He's home!

Enough said!

Let the Countdown Begin!

Well, it looks like it is actually going to happen. We have been hearing for months that Brad might be able to split the deployment with another attorney, but it looks like it is really going to happen! He is packing up his stuff and beginning to out-process. Yeah for us! It seems surreal. We should have him here in less than a week! I don't even remember what life is like with him around. I think that it is going to be an adjustment, but it is one that I am more than willing to make.

Life has been hard without him around, but we did much better than I had originally thought. We are all much stronger than we imagined. The kids were grumbling this morning because their dad had to deploy, but we are really very fortunate! Brad only had to go for 8 months instead of 15 months. That is basically unheard of in the Army. Also, this was his 1st deployment, and most people I know are on their 2nd, 3rd or 4th deployment!

Please be praying for the kids that the adjustment goes well. I will post pictures once he gets here.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Georgia bean!

This week our little Georgia turned 3 years old! I asked Georgia what she wanted to do, and she opted for the bowling alley because that is what we did for Zoe's birthday.

Everyone who meets Georgia, loves her! She is full of life and super spunky! She loves people and being the center of attention. At her birthday party, when she opened each present, she said "awesome", but she made it long and drawn out. It was so funny!

We love our Georgia bean and would not trade her for anything!

Bye, Erin and Beckett!

Today was a sad, but good day. Some good friends of ours, Erin Babb and her son Beckett, got on a plane to move back to the states. It was bittersweet. Erin's husband, Nate, is now downrange to replace Brad for the rest of the deployment. It is wonderful, because it means that Brad will be here really soon. However, they will be sorely missed. Erin and Nate have been a huge help to me during the deployment, but really, I am going to miss playing Rook with them! Hopefully we can plan a trip up to the New York (West Point) area to meet up with them in the next few years!

Texas, Here we come!

Warmth. Sun. Shopping. Family time. These are all the things that I am looking forward to. We had heard that we might be headed to Texas come summer, but now it has been confirmed! San Antonio, here we come. Yeah!!! That was our first choice on our wish list, and it looks like we got it! Although, I have to give this disclaimer: we are dealing with the Army, so it is not a sure thing until we actually live there!

During lunch today, with country music playing in the background (to get us in the mood) the girls and I were discussing Texas and our upcoming move. Zoe and I had a funny conversation. It went something like this:

Zoe: Mom, do they have cats in Texas?
Mom: Yes
Zoe: Mom, do they have horses in Texas?
Mom: Yes, they have lots of horses in Texas. There are ranches and cowboys and lots of horses.
Zoe: I think I will get a horse when we get there.
Mom: Sorry sweetie, we are not getting a horse. We do not have enough room for a horse.
Zoe: We can get a horse. It can stay in my room; I will make room for it.

What a funny girl! I guess she can dream.

Halloween

Halloween Evening. The weather forecast said snow. I prepped the kids because there was no way that I was going out there in snow. They were upset, but calmed down with promises of unending candy and movies. There was no need to worry, we did not even have rain! Amazing!

We ended up heading over to a friend's house for dinner, and we trick or treated from there. It was perfect! Afterwards, the kids had ice cream and watched The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Clayton was Optimus Prime from the transformers. Zoe was Jasmine from Aladdin. Georgia was tinkerbell, and Lincoln was Roo from Winnie the Pooh. Although, we did a little costume swap for the actual trick or treating; it was cold out, so I made the girls wear warmer costumes because they were both opposed to wearing coats! That night, Zoe was actually Violet from the Incredibles, and Georgia was Jojo from Jojo's Circus. Here are some pictures of the night.

All the kids ready to go:

Princess Tea Party

Last week we celebrated Zoe's birthday with a royal tea party. Three little girls from her class came over for tea (chocolate milk and apple juice), sandwiches, cookies and cupcakes. They dressed up in their princess costumes, danced and had a good time.

Lincoln's new hideout

Lincoln's new favorite place is the cupboard that holds all of our food. If one of the kids leaves it open, he heads right over. He screams like crazy if we shut it before he gets to it. He loves to climb into the bottom and eat all the cereal or dump it out. Here he is:

One of the last beautiful days of the year

Last weekend the weather here was beautiful! The pessimist in me says that it is probably the last nice weather that we will have until spring. We do live in Baumholder, after all. We took advantage of the weather by heading to one of the new parks on post. The kids had a great time. Here are some of the highlights:

Gone With the Wind.....and the pumpkin patch

I have spent the last few days neglecting the kids and the house because I just could not put down the book Gone With the Wind. I decided that I needed to be a good mom and get the book done. Thus, I powered through yesterday. I need to vent a little bit about the book. If you have not read it and are going to, don't read on, because I will spoil the ending. I am completely upset by the ending. Now that I think about it, the ending makes sense and is probably true to how the characters would act in real life. I just live in my own little dream world where I love for things to work out in the end. I was really upset by the fact that Scarlett realized that Rhett was the one for her, and it was too late. Rhett was just tired of waiting and was done. It was disturbing to me. This a definitely not a book to read while your husband is deployed!

On a happier note, last week we went to the pumpkin patch with some good friends of ours. We let the kids pick out pumpkins, play on the rocks and play in the corn maze. It is not the same as picking a pumpkin out at the pumpkin patch back home, but it was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed it.





It is definitely fall here. We woke up this morning, and the windows on the car were frozen. I know that the cold weather is coming, and I am just not sure if I am ready for it!

Happy 5th Birthday Zoe!

My how time flies! It seems like only yesterday that Brad and I were rushing to the hospital to have Zoe. Our little Zoe, who is not so little anymore, is fun, spunky and lovable. She keep us all on our toes. Her favorite joke right now goes like this:
Someone else: "Watcha doing?"
Zoe: "Eating Chocolate."
Someone else: "Where'd ya get it?"
Zoe: "The doggie dropped it."
The funny part is, she did not get it. She had no idea why it was so funny; she just knew that it made people laugh.

