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. :)