Sad news
I updated last night to let you know that Mike had flown out to be with his grandma in California, and now I'm writing to let you know that she passed away this morning while she was sleeping. She has been battling cancer for about a year now and she has been in horrible pain for the past couple of weeks; we are grateful that she is no longer suffering. Mike will be out in California for the rest of the week helping his parents to get things in order. Please remember him and his parents (who are the best in-laws ever) in your prayers. I am so grateful that I can make that request and know that so many will lift them up to our Lord who is faithful to respond.

I also wanted to let you know that the kids are doing great in Nappanee, having a blast with their buddies. In fact, Lisa updated her blog today so you can check in on them by clicking here.

thanks for your thoughts and prayers,
shannon

Mini-update
It takes forever (and ever) to upload anything with the connection in my room here on post, so I am just going to provide a mini-update, for those of you who have been faithfully checking my stagnant blog.

This summer has been crazy for sure, certainly full of more unwelcome events than any of us anticipated, but God is faithful, and we are almost done! Graduation is on Sunday (July 27th), and I am very looking forward to my mom (and friend Sara Beth!) coming in to San Antonio on Friday night. Almost there! Then my wonderful hubby will fly in on Saturday, and we'll fly home to the kiddos Sunday night.

Since I last blogged, I completed another field training exercise, got attacked by more fire ants and contracted another case of cellulitis, which again landed me in the hospital. I survived, and even made it back to the field without missing any training time! Since our return from the field we have spent most of our time in the classroom and, of course, doing PT in the morning. (Who would have thought, by the way, that I would actually pass push-ups, which I did yesterday morning!)

I'm not the only one who has been tested this summer though. Mike has been put through the wringer, and managed to still be the amazingly supportive husband that he has been from the start. From having his wallet stolen at work, to waking to find our van rear-ended (hit and run in the wee hours of the morning), it's been a tough summer. He is now in California with his mom and dad, helping to take care of his grandmother who has been fighting cancer for the past 10 months. Please lift his family (my family) up in your prayers during this difficult time. Grandma will probably not make it but a few more days. While it is difficult for Michael to witness, he is grateful that he is able to be there to help and spend time with his parents.

This summer has truly been a reminder of God's faithfulness. Many nights, many of us in the Renfrow clan have hit the pillow (for fewer hours than we may have liked to) feeling like we had nothing left to make it through the next day, but Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are NEW EVERY MORNING! (Lamentations 3:21-22) This has been a special verse to me and some of those closest to me (Laura and Mindy!), and I have thought of it and claimed it many times this summer. Laura and I were talking about this verse between field exercises, and she made the comment that it's a good thing His mercies are new every morning, because right now I don't have any "rollover mercies." I got a kick out of that one!

For those of you wondering what the kiddos are up to, they are spending a few days with some good friends in Nappanee, and this weekend will get to see "Uncle" Kevin and "Aunt" Mindy who will bring them to the airport to pick up mommy and daddy. At long last! Timothy has gotten trips to the library two days in a row, water gun battles in the backyard, and of course some quality video gaming with his buddy, and Madeline.....well, tonight she told me that she was having A LOT of fun and felt bad because she was happy, even though I wasn't there...but she did still love me and miss me....was that ok? I assured her that it was, and I am tickled that she is having a ball! (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, LISA! You are a superhero!)

On that note, I will close with a couple of links to some albums I created on facebook. Some pictures have already been posted to the blog, but some are new. For some reason it is harder to upload the pictures here than it was to facebook, so if you're interested, check them out by clicking the links: OBLC I and OBLC II.

Thank you so much for everyone who has been faithfully praying for us this summer. I am inexpressibly grateful for all of the love and prayers we have received and I am absolutely humbled by everything we've made it through, and even accomplished, on God's strength and with your prayers! I look forward to updating you again soon, from the other side of OBLC!

-shannon

P.S. BONUS! I forgot that I had videos uploaded to youtube that haven't been posted here! So....

