Valentines Day

Ben's the best! Even though he's away at training he still totally blesses me and does the most amazing things! These roses he had delivered to me today are so beautiful, look better in real life and smell so sweet!

XOXOXO to you and your loved ones!

third posting of the new year

if you have been following the saga of ben and chelsa then you will be happy to hear we have successfully completed our travels across the great state of iowa, across the country, even across international borders to our now home state of north carolina. although, it wasn't easy... and some times it wasn't even fun. however, we did manage to enjoy ourselves thoroughly as we caught up with "old" friends. i'd now like to give a shout out to shane and tara of ywam dayton and to lucinda a cute pregnant woman.
once in north carolina we were happy enough to take off our snow pants and jackets so that our skin could enjoy the vitamin d we now receive on a daily basis.

both chelsa and i have been as busy as bees during these first few weeks. i have been in-processing into the 82nd airborne and chelsa has found us an apartment, organized the apartment and is now in the process of buying herself a car. today we lugged our queen sized mattress up a gazillion flights of stairs; our new apartment is beginning to look like home.

i guess now is as good a time as any to make a huge (literally) announcement about chelsa and i... we are soon to be an aunt and uncle. my sister jocelyn and her husband gilby are pregnant with their first of ten children. congratulations you two! please pray for them as they transition into the world of dad and mom.

chelsa and i have a few prayer requests of our own. if you can only pray for one thing pray for us to reconnect with god. we have been distracted from him and can feel it physically, emotionally, and spiritually.


2. that we would find a church family that would help us grow closer together and closer to god
3. chelsa could find a car to fit her needs
4. ben as he attends airborne school in feb
5. that we would have an impact here in north carolina

New Year's Resolution

While I have never been into making a resolution I was excited for what the New Year might bring. My excitement was thrown out the window yesterday. My brother and I drove to the Cedar Falls Rec Center so that we could enjoy a man killer of a workout. To our surprise, and downright disbelief, the Rec Center was closed due to mechanical failure.
How about that? For all of you who were discouraged yesterday with the lack of facilities to get that beach bod you have always wanted I want to encourage you. You can break out of the Holiday eating funk you may have been in. You can shed those unwanted pounds. You will be able to see your toes again and climb that flight of stairs.
But if you are waiting for motivation to workout you will never get it. I promise you that day in and day out you will not be motivated to workout until you are actually working out. Enjoy the free advice and have a wonderful 2008!

And We're On the Road Again in 2008!!!

Hi Friend's & Family!

CHELSA : We had genuine intentions of sending out a Christmas 2007 update to you all, really, seriously we did. For those of you who braved trying to keep track of us and even sent us your Christmas letters in the mail....THANKYOU we loved getting them!!! I know we've passed out too many addresses in the past 6 months to keep track of......sooner than later we'll have a more permanent (we use that term lightly) one YAY!!!!! Today we are packing up and are ready to "pop smoke" (I think that's army lingo for leaving here). But Ben - being the great guy he is - had you in mind first! He said we couldn't get on the road until we first did this update :)

BEN : I guess when I said, "We can't leave until we do an update" I meant, "We can't leave until you do an update." Alas, I am finally writing on the blog.
After a long hard drive to Iowa from Texas we were finally ready to have some R and R over the Christmas break. We spent Christmas at my families house and enjoyed every minute with my Mom, Dad, Siri, Jeff (her boyfriend), Jocelyn, Gilby, Danny, and Samson (Gilby and Jocelyn's dog). We also had guest appearances from my Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle David, Aunt Nancy, and her two daughters.
Heading into the New Year I was a groomsman at Brian and Kate's wedding. Their wedding was awesome and was a great chance to see all my friends one last time before Chels and I leave for the NC. (look for their pictures soon on Sacred Moments!)

CHELSA : The above picture is of us & Danny in the middle of dancing, hence the crazy lights and even a bit of sweat on Danny's brow....Kate and Brian your wedding rocked our socks off!!

BEN : And that brings us to today. We are leaving for NC and we won't be back for awhile. It is exciting and scary at the same time... mostly we can't wait to be there.
I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and New Year. Until next time...

Sea World San Antonio in December !

Hi Everyone!!!

Wow, Christmas is coming up SO fast! This year Ben & I will be sharing the holidays with the his side in Iowa (and with my side over the phone!) . We are so excited and looking forward to seeing our friends and family so soon, it is so nice that we are able to go there before we keep moving on to the East Coast.

Ben really wanted to write the update this time, but he has been pretty busy with finishing up here at Ft. Sam Houston so he'll get the honours of giving our 2007 Christmas update :) I just want to tell you about Sea World!

