One Month

So, the countdown for leaving here goes. We will be flying outta here in one month! I can hardly believe it. So much to do. That also means we will be in Germany in two months (a little less actually.) Man, lots to do, like learn more German than random sentences such as "Eine Katze ist schwartz." We're working on it, though.

Allen got a few of his items from the conex (sp??) or stuff that was shipped back from Iraq. He has two more rugs (so far.) The two he brought home were ones he brought planning to keep and a couple of others that he couldn't get to yet are for family (I believe.) The guy bought A LOT of rugs. He also bought several coffee/tea sets. Um. One of them is really pretty. The others, not so much. I think he just did his own version of retail therapy in Iraq and the shopping was pretty limited. Anyway, Ashlyn was really excited about the rugs or the garage or something and was dancing on the rugs while we had them rolled out. So, I took a few pictures, because she is funny and to see one of the rugs.

Crazy Week

So close to Christmas, this is a super busy time for everyone. Add the return of the Stryker Brigade, and all of the hoopla that goes along with it, and it becomes a bit crazy. I'm ready for things to slow down a bit. I'll start from the beginning of the week.

Prepping in the kitchen

We had nearly 20 people over from Allen's company Monday night. We were actually expecting more, though some didn't come, and they didn't bring their kids (sigh of relief, that would have been 13 more children.) These were the people from Allen's TAC (he may correct me on spelling and whatever.) Basically, these were the guys that patrolled with him, and, to some extent, kept him alive. We had a good time while they were here, but it was A LOT of work having that many people over. I spent the entire day preparing, while Allen kept Ashlyn entertained (again, loving the dual parenting thing.)

2-1 Infantry (Allen is almost directly behind the battalion commander)

On Tuesday was the Brigade Redeployment Ceremony. The entire brigade was honored, as were the fallen soldiers. Ashlyn decided to start yelling during Roll Call, so we spent most of the ceremony in the back, but, from what I could see, it was very touching, as well as exciting. (They're home! They're finally home.)

Honoring Fallen Soldiers

On Tuesday night, we had a Hail and Farewell. The longest one, ever. Since the brigade was changing colors on Thursday, they basically Farewelled everybody. Then, all of those people gave speeches. Towards the end of the evening, I was going to the bathroom or stabbing Allen with a fork, just to have something to do. I was obviously NOT paying attention to these people who were thanking every NCO they had worked with, (who weren't there.)

Thursday afternoon was the Brigade reflagging. Allen is no longer part of 2-1 Infantry in the 172nd Stryker Brigade. He is now in 1-24 Infantry in the 1-25 SBCT. Every battalion and company in the brigade changed, and I will not even try to learn all of them before we move. Every battalion and the brigade commander also changed command. (I did not take any pictures, but you can pretend that the picture of the battalion from above was from Thursday, because it pretty much looked the same.) Thank goodness they didn't all give speeches, because the general and the brigade commander talked long enough for them all. (Allen said that I would have really thought it was long if I had been standing out there, where they weren't even put at rest.) Ashlyn was great for the first hour, and then started crying during the general's speech. We were done and, again, went to the back so she could walk around. We hurried out of there, because I still had to get ready for the ball that night.

With Heather and Garland

So, Thursday night was the 2-1 Homecoming Ball. I was actually expecting the ball to be a bit of a snooze, since it sounded like we would be doing stuffy Army junk for the whole evening. I haven't had a great time at other balls, though I was looking forward to this one, probably because it was such a celebration of them all coming home. It was really fun! We had a great time and were able to just relax with the battalion. After the formal part of the evening was over, I became Allen's personal photographer, as he had his picture taken with a bunch of guys from his company, plus others in the battalion. We danced for a bit, and then went home. Fun! I'm now looking forward to our next ball, instead of slightly dreading it.

Speaking of the ball, have I mentioned how supportive this community has been? Businesses in the community adopted companies throughout the deployment. They helped out with different things throughout the year, including things like shoveling snow and fixing other stuff throughout the house. Basically, these partners paid for the ball, or asked other businesses to help. Either way, we paid for NOTHING. The food was delicious (halibut, yum!) There was dancing. There was alchohol. The place was decorated. There were door prizes (oh, yeah, we won an overnight stay at the Westmark.) Business partners even helped arrange for airfare for family members of the fallen soldiers to fly up for all of the activities for the week. Awesome welcome home!