Here are the kids recounting some of the fun with Sang and Song:

Here is Madeline dancing the night away at Matt and Hannah's wedding:

Here are the kids getting soaked at Seaworld:

Here is....well, here it is...not sure how I feel about having this knowledge: (me clearing, disassembling, reassembling and performing a function check on an M9, in roughly 60 seconds)

A Texas sized Vacation....
in just one day, and it all started with this Texas sized breakfast! What an incredible weekend we have had together as a family. I cannot even begin to express how wonderful it has been to feel all of the love and prayers, to receive all of the mail (shameless plug: 2LT Shannon Renfrow, 2250 Stanley Road Unit 377, Fort Sam Houston TX 78234-6404...I LOVE mail!) and then to be able to have these past three days with my family. I am so very grateful. God has sustained me through more than I thought I could manage for sure, and then blessed me on top of it!

I heard through the grapevine that active duty military families were eligible for free tickets to Sea World, which is right here in San Antonio. I looked into it, and sure enough, Anheiser Busch provides complimentray tickets through the Hero Salute program. So, yesterday, on our eleventh wedding anniversary, Michael and I celebrated with our kiddos at Sea World San Antonio! Here we are on our way to a day of fun in the sun!

And here are the kids on their way to "they have no idea" where!
The only hint I would give is that they could read road signs, and if they paid close attention they'd figure it out.....which of course my little readers did!
Michael and Timothy making their way into the park!
At our first attraction....a 3-D movie we ended up leaving because it scared the kids, and Timothy wouldn't quit crying.....may not have been the smoothest start to our day, but we had a quick recovery =)
Madeline making her way up the rope nets at Shamu Harbor....
Timothy was a little less sure of himself, so he talked me into joining him....

Madeline and Timothy rode a ride similiar to this one (the Jumpin' Jungle) when they were at Cedar Point last summer....they remmebered it, and it was still Timothy's FAVORITE!
Riding a ferris wheel with mommy.....while we were in line for this I was dancing like a crazy person with Timothy and out of no where I hear, "Hey, Renfrow!" We ran into one of the soldiers from my platoon who was there with his wife and two children. We were loving our few days off and free park admissions!
Madeline and Daddy waiting for the Critterville show....
Mommy and Timothy doing the same....
Taking a spin in Virgil's Paint Mixer with mommy...

...and then again with daddy....
Seeing our first Shamu show....the kids LOVED it! I knew Madeline would, but I was suprised how much Timothy enjoyed it too!
A nice shot by my photographer husband....
This is maybe my favorite picture from the whole day....apparently they get their land navigation expertise form their father....
mmmmmm.....cheesy pizza for lunch!

Madeline quite pleased with herself at the ski show...she sat two rows in front of us because she wanted to be in the "splash zone!"
after the ski show with some of the stars....I love how Timothy is looking at his shoulder, thinking, "you better watch yourself, buddy...."
Madeline with some of the lovely ladies from the show....those uniforms bring back any memories, Heather???
This was at the "Viva" show....it combined beluga whales with land/air/water acrobatics....diving, trapezes, synchronized swimming....the kids really like this show too...
after the show with daddy...this one cracks me up...Madeline looks so old....

In front of the flamingos.....my kids are pretty doggone good lookin'!
coolin' off with some ice cream....
Outside the Shamu Stadium....
Michael and Madeline went to go ride Adventure through Atlantis....Timothy went back for more Jumpin' Jungle....
This young lady was the ride operator for Jumpin' Jungle....she got to know Timothy pretty well. I'm pretty sure he was her favorite passenger of all time ;)

This is the water ride Madeline was brave enough to ride (Mike had to cover her eyes through the whole thing) with her daddy.....she also learned just where to stand so as to maximize soakage from the passing boats.....when we walked by it later, she and Timothy went back to get wet again!
In Shamu Stadium waiting for another show, in the splash zone...freshly soaked from the Atlantis ride.....
Sissy was soaked too!
To entertain us before the show started they took videos of the audience members, adding captions and what not above our heads....the kids thought it was super cool to be on the big screen.....then they played "we like to move it move it" and told everyone to dance for a dance contest.....here is Timothy busting a move.....he didn't win the stuffed shamu though, and he was truly shocked and devastated.....it took a lot of calming to get him to settle down before the show started....he was confident he had it in the bag!
Some more of my man's excellent photo shooting....

