spring ?????

I took Wilson and Walker outside yesterday afternoon to blow bubbles and draw with sidewalk chalk. Walker didn't really do either of those, but he had fun watching his big brother. He was intrigued by the bubbles. I guess we are supposed to have a few more warm and sunny afternoons before it gets chilly again. We will enjoy them while we can! We also met another military family on our block with a 2 year old little boy, so maybe Wilson will have someone to share his swingset and sandbox with! Yeah!

hangin' at home

Walker has a ton of toys, so we have been keeping some in the bottom of his megasaucer. We found this to be an equally profitable set up for all...he climbs under there to play and we don't have to pick all of his toys up!
Brad found Wilson trying to dry off after his bath (with a hand towel.) He is such a big man! One more pic of Walker in his play place.
 

Walker enjoying a bath!

 

More ICE STORM PIC's

I decided that I should try and clean some of the ice off the car before more comes tonight. I got all the major windows cleared, but I still cannot open any of the doors on the drivers side. Even the tires are ice covered.

 

update on bradley's health

I am sure many of you are wondering about this...I didn't post anything sooner, because it seems as though nothing has changed. Brad went to the Doctor at the hospital at Fort Sill on Monday. That Doc thought it would be good to give Brad's meds some time to "kick in." And also give Brad some time to get into an exercise routine to kind of stretch his lungs. He also ordered a CT scan of Brad's chest to see if there is any change in the spot they found in October. Brad will probably go back to the doctor in a week or so. They also ran some blood tests.
Brad hasn't had an asthma attack since he has been back, but he is taking two inhaled meds and three oral meds daily.

As for what the Army is going to do with Brad... nothing has happened in that regard at all. I may have said before, but its worth repeating...it probably will not be a quick process. If it turns out that they find a reason to "restrict" what Brad is able to do, then he will probably go to a medical board-as anyone with restrictions due to medical reasons would have to go to a board. There is absolutely no way to predict what the outcome would be if/when he goes before the board. So, we will just wait and see...

We are happy to be together and happy to be where we are. God has blessed us greatly and we continue with anticipation to see what He has in store for us. We know it is in His hands and are comforted greatly that we do not have to work all the details out, as He will do it for us.

ice storm

Here comes the wicked weather once again! I thought I should get some pics up on the blog before the power lines snap and we are left to freeze... Ok, perhaps that is a little dramatic. Temperatures have been hovering around freezing with pretty steady rain all day today. I guess we might get up to an inch and a half of ice by Sunday.

If you look closely at the left side of this picture, you will notice our back storm door. The glass in the door is regular, clear glass what you see is ice...the door is covered...and when I opened it to snap this picture, freezing drops of rain were coming in at me! 

wilson's first day of 'school'

Wilson began his TALK class today. This is a class to help him with his pronunciation of certain sounds. It is once a week, for 2 1/2 hours. He was a little slow moving this morning, but after he was up a while he said to me, "I better get in the shower, Mom." Then once he was dressed and ready, he stood by the door for over ten minutes and said, "This is taking too long!" He did great, he wasn't clingy at all when we took him. There were only 2 other students, so he should get a lot of personal attention.  

flying home

Here are the boys on the plane. I think I got the camera out at this point to get ready to snap some shots when we got off the plane. Sorry to disappoint, I was too excited, fumbled with the camera for a minute and then turned it off so we could give Brad big hugs! We had a nice reunion and it has been good to be home!
Notice Wilson is reading the safety information card...you know the one with illustrations of planes in water and in mountains and on fire, etc. I think Wilson looks at that thing everytime we fly. It doesn't seem to concern him too much, but he does make some funny comments about the pictures. You know like, planes don't go in water! 

Free Stuff

Here are some neat products that I've found!

www.ebible.com - once you join let me know so we can start a community

www.pando.com - a program that lets you e-mail huge files to anyone.

Free Accounting Software from Microsoft.
http://us20.trymicrosoftoffice.com/product.aspx?sku=3195741&culture=en-US

Mail for my buddies

I want to thank all of you for all the packages that you sent me. I have a couple of buddies that haven't received any mail. If you'd like to send them a package I am sure they'd appriciate it. You can use the same address that I had just change the name.

PFC Trieu
SPC Kokernack

Brad

Return to Safety

This picture is of 2nd Squad. We had just got back inside the wire from a 5 mile foot patrol through the local villages. Walking in 8 - 10 inches of heavy mud. Front Row: (Left to Right) SGT Keener, SSG Strobeck, SGT Bailey

Back Row: (Left to Right) CPT Lamee, Me, SPC Fournier, SGT Carrillo, PFC Trieu, SPC LaBlanc

Misc Deployment Pictures II

These are just a couple more that wouldn't fit on the previous post. Everything looks nice and clean because we received 12" of snow on Christmas Eve.