Yep, last weekend we took a trip to Sea World San Antonio. And although today is chilly, it wasn't all last week! It was really warm (I am trying to mentally prepare for the weather in Iowa). I have it in my head that maybe Zoo's and Sea World's aren't exactly what the Lord had in mind when He gave Adam dominion over the earth...so I don't get really excited about them. But we decided to go and check it out, and it was a really fun day. We ran from show to show to try and catch each of them in time, and the animals really look like they are having the time of their lives...and so do the trainers! I mean, most of the trainers are there because of childhood dreams, so they must treat those animals like kings and queens right?!!

Here are a few pics from the day, Ben took the one of Shamu and it is SO GOOD!! I actually have to say that the Barnyard Animal show was my favourite. Those dogs, cats and geese were SOOO smart and so funny! We also rode the crazy roller coaster and were pretty proud of ourselves.

Anyway! Keep in touch!

Ben and Chelsa

The Infamous www.benandchels.com

Hey Ya'll from big 'ol Texas! Check out our website for our photo albums and past updates....but know that we are slowly going to switch it all over to using this blogspot, and there will come a day when www.benandchels.com no longer exists. Sad, we know. It's been fun. Well, not always....We have to admit at times it was a lot of frustration - a love-hate relationship with technology. This just simplifies things. Right now we are having trouble getting on there to update it, so we will be doing it here. The the nice thing is that we will be updating this more frequently (maybe we'll even keep up with all moving we do!)....So bookmark this address and check it out once in a while would ya!?!
And P.S. : these photos are actually from our camping trip in Eureka Springs, Arkansas (beginning of October) - pretty crazy historic town! The country side of it is amazing and gorgeous in the fall.
We hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

Corpus Christi

"...we drove all night to get to Corpus Christi ..." (Sugarland) . Not really, but it is fun to go to all these places that some of my favourite country singers sing about! This Veteran's Day long weekend Ben & I drove to Corpus Christi on the Gulf of Mexico. The winds were pretty high, so we decided to make it only a 1 night trip. Our first night we toured the Lexington and watched to "Fighter Pilot" IMAX on it. The next day we walked around all morning trying to find a decent place for Sunday brunch, and it was SO hot & windy out that by the time we found something we were kind of exhausted and ready to go back to San Antonio. But we decided to take ourselves on a driving tour of the 3 Islands off of Corpus Christi before we called it quits. And it was SOOO worth it. Once we got out of the city, with all the different roads, highways, and exits to wear us out, we just followed one road from island to island and it was SO relaxing and peaceful. There were old beach towns to gated beachfront communities that showed off such a colourful array of homes (we're talkin yellows, pinks, purples, greens & blues!). Of course we stopped to put our feet in the ocean and enjoy the sun, but I'm glad we didn't grab our swimsuits and go swimming because the other day someone told me that there are bull-sharks in there.....yikes. We didn't see any of those but we were pretty excited to see a dolphin on our little ferry ride!

Oklahoma Days

Ben left for Ft. Sill, Oklahoma on September 1st to begin the first of two Basic Officer Leadership Courses. After one day of considering my options - and a few encouraging phone calls from my sister and a friend - I decided that this was one of those times you’ve gotta fight for your man and your heart. Three days of packing, and a sweet spontaneous 1 day visit from my sister, Taylor, later, I hit the road.

The drive to Oklahoma from Washington state was so beautiful. After driving through a part of Oregon, I headed into Idaho and spent the first night at Hostel Boise. It was on the outskirts of town and I had the quiet little country place to myself. Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado. It was so nice to stop and see Gilby & Jocie (Ben’s brother-in-law & sister) and spend the night at their place in Denver. The next day I knew i would see Ben and that definitely pushed me on....Colorado, the west corner of Oklahoma, Texas - right through Amarillo - and then Ft. Sill.

So here we both are. There was this woman in Australia who prayed for me once when I was there in 2005, and the words God spoke to me through her prayers keep coming back to me. He said that i would have a network of fiery friends. Every day that i wake up here, and also when we were in Washington this summer, my heart is overwhelmed by the faithfulness of the Lord God to fulfill His promises. My close friend Hannah lives here in Tulsa with her husband. We were room mates in Hawaii in 2006 during our counseling school at the U of N. Both her and her parents (who only live 2 hours from Ft. Sill - where Ben is training) have opened up their homes to me for the time that we are here. And they haven’t only been sharing their homes with us, they have been sharing their lives.

Being with my husband means more than anything to me, and we are taking this journey as it comes.

This weekend is the Oklahoma State Fair....maybe we’ll live it up and ride the ferris wheel, catch a country concert and heck, maybe even a pig race. Next time I will have to share about the cool little country town of Guthrie where Hannah’s parents live. It is definitely a slow-paced country town with loads of good ‘ol western history. I’m trying to catch up on the classic western movies - like Tombstone and The Quick & The Dead - while we’re here. (We’ve also got hooked on Arrested Development....so not western at all.)

Bless you all this fall....may it be the start of many new and exciting things in your life!!!

With Love,

Ben and Chelsa

Life In Washington

This summer has been a time of firsts for Chelsa and I and July is no different.

