Our Story

Blessings by Laura Story

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Sat, 04 May 2013 17:52:00 +0000

For those of you looking for a blessing, check this link out in youtube. Wonderful song called Blessings by Laura Story, and it touches me every time I hear it.

http://youtu.be/1CSVqHcdhXQ

Be Blessed!

~Brad

April 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:51:00 +0000

Alright, we celebrated Bubba's birthday at the super park near our community and thought we would only be outside for two hrs, but instead stayed for 4+ chatting it up with some friends and playing with the kids. Now, Emilee and I are both peeling from sunburn. But it was so much fun!

Also, I had an upper endoscopy done on the 22nd April to see what is up with all this stomach acid. They took a long cord and put it down my throat and into my esophagus, stomach and duodenum. I didn't feel it though because the meds were great! We get the results in two to three weeks.

Well, that's it for now. Just finishing up a web design and UML modeling/programming courses. In a couple weeks I start two more classes: DATABASES!!! My favorite!!

God bless!

The Reality of RACE - 07 April 13

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 23:34:00 +0000

I was born and raised in a small town atmosphere in western North Carolina. In our small valley, I remember hearing preachers discuss how wrong it was for "races" to mix/date/marry. One of the greatest examples I can remember is how blacks and whites should not marry, date, have children, etc...

BREAK BREAK

By now, I've probably already lost some of you and you are not thinking the best of me.. however, I promise you may be surprised at where I'm going with this.

As time went on, and I grew up and went to college, I was blessed with having a front desk clerk job at a hotel. I could finish about 90% of my work within the first 30 minutes of the evening, then read and study the Bible. One of my friends at college at the time had questioned me about interracial relationships and where the Bible actually says they're wrong. After I went to the verse most pastors and preachers in my small Bible belt town in NC would reference (2 Corinthians 6:14), I realized it wasn't talking about races of people at all, but instead was saying for Christians/believers NOT to marry unbelievers. So I questioned my parents, then questioned my pastor (who once again referenced this verse). When I indicated to him that the verse was not discussing the intermingling of races or ethnic groups, but rather the intermingling of believers with unbelievers, he offered me a book entitled "God's plan for the white man" (... ... ... I know, sounds like it was written by the president of the KKK or something, right?). I politely said "Thanks, but I'm looking for scripture, not some other man's opinion". Suffice to say that NO ONE who holds this belief has been able to provide me with information as to WHY they believe this way other than it was the way they were raised.

So God has definitely educated me a lot since then. First, let me begin this by saying, I try to follow the example of the people of Berea in the Bible as much as possible (Acts 17:11, it's written that "the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true"). I make every attempt to receive the Word with an open heart and open mind, but then I like to go back and try to VERIFY if what was said was Truth or not.

SO... when I offered my heart and mind to God to help me divide facts from fiction, God has definitely opened my eyes to some amazing truths, and this is one of them.

ONE: there is ONLY one race: the human race. Blacks, whites, Mexicans, Africans, Europeans, Asians, etc are not descriptions of different races, but of people of different nations from across the world who were descendant from ONE source (if you TRULY believe the Bible).

TWO: God PROTECTED a mixed relationship.

In NUMBERS Chapter 12, Miriam and Aaron (Moses' siblings) began talking about Moses because of his Cushite wife. Here's the Scripture:

12 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. ²“Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.

³(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

⁴At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. ⁵Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud;he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, ⁶he said, “Listen to my words:

“When there is a prophet among you,
    I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions,
    I speak to them in dreams.
⁷But this is not true of my servant Moses;
    he is faithful in all my house.
⁸With him I speak face to face,
    clearly and not in riddles;
    he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
    to speak against my servant Moses?”

⁹The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.

¹⁰When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous^[a]—it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease,¹¹and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. ¹²Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”

¹³So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!”

¹⁴The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” ¹⁵So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.

CHECK THIS OUT CLOSELY: They were picking at Moses because he married a wife who was DIFFERENT. God brings Moses and his siblings outside the camp. He STANDS UP for Moses, but doesn't just stop with a wrist slap to Aaron and Miriam. What does he do next? HE STRIKES MIRIAM WITH A PLAGUE OF THE SKIN!!!!! HOLY COW!!!! So God punishes Miriam by plaguing her SKIN. God upholds the marriage of Moses and his wife, Zipporah.

THREE: God spoke to Samuel about the selection of the new King of Israel. In 1st Samuel 16:7, God tells Samuel:

Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

God spoke UNIVERSALLY. It's not just event-based. I believe when He said this to Samuel, He was speaking UNIVERSALLY stating He does NOT look on outward appearance, but rather on the condition of a man's heart.

So I hope that you will consider these verses when you are thinking about what Race truly is and that God does not care if one person of one nation or color marries someone of a different nation or color AS LONG AS both are believers. We are ALL equal in God's eyes, no matter what nation we hail from. He is indeed a JUST God!

