Successful Deployment Day

Drew is officially off to Iraq!! You may think the exclamation points are superficial, but we are honestly so excited! The best way we can describe it is that you practice all year but never get to play a game. Well game day is here and the clock has started!! We are excited for Drew to serve his country this year and get home safely. Today went really well. We had about 3 hours overall to hang out up at the company between formations to check various things such as gear, dog tags, ID cards, weapons...etc. It was neat to see the soldiers preparing last minute details for their deployment. Drew and I were emotionally prepared for the day but of course we both shared tears, hugs and kisses. And yes, I gave him hugs and kisses for everyone in our family, our friends, and then some! I am going to miss my big man but I am so proud of his service. We will now look forward to the little things like the next email or phone call. I was reassured again of our sacrifice last night when we came home from running errands. One of our neighbors had tons of posters up on their garage door welcoming "Daddy" home and two little kids were running around the yard with their dad. Very cool. I mentioned this in an earlier post but it really eases the sadness of not seeing Drew for a period of time knowing another family is getting their soldier home upon Drew's departure. Drew cannot say it enough but he feels so lucky to have the love and support of our family and friends. And I have to say- this week was so neat. This experience has been a great opportunity for our family and friends to share their thoughts and show how much they care. Thank you to everyone for your warm wishes, thoughts, and prayers. Drew jokingly told me that he thinks he could fly on his own to Iraq using his angel wings that he has grown from all of the love and prayers. :) Saying thanks does not do our appreciation justice, but thank you from the bottom of my heart! This is an opportunity to see the strength and love of our loved ones shine through... and it sure has!! And now, for what you really want to see: the pictures!

This is from Drew's last day of work which was Tuesday. He was off Wed and reported to deploy today. (obviously)

Drew asked me to shave his head last night so he is now bald!


Drew showing up at the company and unpacking his bags.

Drew added his bags to the stack.


Do you see him yet? :)

This is his weapon.

Thanks again to everyone. We have officially begun a new chapter in this Army Adventure.

Gearing Up for Deployment

We are down to the wire for Drew's deployment. He leaves on Thursday. This morning I jokingly asked Drew what he was doing this week and he casually responded that he is headed to Iraq. Pretty cool if you think about it. Last year Drew turned 30 and this year he will celebrate his birthday in Iraq. A year sounds like a long time to be at war and apart from each other but a year flies by!

This week I've had a lot of fun getting to know our new friends, neighbors, and Army wives better. I volunteered to be a point of contact (POC) for the brigade. So once a month I will call about 5 or 6 wives to make sure their numbers are correct so we can get a hold of them if we need to give them company updates. I'll have to take a class soon and be registered to serve as a POC. I figure it is the least I can do! I'm happy to help in anyway possible. We are also planning to have get togethers about once a month. We are already planning what we can do or make to send our husbands. Girls are not allowed in the infantry division so don't think I'm not recognizing the women- it's just that there aren't any in Drew's group. So when I say we'll send our husbands things, it's just husbands so you know. :)

Last night we had a really fun night in downtown Savannah. We went out with 2 couples who live in our neighborhood. We were all responsible and got hotel rooms ahead of time because we knew we might tie one on. And yes, we did! :) It was a really nice time. We (the girls) are making plans for when the boys are gone. We have to stick together! I also was able to catch up with our neighbors more this week. They are more than happy to help if I need anything while Drew is gone. I might take them up on the offer of watching the dogs if I have a business trip. One wife gave me good advice in that if people offer to help me I should take them up on it. So I will!

So for the next couple of days it will be more Drew and Jess time. Drew doesn't report back to work until Tuesday. Tues and Wed should be fairly short days as they have everything packed up and ready to go. Then Thursday I will take Drew to work and send him on his way. I don't really like to think of it as saying our goodbyes because it is more a see you later. :) I also find comfort in that as I see Drew off, another family sees their soldier come home. I'm proud of my soldier and look forward to the day that I see him come home again to me. I can't say it enough. Thanks for all of your love and support. It's an emotionally charged time for everyone but it really does ease Drew's mind to leave knowing I am in good hands. As my mom told Drew- we've got her back. :) And he is in good hands over there with the love and support he has here. With the technology today, we will be able to see each other while we talk. That is pretty neat! We think of our grandparents who had to write letters and wait to hear from a loved one. I'll still have to wait but will be able to correspond so much easier. I told Drew he'll be my favorite pen pal. :) I'll be sure to take pictures of Drew on Thursday and will update you soon.

Everyone says they like pictures so here a couple from this week. Jake is definitely a Daddy's boy at heart. With Drew leaving we have been bending the rules a little bit with Jake getting on the couch. Shhh... don't tell mom. :)

Here is one from last night. Another wife took all of the pictures which I will get soon but here is one I have. Sorry it is so dark.

I won't post the small pox vaccination picture... Gross!

Family Meeting Update

Wanted to give everyone a quick update. As we get closer to deployment I may post more often so you are up to date. I sent an email to our immediate family this morning after our family readiness meeting last night but know many of you are anxious to learn more details as well. So here is the just of what I sent them:

My job as Drew’s publicist is starting to pick up again. :) We had a great meeting on base last night. Drew and I had a date night as we like to call it where we went to the family readiness group meeting. It was cute because the volunteer wives call to remind you and also email you. They definitely keep you connected! I am going to email them today to let them know I am happy to help where they need me. But anyway, the meeting was awesome! The information was helpful but it was even more special to see a huge ballroom size room full of people that were there to support their soldiers. I felt really proud to be standing by Drew’s side as his wife. It’s empowering!!!! Definitely a neat thing to be a part of. I met some more wives and was able to see friends I have already met. I’m already in good hands with the support of our family and friends but definitely have a good network here too. I went through a fragile, emotional time before this deployment but now I am excited, proud, and ready to get this show on the road!