Allen with some of the guys from his company

Allen and Jason

I have been waiting for just "one more thing" to send all of my Christmas packages. I decided on Friday that I was sending the packages, whether all of the gifts were in them or not. I waited in line for half an hour (which probably wasn't too bad, since the line was much longer when I left,) paid over $160 in shipping, and the last two things that I had ordered came on Saturday. So, I will be back at the post office on Monday. Oh, well.

Just a few more social functions coming up. Hopefully, we will have some down time, because I have a couple of presents still to make!

(I added a lot of photos to Flickr from the past month, so check them out)

Michelle's final article

Michelle's last article was in the paper today. It is really good, too.

Another post about Allen being home

Reading Alice the Fairy
Having Allen home has, of course, been wonderful. In some ways, it still doesn't seem real. We will have a lot of adjustments to come, since Allen still hasn't caught up to our time zone. As you could tell from the pictures, Ashlyn was not all smiles at the homecoming, but that didn't last. I think she may have just been overwhelmed by everything at the moment. She has been hugging on her daddy since then, and just enjoying being with him. Actually, by Friday night, he had already reached the celebrity status that had formally been reserved only for "doggie" and "kitty." Ashlyn just squealed and yelled "daddy" when she saw him. I do not receive this type of a greeting, ever. This morning, Ashlyn spent the morning with just Allen, while I ran errands and went to the dentist. This dual parenting thing is great!

Ranger and Armand have also seemed excited to have Allen home. Ranger started running around Thursday night and pulled out a toy to play with Allen, which he really hasn't done in months. (How have I not noticed that my dog is depressed?) Armand has really always preferred Allen and has been going to him for attention. I think that he prefers Allen because of his often reclining pose on the couch. He just makes a better bed that way. On a bad note, I am really a bad dog mom. Ranger had a seizure tonight. I think it must have happened while I was in the shower. I have not been good about giving him his anti-seizure medication lately. I feel terrible. Poor Ranger.


The Cheneys

So, we went to another homecoming tonight. They are the best, though I hope that I will never have to experience another one!


The Glemsers

I haven't heard any updates recently, so the latest news is that Christal is in labor. No baby yet, though. Hopefully, I will have news and pictures soon.


Ashlyn was looking at the light on Allen's ipod.

Ok, off to bed.

Homecoming

The Short Version ALLEN IS HOME!

The Long Version
I woke up on Thursday, planning to pick Allen up at 4:15. I already had reservations for Ashlyn at hourly care, so, after taking her there, I started preparing cheesecake, roast, and cleaning the house like a mad woman. I had somehow left way to many things until the last minute. Somewhere in there, I received another phone call that Allen's flight was coming in earlier than expected. Now, I needed to be at the AHA by 2:30, instead of 3:30. I was beginning to freak out a little. After I picked up Ashlyn from hourly care (where I changed her into her homecoming outfit, in case she went to sleep on the way home) I lost it. I bawled, until I drove past the AHA. It was 12:45, and I was behind buses dropping off soldiers. I started calling people to see if something had happened where they were coming in even earlier. Then, I started calming down a little, knowing that they could not be here that early without hearing something. But, I continued to cry uncontrollably all the way home. After I got myself ready, I packed Ashlyn into the car at 1:45. It only takes me 15 minutes to get back to the AHA, but I cannot sit at the house. So, I drove around for a bit, remembered that I needed something else, drove back to the house, and then to the AHA, right at 2:30.