~Be blessed!

Sermon Introduction - 07 April 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 23:05:00 +0000

07 April 2013

Hi everyone!!

So I've been thinking of doing something like this for a long time, but just haven't implemented the idea yet. Before I joined the Air Force, I was a missionary, a ministry leader, youth minister, and evangelist. Since I've been in the Air Force, Emilee and I have been able to share the Gospel and Jesus with many people, helping some to find their way back to Christ, and maybe in others, at least planting a seed. But I've not really had an outlet for messages that I feel God places on my heart to share with people. Therefore, I'm going to start documenting them here and have links to them in the new blog page, and hopefully later on, will be able to get some video-recorded sermons up on YouTube to share.

Hope this section is a blessing to you and lifts you up during the hard times!

Be blessed!

In Christ,

Brad ("Bubba")

Updates from October 2012 to April 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 22:46:00 +0000

Hi everyone,

So here are so really quick updates since last October:

October 2012

-Took kids trick-or-treating on Halloween (almost got rained out). Since we lived in the towers at Osan, we took them on every floor of our tower trick-or-treating. They got TONS of candy

November 2012

-Had some friends over for some Thanksgiving dinner. Had a blast! It was kind of like our last hoorah with them since we were starting to pack up like crazy people for the move

December 2012

-We went back and forth on whether to put up a Christmas tree due to our household goods being packed and removed on 26 December... we FINALLY decided to put up a small Christmas tree for the kids and let them open their presents before household goods were picked up.

19 December 2012

-I am relieved of duty (ROD) so I no longer had to go to work, just out-processing stuff.

26 December 2012

-Household goods were picked up and we moved from housing to TLF (temporary housing).

03 January 2013

-We left Korea from Incheon Int'l Airport and landed in San Francisco, then from SFO to Atlanta, Georgia where Emilee's parents picked us up in my truck (I was SOO happy to see it!)

January 2013

-We spent two weeks with my family, then two weeks with Emilee's parents and cousins. I ended up buying a gun (Springfield XD 40 cal) as well as my first motorcycle (Yamaha 2010 V-Star 950 Cruiser Touring). I also spent a lot of time with my little sister, Carleigh, and had a blast together! Also ended up eating with one of my favorite high school teachers and seeing a lot of old friends. We took mom, dad and Carleigh to Mall of GA Blvd for their very first time.

04 February 2013

-We started driving my truck pulling the trailor from NC to CA. Stopped in Arkansas to rest for the night, then start on our way again. Also stopped and ate at Cracker Barrel as our first restaurant on the way out in Tennessee. OH, and there was this car that was going NUTS all over the road, so Emilee used her giant lens on her camera to get the license plate, make and model, and we ended up calling 911 because they almost hit several vehicles (including an 18-wheeler). We led the cops right to the car. Crazy experience.

05 February 2013

-We continued driving from Arkansas through Oklahoma and stopped in New Mexico the second night to rest.

06 February 2013

-We continued driving from New Mexico all the way to our destination in California. YAYY, FINALLY ARRIVED!! I took the motorcycle off the trailer and drove it around a little to get used to the area. Spent a few days in-processing and FINALLY found us one of the new houses to live in (11 Feb) the same day we went to pick up the van. We moved in on Valentine's Day and then household goods arrived on 20 Feb.

March 2013

-Emilee turned 29!!!! HAHAHA!! I always joke with her about how she is older than me (though only by 4 months). We also ate at a LOT of our favorite places! We adopted two giant French lop rabbits from SPCA and have had a blast with them so far! They are HUGE!! We also received a great surprise visit from Fielding Stocksdale and Shua Allen before Field leaves the country with his wife and newborn child to enter the mission field.

-April 2013

-We are pretty much finished unpacking. I built Emilee a garden in our back yard, and I'm pretty much settled into my job and am loving it!! Em and I are both currently taking on line classes and will be for a LONG time to come, but are enjoying them. We're definitely ingrained at the chapel as I'm playing piano and we're both singing again (love working with our dear friend, Stephen, who we worked with the last time we were here). All in all, life is great and we're having a blast!!

That's it for now! God bless!

~Brad

October 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 07:23:00 +0000

October 2012

Hi everyone! So here are some updates for October:

-Motorcycle Safety course postponed from 6-7 Oct to 27-28 Oct

-Em and I both passed our college classes (next ones to start first week in November)

-Finally took my MSF (motorcycle) course on 27-28 Oct at Camp Humphrey's. The 27th was rainy, so we completed all the classroom portion the first day, then spent 10 hrs on bikes on Sunday, the 28th

-I sent all my motorcycle endorsement validation paperwork to the NC DMV on 30 Oct, received the application on 31 Oct, received my eye exam (and had my eyes dilated for the first time in my life) on 01 Nov, and then mailed all the paperwork to the DMV on 01 Nov as well

-I sold my electronic drum set to help raise the rest of the money for my mess dress

-I acquired a new piano student at the beginning of October (she's 6 like Riley) and she is doing just as well as Riley (I currently have 3 piano students: Riley-6, Cathryn-6, and Connor-8). They're all 3 phenomenal students. They've also motivated me to get back into learning more classical piano

-I completed all three of my subordinates' EPRs (two were initial, one was annual). The one I completed the annual for is actually graduating from ALS on 09 Nov and putting on E-5/Staff Sergeant!