That evening we enjoyed the fireworks from the very back of ski stadium....it was pouring down rain and we made a run for it, grateful for the standing room we were able to find. It was beautiful and patriotic, and yes I cried. It was such a grand way to end a marvelous day of celebration.
The kids after the fireworks....
Mike and I celebrating every minute of the day.....
Loving each other....
Mike snapped this on the way out of the park.....what a day to remember....we squeezed a summer worth of fun into our day together!

The kids were worn out to say the least....
Mike and I took advantage of their slumber and had ourselves a date at Sonic.....YUM! I love this picture too, and it's because you can see how happy we were....it's plastered all over our exhausted faces like we're a couple of kids....we so were!
We did finally get them into bed =)
....and this is how I spent most of my day today.....blogging that is. It has taken forever, but I feel like updating you all is the least I can do to show how much I appreciate all you've done for me and my family to get us through this summer. Keep the prayers coming. I am so humbled by all we've been through and so completely unashamed of the fact that it is God's power and not my own strength or efforts that are getting me through this crazy journey I am on!
I head to the field tomorrow morning....bright.....er actually....dark and early. Thanks for the love and support and prayers. I couldn't do it without you.....I am after all just a jar of clay!

-shannon

This AIN'T Camp Cupcake!
Well, here are the pictures that most of my readers have been waiting for....me in uniform. I have to say that basic training (in my case Officer's Basic leadership Course "OBLC") has been anything but what I expected it to be. OBLC students from years past assured me that it was camp cupcake....getting put up in a nice hotel off post, shuttled to wherever you need to be, having days full of power point presentations, with all your nights and weekends off, and then towards the end of training....five days in the field which consist of operating an air conditioned field hospital. I mean of course there is PT (physical training) and it's pretty hot in TX, but for the most part, the report has been that OBLC is a blast.

OBLC soldiers of the future....things have changed! We had two days of in-processing after which we were trucked off to the field for 11 days. We did get one five minute shower during the time in the field, but we were sweating again before we were dressed. We were issued our weapons and firing them the next day. Our gas masks....well, we did the gas chamber and then got trained the next day on how to use them. I'm not feeling too sorry for myself because I know that everything I am doing Mike had to do even more of, while being yelled at through all of it. Being officers, we're getting treated with a bit more respect than the poor enlisted guys get....whether we deserve it or not. (It still takes forever for us to fall into formation....I know our instructors are probably dying to smoke us.....smoke=lots of push ups.)

Here I am before we left for the field. There was a reception we went to to meet all of the batallion big wigs. Not looking too bad at this point. Maybe a little sunburnt from the afternoon of drill and ceremony.
When I got home that night, though, I examined my leg which had been bitten by a fire ant that afternoon. I'm allergic to fire ants, I've since learned, and the swelling around the bite provided fertile ground for infection, which truned out to be cellulitis. I went to sick call the day before we headed to the field, my leg was red hot and more swollen than I've ever seen it beofre, but they loaded me up with prescriptions and let me go to the field.

Here I am with a friend from my platoon (6th platoon, best platoon, hooah) Gilbert (we don't know first names so much) always has a smile and an encouraging word. Those weapons we're carrying never left our sides....neither did our gas masks.....everywhere we went....including the port-a-pots....our weapon and mask came with us.

The heat and the activity level in the field took a toll on me, the infection seemed to clear up, but my legs continued to swell pretty severely. I slept every night with my legs elevated, but continued to have what is known as pitting edema....this means, when you press down on my skin, it leaves an indention....in my case for a very long time. So, I tried to take opportunity to elevate my legs any time I could throughout the day.

