November

Wow. November. This month has been filled with a trip to St. Louis, family, friends, good food, lots of laughter, love, hugs, get-togethers, and celebration. In between there was a lot of hunting and oh yeah- that work thing too. Drew was off basically the entire month and luckily I can work from anywhere so we spent three weeks in St. Louis. Drew checked back in the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, worked one day, then we enjoyed another four day weekend together. I say he definitely deserves some time off after working for a year straight! Here are some pictures.

We started off the trip by going to Rockbridge. We had a great time trout fishing, shooting, relaxing, and eating great meals at the lodge with my parents and my brother-in-law Wade. We missed Sarah but she is swamped with school and work but she joined us the next weekend. :)




We then came back in time for Drew's homecoming party. We had a great time seeing family and friends. It was truly a compliment to Drew to see how many people made an effort to be there. Thank you!














We then headed to the farm for deer hunting and good times.


Hard to believe we'll be going back in just a few short weeks. I'm back on the blogging wagon so I will try to blog weekly like I used to. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Back to "Normal"

It's back to "normal" at the Harris House. I put the quotes around normal because what is normal anyway? If "normal" married life consists of date nights, grocery shopping, working out, hanging out, cleaning the house, sitting on the couch, petting the dogs, cutting the grass... I'd say we are pretty normal. It is so nice to have him home. And to have him home for an extended period of time is even better!! He should be home for at least a year which is too much for me to wrap my head around. If I get him for six consecutive months that is fantastic! I've learned to be flexible but one thing is for sure: We made it through our first year long deployment. Woo hoo!
Drew has been going into work for his reintegration classes which are not bad all. He gets home between 10:30am and noon so we can't complain. It's just a ton of briefings and getting everything up to date. Those should finish up this week and next week we'll be headed to St. Louis.
The first weekend Drew was home we went to Hooters with all of our neighbors then headed to a local seafood festival on Saturday. Like I said: pretty normal. And surprisingly no- Hooters was not our idea. ;)

This is Drew and Jonathan. They work together and he lives in our neighborhood.


So happy to be drinking beer together again. At Hooters nonetheless. LOL.


Then hanging out in the neighbor's garage. I told you about hanging out in garages a long time ago but it is still so funny to me.


This is another couple. Drew works with Chris who was one of his closest friends in Iraq. We were at the seafood festival. It's fun because you ride a school bus from the top of our street over to the park.


Then last weekend Drew wanted to have a BBQ with his group of friends from Iraq. It was really fun to meet all of the guys who Drew often referenced in our daily discussions.

Here's a group shot of the guys. It's a bit of a different friendship when you are at war together. They're good guys. Crazy to think Drew spent the last year with them. At one point it hit me when I asked one guy what it was like living with my husband!? Funny that these guys spent more time with my husband this last year than I did! :) Proud of Drew and the sacrifices he made.


So happy to be together and have things back to "normal" again. Looking forward to our trip to St. Louis!

Homecoming Poem and Pictures

Drew is HOME. I had picked him up and he was back home with the dogs by 8AM EST on Tuesday morning. We have not stopped smiling since. :) I will post more details about the homecoming soon but wanted to share a poem and pictures with you. When Drew deployed in October 2009, Gram (aka Marilyn Harris) wrote Drew this poem:

To Andrew

The son of William. Grandson of Denzel and Carl
With patriotic lineage in your veins
The yearning for universal peace reigns.

You proudly serve, next in line, our warrior
Destiny has placed you in this time and place
To protect your country and the human race.

May the love of your family
Enfold you in our arms each day
And shelter you from harms way.

When day breaks on foreign soil
Or you look to the twinkling stars at night
Know God has you in his sight.

Earlier this week Gram shared this poem which she wrote now that he has completed his year long deployment.

You have completed your mission with honor and grace
Still in your mouth, the grit of desert sand
As others before you, with faith in God, you are a stronger man.

Prayers have been answered, open arms await your return
You heard the sound of battle and felt the fear of men
Now you the desert waste behind to return home again.

Forever bearing the indelible mark of the warrior
From the strife you rest.....lay down your gun
Hear the praise from a grateful nation..."Job well done".

Thank you Gram for finding the words when I didn't have them. Love you!

Here are a couple of pictures from the day.

Got him!


He doesn't look too bad after 14 hours in the air. :)


Picking up his bags.




As always the boys were sooo happy to see him.


Again, more to come soon!

Heading Home

Drew flies out tonight/tomorrow from Kirkuk! Tonight our time and tomorrow morning his time. :) I could do a long spiel about how excited we are but I am not going to spend time trying to wrap words around this one. Saying he is heading home is emotion-packed enough so I hope you get the picture. :) He should be home Sun-Tues but we are thinking Tuesday. We don't even care. As long as he is on his way we are ecstatic! He had his last mission on 9/30 so this week he has been able to relax, work out, hang out, clean, and pack. Yesterday they had an 8 mile run where they carry a huge log around the base above their heads. Drew loved it and had so much fun. It really started hitting him when they did the run since it marked the last thing to do in Kirkuk as a company. I will let you know when he is home. :) Sorry for the short post just really trying to remain somewhat calm so I can function!!

End of Tour Ceremony

We've made it to the end of tour ceremony. This is exactly how it sounds. Drew's group has reached the end of their tour so they get together to give out awards, reflect on the past year, and highlight successes of the deployment. Below are a couple of pictures from the ceremony.
Here's a picture from the day. Many groups were present.