-Emilee is doing very well with home-schooling Riley while keeping Elijah home too (she can't complain too much considering what time she gets to sleep until each day :-P )

-Em and I both helped teach Riley how to ride her bike earlier this month. She's done very well!

-Elijah is now pretty much completely potty-trained! No more pull-ups!

Upcoming:

-Em and I start our Political Science course (and she also starts Geography) on 05 Nov (we're trying to make sure we get into the same Poli Sci course to bring up memories of classes we took together at UNC-Asheville, hehe)

-Should be hearing back about my motorcycle endorsement in two to three weeks

-We are now down to our 60 DAY MARK before we leave South Korea, so we should be receiving our flight reservations pretty soon

That's about it for now. Later!

July - September 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 11:21:00 +0000

Alright, so I know it's been a while.. Emilee is doing better on her blog, so I guess I have to do better on mine now.. sheesh..

So since July, what is new, you ask? Well, there are a few different things.. for one, we have currently been out of church due to a self-involved chaplain. We cannot wait to get out of South Korea so we can actually dive back in to church and ministry.. of course, ministry never stops. We still try to serve. For instance, Emilee and I are doing games for AWANA's (Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed).

Next, I've turned in all my paperwork, received my orders at 122 days out, and already gone by the Travel Office to get us sync'd for household goods pickup in December and also get our airline reservations in October. After we get our airline reservations, we'll be able to buy our tickets from San Francisco to North Carolina, so we'll have a much better forecast in October as to when/what time and day we'll be back in NC.

I just recently bought my first motorcycle helmet (thanks to momma Sue and daddy Dave for sending it to me since Amazon would not). I'm scheduled to take my MSF course in October, then I can send my info in to the military DMV, and within 5 weeks, have my drivers license w/ my motorcycle endorsement shipped to me!

I'm currently saving up funds to get a new head gasket for my motorcycle (which my father in law is giving to me as long as I fix it up). It's an 80's model Suzuki 750 cc Cruiser (beautiful!). I can't wait to ride it!

Recently, I've experienced my pants shrinking (no, I'm not getting fat, just experiencing shrinking pants syndrome). I jumped from about 143/145ish to 150 (but I'm pretty sure it's all muscle weight..)

We currently have about 100 days out until we PCS. We've already turned in our application for housing in Monterey, CA (I'm going back as special duty to be an instructor for 4 years, get my 2nd CCAF degree, and also get my 2nd Bachelor's degree, a B.S. in Information Technology, then hopefully commissioning with it).

I also recently found out I will be testing for E-6 (Technical Sergeant) this February, so please keep us in your prayers!

Other than that, nothing much going on except getting the house ready for PCS and taking classes with my wife as we both continue pursuing degrees.

I'll try to keep better tabs on this blog.. sometimes, I get too busy, but will try to do better...

Be blessed!

~Brad~Bubba~Carlos~Fox~Daddy~Hubby~Sergeant~

Davis

February 2012 - 25 Jul 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:29:00 +0000

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since my last blog, but I think I can catch you up on the events for the past few months...

In February, Em and I both were preparing for our Unit Compliance Inspections (mine in March, her's in April). I also finished my first 5-week long Korean language class since I graduated DLI back in July 2009.

08 March, we celebrated my beautiful wife, Emilee's, 28th birthday, 18 April was Elijah's 3rd, and 21 May was Riley's 6th. We also finished up AWANAS with Riley in May. In May I think is when our chapel switched chaplains again (not a very great decision, I'm afraid).

June, I moved back to DOA and am currently off 3 days throughout the week (loving it!). Emilee and I are also taking classes to pursue our degrees. I'm taking World History to 1650 while she's taking Spanish with Rosetta Stone and Human Anatomy & Physiology. I was selected in May to go back to Defense Language Institute in Feb '13 in Monterey Bay, CA to be a military language instructor (MLI) for 3 to 4 years. Em and I are both excited to return to the place our married life truly began and also the birthplace of Elijah. Without the stresses of studying a CAT-IV language, we'll be able to explore and take more adventures than we did before.

