Hook'em Horns

It was really nice to watch the game together tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is HOME!!!

Christian arrived back in Austin at 5:12pm on Monday. Peter & Anne (Christian's parents) rode out to the airport with us and Trevor & I were able to get gate passes and meet him when he got off the airplane. We of course made a HUGE sign.

I had told Trevor several times he couldn't run down the gangway (he was waving a flag waiting for Daddy to come off). When he saw him he dropped the flag and ran. He stopped at the door and looked back when he realized he was at the gangway and I told him he could go get Daddy. It was really sweet. The people all around us started clapping and cheering. We got lots of smiles and congratulations.

I will also say that the airport staff was phenomenal. Getting the gate pass was super easy and the lady working at the gate took pictures for us (while they weren't great, they are pictures!!). I will post some pics soon.

We stopped at Chuy's for dinner on the way home and Trevor has started Daddy on a tour of his favorite pizza places. Yesterday lunch was Chuck E, tonight we will probably make pizza for him, and tomorrow is Gattitown and Inner Space. We haven't scheduled Saccone's yet, but that is Trevor's favorite place (though it doesn't have the games).

Thank you all for your love and support- you have made the past year go by so much quicker!!

Homecoming

Well friends, my time in Iraq is almost done. I will be heading home shortly and look forward to catching up with each of you. Thank you to all of our family and friends for the love and support you've shown Sharon, Trevor and me. We are truly blessed.

Trevor Update

Well, we had one more round of Strep throat, but he know seems healthy, finally!! He finished this round of antibiotics last night, so hopefully this time it took care of it!! It should- they gave me samples for the first couple of days until they could do the long culture- no one could believe he really had Strep AGAIN, but he did. I went to pick up FIVE days worth of antibiotics, with our insurance it was $211!! I called the doctor and got five more days of samples- that is CRAZY!! That is over $40 per 3.5ml dose!!

Had my THIRD flat tire Thursday since Christian left- seriously, I think in my entire lifetime I have had one flat tire- and that was on this car come to think of it. We are counting down the days now- look for an invite from me on the Homecoming party in the next two weeks. I'm not going to post the details on here, but I will post it when it sends out so if I accidentally leave someone off please let me know. The list is long and I know I am missing people!!

Oh- the best part of the Trevor update. Actually, two parts. Lately Trevor has decided that he is going to work to earn money. When I ask him what he will do with the money he says:

• Give money to people that don't have any
• buy toys
• buy dinner for Mommy :)

He came up with that all on his own!! He has even asked a few people if they need help with money and told them that he can earn money an give it to them!!

Yesterday we went to the outlet mall and I gave him coins for the water fountain. I told him before he threw the coin in he should make a wish. Here is what he wished for:

• A new dump truck
• A water fountain like this in my backyard
• I love my mommy
• My daddy to come home soon

I that note, I'm off. We are counting the days now!!

Happy late birthday to my baby boy. He had two parties- one with the fam and then one with his friends. He had a ball at both. The kid party was in our backyard with three kiddie pools and a slip'n'slide (mommy went old school). The kids had a great time with it.

Unfortunately last week Trevor got sick again. Three days before his party we found out he had Strep throat. Thankfully he quickly responded to the antibiotics and was ready to go for that. Right as we finished the antibiotics he started having tummy issues and has been running for the bathroom since. (Something that has NEVER happened to him even as a baby). So now I sit, almost a week later, with a four year old, in the house, watching Playhouse Disney for the seventh day in a row.

I snuck out to get on the computer. If he sees me he wants me to sit with him or hold him. Poor little guy. So I'm bored to tears, the house is a wreck and I can't get much of anything done. I did start sewing his super hero cape last night- so that was fun. He is very excited about that. When I am done I will have to post a picture. I need some more material to finish it so no telling when I will get back to it.

Time to go check back on him. Think healthy thoughts for him!!

Newest Trevorism

Trevor made Mommy a snack yesterday (play food). It had strawberries, oranges, peaches, potato and he said he put cream cheese in it. I told him that I wasn't sure if that would taste very good....

"Mommy, I get requests for this in my restaurant all the time, my customers really like this, you should try it..."

Where exactly did he learn that??? :)

And then, there was pizza....

The pizza oven is officially broken in!! I forgot to take pictures of my first pizza's!! The one you see is a "dessert" pizza- butter, sugar, and cinnamon. They came out great- some of my neighbors came over and helped Trevor and I break it it. Don & Marshan helped assemble our new table and chairs while we were waiting for the fire to get hot enough and David helped me build the fire. That was a lot harder than I thought it would be!! Good to have a Eagle Scout living next to you :)

Next up is Trevor's fourth birthday. I can't believe he is turning four!! We will have a family party next weekend and then the weekend of his birthday we are having kids over. I'm going to make pizza for the family- little scary, but should be fun. I'm going to have to train a few people on making the pizza's so I can have an assembly line going to make enough pizza for everyone!!

Heat

While we have been enjoying sunny 105 degree temperatures in Austin, Baghdad is already into the 115 range and will keep climbing. I've gotten friendly reminders of that when I have complained about the heat (though at least their heat is a dry heat :). Of course we don't have the dust storms to make it even that much more enjoyable.

Trevor and I got a brief glimpse of a little what Christian is going through. I had to take Christian's truck in to be fixed (thermostat) and after I picked it up it started to overheat and the air conditioning stopped working- of course after I was across town. I noticed the temperature rising and realized the truck was getting hotter and hotter. When I turned the air off and rolled the windows down the air outside felt so cool (scary when it was 102 at the time). Thankfully we made it back to the shop and they are looking into what happened as we speak and Mimi came and picked us up.

Christian has told me about how when they go places they travel in these transport vehicles that don't have much ventilation or air conditioning- and they have to wear their armored gear (about 35 pounds worth). Just doing it for 20 minutes was unbearable to me and I was wearing shorts!! Thankfully they only have to do that when they travel outside of their area which isn't often- or at least I don't think it is.

Trevor & I are off to the pool now!!

Happy Independence Day

Say "hello" to the newest group of Americans.

It has been a wonderful 4th of July here in Baghdad. This morning we had a naturalization ceremony at Al Faw Palace where over a hundred Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines became our newest countrymen. What is truly inspiring is that each of these men and women took an oath to support and defend the United States before they themselves become citizens. I have no doubt that they fully understand and appreciate what it means to be an American. Let us hope that those who were blessed to have been born citizens never forget. Happy Independence Day.

High-Flying Horns in Baghdad

From the Set of the Colbert Report

Greetings from the set of the Colbert Report. When I arrived at work this morning Mr. Colbert's desk was unattended. Trevor's monkey and I couldn't resist. What are they going to do, send me to Iraq? I've seen three shows so far and they are all very funny. I encourage everyone to watch. I'm on the fourth row of the audience for Wednesday night's show, otherwise I'm watching from the balcony. It's been quite the week and all of the folks from Colbert's show have been very gracious.

Colbert's show

On Comedy Central tonight at 10:30pm- DVR it- Christian said it is really funny!!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/07/colbert.iraq/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

What a week. First Mack Brown and now Stephen Colbert. The Colbert Report will be taping here in Al Faw Palace. It is my understanding the show will air next week on Comedy Central. Here is a picture of the set being built. If you look at the background, there are aircraft flying on the right and port-a-cans flying on the left. Very cool.