This is a picture of B-Co. which is Drew's group. Don't strain your eyes too badly as you can't see Drew in this picture anyway. He took a look at it and said he is somewhere in the middle of the group behind the flag. I told him he needs to be more conscious and make a better effort to make it into pictures. (Yeah right!) I told him he could at least give me an arm, ear, nose... something! :)


The great news is that in about 10 days I will no longer have to search for him in pictures. He will be right next to me! The latest is that he should leave Iraq on the 7th and be home NEXT weekend. Wow. We'll see if anything changes but we are close. Really close. Drew leaves Iraq in a week from tomorrow. He got back from checkpoint today and only has a handful of missions left. The new group is in the process of taking over so Drew could be relieved of his duties VERY soon. I'll keep you posted.
Today Drew was awarded a ceremonial coin from his boss. The first sergeant awarded five guys (out of everyone) a special coin that signifies the soldier has worked hard this past year. Drew was not expecting it which made the recognition a nice surprise. His boss basically said he cannot wait to see what Drew will accomplish. Neat. Proud of him!
On a cute side note- Today I found two dozen roses at my door from Drew. :) Before he left he came home one night with a dozen roses and told me there was one for every month he would be gone. To be at the point where he now sent two dozen to celebrate that we made it and he will be home soon is overwhelming. Overwhelming in a good way of course. :) Feel so lucky to have him.
Stay tuned for more homecoming details!

Two Weeks

We are really getting down to the wire here. Drew should be HOME in TWO WEEKS!!! I truly cannot believe that Drew himself will be here in our house in two weeks. A year long deployment is about to be behind us. Wow. I went to a meeting on base last night where I learned all of the details. Of course everything is tentative but one thing is a fact: It is a matter of weeks until my big man is home! He is in Main Body One meaning he is in the first group out. The first group will be HOME on October 7th give or take four days in either direction. The way it works, without getting into too many details, is I will get a phone call sometime during that week giving me a 24 hour notice before I need to be at Fort Stewart where Drew and his group will parade on the field, have a 10 minute ceremony, and he will be released. Woo hoo!! The same phone call gives me a flight number so I know when Drew should land, check in, and bus on over to the ceremony. Luckily Drew has his cell phone with him which we will reactivate. That way he can also call me when he lands. As I told my family this morning, I am wound pretty tight. I was cleaning the shower with a toothbrush this morning when I was talking to my mom. I go from butterflies in the mdidle of the night to the lump in my throat to tears in my eyes to trying to focus on work to understanding that we are going to realize the dream of being together again so soon. So soon.
The other good news is that Drew has internet in the tents. We have continued to be able to see each other and talk through the computer which is really nice. It is a little different in tents with so many guys in one room so Drew has to talk quietly but he is in good spirits. He was recently moved to a different platoon to be a team leader. At first he didn't want to switch groups because he has come a long way this year with those guys, but he really likes the new group. He has more responsibility with this group too which makes him even busier but busier means the time goes by more quickly. He is on checkpoint now and thinks he only has a handful of missions left. Two weeks. I seem to be measuring everything in Drew arrival time. I see due dates for work and think Drew will be home when I complete that report, or Drew will be home when I have that meeting. I see expiration dates on food and think that will still be good when Drew is home. When I mow the grass I think I will only mow two more times, I will only run this many times, there is only ONE Mizzou football game left before Drew could be home. This is insane. As you can tell, it is front and center. Can't wait. Here's another example.. if I blog once a week, I only have one more blog left and the next week MIGHT be a blog about Drew coming home. Can't wait. Also, last time when Drew came home for R&R some of you sent cards for Drew to open. I will be setting up another table with cards that Drew will see when he gets HOME. You definitely do NOT have to send anything but feel free to send anything you would like our way and I will make sure he gets it. And we love pictures for the fridge too if the kids want to update their artwork. :) This is the fun time! We plan to come back to St. Louis in November where we look forward to seeing friends and family, but if you want him to see your note ahead of time go for it! If you need our address just let me know. Again, you do NOT have to send anything but wanted you to know you are more than welcome to. Thank you for all of your love and support this year.

Moving Out

Drew is moving out! This week Drew will move out of his CHU and into the tents. Today he is on checkpoint, tomorrow he will have final room inspections, and Thursday he will be living in the tents. It is basically a huge tent/gym almost with tons of bunks. Drew said today that there will only be one guy to a bunk so that makes it a little better. I remember in basic training when Drew made a deal with his bunk-mate so that they helped each other make their bed each day because it was more efficient and they could sleep in a minute longer. Drew is always thinking isn't he? :) Anyway, he should have his own set of bunk beds which would make it a little nicer for him. He should be in tents for a couple of weeks while he trains the new guys... then he is on his way home! Hard to believe Drew should be home in about 4 weeks. 4 WEEKS. We can do that! So it's back to calling cards from a community phone instead of the luxury of the internet but we are on the same page in that this is truly a step in the process to get him HOME.
Because we are getting down to the wire, they are keeping the guys busy. Today they played a game of football which Drew of course enjoyed. He took pictures but again, he already sent his camera cord home so I will have to share those later. So overall sequence of events:
This week: Move Into the Tents
Two Weeks After That: Train new guys in assist and advise role to IPs
4th Week: Come on Home!!!!!!!!!!
Tomorrow is already the 15th....;)

