we're about to receive a great one!

We got orders to report to USAG, Schweinfurt in Bavaria, Germany and we're so excited!

We have to report in by early July but plan to let the girls finish school in June and then visit family before we head out on our new adventure. The girls are very excited and have even started to learn some German. Cali is now tri-lingual -- she can count to 10 in English, Spanish and German! And she loves to say her age -- fünf! Hannah is most excited that we're going to have snow to play in next winter; all winter, not just once a year!

We've already learned from Mapquest that Paris is 7.5 hours away and London 9.5 hours; both less than that by train. And that the famous New Swan Stone Castle (the model for the Disney Princess Castle) is 3 hours south. Additionally, Germany is bordered by Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and The Netherlands, making all of these countries (and others) less than a day trip away.

Did you know that Germany is only 137,847 sq miles - slightly smaller than Montana? It includes 16 states and we will be living in the Lower Franconia region of the state of Bavaria. The Bavarian Alps and the Black Forest are in the state of Bavaria, as is Rothenburg, considered the epitome of German cities with its cobbled lanes lined with picturesque half-timbered houses.

Does it make you want to visit? We hope so! We're going to try to rent a home with an extra bedroom so family and friends can come so let us know if you can. Give us a few months so we can get to know the area, and then fly into Frankfurt -- 70 miles from Schweinfurt -- and we can come get you! Audra has dibs on Holland in springtime for the tulip festival!

All the pictures I included, except the castle and Rothenburg, are of places in Schweinfurt. Schweinfurt itself was first documented in the year 790 so it has a lot of history and beautiful architecture, as you can see. It is located on the Main River and has many medieval buildings as well as an inner-city market square that German cities are so known for. I noticed in the downtown picture, though, that there's also a McDonalds so it obviously also contains modern-day amenities! We can't wait to see for ourselves so please pray for a smooth transition over these next few months!

Blessings to all!

Safely Home from War!

After 12 months of service in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait and Qatar, Steve is home from Operation Enduring Freedom! Praise God! It's so good to be a reunited family!

He arrived home on Feb.9 at about 12:30 a.m. (yes, just after midnight the 8th!) and you should have seen the celebration! It was wonderful!

After a few delays, families were told to arrive at the hangar at 10 p.m. We got there with all of our balloons, signs and friends (Chaplain Wright and family who we met at Chaplaincy School) in tow and the girls ran off to play in the jumpy that was set up. They had great areas for the kids to play and volunteers from the USO were set up around the hangar giving away snacks and water and books and videos and other fun things. They even had a giant blow-up TV set up showing us pictures of our Soldiers. It was just so nicely done.

At about midnight, we were told the plane was approaching and we were allowed to go out on the flightline to see it land (we were at Biggs Air Field right here at Fort Bliss). We filed out to line up by a rope (it was soooooo cold!) and soon, there it was! The plane with all of our soldiers on board was taxiing down the runway! You should have heard the families screaming and clapping! It pulled up a little ways away and a color guard and military band filed out to play as the door opened and the Soldiers started down the steps. It was awesome! The most exciting part is that they filed right past the rope we were standing behind! Not too close because they had to go out-process (turn in their weapons, etc.) before we could reunite. It was hard to make out who was who because, of course, they were all dressed alike and it was dark; but, we were able to find Steve because Chaplains don't carry a weapon -- we just looked for the Soldier without a weapon. And there he was! Our friends and the kids and I screamed to him at the top of our lungs and he heard us and turned around and actually saw us and waved! It was so exciting!

Then, we had to go back in the hangar and wait. Yes, that was hard, but it was worth it! A little less than an hour later our Rear Detachment Commander came out and told us that our Soldiers were outside the hangar door and that if we didn't respond when they knocked, they wouldn't come in. A few seconds later, three loud knocks on the hangar door! The families went wild! So the door slowly slid up, dry ice was set off in the doorway and our Soldiers, led by the Color Guard, marched in through the smoke and came to a halt 6 feet in front of us! They left faced and we were looking right at them! We even saw Steve right in the front (which is no small feat considering there were so many!) We were all SOOO excited! Then they dismissed them and chaos reigned as everyone ran for their Soldier! We found Steve amidst the chaos. I let him at the girls first and when they'd had their hugs and kisses, I went in for mine! It was so good to have him right there once again and we've been celebrating ever since!

