Open Letter to Mark Zuckerberg

Dear Mark,

Today I am announcing my intention to defect from the facebook nation.  Please do not consider this a personal attack or even a statement regarding your creation.  Rather, I have come to the conclusion that facebook has outlived its usefulness (when comparing benefits to costs) in my life.  Don't worry, I do not intend on subverting the facebook culture by trying to convince my 391 friends to do the same - each of us must make our own choices in life; this one is mine alone.

Standing back and looking at the facebook phenomenon I cannot help but to be completely impressed at what you have done.  Connecting over a half billion people in the world is a feat that may not be rivaled in our lifetimes.  I applaud you and your efforts.  I have a profound respect for your business model, and I've even adopted one of your own corporate mantras (with credit given to you, of course) - "Fail harder".  I hope that you find much more than financial success in your endeavors and that you reach a point of true fulfillment in your family life and in your faith; after all - you can't take it with you.

Sincerely,

David S.

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Distance

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder."

Hogwash.

I'm currently far from the woman I love most, and the limitless temptations surrounding me and the many other Type-A males in the same position are only increasingly facilitated because of the distance.  See, the distance is merely a facilitator for growth or decay.  Some choose to grow, others do not. Regardless, the choice to grow is often the by-product of a heart that understands that thru Christ, all things are possible.

As I mentioned, the temptations are fairly limitless - even in a training environment.  Today we have media and images freely available that are a magnet to a wandering eye.  Additionally, the mind itself is constantly seeking some satisfaction and infidelity can occur without any notice given to peers or passersby.  This, Christ said, was equal to the physical sin.

The shame shreds self confidence as a sinful life lived internally gradually moves outward, breaking through the masquerade.  Soon, there is nothing left and the mind is exposed.  Relationships crumble and reputations are built.  The "A" may never be visible, but its burden on the broken family will be impossible to ignore.

On the contrary, there is a moment when God calls to satan and says, "Consider my servant....(fill in your name)...he will not be shaken."  Although the struggle continues in the mind, the successes of overcoming temptation taste sweeter than the greatest fulfillment imagineable.  This success develops into a deep longing for the wife of one's youth and the joy unspeakable that comes with reunion - on God's terms.  Then, the soul is not lost (as before) with nothing to show for it in the end, but freely shared.  This is a great hope.

So, in reality, distance does not make the heart grow fonder.  Distance does, however, facilitate the growth or decay of a heart hanging in the balance.

Holding tank headaches!

Sunset over St. Andrew's Bay from the cockpit of our 1976 Irwin 28 MkIV

Rachel piloting the Irwin through the Gulf swells - that's Panama City Beach off her right shoulder

Hannah asleep in the v-berth, Rachel asleep on the starboard settee, and A&E watching a movie on the port settee

Rachel and the kids at the drop-down table after night fell

In case you aren't aware, we decided that one sailboat wasn't enough so we spent some savings on a craigslist post for a 28' sloop just a couple up the miles from our home.  The boat is overall in great condition considering the price and the age (1976) but there were some maintenance things that needed to be taken care of and the toilet holding tank was at the top of the list.

The Irwin smelled even after a good airing out, new dehumidifier, clean carpets, and washed seat cushions.  All that remained to clean out was the flexible holding tank which more than likely held sewage from when the boat was first commissioned 34 years ago.  The problem is that you can't just dump that stuff overboard - you have to either find a dumping station at a marina or go three nautical miles offshore to be legal - guess which one I chose. . . 

So, we left at around 2 PM and returned by 8 PM and although we didn't sail a whole lot, we returned with an empty holding tank and some valuable experience.  See, the marine head on this boat has several "Y" valves which allows me to dump my toilet into either the holding tank or straight into the ocean or dump my holding tank into the ocean or a deck cap for dockside emptying.  It is complicated and messy so we've decided that the six hour jaunts just to legally empty our holding tank are not worth it.  We will be replacing the entire marine head system with a Thetford 155 Porta-potty with removable holding tank.  Yes, we'll have to empty it every time we are gone for more than a few hours but we can empty it into any toilet rather than specific dumping stations.

I hope it all works out!  I'm sick of telling my two year old, "no, you can't go potty".

Pictures!

Civil Engineering squadron, a few of them, at the Ball. David is standing next to his boss, Lt. Col. Gilpin
Two of my very sweet neighbors, Kim and Jen, and me.