Next Month

So happy that we are already 7 days into September. What are we up to next month? Oh no big deal... my husband is just coming home from war after being gone for a year... should be a nice time. I mean really who are we kidding here? Even when I talk to business colleagues I can't help stifle my excitement. What part of coming home from war after a year-long deployment sounds calm? Anyway, at this point, as you can tell, we are focused on October. Drew is preparing for his relief to arrive around Sept 15th. They'll then move to tents, teach the guys how to do what they have been doing, then come on home! They call it redeploying which confuses me every time I hear it. I catch myself immediately thinking let them get home before we start talking about redeploying but they call coming home redeploying. WHEW. Get that man home before we talk about the next deployment. :) Just FYI in case you hear our guys are redeploying.
You may not have noticed but on 8/31 and 9/1 when we were switching to Operation New Dawn, the news media borrowed Drew's company's banner so Drew's company was highlighted for over 24 hours on multiple news sites. Kind of fun!
That is about it from the Harris homefront. Counting the days... we are more than ready to be together. We are heart sick to say the least but we are so excited at the same time. I said it last week but truly... just trying to be calm. Patience is a virtue, right? :) Oh, and as a side note, Drew packed his camera cord and already sent it home so no more pictures from him. He is looking for pictures from other guys but I apologize for not having pictures.

Our Anniversary

Today Drew and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. Three happy years of marriage. Funny where life can take you in such a short time. We were able to talk and say hi but I tell you what- having an anniversary apart after being at war for over 10 months makes you really miss each other! Of course we shared dreams of having date nights when he gets back but we were definitely missing each other today. Today was the official wedding ceremony then tomorrow was the day we had our reception. We can't do anything by the book can we? :)
In other MUCH MORE exciting news... Drew should leave Iraq in about 35 days. He should leave around October 5th and be home as soon as October 11th. His boss said they'll be home between October 11th and October 24th but if he was a betting man he would say they'll be here by the 15th. Oh geez. This truly is the most difficult test of patience we have ever experienced. We are trying to stay focused on the day to day and luckily we are both busy with work. We just need calm... but it is hard to be calm!!!
President Obama will talk tonight on Operation New Dawn which begins tomorrow. Unfortunately, the terrorists are using the increased press coverage in Iraq as an opportunity to highlight their most recent attacks. Activity has picked up so please keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers. Tomorrow we'll be able to say Drew will be home next month. :)

Operation New Dawn

As you could tell from my brief post last week about the media,the story that was posted about combat troops leaving Iraq caused some confusion. Family and coworkers called to ask if Drew was coming home early because they saw that the last combat troops were in Kuwait on their way home. There is some truth to the news story but nothing has changed for Drew. On September 1st, Operation Iraqi Freedom will officially end and Operation New Dawn will begin. The difference is that under Iraqi Freedom, we had Brigade Combat Teams but under New Dawn, we have Advise and Assist Brigades. So yes, the last "Combat" team left in August and every unit will transition to an Advise and Assist Unit. It's a technicality that made for confusion and some frustrated military families because their guys are still doing the same thing they were before which is far from office work. Drew has always operated as an advise and assist unit, meaning the Iraqi Police are in the lead and our guys accompany them and support them. As Drew's boss explained to us: Our guys will still leave the base with body armor on, with loaded weapons, and are definitely still at risk of being attacked, but instead of US Army-led operations, soldiers here will only be accompanying Iraqis on operations when they ask us to from here on out. So don't get too frustrated with the news since there is some truth to every story, but nothing has changed for Drew.
Drew did some neat things this week such as a Humanitarian Aid drop where the soldiers handed out 50 pound bags of food to locals. It was neat in that our guys were helping these women who had tears of joy in their eyes while they carried their bags of food away to their families. It's neat we can do these things too.
Drew is absolutely swamped with his schedule of missions, checkpoints, trainings, gear layouts, packing... etc. When it starts to wear on him we just remind each other that this is the final push until we are together again. He will move into tents in a couple of weeks which means no more internet for us. It is so nice being able to see each other, email, text message...etc via Skype and email but again, it is just one step closer to him coming home. He moves out of his room so the new guys move in and they begin training them to take over their roles. We probably will not be able to talk as often since he will have to go find a phone each time and his schedule right now doesn't leave him much down time, but we'll make it work. I don't neceassarily love that he is losing internet or will be in a bunk bed again with a room full of bunk beds, but I do LOVE that he will be home in 8 1/2 weeks.

Latest News Story on Troops Leaving Iraq

Thought I would put this here since I am already getting questions. No, Drew is not on his way home. He is still in Iraq and does not come back until October. And yes, guys are showing up to replace his unit and they are not only doing office work. If you have questions, please see me... not the media. ;) Thanks for your support!