Thank you Coach Brown

Coach Brown and the other NCAA coaches visit was a real treat. Despite the brutal jetlag and very little sleep (they arrived in Baghdad at 3:00 a.m.), Coach Brown was very gracious. He took time for photos and to sign our UT flags. Also, I've been following Coach Brown's blog about his trip and can say with certainty that his priorities are in the right place. He gets it. All Texas Exes should be proud to have such a fine ambassador for The University.

We're getting closer to coming home. It was eight months ago yesterday that I said "goodbye" to Sharon and Trevor. Some days the time flies, others, it crawls. Still, we're well over the hump and we'll be back together as a family soon. I cannot wait.

As always, thank you for your love and support.

Hook'em Horns in Baghdad!!

Coach Mack Brown is among several coaches touring the Middle East- Coaches tour 2009- seriously, that is what they are calling it. Mack has a blog set up on the UT site had looks like he has been regularly posting items on it- hmmm... wonder if he has a press person with him doing it? Sounds like he is writing it though. Some pics and I've pasted Mack's blog entries from when he was where Christian is below too for easy reading :) (And yes, that is Trevor's monkey in the picture too!!)

Entry #18 (June 2, 2009):We got up this a.m. about 5:00. I'm not sure why, but some of the coaches were saying it was because there was too much snoring in the room from the seven coaches. We are getting ready to fly to Kuwait in a few minutes. It is about a 45-minute flight on a C-17, which has become our favorite Air Force plane. We will then get back on the KC-135 we flew over here on for a two-hour flight to Africa. What an experience for me. The boy from Cookeville never thought he would be seeing the sunrise in Baghdad or stay at Saddam's Palace. The troops showed me a picture of a huge fish caught out of Saddam's lake. They said it once ate a duck struggling on the water. It would make Colt and Jordan jealous. It was not safe for us to go downtown where they said there are six million people. It is amazing with some of the poverty in this country and Saddam and his family lived such a lavish life inside the gates.

Entry #17 (June 1, 2009):We didn't eat at dinnertime because we had a 30-minute practice for the troops. It was a lot of fun to coach the guys. They were pumped and seemed to have fun. Hopefully we've helped give them a small break from their very difficult days. After the practice, we went back in the Field House at Camp Liberty and signed autographs and took pictures for another hour. The 1st Cavalry Band played 'Texas Fight' for us. After the session, we grabbed a sandwich and came back to the palace. So I'm sitting out on the back porch, over looking the beautiful lake in front of the palace. Saddam had some very nice places. The lake is full of fish but the water is contaminated. Lakes in Texas are better for fishing. Lots better! We will head down to Kuwait tomorrow morning, and catch a KC-135 down to Africa after a short stay in the airport. We will be back to work tomorrow afternoon. I think the flight is only a couple of hours. I think we have another game tomorrow night. We've been taking medicine for malaria for a week. Hope it works. I'm really enjoying seeing our troops and I've learned too much to report. At the same time, I will be excited to get back to America and especially Texas on Thursday night. I miss home, my family and friends, and our guys.

Entry #16 (June 1, 2009):We are just finishing another great day in Baghdad. We are tired because we got in at 3 a.m. last night, started at 6:30 a.m. and just walked in the door. The conditions are very tough. It is very hot and dusty. You feel dirty all the time, and the sand constantly blows in your nose, mouth and eyes. Your eyes start to burn, it is very hard to breathe, and you get a sore throat, but I haven't heard anyone gripe. Pretty amazing. I asked the General how they could keep that attitude, and he simply said because they wanted to be here - another great lesson for us in recruiting: take the guys who want to be at Texas. I will say our forces are fed very well. One soldier told me today that you have a choice in Iraq - you can either bench 300 pounds or weigh 300 pounds. He chose to bench 300. We met with a lot of the troops at Camp Victory and at Camp Liberty today. The extended meetings this a.m. were very informative in so many ways with the two Generals. We learned some great points about leadership, passion and family. At the end of the meeting, the General honored us with his coin. That is the highest recognition you can get from an officer. What a deal!

Entry #15 (June 1, 2009):Some people have questioned whether I should come on this trip and or why I would. I really don't think you can learn without forcing yourself in new settings and maybe even uncomfortable ones at times so you can continue to learn. Me coming here will force me to learn from new situations. The same is true with our incoming freshman class. Most of our 12 new freshmen showed up at school yesterday to start a new and exciting part of their lives. There is some anxiety for our family for me to be over here very much like the families that dropped their sons off in Austin yesterday. Sally greeted them in place of me yesterday, so please keep them in your prayers as well. Welcome new Longhorns! A few haven't shown up yet because they aren't out off high school yet. That is always tricky to start the first session of summer school.I would also like to say congrats our baseball team on two great wins from me and the troops. Twenty-five innings must have been something only to be overshadowed by the great comeback "Longhorn Style" against Army. I heard our fans all stayed and pulled us thru the BC Game, but let me say the soldiers aren't as happy about the win against Army. I'm ready to go back to work. Baghdad is a very interesting place. I'll check in later. Sometimes the phone doesn't get a signal, and it is also hard to find a place to keep the battery charged. I did get a great picture from a soldier today with a group of young Iraq children throwing the Hook Em sign up in the air. Go Horns.

Entry #14 (June 1, 2009):We awoke this a.m. at 6:30 and went back to work. We spent the first hour with General Odierno, who heads up all our forces in Iraq. At one time he headed up the forces at Fort Hood. It was a special visit. His son lost an arm in Iraq and is now at home doing well, and his daughter is a student at Texas Tech. He is a great leader and taught all of us a lot about leadership. The military offices are in the palace, which is very fitting. Since this a.m., we've spent all day with soldiers at Camp Victory and Camp Liberty. The day has once again been rewarding because the troops so appreciate us coming. You would be amazed at the influence from both San Antonio and Fort Hood. You would be proud of our Texans. We are just taking a short break at 5:40 p.m. before we go back to a couple more functions tonight. We are tired, but when you see the faces on the troops when you walk in, you once again realize they are working 12-hour days, and it is not about us. We are so spoiled that we can sleep when we get home.

Further Updates

So no more snakes, but do you know what Christian's first response was when he found out about it? "You didn't kill it did you????" While we all know I didn't, there was more concern for the snake than us :) (kidding). I've escorted out more centipedes or possibly millipedes out of the house this week- but they had all moved on to a better life already.

Christian spent some time at Joint Base Balad earlier this week- he took Monkey along for the visit- see picture above. He was able to see some old friends that were getting ready to head home after their 9 month tour.

I've been told it is already 110 there- one of Christian's coworkers described it like living in a hairdryer. Constant really hot air blowing around you. Other than counting the days for his return home he is doing good.

Trevor and I will spend the weekend with my family as my niece Tara graduates from Grad school at UT on Saturday!! We are very proud of her!!

Happy Memorial Day!

Critter updates

Okay, there was the tarantula when Christian left, scorpions here and there (I'm used to those now), I hoped I was done with the Wild World of Critters last week after the centipede in the house (which I killed thank you very much), but no, that couldn't be enough...