Misc Deployment Pictures

I thought you might like to see some more pictures from Afghanistan.Above: This is a shot down mainstreet of Camp Phoenix
Above: This is near our wash rack for the Humvee's

Below: is where we sit to scan people on and off Camp Phoenix

Below: These are some pictures I snapped when I was traveling from Camp Phoenix, Kabul to Bagram Airbase.

somewhere in germany

I spoke with Brad and he is somewhere in Germany. He has an appointment with another Doctor there (tomorrow?) He said the Doctor that he saw at Bagram was great. That doctor told him that adult-onset asthma can occur, but generally there is an under-lying cause. He said the asthma usually will not improve until the under-lying cause is treated, and that it could be something as simple as acid-reflux.
The doctor said that although it is 2006, people still die from asthma-related heart attacks. He then said,"Its one thing to tell a family that their loved one died from a roadside bomb or something, but I am not telling your kids that they don't have a dad because I wasn't proactive about treating his asthma." I told Brad that I love that doctor!
He is still unsure about his travel timeframe, but doesn't expect to be back before the end of next week. Also, no clues as to how this will be handled once he is stateside. We know its in His hands, and we continue to faithfully trust Him to lead us well.
Watch for updates!

brad is coming home!

I have few details...actually, all I know is that Brad is being medevaced back to Fort Sill because of his asthma. He sent an email yesterday that said, "stop the mail, no more deployment packages, I will call when I can find a phone."
I haven't heard from him yet, I don't know where he is or anything. He had an appointment at Bagram Air Base (in Afghanistan about an hour and a half from where he was). So, when I know I will let you know. His email seemed "upbeat" there were a number of explanation points, which is the only indication I had as to his mood!!! (See, you would assume that is upbeat, right?)
What does that mean for us? We have no clue what is next... lots of questions ahead. Of course, first and foremost we are hoping that Brad will be able to get this asthma under control. It only got worse over there. He was using his albuteral inhaler multiple times a day and is also taking a couple oral medicines and an oral steriod. We continue to be thankful that God is leading us, and we are not making our own plans. God is good all the time!
Honestly, from the heart of a wife that wants to see her husband excel at his dream, this is a little tough to swallow. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that I will see my husband soon, but my prayer was NEVER that he would be too sick to do his job. Even in this, I know God is in control, He knew before Brad enlisted that 10 months later he would start having trouble breathing. We have walked long enough with our Father to know that His plans are better than our own.
I will keep you up to date, as for now, don't mail Brad any packages!

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to jot a quick note to tell everyone Merry Christmas. Brad and I appreciate the many prayers that are being lifted for our family during the holidays. Brad has sounded like he is doing well when I have spoken with him. (We usually get to talk between 8-12 minutes a day.) I know we are both experiencing the "peace that passes all understanding," as we walk along this journey. It is amazing how rich and full the Christmas story is when you are not distracted by hustle and bustle! God is continually reminding me of His hand in our lives, of His design for our lives, and ultimately that this life is brief (and therefore, so are the trials). I pray that both Brad and I would continue to be open to God's promptings and that we would walk in a manner worthy of the calling we have received.
Have a blessed Christmas, savor the moments with your loved ones and experience the fullness of the precious gift we have been given in Jesus Christ!

baby its cold outside

Ok, so I know this is nothing compared to what is in store for us next week in Michigan, but it felt cold to us! We went on a Nativity Trail Hayride last night with some friends from church. Wilson really enjoyed it, they had about 5 stops, camels, angels and even a mean tax collector. It was a good way for us to hear and see the Christmas story. It was only in the mid-40's but there is always a stiff breeze here. We stayed pretty warm with the blankets and all. Wilson snuggled up with one of the 10-year-old girls with us! I only got one picture because it was a bit difficult to wrangle Walker, a blanket and a camera on a dark wagon ride!! 

more early Christmas pictures

Aunt Denine & Uncle Jamie sent some early Christmas presents for all of us. Thought you'd like to see more of the boys' opening gifts.


 

a couple more pictures

These pictures are where Brad is currently staying. The first picture is looking out of the door, and the second picture is inside the tent. He said they are packed in like sardines. They should be moving to a bricks and mortar building eventually.

pictures from bradley

Here are some pics that Brad emailed me, they are a bit out of order, but I will try to explain them. I am intentionally leaving out the name of where they were taken. This first picture is where Brad had been staying while waiting to get "in country."
This picture was taken on the plane ( I am not sure which of the three flights it was from!) This is where Brad landed "in country." This is the tent he was sleeping in, its the outside of the top picture.

This is a picture from the plane window.

he made it...

I talked with Brad this morning and he has arrived to his station in Afghanistan. Third time was a charm with the flight in. Brad said he understood why they wouldn't attempt to land with cloud cover because there are mountain peaks everywhere by the air base. From there, they had an hour and a half convoy. He said it was without incident and you could tell it was a third world country. (from what he could see after dark.)
They are "in-processing" for a couple of days. Which is basically making 100 copies of the 100's of papers that every soldier brought with him. Ok, I am exaggerating, but the paper trail in the Army is extensive!!
Brad said they are staying in tents right now, packed in like sardines and they don't know when they will move to the regular buildings. Also, they are suggesting Brad do some work other than "Medic", so pray that gets resolved quickly. I can't go into much detail on the blog because of something called Operational Security (OPSEC). Its always better to error on the side of caution.
Also, Brad had a pretty bad asthma attack last night, he said it was the first one that he has had without exercising first...It was cold on the convoy about 12 degrees, so maybe that had something to do with it. I was hoping he wouldn't have any symptoms over there and it would turn out to be an Oklahoma/Texas allergy-thing.
We appreciate your prayers, I am sure Brad will be posting something on the blog when he gets settled in (It is the Army, so it could still be awhile before that happens!)

post-naptime photos

The boys were sleeping and I tried to sneak out of the room to get the camera. Of course they both woke up within seconds of me getting up. I decided to snap a few pictures anway!