Turning the page.....

Well, here we are again.....starting a new chapter in our life. It honestly never ceases to amaze me how compatible my family is with change.

Over the past year there have been many changes inside the walls of our home.
For starters I was offered a promotion and a change of duty location and we have moved to North Carolina for the opportunity to support the mighty 82 Airborne Division headquartered at Fort Bragg. Along with this opportunity came some interesting challenges, not the least of which is mandatory mobility, which in simple terms means I will now be deploying to Afghanistan, Iraq and other sunny, sand filled locations in support of the finest soldiers in the US Army. While this undoubtedly creates stress at home I truly consider it an honor to serve and to have the chance to do my part for a great nation. As I type (i.e. chicken-peck) these words I sit in a hotel outside Washington D.C. prepping to head downrange for 6 months. Having to tell my wife and kids goodbye has opened my eyes and helped me appreciate our troops a lot more......these young families are truly making a great sacrifice to deploy on a regular basis......

Along with the obvious move from South Korea, which was a mess as well we have been welcomed into our new home and are making an attempt to settle back into a "normal" life.....not so sure there is such a thing for us.

We have welcomed baby number 6 into our family this November as well........Elizabeth GraceLynn was born on the 13th.......she has been a great blessing to us and an answer to many prayers. She has a great challenge living up to her namesake.......my cousin Liz.......an outstanding lady, mother and daughter that we all miss very much. If she can have half of the sense of humor and absolutely positive outlook on life that Liz had then she will touch and bless the lives of many......

James Dean has turned 16 and has his permit.....Paris at 15 should have hers any day. Jordan is growing into a beautiful young woman and will be in high school this next year. Ryan is as outspoken and utterly shameless as always.......he is more than willing to break out in song and/or dance at any given time......his disco fever moves are something to behold. My little Kylee is such a princess and loves school.....and Elizabeth......well lets just say it will be a happy day when she decides to sleep.

We are slowly getting situated in our new church home......I'm working with the scout troop and Tracy has just been called as a Primary Teacher for the 11 year olds.......busy as always.

As I sit here with the realization that I will be apart from my family for 6 long months I struggle to understand why my path has led where it has.......I will truly miss Tracy and the kids......they are such a blessing in my life and to be separated from their influence and example will be hard but with my faith and belief in the promise of an eternal family I understand that the Lord has a plan, and if we will keep the promises and covenants that we have made then he must bless us.......so all is well.

I'll attempt to keep a log of rambling thoughts as I progress towards and thru this deployment.......I wish I has the commitment to keep a journal because I know it would be a blessing for those family members yet to come but I think this is as close as I'll get.

God bless and stay safe........James

Greetings from North Carolina!

Big updates......sorry it has been a while. Too addicted to Facebook I guess.....I'll log in later and bring you up to speed on the last year or so!
God Bless.

Hello.......Is it me your looking for???

Howdy all,

Sorry I've not wrote but such is the busy life.

Let me try to catch you up:

Christmas has came and went and was a great time had by all. We did the standard early morning get-up with presents for all. Due to the ever increasing homework load Santa brought the older 3 laptops. This has eased the "up till 11:30 PM waiting to do homework" problem that we have endured since arriving in Korea. It is unbelievable to me how much of their work is done over the computer. To be honest I never even see a pencil or a notebook........

And yes......I was born to be a drummer in a rock band......

We had the Branch Christmas dinner: complete with Santa.......

We had a crowd over to the house for a Mexican dinner before Christmas as well. It is good to get together with folks outside of work and socialize a little bit......we had the missionaries, co-workers, our landlord and his wife, some friends from church and one of the kids favorite teachers. Was a full house!

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders also came to visit Area IV during the Christmas season and Jordan got to go up on stage!

We had Youth Conference in Seoul the week after Christmas which was a joint event with a Korean Stake so that was interesting. Very challenging getting the kids to interact with one another......the Korean youth are pretty out going but ours.....not so much, but fun was had by all I think. FYI: The human knot is a great "get-to-know-you" ice breaker game. They will be up close and personal afterwards.....

