Heading to Oregon for Christmas

Jonathan and I will be heading out in the morning for Oregon. We will be driving the truck, with the new camper so we can try it out and so we can bring the dog and cat with us. Denise has already arrived from Georgia (not without an adventure) and Jon is expected in tomorrow. It will be very nice to have most of the family together for Christmas.

We had originally hoped to leave this afternoon, but an overnight snow fall changed those plans. We did not want to risk icy roads or the results of road closures from accidents. And it turns out, that Jonathan's leave paperwork was not done in time anyway.

I will be making an extended visit with Mom and Naomi. Jonathan will be returning after Christmas by Greyhound.

Happy St Nicholas Day

My family celebrated St Nicholas Day while I was growing up, and Jonathan and I continued the tradition with our children.

If you are interested in learning more about this saint, here's a link of traditions around the world.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=76

Our new (to us) camper

We brought the truck camper home on Saturday. We still want to put new caulk around the outside of the windows and around the roof vents. (a weekend project when the weather is expected to be much warmer). It is a 1990 Shadow Cruiser. It is listed at 9 1/2 feet (meaning the length of the floor, not including the cabover section.)

View from the back door, while standing on the ground. the refrigerator (you can see the grey bar for the refrig controls in the photo) & closet (can't be seen here) are to the immediate right of the rear door. The bathroom is to the immediate left (you can see the door.) The bath is closet size, but has a toilet and hand-held shower, and small sink.

view of the camper inside. Kitchen is on the left. Dinette on the right, the table folds down to make a large twin size bed. Cabover has a double bed. The counter in the left corner is the sink, with a panel covering it for workspace.

The camper as mounted on the truck.

Thanksgiving Week

Naomi was able to come home from Oregon for Thanksgiving this year. She arrived on Tuesday morning, after a long wait in the Portland airport. Her Uncle Walt took her up very early to get ahead of the incoming snow storm. (Thanks Walt!)

On the way home from the Denver airport we stopped and looked at a truck camper- which we agreed to buy. We will pick it up today when we take Naomi back for her return flight. This gave us time for Jonathan to install the tie-down system onto the truck (which he did on Friday).

Wednesday we spent baking and cooking and just enjoying each other's company.

Thursday we had dinner at a friend's house. It was a lot of good food and fellowship, but I was still missing family. Of course, Friday was eating leftovers :)

Friday afternoon, Naomi and I went shopping. But not early in the morning. We avoided crowds and still found some good deals. Love the thrift store here. (We also went to several other stores.) When we got back home, we worked on some making some crafts together.

I hope you all had a wonderful week too.

Sunrise over Cheyenne Mtn

Many of you may have already seen these posted on Facebook. But for those of you who have not, I wanted to share them with you. These were taken Nov 19th at about 6:30 am. The sunrise turned Cheyenne Mtn this absolutely stunning orange (and I don't even care for orange.) We can see the mountain right outside our living room window. The antennas you see are for NORAD. Cheyenne Mtn is where the TV show "Stargate" is supposed to take place (for you Sci-Fi fans.)

**Remember, if you click on the photo, it will open up in a larger view.

Items from the craft show

The Ft Carson housing office holds a monthly craft show. There is no fee for the table space, it's just first come first served for registration. (It's a good thing no fee, as I only had 3 very small sales today.)

But I think I made some cute things to add to my selection of items. Here are some pictures of the things I made this past week. Let me know what you think- and please be honest. Would you buy any of these things?

embroidered toilet paper

small plastic bags of candy or marshmallows- Freeze-dried snowman, Coal (black licorice), candy cane seeds, and reindeer poop (chocolate malt balls. Also emery board file cases made of ribbon.

Snowmen made with Tic Tac mint boxes. Don't you just love their fleece hats?

camping trailer is sold

We sold our 27 foot camping trailer today. We have had it for almost 8 years. It has had a lot of miles pass under it's wheels and a lot of memories made of time spent in it. It was somewhat sad to see it pulled away behind a strange truck.

But with the kids gone from home, it is too big for just 2 people. And since we can not store it near the house here on post, we had to rent a storage lot. The only space available is about a 1/2 hour drive away.