So let's talk Chapel. Let's see if I can condense a looooong story into a short time line:

11 Sept 2011 - Family issues/kick one of our friends out of our lives; talk w/ chaplain

Sept to Oct 2011 - not on worship team (thanks to the chaplain)

Oct 2011 - return to worship team (and under a newly arrived chaplain)

May 2012 - Prior chaplain takes service back over; decides to do things differently (i.e. his way)

May to July 2012 - I get my butt kicked as praise team leader at one-on-one weekly meetings (examples: told my method of music selection is broken; I or someone on my team is spiritually sick; two other guys get uplifted constantly in my face and I get told basically I have a lot to learn about leading worship though I've been doing it for 10+ years; constantly get told he's praying for another spiritual leader for the praise team (...okay.... so what am I, chopped liver?!?)... etc etc etc).. I'm also told not to do any worship songs before the year 2005, and we're not allowed to do the song "At Your Feet", a 2009 song by Casting Crowns, because it reminds the chaplain of mine and Emilee's crisis in Sept 2011... he also constantly brought up the fact that "we have this history" referring back to Sept 2011...

4 July 2012 - a trustworthy friend comes to me and informs me the chaplain informed him he doesn't want me leading the team anymore and it was clear to this friend the chaplain (even through his body language while discussing the current praise leadership....me) wanted me gone.. Em and I talked to the head.. I sent a message to my team to stop any one on one meetings he was trying to pursue with them due to my fear they would go the same way my mtg's with him went. Then another member of the praise team provided my message to the chaplain, we met the following wednesday, and he wouldn't take ownership of anything he had done, even the discussion behind my back about my leadership.. he simply asked if I, ME, was apologetic for what I'd done... he didn't really want to discuss the conversation he'd had behind my back... instead, he stated he didn't think I could trust him after this, and then said I had two options, then proceeded to ask me if I wanted to resign from the praise team...

Longer story short... Em and I are no longer on the praise team, and we're no longer at the service because this man has made it clear I and my family are a stumbling block to him and he cannot serve with us, no matter how hard we've strived to do everything he's asked us to do.. even when learning new songs, he'd sit with me afterwards to critique how we "performed".. I stepped down from the team for a few different reasons.. one, it's better for everyone else in the community.. two, I really had no other choice.. since I'm under contract and it doesn't end til September, any severance of the contract would mean potential for losing my job/clearance.. So I'm kind of forced into not being allowed to fulfill the remaining two months on my contract because I shared information back in September with the wrong chaplain.. lesson learned.. be careful which chaplain you entrust with information you need counseling for..

TAKE-AWAYS: I will never EVER stop protecting those God entrusts to me under my leadership. I will never EVER conform to man's standards, but will always do my best to conform to GOD's standards for praise and worship.... it's not a performance, and it's not about us.. it's about Jesus. Though we have 5 months left here in Korea, and we're not able to return to the contemporary service (the only service my job allows me to go to right now), Em and I are focusing on our family... we're going to also focus on our education more and continue to hone the abilities and skills God has given to us to upbuild and edify the body of Christ.

We miss our church family.. each wkend that goes by that we're not with our worship family is tough, but in Jesus' name, we'll keep pressing on. We look at it like this: at least there's one less scape goat for him to blame his problems/issues on. We pray God will work in his heart and his life to get him centered back on Christ.

Em and I are excited about returning back to the states to visit with friends & family between January and February. Cannot wait to get away from Korea and find a place we can go to church again.

God bless! Please keep us in your prayers. Go with God!!

In Christ,
Brad

October 2011 to 11 Feb 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:28:00 +0000

So the good news is I passed my last two classes of Physics w/ lab and Calculus 2. I also passed ALS, so I can supervise now. As a result of passing ALS, I completed my CCAF degree, so I now have 1 Bachelor's and 2 Associate's degrees.

The bad news is that, as soon as I finished my last two prerequisite classes to apply for AECP, the program was suspended indefinitely. So now, Emilee and I are planning on entering Bachelor's degree programs (my second): hers in Accounting and mine in Information Technology, both through American Military University. After completing, I'll apply for OTS.

Halloween went well. The kids had fun trick-or-treating. We took them through their first haunted house (which we thought was going to be for kids, but turned out to be pretty scary... scared me and Emilee both pretty bad).

Thanksgiving was pretty well too. We opened up our doors for the first time since the 11 September incident. We had about 15 to 20 people this year. Made for a fun time, lots of food, and some good fellowship.

Afterwards, we put up the tree and started decorating. Our friend Miranda called, asking if we could watch her son because she was on her way to have her baby. Elijah, him and Riley had a blast!

On Christmas day, Emilee got to see all the awesome gifts that I got for her this year, and I was surprised myself at the gifts she got me. We also got a lot of great gifts from the families this year.

January, Em and I celebrated our 4-year-anniversary. We're planning on taking leave from 24th Feb to 27th Feb to celebrate in Seoul and leave the kids with another Christian family. It'll be nice to have some time without the kids to actually celebrate an anniversary the right way.