Tracy and I are still making the trip to Seoul to work in the Temple the first Saturday of every month. This has been a challenge but also a blessing. We have learned so much by participating in this service. Added bonus is getting to see the Hardy's and Jordan on the monthly treks.










I spent New Years Day on the bike. Took a nice ride up Apsan Mountain here in Daegu. Was a cold but beautiful day.

We took the church youth down for some ice skating for one our Wednesday night activities and also just had a "Fear Factor" night with them. We have a great bunch of youth that I enjoy working with.
This couple of shots is them all crammed into the elevator after skating.....

We have been busy every Saturday for the last 2 months with Ryan's CYS basketball. They play 2- 20 minute games and no one keep score. Guess you could say I'm not a real fan of the system. Just found out that the parents are buying trophies for the players......what?!?

I'm assuming they will be participation trophies since no scores were kept. Again......I'm not a fan. Not that I don't think our children should be rewarded, but why not keep scores and reward the WINNERS? Guess we play in the Obama league......everybody's a winner kids! We will give awards to all regardless of their contributions or efforts! Just like real life right? Let's face it.....some people are no good at sports......some are no good at math. Shouldn't those people that excel be given some extra accolades? It is a tremendous disservice to reward all equally, because some simply don't care and refuse to put out any effort. It's no wonder youth today have no work ethic.....why should they.....they will be given the same reward as the kids who worked hard for it. We are setting our kids up to fail, mark my words.

Hang on a minute.....gotta climb down off this soap box.

There, now where was I......

February has been a busy month as well.

District Temple Day on the 6th, Lunar New Year on the weekend of the 13th.....basically is Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year all rolled into one for the Koreans......interstates become parking lots as folks head back home for the holiday which is Korea's largest. We found a little time to squeeze in some Tollett family ice skating.......

We had our Annual Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet on the 19th which was a great event but as the Cubmaster am glad to have behind me. The 20th the Cubs set up in the PX and had a bake sale and sign-ups for an Adult Pinewood Derby competition that we will hold in March. Was an extremely successful day. The generosity of our little military community in support of our Cubscouts is amazing.

Next weekend is District Conference so I've taken off work on Friday so we can head up to Seoul. Will visit the Temple on Friday night (I hope), then again on Saturday morning, Priesthood Leadership meeting in the afternoon, adult session that evening, then main session on Sunday.

Planning to hitch a ride on the free medical bus to Yongsan on Friday, then the KTX train back on Sunday.

Should be a great weekend with a chance to catch up a little with the Hardy's and Jordan's.

Tracy has been coughing like crazy for about 5 months now......been to the doctor several times with no luck yet. Please say a prayer for her to get rid of this.

Kids are all well........busy as always.

Have got word that we should get an early out from Korea this summer when the kids are out of school. This opportunity can not get here soon enough. I hate being chained to this desk staring at a computer all day.......I need some sun and fresh air!!!! If all goes as planned then we will roll back stateside when the kids are out of school for the summer......should be much easier to move while not in school. If by some outside chance I get offered a promotion, we will probably accept and stay on in Korea........not expecting that to happen though. Whatever the option it has to be out of this office!!!

Till next time: God Bless and much love from the Tollett family!

A chill is in the air.....

especially if the wife is making you ride your motorcycle in December......."you wanted it now you ride it" type of line......

Howdy all,

Did ya miss me?

Would love to tell you I had a great reason for not writing but I'm pretty much hooked on Mafia Wars on Facebook so I guess that is the culprit.

Business as usual for the Tollett's........super bust with Scouts (Boy and Cubs), James Dean has started basketball, Paris is in Drama, Tracy is volunteering at the school/church/library seems like everyday and I'm swamped as well.

Ryan was baptised in November.......we were planning to wait until Grandparents made it over but since their visit got pushed from Christmastime to Easter we decided to go ahead. He was so excited and is such a great kid!

Thanksgiving was good but sure not like home........just doesn't seem like Thanksgiving if your not laying bloated on the couch watching football.....the missionaries from our area had a zone conference on Thanksgiving day (yup, no holiday for Koreans) so the branch decided to provide a Thanksgiving dinner for all the missionaries in the zone......22 young men and women in all.........was a good time and a great meal, but not home.....