Less Than 10 Weeks

Less than 10 weeks now until Drew comes home! (Tentatively!) I am going to venture out there and say we really are in the home stretch now. I decided I am allowed to start counting at 10 so I am now counting down the weeks! Drew is staying focused on the work he still needs to do there but he is also getting very excited. So much to look forward to!
Right now it is Ramadan in Kirkuk. As I learned from Drew's boss, Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and it’s the month when the Qur’an was revealed to the Islamic prophet, Mohammed. The most prominent activity during Ramadan is fasting from dawn to sunset, abstaining from food, water, and smoking. All physically-able Muslims are required to fast for the entire month. The intent here is for Muslims to come together at night for community meals, spiritual reflection, and ultimately to change their lifestyles to establish healthier habits (particularly with regards to diets and smoking).
In years past, this presented an opportunity for the bad guys to come out at night and attack while everyone was gathered. This is the first year where Ramadan has taken place in the heat of the summer. (They have a different calendar so it gets earlier and earlier every year.)Because it is so hot and they are not allowed to eat or drink, people are passing out from the heat of the day. Our guys observe Ramadan when on patrol to be respectful, but that only means not eating or drinking for a few hours for our guys. These poor guys are not drinking any water in the middle of the desert! Anyway, Drew's boss doesn't see the threat he has seen in years past because everyone is exhausted. But of course, they are still taking their normal security precautions.
Drew also had a PT test yesterday and did the best he has ever done. He got a 281 which is great! He has been working out a ton and increasing his endurance so he was pleased with his score. The other guys did well too so they will no longer monitor their food and exercise. Good!
Drew's promotion to SPC made the company newsletter. They also have a picture from their BBQ which I have already shared with you. I wasn't expecting to see his picture when I read it. I love when I stumble across his picture. Proud of him!

Another Week Down and Another Week Closer

Another week down. Drew and I were saying again how quickly these weeks are going. We are both so busy with work that all of a sudden we look up and another week is starting. Drew continues his brutal schedule of checkpoints and missions. He just got back from a 24 hour checkpoint and will be going again tomorrow. He said every other day but we are really starting to feel it when it is non-stop. Drew has enjoyed the company of a unit that has been with them for the past week and a half. The small group goes on missions with them and looks for innovative ways to ehance the process. Drew likes the guys and of course is impressed with their equipment. Drew is a little boy at heart. He loves when he gets new equipment and loves learning about it. He was recently asked to be on a small task force and he gets new toys for it. He is of course excited and is looking forward to the special mission. They're trying to stop the rockets being shot at the base which are progressively getting bigger and closer. It would be great if they could stop them. He is so brave.

Here is a picture from last week when Drew was pinned as a specialist.


This is a picture I thought was interesting. It has been about 135 even though it is supposed to cool off soon. Drew isn't in this picture but you can see the heat coming off of everything. Geez!


I had a great time seeing Pete and Ashley in Tybee yesterday. Ashley's family has rented a fabulous house in Tybee equipped with a pool. Such a tough life trying to decide whether to sit by the pool or the ocean. :) They are going to have a GREAT week! The weather is back into the 90s compared to the 110s and the breeze is fantastic. The sand dollars are everywhere which makes swimming fun. Lots of talk about Drew as everyone is excited for him to come home. I hope to meet up with them in Savannah later this week. It is always nice to have family around!

SPC Harris

So proud of Drew!! He was promoted to Specialist this week! Before going on 24 hour checkpoint he earned his pin in front of the group. As you'll remember, Drew wanted to earn his way up so he is no longer a Private First Class. YAY! His boss put his new pin on him and the guys took turns punching the pin into his chest and telling him congratulations. Drew was surprised when all of the guys told him how well-deserving he was and that he earned it. His boss had to put in paperwork months ago because it is an out of cycle promotion but they wanted Drew to get it... and he did!! Very neat. Drew is so happy he is now a SPC! I am so happy he was recognized for all of his hard work. Definitely deserved it. I don't have pictures yet of him getting pinned but he does have them! This week is a little crazy with the multiple missions and checkpoints but I will post them when I get them. I do have other pictures this week though!

Here is a recent picture of Drew.


This is one from his team barbecue. His boss has been holding barbecues for team building and relaxing. Drew enjoys them...now if only they could have a beer with the burger too. :) This picture is funny because the wind was at their backs so it looks like they all have bellies. If anything Drew is much thinner so there is no belly there!


In other news... NO MORE ROOMMATE!! Drew now has a room to himself! It is sooooo nice for him to have his own room. We can't guarantee how long it will last but Drew is definitely enjoying it for as long as he can.

I am starting to receive communications about dates for when Drew will be home. Don't they know I need to breathe on a daily basis?!? Hard to cocentrate when you get emails to tell you to start planning their return! Drew spent a long time filling out leave paperwork today. Oh geez!!!! BREATHE. Love it. Best thing E-V-E-R.

One last side note- Can't wait to see my brother and sister-in-law on Saturday! Really looking forward to it. :)