My hands were completely shaking as I took Ashlyn into the AHA, where I parked her stroller next to a backrow seat. I started crying again when someone asked how I was doing. I have no idea why I was such a crying freak, but I just kept saying "I can't believe they are going to be home." So, after standing around and talking to friends, I calmed down substantially, and was just excited, rather than the crying, shaking, excited freak that I had been. We were kept up to date by Col Ball about when they were coming. He told us the update when they left Eielson, and then when they got to the front gate. We were all so excited. When the doors opened and the buses pulled into the AHA (at 4:15), I don't think anyone was sitting down (though I never did.) I was standing on a chair to see Allen. The guys lined up in formation, and I thought that I saw Allen, so I ran with Ashlyn down to the other end of the crowd. A soldier (Mitch Rambin) who was already back saw me and directed me to where Allen was standing. He was right in front, and just looked beautiful. This is when I started crying again. Mitch yelled out to Allen that I was right there. We could hardly stand that we couldn't immediately run to each other. Col Ball said something to the crowd about what a great job the guys had done in Iraq, everyone cheered, including Ashlyn, who started clapping. I was pointing out Daddy to her. Then, the guys marched down to the other end of the AHA, so I ran the other direction with Ashlyn to wait for them to be released. After they were all lined up in front of the crowd, they were finally released. Allen and I just clung to each other, with lots of hugs and kisses. It was the best moment, ever. I feel like we are in the middle of a national holiday. Allen is home!

So, during this whole time at the AHA that we were waiting for the guys, and when they got there, a friend of mine (Michelle) was taking pictures. She took nearly 300 pictures, seriously. So, I am sharing.

Warning: Kissing photos to follow

Allen waiting in formation. (He's the guy behind the blue barrel, in the black jacket.)

Ashlyn and I waiting to hug Allen.

Our first hug

Our first kiss

Another kiss

Family Photo

ALLEN IS HOME!

Allen is home! I have many, many pictures from the homecoming, but it will take me awhile to go through them all. I will post and write all about it later. But, Allen is home!!!!! I can hardly believe it.

TOMORROW

Allen will be home TOMORROW!!!! I have been saying that outloud and in my head all day long. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. That sounds so awesome. So much better than "in two days." But, tomorrow Allen will be home. Of course, I need to be cleaning my house like crazy, and, instead am posting to the blog. Ashlyn also needs to be napping so the cleaning can take place. At this point, neither of those things are happening. Why, oh why is she not napping?

Anyway, Allen will be home tomorrow. So, hopefully I will have my house clean by, you guessed it, tomorrow. How many times can I randomly add "tomorrow" to this entry? So, tomorrow, when Allen is home, we will be letting everyone know that he is home, tomorrow, either through email, blog, or phone call.

Frustration for the week. In all of the Army's infinite wisdom, the soldiers receive 48 to 72 hours off as soon as they get home (tomorrow,) before they start their "don't-beat-your-wife" training. This sounded fine to me, basically. Who cares if he has to work for a few hours and then came home? It never occurred to me that this would include the weekend. So, Allen has to go to work starting Sunday! Sunday. I have so been looking forward to going to church with him when he got home. But, nope, won't be happening. Annoying. But, it isn't that big of a deal, since he will be home tomorrow.

I've already received my phone call from our rear-d commander that Allen will be home tomorrow! Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow! Tomorrow! (I think that is 16, but I may have lost count.)

I'll let you know about the homecoming, tomorrow!!!!! (so, 17)

Coldness, Children, and a Continued Countdown

The sun did not shine.
It was too cold to play.
So we were stuck in the house
All that cold, cold, cold day.

I sat there with Ashlyn.

We sat there, we two.

And I said, "How I wish

We had something to do!"

Too cold to go out

And too cold to play ball.

So we sat in the house.

We did nothing at all.

So all we could do was to

Sit!

Sit!

Sit!

Sit!

And we did not like it.

Not one little bit.

A paraphrase of some sort of the beginning of the Cat in the Hat as been going through my head this month. It has been a very cold month. I am sure that we will possibly have colder weather in January, but this is only November. I don't believe that the temperature has been above 0 (that's fahrenheit) all month. For the past two or three weeks, we've only made it to about -15. Today is a warm one, though. Back up to 0. We all need to get outside, too. Ranger is acting up with bathroom habits. Ashlyn just hates when I put on her winter gear, but we have no choices about this when it is frigid. And, this winter gear is just to go to and from places. We have not been going on walks, sledding or anything. I know that people do take their children out when it is this cold, but I find the cold here kind of scary, so I have warmer limits. Last year, my limit was 0. Since Ashlyn moves around more now, I may drop that to -10, especially if it stays this cold. It has been a long month, and oh, it is going to be a loooong winter. But, it is 0 today, so we can go out later! But, darn it, it will be dark by the time Ashlyn gets up from her nap. We may have to go out, anyway.

