Pictures

I thought you all might like to see a few pictures that were taken in the last couple of days.  He assures me that is him walking....and even though he definitely looks thinner...I can tell it is him. 

God bless and thanks for your prayers

Love,

Monica

How to spend a Sunday

Sundays are the hardest day of the week for a military family I think.  For us, it is very hard to pretend Eric is at work.  His absence has been felt deeply by me on Sundays for all the years he's been a soldier. Many Sundays after church the boys and I head to Jordan Creek for lunch and some hang out time.  We did this even before Eric left.  It seems to be the one time during the week when we are all together.  So while we miss Eric's presence we have still continued to do something after church each Sunday.  And it most definitely keeps me occupied instead of feeling lonely.

 This past Sunday we found ourselves eating lunch together in the food court.  But Logan had to work at three and I had a couple of errands to run.  So Logan drove the boys home because they decided they didn't want to stay with me.  I basically just wandered for a little while.  I found myself looking at Younkers yellow dot shoes where I managed to score a really comfortable pair of $60 anti-gravity sandals for $8.  I love looking for deals and decided to head towards Dillards.  But then I was sidetracked by another store.  When I wandered out, I found myself passing by the guys giving the chair massages..you know the ones..they have them in every mall.  Well, I've been needing a massage.  My massage therapist (massages really help my Sjogren's) closed her shop to go back to more schooling and I'm still searching for a new one. So I was just watching them and the next thing you know they were talking to me..trying to convince me to get in the chair.  Well, what did I have to lose?  And he said,  "Oh..you tight" (he was Asian).  Really? I could have told him that.  So I proceded with the 20 minute massage which I have to say was really okay and much needed.  So I paid him and started walking.  But wouldn't you know that the guy  in the next kiosk who promises amazing curls wanted to also curl my hair?  Well, I was in for that.  In fact, I told him to just curl up my whole head!  His name is David and he is from Israel.  We had a very nice conversation about my Baha (have to tell them when they are touching my head) because his sister is deaf from an explosion.  And he did a fabulous job on my hair and taught me how to actually do the curls. I really wanted to sleep on it before making a decision to buy.  And I tried what he taught me with my straightener.  And I have to say that I believe it is worth the money if anyone has ever wondered.  I didn't have near the success with mine. 

So you're thinking I'm heading home now right?  No!  Next up... the Seacret ladies!  Oh..most days they really irritate me.  And I own one of their sets courtesy Brady. So I ususally say I already own it.  But she wanted to wash and lotion my hands.  And so I let her.  After all...I was massaged and curled.  I might as well be lotioned up too.

 The only thing that would have finished off my afternoon would have been if the See's candy ladies would have been passing out free chocolates.  But that will start soon with the upcoming holiday season.  I'll have to remember to not wear my zebra striped coat then so as not to be memorable.  Then you get handed one every time you pass by. 

Well, I can tell you that I CTM as I walked away and headed to my car.  What a funny out-of-character way for me to spend a Sunday afternoon.  Somebody better tag along with me next time and keep me in line!

Prayer Requests:
1) Please pray for healing for Eric as he took a very hard fall and has a couple minor injuries.  I don't know anymore than that.
2) Pray for Brady as he settles in to this next month of training in a new location.  There will be a couple of weeks where we have no contact with him.
3) Praise once again for the gift of Eric's laptop.  It is the only way we have had to communicate.  He currently has no way to call.  His laptop, even though the connection has been very poor to say the least, has really been a blessing.

James 1:2-4 Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Every moment is a new moment

I sat down this morning to work on the computer when all of a sudden I heard Christmas music coming from the television.  I turned my head in amazement to see a commercial for an upcoming Christmas concert.  The passing of time is more evident with the change of temps this morning, toilet paper in my trees for homecoming, and the inevitable early arrival of Christmas commercialism.

Eric and I have settled in to chatting once a day.  Our schedules are flipped.  When he is sleeping, I am in the middle of my day and vice versa.  One of my favorite moments is waking to the ding of my blackberry telling me I received an email while I was sleeping.  And I can usually get at least one eye open to see what Eric had to tell me while I was dreaming away.  Although I have to admit, that I usally have to read it again later in the morning after a cup of coffee.

My dining room table is full of donations for my pencil/marker drive.  Logan picked up boxes and customs slips yesterday at the post office so I can begin packing them.  I am surprised and overwhelmed at the response.  It takes about two weeks for Eric to receive a box.  So if some of you sent a package on your own you will be able to gauge when it might reach him.  I also received donations for postage without pencils.  Any extra postage money I have will be used to purchase more pencils to fill out a box.  I have tried very hard to keep track of everyone who donated.  But many of them came without a name.  Thank you all so much for taking the time to participate! As of this moment Eric reports that he hasn't received any boxes.  But he has promised a picture as they start to arrive.  And that will give us all something to look forward to.

Yesterday I received a phone call from Grassley's office in reference to my email about Eric's mail contractor.  I was surprised to say the least.  Many of you have heard me say that I am just fortunate to be able to vote after flunking political science twice in college.  It is like I am studying a foreign language upside down.  But every moment of this year is a new moment for me.  And (don't choke here honey) I realized that I don't need to know the political process to be a concerned citizen with a problem.  I was listened to and heard.  So now I am waiting to hear if there is still a mail problem and, if so, Grassley's office will act with my consent.