So I had five kids 3 and 4 years old over this morning- playing in our backyard. Played in Trevor's little pool, we hung out on the patio and talked, life was good. I've been draining the pool this afternoon and went out to flip it over to finish draining and as I am stepping into the grass (in my bare feet mind you), I encounter a snake!!!!! Not the little six inch variety, no, that would be too normal for this house. The two foot variety!!!!! I've been told he isn't poisonous, but do I really want to go walking through my thick overgrown grass now?? Do I want to let my child go play out there- he was almost as long as Trevor!!

Yard service is getting a call today and we are going to a weekly service, we were bi-weekly, but it is too tall already and is has just been a week. So exactly how do I kill a two foot long snake?????

Seven Months

Seven months ago today Christian left Austin. Now the military doesn't start counting time until he actually arrived in Iraq- which was the 13th, but I am thankful we are more than halfway through.

Trevor and I kept ourselves busy this weekend- including going to Trevor's first crawfish boil. He opted to sample the BBQ that was also there and wouldn't try the crawfish- couldn't get past "their cute faces". Maybe I shouldn't have let him check them out while they were still alive... Hmmm...

That's all for tonight, just wanted to note the seven month mark. Sweet dreams!!

Little Minds

Okay, the title might be a little misleading...

Today Trevor declared he did no want to be a Daddy. When I asked him why not he replied because I don't want to have to go away. Try explaining that one to a three year old!! He has handled things so well, I forgot sometimes how much this is for his little brain to process. He now associates being a Daddy means you have to go away for a long time!! We spent some time with a globe today also with Mommy trying to explain why Daddy has to go away and where he is- again - try explaining that to a three year old- or a grown up for that matter!!

On to a lighter note- WHY exactly do I have to live in a area with all the creepy crawlies??? First it was the scorpions- I learned to deal with those- killed more than my fair share of those. Then came the HUGE eight inch centipede in the garage. Christian was still here for that, but his solution was to throw it in the street, so I still had to go scoop it up and throw it in the trash. Next came the Tarantula- okay- I wussed out on that one and got the landscaper to come kill it for me. Today come the smaller version of the centipede- but in the house. I killed it, with only a small amount of screaming when I missed the first try and it turned on me!! Those things can move!! I'm trying to be the good environmentalist and not use chemicals on the yard, but you know, a person has to draw the line somewhere! I think I may have reached my breaking point. On top of that both Trevor & I have been stung by ants this week. Sting me, but don't you sting my baby!!! I think it is time for death to visit the critters in the yard!!

On that note, I'm off to bed. More pictures soon, too lazy tonight!!

Rome - Colesseum

Peter, Anne, Sharon, Trevor, Christian outside the Colosseum

Daddy & Trevor- he hadn't wanted to take his picture so I told him fine, but I was taking Daddy's picture so he needed to move- THEN he wanted to be in the picture!! Worked for the rest of the trip!!

The Colosseum was huge- amazing to see.

Few Pictures!!

Few from the hillside looking into the village we stayed in South of Sorrento- Nerano. We loved our little village. It was the perfect place for us to reconnect, enjoy our time together and really feel like we became part of the town. While we were only miles away from Sorrento it was about a 30 minute drive!!

View from our balcony. We had a three bedroom, two bath apartment. Essentially there were two little houses with two apartments each. We shared the pool, but other than one night we were the only people staying there. (It was still the slow season). The weather cooperated most days, but was still quite cool. You generally needed at least a light jacket. There was a gate between the two houses with a steep wood/metal driveway leading down to a small parking area. I can't believe we didn't take a picture of it. You had to make a sharp 90 degree turn onto this ramp from the street (that was a single lane road between buildings). Once on the ramp you only had a little clearance on each side of the car. Surprisingly the car only got a little "rub" one time as we tried to negotiate the ramp (or I should say Christian did!!)

My two favorite guys. They were watching a little bit of Wall*E before bedtime. I think you can see from the big smiles that they really enjoyed their time together. I think I don't need to say anymore on that one!!

I'll add more later. I was able to recover the pictures from Christian's notebook while it was here to be repaired so I have them now. Just a matter of time!! I'll try and add different locations and stories about where we were and what we did a little at a time!!

We are back in Texas- New Trevorism

We got home Thursday the 2nd around 11:30. It is nice to be back in Texas, but we wish Christian had come home with us. Trevor did great- he knew Daddy had to go back to work and didn't question that too much. There was no huge meltdown when he left or even any drama. We said goodbye quickly at the airport and had to board different bus's to different terminals. Thankfully he did sleep some on the way home. I did the math yesterday- he was awake 29 hours straight when we went over there. The longest he has ever been awake until then was 12 or 13 hours!!

Pictures are going to take awhile- I hope. We downloaded all our pictures onto Christian's notebook and it has fried. We think it is the motherboard and he is shipping his notebook back to me to have Dell come fix it. Hopefully I will be able to pull the pictures off. We got some great pictures.

New Trevorism. After the incident in the Austin airport, Trevor has become very interested in case of emergency. He read the what to do in case of emergency card in the airplane for 45 minutes. In Europe the showers have cords hanging down in the hotel that you can pull in case you fall down and can't get up :) For those of you who don't have kids or have older kids, little kids pants many times have "adjustable waists", which are elastic bands with button holes around the waist so you can tighten the waistlines or let them out as they grow. So my child, in his infinite wisdom, asks me "Mommy, what is this cord for? Do I pull it if there is an emergency in my pants?" Needless to say, it was awhile before I could stop laughing :)

Ciao from Sorrento

Actually, from Nerano. We rented a house that is about 30 minutes South of Sorrento. It is probably only 10 miles, but the winding mountain roads make it a fun trip!! Christian got here on Tuesday and we rented a van and headed down on Wednesday. We have enjoyed lots of good food and time together.

Today we attempted a trip to Mt. Vesuvius - key word attempted. We bought the memory card for the Italy maps for our GPS. Until today it has been a great help. I'm not sure exactly where it thought it was taking us, but we have now seen WAY too much of little back streets. Much of it was fun to see, but several times we got caught in little alley ways that can be difficult to get out of. Ultimately we told Trevor that the volcano was closed today (does that make us bad parents??). After three hours in the car for something that should have taken an hour- and still no clear idea how to get up the mountain, we had enough. The GPS took us to the middle of a small village then to the outskirts of another village.

We have explored the village we are staying in and several of the nearby villages and then spent yesterday in Sorrento. Tomorrow Peter & Anne (Christian's parents) are joining us. Midweek Christian and I will go to Ischia (small island off the coast) for two nights- they have thermal spa's!! Since we are here before the high season starts we were able to get two nights in a five star resort for a steal!!

If our internet holds up I may try some pictures later, but this was the first time it worked since we got here!!

Ciao!!

Italy Update

Well, we are still waiting. The latest word is that he will be here on Tuesday. I think this is the real one finally!! On Saturday we thought he was going to be here Sunday, so I'm trying not to put all my hopes into this one.

Today we went to Cumae- and saw Sibyl's cave. Trevor hiked to the Temple of Apollo and the Temple of Jupiter. He is actually a really good hiker. I'm also pleased to announce that it seems Trevor is now over his fear of dogs!!! There are TONS of wild dogs & cats here. As we were hiking around there were lots of dogs that the guides along the trail either owned or cared for (very docile and tame). Trevor was walking by them saying "Hi doggie, oh, what a cute doggie".