We have had a couple of birthdays last last few weeks........James Dean turned 15 and Paris 14 in the last couple of weeks......and twice in as much time I've heard the phrase "WORST BIRTHDAY EVER".......which to a parent is like CHECK: Mission complete! Because everyone knows that attempting to ruin our children's lives is just one of the simpler pleasures in life, right? Our kids live in the most prosperous times in history with never a dull or quiet moment and yet they complain........guess we all did!

I mean, at least they ain't milking cows before and after school. Now it's a travesty to have to unload the dishwasher.......A DISHWASHER?!?.......that's why our parents even had kids was to turn the channels on the TV (all 3 of them), and to wash dishes.......;-).

We thought that December would slow down a little but not yet.....last weekend we had a great time with the Hardy's as they came down and stayed the weekend. This coming weekend it is basketball game, drama competition, breakfast with Santa and scout gift wrapping fundraiser at the PX.

I have a new young man in the youth group so that brings my total up to 2 now woohoo! It's really not even fair........2 young men and will be 9 young women in a couple of weeks!

We have District Youth Conference up in Seoul the week after Christmas so that will be good.

We had the missionaries over for Family Home Evening on Monday to help decorate the Christmas tree.......we truly enjoy having these young men and women in our home! MEMBERS: If you are not feeding the missionaries weekly your are missing out on great blessings and a great opportunity to have the Spirit in your home!!!!

Can't believe that we have been here a year this week.......it has been flying by.

Planning on returning to the states next December unless I'm offered a sweet gig here (i.e. promotion, which is not likely). We truly do miss the family and friends!

Well......it's 10 PM and I'm now sitting here in the dark by myself. Guess I should call it a night.

Blessing to all and much love from the Tollett's........till next time!

P.S: I have to admit I hate trying to get my pictures to line up where I want them too.......Kimberly: ya'll need to make a trip over so I can get a tutorial......;-).

Finally.....

Wow, over 2 months since my last post.....guess if you want to keep up with us you will need to get a Facebook account since that seems to be my preferred method these days.

All is well here on the home front....we are swamped as usual, but it is quiet at the moment.

Both girls are staying the night w/friends as well as James Dean, so I just hung out with Ryan and Kylee tonight. We scored some Wizard of Oz and Dora the Explorer while I baked bread......Cranberry Nut Bread to be exact.....Tracy is down sick so she went to bed early. She has never even used her bread maker but I'm becoming quite the chef. The second loaf of Cranberry is in the hot box now.....going to try my hand at Egg Bread when it's finished.....it is 11:30 PM so I'll still be up awhile.

Since my last post Tracy and the kids have all made it home safe and sound after a long summer back in the states with the family. They had a good time and a good visit.....they spent time in Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado.

The kids are slammed with school.....I cannot understand how there is so much homework.....Jordan needs a pack mule to haul all her books home everyday. I don't think I ever cracked a book and look and the incredible success I've attained!

Work is good, we have got our new guy in and he has hit the ground running so life is good......we stay plenty busy but he has lessened the load significantly.

I scored a nice motorcycle a couple weeks ago thanks to a very loving and awesome wife....really regretted ever selling my last one and missed riding. Will work my up into a Harley one of these days.....

Made the drive up to Seoul last weekend to attend the Temple and participate in a District Youth Event......had a temple visit on Friday night and a hike up a small mountain with about 25 Young Men/Women on Saturday. At least that is what it is called in Korea.....a hike.....where I come from it would be more likely called "mountain goat/Sherpa training". A hike is supposed to be a flat or rolling trail......if it requires a rope to grab onto to get yourself safely pulled up the looming rock face then that, I'm pretty sure is not a hike. But a great time was had by all......

I have a long weekend starting tomorrow.....this weekend is a Korean holiday, Chuseok , which is Korea's Thanksgiving. Basically we are on lock down.......no threat, but the mass exodus of people traveling back to visit their families creates gridlock on the freeways......normally a 3-4 hour drive to Seoul turns into about 10 hours. Basically a 150 mile long parking lot.....I'll pass.

Going to try to slip out into the mountains to take a ride this weekend.....this is a beautiful country.