So now the search for an inexpensive truck camper continues. A camper would mean no engine to maintain (as opposed to a small motorcoach) and would keep the truck free to pull the utility trailer (rather than getting a smaller camp trailer). We are in no hurry to get one, so we will be patient to find one in decent condition for a really good price.

canopy on truck

Jonathan and I were able to purchase a canopy for our pickup on Thursday. We spent most of the weekend getting it re-caulked to be sure it would not leak. We got it mounted onto the truck this afternoon. This will make things much more convenient.

house photos- part 1

I finally got to taking some photos of the house, as it is unpacked and (mostly) organized now. The lighting is not great since sunlight was pouring through the windows toward the camera, but hopefully you will get an idea of how things are arranged.

front of house. There is a lattice screen on the porch to hide the bicycle rack.

The living room/dining room from the front hallway. the door seen on the right goes to the back porch/yard. there is a hallway to the left of the living room (at the bottom of the photo) that leads to the craft room and bedrooms.

photo of the dining area from the kitchen & office areas. The pots on the long cabinet on the left are plants. I had to bring them inside so they would not freeze. This is not Georgia anymore!

You can't see it in the photo, but the Christmas cactus (at the end of the couch) is in bloom. It started about 2 weeks ago- just covered in beautiful pink flowers.

the office area & library. The door to the kitchen is on the right, just past the hutch. Jonathan's desk (he borrowed Naomi's purple desk) is on the left side of the doorway. Becky's desk is under the right side of the window. The big black thing on the left side of the photo is the folded up treadmill. The door to the yard is just to the left of that.

photos of the house- unpacked

kitchen, note mug shelf above cupboards. This was Jonathan's idea since there was not room for our wall mounted mug rack.

pantry cupboard in the kitchen. Sink and dishwasher are to the right. Stove on opposite the pantry. Doorway is to the office (right side) and living room/dining room to the left.

craft room from the doorway. Yes, you can get into the room!!!

I have a lot of supplies for many types of crafts and a small room to put it all in. I'm just grateful I have a room just for crafts.

South wall of craft room- two filing cabinets (one if not for crafts), a bookcase for storage, pattern cabinet and heat press. The closet is to the left of the door. It is stuffed full of craft supplies.

Finals are approaching

The semester's end is in sight. Please keep all of the kids in prayers as they study for finals. Gordon's semester tests are Nov 15th. Denise has several tests in the upcoming weeks and finals are the second week of December. Jon is studying a really tough module right now and trying to work on some extra information so he can get an off-post pass for Thanksgiving. Naomi has a big test today and finals the first week of December.

Busy Times

I finished the second of the training courses towards getting reinstated as an instructor for Army Family Team Building. The next classes will be mid-November. I think it will be fun to start volunteer teaching again, and there is a shortage of instructors right now so it will be helpful to the program.

I have had a few embroidery orders lately. One was a rush order from a lady who found the business on an internet search. The other ones are from a good repeat customer. It's nice to have the craft room mostly cleaned and organized. Christmas is coming quickly and lots of project ideas are running through my head. Now to just get them into reality. :)

Jonathan and I leave on Friday to lead a marriage retreat near Denver and then immediately go to a training conference for learning two programs for leading family retreats. The conference will be in Charlotte, NC. We thought we had been bumped from the class, but apparently there were some people who had to cancel, so we are going. Charlie will go to a "doggie hotel" (aka kennel). Misty Cat and the goldfish will stay home, where a neighbor will check in on them a few times during the week.

More travels

Jonathan is currently in Orlando, Florida. He is attending the annual CEC chaplain's conference. He will return late on Sunday night.

Oct 24-29, we will both be traveling to Charlotte, NC to attend a training course for teaching family retreats. Jonathan has taken the course before, but needs to recertify since it's been too long since he was able to lead a retreat using the material. It's a great program that allows children to take part in helping the family to function well. It will be fun to work with Jonathan in leading a retreat using the information we will be learning.

Back Home

Sorry I haven't posted recently. I returned home from moving Naomi to Oregon on Friday, Sept 24th. I rode the Greyhound bus. It's a good thing I had already decided on the bus instead of driving, as on the way to Oregon the Suburban was totaled when I hit a cow at night on an open range. Nobody (except the cow and truck!) was injured. But it was an adventure dealing with the police/accident report and getting a UHaul truck to get our stuff the next 175 miles to the family farm.

