A week in review...with lots of pictures!

This has been quite a busy week! As most of you know, Allen left for Basic Training in South Carolina on Sunday. We spent last week trying to spend time with everyone who wanted to see him before he left. Last Sunday (Oct. 21) we had a prayer night at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship for PraiZ. It was done on short notice and we had a small crowd; but it was nice. We had worship music and lots of prayer. Then, we went to Applebees with that group so they could spend some time with Allen.
On Tuesday, me and Allen spent the day together. I told him the week before to keep it open because I knew it was going to be our last chance to really spend time with each other before he left. Elisabeth stayed with my mom Monday night, so we had some alone time. Tuesday morning, we got up and headed south to Hocking Hills (http://www.hockinghills.com/). It was beautiful. We were lucky that the rain stopped right as we got there. We went to “Old Man’s Cave” and hiked probably about 4 miles or more. And there were a ton of steps….I didn’t like that part too much. Allen’s favorite season is fall, and we both love being outside, so I thought it would be nice to go out in a more country area and enjoy the beauty of the season. Here are some of the pics from our adventure….

After hiking, we went to a place in Lancaster and we got a one hour “couple’s massage”. Here’s what our room looked like after…

I loved every second of it! Allen wasn’t too fond of the relaxing music that they played in the room or the lotions they used, but he enjoyed it a lot more than he thought he would. He needed to relax a little before he left :) He slept the whole way down almost, and I slept half of the way back. But, we are glad we took that time to ourselves. I was right that we wouldn’t really get a chance to spend time together the rest of the week. Here’s why….

Wednesday, he spent 6 hours at the recruiting station helping people study for the test and being made to run and do sit ups in preparation for leaving. Then he went and spent a couple hours with his grandma. Thursday, I think we just sat around at home (our first time at home for like 4 days or more) getting things ready for him to leave. Friday, it was back to the recruiters for a little bit to sign paperwork. We then went shopping and started making food for his big going away party on Saturday. Friday night we went out to dinner at Applebees with the praise band from Allen’s church. On the way there, Allen broke my car. He ran into a curb going 50 mph and bent the rim on the front passenger side pretty bad. I wasn’t too happy about that. The dinner was fun though. He got to say goodbye to that group. Then on Saturday, his mom had a party from 1-4, where about 50 or more people came at some point to see him and say goodbye. We left there and went to his dad and grandma’s and spent time there. By the time we left there and got home, we were so tired that we talked for like 30 minutes then went to bed. Sunday, we went to church at Lighthouse, then out to On Tap (finally! Not Applebees!) with Steve and Liz, so we saw them one last time. Then he took some stuff to his dad’s, said a final goodbye to his dad, grandma, and little brother, and came back so I could drop him off at the recruiters.
Well, those who know Allen, know that he is never prepared for anything. He left his Social Security Card at home, in Wadsworth. We realized this 45 minutes before he was suppose to be there. Since he couldn’t go without it, we had to spend out last hour together going back and looking for it. We found it, and I dropped him off, said my quick goodbye, and he was off. He did call me on Monday evening, about 6:30 from the airport in New Jersey for 5 minutes just to let me know how things were going. They make you get up at 4:30 Monday morning, and you stay awake until Tuesday night. From there, he went to Georgia (I think), the South Carolina, and was put on a bus to Parris Island. He got in around 1:30am; and they get one call. So, he called me at 1:55am this morning for 13 seconds. They have a script that they read and then it’s disconnected. So, I got to say was “Hello” when I answered. Then I heard…”This is Marine recruit Schwaben. I have arrived in Parris Island, South Carolina. Do not send any packages. I will contact you by mail in the next 7-9 days with my address.” Then a click as it hung up. After he said the last word, I did say “I love you”, but there’s a good chance it had already disconnected and he didn’t even hear it. But, there’s a chance he did. So, in a week or so, I will have an address to give out to everyone along with some instructions as to what and how things can be sent. If anyone is interested to know what all will be going on and what things mean, check out this website http://www.parents.marines.com/ . It’s designed for parents of future Marine’s, but there is so much information that helped me understand what would be happening while he was away.
Me, Elisabeth, and my mom made a paper chain with a link for everyday he is gone. Each day, we take one off and pray for Allen. Today, (which was only the second day) Elisabeth wanted to say the prayer with me. So we said it together. Here’s a couple pics of the chain….we hung it up in the upstairs room at my mom’s.