Yesterday was Sienna & Kylie's birthday party. They had a "Fancy" party. Both girls are totally into Fancy Nancy (kid's books that the little girl is into anything Fancy and uses big words). Vicki went over the top- which was the point- and it was a beautiful party. We made all kinds of tea sandwiches, punch, chocolate dipped strawberries & pretzels, raspberry filled muffins, strawberry shortcake, and fruit with this YUMMY dip.

Tomorrow we are hoping to get Christian from the airport and then we will head towards Sorrento on Wednesday. I don't know what kind of access I'm going to have- if any. I still haven't been able to pull pictures off, so I will have to post them once we get home. For those of you in Austin who have been told that Austin has the worst allergies- Austin doesn't have ANYTHING on Naples!!! Their is pollen everywhere and to make matters worse, people burn everything here- and I mean everything- plastic plates, diapers, they don't care!! I'm looking forward to Sorrento in hopes that it will alleviate some of our allergies. Poor Trevor is pretty much a runny nose mess all day long.

Ciao!!

Getting Close!!

We are now very close to seeing Christian- I can't believe the day is finally here!! We still aren't sure when he will arrive- sometime between tomorrow and Tuesday. Got to love the Army for that one!!

Tonight I went to a Navy "Hail & Farewell and Wetting down ceremony". They combined the events. The Navy gets together everyone from their wardroom (not 100% sure what that is) and they welcome new families into the ward room and say farewell to any families leaving. Since they combined the promotions of several officers also into the event they catered the evening.

Yesterday we went to a Murano glass store that was way cool (and I bought a few things :) I also meet several women from the ward room, so it was nice that I knew a few people going into tonight. They are really a bunch of nice people that were very welcoming.

Hopefully next time I write it will be to say Christian is here!!

Market

Today we went to a typical Italian market day. They have market once a week and sell everything from Prada to intestines. I bought some cool jewelry, a purse, and a watch for Trevor.

We also bought some yummy food for lunch. Prosciutto, Parmesan cheese, bread, and olives. We also got some stuff that was essentially fried dough. It was so good. Looks like Christian might get here Sunday already. Right now we are looking between Sunday and Tuesday for his arrival. Trying to coordinate transportation when we are looking at a 72 hour arrival time window is fun. I might get to try driving in Italy if it is on Sunday. Not looking forward to it, but shouldn't be an issue.

Trevor has decided not to nap in Italy- Mom is NOT a fan of this development, especially after the long night we had last night. Today he told me he was sad that he doesn't have his Nala Kitty (our cat) here with him. Not really sure what it was all about, but he spent the better part of an hour crying inconsolably. We are hoping to make a trip to Capua soon. The weather has been pretty good so far, very chilly, but at least sunny. Before we got there they said it had rained for a month straight.

Pizza and Luggage

Luggage finally got here on Sunday (we got here Thursday). Everyone here thought that was really fast- they just expect their luggage to show up days/week later!!

We had pizza made in Vicki & Keith's pizza oven Sunday night- Trevor ate almost an entire pizza by himself!! It was so good. I put all the dessert pizza's into the the oven, cooked them (you turn them as they are cooking with a long paddle) and pulled them out!! I'm not anywhere near as good as Keith, but I get the idea at least. I'm ready to get home and try ours out!!

We are doing great, Kylie (Vicki's daughter that is 6 months older than Trevor) is sick, so we are playing at home right now. Hoping Trevor doesn't get it, but if he does, I hope he gets it quick so he is well by the time Christian gets here.

I have a couple great pictures from our pizza party the other night, but I can't get the camera to recognize on their computer. I'm going to see if Keith can help me figure it out tonight.

No luggage yet

We got in on Thursday at lunchtime- no bags. They didn't have them yesterday, didn't have them today- "we think they are in Paris still". So I broke down and bought a change of clothes for Trevor & I today. You of course know what happened next- they called tonight and the bags are here!!

We are adjusting to the time change. Trevor slept 16 hours straight Thursday night and I had to wake him up, last night he slept nearly 14 hours and I again woke him up today. I think tomorrow we will get to a pretty regular schedule. He has been very good today and seems to be adjusting well. We have mostly hung out around the house for the last two days- it was very cold and rainy yesterday. Today Vicki & I spent shopping while Keith played with the kids. Today was much warmer and sunny most of the day.

No pictures yet- I have the camera, but not the cable to connect the camera to the computer so I can pull the pictures over to the blog. I have a really cute one of Kylie & Trevor on the floor playing a game together. Less than two weeks and we will see Christian. I'm waiting until a few days to start telling Trevor how close it is :)

The plane saga....

We are here- no where close to our original flight plans, or actually any of our plans :)

Just a brief breakdown...

Flight delayed in Austin (wind in Newark), so we missed our flight to Rome. As they are boarding us on the flight to Newark they are finally finishing reissuing us tickets to now go through Paris. As I'm trying to listen to her, loud siren goes off. Trevor decided that he wanted to go outside and see the planes. Now I still couldn't board so I could talk to the police :( They were originally going to detain us but thankfully the guy had mercy and just wrote down everything and let us board (still wondering if I'm going to get a big huge fine in the mail!!)

Each airport was a run for the gate and the flight from Newark to Paris was PACKED so Trevor finally fell asleep- after the plane landed in Paris. I looked over and he was sound asleep. In Paris I thought we had plenty of time- boy was I wrong. We landed at 7:30 and our next flight didn't take off until 9:40. We had to wait 40 minutes for a bus that took us to the other terminal and we had to go through immigration and then security again. We boarded the plane in our socks yet because I didn't have time to stop and put our shoes on. At security I set off the machine- no idea why ( in never have before) and then I forgot to take the DVD player out.

I will say there was no kindness of strangers on this trip- with the exception of the nice lady that shared granola bars with us.

Trevor has now been awake since 8am Austin time on Wednesday and has just gone to bed- he made it to bedtime (so did I :) He & Kylie have become quick friends and are playing together well. He stopped for a snack around 5 and fell asleep in the chair. I was going to give up and put him to bed, but he woke up as I was changing him and he wanted to go back downstairs and finish his snack!!

Oh- and they lost ALL of our suitcases- so much for my plan of packing some stuff for each of us in the different suitcases!! They say they are in Paris and that they will be here tomorrow (all told to us through Keith who was interpreting). They are going to call Keith and he will pick it up for us tomorrow.

Okay, that's all for now. We are here safely and Trevor is already having a blast!! I'm going to take a shower and go to bed myself!!

Thank you.

I am so grateful for all of the kind messages regarding my recent promotion. I am blessed to have such a wonderful group of family and friends. While I wish Sharon could have pinned me, a promotion ceremony in Iraq is a good second best. I am excited about the new responsibilities that come with higher rank and am honored to have the opportunity to continue serving. Thank you.

Congratulations Lieutenant Colonel vW

On Sunday, 3pm Iraq time, Christian was officially promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel!! The picture above is from the promotion ceremony, his director RADM Buss swore him in and Colonel Smith pinned his rank on (normally something I would get to do, but they wouldn't fly me over for it!! :)

We are so very proud of him and all of the hard work he does. They have been working some pretty long hours and rarely get a full day off. Hopefully our time in Italy will rejuvenate him. We found a island off the coast called Ischia that has thermal spa's heated by a volocano- they are supposed to be very therupeutic. We are planning on going over for two days and checking them out!!

I will post a few things and pictures of Italy once Trevor & I get there and then I probably won't add anything else until we get back. Once we get back I will post lots of pictures from our trip!!