We recently flew to Des Moines for a marriage interview so that Chels would have the chance to be a permanent resident. After a long flight and a short interview, it was granted. For the two days we were in Iowa we had the opportunity to see a lot of friends with a BBQ in the backyard of Ross and Amber’s new house. (Thanks again you two. you made it easy on us and we had a great time staying with you). My mom and dad took us out for dinner one night and it was great to catch up with them and pick up the last of our wedding gifts.

We flew home early on Friday and Saturday I participated in my first sprint triathlon. In less than an hour and a half I was humbled in the water, on my bike and thankful for Chelsa’s cousin Derek whom I bought the bike from, and finally running the pavement thinking of the old high school days of cross country. It was a fantastic experience and maybe with a little more training, especially in the water, I will have a better showing.

Now that I have been working here for over a month, and have received TWO paychecks, I want to let you in on what I do. Having just commissioned into the Army from the ROTC program, I am here at Ft. Lewis helping to evaluate the leadership of Cadets who will commission next May from their respective Universities and ROTC programs. I am on the best committee here, the Field Leaders Reaction Course (FLRC for short). We evaluate Cadets on their ability to lead eleven of their peers while negotiating an obstacle course. While on the committee I have held numerous positions, timekeeper, safety officer, the morning safety briefer, an evaluator, the scanner, and the JPSC in-putter. Let me tell you every one of those jobs is just as flashy as it sounds.

While I am away at FT. Lewis Chels has been working herself into the ground not only making our apartment our first home, but also developing a business model to be a photographer. She has produced a web site, started the process of marketing herself, and getting all of the last minute equipment she needs to be successful. Some nights I come home and she is more tired than me with all that she has been doing.

Last Saturday my schedule worked out so that I was able to attend New Song Church with Chelsa. New Song is the church Chels has attended since we have lived here. It has a beautiful congregation who are so energetic about the Lord, prayer, and anyone who might step through their doors. Last week alone we had numerous invitations to meet with couples throughout the church and to even go camping. Attending New Song is giving us a great opportunity to grow into our roles as husband and wife as well as renewing our faith in Jesus as the Lord of our lives.

Well that is enough out of me for now. We again want to thank all of our friends and family, it has been awesome to have your support in all that we do.

Afterthoughts

(First thought : this will be a bit of a fast forward “play by play”, mostly for you mom’s out there, we know how you like to stay informed... )

It was amazing. This is amazing. We have been SOOOO blessed beyond measure. There are too many “Thank You’s” we want to say to so many people, that we would run out of room here! Ultimately we want to say “Thank You” to the Lord God for putting so many amazing people in our lives, and that so many of those people would travel by plane, bus, and car across boarders to witness and celebrate our wedding day up in Canada! It was more special and beautiful than we could have imagined our wedding day to be, and the celebration after the ceremony was incredible! We loved it and loved seeing our friends and family there with us!

One of the things we loved about our wedding was that we were able to visit with so many of you in the few days before the wedding, as well as a couple days after as you were getting ready to go home. We took advantage of the beautiful Okanagon weather and stayed there for a week after the wedding. Then we flew to Red Deer, Alberta (Chelsa’s home town) to go to the big Lykal open house (were we were able to visit with lot’s of Chelsa’s family and friends again!), get in some Kallis family time, watch Carson play golf, and of course....take a visit to Calgary Cycle where Derek and Karyse (Chelsa’s cousins) helped us make the best choices on our brand new bikes....... which we LOVE!

By May 30th we were back in Kelowna, BC, rented a U-Haul, attached it to our brand new hitch, loaded it up, and began our search for a place to “hang our hats” (as Grandma Kallis would say). First stop (after a few washroom breaks, but I - Chelsa - don’t count those), US Customs boarder crossing. That took forever. They made us come inside. And wait. It was late. The immigration officer could not be found. Can you blame him? Once they found him, we were outta there and Tacoma, Washington bound!

After a goodnight’s rest, we began our hunt and found an apartment in Lakewood, WA, not too far from Ft. Lewis, where Ben is working this summer, in fact he just reported there today. Which means, 1. Ben can cycle to work, he has a sweet bike to do it on. And 2. Since he only just reported, we had some SWEET one on one time!!!! We enjoyed every minute hanging out, taking trips (ie. we left our car in Port Angeles, WA and took our bikes with us on the ferry to Victoria, BC Canada where we had a blast with Lindsay (Chelsa’s older sis), and learning our way around Lakewood and Tacoma by trying to find grocery stores (especially Natural Health food stores so we can get some almond butter), and places to get household items...we now have an air mattress and 2 bar stools for furniture. It’s really starting to feel like home :) Visit anytime!
We very seriously want to thank each and every person who blessed our socks off with wedding and shower gifts. We honestly can’t thank you enough, it all is wonderful and we are so grateful!

This is long enough!!!!!!!! Keep in touch! Check out our WEDDING ALBUM