Oh, and here’s a picture of me and Allen a couple hours before he left on Sunday. Our last picture together while he is a civilian.


I’m so proud of him! Remember to keep him in your prayers. I have so much more to update on, but that will come in another entry soon.

Prayer Night

PraiZ is sponsoring a prayer night this Sunday, October 21 from 6:30-9 pm at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship on Graham Rd in Stow. We are having a night of worship music and prayer. There will be opportunities for group and individual prayer, and people there who will pray with and for you if you choose. There are two ways you can be involved in this prayer night....
1) Come out and join us for as much or as little of the time as you'd like. (There is likely to be a trip to Applebee's involved at the end of the night.)
2) Send me any prayer request you have. There is no request that is too big or too small for us to pray for. All prayer requests can remain anonymous if you would like. If you send me a request, we will be taking time during this event to pray for you, a friend, family member, or anything else that you would like us to pray for.
Hope to see people there; and if not, I hope we can at least pray for your needs.
~Jacki

Leaving on a jet plane...

Last weekend, I flew on a plane for the first time in my life. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I don't fear heights, but I do fear puking in front of tons of people. I went with my mom, brother, and sister to Alabama for my cousin's wedding. We left Friday from Columbus and flew to Cincinnati...it was about an hour flight. From there we went to Birmingham, Alabama, about another hour. Now, why do you ask, did we have to take 2 hour flights instead of it being easy and having one two hour flight? Who freaking knows. It was dumb, but there were no direct flights there or back. Well, since the flights were so short, we were on these little commuter jet things. I hated them. It was claustrophobia in the sky. On the way back, we flew Alabama to Atlanta-a HALF HOUR flight. now tell me, is that even logical? Then we went back to Columbus, which was a little over an hour. I slept on the last flight until the baby started crying....for the first time. Luckily, it wasn't too close or too loud and I ended up getting back to sleep. This plane was a little bigger, but not by much. When we landed in Columbus, there was ANOTHER baby that decided he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. It was painful to the ears. And of course, his parents didn't even try to get him off the plane until after everyone else was off. Did they want everyone to know it was their kid who wouldn't shut up? They could have at least had the mother get him off the plane as quickly as possible so the rest of us who had to wait 20 minutes to get off didn't have to listen to him squeal like he was being beat. Well, him crying made the other baby cry. It's like dogs. One starts and they all decide to join in. Anyways....flying wasn't my favorite thing. I got use to it by the fourth flight, and it wasn't that bad.
The wedding itself was beautiful! The weather is great in Alabama this time (and I think all times) of year. The reception was at a yacht club. It was nice...the food was amazing. The cake was really good (that's the thing I always remember about weddings....how good the cake was!). Oh, and one good things....across from the banquet room that the reception was in; there was a little bar area that had a TV....so, we were able to keep up with the Indians game while there! It was a power struggle in that room between the Tribe and the Auburn football game (I guess Auburn is relatively close to where we were and the wait staff was watching it, but we kept turning it back to the Indians every chance we got....that's what happens when they keep the remote on the counter!). And thank you Hanz for keeping me updated when I couldn't be in there to watch!
Well, I'll be blogging again soon to update on other stuff. But for now....I really want to finish my book! I have like 40 pages left! I planned on finishing last night but got too into watching wedding shows on WE that it didn't get done.
Bye for now! :)

PS) I'm reading "The Screaming Room" by Thomas O'Callaghan. I love it. I have his first book; "Bone Thief" on reserve at the library and can't wait until his next one comes out next year! The third book has the same detective as the one I'm reading now. It's called "No One Will Hear You".