Here are some shots of the big day:

Lincoln's First Birthday

Time really flies! Lincoln is now one year old. He has moved from a helpless baby into an independent, determined, somewhat naughty little boy. I think he knows way more than he lets on, which is why he gets away with more than he probably should. I guess that is the way it goes with number four.

Here are some shots of the birthday boy:

Brad In Iraq

Here are a few pictures of Brad in Iraq. He says that it is hot; imagine that!

Brad and Sgt. Mines before heading out on a mission.

Brad's view on a helicopter ride.

Here is Brad in front of his office.

Brad seems to be doing well. It looks like he should be coming home in November/December for good. All of us here are praying that everything goes through for this to happen. If not, he should not be back until next spring/summer. Please pray for all of the soldiers with Brad: for their safety, for their health, and for endurance.

Back to School

We got back from the states last Thursday, and the kids started back to school the next day. Clayton started 1st grade this year, and he loves it. His teacher from last year ended up moving up to 1st grade, which was a huge blessing.

The girls also started school last week. They are both in the same classes that they were in last year. Even though they started school a few days late, they both seemed to jump right in.

My mom flew back here with us, and she is here to stay for another 2 weeks. It is so nice having her here; the kids love all of the extra attention, and I love having someone to visit with. As an added bonus, we are getting a lot of cleaning/organizing done!

Summer Fun!

This summer was amazing! The kids and I went to Spokane on Memorial Day, and we came back to Germany on August 27th. We had three months of great fun. There was a Swan family reunion (my mom's side of the family), Brad's sister had a baby, and my brother got married. In between all of that, we went to the pool, we went to Silverwood theme park, and we had a great time with family and cousins. Here are some of the highlights:

The kids and I at our Welcome Home ice cream party at Auntie Heidi's house


Uncle Nate and Clayton at Yellowstone during our family reunion



The kids on the 4th of July out at the lake.



What adorable flower girls! Zoe and Georgia are now expert flower girls with Auntie Lauren's wedding last December and Uncle Nate's wedding in August. I was a little nervous because they had to cross over a stream, but we made it to the end of the night without anyone falling in.


Clayton upholding his ring bearer duties.

Overall, this summer was great. It was really hard to come back to Germany because of all of the wonderful family that we have in Spokane.

Safely in Iraq?

I call this photo "Last chance to run"

The steady hum of the twin rotors calms my nerves as we fly through the desert night on our way to the place that will become our home for the next several months. As I look out towards the back of the CH-47 Chinook, I suddenly see flares shoot off and the silence is shattered by the .50 Cal machine gun as it rips off rounds at the ground below….my heart races and I look out of the ship-like porthole straining to see if we are taking fire. I think to myself “great, my first day in Iraq and I’m already getting shot at.” I feel completely helpless sitting there not knowing what is happening so I began to pray.

Turns out we weren’t under attack. Apparently, the base that I live at is in the middle of nowhere and the gunners on the helicopter use the open space to target practice every once in awhile. I’m sure it was no coincidence that they decided to do it on our flight since they knew that we were just arriving in theater.


It has been over a month since I left Germany and a lot has happened since then. We started this adventure like any Army mission…waiting. Waiting for hours to get on a bus, driving somewhere, waiting several more hours to get on a different bus and then waiting even longer to get on a plane. We board a chartered commercial plane and start the trip to Kuwait. When we land in Kuwait, we get on another bus and wait. Then we drive for about an hour and get off the bus. At this point we endure another Army ritual- briefings. We sit through safety briefings, information briefings, Rules of Engagement briefings and so on. After that we unload all of our gear from the trucks and we finally make our way to our tents. Its been over 36 hours since we left and it is about 0430.

We spent several weeks in Kuwait doing training before moving north. Because of my job I know all of the company and battalion commanders in the brigade, so I was able to have a little fun while we were there. One day, I went out to the tank range and the commander let me hop on an M1-A1 and ride around with half my body sticking out of the loader’s hatch. I learned that you have to keep your mouth closed, which, as most of you know, is very hard for me and other members of the legal profession.




While we were cruising around the tank range we saw several camel herders walking with their camels as they graze. The camels don’t even seem to be phased by the tanks rolling by them. I have to admit, I was a little excited to see camels. What is a trip to the Middle East without camels.



While I was on the camp, I also ran into a snake. Now, I’m not crazy about snakes but having lived in Alabama for 5 years while I was growing up I had my fair share of experiences with them. Back in the U.S. I can tell the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous snakes. But here I just assume they are all deadly. I ran into this one while I was walking back from dinner one night. I was alone and I was wearing my PT uniform with running shoes and ankle socks. It was only about a foot and a half long, but I didn’t mess around with it. I decided I would take the long way around it.

The movement to Iraq is similar to the first leg of the trip, we ride on a bus and then wait around. We get on another bus that takes us to the plane. As we drive to the airfield I see numerous concrete bunkers that look like they had been hit with artillery. We reach the airfield and wait to get onto the plane. This time it is an Airforce plane. The crew has a US flag hung on the inside of the plane. We fly for less than an hour before we start our decent into Baghdad. Now a combat landing has a much different feel than a commercial landing. Instead of making a gradual descent the pilot waits until he is much closer to the landing strip and then makes what feels like a nose dive toward the ground. I knew about the combat landing before the trip, so I was prepared and it really wasn’t as bad as people said it would be. From there, after waiting for a couple of hours, we got onto a helicopter and flew to our FOB (Forward Operating Base). After unloading our bags again we shuffled to our tents to sleep our first night in Iraq.


This is a picture of me at the Camp in Kuwait