One Month

In approximately one month (we don't know the exact date) Christian will be joining Trevor and I in Italy!! We can't wait. I can't wait for Christian to see Trevor. I seems like he is changing so much before my eyes, I can't wait to see what changes Christian sees.

He definitely has Mom's number- he frequently tries to redirect my attention when he wants something (or doesn't want to get into trouble) by giving Mommy hugs & kisses and telling me he loves me!! Too smart for his own good.

He has also taken to complimenting me- Mommy I really like your shirt- your earrings- your bracelet, your hair looks pretty, this dinner is delicious Mommy. If he is like this at three he is going to be a handful as he gets older!!

Four Months Down!!

Well, we are more than four months down now- so if they hold him the full year we are a third of the way there!! Laugh at me- but it feels better to hit a bigger milestone like a third of the way there.

Trevor and I are getting ready for our trip to Italy. He knows that he is going to get to see Daddy finally- and I have also emphasized that when it is time to go home that Daddy has to go back to work and we will have to come home without him. He seems to understand it and has told other people that when we talk about our trip, but I'm praying that he really does understand it. That is my only concern is when we have to say goodbye again.

Trevor is doing great and seems to have finally adjusted to it being just him & Mom. We have settled into a routine of sorts. He loves getting to sit on the couch with Mom and watch a movie- we have been getting movies from the library and I made the mistake of telling him he could pick any movie he wanted. It wasn't Barney at least- I might have said oops, it broke and paid for it to not have to watch that one!! He picked Teletubbies. I've never really sat and watched them- or if I have I blocked it from memory for good reason. Needless to say there will be a qualifier on the next trip to the library!!

Hope everyone is doing well!!
Sharon & Trevor

Flag for Trevor

As some of you may know our service men and women can honor their families by having a US flag flown over the Multi-National Force Headquarters in Iraq for them. Christian had one flown for Trevor on Inauguration day and is saving it for him until he turns 18. Below is the letter Christian wrote to Trevor that will be enclosed with the flag and I wanted to share it with you all. It think it is a great reminder of what it means to be an American!!

January 21, 2009

Dear Trevor:

Enclosed is a United States flag that was flown over Al Faw Palace, Baghdad, Iraq yesterday. I chose to have this flag flown for you on January 20th because we inaugurated a new president. At 1200 EST (2000 Baghdad local time), Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Set aside politics. To me, that is not what the day was about. First and foremost, this event represented the greatness of our country: the most powerful man in the world relinquished power, peacefully turning over his office to someone else. It matters not that they agree or disagree on most issues. He did this because he believes in the primacy of the Constitution.

Around the world, changes in leadership often occur at the end of a gun. Not so in the United States. Similarly, there is never a question of where the military’s loyalty lies. It is with the Constitution. What a special place. I hope that as Iraq approaches its second election—what many consider the hardest because some of those in charge must give up their power—the Iraqis are watching and learning from our example.

We are privileged to live in the greatest country in the world. However, with such a great privilege comes a great obligation. Each of us bears the responsibility of doing something to be of service to our nation. I chose to join the military, as did your Papa and great grandfather. Your Paw Paw and Uncle Jeff volunteered as Boy Scout Leaders. You Uncle Mike was a police officer. There are many ways to serve. Find something you are passionate about and do it.

Finally, while our country does not ask much of us as citizens, the two things it does ask are critically important. The first thing we are asked to do is vote. Learn about the issues and candidates, and then make time to vote. It is how your voice is heard. Second, serve when called to jury duty. It is a privilege to be asked to determine the guilt or innocence of another person, or to settle a dispute between people. While the case may seem mundane to you, in all likelihood, it is one of the most important things in the participants’ lives. Treat it accordingly.

While I am writing this letter and mailing the flag home today, your mother and I will hold them until your 18th birthday. It seems appropriate to give them to you at a time when you accrue all of the privileges and obligations of American citizenship.

I love you and am very proud of you. I know that you will grow up to be a fine and honorable man. Being your father has made me a better person. While I may have missed the mark at times, I have always tried to set a good example and do my best. I consider myself infinitely blessed to have you as my son.

Love,
Daddy

God Bless America

Today is an exciting day for America. It's Inauguration Day. At 1200 EST (2000 Baghdad local time), Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Set aside politics. To me, that is not what the day was about. First and foremost, this event represented the greatness of our country: the most powerful man in the world relinquished power, peacefully turning over his office to someone else. It matters not that they agree or disagree on most issues. He did this because he believes in the primacy of the Constitution.

Around the world, changes in leadership often occur at the end of a gun. Not so in the United States. Similarly, there is never a question of where the military's loyalty lies. It is with the Constitution. What a special place. I hope that as Iraq approaches its second election-what many consider the hardest because some of those in charge must give up their power-the Iraqis are watching and learning from our example.

The story on the stuffed Monkey

Several people has asked about monkey, so I thought I should explain. The bright orange monkey you see in many of the pictures is "Funky Monkey". Trevor got Funky from our friend Vicki and quickly became inseparable from Trevor. To insure if there was ever a loss of said Monkey we got another one- the "backup" monkey has been dubbed M2 and has become the traveling monkey. He has been all over the US traveling with Christian, to Honduras, Singapore, and now Iraq. We have pictures of M2 in all of these places- my thought is one day I will make a scrapbook for Trevor of the Adventures of Monkey. Christian & I have joked that when Trevor gets older he will question us on why monkey went so many places and he didn't!! Incidentally- Trevor does know about M2- that is Daddy's monkey now.

Trevor went to this place called Abrakadoodle yesterday and got to paint a picture- it was a free for all, they could throw the paint, use sponges, toys, whatever- in fact they were encouraged to splatter the paint everywhere. He had fun. I only did video so I could send a copy to Christian. If I can get a short clip off I will post it later!!!

Fiesta!

How about those Longhorns! The game started at 4:15 a.m. Baghdad time and I am so glad I was able to see it. I was a little nervous at the end of the 4th quarter but Colt proved again that he's a winner. How about that go-head touchdown with 16 seconds left to play? Texas proved it was the better team in the Big 12 South and that Colt should have won the Heisman. Start the countdown to the 2009 season. Hook'em.

THREE MONTHS DOWN AND HOOK'EM HORNS!!

First- that game was a nail biter!! Poor Trevor watched to the end with Mommy and kept asking me why I was yelling at the TV. We had friends over to watch the game and had a lot of fun!! He had four older children to play with and was in heaven. Even at three years old he wanted to be the ring leader- "come on guys, let's go do this".

It is hard to believe but three months have now passed. While it seems like forever since Christian left, time seems to be going fairly quickly. I'm hoping now that we are through the holidays that will continue to be the case. We have Italy to look forward too, then summer will be here, then hopefully we will be able to start counting down the days for his return.

Happy 12th day of Christmas!! Trevor and I are planning on going to the Epiphany service at church this evening and look forward to play dates we have scheduled with friends!!

Happy New Year, Happy Birthday Mimi!!

Happy New Year from Austin- Happy Birthday to Mimi also!!

We are so thankful for all of our friends and family. The above picture was Trevor's school picture- I was pretty impressed- I can't get him to smile for the camera anymore!! Trevor & I will also be dining on black-eyed peas like Daddy- in fact I think I bought Trappy's also.

I have to share one Trevor story...