My handsome, amazing husband (and me)!

Precious Sisters!

We can't leave out David's 33rd birthday. We had strawberry shortcake with ice cream.

David and Hannah on Sundae's bow one lovely September evening.

Bidding a Fond Farewell to mediocrealaska.com

A very much alive scorpion David found on the back patio--our first an only one so far!
A Great Egret breakfasting in our alligator pond

The first of many deer to walk through our backyard area. This one has a small rack, but I chose the worst picture to display it.

Well, all good things must come to an end. Remember when David changed the page to http://www.hoffssoul.com/ a little more than 6 months ago? That was because the something was going to happen to whoever the site provider was. Whatever it was happened, so now you will always have to go to the above address to read our blog. Not that anyone would want to read it lately! It has been way too boring! I apologize for not updating it in the last two months! We used to do a lot better!

One thing that happened was that we now get our internet through our phones--Droids. This is great except that we have to tether them to the computer and click a couple things on the phone and the laptop to get up and running. I haven't quite gotten used to the change, but am just about there!

Well, there's lots going on! Home educating our children is going well (most days!) and God is opening my eyes to how to teach the kids, what to teach the kids, and how to be more organized and do it all better all the time. Bread-making is going well! We'd been in a slump with loaves not turning out well--they were not fully cooked in the middle and had a hole in them--but the last batch turned out perfect! It turns out, I needed new yeast! We have all been healthy, praise the Lord! No colds or illnesses in the time we've been here. I am working on a time-consuming sewing project. Curtains for the living/family room! I have one out of six panels done for the 3 wonderful windows in this room. We are making friends and enjoying the beach and the sailboat! Also, the base and the base marina have quite a few activities to keep us busy, so that is always nice to hang out with neighbors and other sailors/boaters.

The Air Force celebrated its 63rd birthday last weekend. We participated in the festivities by attending the Air Force Ball that Tyndall hosted over in Panama City Beach, which is nearly an hour away. It was at a lovely beach resort and they were offering a discounted rate for rooms for the weekend, so we decided to take them up on their offer and see the PCB beaches and the resort pools. The gulf was crystal clear and the pool was perfect. Andrew even caught a tiny hermit crab, which we all played with and then let go back in the gulf. The kids had a great time and we did too.

I know a few months ago I said I would keep everyone posted about any bear sitings. Well, I've been terribly guilt-ridden over not reporting my most exciting encounter right away! The bad part is that I caught the bear on video, not photos, so, of course, it's too long of a video to put on the blog. I think I can put it on Facebook, though. I will try and you can see the big, black bear for yourself! The day after Labor Day I went on the back patio with some particularly potent blueberry pomegranate tea and I hadn't been there long when I heard crashing in the forest. I strained my eyes to see through the trees and bushes, but never could see the thing, though I listened to it for close to ten minutes. Then, it finally cautiously came out of its perfect camouflage, nose in the air, sniffing my tea, I assume. Did you know that bears can smell food from a mile away? Well, as he approached, I slowly placed my Bible over my tea cup, just in case he should get any ideas about climbing over my fence! He rooted around in the grass at the edge of the woods and then walked back towards the corner of my fence. I had decided I would get up and get the camera while he was at that corner which blocked us from one another's view due to the playset and a supporting column of the patio. He was moving too quick, though, because as soon as I had taken a step he was in view and looked right at me. He immediately turned around and walked away, but did not immediately go back into the woods. He walked around the fence to the alligator pond behind our house for awhile before going back in. I don't think it was afraid. It just very clearly did not want any kind of confrontation with a human. As prevalent as black bears have become in this area, there have been no reports, that I know of, of any bear attacks.

We welcome any comments or questions! We will do better keeping you updated on us and our life! God bless!

The Last Few Weeks...

David's family to support him being awarded the Bronze Star

Cole and Nathan Bergren back from DC to visit us

Rachel cleaning her dirty kitchen floors--what a difference!

All three sleeping as we drive from one family's home to another.

Elizabeth riding a dirt bike with her cousin Caleb

How have we spent our time? Packing, cleaning, painting, swimming, traveling and visiting friends and family. We've had a really blessed time. Thank you, Everyone, for making time to work us in to your busy lives! We enjoyed our time with all of you! Here are just a few pictures. I really regret not having a picture with every single one of you!