I spent 2 weeks with Mom, helping to get paperwork and stuff done. This included getting Naomi registered for classes at the local community college. So I now have 3 kids in college (counting Gordon in Kenya). Denise is getting close to finishing the classes she needs to be able to apply to the dental hygiene program- all with a straight "A" grade point average.

Jon Paul in now in Alabama, starting on his EOD training. Shortly after arriving there, he lost his wisdom teeth and his girlfriend. It seems the long separation was too much for Olivia. It can be a tough thing to handle, I don't blame her for the decision.

Now that I am home, I've been enjoying a short visit from Jim & JoJene (mother & father in-law). I've also been busy unpacking and organizing. I finally have curtains up!! (Don't worry, we had privacy through mini-blinds, but curtains add a lot more warmth to the home atmosphere.)

I also completed the Army Family Team Building (AFTB) instructor training course this week. This is a program that teaches about military life. I used to teach it at Ft Bragg (NC) about 8 1/2 years ago and loved it. I had to retake the class though so that I could catch up with the changes made to the program over the last few years. I will also go though the actual classes again before I start teaching. (again, to catch up on the changes).

Jonathan leaves on Wednesday for the annual CEC chaplain's conference. I've decided to stay home this time. I've had quite enough travel for awhile and I want to be able to clean out the garage and have a sale next Saturday. Here on post, there are only certain Saturdays each month that you can have a garage sale.

I will hopefully take pictures soon of the home improvements and post them later. Still have quite a few boxes to unpack. Right now I'm tackling the office and books.

Thank you for all of your prayers and cards during these last few months. It has meant a lot to the family. Please forgive me if you haven't heard that personally- there are just so many people who have shown us love. God bless you all.

News

1. We had a great time in South Carolina for Jon's graduation from Basic training. We returned on Friday. Jon arrived safely in Alabama on Friday also. I will post his new address as soon as I get it.

2. Naomi and I will leave on Monday for Oregon. She will be moving out to stay with Grandma and to start college. I will return in about 1 1/2 weeks by Greyhound bus.

3. I was able to find a fully reconditioned clothes dryer yesterday. We are installing it today after church. It will be nice to get clothes dry without a very loud squeal from bad bearings.

4. Progress has been made with arranging furniture and unpacking boxes. There is still a long ways until everything is done, but at least we can walk around now.

5. I am behind in posting photos. I will try to get to it soon. I am sorry for the delay, but there just doesn't seem to be enough time. Okay- Here are the links to the photo albums I've just posted on FaceBook.

Dad's funeral-

http://www.facebook.com/rebeka.landon#!/album.php?aid=81089&id=1457425706

Jon's graduation-

http://www.facebook.com/rebeka.landon#!/album.php?aid=81088&id=1457425706

Home again for a short time

We have returned home from Oregon, where we went for my father's funeral. We will be home for 4 days and then will fly to Altanta (and then drive to South Carolina) for Jon Paul's graduation from Basic Training.

Once we return from that trip, I will be driving Naomi back to Oregon. She is going to move in with Grandma to help provide care for her. Naomi's cousin Joshua will also be moving to Oregon. I will leave the Suburban for her to be able to get to and from college (yes, college!) and will return to Colorado by Greyhound.

I have made some progress on organizing the house. But I can't find some of the hardware needed for the bookcases, and I don't have much mental energy to easily figure out the layout of things. But at least there are some pathways created now. :)

Thank you to all of you who have sent emails, messages on Facebook and cards. Your prayers are helping to sustain us through this tough time.

funeral for my dad

Funeral services for my dad (Jeno Sturman) will be done by Smith-Lund Mills funeral home, 123 S. 7th Street, Cottage Grove, OR 97424

The funeral will be done Saturday, 10 AM at Church of Christ, 195 N. 6th Street, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. Burial will be at Brumbaugh cemetery, Daddy will be buried next to my brother Paul.

We will return to Colorado on Thursday. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers.

