Ashley's OBLC (Officers Basic Leadership Course) graduation

a decorated General with nearly 30 years of service was the featured speaker

Desiree is Ashley's roommate and she knew her from nursing school at APU

The view of the room with 400 medical recruits graduating

We were all standing for something like the pledge of allegiance or speakers request

Uncle Monte in White, to his right is Aunt Marlene, and Greg

The four featured on stage were marching in (blurry in dark)

This was the overall cadet being honored for her achievements during 6 weeks (a female)

The recruits all standing reciting the Soldiers Creed and than an army song

The proud parents with the soldier

Uncle Monte and Aunt Marlene with her (they winter in TX) was so nice of them to travel down and join us on this day

being outdoors, the beret is required..

It was a drizzly day outside and the grads gathering outside Sams bar at the top of the hill where the ceremony was held~!

Both Greg and Uncle Monte parked down the hill and so we "hiked" back to vehicles.. Des was getting a ride back to dorms and we were going out to lunch together

part of the large construction project going on around the base. It will allow them to increase dorm housing from 3000 to 13,000. Ashley's current dorm, rarely had hot water for showers!

another new dorm going up

The brown bar on button covering in center is her "rank", which is also on there berets. This for her on her uniform indicates 2nd Lieutenant, if it were black it would indicate 1st Lieutenant one rank above.

Aunt Marlene is one who is into hats and told Ashley she'd like one like this, and so Ash told her she'd work on it.. we just asked if she was looking for respect at home and she agreed also from her boys~! ha ha ha women are smart..

new recruits moving in across campus as we drove by with Ashley when dropping her off at the Nurses meeting she had to attend after graduation and the start of their two week track.

The base water tower

Just before we left, a picture with dad... somehow I rarely get into the front of the camera.

Now as the past four days have unfolded since early and I mean early Friday morning as the texts started arriving at 4:30 a.m. It's been a roller coaster for Ashley and as we get the information trickled to us, we also ride the roller coaster of emotions. We were preparing for her to be stationed in Landstuhl, Germany for three years. And I was getting my head wrapped around her adventure for an extended vacation in Europe while she worked her shifts at the medical center there and also receiving additional training for her career in nursing.The greatest perk is that traveling by train around Europe during her off time and when she had leave time earned. How cool is that! It would be the new vacation destination for us over the three years to visit her as well. Can't complain about that.

And than she struggled with the Physical Training (PT) testing dates over the six weeks.. 17 pushups, 50 situps, and a run of about 2 miles I'm guessing, that had to be accomplished in 19.36 or under. The first day they tested she had had the stomach flu and vomited the night before.. she did not pass but her results were not so far off to concern her. And than as the time rolled along, the time they trained on physical stuff became less and they were in the classroom, or out on field manuevers. And than came testing day #2 the weekend after graduation.. She did not do the amount of training she should have, but yet there were people with less athletic ability who were passing ahead of her..

So this past Thursday I had my prayer warriors praying for her Friday 04:15 PT testing (02:15am our time), to be successful and her text at 4:30 a.m. our time was that she had not passed again. She was calm but frustrated, she had had leg cramps and had to stop to address it during the run, as well as she did way to many pushups, and came up 7 situps short. She blamed no one but herself. But she had already been told that her orders (to Germany) would be changed.. okay that didn't seem unreasonable since she hadn't fulfilled the requirement. They said she'd have another chance the next week (assuming just to stay in army). Several hours later she receives an email that she had "passed the PTSA test" WHAT??? which is it??

So she forwards that email to the Nurse Major for a clarification, and it took most of the weekend with her finally getting the message on Sunday afternoon that she could choose Ft. Bliss in El Paso, TX or going to Ft. Hood near Killeen, TX.. she chose Ft. Hood. Now doesn't that sound like an official "change" and your just waiting for paperwork? Of course her car left Dallas for a ship to Germany during Thanksdgiving wknd and already knew it would be Feb/Mar before it would return.

Today was to have been the day the army movers came to load up all of her belongings that she wanted to take with her.. She had it all boxed up before she left in Oct and we have added from her list of requests our Christmas gifts/housewarming gifts/Happy Birthday's in that we got her the white comforter, 450 thread cotton sheets, flannel sheets, two pillows, two sets of bathroom towels, crockpot, deep electric skillet, two smaller frying pans, a can opener, and two table place settings at the dollar store she can replace when she's ready. Europe is 220 voltage so you buy appliances over there that can't be using a converter.