Off work on Friday for the holiday and took leave on Monday to score a 4 day weekend!

Tomorrow is also Ryan's birthday so he has a full day planned out for us that sounds like it involves eating pizza down on the river and going swimming at the pool on Camp Walker.

Today is also the one year anniversary of my house in Kansas being on the market up for sale.....so totally sucks that we can't get it sold, even after knocking $12,500 off the price.....we have not had a single hit or offer in this last year.......

Still staying super busy with scouts....Ryan is now a Wolf Cub and meets once a week and James Dean (who made his Eagle Scout) is also staying active and meeting once a week.

We had been mulling over extending our tour here but I think we have pretty much decided to pack it up and head back to the 'ol US of A when our time expires in Dec. 2010.....can't believe we have almost been here a year already.....how it has flown. We truly do love it here, but we need to get rid of the house and we would also like to settle in somewhere and let the older 3 graduate high school before moving on again. I figure we can make it work if I get sent back to a Depot in the states......it might require me to make a trip to the sand box but we will see.....only time and the good Lord will tell.

Well, I'll throw up a gratuitous picture of me and the bike and one with the youth for now and wish whoever reads this good riddance and God Bless.

Signing off from Korea........for now.

James

Part 2 (kinda)

Sorry I'm not very regular with this blog. Life is just super busy as always. I'll try to pick up our little story.....

I served in the Oklahoma National Guard for 6 years as an Infantryman. Nothing very exciting really, humped a ruck sack and carried a M60 machine gun thru the woods of SE Oklahoma was about it. I did one 3 week rotation thru NTC as OPFOR my last year in but that was it. I ETS'd in March, 2000 and in April was a proud member of the US Navy Reserves......yup, the Navy in Oklahoma. Needless to say I was not on a ship. I served as an equipment operator for 3 years, then ETS'd from there as well. Again, not much to exciting......I was in when 9/11 happened but because I was still considered in training and had not been to my second 2 weeks of school yet I did not deploy with my unit....this decision was made by the unit just days before departing......AFTER the sad farewells from church....the family get togethers, and after quitting my job. Makes you look like a punk showing back up at church the following week only to say well, they changed their mind.....I'm not going. Stupid.....my unit deployed to GUAM to build roads......weren't even anywhere near any combat. Thanks....my one shot to serve active duty snuffed out because I haven't been to Gulfport, MS and drove a forklift for 2 weeks.

During this time I had several jobs, all of which were leading pretty much nowhere.

As soon as I got back home from Basic Training with the Guard I went to work for Wal-mart, first as a checker, then ended up after about 5-6 months as a department manager over pets, lawn and garden and seasonal.....i.e.; Christmas/Halloween/Easter/You Name it.......they were kind enough to pay me about $5.50 an hour to manage all three of these departments at the same time. Needless to say this didn't last long, although I truly loved the job. I think I just love people and helping others. During this time the kids started coming along......James Dean in November of 1993 and Paris in December of 1994.......for some reason I picked up the nickname of "fertile turtle" by the Wal-mart ladies.....;-).

I left this job and became an over-the-road truck driver for our great friends the Collards. I mostly hauled new horse trailers from the manufactures to the dealers. We ran basically the lower 48 states. Again, loved this job but missed the family. When I started out the kids would knock me down when I got home.....after a year and a half or so they didn't know who I was. I came off the road on a Thursday and told the boss I was hunting a local job, went to Ada Coca-cola on Friday and filled out an application and went to work on Monday.

Again, great job that I loved. Now I had the opportunity to combine 2 loves......people(sales) and driving. I had this job over 6 years and would still be there now had they not accused me of dishonesty. They had a history of accusing their highest paid drivers of theft.....in the 6 years I was there they had 5-6 guys that were in this category......I always had this suspicion in the back of my mind that they used this as a tool to fire people that they deemed to be making to much money but I never thought I'd be accused. I was a very effective salesman.....if the company goal was 6.5% growth I gave them 10%. Oh well, they will get what's coming to them.....I went directly to work for Pepsi with a single mission of spanking Coke.....glad to say I was pretty effective there as well.