January, I also started my 5-week Korean language class. So far it's going well. It's a great break from work. I take my language test on the 23rd of February, as well as my new CDC test the same week.

We've been getting some pretty good snows. I can't wait til winter time is over. Em and I are planning to enjoy our last summer here in Korea (at least for a while). I go back to DOA Flight (since I've been in DOX for a year now) 1st of April, so I'm hoping to get new orders cut sometime in June or July so I can start outprocessing and figure out where we're going next. We're hoping for either Georgia, Virginia, or Maryland (anywhere on the east coast). We re-enlisted for 5 years, so we should be getting our re-enlistment bonus pretty soon. We plan on buying a van with part of it as the down payment, and then paying off remaining debts and putting the rest into Savings. The rest of the year looks like it will have a pretty good outlook.

Well, guess that's it for now. Less than a year left in Korea!!

Dying debts

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:33:00 +0000

Oops, I almost forgot... WE PAID OFF THE TRUCK!!!

In November, we plan on paying off my old Sears card, and in December, we plan on paying off our BX credit from where we bought our new couches and elliptical.

We're also planning on paying off a bunch of Emilee's old debts as well right after the first of the year, so God has been good to us. Thank you all for your prayers!

Yikesss!!!! 06 October 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:31:00 +0000

YIKES!! So since it's been a quarter since I've updated this last, maybe now would be a good time to post an update...

So upon our return from leave in July '11, Emilee had her gallbladder removed.. she has since recuperated and began to work out.

On 11 Sept 2011, we hit a reallllly rough spot in the road in our marriage. We decided to take a break from the praise and worship team at the chapel to focus on our marriage and trying to get it back on the right path for God. We had 2 dear friends of ours (Joe and Michelle) here at Osan who bought the Love Dare Day By Day devotional for us and we've been doing it every day since.

One of the activities in the book (particularly Day 2's "Go Deeper") had us read 1 Corinthians 13, then go back and read verses 4 thru 7, removing "Love" and "It" and replacing these words with our name... and it hurt... it reflected to us both what neither of us had been for the other.

So now we are trying to change our thought processes from being selfish to being selfless for each other and pursuing each other first. Seems to be working so far and our prayer is that God would keep blessing our marriage through this daily devotional, our Bible readings, Emilee's Bible studies with PWOC, and through our renewed intimacy.

In the midst of all of this, I am now currently in Week 14 of Physics w/ Lab online and Week 10 of Calculus 2 online, AND not to mention, I just started ALS today which will last 25 days. So here's what I look forward to EVERY day right now:

~Love Dare daily devotional and reflection
~ALS/reading and homework
~Calculus 2 lectures and exercises
~Physics w/ Lab homework, final Lab, final Discussion Board, final assignment, and final exam
~Bible reading (5 chapters per day)
~helping Riley do her homework OR washing one of the kids
~helping to clean up the house
~working out with Emilee
~Applying for AECP and OTS commissioning programs

Lots of good, but lots of stressful too. Another good thing is that, upon graduating from my ALS course on 09 Nov, I will also be getting my CCAF degree immediately after.

Please keep us in your prayers. Being in ALS is only a 25 day course, but it means more homework to add to my already-existing homework, plus housework, plus time with Emilee and the kids, plus still trying to heal with Emilee from the bump in the road in September.

We love and miss you all. Looking SO forward to getting back to the states, but hoping to get there via a commissioning program instead of normal PCS!

24 July 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 02:53:00 +0000

Just finished my Calculus 1 class! Final Grade is a 91%! Now I just have to complete Physics w/ Lab and Calculus 2 and I'll be GTG!

This Friday, I'll be sewing on Staff Sgt (wooooohoo!). Lots of exciting stuff going on.

Lots of sad stuff going on too, though...

Several of our best friends are PCS'ing soon. Daniel, Mat, Keith, and Jay are leaving us in July/August, and then we're losing Nathan and Chris in November. Keep our Praise and Worship team in your prayers as we make these tough transitions.

18 July 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:40:00 +0000

Last post was in March... doing great with this blog thing. haha.

To catch up since March...
Elijah turned 2 yrs old in April. Riley turned 5 yrs old in May. I turned 27 in July (finally caught up with Emilee.. haha).