Santa brought Mommy a Rubik's cube Sudoku game for Christmas (3x3 grid with 9 squares in each grid). The object is to get one color in each square without repeating the color in the same line on the other grids. They also put numbers on there to help keep track. Trevor likes to play with Mommy's game and pulls the pieces out and puts them back in. We lost one of the orange pieces this morning and I was looking on the floor for it. I told him we needed to find one of the orange pieces and his response was one of the "3" pieces Mommy? I was holding the game and had to look- the orange piece is in fact the three!! I have been playing that game for a week now and couldn't remember that orange was the three piece- how on earth did he remember that??? Everyday he surprises me with the amount of things he knows!!

I have updated the address information once again- not sure why it keeps getting changed, but if you have sent anything to the other addresses they still work, this is supposed to get it to him faster. I also changed the comments section so I have to "approve" them before they are published. We had some random weird comment posted awhile back and this is the only way for me to control that. Just a heads up in case you don't see your comment post right away.

Happy 2009!!

Happy New Year

Today is the start of an exciting new era in Iraq. As of midnight, the United Nations Security Council Resolution authorizing the Coalition to operate in Iraq has expired. Iraq is now a fully sovereign nation. Relations between the US and Iraq are now governed a mutually agreed upon Security Agreement. Over the next few months I fully expect the Iraqi government to start exercising its sovereignty. While there will likely be some frustrating moments, they are now running the show and we must respect their choices, even if we would have preferred they do something else. I consider myself lucky to have a front-row seat to the rebirth of a nation.

I am pleased to report that they served black eyed peas and collard greens in the DFAC today. Just in case they didn't, I brought a can of Trappy's Black Eyed Peas with jalapenos with me. (This can will make the trip home and be eaten next New Year.) I'm not a big fan of black eyed peas but my Grandmother Chinn always served them on New Years Day for luch. Far be it from me to break a tradition.

Best wishes to all of our family and friends for a safe, happy and prosperous New Year. Sharon, Trevor and I are so grateful for the love and support you have shown us. Thank you.

Happy Holidays from Baghdad

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends. Thank you so much for your love and support these past few months. While it wasn’t the same as being at home for the holidays, Christmas in Baghdad was nice. Christmas Eve I attended a service in the rotunda of Al Faw Palace. Beautiful singing and a great sermon. We closed by singing “Silent Night” by candlelight. Christmas morning I went for a run and took it easy. My directorate met for a short time, then we shared a meal. I ended the evening by opening presents Santa placed under my Christmas tree. Being away from home is hard but if I have to spend Christmas away from my loved ones, spending it with Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines is a good second. I miss you all and look forward to seeing you in the new year. Happy Holidays and best wishes for a safe and happy New Year.

Christmas Eve Service

Tonight Trevor, Oma (my mom), and I went to Christmas Eve service. I let Trevor wear his Daddy's dogtags to church (Christian got an extra set for him). I also had one made for Trevor that has a picture of Christian & Trevor on it and then made one for Christian that has Trevor and I on it. During the Eucharist prayer tonight they were ringing a bell. Trevor would take his dog tags and shake them each time also. At the end of the service they dimmed the lights and the light from outside was shining through the stained glass window at the front of the church and we sang Silent Night. Trevor sang the entire first verse with us- loud enough that people around us could hear him. It was truly a beautiful moment.

Merry Christmas!!

Santa even paid a visit to our troops in Iraq!! Christian unfortunately will be spending this holiday working, but we look forward to next year when we can spend it together as a family again!! I just keep remembering it is getting us one day closer to him coming home!!

I have told Trevor about our trip to Italy now and he is very excited about getting to see Daddy- I am amazed how much he understands. Trevor & I will go visit my friend Vicki and her family that live in Naples until Christian's leave starts (it can vary by a few days depending on flight availability). Trevor asked Christian if he was going to come see us at Vicki's house (this was nearly a week after we talked about it once). Initially Christian didn't understand and was telling him that he couldn't that he had to stay at work. Trevor looked like he was about to lose it and then I explained to Daddy what Trevor had asked and he quickly said he would be there and Trevor got the hugest smile on his face!! He is really looking forward to it.

Wishing you the merriest of Christmases & Happiest of New Years!!
Sharon, Christian & Trevor

Christian's CHU

Not sure what CHU stands for- I think it is something like containerized housing unit... As you see it is not very big, a trailer broken into three roughly 10x10 rooms.

If anyone is still reading...

Sorry for the lack of postings recently, life has been a little hectic. To simplify matters I'm going to do several posting on different subjects, including some much awaited photos that Christian sent. In regards to what Trevor & I have been up to...

We went to see Katy High School win their second State Championship in a row in Houston yesterday- my nephew Cameron is a offensive tackle and one of the Captains of the team. We are so excited for him!! We only made two other games this year, but they were always a lot of fun- Trevor's favorite parts were the cheerleaders and drill team.

We have been busy getting ready for Christmas, seen Santa three times (once at the mall, once at his school, once tonight at church!!!). I have yet to get a picture of him smiling with Santa- he keeps doing this cheesy grin.

We plan on spending Christmas in Austin. Christmas Eve we are planning on having lunch with our friends Melissa, Carleh & Abbie. That evening we will go to church- Oma (my mom) is joining us. Christmas morning will be spent at home and then that afternoon we will go to my brother's house for lunch/dinner with most of my family. Saturday night will be our big get together with everyone- except Christian :( For some reason today has been my day to really miss him a lot. I'm realizing that another holiday is almost here and he isn't. I just have to keep remembering that it is that much closer to him coming home!!

Love,

Sharon

Holiday Greetings from Iraq

Christian's team in Iraq was asked to record a holiday greeting for the folks back home- if you can't figure it out he back left (the one in the Longhorns Santa hat. The second video is his individual video. I promise I will post more pictures soon!!

Post Thanksgiving and Hook'em

Happy Thanksgiving. MAJ Tim McGowan, another member of my team, and I went to a Thanksgiving service lead by the Army’s chief of chaplains. After church it was on to the food. The line at the Sports Oasis DFAC was the longest I’ve ever seen it, though it moved pretty fast. There were lots of decorations, made mostly of Styrofoam or dough. While pretty, some of them didn’t make sense. Outside was an island scene with a waterfall and coconut trees. Inside were a couple of turkeys, a blue dragon (18th Airborne Corp) and a ship. Hmmmmm. Rather than the usual DFAC servers, food was served by our leaders, e.g., generals, colonels and sergeants major. It was a nice touch. Lots of the usual: ham, turkey, dressing, yams, veggies, crab legs, steak, potatoes, pumpkin pie, etc. While not like home, it was good.

I woke up at 4:00 this morning to watch the Texas game. The Longhorns are looking good. I hope it is enough to convince the polls that Texas should stay ahead of ou and that McCoy should win the Heisman. Hook’em.

Happy Thanksgiving from Iraq

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends. We are blessed to have so many people helping us and keeping us in their thoughts and prayers. For that we are truly grateful. While I wish that I could join you all for Thanksgiving, sharing this great American holiday with my military family is not a bad alternative. The dining facilities are going all out. I will send a report after I emerge from my turkey induced coma. Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday.

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, yes, I will be getting up at 4:00 a.m. to watch the Texas vs. a&m game. Hook’em.

Trevorism

Trevor told his Mimi today "White milk comes from cows, chocolate milk comes from pigs"....