I had applied for a government job while at Pepsi and was finally offered one. Pepsi was good to me and would have no issue working there again.I went to work for the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant as a forklift operator, then moved on into Transportation driving a semi truck hauling explosives on the installation. Loved this job as well but it was only a term job.

After about a year here I was offered an internship with the QASAS program (Quality Assurance Specialist, Ammunition Surveillance) which I'm working at today. After a year of school at McAlester we were sent to Fort Riley, Kansas.....what a great place and a tremendous blessing for me and my family. We found an incredible church home and we prospered while there. We also made some of our very best and closest friends while there. I pray that we will have the opportunity to return there some day.

Along the way we have had 5 great kids who continue to be an example to me. They make me want to be a better man, and better father. It is impossible to consider what I would be without them.

Well, I'm really not very proficient with my writing skills.......I have visions of me writing eloquent pieces, memorializing my family but end up with funny memories and sore wrists from chicken pecking on this thing!

Thru it all Tracy has been the one strong pillar in my life. She has never doubted me (well there was that one period when I was a meathead but we don't need to relive that), and has loved me when I surely did not deserve it. She has kept the church in front of me when I was making every effort to walk away, and for that I am truly grateful.

I'm glad I have eternity to try to thank her because I'll need it all.......after reading back thru this post is is obvious that it's all about me and that was not my plan......my work history is probably not the exciting blog reading you are hoping for but I think it is very telling for me......it shows me just how focused on making a living I was instead of focusing on making a life.

Thank God He forgives us and allows us these chances......

God Bless you all!

James

James and Tracy......the beginning of forever.

What a week this has been.

We are covered up at work. I just can't believe that we have so much work that needs to be done. It just seems unending. However, we are making progress so that is good I guess.

Today is Father's Day and it makes me miss Tracy and the kids that much more. I'll be glad when they come home.

This being "my" day I've spent a lot of time today thinking about them and considering just how blessed I am to have such great kids and such an incredible example in my wife. I cannot figure out why God has blessed me with them. He must have looked the other way or maybe on the 7th day while He rested I was able to sneak in and grab her up without Him noticing. I surely have not been worthy of the companion that He has given me.

I've spent a lot of time this last 2 weeks going through old photo albums and looking back on our life together. When someone says they started from humble beginnings, I can relate. Had I made some smarter decisions early on in my life this would not have been the case but I didn't and such is life. For a quick run down on our little history it looks a little something like this:

I met Tracy while she was in the 7th grade. I know it's hard to imagine but I wasn't exactly the "coolest" kid in school. I had been basically rejected by every girl in school, (whatever that means to an 8th grader). The next year I asked Tracy to "go" with me.....now I'm not sure where we were going to go but anyway.....actually I didn't have the guts to ask her, (you'll have that lack of guts after about 2 years worth of rejections) so I had a couple of her friends ask her for me. Her answer was priceless and one that I'll never forget: "NOT IN A MILLION YEARS!" Nice, huh? I'm really not sure what made her change her mind but maybe it was the relentless begging and stalking. Anyway, we were finally a steady couple and I was on cloud nine.....I was in the 10th grade and finally had a girlfriend. I still wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with her but I knew that the sun was shining brighter, the birds were singing louder and all was right in the world.

We have dated pretty much exclusively since then, although she did try to dump me after spending all of one summer in Colorado. You would have enjoyed this picture: She spent all of a summer with her brother in Colorado while I stayed back in Oklahoma and worked. ALL of the money I earned was exchanged for quarters so that I could stand at a pay phone in Calvin, Oklahoma in the blazing hot sun and talk to her......after a long summer it was time for her to come home. I lucked out and got to go out with her Mom and Dad to pick her up.....I even got to drive my pickup out there! It was going to be a great trip......16 years old, road trip to Colorado, picking up my girlfriend, what could possibly go wrong? Well, for starters, expecting a glorious reunion was one......we showed up at her Grandma's house and WOW.......she had changed.....she was HOT, as in FINE. All tanned and looking good.....she went straight past me to her folks and siblings......I barely even got a little hug......then later that night, the dreaded words......"I don't think I love you anymore". Now, I cannot pretend to tell you I was not crushed......and mad.....after all, I had drove all the way to Colorado, and was now staying at her families place......just a tad awkward. I mean really.....I'm pretty sure she didn't just decide this when I pulled up in the driveway right? I'm thinking a phone call prior to me driving all the way to Colorado would have been acceptable.......anyway, after a few weeks of begging and bawling and just generally trying to make her feel guilty she finally relented and took me back. I really think I just wore her down to the point of submission. We have been together since. The road has not always been smooth but it has always been worth it.