Of course, we have not just been sitting in the house. Ashlyn must have some cat in the hat in her, because she has been making big messes. She hasn't managed to pull out any ZOOM! and fix them, though.

Spaghetti. Yum.

Clown shoes. I mean, mommy's shoes.

What? Panties make fine necklaces. (They are clean.)

The bag lady.

In addition to all of the messes Ashlyn is doing so many new cute things. She loves to point out different parts of her face, and yours, even if that means poking you in the eye as she says "eye." She is trying to sing the ABCs, but really has no clue, though she seems to be aiming for the tune. She has been doing some of the actions to "The Wheels on the Bus." I need to get that on video and share. She also carries on long conversations that go something like this, "Bashamshadada" as she gestures across the room. "Shadamashu." Then she waits for your response. "Oh, yes, Ashlyn, I think so, too." "Dadashushumashusha" with a laugh. And, I laugh, too. Occasionally, these conversations include words that she does know, as when she is gesturing towards the cat and says "kitty," along with all of the gibberish. But, generally, her conversation needs far exceed her actual communication skills.

Oh, Allen will be home in 3 DAYS! I am so emotional I cried when I saw that the post had put lights up to illuminate all of the welcome home signs. I cried later talking to someone else about it. I cried when I drove past the AHA today, when I saw other people leaving with their soldiers. (The brigade is coming back in waves and the first ones arrived Saturday or Sunday.)

Counting down, in spite of myself

I know. I HAVE used this photo too much, but I love it. Ashlyn was 5 weeks old at the deployment ceremony.

I swore that I would not count down to anything. I was going to be totally calm, and not believe that Allen was coming home, until he was home. I had every intention of just totally expecting another extension, just in case. I did not want to have my hopes dashed, again. But, ALLEN WILL BE HERE IN 4 DAYS!!!!!!!!! Did you hear me? FOUR DAYS! That is just 3 more days in which I do not get to see him. In four days, I will get to hold him and see him hug our daughter again. I am not totally calm. I am an emotional, hopeful, counting-down-to-the-homecoming wreck!

Week in Review

I haven't posted in a week, so I thought I would catch everyone up. Very long post, though.

As we were driving to a birthday party on Sunday, we had the most beautiful, incredible sunset (at 3:30 mind you) over Chena flood plains. The sky was gorgeous, and the reflection made the snow just glow beautifully. Truly, sunrise and sunset are always incredible here in the winter, but this one was especially so. You could see the moon in the glow as well. I was driving along, thinking how lovely everything was, and just enjoying the moment and appreciating Alaska. Just as I left the bridge, I realized that I had my camera with me. I could have shared it with you. If we hadn't been on our way to a party, I would have turned around and taken some photos. Instead, I have a couple that I took from my car with the window rolled down after we got to Eielson. You can kinda tell how pretty it was.

Moonglow

Ashlyn has been trying out some not so good tricks this week. She is definitely pushing some limits around here. She has been putting her feet on the counter/table and crawling onto the table. She also called Laura this afternoon on my cell phone and colored in the printer manual. I have wanted to avoid television with her. The problem being that I like to have the television on, even if I'm not watching it. First, she started paying attention to the intro music on shows. As soon as she started paying attention to the actual shows, I turned the television off, while Ashlyn was awake, anyway. Apparently, I waited too long to turn the TV off. The other night Ashlyn turned on the television herself, sat on the couch, and said "TV."

I can put BOTH of my feet on the counter!

What, Mom? Why can't I sit on the table?

On Tuesday we had a VTC with the guys in Iraq. We found out official dates for the return. 80% of the battalion will be here between November 28th and 30th. The rest will be here between December 3rd and 5th. Allen had already told me that he expected the first part of December, so this was just further confirmation of those dates. On Wednesday he called and said that he would not be coming home with the second group after all, but would be here with the first group. So, that means, Allen could be here in just over two weeks! I am excited that he is expected home so soon. I am stressed that I am not going to have time to clean my house, get in shape, get my hair, nails, etc. done, finish the rough draft of my thesis, make his favorite foods, and finish about a dozen other projects that I had planned to do before his return. I am anxious because we have been this close before. I am worried that we will both have certain expectations that might not be met. I am afraid that I will be jealous of how much Ashlyn will want to be with him, though that is also what I want most in the world. Whew. But, mostly excited.