Thanks so much for all your prayers that sustained us through this year apart. We're fully enjoying our reunion!

R and R

We got to have Daddy home for two weeks after 9 months away and we had a great time!

He was here Oct. 19-Nov. 4 and we made the most of every minute.

First, you'll see the shots at the airport. Believe it or not, I was able to keep the kids from knowing he was coming home and they were really suprised. One of my favorite photos is the one below where they see him coming in from the plane -- look at those faces! It's blurry, but the moment is sure there!

After a couple of days of just sitting together and enjoying each other, we went on a hike to Dripping Springs State Park in New Mexico. It was beautiful and we got to see true flora and fauna of the area -- in fact, we saw 3 trantulas walking across our path and none of us even jumped! We just enjoyed!

On to Anaheim, California and Disneyland for Cali's 4th Birthday! She got a bike before we left, but I think Disney trumped the bike! We all had a great time.

From there we went to San Diego and spent two nights a the Navy Base at Coronodo Beach. Talk about beautiful!

Halloween was spent at Sea World, and then on home. Before he left, we celebrated and early Thanksgiving and even put up the Christmas tree. It was just all wonderful!

Just a few more months and he'll be home for good -- yeah!!!

Enjoying our Summer!

We had the privilege of having Deana (Steve's sister and my best friend!) visit with us this week. Deana has never flown, and never been out West, so we planned some fun and certianly had it!

First of all, she said she was so excited on her plane ride that she had a hard time not jumping up and down in her seat in excitement! I was so glad she had a great first flight!

We spent our first day together touring the base, and enjoying the vistas of El Paso. We also went to the El Paso Museum of Art and saw the DiVinci diplay. One picture below shows the hall of mirrors, one of DiVinci's many inventions.

After that, we took a trip. We spent two nights in Sedona, Arizona, said to be one of the most beautiful places in the world (and we believe it!). Not only did we enjoy the views and the shops, we had buffalo burgers and cactus fries for dinner! Yes, it was real cactus and it was good!

We also spent one day at the Grand Canyon. What can I say? That speaks for itself! And Deana and Hannah and Cali were seeing it for the first time, which made it all the more exciting.

On our way back to El Paso, we stopped off at the Saguaro National Park in Tuscon. If you ever get to Tuscon, be sure to go here; it's just so neat! The Saguaro is the cactus you think of when you think of a cactus! It's the one with the arms. And, if you can imagine this, the National Park has them as far as the eye can see! Here are some interesting facts: The Saguaro takes 10 years to grow one inch, it takes 30 years to reach one foot, and it doesn't bloom until it is 50 years old! Once it gets to be about 50, it begins to grow arms so that it can enjoy more space. The Saguaros you see that are taller than a person and full of arms are about 200 years old! And, perhaps the most interesting thing we learned is that they are able to stand tall like that because they have "ribs" inside. Those are like tree branches. A picture below shows what that looks like. Now, isn't God creative??!

Fourth of July

We missed Daddy this year, but we made sure to grill out hamburgers (yes, I learned to use the grill!), to see friends, to go swimming and to see the fireworks in El Paso. We had a really good time.

Hope you all had a Happy 4th, as well!

Achievements

The girls have already accomplished so much this year, and we're so proud!

After graduating 1st grade with flying colors and many awards, Hannah learned to swim at the YMCA, to ride her bike without training wheels AND is on her 5th belt in karate (purple/blue)!

Cali learned to swim, too! She also recently graduated from Princess Camp. She learned ballet and jazz, and even got to meet Princess Sarah...I don't know who she is, either, but Cali was beyond excited!

Springtime in El Paso

Yes, I'm a little late with this post, too, but I didn't want to skip it. I showed you Winter in El Paso, and couldn't possibly forget the Spring. It happened early; blooms began in March, but continue on. It really is a beautiful place all year round.

Oh, and I'll post some shots of the Balloon Fest they have every year in Spring here. We had such a good time!

I hope you enjoy!

Deployment Day

Some of you didn't get to see the pictures of Deployment Day. It was a little to sad to post at the time, and I've been crazy busy ever since, so here they are.

As you view, remember, we're nearly six months into this now, and all is well. Steve is very busy with ministering and counseling and trying to stay out of the 130-degree summer heat.

We're all missing each other, but all is well!

Please continue to pray for his safety and for God to continue to sustain us all in our time apart. We appreciate your prayers so much!