Day Off

Today Drew enjoyed a well-deserved DAY OFF. Thank goodness!! He has had a busy schedule of 24 hour checkpoints, multiple missions, skipped meals... etc. He woke up at 2am this morning to head out to the trucks only to find other guys getting into his truck. When he asked his boss what was going on he was informed he had the morning mission off AND 24 checkpoint! YAY!! He needed it. It wears on you pretty quickly when it is non-stop like that. He has been fortunate to be able to sleep during his breaks at the checkpoint but they changed the schedule this last time and he was unable to sleep. No fun. He is a new person I tell ya! :) His group started back up with the ruck marches and they have continued that. Part of their training to get their expert infantry badge later this year includes a 12 mile ruck march so I guess they are getting a head start. Drew really likes rucking though and looks forward to it. Tomorrow morning he is going again even though he is technically off. Oh yes... that 12 mile ruck will be later this year when he is HOME!! Get used to it blog readers. I'm just warning you now. There will be lots of talk about Drew coming home in the next few months. Oh wait! Not even three months!! YEP! We hit the three month mark until he is home last weekend so we can now say LESS THAN 3 MONTHS!!!!! Ok, enough of that. Can't breathe. :)
I have asked Drew numerous times for pictures but his internet is so slow when he does try or he is so busy he doesn't think of it. He said he will send some this week but I will believe it when I see it! In the meantime I guess I will share my pictures from this weekend. Last minute I decided to go to Myrtle Beach with one of the girls, Rachel. She was going to pick up her mom and staying for Saturday night so I joined her. Might as well do something to pass the time! It was really nice there. Our condo was right on the beach and it had a really neat lazy river pool thing. We enjoyed beach time then headed to a neat restaurant on an inter-coastal waterway and went to a fun bar right on the beach. Tomorrow I am actually headed to a Dave Matthews concert in Atlanta. I feel like I am going back in time to high school in going to the concert but my neighbor invited me and I said why not?! I am going with her (my neighbor) and my friend who lives in Atlanta. I loved living in Atlanta when Drew was in training at Fort Benning and I love going back to visit. It should be a nice time. Drew and I were saying how quickly we feel July went so here is to a very quick next (less than) 3 months!!

Rachel and I getting ready at the condo. It kind of reminded me of Destin.


This is Rachel's daughter Gia. We played "beauty shop" and I curled her hair too and put on make-up. She is so cute! She didn't come out to the bar with us obviously but her cousins took her to get ice cream. :)


This was at dinner on the river.


More pictures of Drew as soon as I have them. I promise!

Late Post

I can't believe it is already July 19th. I realized I hadn't posted anything since the 8th but it feels like it was just my birthday. I guess time going by quickly is a good thing. Drew's boss is already counting down the days until the guys parade onto the field. We are at 90 something days left. It is great to think about Drew being home soon. Great doesn't even explain it. Anyway, it is also hard to already be talking about it. Drew started to get antsy to come home this week with so much talk of the homecoming. He is filling out leave forms, learning about what will happen when he gets back, and dreaming of being together again. We also need to stay strong and focused and plow through the last 90 days. That is exactly where we are now. We are energized and focused and ready to rock the rest of this deployment. Drew learned he isn't going to have a choice in concentrating. Beginning tomorrow, his schedule is getting crazy again. They are consolidating 4 groups into 3 so the 3 groups will now cover the workload the 4 groups used to. He will have two missions one day and the next day he will have a mission followed by a 24 hour checkpoint. This will continue until the boots are on the ground back here in GA. Drew is rather optimistic about it. He knows this is the final push until he is back home and we both know time flies with the hectic schedule. We just have to steal our moments when we can.
Drew is even more excited to come home now because his new bow arrived today. Well, it arrived here so I spent much time analyzing it, taking pictures to send him, and holding it up to the camera for Drew to see. I believe I accurately performed the assessment and Drew is quite happy with it. :) He spent a ton of time reviewing which bow to get and found a great deal. When he gets back we will head to the bow shop and outfit it with all of the bells and whistles. Before we know it we will be hunting together. Can't wait! I have been reminding Drew to take pictures daily so I will share when I have some.

Independence Day and My Birthday

Happy 4th of July! I read a few interesting takes on the holiday that you shouldn't say Happy 4th of July but that you should focus on the fact that it is Independence Day. I think both are important. 4th of July bring memories of family, friends, fun, food, and fireworks. Just realized those all start with F. :) But it is also a time to appreciate and thank the men and women that sacrificed so much before us, are currently serving, and those that will continue to fight for our freedom and the luxuries we enjoy each day. So Happy 4th of July and Independence Day! How about that?
I had SUCH a great holiday weekend. Soooo much fun! The only thing that would have made it perfect would have been if Drew could join us but soon enough. My parents arrived on Wednesday evening and didn't have to leave until Tuesday morning. So nice! Thursday we played total tourists in Savannah. We went on the trolley tour which was really interesting and fun but it didn't stop there. It started to rain so I bought an obnoxious poncho that literally looks like the plastic that comes when you pick up your dry cleaning. Even the trolley guy commented to the whole trolley how nice our ponchos were. Dad was too cool to wear his but Mom and I rocked it. If that wasn't bad enough, I needed a baseball hat because my hair was a mess with the rain. Oh yes, I got a hat that said Savannah. So between my Savannah hat, dry cleaning poncho, and my trolley sticker, I looked so cool. :) That was the extent of our "bad" weather. Wouldn't even call it bad weather actually. It was in the low 80s so we didn't complain. We also stopped by Tybee on Thursday. Friday we headed to Jekyll Island for three nights. AMAZING! The weather was soooo nice. We rode bikes, fished, walked on the beach, went on a shrimp boat to watch fireworks... the works. Like I said, would have been perfect with Drew there but it was pretty darn close!! Drew of course was so cute on my birthday on Monday. His roommate came over to tell me Happy Birthday when I was talking to Drew and I asked Drew if he had just told him. He said he had told everyone he talked to that it was my birthday. We tend to miss each other like crazy on special occasions so I wasn't surprised. :) Can't wait to make up for every missed occasion.
Notice Dad's trolley sticker. My sticker stuck to my poncho when I took it off. Darn!


Here are the three of us at a restaurant in Jekyll.


We found a new place to catch flounder but we kept snagging so didn't catch anything. At least it was pretty!

