"Earn the Tab"

The title of this update is what was mandated to me Day 1 of Ranger School, 61 days later I can thankfully say I earned my tab July 25, 2008. It was somewhat surreal seeing Chelsa, my Dad and Mom, and even getting to enjoy the weekend with Matt and Johnni. Finally I wasn’t being smoked by an E-6, the ruck was off my back, my feet could dry out and heal, and I didn’t have to eat food that began with MRE.

Thank you to everyone who said a prayer for me; they truly helped me get through the school! At times I could feel the power of a prayer push off the weight of whatever was on my mind, and my back.

While I never did anything outrageous, I did have quite a few “tired” moments. And the trees in GA are unmovable… no matter how many times you run into them with your NVGs. If you want to hear more you have to come to NC for a visit. Or you can call. Whatever works.

My girl pinnin on the tab. She's as much Ranger as I am!

We Should Be Blogging Fools!

This is my friend Vanessa! We met up in the Okanagan Valley :) Notice the colour of the lake!


This is Ben's Company at his graduation.


TABBED : Ben and is buddy - Griffith - who we drove back to NC with .



Ben's parents, as well as one of Ben's closest friends - Matt & his wife Johnni - came out for his grad as well! It was so great to see everyone...




That weekend we all experienced some Southern Hospitality from Jane's cousin, Paul. It was so nice to be able to relax out at his family cottage on the lake.


Jane got Ben to open up an MRE (what the Army eats in the field - and at Ranger School) & give a "demo".



That is chicken breast & cheese on bread. Looks so appetizing doesn't it?!?!?!


Yep, smells so good too! This is Ben's Grandpa's brother. We met him and his wife too!

Just didn't get enough MRE's at Ranger School!!!


Well, in my last blog I promised a few things... Ranger School updates as well as photos. Neither of which happened! Both Ben and I have been back home in the South now for nearly 3 weeks, and I still feel like we are trying to get settled into life here again! I'll leave it to the pictures to do the talking...all I can say is that it is so great to have him around again, and I am one proud wife :)

I put a bunch of photos from my trip to Canada up on my Sacred Moments Blog. It was a great trip! I miss all of you up there already! We BOTH want to come up again & see you all!

Besides Ben graduating Ranger School, there is some very exciting news that I will let Ben share! (no we are not pregnant :)

Enjoy the photos. At lunch today Ben told me that he has started writing an update, so keep checking back for his words of Ranger wisdom ....

CHELSA

Almost Done Darby!!

Hi Everyone,

Thank you to friends and family who wrote Ben some encouraging letters during his Benning Phase. I received 2 letters from him during this phase, and I think they were both written before he had maybe gotten any of our letters! But let's pray they made it into his hands & encouraged his heart - I will be finding this out on Friday during the 8 hours I get to see him. Before he left we talked about whether or not I should come down for just 8 hours...but we are both SO glad that we decided it would be worth it! I can't wait for those 8 hours.

Let's keep praying for him to get a "go" to be able to go on to Mountain Phase. Benning Phase has been HOT, and as a result Ben said that it tough to keep hydrated, it feels like he is on fire, and a heat rash has taken over his body. He's also getting headaches (I don't think he's ever had headaches before!) and a consistent head cold.

He said that it really helps to know that the people who care about him are praying for him. Please keep praying for his physical protection, as well as his mind & heart to be strengthened and encouraged as he waits on the Lord to place him on a ROCK that cannot be shaken. He still has a lot ahead of him to overcome.

I will update you after my short visit with him! And next time I will add photos because how boring is a blog without pictures!! Speaking of which - I had the opportunity to shoot a wedding this weekend - check out some of the photos on my Sacred Moments Blog :)

Chelsa

Ranger School Videos

I saw Ben off yesterday morning, and already I know that whatever it is he is doing today, he needs our prayers for this intense time. To see some crazy videos go to www.youtube.com and type in "Ranger School" in the search. I can't believe Ben is doing this! Let me know what you think! Also, I plan on writing him every day - it will help him get through this. IF you have any words of encouragement you can email them to me or comment on the blog and I will pass them on in my letters.

82nd Division Review & Ranger School

This week was All-American Week here at Fort Bragg - a week that celebrates the troops that make up the 82nd Airborne Division both past and present. Since members of the Division came from all 48 states, the unit was given the nickname "All-American" in 1917 when it was formed - hence the "AA" shoulder patch. In 1942 it became the first airborne division in the US Army, and on June 5-6 1944, it was the Paratroopers of the 82nd that jumped into Normandy, France (D-Day) and were among the first to fight.

So what is a Division Review? Well, from my perspective as an Army Wife, it was around 18-19 THOUSAND Paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne Division (who had to be at work at 0345 all week) standing in formation in their respective Battalion's in a HUGE field for a long time - but looking VERY good. The band playing, Paratroopers jumping out of helicopters, the Secret Service making sure all is in order, and of course, the President giving his proud speech about the 82nd before he "passed & reviewed" the troops.

So what about us? Well, Ben successfully completed the 82nd's Pre-Ranger Course a week ago Thursday, and we have been trying to soak up every minute together before he leaves for Ranger School tomorrow morning at 0500. Please be praying with us. This is an extremely intense course, and we not only want him home in 62 days (there are 3 phases & we don't want him to have to repeat any phase!) but also in good health & with no injuries.

"Course Scope:

The U.S. Army's Ranger Course develops the combat arms related functional skills, of officer and enlisted volunteers who are eligible for assignment to units whose primary mission is to engage in the close-combat, and direct fire battle in order to return to the Army a mentally and physically tough leader capable of (planning, organizing, and executing) a small unit combat operation in any environment.

Special Information:

The Ranger Course consists of three phases. The first phase (Benning), is conducted at Fort Benning, Georgia for 20 days. The second phase (Mountain), is conducted near Dahlonega in the mountains of North Georgia for 21 days. The third and final phase (Swamp/Jungle/Urban), is conducted at Eglin Air Force Base in the North Western Florida for 18 days."

The first phase is the Benning Phase. There is a daily schedule if you are interested in following along with what he will be doing. Pray for strength & understanding both physically and mentally!

So what will I be doing? This is a good time for me to catch up with friends both here and in Canada :) I have been blessed to continue doing Portrait Sessions for the families of deployed soldiers here at Ft. Bragg - as well as some other sessions & weddings coming up this summer. Ben can see me only once for 8 hours during the RS - and I am going to be there for that one break!! And then I will be taking a trip to visit with some family & friends up in Canada before I will proudly go to his Ranger School Graduation.

We hope all of you are doing well and enjoy your summer. Please let me know if you want Ben's mailing address at RS. He has mentioned that getting letters from Family & Friends would give him a lot of encouragement to keep on keeping on!

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