Tyndall AFB, Florida

Our three foot snake skin
The view from the back porch

Our new Home

Hello to one almost empty kitchen...

...good-bye to another.

Where do I begin? After three weeks of living out of suitcases, the day before we arrived we realized we'd be living out of them for two more. It has been a good experience to be sleeping on mattresses on the floor, having limited toys, and enjoying the wilderness of Tyndall AFB, FL. And by wilderness, I really do mean WILD! This morning, as I went out to our lovely screened-in back porch to enjoy the gorgeous, wild forest and pond that are behind our home, I looked down into the grass immediately outside the screen and there was a freshly sloughed snake skin wound through the grass blades. I carefully went out to get it (after putting tennis shoes and socks on!) before the ants devoured it. The ants around here are crazy! The other day, they devoured a wasp I killed in an hour. We saw deer out the front upstairs window this morning, along with a Great Egret. We have seen deer all of our six days here so far.
And the noise! All the bugs loudly buzz all day and into the night. And, not just bugs. At night, behind our house, we hear along with the bugs frogs and toads, a large group of some kind of wood duck or ground bird quacking madly, and then over it all, another unidentified (thus far) bird in the trees bugling/honking. Others around it answer for a little while and then all gets quiet except for a few bugs. Soon the whole symphony begins again, starting with more bugs, then frogs and toads, then the quacking then the bugling/honking.
I have failed to mention the enormous black widow spider that somehow got her body under our screen porch door sometime today and made a web in a corner behind a patio chair that we bought. That shook us a little, especially because I was making dinner and the kids were playing on the patio (in my sight) and Hannah is potty training and had just peed, and I hadn't bothered dressing her again quite yet. David found her hiding behind the chair, not more than a foot away from this 1.5 inch monster. The patio has virtually nothing on it and is very clean, so we're very puzzled why she chose that spot to make her nest. David squished her, we ate dinner, then he borrowed a lawn mower to mow the grass. We think the long grass is the root of the snake and the spider--along with the fact that we live 20 feet from the woods.
I also have not mentioned the gators or the bears, but we're still waiting to lay eyes on those! We'll let you know!

A Day for the Record Books

The record books of our life anyway! Days where you have to call Poison Control and take someone to the Emergency Room and they're not the same person, are days to remember!
David was pretty sick during the night and early this morning with a yucky stomach virus. Hannah knew David was sick, and instead of watching Disney while I talked with a nurse on the phone about David's condition, she decided to get Daddy some medicine.
Well, it all went south from there. The nurse firmly told me that I must get David to the ER and right after that I found Hannah on the kitchen counter in the medicine cabinet there where she had very carefully put 20 Beano tablets into a cup for liquid medicine. She told me, "I get medicine for Daddy," very matter-of-factly. I asked her if she ate any, and she said, "Yes." I asked her how many she ate, and she said, "Four, five." I looked in her mouth (we had not had any breakfast as of yet) and there was clearly Beano residue in her teeth. I counted out the 20 remaining tablets (of a 30-count bottle), and as I only had taken 4 or 5 myself, I determined that she had eaten at least 5 of them. Thankfully, Beano is not a toxic substance! Poison control just told me to keep her hydrated with water, tea, or Kool-Aid. I don't know about the tea and Kool-Aid, but I gave her as much water as she would take!
Back to David, we got him to the ER at 10am finally and picked him up about 1:30. In the meantime, we made a picnic to take to a park and got ice cream cones at Chick-fil-A. David got an IV of saline to rehydrate him and he began to feel more like himself.
THEN, just when we'd somewhat recovered from the events of the day, it was time to get ready to go out to dinner with some good friends! And, WE GOT TO RIDE IN A LIMO!!! Of the eight of us, David was the only one who had ever ridden in a limo. It was so much fun. We had sparkling grape juice. stopped for coffee, took about a million pictures, and drove through some beautiful places in Montgomery, learning some interesting history as well.
Thank you, Ruth, for organizing it all; and thank you, Angie and April, for being two of my biggest sources of strength in my many times of weakness. God is good and He has shown His goodness to David and me so vividly through His people being so like Him in their behavior toward us. I pray we can reflect this love and kindness to others when they have a need we can meet.