We had a strange type of religious agreement between me and her folks.....kind of a dope deal so to speak. We would both go to our own church's on Sunday mornings, then she would go with me to church on Sunday nights. I would in turn go with her to church on Wednesday night.......really I was just going to be with her and to play basketball at the church house......because anybody who knows anything about Mormons knows that they love their church basketball.....which worked out good for me, (being the basketball stud that I was I got to improve my game and get brownie points for going to church with her). This deal worked pretty well over the years. I was active in my church, she was active in hers, and we got to be together everyday, so all was well. I was convinced that she would convert my direction in time......little did I know how my life would change. We talked about our beliefs often, her speaking doctrine of her faith and me trying to convince her that she was wrong. I never really had a problem with any doctrine it was just the title of Mormon that I couldn't get around. In my part of the world (the buckle of the Bible Belt) the title of Mormon is not held in high regards, although no one ever had a good reason why, other than the stacks of anti-Mormon pamphlets said they were bad people headed for Hell. It angered me that those that were speaking down about the church had never even set foot in an LDS church. This seemed very hypocritical to me, after all I wanted to convert her to my faith but it was evident to me that we were not acting very Christlike. I'm ashamed as I look back at the ridicule that she endured while attending church with me. What an incredible show of the strength of her testimony though. The seemingly bad opinion of Mormons was truly confusing to me since I was in their homes daily. It was a testimony to me and I found it intriguing that no matter how many times I went to church with her I NEVER heard anyone speak negatively towards another faith. After almost 16 years as a member of this church this holds true. They strive everyday to help their fellow man and try to be an example of Christ at all times, not just on Sunday's. They had the type of family life that I wanted......they loved each other and sought to make each other happy.

Anyway, after I graduated high school I took the missionary discussions from the missionaries in Ada, OK. I really only started taking the discussions because I told Tracy I would.....when I started I just wanted to show her I'd listen in the hopes that she would return the favor and listen to my faith's message as well. I couldn't believe it when I actually found myself wanting to learn more about the gospel. I was also surprised at how much I already knew, just from our mini discussions while out on dates and while sitting with Tracy during seminary on some Wednesday nights. Long story short (yeah right) I was baptised on November 22, 1992. I was so happy because I assumed that Tracy and I would go ahead and get married....now understand that she was still in high school but we had been dating 4 years by now.....it was time.....past time in my opinion. Tracy allowed that she would only be married in the Temple, which to us Mormons means we are sealed together for all time and eternity.....no "till death do you part" for us......that sounded great to me except for the little detail about me having to be a member for a year before getting married in the Temple. Great, another year. This was the first test of my new faith and I wasn't even dry from baptism yet!

So, one year and one day later we were married in the Dallas Temple, living in Calvin, OK in a trailer house that I'd bought for $3500.....now keep in mind that Tracy was still a senior in high school......she still had 6 months of school left. She was carrying James Dean at her graduation! Her graduation and prom I was unable to attend due to the fact that the job I had (A1 Feed Company, Holdenville, OK) that paid me $425 every 2 weeks wasn't paying the bills and we now had a baby on the way. So in April I headed off to boot camp in Ft. Benning, GA to become an infantryman in the Oklahoma National Guard......that was a long 3 months.

Looking back on our life together I can't help but get a little chocked up. We have been blessed with 5 great kids that honor their mother and father. We have had the opportunity to live in several different place and make some lifelong friends along the way. This little trip to Korea is just another example of that. God has blessed our lives and continues to do so everyday as we strive to live according to His will.

I'll pick up the story where I left off next time and provide more details as a way of documenting some of these events before I forget them.......

As always, God bless anyone that takes the time to read these words.

I hope that Tracy and the Kids know just how much they are loved.........