"Mommy what's that brown thing?"

Okay, today was the first time I freaked out realizing Christian was not here and wasn't coming home tonight. As Trevor and I are finishing lunch today he asks me what's the brown thing on my shoes- that he has just put on his feet by the way. I assumed it was mud as I had worn them into the backyard yesterday evening. Then I get look Mommy- on the wall. There was the HUGEST, most GIGANTIC tarantula spider I have ever seen!!!

Being a big fraidy cat and not sure if they were poisonous I picked Trevor up and ran out the front door and straight to our neighbors house!! Thank god for them. Marshan looked them up to see if they were poisonous- which they have venom and do bite, but are like a bee sting- unless you are allergic. Which meant Don couldn't help me and I have had a bad reaction to a bee sting- the only one I have had and didn't want to find out today if I am allergic, so now what do I do? (I also called Peter& Anne, but they weren't home). Reality then hit that I couldn't wait for him to come home and help, or even call him to find out what I should do, that I was on my own and I had to deal with it.

Trevor and I walked into the backyard and asked Marcus (one of the landscapers) to come help us. It was kind of cute- Trevor very animatedly explained we had a big problem and there was a big bug in our house and could he come kill it. Thankfully he did and it is gone- this thing was closing in n six inches in diameter- seriously huge and UGLY!! (and if you thought I was going to say I killed it- I would have checked us into a hotel before I went near that thing!!!)

I do have pest control coming back out on Wednesday morning to retreat the house- they were just here a week ago, but I'm not taking any chances!! I will also find out if there is anything we can do to make sure they don't come inside again!! Yuck!!

Just had to share my fun story of the afternoon.... :)

Combat Patches and Food

This past Wednesday we were awarded our right shoulder-sleeve insignia, AKA combat patch. It is one of the ways that the Army distinguishes soldiers who have served in a combat zone and is a matter of great price within the military. COL Smith also gave each of our spouses a US flag that was flown over Al Faw Palace yesterday, Veteran’s Day. Very cool.

Several people have asked me about the food here, so I thought I’d make some notes. All of the DFACs are large aluminum buildings. They sit under an even larger metal cover (think of a carport on steroids) and are surrounded by T-walls (think of an upside down T that’s 10-feet tall and made of concrete). At each entrance are two or more armed guards from Uganda. Their job is to check each person’s ID and prevent uninvited guests. Several years ago a suicide bomber got into a DFAC, causing significant damage. Once inside there are multiple sinks and everyone must wash their hands with this pink soap. Then you waive your ID under a bar-code reader that logs your entry. You pick up a trey, disposable plastic plate (white with three compartments) and a package of plastic utensils. At the IZ there are a few metal utensils. Now it’s time to think about what to eat.

I eat mainly at the “Sports Oasis” dining facility (DFAC), as it is close to the palace. Like all the DFACs I’ve been to, it is essentially a large cafeteria. After you have your plate, you move paste steam tables of food. There is a giro bar; Indian station that has good curry; carving station that usually has pork loin, turkey or corned beef; a salad bar (mostly iceberg lettace—I’m pushing for spinach); a Mexican/Italian station; sandwich bar; burgers and other fried stuff; build-your-own stir fry, and three main lines that serve various entrees and sides. There are also numerous coolers holding bottles of water, canned sodas, boxes of juice or milk, Gatorade, etc. Similarly, there are drink dispensers with tea, punch and juice. There is a soup station. Finally, there is a Baskin Robbins ice cream bar (some make sundaes, others let you build your own), and a pastry station with cookies, pies and cakes. It’s all you can eat which is why people are cautioned that on deployments to Iraq you can get fit or get fat. As regards the quality of the food, it’s somewhat like Luby’s, though without the Luann Platter. It’s OK but a little bland.

While the US government awarded the contract to run the DFACs to an American company—Kellogg, Brown and Root, aka KBR—that company turned around and subcontracted to an Indian company. Thus, all the DFACs are staffed by Indians. I am sad to say that for Halloween, all the DFAC employees were made to wear black witches’ hats. I’m betting they’ll be in Pilgrims’’ hats for Thanksgiving.

As always, thank you for the love and support you show our family.

Happy Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day Daddy!! I love you and miss you. I've been a very good boy this morning and have had very good behavior. I'm wearing my "Got Freedom?" shirt today (the back says compliments of My Dad & The United States Army). I miss you!!

Love,
Trevor

Postcards from Baghdad--November 9, 2008

Well, I’ve been in Baghdad almost a month. It’s my impression that it was once a beautiful city. Sadly, years of war and sanctions have taken their toll. My team is living on the Victory Base Complex, which is located on the west side of the city, adjacent to the Baghdad airport. While I live in a trailer, I work in Al Faw Palace. (Sounds like a country song.) It is part of a complex of palaces and houses on a lake built by Saddam. At one time there were date groves and a zoo surrounding the lake. Today the area has very view trees and no grass. Mostly the area is covered by tan dust. When it rains, the dust turns to a sticky paste. Yuck.

I’ve taken a bunch of pictures of the areas I’ve visited or where I’ve worked, e.g., Al Faw Palace, Republican Presidential Palace (currently the US Embassy). I’ve mailed them to Sharon so they should be posted shortly. I also sent her a video of a naturalization ceremony where 186 service members become US citizens. General Odierno and Ambassador Crocker were the speakers. It was a moving event. These new Americans really understand the value of US citizenship, something too few native-born Americans get. If you’ve never been to a naturalization ceremony, go.

I’ve had little opportunity to get out and about. I want to interact more with the Iraqis and experience their culture but the security situation makes that difficult. That said, this is a very exciting time to be in Iraq. At the end of the year the UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) that gives the coalition legal authority to be in Iraq expires. The US and Iraqi governments are working on a status of forces agreement that reestablishes Iraqi sovereignty and lays out the relationship between the two countries once the UNSCR expires. At the end of January, the Iraqis hold their provincial elections. This will be the first of up to a dozen elections in Iraq over the next year. In short, we have front-row seats to the birth of a democracy. Pretty heady stuff.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Sharon, Trevor and me. All of the kinds words, notes and other and things you've done on our behalf have made such a difference. We are so blessed.

Happy Birthday Papa (Peter)

I have discovered that mailing a box gets there in a week, mailing a card- well, two weeks and counting and he still hasn't seen them!! I've mailed six or seven cards over the past two weeks and he hasn't seen any of them yet. You would think the box would take longer!!

I sit writing this with the keyboard in my lap and the cat laying on top of my hands. As soon as Trevor is in bed she thinks it is her turn!! Trevor has taken to sleeping in a tent he got from his Uncle Mark & Aunt Cheryl for his birthday. He loves it and will actually stay in the tent until I go get him. I've only let him nap in it so far, but tonight I caved and said he could sleep in it. He presented his case- "But Mommy, I have more room in my tent, my bed is so small and I can stretch out more in my tent". Kind of hard to argue with that logic. We will be off to buy his big boy bed soon!!

We are off and running in the morning to birthday parties!! Trevor was invited to three parties tomorrow- we will only be able to make it to two, but I think that should be enough inflatables, pizza and cake for one little boy!!

Happy Election Day- and ONE MONTH DOWN!!

I'm an hour early, but I don't feel like waiting up an hour to post this and I won't have time tomorrow!!