We left for mid-tour to NC on June 8th. We arrived in ATL, GA in enough time to watch our flight to Asheville leave the ground (many thanks to Delta in Tokyo, Japan having computer issues that caused a delay in our boarding time). We wait a few hours at ATL for them to send us to Charlotte, and then back to Asheville.
When we landed, Susan and David and Danielle greeted us at the airport. I finally saw my truck with the new tri-fold tonneau cover on it (looks and works great!). The cover came in extra handy because it rained quite a bit while we were traveling back and forth.
The first day we were in NC, we upgraded our phones to the new I-Phone 4's and we've really enjoyed them except for the fact that we can't really use them a whole lot in Korea (unless we're in a location where there is Wi-Fi). However, they're great phones to have in the states and such.
We get to Andrews and see my mom, dad, and sister for the first time in a year and a half. Carleigh's grown a LOT into a beautiful young lady!
The next week, we go on vacation together to Pigeon Forge, TN and have a blast. Christie (my oldest sister) brought my nieces and nephew over for a few days to spend with our kids as well.
We spent another week in Andrews and then we head back to Brevard to spend a couple weeks with Emilee's parents. While Em and Susie went shopping, David and I spent a lot of time outside working in the yard or watching the kids play in the pool or drive around on their little vehicles. On the Fourth of July, they hosted a birthday party for me and we had a blast! We also went to church in July with Danielle to Trinity Baptist in Asheville. We ate lunch with Galen and Natasha Goodrum and their children. We also went one day to Cartersville and spent some time with Kristin Gray, Josh Lummus and his girlfriend, and the Stephen family. All in all, we had a great trip and can't wait to get back to spend more time with our families...

Upon our return to Osan AB, Emilee went back to work on Friday and I returned to work on Monday. Everyone was excited to see us back. Monday night, Emilee ended up in the ER with back and side pains.. it turned out to be gallstones, so they decided to remove her gallbladder on Tuesday at noon, so I was out of work Tues and Wed with her. She is out for a couple weeks of work and no driving during that time. She is also not able to lift more than 5 lbs for the next 6 weeks (it's killing her because she wants to hold Elijah so bad).

So for now, I've been dropping off and picking up Elijah at Daycare, and also trying to help out in the house as much as possible. Church has been going great (though Emilee can't sing for a couple weeks). I've completed my Trigonometry course as well as my Chemistry w/ Lab course through American Military University, and am currently taking Physics w/ Lab and finishing up Calculus 1 online this week. I will be starting Calc 2 online August 1st. I start applying for AECP this Fall to go to NC State for Computer Engineering starting Fall 2012 (keeping our fingers crossed and praying hard). I sew on Staff Sergeant August 1st as well and am excited about continuing our career in the Air Force. While on vacation, we readjusted our truck loan under the SCRA Act at a 6% interest cap since my enlistment date to present, changing the remaining balance on our Truck from $3,400 to $2,100 (about 5 more PMT's to go!). Oh, and one last item of interest... Elijah is VERRRY close to being potty-trained. His teachers have asked us to start bringing big-boy undy's to daycare for him, so we'll see how that goes...

Other than that, we are enjoying life as a family and can't wait to see where the road takes us!

23 March 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:04:00 +0000

Soooo it's been a while since I've blogged. It's been CRAZY since I've changed flights, but I realllly like my job. There was a guy in my shop who wanted to use me as the lowest guy on the totem pole even though I run around like I'm crazy trying to get stuff done... instead, he thought I should have been taking out his garbage and shredding his paperwork. Welll, he's no longer in our shop. Turns out my new flight chief saw him for what he was: lazy and useless in regards to work ethic.

Since I've been in DOX, my flight leadership have submitted me for awards. I've won the Performer of the Month for January 2011, Squadron Airman of the Quarter for 1Q 2011, Group Airman of the Quarter for 1Q 2011, and American Legion Spirit of Service Award for 480 ISR Wing for 2011. We also won Squadron Team of the Quarter for 1Q 2011, but didn't get it at the Group level.

I'm currently in my 8th week of Calc 1 and 12th week of Chemistry w/ lab through American Military University, and finished Trigonometry not too long before I started both of these classes.

We just spend over $5,000 on plane tickets (all of our tax refund plus some) to go visit our families after a year and a half of not being home. They're going to FLIP when they see Riley and Elijah. Riley's hair and vocab are the only 2 things that have grown about her, and Elijah is a MUCH bigger boy than he was when they saw him last. They both love to wrestle and play and watch movies. Elijah is now 2 yrs old and Riley is 5 yrs old.

We also just ordered a tonneau cover for my truck (which just shipped to my inlaw's house today!) to make travel and storage easier for us while we are in visiting the families. We're planning on visiting some friends in Virginia and Georgia as well as North Carolina.

I also just took my Kor DLPT again and passed again, maintaining my score of 2+2+, so i didn't lose or gain any ground. Now I'm focusing my attention on Spanish so I can get my listening score up to par so I can get more money added to my paycheck.

Our goals right now consist of RELAXING and unwinding a bit on vacation, and also applying and getting accepted to the Airman Enlisted Commissioning Program (AECP) for FY12. My goal is to go back to college at NC State (ironic considering I graduated from UNC-Asheville) and get my 2nd bachelor's in Computer Engineering. This August, I'll also be pinning on E-5 and joining the junior NCO corps.