We have hit the 90 day mark for Drew. Hard to believe he only has 90 days or less in Iraq. His boss said these are the days that can be the most dangerous if guys lose focus or become complacent. Drew is completely aware and encourages his guys to remain sharp. He's now helping to design the workout programs for the guys too. I was watching the news yesterday and they were saying children should not be playing sports in this weather (it went back up to 100 after my parents left) but yet it is 130 in Iraq and Drew plays sports all of the time! He is drinking water by the gallons and feeling good.
Last week we had another blackout when a guy in Drew's company was shot in small arms fire. He will be fine and again the team reacted perfectly. They are taking many measures to increase safety and they continue to train to prevent this but unfortunately, sometimes no matter what you do, things are going to happen. Drew is confident in himself and his team's training to handle anything.

8 Months Down

Tomorrow brings the 8 month mark in our deployment. We are ready to have Drew home but are also happy that the time has gone by quickly and we only have four more months to go. The last push is the hardest! My birthday is coming up next week and Drew and I were having a discussion around everything we have missed. It puts it into perspective when you think that we missed Halloween, his birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, Easter, Memorial Day... then 4th of July, my birthday, our anniversary, Labor Day.. you get the idea. BUT we have all of those holidays to look forward to next year! I was talking to a wife last week who has been through the 15th month deployment. She said the hardest was when she hit her 2nd Thanksgiving of her husband gone that it started to get old. Drew and I feel fortunate that we will not have to miss round two of any of the holidays. Drew gave me my birthday present a week early because he wanted my parents to be able to enjoy it too. He gave me (really for the both of us) patio furniture! He has become quite the internet shopper these days. :) I love it! We had two cute lime green chairs out there before but we have been meaning to get a table. We got this set that has a fire pit in the middle but you can also put the lid on and it lies flush to create a normal table. We can't wait to grill and use it together.


Drew had a good week as far as working out, getting down time, and having his 24 hour checkpoint go by quickly, but Drew was very concerned for a guy in his company. He was injured in small arms fire but the guys responded exactly as they should and had him back to the base within minutes. It was neat to hear that they called for an emergency blood drive for his blood type and they had a line out the door of almost 50 people immediately. The amount of support and respect they have for one another is so neat. He is doing well and is back in the states with his family. They expect a full recovery. I normally don't share these types of things (and some I can't) but many of you ask if things like this happen. So yes, they do but our guys are strong, focused, and will always come together as a team. They are a brave group and I could not be more proud of all of our guys, especially our soldier.
Here's a picture of him getting notes which is a daily event. This picture also gives you an idea of where they live. He is right outside of their rooms.


On a less serious note, Drew's roommate is back from his leave. As I told his roommate today, welcome back and I didn't miss you. :) The heat continues but it at least drops down into the 80s at night. For some reason I thought a desert should get much colder at night, but then I realized if it is 130 during the day, 80 is a big drop in temp at night. Crazy. I was driving back from Hilton Head yesterday and the car read 100... I told Drew I just can't imagine 30 more degrees on top of that. He is excited to have a ruck tomorrow. He hasn't rucked (where they hike with their heavy bags) in a long time. He really likes that workout so that is fun for him.
I cannot wait for my parents to arrive!! They'll be here on Wednesday and stay through the holiday weekend. We all three REALLY wish Drew could join us and Drew REALLY wishes he could be here but he could not be happier that we can spend time together. It should be a fun visit!
Like I said in the beginning: 8 months down, 4 more to go!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all! Drew is not quite the "dad" yet but Mack and Jake did say Happy Father's day today. :) Drew was able to talk to his Dad as well as my Dad which was nice. His schedule has slowed down allowing him to exercise more and have some down time. This is a very nice change! We are able to talk often which we both love. This weekend his team switched up the normal PT and engaged in sports. Drew played frisbee football and basketball this week. This comes as no surprise at all, but the guys are extremely competitive. Drew had a blast and was laughing quite hard about some of the things the guys were saying. They do love to talk smack! (That's my g-rated version of the ___ talking that goes on.) :) Good for them though! What better way to take your mind off things, focus on the game, and relieve some stress. Drew loved it. His team won both games of football but his team was much better at football than basketball. Here's a few pictures of them playing:

Drew did his usual checkpoint rotation this week. Here's a picture of him at checkpoint.

Although this blog can be light-hearted, Drew and I talk often about the severity of war and the situation he is in. You may have heard about the car bombings in Baghdad and the impact they had. Please continue to pray for the safety of our soldiers and loved ones.

We are approaching the 8 month mark this week. Drew will be packing up and heading home in about 3 1/2 months. We are nearing the home stretch here!