Obituaries in local newspapers:

Eugene Register-Guard http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/obituaries/25189398-41/guard-register-startstoryhere-writername.csp

Friday the 13th- Very BAD day

My father was killed when his tractor overturned on him. I don't know many of the details. Jonathan, Naomi and I plan to fly to Oregon on Tuesday. The funeral will be later in the week as 2 of my sisters are currently out of the country. Denise and Jon Paul will try to make it. Jon Paul has been told he will be allowed emergency leave and that he should be able to make up any training he misses in order to still graduate on time.

Your prayers for all of my family are greatly appreciated.

Updates

1. Jonathan left this morning for a week long field training exercise. His unit is going to be on call for the last 3 months of this year for disaster relief. There are a lot of new officers that have arrived this summer, so the hospital needs to work out how to respond quickly if the need arises.

2. Naomi, the pets and I will be leaving for Oregon on Wednesday. Naomi will be attending an Operation Purple camp in Salem. The animals and I will go for a visit to the family farm.

3. Our household shipment was supposed to have left Atlanta on Saturday. So Jonathan will take delivery of it once he returns. So hopefully the furniture will be in the house when Naomi and I return. Then comes all the work of figuring out how to arrange it and unpacking all of the boxes and getting things put away once again.

4. Jon Paul's graduation from Basic Training is 2 Sept. We plan to be there.

And we have gotten word from him that food packages are NOT ALLOWED. Bummer!

Our New Home (without the furniture delivered!)

This is our new home, with only the things we brought with us. We are still waiting to hear where our household goods shipment is located and when it will be delivered. So we have a couple of folding tables for a dining room and desk. And lots and lots of boxes of stuff with no way to empty them and put things away. Boy am I glad we decided to visit the thrift store right before we moved and decided at the last minute to buy some lawn chairs. (Click on the photos for a larger image.)

the front of the house & garage. That's a Dutch Elm tree in front and a juniper on the left corner.the back yard and patio. There is a family of rabbits living under the shed, just as they do under many of the yard sheds in the housing areas.
the living room with our large folding table and lawn chairs. Notice Misty lying under the table. She's very glad to be not traveling anymore.
the mattress in the master bedroom. Charlie likes it being low to the ground, although he is afraid of cameras.

New Contact Info

Our new home address is:

7016 Hollandia Circle, Colorado Springs, CO 80902

New home phone #: 719-302-5001

(this is different from this morning as the first number was not working properly.)

Jon Paul has an updated address:

Landon, Jonathan P.

2nd Plt, B Co, 1st Bn, 13th Inf Regt

4420 Jackson Blvd

Fort Jackson, SC 29207-5021

(be sure to include the additional 4 zip code numbers!)

We are in Colorado

We arrived in Colorado on Tuesday. Wednesday we signed the lease for a house on post. We have unloaded our trailers & our awaiting the arrival of the POD and household goods. The POD is scheduled for this afternoon (Saturday). We are still waiting word from the movers for the furniture arrival.

We brought a folding table and lawn chairs with us. (And have the dishes & mattress pads from the camping trailer, so we are okay for now.)

When I find where I misplaced the camera, I'll post some photos of the house and some of the places we've gone sightseeing. The kids and I played mini-golf. And we went last night on a flashlight tour of the Cave of the Wind. We have plans to go to Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls, and Pike's Peak before Mathew returns to Georgia on Thursday.

We will visit with Mathew's uncle in Denver after dropping Grandpa off at the Denver airport. Grandpa (Becky's Dad) returns to Oregon this evening after helping us on the drive for Georgia.

And for those who saw my posting on FB about the cat being missing. Misty is safe. She apparently had found a small hiding hole in the trailer that we somehow overlooked. So she had a rough ride in the trailer from the last campground to the house. But everything is well.

Charlie has yet to really discover the rabbits that live under the shed in our yard. The rabbit population is apparently rather large here in the housing areas. They are cute, but I'm hoping they won't eat too many of our plants/flowers. And yes Denise, if we can, we will try and get you some rabbit fibers to knit :)

the work begins

We started loading the POD today. It was delivered yesterday, but we had other things to do. With 5 of us (thanks Mathew for coming to help) we were able to get all of the packed boxes out of the basement family room and into the container. It is now about 1/2 full. The bikes were also loaded into the truck bed.