Every Thursday night, we cook food for friends at our house. Everyone brings something or donates money to make it happen. We view it as a time to relax with friends from work and church and get to know each other better. We usually eat a LOT, put the kids to bed, and play Peanuts (one of the most fun-filled card games I've ever played in my life!). Can't wait to teach our families when we get home!

Well, that's it for now. I don't really have any more updates, but I look forward to having many many more once mid tour is over.

24 January 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:32:00 +0000

EXERCISE AGAIN THIS WEEK!!

So this past Saturday, I participated in my FIRST ever NEO exercise.. I ended up being placed on the Hero Report because I was one of many who helped set up tents that CE was supposed to do, but they were MIA for a while.

The set up was terrible, but the play was fun and the tear-down wasn't too bad, but it did cause me to be late enough to make it impossible to go to the movies to see Tangled with my wife and kids, so they didn't go either.

Today (Monday) began one of our exercises, so this morning, I made it out the door in my MOPP and IPE gear to work, trying not to fall and break my neck on all the ice on the roads and steps.. lol but I love my shop!! At least we all suffer together with smiles on our faces!

Just 4 more days to go!! OH, and I also took my Chapter 3 Trig test last night! Gotta start planning for the next AMU class (either calculus or physics or chemistry)! Wish me luck! God bless!

16 - 17 January 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:28:00 +0000

Tonight, we had our friend, Daniel, over to stay the night again (since we had Monday off). Monday, we decided to go to the KOEX in Seoul for shopping.. It took FOREVER to get there (not to mention, we left at 1100). We didn't spend long there, but definitely made it to our music store, our book store (Bandi & Luni's), ate at Sbarro's, and then had dessert at the Marble Slab before heading home.

Ah well, back to work tomorrow! Can't WAIT for warmer weather!

3 year wedding anniversary!!

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:24:00 +0000

On January 5th, Emilee and I celebrated our 3-year wedding anniversary! We dropped the kids off at school/daycare and headed to the subway for our FIRST EVER real anniversary celebration!

We decided to go the the N. Seoul Tower, go to the top, and put a lock on the fence (everyone does it) with a special note written on it to symbolize our 3-year anniversary. There's a great possibility that someday we will be able to come back to Korea and revisit the tower and recover our lock, then write the date it was recovered on the back of it.

We spent the whole day freezing, but had a blast as we walked around Seoul, took a cable car to the tower, ventured to the top and walked around the observation deck, then placed our lock on the fence where it shall remain.

After visiting the tower, we decided to get lost in Seoul (actually not.. it just happened) and found some underground shopping... then an E-mart... and then decided to go to Yongsan to eat supper and do some shopping as well. From there, we decided to take the bus back to Osan (so we could sleep). During our nap, however, I could have sworn my father was on the bus in the seats behind us... for there was this guy that was sawing some logs (they must've been pretty large ones, too!).. Even funnier is I thought it was Emilee a first, so I elbowed her to try to get her to be a little quieter. LOL!!

All in all, it was a GREAT anniversary for our 3rd!! Look forward to the 4th now! God bless!

New Year's Eve Bash!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:16:00 +0000

Sorry it's been forever since I've blogged... most of the time, if I have free time, I'm either spending it doing Trig or resting from the day's work! I'm realllly enjoying my new job! It's great getting to be back on a "normal" schedule and have regular holidays off with the family and such. We've been enjoying some snow for sure.

For New Year's Eve, we had over 8 people from the worship group and work and hosted breakfast at midnight. While Emilee made the most of the breakfast, I was on my griddle making chocolate chip pancakes! I also taught several of the non-Korling friends to play Oh-mok (오목) and we had a small tournament!

Our friend Daniel also spent the night with us and watched some TV and relaxed with us. All in all, New Year's Eve was fantastic because we were able to spend it with dear friends. Looking forward to see what memories 2011 will bring!! God bless!

Christmas Eve!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 12:51:00 +0000

Holy Cow today came fast and now it's gone! Emilee and I put on the kids' and our matching pajamas (made by Emilee) and put the kids to bed after showing them the Night Before Christmas that my mom had bought for them last year (and recorded her voice reading it for them).

We had a Christmas Eve service tonight that had all sorts of technical difficulties at the high school auditorium, but we made it through by the Grace of God. I delivered 4 containers of fudge today (chocolate and peanut butter). People seemed to enjoy it.

Emilee and I are now sitting here watching A Christmas Carol (Jim Carey version) after eating some of her homemade Oreo & coffee truffles (deeeeelicious, but really hard to eat more than 2 in one sitting... I had 3. haha).

May God bless you all and Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Decor

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:41:00 +0000

We have our Christmas tree up and some gifts already beneath it!! Just received 3 big boxes and 1 small box from my parents and they were JAM-PACKED with gifts (mainly for the kids, but some for us as well haha). Came as quite a shock to us, but a very welcomed one! Emilee goes to pick up the layaway that we got for the kids on Thursday!! Looking forward to a great Christmas w/ family and friends! Always remember: JESUS is the reason for the season!

