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!!