We had an incredible opportunity this week. MWR sponsored "Operation Breakaway" for families of Stryker soldiers. Basically, we had a FREE trip to Anchorage. We flew down either Thursday night or Friday morning, spent Friday and the night in Anchorage and then took the train back on Saturday. This was available to 250 family members, so, about 2 or 3 weeks ago, we stood in line for the tickets. At the time, I was a little bit iffy about going, but knew that I had a week or two to cancel if I changed my mind. Heather and her boys were going, so we were planning on hanging out. Last Monday, we received our little packet of information about the trip. We saw how early we would be leaving. Both Heather and I considered canceling that day. She had already told her boys about it, though, and they were excited. We had a super busy week, and I was just so tired, and wanted to be at my house. So, on Thursday, I again considered canceling, but we were supposed to cancel by the 6th. I was afraid that it was too late for them to find others to fill our spaces. After packing and everything, I started getting kind of excited about it and thinking that it might be fun after all.

Ashlyn on the train

Ashlyn woke up in such a great mood at 3 am. She was talking and playing and excited to be going somewhere. She had her own seat on a plane for the first time ever, which we both thought was great. She started getting cranky as we took off, so I was hoping that she would nap on the short flight. However, the childless woman next to me turned her stupid light on, so she could get on her laptop for the flight. I was totally wishing bad karma on her for the rest of the trip and any other trip she takes in the future. I sang to Ashlyn and kind of tried to shield the light, but there was no napping to be had.

Busses from Holland America had been donated to shuttle us from the airport to the hotel to the mall. Heather and I rented a car for the day, just so we could go places that weren't on the shuttle tour. Plus, we could go places on our own schedule. Our big plan for the day had been going to the indoor water park. We realized the day before that the water park didn't open in the winter until 3 pm. This kind of threw a wrench in our plans for the day, but we figured that we would just do other stuff first. So, we went to the mall. The zipper on Ashlyn's coat had broken at breakfast, so I bought her a new coat and a few other Christmas gifts. This mall has a bowling alley and skating rink, which were all FREE activities for us that day, so that is what Heather and her boys did. Ashlyn actually went to sleep in her stroller. Oh, we were also given $10 a person in mall gift certificates, FREE. Other FREE activities included an ice cream sundae, childcare at the mall, and a video to send to our spouses. There may have been others, I'm not sure, because we didn't take advantage of anything else. Our plans were to go to Chuck E Cheese for lunch and then go to the waterpark. Nicholas and Alex started saying that they just wanted to go back to the hotel, which by the way, was also FREE. We talked them into going to Chuck E Cheese. What were we thinking? I will never again even suggest to a child that they should go to Chuck E Cheese. I don't think any of us had any fun at all. Ashlyn enjoyed holding the tokens, putting them into her mouth, and going down the slide while holding them. She was scared of the ride on toys that we used the tokens on, and actually puked while there. Lovely. The pizza was so nasty, that I couldn't one piece. Ashlyn ate part of a crust and all of the olives. So, the kids decided they definitely didn't want to go to the water park at this point. We agreed. We went back to the hotel, where Ashlyn screamed in my attempts to get her to sleep. I gave in too easily, and regretted it for the rest of the evening. Ashlyn and I went across the street for dinner, but I ended up having them pack our dinner to go and eating in the room. Ashlyn was in bed by 6:45, and I went to sleep shortly after 8.

The four of us

The next day we got on the train at 7 am to travel back to Fairbanks. We were some of the last people in our group of women, children, and 1 man to board the train. The train didn't leave the station until 8:45. We arrived in Fairbanks at 7:15. It was a long day, and I was actually dreading this part of the trip from the beginning. It was actually a pretty good day. Ashlyn liked being on the train. She loves big kids, and there were a few older girls that entertained her at various times. She also started waving and saying, "Bye," which she just hasn't been very good at. Several times we walked from one car to the next, just for some exercise. We would stop to talk to different people that we knew along the way. Plus, the views on the train were just absolutely beautiful. I had taken the train before, but I had morning sickness at the time and so didn't care about the view. We also were in different type cars this time, since this was a charter train. These cars had glass all along the side and the ceiling, which allowed for awesome views.

