Updated List

Well, the holidays are over here, and it's back to the regular routine.  As I was warned by others who have deployed before me, the middle of the deployment has a tendency to creep along quite slowly.  There is wisdom in that assessment.  I've gotten over the jet lag and the newness of being here.  I'm well acquainted with my responsibilities at work, and the monotony is starting to drag on me.

In my first blog post, which I wrote a few days prior to deploying, I listed 17 things I expected to miss.  I was talking with a friend here about how a lot of my assessments were wrong.  I wanted to take a look myself and see how accurate my predictions were.

1. My Wife, my kids:   Absolutely, without a doubt, the hardest part about being here is that they are not.  Skype, texting, pictures, video, FaceTime all help immensely, but there is no substitute for the love and affection of my family.

2. My church (www.crossbridgecommunitychurch.com).  I definitely miss worshipping alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ at Crossbridge.  I'm able to watch the sermon videos a few days after they are delivered via their website.  The Chapel here is not bad, but I still miss my pastor and my home church.  If you go there, you know why!

3. Indian food, Mexican food, Italian food, my mom's chicken fried steak, my wife's Italian cream cake (okay, GOOD FOOD!).  The Indian food here is actually quite good, though only every other Saturday.  The Mexican food is wretched.  There is no chicken fried steak.  I actually had a really good piece of Italian cream cake on a trip to B@ghdad (though I wouldn't recommend going that far for a piece).  Overall the food is quite good for a deployed location.  I miss me some FreeBirds and Chipotle burritos, and TACOS like these:

E  sent me a clipping from the Express News of marvelous South Texas TexMex.  Can't Wait!!!!

4. Bird-watching with my kids.  MISS IT, especially sharing it with my 3 kids.  I have only seen 4 different species of birds here.  I've counted about 30 in my backyard.

5. My backyard.  Vegetation in general!!!!!  There is no grass anywhere!  There are a few bougainvilleas near the DFAC, but that's about it.  I was excited to see this large grassy area:

The only grass I've seen around here.  The natural scenery surrounds it.

6. The support and encouragement of my Life Group at church.  They've been extremely supportive of my family in my absence.  They've helped E with house work, put up Christmas lights, invited my family to dinner, and have covered us with prayer.  I'm so thankful for them.

7. My Taylor acoustic guitar (Cory- I hope you enjoy it!) The one I brought will suffice.  Actually, the one I brought isn't bad.  A little rough on the fingers, but it has a good sound (at least when i play it [Ha, JCB!]).  Have definitely enjoyed bringing this along.  It allows me to pass the time, and allows me to worship the Lord through music in my dorm room (seen in the picture below).  The walls are concrete, so I don't disturb the neighbors.  Concrete does make it challenging to put thumbtacks in the walls, however.

Me and Oscar.

8. Long, hot showers (3-minute combat showers are not going to be the same).  WRONG!  The showers in my dorm room are hot, high pressure, and I haven't taken a 3-minute shower yet.  In fact, I think the only reason I go running is so I have an excuse to take an extra shower.

9. Toilets that flush.  Normal toilets.  Not sure what I was thinking.

10. H-E-B.  Definitely miss the options of the grocery store, but mostly just miss that H-E-B is close to my family.

11. Starbuck's.  I've been shipped incredible coffee (I'm running low now, so if you're looking to send some... shameless, I know!).  Plus I brought a French press (thanks Jordan), and have a percolator.  I am the coffee king.  Which also makes me the insomnia king, but that's for another entry.

12. Operating in my own ORs.  Actually these ORs are fine.  And there is so much less red tape and bureaucracy around here, so it's a pleasure.

13. My son's coy smile when I answer his "Dad, are you going to work today?" with "Nope."  MISS IT.

14. My oldest daughter's suffocating hugs.  MISS IT.

15. My youngest daughter's "I MISSED YOU" yell when I get home.  MISS IT.

16. Muffin night.  MISS IT.

17. Fresh produce.  The produce here is actually pretty good.  Can't complain too much.

With all the above, I must make it clear how thankful I am to be here.  I am safe, I am warm at night, and I work with great people.  Most notably, this time here in the desert continues to allow me to grow closer to God.  It's given me time to memorize scripture, to read the Bible, to pray, to meditate on God's Word, and to seek His will for my life.  I wouldn't have chosen this, but I'm glad he has brought me here.

"My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in."  Proverbs 6:11-12