Todays pickup was cancelled when she believed her orders had been revoked and that she would re-schedule for when she was home at Christmas, as TX wouldn't require the month of transit time like Europe.

Tonight just as we were ready to sit down for dinner..... she sends a text that she might still be going to Germany.. her orders have not been changed, and that Friday's testing will apparantly determine it. WHAT??

But praise Jesus, she has asked that the prayer chain continue to lift her up and that is what is needed right now. Trust me, alot of discussion back and forth with her in these days, as to "have you been praying about this", "perhaps the army was the right move, but Germany is not his plan" "by not passing the PT test, she stays stateside and maybe that is his best plan" etc, etc, Learning that in all things we not leave the Lord out of it and continuing to encourage her that he may be refining some things put in front of the Lord by taking the control herself of planning the details..

A wise woman from Texas put it this way.. "while this was a complete surprise to Ashley, it was not a surprise to our God. Our God is a God of details and he knows what is best for us, and there are many who might not be Christians who are watching how she handles this.. and her greatest moments may be right around the corner." Amen and Amen to that. God is good and he can make whatever destination on the map we are located to be our mission field and bring him Glory with a blameless heart.

ASHLEY is also a blogger at http://www.beachsnowbabe.wordpress.com/

The Fire Dept Sponsorship Application process

Shane turned in his application with the Santa Fe Springs Department of Fire-Rescue to the Rio Hondo Fire Academy. He has attended Rio Hondo Jr College since the fall after graduation from high school. He walked the application into station headquarters over a week ago anxious to hear back. The chief was reviewing them throughout the week. Shane has done some ride alongs with the SFS station #4 and the Long Beach Station #1. He is applying to receive one of the two sponsorships they offer at SFS. Should he get a call for an interview, he will need a suit.

Having a sponsorship means:

• Ensures you a priority of the list of eligible applicants to the academy for either full-time or part-time academies.


• Applicant is allowed to wear our uniform (light blue shirt) with a Department patch.
  
• The Department will loan applicant his Turnout Gear (coat, pants, boots, helmet, gloves, hood)


• Breathing apparatus, as needed

What it doesn't cover is any tuition, uniforms, books, supplies for attending the academy. But the price of what they do cover amounts to about $3 - 4,000 that you don't have to supply.

Shane, in this next spring semester of 2010 taking the EMT class and the last two of his Fire Science classes. So far he has all A's for grades in those classed he has taken so far and placed first in the semester class that tested there physical fitness for duty (BIDDLE). He received the coveted certificate for having passed this required class under the time of 9 min-34 seconds, and his personal time was 6 min-3 seconds. His counselor has told him he will qualify for the July academy.

The Mens Wearhouse had a "buy one get one free" promotion going on and so Shane and I stopped in to get an idea if a price range and how it works. Greg has been thinking lately he is in need of a suit and this would work out. After dinner that night all three of us headed over there, as the two men are fashion deficient as they put it. Well, should you just buy the suit, you get a sweet deal, but if and when you purchase the comfy shirts they offer and the ties they display with them ~ how can you resist?? right?? So we walk out with two shirts and the third was free, mostly cuz we paid so much for one they guiltily give one away. We also walked out with two ties-buy one get free ~ the deals were just flying while we stood there nodding.

Now before we left the house, I laid out all the ties from Gregs closet on kitchen table as an example~did we need a tie? Any one of the recycles would have worked or might have worked.... but in the mesmerizing of how NICE they looked against the new suits/shirts in the store lighting.. we walked out with two more of them to add to the collection..

Greg picked out a black suit with a thin stripe and the dark gray shirt. Shane got a completely black tailored suit with a white shirt/black blocked tie (first interviews) and also the light blue shirt (2nd interviews) he will use a "recycled tie". So after measuring for a few adjustments we were done. There is a lifetime of tailoring as long as it's possible to take it in or let it out, so that is the bonus of this particular store rather than just off the rack.... I hope so... Pick up on Wed night unless Shane's call for interview comes in for sooner. They both look handsome in them.

OKAY so we get back from TX late on Monday and he is so excited he is bursting at the seams on the way home from the airport.. He had received a call from the station that day and he was given one of the sponsorships at the SFS Fire Station. We are so proud of him, and he does NOT have to interview at all.. isn't that amazing? His grades for this semester were straight A's. His hard work all along paying off and the path being made clear as he goes.

Oh well, the suit will come into use somehow ~ ha ha