View from the train. The mountain on the right is Denali.

Hurricane Gulch. (Excuse the reflection, it was taken from the train.)

So, we were in these cars with glass all along the side and the ceiling. These are the cars that the Alaska Railroad uses for tourists, generally. In the winter, they use their regular passenger cars to travel to Fairbanks, smaller windows, much warmer. The closer we got to Fairbanks, the colder it got. Plus, some of the cars were having problems with heat all day. But, this was all FREE. When we arrived at the train station, we were given a packet (for FREE) with crayons (washable, AAAHH) and a travel activity book. Our day included FREE breakfast - doughnuts, coffee, juice, bagels, muffins, fruit etc. There were so much of these that some kids were eating doughnuts all day long. We had a box lunch, again FREE. Snacks all day, FREE. Dinner from Subway, FREE. Then, all of the children were given a bear at the end of the day, for FREE. It was a long, long day, but overall, we had a good time. Thank you, MWR!

Heather and Ethan

What Nicholas and Alex did on the train

I had neglected to take the trash Thursday night before we left. When we got home, the house smelled like sour milk and diapers. Ugh.

This morning, Ashlyn had some kind of allergic reaction and we went to the ER. Of course, the rash was completely gone by the time we saw the doctor, so I felt a little silly. He gave us Benadryl and sent us home. The Benadryl knocked her out, so she didn't have lunch until 3:30. Hungry baby. Tonight, we are going to pick up Ranger from the kennel. I have missed him. It is weird to me to hear strange noises and not have a dog alert me first. Plus, I am more concerned about the strange noises. Not that he would protect me, but he would make a lot of noise while someone burgled us. He might pee on their shoes, too. Also, there is food on my floor. He needs to be here to clean it up.

Ok, that sums up our week. Bye.

Sadness (despite pictures of smiling people)

If you can't read our shirts, they do say "Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is my daddy/husband back from Iraq." If all goes as planned, Allen should be home around this time next month. We have so been looking forward to his return home, and, in my mind, he was half way home already.

Just as I have been counting on the end, there is a week like this past one. In addition to family medical issues, Allen lost two soldiers in his company this week, SGT Kraig Foyteck and SPC James Bridges. I am sure that their families were counting down the days until they were together again, just as we have been doing. For me, these two deaths reminded me that Allen isn't safe yet. Every day in Iraq has been just as dangerous as the first. There is no rule that just because you made it through 15 months that you will make it through the last few days. I am so saddened by these losses, as well as the 105 US deaths in Iraq for October, with 13 already for November. That brings the total deaths in Iraq to 2,831. 2,831 members of our military who will never see their families again.

Updates

This hasn't really been the best week. On Monday Allen lost a soldier in his company, SGT Kraig Foyteck.

Tuesday morning, my father had heart surgery, fortunately everything went fine, though they did have to repair more than expected.

Tuesday evening, Allen's stepdad was in the ICU with problems with his heart. (I'm sorry, I don't know all the medical terms to explain further.) By Wednesday night he was out of ICU and on digitalis, which put his heart back into rhythm.

Apparently, my dad's heart still isn't beating correctly, and they are putting a pacemaker in his heart today.

The week has to get better, right?

Input Desired

So, another person has written a complaining letter about one of Michelle's articles. Like the girl doesn't have enough problems on her hands with a job, a 6 month old, and a husband deployed. I am planning on sending in my own letter in support of Michelle. I mostly just changed what I wrote about her articles back in August, but I updated it and changed it to 350 words or less (that is really not very long at all!) I just want input, so I don't sound whiney or dumb or whatever. So, here it is:

When my husband and I were planning our family, we knew that he was going to miss a year of that baby’s life. We knew that in 2005, he would be deploying to Iraq. For that year, we were prepared. He left when our baby daughter was 7 weeks old. When we were given the news in July that he would not be coming home as expected, we were devastated. While trying to find the positive side of this extension, we truly struggled. There were days where I could only count my grievances and all the moments that had been stolen from us. God had not abandoned us, though, and sent me friends that have helped me remember the blessings in my life.

