First week and a half of BOLC II

Sorry for not posting something sooner about my current training, but last week was basically inprocessing so I didn't feel that you would be interested in how long I stood in line to get told that I didn't need any more shots or dental work. :)

This class is going very well to say the least. Our cadre are extremely professional and all about training to standard and not time. So when we are done with our training they release us...which is great for me because that means I get to spend more time with my girls. I do have to stay in the barracks five nights a week, but it isn't that bad because I don't have to be back until 2300 every night. So I get to hang out with the girls until then. There will be few weeks when I have stay out in the field, but Danae is planning on visiting family in Texas during that time.

We have found a good Southern Baptist Church that has tons of options for kids ministries. They have a preschool that we are starting Kierra in tomorrow...she had a good time tonight during the STOMP (similar to CVBC's LEAP program) it is where the kids learn to praise God in different ways. Brookelynn likes her class as well. The church is much more traditional in worship style than we are used to, but they are super friendly and they preach the Word so that is what is important to us.

Danae is staying busy taking care of all our moving arrangements for the next move to El Paso and taking care of the girls. I have taken a physical fitness test and completed my land navigation course as well. Next week we qualify with M4 rifles...that will be fun.

By the way, if any of you miss seeing us/the girls we do have Skype and a webcam so that we can communicate that way. The kids really enjoy seeing their old friends and family so I encourage you to download the program (it's free just google Skype) and buy a webcam (you can get one for less than $35) it is a great tool to stay in touch with...especially the kids.

Love you all and God Bless,

Will

Oklahoma is our new home......for now.

We arrived here in Lawton, OK mid-day yesterday, and we're pretty much unpacked today. We had to drive clear across the country to get some warm weather. It is beautiful here. Will needs to report tomorrow, so we had to get all our shopping and last minute stuff done before he has to be on post. He will most likely have to stay in the barracks while here at Ft Sill but I think he is somewhat looking forward to that. I will start potty training Brookelynn on Monday, we just moved her to a big girl bed as we didn't want to move the crib. I think I will move to the barracks next week too :-). Lol.

The drive went well. Great for me. I was in the car all alone. The girls actually did very well - till the last day when they screamed and fought from Kansas to our apartment. I thought Will was going to throw one or both out of the window a few times but we are still a family of four. We stopped at the Denver Zoo one afternoon and we all enjoyed that.

Our apartment is small but nice. Well, I am afraid to take a bath or walk barefoot, but I think we will live. We are excited to be on with our new journey of life, but we already miss our old friends and family back home. It was hard to leave, but we know this is the time and place God would have for us now.

In Him
Danae

2LT Andrews

Will is now a 2LT in the Army. He graduated on Thursday and it was a good day. He was distingused honor graduate and top academic graduate as well. We are all very proud of him. The girls were very excited to see daddy, and it was neat to see their reactions.

Now we are home in Idaho for one week and we have hit the ground running. We are packing and saying our good-bye's as we are leaving to Ft. Sill Oklahoma with Will on the 1st of September. It is hard to leave Idaho as we have both grown up here, but it is exciting to have a fresh start and see where God is leading us and the new adventure is so thrilling to me. Our duty station is Ft Campbell Ky and that is where we will eventually end up. Probably next spring or early summer. Hope all is going well and please keep in touch.

Danae

Last Week of OCS

My transition from enlisted to officer is almost complete. I will graduate in 4 days on the 21st of August. God has blessed my efforts here and I was able to graduate as the Distinguished Military Graduate (top of my class) as well as the High Academic Graduate. God deserves all the credit and I am grateful to see this challenge come to an end.

Danae and the girls will be here tomorrow. I'm like a little kid waiting for Christmas to come...I can't wait to see my angels. Today is also our six wedding anniversary...which is a blessing because even though we may not be together today at least we will get to see each other tomorrow.

I will only have one week at home, so hopefully we will have one large group gathering so I will be able to see as many people as possible before I leave.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Call or email whenever.

In Christ
Will

We're off to GA

Well after 3 months of waiting, the girls and I are off to Georgia to get Will. He graduates the 21st of August. Sage, Will's younger brother will fly with the girls and I down there. Will and I have decided that we will move as a family to Oklahoma to Will's next training for 7 weeks and then to El Paso, Tx till next March.....for yet more training. After that our duty station is not yet known. We are really hoping for Japan, but our branch manager has not yet gotten back with us. We pull out of Idaho the 1st of September. Scary but exciting. I am ready for us to be together again. I will post a new address for us as soon as we get one. But our cell phones will work for now.

208-249-5888 Danae
208-249-8555 Will

Danae

Week 10 Complete

Praise the Lord! We finished up some of our last requirements here at OCS. We completed our final inspection and turn-in of all our gear and weapons. We also finished up our History test...now the only thing we have left is our final physical fitness test on Monday morning.

This weekend we have off as well, which is the first weekend we've had off this cycle. Everyone in my class can use the time away from the barracks...hopefully everyone will be motivated to finish out these last two weeks strong.

Next week we have several leadership seminars and lots of administrative processing as we make the transition from the enlisted side to the officer side. I'm very excited to see the finish line and complete one of my goals.

God has continually motivated me throughout this course and I am thankful for His guidance daily. Danae and the girls are going to go with me two both of my training sites and we will get to spend some time with each other.

I look forward to trying to contact some of you this weekend...sorry for not being able to talk much this last week...I spent over 50 hours cleaning weapons in addition to everything else. :)

God Bless and take care.

Will

Weeks 7,8 & 9 Complete

Well we made it out of the field on Friday. We finished our field exercises with a 11 mile road march that finished at 2 a.m. The training had some good points that I will take with me throughout my career and I'm glad to have gotten through these weeks healthy and in good spirits. :) Our next week will be very full with another week of history combined with a battalion level inspection (which means that we will spend the next 5 days cleaning everything under the sun).

I did get my class dates for my next two phases of training. I will go to phase 2 in Ft. Sill, OK from 7 Sep - 24 Oct and then I will go to my phase 3 in Ft. Bliss, TX from 31 Oct - 10 Mar 09. This means that I will only have 2 weeks at home before heading out to my phase 2 site, and that I will probably have to leave Danae and the girls in Idaho for another 7 weeks before picking them up and moving us to El Paso.

I have really seen the calling that God laid on my heart come into play here at OCS. While no one has responded to the Gospel message just yet, one Christian who was struggling came and talked to me during the field and wants to move forward with his relationship with Christ. My heart is definitely burdened for discipleship, and I'm glad to be able to help the struggling Christians who need someone to guide them.

Brookelynn's test results came back and they were very good. She has some minor complications with her stomach, but it is not the major disease that we feared. God is great and He continues to watch over my precious girls while I am away. I look forward to seeing them in a little over two weeks.

I love and miss you all. Feel free to call or email me whenever.

In Christ,
Will