My Bride

Let me introduce you to my bride. She is a beautiful woman that I have been blessed to know since the 6th grade and the blessing was intensified when we started dating just before high school graduation and a little more than a year later we stood at the alter and said that no matter what we would stay beside each other until death do us part.

Things have been pretty good. In fact after 22 years of marriage we were cruising through life. I thought that after 22 years of marriage that I knew her very well. I want you to notice the key word in the last sentence, "thought". As they say that is what you get for thinking.

My world has been rocked recently. Let me first give background for what I think is where this change comes from. A little over a year ago we discovered, okay discovered would implied that we had an active part in this, actually the Army ordered me to Korea. Since I have been deployed to places like Kosovo and Iraq we decided to that she should come with me so we came to the "Land of the Morning Calm." Most Americans here refer to Korea as OINK (Only In Korea) or the "Land of the Almost, but not quite right."

After a year here in Korea and being on the downward slide of the tour I began to notice a change in this woman I call my wife, my friend, my ever present companion in life. Things that had been were no longer. There was this change that had over come my bride. She was herself but not quite. Now understand this is not a complaint it is just a statement.

I first noticed the change one evening as I was sitting surfing the net and she suddenly says to me from across the room if you were going to buy a motorcycle what kind would you get. I had to shake my head make sure that what I heard was from my wife's voice and I knew it was because I have known it for over 22 years. Once I awoke from my shock and was clear about the question I responded with a Harley of course. My bride in her loving way so no kidding what type of Harley?

You must understand that the last time I owned a motorcycle was about 24 years ago and my bride has been against motorcycles so I set that in the back of my mind and did not think of it as a serious thought to consider. So here I am being asked for specifics so with my bride on one computer and I on another the quest began. We settled on the best bike in style was the Dyna Fat Bob. I figured this was just a curious looking so I let it go.

A few days later my bride comes home and informs me that she had talked with the people at the AAFES car sales. That conversation has led to me ordering a motorcycle to be delivered upon our arrival in Junction City, Kansas.

The second piece of evidence of the change that has taken place in my wife is we have decided to purchase a home at our next duty station. I expected to look on line but not put an offer or commit to a home until we arrived in the Fort Riley area. Well we have since not only put one offer in but have countered and countered those offers. Not sure if we will make another while in Korea but even submitting the first ones without my bride seeing the home. For those who know my wife understand that she is a sensing person, thus she needs to see, touch, taste, smell, or hear it before she will normally purchase something. You can only imagine what it would take to purchase a home. See my blog on the home shopping adventure.

The final piece of evidence that Korea has affected my bride is the other night at church she ate something that typically is not allowed in our home. Let me rephrase she ate two serving of this item. The item I am talking about is broccoli.

So what do I make of this. I am not sure but as I have found throughout our 22 years of marriage I have only begun to know and discover who my bride is. It has been an exciting 22 years and I look forward to many more.

The Home Shopping Adventure

The home shopping adventure, no this is not sitting at home and watching QVC or some other shopping channel. It is not even about surfing Amazon.com Mustangs Unlimited website. The adventure is literally shopping for a home. This adventure began many months ago shortly after discovering that we were to be heading to Fort Riley, Kansas for our next duty station.

We are used to “looking” for homes. In 22 years of marriage we have moved often, even more often since coming on active duty. In the last ten years most of our “looking” for a home was about checking out houses on the military post of which we were stationed. We decided while at our last duty station when the military housing became privatized, a story in itself, that we would purchase a home at our next duty station, well, that was until we were sent to Korea. We had to postpone that plan until after Korea.

As we come to the end of our time here in Korea it was time to reactivate that plan in preparation for the move to Fort Riley. So the home shopping adventure began. The adventure started with simply figuring out what the housing allowance was for the Fort Riley area and then figuring what size and price that amount would allow us to purchase. For those who have purchased a home you know that was the easiest part. The greater challenge was yet to come.
Confirmation of the move to Fort Riley through official orders came a few months after setting out on this adventure. We decided it was time to move forward with the plans to purchase a home. This is a realm that De’Dee and I have not entered before, and at times we wonder why we entered it. So with much fear and prayer we moved onward.

We were put in touch with a realtor through USAA and the adventure was now in full gallop. We began to look, and look, and look house after house. Soon we had narrowed it down to about five houses and soon those houses were removed from our list as they became unavailable. This was okay because we had no plans of purchasing let alone putting a bid on a house from all the way over in Korea.

James 4 talks about how we should say God willing we will do this, that, or the other. This becomes important when buying a house for what we planned to do and what has now taken place are two different things. We have technically put three bids on a home. The first bid we started but stopped real fast. We got some good advice and reevaluate where we were going. We praise God for his protection.

In the Army we call it a strategic withdrawal. We came to the rally point and regrouped. This time when we engaged the enemy we did so with a clearer plan and better fire power. We submitted a bid and have since received a counter offer, which we rejected. We have submitted a second bid. We shall see where that goes. The bottom line is this. If the builder doesn’t like it we will walk away. We are not desperate for a home so bad to give in. The house has been on the market since October. As far as we are concerned he can continue to sit on it.

So the adventure continues….