A couple of times since the extension, someone has complained about Michelle’s articles. There is a war in Iraq. Not a single military member or their spouse needs to be reminded of that. For those of us whose husbands are deployed we can hardly think of anything else. Our empty houses remind us constantly. More than others, we know that all soldiers are not coming back. We've been to their memorial services and cried with their families. We lie awake at night, worrying about our husbands, praying that they will come home safely. Sometimes Michelle does write about things that are trivial. Because, in order to survive, we can't always think about the war in Iraq. Sometimes, we just miss our husbands. Sometimes, we just want someone else to hold the crying baby. And, sometimes we want a hand to hold while watching TV or another person to help finish off the chocolate chip cookies.

As we are going on fourteen plus months in this deployment, thank you, Michelle, for writing your articles. Thank you for reminding everyone how we can help others in the military community. Thank you for making me cry as you wrote about the same things I am going through. But, most of all, thank you for making me laugh. I needed that.

Happy Birthday Allen/Daddy!

That's right. Today is Allen's 31st birthday, and the second one he is celebrating in Iraq. Had I been more on the ball, I would have made a video for him with Ashlyn dancing to Happy Birthday. However, I was not on the ball, and it is no longer his birthday where he is. I hope you had a good one, Allen. We love you and miss you!

Here are a couple of pictures of Ashlyn playing outside yesterday.

She loved her sled! It was very difficult to pull her with one hand, while being pulled by Ranger with the other.

Cute girl

Something about this picture reminds me of Ezra Keat's Snowy Day. Probably just the snow suit.

For those of you who are really on here to look at pictures of Ashlyn, I hope that you have clicked on my flickr photos. I add extra pictures to that, too.

Grandparents, Leaves, and Good News

Accessorizing our feet

Paw Paw and Grandma (Bob and Vicki) got here VERY early Sunday morning. They have been working hard on spoiling Ashlyn, and are doing a good job of that. Whenever Ashlyn falls down they are right there to hug her and make a big deal out of her "fake crying." (When she falls down in front of Mom, I just say, "you're ok, get back up," and she does.) So, within one day of them arriving, Ashlyn was falling down on purpose, just to watch their reaction and get more hugs. Ashlyn isn't the steadiest walker yet, so she was already falling a lot on accident. Now that she is falling on purpose, it gets a little ridiculous. She is definitely enjoying being the center of attention all day long. They also brought her a new purse, including new jewelry (bracelets and rings,) a cell phone, and keys. She has been enjoying putting the bracelets on her feet.

Yesterday, Ashlyn pointed at me and said "Momma." Then, she pointed at herself, and said "Ashlyn." I was so excited that she could say her name. Every new thing she can do is exciting. We raked leaves after dinner. Ashlyn had a great time playing in them.

Grandma enjoyed playing in the leaves, too.

Paw Paw tried to get Ashlyn to help rake.

For those of you who didn't know this, Allen was put into a new functional area in August. Basically, the Army was telling him that he was going to have to do a different job for the rest of his Army career. This not only meant that he would have to do a different job, but we had no idea where we were moving in just a few months. Naturally, he appealed their decision, and HE WON THE APPEAL! He gets to stay as an Infantry officer, and we get to keep our assignment in Hohenfels, Germany. YEAH! His report date is April 1st, so we will be moving in March.

Homecoming Update part II

To the Families of the 172nd,
This extension has been challenging and we thank you for everything you do; the prayers, the notes and letters of support (and the care packages), and everything you are doing to support the great Soldiers of the Arctic Wolf brigade. We received an update this morning and conducted a VTC with the FRG advisors just as soon as we could today. The 172nd SBCT will redeploy from Iraq along with the other Brigade Combat Teams of the 4th Division. We anticipate our transition of authority will be on / about 3 December for the brigade. Let me caveat that with it could move right a little and that the actual dates are event driven. There could be some adjustment of the timeline. This typically means some battalion sized units will move before the brigade TOA date (whenever it’s set) and some will move after. We will be working over the next week to develop a more detailed timeline. The 4th Brigade 1st Cavalry Division will relieve the 172nd SBCT in Baghdad. The Arctic Wolves should depart theater and arrive back in Alaska by mid-December in order not to exceed the 120 day extension. I will send redeployment updates as I receive additional information and as this develops. If you have any questions, please contact MAJ Jeff Burrell, our brigade rear detachment coordinator. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of our recovering Soldiers and our fallen comrades. Their sacrifice and courage will never be forgotten. While thanks doesn’t seem to adequately capture the essence of what I am trying to say, thanks and bless you for all you do.