Flag Day

Drew's boss has already started talking about when the guys will be back. They call it a BOG date...better known as a Boots On the Ground date. I don't know if my heart can take a BOG date this early in June. Yes, there are only 4 1/2 months left... and that is my point... we still have 4 1/2 months! The heart palpitations can't start this early or I'll never make it! Knowing that my husband will be home at the end of October makes me have instant butterflies. I always knew he would be back in October but starting to talk about leave dates and when we can take vacation gets me WAY too excited WAY too early. Drew and I get absolutely giddy when we think about having a year together to do normal married things. Oh man!! Ok, need to change the subject because again, it is too early to start this! But I will say, it looks like they will have available dates for leave over Thanksgiving and Christmas so we should be able to come home and see everyone. Oh I can't wait!!
In other news (changing the subject here), Drew is doing well. Things are slowing down just a little bit. Now, when they have 24 hour checkpoint or a mission, it is not followed up with an all day/night mission. This is a good thing! They can actually be out for 24 hours and have a bit of a break when they get home. The guys are supposed to get a beer for Flag Day and the Army's birthday tomorrow but Drew will be on checkpoint. DARN! Drew has definitely earned a beer but unfortunately he is going to miss it. I think they should save beer for them!!
And as you know, Drew is a huge animal lover. Because of this, we often talk about the dogs in Iraq, especially the puppies at the checkpoint. Good news! The puppies now have flea collars. One of the wives sent them collars because her husband reported they were always itching. Drew said before, they always had to stop and itch and scratch, but now, they run around without a care in the world. I love hearing little things like that. Drew is always entertained by them and they always bark and protect our guys so I would mark that down as a simple feel good story. :)
Drew was busy this week working on a presentation on cultural diversity. He probably learned more than he wanted to know about Iraqi culture, but he did great on his presentation and all of the higher-ups were impressed.
The heat continues too. It is still about 125 degrees. I always start to complain about the heat but remember his situation... so then I switch to complaining about the humidity. :)
Is it October yet?

Two New Pics

Here are a couple of pictures you haven't seen. They are older pictures but were just recently added to Drew's company's site. Handsome man!

Memorial Day and Welcome to June

I've had a busy week with my trip to St. Louis, work trip to Chicago, seeing family and friends, and driving 12 hours each way so I'm a little late in posting this.. I still want to share a neat note I received from Drew's boss regarding Memorial Day. I am so proud of our soldier!!
"As Memorial Day approaches, I just wanted to take a moment to talk about soldiers, both past and present. These days, only 1% of the population chooses to be in the military. Of those that do, they endure year long deployments (sometimes back to back) to austere conditions and their families have to put so much on hold while they wait back at home for them. Neither side is easy, but soldiers and their families have been getting through it for years now. Memorial Day is a time to say thank you and to remember those who are no longer with us. It takes an incredible love of country and belief in one's self to be a soldier. It's a great honor to lead such men as the Barbarians, and I thank them, as well as their families, from the bottom of my heart for their service."
Drew has had a little more down time to himself this week because his roommate is on midtour leave. Even with having the room to himself, Drew continues to be busy. As a team leader, the guys constantly demand his time. In a 20 minute phone conversation, the door is usually knocked on every five minutes. :) Tomorrow they have a PT test for the guys that did not pass the first time. Drew is hoping everyone passes so he can begin running and eating on his own. If you'll remember, they have had to do everything as a group since some guys failed but Drew passed. He thinks he is getting out of shape with the new routine because he is more disciplined when he has the time to do his own workout.
Another thing that is new is the heat. It is about 125 degrees there and he can feel it! Drew told me to hold my blow dryer in my face and that is what it feels like all day long. It was after ten last night and he was still waiting for it to cool down before he showered. GEEZ! He said it is draining but he is doing well. The checkpoints continue along with some neat missions where they are giving back to Iraq and supporting the community. We are happy it is already June! It was hard to head home this morning but it was eased by the idea that my parents will be here in 3 1/2 weeks. Having something to look forward to always helps. We all always have something to look forward to with him coming home safely. :)

Busy Week

This was a long, rough, busy, exhausting week for Drew. I'd say the craziness really started last weekend. Drew came back from a mission only to learn that they had surprise room inspections. For Drew, this was no big deal. They actually gave him a compliment by walking into his room, telling him they were sure his room always looked like that (that clean) and didn't go through all of his things. That sounds like a small thing, but the other guys had every single thing looked through and they found many areas for improvement. And, of course, regardless of how Drew's room looked, he is part of a larger team and they are in it together. Drew was up from 3am to 3am, went to bed for a matter of hours, then had to go on a 24 hour checkpoint. After this, he had several lay-outs where they check, re-check, clean, re-clean, check... you get the picture. Again, they recognized Drew for being a leader and "stand-up" guy, and didn't root through all of his things. Drew actually had a good time "shooting the sh*t" with the higher-up instead of doing an inspection. Yes, I said it. :) All of you who know Drew can picture him saying that. :) But again, Drew still had to help all of his guys get everything ready and ensure they were prepared.
This week we also had a communication blackout, but when the internet was turned back on, Drew's didn't work. We didn't talk from Wed-Saturday until he was able to borrow his friend's internet in another block of CHUs. FINALLY today, they rewired Drew's block of CHUs and everyone is back up and running. Drew said it best in that it is hard when we don't get to talk because that is his highlight everyday. It is SO refreshing to talk to each other everyday, and when you can't, it starts to wear on you. But we feel so lucky that we can enjoy this luxury which we have come to expect. So many military men and women do not get to talk that often. My appreciation continues to grow for our parents and grandparents who served their country when their only communication was writing a letter. We have so much to be thankful for.
So as of today, I was able to talk to Drew a little bit longer and he hopes things will settle down this week. However... he has additional 24 hour checkpoints because his group is covering for another team while they do their room inspections and lay-outs. Drew's team was the only group that had to continue working (missions and checkpoints) on top of all the tasks. I am so proud of him. It makes for long days but today (Sunday) he said the last time he looked it was Tuesday. He is happy the days are going by quickly. He feels he has a job to do and is willing to do the work to get it done. But let's be honest, this was a nice realization he had today... but he tends to get a little crabby when he is sleepy, hungry, and can't talk to his wife because the internet is bad. I don't blame him!! :) The true meaning behind the inspections and training was to prevent complacency. The guys have now been there almost 7 months and the worst thing that can happen is the guys get lazy or complacent. Drew understands that but we all know Drew doesn't need room inspections or time at the range to stay sharp. I'm happy the higher-ups recognize that too. He's hard-wired that way. :)