Couple pictures Christian sent along with this:

All is well here. The weather is cooling off nicely, though I'm not a fan of the rain. It turns the fine dust into a sticky goo.

I am attaching a picture taken at the US Embassy, Baghdad, a little over a week ago. They have nice pool. Perhaps if it were not for the drive in a heavily armored vehicle, it might be fun to use it.

The top picture I think is from the ride into Baghdad when they first got there. The brightly colored critter with Christian is Funky Monkey the 2nd. Funky Monkey the 1st resides in Trevor's bed with him. We have taken Monkey the 2nd (or M2) with us on trips we have taken without Trevor or when Christian has had to travel for work. I have enough pictures for an entire photo album of M2's travels. We are wondering if Trevor might ask us one day why M2 got to go to Singapore, Malaysia, cruising the Caribbean, so many military bases I can't name them all, and he didn't!!

ONE MONTH DOWN!! Yeah!! Trevor is adjusting to the changes much better now, he is pretty matter of fact when he tells people that his Daddy has to work in a place that is far away and he can't come home right now. We continue our construction project in the backyard- we got grass today!! It is finally starting to come together. When Christian comes home I am going to have a HUGE party :)

Hopefully most of you were smarter than me and voted early- I will be waiting in line tomorrow morning with everyone else in the world, but given so many people are risking their lives so we can exercise the right to vote, I guess I can wait in a little line for awhile!!

Christian is going to start adding posts to the blog soon. He has finally gotten all of his shipments of stuff in and been able to get everything set up. For now we still haven't had much success with Skype, but they have been promised a faster connection in the next month so hopefully then we will be able to see each other again. The few times we have been successful have been really good for Trevor- and Christian & I!!

I am still trying to get pictures from Halloween of Trevor as Daddy. He loves telling people he was Daddy for Halloween!!

Happy Halloween

Trevor & I talked about that Daddy worked for the Army and he had a very important job helping people, but he has to do his job far away. I also told him that Daddy worked on a computer in a office (just in case he ever does see the news somewhere- I won't watch it while he is awake). I did not mention Iraq. He seemed to accept it and move on.

I hope to have some pictures from Halloween to post soon, unfortunately for me I did not get to take Trevor trick or treating- somehow I managed to get the stomach flu this week. Seems to be getting better, just tired. Mimi & Papa (Christian's parents) have stepped in and have been taking care of Trevor and took him trick or treating tonight. They brought him over by our house to go to the neighbors and I watched through the window. He looked so cute. I've left a bucket of candy on the porch so the kids can self serve- and no, they don't take it all!!

The final choice on Halloween costume was Daddy!! We had talked about being a cowboy or pumpkin and I took him to the store to look at the pumpkin costumes and he saw a skeleton costume he thought was neat, but they didn't have his size. While we were in the store he looked at me and said "Mommy, I want to be Daddy for Halloween this year" and hasn't wavered since. He looks very handsome. I'll post some pictures soon!!

Happy Trick or Treating!!

So how do I explain...

Trevor asked his teacher at school today what his Daddy did at work and who his Daddy worked for and what his boss was like. She told him that he should ask Mommy that. Not having an answer I was relieved that he hasn't asked me yet, but I have no idea how I answer that question.... So far we have answered his questions with honesty, but I'm not sure how much a three year old can understand about the Army and how much I want him to understand???

Way to go Longhorns!!

Well, thankfully the Longhorns pulled out the win on Saturday- it was a exhausting game to be at- way to stressful!!! It was also my 40th birthday, so the win was a nice birthday present!! After the game I went to dinner with our families at Buca di Beppo. We had a really good dinner and a good time- with 17 people there it was a great distraction from turning 40 and Christian not being here!!

I talked to Christian this evening. He is doing well and getting into the routine. He is still working on some issues with his notebook, but I have been promised pictures as soon as he can get them out and I will post them as soon as I can. He was at the US Embassy last week and got stuck there and had to sleep in a tent on the Embassy lawn- I was thinking sleeping bag- maybe a cot. No, these tents were complete with real beds, so he wasn't roughing it too bad!!!

We continue to be working with the backyard construction. It is coming together, but still taking forever. They started on September 23rd and it looks like they might finish week after next!! It has been another good distraction, but I'm ready to get up in the morning and not have five guys walking around my backyard!! I'm also ready to have a backyard Trevor can run around and play in where I don't have to watch his every move like I do in front!!

Updated Address Information

I've updated the mailing address at the bottom on the blog. The other works, but this one is supposed to get things to him faster!! He has gotten two of the three footlockers shipped before he left finally- one was completely destroyed- think heavy duty hard plastic case- called a Guerrilla Box. Not sure how they managed to destroy it, but he said most everything inside seemed intact. Don't know what didn't make the trip yet, so I guess I get to do so more shopping- poor me!! :)

Trevor has decided he wants to be Daddy for Halloween (we have a uniform that he wore for Halloween last year). Thankfully it was too big last year, so hopefully it won't be too small. I've been asking him what he wanted to be for Halloween and he hasn't really said. Yesterday at soccer class his coach asked him what he was going to be for Halloween and he replied without missing a beat- I'm going to be Daddy!!. So I guess that decision has been made!! I was going to try my hand at sewing him some chaps and make him a cowboy costume, but I guess I get a reprieve!! :)

We are in week four of our landscaping adventure. They started on September 23 or 24th- they are doing wonderful work- I will post pictures once they are done, but it is taking FOREVER!! Glad I'm paying by the job and not by the hour!! Things are really coming together and I am very excited to finally have a back yard that Trevor can run and play in.

HOOK'EM HORNS!!

The game tonight was incredible- Tony and I had a great time. We tailgated with friends- thanks to Eric for cooking my lunch!! There was a huge spread of food and good friends. I took my camera with me so I could send Christian pictures and promptly forgot about taking pictures- I think I took one :( I'll have to try and get the ones Gail took.

If you want to see the palace Christian is working at- google Al Faw Palace. There are a bunch of pictures out there and even video on YouTube and a report MSNBC did.

Goodnight & WAY TO GO HORNS!!!

Go LONGHORNS!!!

I am heading out to the UT vs. Missouri game in a little bit- Hook'em Horns!! I wish Christian was here to go with me, but my nephew is going with me so we should have a lot of fun. We are heading out early to make sure we can get in lots of tailgating before the game!!

Trevor & I talked to Christian several times yesterday. We talked to him before he went to bed (morning our time) and then I talked to him as he was getting to work (about 11pm our time) last night. I think I have the times right- it is SO confusing!! He is doing well, his trailer continues to be a sand magnet so he is going to improvise a air purification system with a box fan, air filters and duct tape!!

The palace he is working at is on the water and looks very fancy, but most of the stuff in there is fake (gold leafing, chandeliers). Christian is going to take a picture of himself in a chair that Yasir Arafat gave Saddam. Friday night is Surf & Turf night in Iraq so he had crab & scallops- said they were actually pretty good- better than he expected (though I don't think expectations were high!!).

Trevor is adjusting- his behavior has been less than stellar, but is improving. When he was in trouble the other day he ran away from me into his playroom. When I followed him in there he said "You get out of here Woman". If there was ever a time I thought about corporal punishment that was it!! Yesterday he was sweet as could be though, so I'm hoping we are on the road to adjusting to Daddy being gone.

Time to get ready- HOOK'EM HORNS!!