Very Respectfully,

Col Mike Shields
Commander, 172nd SBCT
Baghdad, Iraq

We were hoping for earlier, but at least we will (unless things change again) have Allen back for Christmas.

We need a man

Who could resist her?

Apparently, Ashlyn loves a man in uniform! She has attached herself to different soldiers this week when we have been on post. Strangers mind you. I had only met one of them. Once. It started on Wednesday, when we were at the hospital. I was talking to someone, and Ashlyn walked into another office. So, this soldier brings her into me, and she doesn't want to come to me! She just clung to him. Then, today, we were in another building. She was walking down the hall and attached herself to another soldier. He leaned down and hugged her. He said that he really liked kids. That was good, because Ashlyn apparently needed a man hug. A few minutes later, she hurled herself at another soldier. She just needs her daddy. So do I.

Random sweet picture. (Hey, even if I'd had my camera with me, I think it would have been a little odd to take a picture of Ashlyn hugging random strangers, just to add a picture to the blog.)

News

Allen was on the NBC nightly news tonight! If you missed it, the video clip is online, but I don't know how long they keep this stuff on their site. He doesn't talk or anything, but you can see him.

In other news, I'm sure many of you read/heard that Rumsfeld was in Alaska this past weekend. Leaving his talk, I felt kind of ok about it. But, the more I thought about it, the worse I felt. He was asked if steps were being taken to find someone else to take the brigade's place in Iraq after the 120 days. Of course, I didn't expect him to say that we would definitely have them home in 120 days. (He didn't even know when the 120 days was over. He asked when it was over, and, in unison, we all answered December 13th.) The more I think about it, though, he could have made it sound a little less likely that they would be extended again. He said something about doing everything he could to make sure that our guys weren't extended again. Not enough. I thought maybe it was just me, being my worrying self. Tonight I was talking to other wives, who all were feeling worse about the extension since seeing Rumsfeld. I didn't really expect him to be a cheerleader or anything, but to make us all feel worse? He sucks.

Ticker Update

Ok, completely random, but I finally figured out how to get a ticker with the correct deployment time. So, scroll to the bottom of the page to check it out.

Moose, Movement, and Michelle

As we were eating breakfast this morning, I saw a moose walking down our neighbor's driveway. I quickly grabbed my camera and ran outside, where there were actually two large moose. At first, I couldn't get a good shot through the trees, but then they walked through our yard and down the drive. Amazingly, Ranger was too busy waiting for Ashlyn to drop some food to pay any attention.

Don't you love her bracelets?

Ashlyn is on the move now. She has been taking steps, more and more everyday. Last night at Chris and Robyn's, she just started taking off. I thought it was just that she was excited, but she walked SO MUCH today. She wasn't crawling hardly at all. It is still so funny. She holds her arms up high, pushes her belly out, and picks her knees way up. She's doing it, though. And is so proud of herself, too. Ashlyn has also started riding on her push/ride toys. She prefers the one that Laurie and Paige got her for her birthday. It has buttons to push that talk and play music. As far as music goes, I've been watching Friends on DVD. Ashlyn really likes the intro music. She dances and claps her hands when they do.

While I am truly excited that Ashlyn is doing these new things, (after all she is nearly 14 months old) part of me hates that Allen is not here to see it. I know that this is part of his job, he's fighting for his country, blah, blah, blah, but he's missing it. Ashlyn walking has bothered me most, just because I had been telling her a few weeks ago to just wait until Daddy came home. But, it is really all of the little things, too, that aren't really worth blogging about. He's just missing so much.

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I wrote in the last post about Michelle's column. So, I wanted to update you. Her newest column in Friday's paper was great about balancing the difficult parts of dealing with a deployment and keeping spirits up, plus there were two letters to the editor in support of her, and another one today. I encourage you to read her articles, and I will be posting a link to them from now on. And, for those of you who commented on here, Michelle read those comments and appreciated them. Thanks.

Just hanging out. Reading.