Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Air Force Life
Ok so for those of you who know us you know that I joined the Air National Guard last Sept. and this past March I left my wife and kids at home while I went off to boot camp. After 8 and a half weeks of almost no contact with them I graduated and moved on to technical training to learn my trade. Things improved dramatically when I got to tech school. More freedoms and a lot more contact with my wife and kids. I learned just a couple of things in basic. Some of the stuff I already new, like respect for authority, discipline, and how to follow directions. One of the things that I learned was how much I depend on my wife for comfort and strength. I spent 8 and a half weeks being "broken" and "molded" to be an American Airman and the thing that bothered me the most was being separated from my wife. I was allowed a total of 4 phone calls, the longest being 20 minutes long, while there. Every night I would think about what I would say to her if I could, or what I never said that I should have. I know it sounds cheesy but I basically went two months with no contact with the one person on earth God gave me for an help meet, fit to help me through all of life's trials as a team. I just wanted to post this because I don't know if I would have ever gotten to the point that I'm at with how I feel about our relationship had I not gone that long with it. Kinda like that "you don't know what you have till it's gone" except it's not gone I just kinds got to see a glimpse of what it would be like... I didn't like it. I don't want to leave anything unsaid, I don't want to leave anything UNHEARD. I don't want only know my half of the story. I want to be so connected that the two can't be distinguished from each other. I still have 2 months to go before I can be home with my bride... It's easier now but it's still lonely with out her by my side. I don't suggest that everyone go off to boot camp to boost their relationship with their spouse, actually I would discourage most from it. I couldn't have done it had it not been for my wife's strength and encouragement before hand and knowing that she would be there praying for me. I do suggest that everyone take stock of what they have though. Don't take it for granted, and don't assume that everything is as good as it gets just because the ride is smooth at the moment. Don't stop growing together and towards each other.
Friday, May 14, 2010
St. Louis Coffe Shop "Foundation Grounds"
It was harder than you would think to find a good coffee shoppe in St. Louis! We drove around all morning looking for a place. Down town was too cookie cutter, just a star bucks that we could find. The outskirts of the business district were... less then hospitable... We had to go to the outer metro area... really like a 10 min drive from downtown. We found this one in Maplewood. This place offers organic grown coffee and coffee drinks. Decently priced and a great cup of coffee, this place was well worth the search.
Imaginative decoration, and plenty of seating.. Unlike a lot of places we've been they aren't trying to sell you a bunch of junk before you get to the counter.
http://www.foundationgrounds.com/
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Multimedia message
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Prom a constitutional right?
According to the ACLU a high school student in Mississippi had her constitutional rights violated when she was denied a ticket for prom. The school denied her tickets after she told them she planned to go in drag with a member of the same sex. The schools prom policies state that students can only bring dates of the opposite sex. Now before you get all worked up thinking this is an anti gay rule the purpose of this policy is to prevent students from bringing friends of the same sex who otherwise don't qualify. i.e. underclassmen or students from another school. apparently the prior applies to this situation because the date was a student at the school but couldn't get her own ticket. Well, the ACLU went after the school board and demanded special concessions for gays and lesbians... The schools response... No, and to avoid more harassment the school board canceled prom this year. Prom a constitutional right?
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tatter Duty
Monday, January 18, 2010
Wow. . . This is gonna be like starting all over again. Well what's new with the Stroupe family in the six months. Well the biggest thing is I joined the Illinois Air National Guard. Jamie and I had been talking about it for some time and we both agreed that this would be a awesome opportunity for us. I've always wanted to join the service but the years passed by so quick that I thought that I had gotten too old for something like this. What really encouraged me was a co-worker of mine who's in his mid thirties was considering joining as well. I went down to St. Louis to take my ASVAB and get cleared by medical in late September. Scored a 97 on the ASVAB! They offered me a great job and I took it. Swore in Sept. 30. The worse part according to my wife is that I had to shave my beard. I hadn't been clean shaven in about five years.
This photo brings me to my next point. . . Dieting. The max weight for my height to get into the Air Force was 197, I weighed 196 at MEPS. My ideal weight is 174. To get ready for Basic Training I've been running about every other day, a mile and a half each time. That with dieting I've lost about ten pounds!
Here's some random photos of what we've been up to the past several months.
My bride at the ANG Christmas Party.
Chessy laying lazy in front of the fire.
Me rocking it on a kiddy ride at Kentucky Kingdom.
Oh yeah. . . and me with chicken pox.
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