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

This Mother's Day was such a nice time! Although I could not be with my mom or mom-in-law, I had Drew's Gram and Aunt Karen here. It was really a good visit. They arrived Saturday afternoon and we headed to Savannah for an early dinner. We went to The Olde Pink House which is literally an old pink house made into a two-story restaurant spread out in multiple rooms of the house. It has gorgeous decor and the food is amazing. We then went down to River Street where we could not pass up the ice cream. :)

Sunday, Mother's Day, we were off to Tybee. I would say Gram enjoyed the beach. Wouldn't you? :)

Next we headed to the Crab Shack for Gram's first low country boil. It did not disappoint! (I say Gram's first boil because Karen went with their bbq which was good too.)

They were having so much fun they decided to stay on Sunday night. Gram surprised us by going into the grocery store and coming out with all types of snacks and desserts. We spent Mother's Day evening indulging in good food and playing cards and Farkel which is a hilarious dice game. Very fun! I love visitors so come anytime! :)

Drew has settled back in and has been able to enjoy some time to himself after a busy week of training and checkpoints. He is on a 24 hour checkpoint now but at least had downtime before that. Here are some pictures from his training last week. Drew's boss shared these and I spotted my husband right away!

Check out the bald man in the back row leaning forward. :)


I had to double check with Drew that this was him, but Drew is the guy leaning down working on the guy. And don't worry, this is only a simulation. :)

Happy belated Mother's Day to all!

Back to Work

Drew is back in Kirkuk and work is in full swing. He is now a Team Leader which means he has three guys he is responsible for. It's his responsibility to make sure they are where they need to be on time, briefed on the job, and he's even helping them with an exercise plan. The company didn't do so well on their PT test while Drew was home, so they now have group workouts and have to eat meals as a group so they can monitor their diet. Drew took his PT test yesterday since he missed it while on leave. He did great and is among the top scores. He also qualified as expert today at the range so he is on a roll. Proud of him! This week has been lots of training which Drew really enjoys. He was recognized on the range today and received many compliments which doesn't always happen so he is happy to be back and working hard. We also bought him a new laptop before he went back. He was functioning with a broken screen that looked like someone spilled an ink pen all over it. I couldn't believe he had not bought a laptop sooner! I had no idea how bad it was! But he likes it and we have been able to talk often. We are transitioning quickly from being together in-person to back to phone calls and Skype. We have definitely learned to be flexible in this career.
I am very excited for my visitors this weekend! Drew's Grandma (Gram) and Aunt Karen are coming to visit. I love visitors! They should be here on Saturday so we will surely spend the evening in Savannah. We are already looking at menus from the local restaurants. I'm sure we will not go hungry. :)

Halfway Home

Today marks six months which means Drew is halfway home!! The other great news is that, as you know, Drew was just home for 2 1/2 weeks. It was the best thing ever!! We looked forward to our time together for so long, and it was well worth the wait! It was everything we imagined and more. Yes, the cruise was amazing and island-hopping around GA was fantastic... but being able to eat breakfast together, sleep in the same bed, sit on the couch and watch tv, go to the grocery store... the little things were just as amazing. Oh it was the best!! I don't really know where to begin so I guess I'll give you a little slideshow. :) Let me begin by saying, when Drew walked in the door, the dogs absolutely went crazy. They walked right past me and that trend continued the entire time Drew was home. If Drew went in the kitchen, went to the bathroom, walked outside, the dogs were right there with him. They love their momma but they definitely miss their daddy!

The first week we spent our time visiting the different islands around here. We went to Jekyll, St. Simon, and Hilton Head. We did some fishing but more than anything we relaxed.

And how did I forget the eating and drinking part? We had so many amazing dinners at home and out. Maybe that's why we both gained 5 pounds. :) It could not have been better. I love this picture of Drew. :) I think I love every picture though!

Next, we were off on our cruise to the Bahamas. That was even more relaxation time, eating, drinking, swimming in the beautiful water and spoiling ourselves. It was so romantic!

In Nassau we rented a car to get out and see more of the city. We rented this hilarious little car. When we were in AZ last year we had a little yellow one... but I think this is even smaller! Drew looked so big in it!

And of course we had to go to Senor Frogs before we got back on the ship. But don't worry... we returned the car first so we were not driving. :)

The last part of our time together we did "normal married couple things" like running errands and hanging around here. We went to Tybee one day and had fun catfishing one evening but besides that we didn't go too far. It was the perfect way to wrap up our time together.

Then on Wednesday morning it was time for Drew to get back to work. I shaved his head the night before like I did last time. We think it's a good luck thing. :)

I took him to the Savannah Airport and was able to go to the gate with him. And that was it. We have six more months to go then we will be together for much longer. Drew and I agree that it was so nice to have those two weeks together, but it also makes us want to be together even more. We looked forward to our time together for so long and now it is time to set our sights on Drew coming home in October. Drew is in Kuwait right now on his way back to Kirkuk. I talked to him tonight and he definitely misses home already but he is focused on his last six months. I'm happy to wait another six months for that man. I'd wait for him any day.