NEW JOB

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:37:00 +0000

Starting on 12/06, I was officially released to DOX (Plans, Programs, and Exercises) as the new Requirements Specialist and ADPE program manager for our squadron! I'm loving the job, working 0730 to 1630 Mon-Fri, and I get wkends off as well as family days and holidays. Everything is going SOOO well!! Praise God!! Just wanted to update everyone on the job!

MOVING!!

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:35:00 +0000

So as always is, moving is quite painful.. Our moving experience from off base (Lotte Castle) to on base (Seoraksan) went like this...

We had TMO scheduled to come in the morning on the 6th while we had our new house inspection on base at 0800 and our old house inspection at 4pm, ALL on December 6th.. But to give us more time, we decided to schedule our old house inspection on 12/06 at 1000, and have our new house inspection and TMO appointments on 12/04. Before we could get anything scheduled though, we received a call stating there might be a change to the unit they were offering us on base....

...So of course trying not to assume the worst, we went to housing... long story short, they took us to another tower (Seoraksan) and showed us an even bigger unit, still 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom, that they wanted to offer us.. It was basically due to them wanting to go ahead and segregate the towers by ranks. So we decided to take it...

Move in date stayed 12/06.. Scheduled TMO... they decided that they wanted to come and pack one day and then move us the next (though we had already packed a lot of stuff up and moved the breakables to emilee's office)..

Long story short... through the fights and frustrations with each other and base agencies, we are FINALLY on base and LOVING IT!! We are decorated for Christmas, tree's up w/ presents below, and we are getting unpacked and organized sooo much faster than anticipated! Just gotta stay on top of it.. Should be done in about a week!

Thanksgiving!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:27:00 +0000

Hi all!!! Sorry it's been a while since I last blogged (about a month and 5 days to be exact..?).. A LOT has happened, so I'll be catching everybody up..

First, let's talk Thanksgiving... we ended up having a 19.8 lb turkey and a 9.9 lb spiral ham. Emilee cooked the turkey inside our newly ordered GE roaster and it turned out FANTASTIC!!! We also had 13 people over from base to eat with us and just enjoy fellowshipping! Our guests included:

Thomas and Jaala Best
Kim Yong nan and son
Jason Stromberg
Coleman and Haley Wescott
Tina Wood
Nathan Hoback
Andrew Henness
Daniel Arevalo
Megan Bender
Ryan Miller

Our foods included:

Turkey, Ham, Green Beans, homemade baked beans, corn, rolls, turkey gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, cranberry relish, green bean casserole, and as appetizers, deviled eggs, artichoke dip, and veggie platter.

For desserts: BTS Cake (better than s_ _ cake), peanut butter fudge, chocolate fudge, mocha hazelnut cream-filled cake, Tiramasu bites, and mini cheese cakes..

Movies included: Mickey's Christmas Carol; A Muppet Christmas Carol

Keep reading next time!

BACK TO SCHOOL!!

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:46:00 +0000

That's right.. I'm working with my Education Office right now on going back to school and taking some courses right now so I can apply for a commissioning program in 2012! Here are the courses I plan on taking this year:

Foundation of Online Learning
College Trigonometry
Analytical Geometry
Calculus I
Calculus II
Chemistry w/Lab
Physics w/Lab

Once I'm done with these classes, I will be able to start putting together my package so I can go back to school and pursue ANOTHER bachelor's, a B.S. in Computer Engineering, and then go to BOT and get my commission! Please pray everything works out! God bless!

2 PRAISES!!

noreply@blogger.com (Brad Davis) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 23:22:00 +0000

Hi everyone!!!

SO I have 2 praise reports since I last blogged (sorry it's taken me so long to get back here to blog.. gonna try to do better in the future).

1). I GOT MY NEW JOB!!! SO I'LL BE WORKING MONDAY THRU FRIDAYS AND HAVE REGULAR WEEKENDS OFF STARTING THE MONDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING!! THANK YOU LORD!

2). WE GOT OFFERED ON-BASE HOUSING!! NOT 2-BEDROOM.. BUT 3!!! SO I'M GOING BY TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT IT TODAY!!!

Lately, I've been thinking more and more about commissioning opportunities as well. This upcoming year, I will have to re-enlist, and I don't want to stay on the enlisted side of the house for much longer. I've been looking at 3 different options:

a). The Chaplain Corps (getting my MDiv and becoming a Chaplain)

b). Airman Enlisted Commissioning Program (applying for AECP and going back to college to gain a 2nd bachelor's degree and then go to OTS to commission)

c). OTS (applying to go to Officer Training School for 90 days, then getting my commission)

Please keep us in your prayers as we decide on what path would be best for us to take! God bless!