At the meeting, we were able to see pictures of where Drew will be living, the recreational sports fields, the dining hall, the grocery store, the coffee shop…etc. It seems to be a pretty good set up. And… even better….the base is set up with full internet and phone access. Now, having said that, Drew will not be able to call or email all day long but it sounds like the communication system is pretty advanced. And once they get over there, they have to test it, but they may have personalized internet available so Drew could have his own internet on his laptop in his room which would be awesome!! But we have to see.

Drew’s window for deployment is somewhere between Wednesday and Sunday of next week. His boss said to plan on leaving the 28th and every day you get after that consider it a bonus. I will take Drew to work that day (whatever day that may be), hang out around the company, they will give us a ten minute warning for final goodbyes, and Drew will then get on the bus. They then have to make a few more stops around base to finish their packing and signing out, and they are off to the airport. He will be traveling for about 24 hours but I should be able to hear from him hopefully within 48 hours of leaving. YAY!! Obviously, things happen and they may get there and have meetings, but I’ll at least hear from him soon.

I know everyone wants to start sending packages but we have to wait a little bit to do that. Drew and I have been talking about how to coordinate that and have heard some helpful hints on how to organize efforts from other Army wives. But we can talk about that a little bit later. :)

This is a pretty neat experience! Not everyone can say their husband served his country in Iraq. Not to mention, Drew is going down in history as the last of the troops to support the locals and leave Iraq. That is awesome. If you can’t tell, I am damn proud.

Fall is Here

Fall weather has finally reached Georgia. It is gorgeous outside! All weekend has been sunny and in the sixties! We are loving the jeans and sweatshirt weather. Last night we went to the local seafood festival about five minutes from our house. We jumped on a shuttle at the top of our street and spent the night tasting all of the local seafood. It is a huge bragging rights event so we got to enjoy great food for great prices while restaurants compete for the trophy. They also had a fair with all the rides and a good band. It made for a fun date night. The cooler weather also makes watching football more fun and we had to make chili. If you can't tell, Drew and I have been relaxing and enjoying our time together.

This morning I was brushing my teeth and walked out into the family room to tell Drew that he deploys next week. That realization was a big one. So next week Drew goes to war. Talk about a loaded sentence!!! In this case it is not a saying but a truth. Drew gets to fulfill his dream of serving his country. I could not be more proud. Proud is not a strong enough word. But the time before deployment is winding down. He'll have a four day weekend this coming weekend and he will likely then leave next week. We don't know a specific date and may not know one until the day arrives. But we are ready to get the clock started! I know I have said it before but we are ready to get Drew over there so he can get home.

Last week Drew finished getting all of his shots and taking care of last minute details. Besides packing up the last of his things he is ready to go. Tomorrow night we have a family meeting on base which will be another good opportunity for me to meet more wives. Everyone I have met so far is nothing but nice. We will keep you posted if we learn more. So the plan for this week: spend more time together!

Last of the Family Visits

Pete and Ashley's visit this weekend rounded out the last of the family visits. We had great weather and they were able to stay an entire extra day thanks to Columbus Day. Drew also had a four day weekend so we picked them up Friday morning and didn't have to return them until this morning. We were in three states in 3 days- Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. We hit Jekyll Island, Tybee Beach, Savannah, and Hilton Head. As always when Pete and Drew get together there were lots of laughs! And Ashley and I just laugh which only instigates more jokes so they just kept coming. Really a nice visit!
Now that the family visits have come and gone, deployment is getting more and more real. Only about 2 weeks left before Drew leaves. As I have told my family, I am definitely fragile. It is quite an emotional thing to say the least! But in the same breath I must say that we are as prepared as we can be and are ready to start the clock. Drew wants to get going so he can get home. In the next couple of weeks we are getting prepared and running lots of little errands. At work he will get more vaccines and should have fairly short work days. Everyone there wants as much time with their wives and families before they leave. Like I have said before, thank you to everyone for your outpouring of love and support. We couldn't do it without you. And Drew feels so much better leaving too knowing I will be well taken care of between our family and friends. So thanks again.

Here are a couple of pictures from this weekend. We took most of the pictures with Ashley's camera so I will share more once I get those. She has cute ones! Here are some of us hanging out on Friday night after a fun day at the beach.

Continued Training

Just a quick update this week. Drew has been in training this past week and continues with it this week. He is having fun and is excited to shoot this week. He is expecting to deploy in late October. We are gobbling up every minute together! This weekend we went to a festival in downtown Savannah with a couple of Drew's new friends that was really fun. We also checked out the neighborhood pool which turned out to be really nice. We always head straight to the beach but found the pool to be great. We are especially excited because Pete and Ashley are headed down here this coming weekend!! They will be here Friday through Monday. They are the last of the family to come visit before Drew leaves. We can't wait to spend time with them! More to follow next week but wanted to update everyone quickly. Drew is excited to deploy and serve his country. More training this week and the work days should then get shorter before he leaves. Drew and I plan to spend as much time together as possible. It is a new experience for us to plan for such a long time apart with Drew at war but we feel as prepared as possible. We are lucky to have a strong relationship and the support of our family and friends. Thank you for your support. More next week!