You can see how packed full my pockets are in this picture. Every morning we were issued what is called an MRE (meal ready to eat) whether or not these are actually intended for human consumption is questionable, but we loaded it into our pockets and ate lunch whenever we found the time. (I actually ate a beef ravioli MRE for breakfast on my birthday, at about 0400, our first day in the field. That night I was issued a gas mask before going to bed. They say you should make your 30th memorable, and I'm certain I'll not foget this one!)

Here I am with my friend Nancy.....I met her before we were wearing ACUs (our camoflauge uniforms) so we actually learned each other's first names =)
This is my group on the leadership training course. We had just accomplished our first task. We had to build a bridge and get a box of ammo and our whole team accross a "river" with limited supplies in ten minutes....yay us!
This was one of the tasks we failed on....a little too much planning and not enough execution.....this is the day I broke my tailbone too, by the way....no joke....I'm older than I thought I was coming into this!
This is called "soft shoe profile" and it rocks! Because of my cellulitis, the doc didn't want me in boots because he wanted good circulation in my legs. It gave my blisters a chance to heal too...I love sneaker profile!
This was the morning that my platoon was responsible for breakfast in the field. We are fortunate enough to get two hot meals a day in the field....I'll admit I'd trade one of them for a shower though!
The hits kept coming....I got bit by more fire ants in the field. This time I got bit by one on my face, and on my other leg. The one on my face just swelled up, but wouldn't you know I ended up in the hospital by the end of the day because the bite on my leg turned into cellulitis again, even though I was still on antibiotic for my previous infection.

I was so afraid they were going to not let me go back to the field, which would have meant that I'd have to come back next summer. The ER doc didn't want to send me back, but I pleaded and assured him that the hard part was over and I only needed to survive four more days. He changed my antibiotic and let me return. This photo was actually taken after I'd been treated and the swelling had gone down quite a bit. The guy who carried my rucksack for me that afternoon didn't recognize me two days later.....I must have been pretty scary looking!

Here I am back in the field....I never thought I'd be happy to go back to Camp Bullis, but here I am all smiles...even after the gas chamber!
Back to the FOB (field operating base) for the day....getting some rest and elevating that leg every change I get.
My family had never looked so wonderful to me after 11 days at Camp Bullis! Here I am with my beautiful kiddos. Mike drove them down (1300 miles!) to come see me for my three day weekend. The first days off I've had since I got here.....we're loving every minute of our time together!
The Mexican food is GOOD in Texas!
One of the guys in our platoon lives here in San Antonio and his grandparents invited the whole platoon (that's 65 soldiers) over for a 4th of July picnic.
My family hanging out with 6th platoon (best platoon, hooah)
Sam's grandpa and dad who hosted all of us and cooked up some amazing food! They are such a sweet family. They took good care of us, and we joined hands and blessed the food before we dug in.....it was good to be at a family event.
Some more 6th platooners....
Sam is the one in the green shirt, here with some of his cousins, it was his family who hosted us.

Madeline taking a plunge into the pool....
Mike looking hot.....
Madeline and Timothy playing at the pool....
More of the 6th platoon crew enjoying the pool...

Madeline hanging around the guys ;)
and then putting me to shame with her rope climbing abilities....
Timothy climbed UP the slide and then was too chicken to slide back DOWN....the ladies with him were so sweet...all part of Sam's family....they played with the kids and made them feel super special....it was a great afternoon. We're so grateful for their hospitality.
After our busy day we headed back to our hotel for some rest (before another BIG day) and were welcomed "home"by this beautiful rainbow. God is faithful.....that's the only reason I'm making it through!

I came down here thinking I'd get in great shape and be a super soldier.....at this point, I'm thinking I'll be happy to stay away from the doctor long enough to graduate! I am so grateful for all of the prayers that are going up on my behalf, and also for my amazing husband who has been so supportive and encouraging, and has done an awesome job of holding things together at home without ever complaining to me. What an amazing man I have. Happy anniversary, baby! Eleven years, yesterday, I couldn't love you more. You're the best husband and daddy I could have ever chosen for my family. I'd go through everything life has brought our way over again to get to where we are. You are a blessing.

-shannon