On Monday, we will finish filling it with other boxes already packed and some of our furniture. Tuesday the Army movers arrive to pack and move the remaining items. We also have to finish loading the trailer with things we don't want the movers to handle or things they won't move (like gas cans and cleaning chemicals). We also need to get our clothes and food into the camping trailer.

Here are photos of the POD I took before the loading began:

Jon Paul's address at Basic

Received a letter from Jon Paul today. He's doing well. His address is below if you want to write to him.

Landon, Jonathan P.
2nd Platoon, Warlords
B Company, 1st Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment
Fort Jackson, SC 29207

Jon Paul sworn in by Dad

Jon Paul was sworn onto active duy today. His dad administered the oath of office.

There was a last minute change of plans- he will be doing his basic training at Ft Jackson, SC (Columbia) instead of at Ft Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Garage Sale

We had a garage sale today. We sorted through a lot of things and decided to try and downsize the amount we would be moving. We put out a bunch of furniture, dishes, clothes, old electronics, and a lot of miscellaneous stuff.

It was hot, so I think that kept people away. But we still made some money. I have a truck load of stuff that will be donated to thrift stores on Monday. That will lighten our load a bit.

But there is still a garage full of stuff. But hopefully some more can be sold before we move. (I'll likely post ads in the paper.) It is hard to let go of things, but it's good to know we can live without some many things cluttering up our lives. It is also nice to have the time to actually be able to sort out things we have just been moving around from place to place. This is move #16 in 23 years. It's about time to let go of some things we don't need or don't use and let someone else have them.

New Contact Information

New Driver

Naomi passed her driver's road test today. She even ended up having to test during a rain shower! So ends the period of driver's permits....

Graduation 2010

The weather cooperated and it did not rain for the graduation ceremony on Saturday morning. Here is a link to the photo album.

http://www2.snapfish.com/comcast/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4110268009/a=21043820_21043820/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=COMCAST/

(You may have to register for the site to see the photos. It's free. Sorry for the trouble, but I couldn't get the other photo storage site to work.)

He's Home!!

Jonathan arrived home on Sunday. He managed to get a last minute seat on a plane to Atlanta. YEAH!!!

Jim & JoJene arrived last night (Tuesday). So we have a full house of people here for Jon's graduation.

Jury Duty

After 30 years of having a driver's license (no wait... 30 years can't be right!!!) I was called to serve on jury duty. I was to report on June 3- right at the start of our mad rush to get everything packed or disposed of to be ready to move in July. I requested a deferral until after we get settled in Colorado.

I got the letter today that I've been excused from duty. I'm grateful I don't have to go to Oregon in June, but it might have been fun to be on a jury. (or else incrediably boring waiting to find out if I get on a jury- this according to friends who have served).

Oh well, maybe there will be a next time--- sooner than the first time though.

Operation Purple Camp

I received an email last night informing me that Naomi has been accepted into an Operation Purple camp this summer. She will be attending camp in Silverton, Oregon the first week of August. (boy what a way to get out of unpacking!!!)

Operation Purple Camps are for children who have a parent (of any military branch- hence the purple for joint operations) who is or was recently deployed. It is a time for them to have fun and be with others their own age who are in the same situation. The kids attended twice while we were in Washington and had a great time.

These camps are fully sponsored, so the only fee will be for us to get her from Colorado to Oregon and back. If you would like more info, here's the link:

http://www.operationpurplecampinfo.com/page1.html

And for details about the specific camp:
http://www.militaryfamily.org/our-programs/operation-purple/camps/silverton.html

JROTC Awards Night

Jon was a member of the Color Guard (as usual). He received the American Legion Scholastic Excellence Award. Naomi was named an Outstanding Cadet-Sophmore division.

the kittens are growing

Venture camping trip

The Venture Crew went camping & hiking along the Appalachian Trail this weekend.

Jon Paul leading the hike

sitting around the campfire

sleeping?

another campfire shot

Denise's garden

Denise is trying again this year to have a garden. She has planted an eggplant, tomatoes, squash, onions, herbs and flowers. All of them are in buckets or other containers as they will be moved next month to the house where she will be living after we move to Colorado.
These were taken last Friday. The buckets are in the back yard. Notice Charlie is training to be an assistant gardener (not!)

Eggplant

seedlings growing

Denise's helper

the gardener in her garden