Prayer Requests:
1) Pray for Brady as he transitions to the next phase of his journey.
2) Praise for great friends and family who helped with Logan's car dilemna!  It is back in Winterset and in the shop getting fixed. 

Romans 12:11,12  Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.

Riding the wave

Today is just one of those days...one of those roller coaster days.  I have had a lot of things happen (car issues/leaky pipe/dental insurance) one thing after another.  So I'm riding the roller coaster of emotions today and missing both of them very much.

I thought you might all like to see a current picture.  This was taken a couple weeks ago.  He is well and settled.  I think he looks quite a bit thinner.  I don't have a current picture of Brady.  But he is spending his leave days with Jayme and I'm hoping she will bring back a few pictures to share.  I am so thankful they get to spend a few days together.  And I pray they really have a fun and relaxing time together, too.

I have had a wonderful response to my crayon and marker request.  Thank you everyone who has contributed. It will really bless him and help him do his job.  I am still gathering them and will start sending them soon.  I have had very generous donations for shipping as well.  If you are interested but haven't heard what I am doing, please contact me and I'll give you the information.

Labor Day weekend found Ayden and I taking my mom and dad to Mt. Rushmore.  I have always been fascinated with watching my sons see things for the first time.  Watching children be amazed at something is awesome.  This was Ayden's second trip and he was amazed in a different way this time.  But I have a new perspective after watching my parents view Mt. Rushmore for the first time in their lives with all of their life experiences.  I am very blessed to have experienced it with them and I am so thankful we made the trip.  Every moment in my life is a learning experience and I learned a lot about myself during the trip, too. 

So while today has been a wave of emotions, it is also a learning day, too.  And tomorrow is another day and one more day passed until the guys return home. 

God bless,

love,

Monica

To expect or not to expect

I never expected to be so overwhelmed with emotion when the curtains opened and the cavalry horse led in the troops.  You can hear the crowd yell with surprise and excitement.  I think this is a moment in my life I will never forget feeling.  It was one of the most patriotic moments I have experienced.  This was Brady's sending ceremony.  He is in the very back row on the left side in the middle.  If you watch closely, you will catch a peek of him.  I never expected that my youngest son would capture this moment on my camera.  And I was thrilled to find it a couple of days after the ceremony and relive it.  Brady has only been gone a couple of weeks.  My expectations are that time will pass quickly.  I hope my expectations don't let me down. 

I've been told that my expectations are usually too high.  Some things you just expect.  I expect to be paid on payday.  That's easy.  I expect my children to always do their best.  That ones tricky because my idea of their best is usually different from theirs.  I expect people to do or call when they say they will.  That one gets me in trouble a lot.  But for the first time in my life I set myself up with no expectations.  And actually that's an expecation in itself.  That expectation was wrong.

Eric has spent the last three weeks traveling with their cargo.  He has had quite an amazing journey on a very large plane.  I can't really describe everything because I don't know everything.  But I expected that once he left I wouldn't hear from him at all.  But we've had continuous contact almost the entire time.  He flew from Indiana to North Carolina to Delaware and then on to Spain for a short stop.  From Spain he quickly found himself in Iraq where he reports temps of 130 degrees.  He was there for a couple of days and then he moved on.  He spent a week at least on an air force base before heading to his last location before the FOB.  I am happy to report that he has made it to his final destination!  I'm sure his expectations were just fine through all of this but I never expected it to take as long as it did. 

We are expecting Brady will leave his current location sometime mid-September and then he will return to it before shipping.  But until it is after the fact there is nothing to really expect.  He is very busy and doing fine. 

Feel free to send either one of them an email.  They will reply if they can.  Most importantly it is good for them to receive support from family, friends, and well-wishers.  I have addresses for both of them.  If interested, you will have to contact me by email, phone, or in person.

So I'm learning daily.  I'm putting my expectations aside...even my no expectations.  Because I expect they will both have lots of stories to tell when they return. 

Prayer requests:
1) Praise for safe travels.
2) Continued prayers for safety.
3) Praise for just settling in and accepting life as it is with surprises each day brings.

Love,
Monica

August what?

I had to pick up my phone and look at the date twice this morning. I really can't believe it is August 14th and school is just around one more weekend corner.  Logan will start his college classes, Laramy will be a junior, and Ayden will attend Mom's Academy for one more year.  More amazing to me is our two year anniversary of living in this house.  And even more amazing to me is Eric informing me today that we are 1/6th done!  I can do six...six of something is easy.  Six miles on my bike is nothing..I can't even remember my sixth birthday...and eating six M&M's...well, you can't even remember that it happened before you've eaten six more.  So I'm counting down to six.  I love time...it ends and yet it never ends.  So we'll count down to six and then we'll figure out something else to count down to.

I originally intended for this blog to keep everyone informed about Eric.  But being unable to share many details about him in written form has turned this blog more into how you cope as a wife and family of a military member.  And for Eric, sometimes we are so busy taking care of details over email or phone, he enjoys reading a story about his family.

Everyone around me has been awesome about keeping me busy and checking on me, the kids, and asking about Eric.  Work is keeping me busy in the evenings which is a difficult time for me. I even went and volunteered at the State Fair yesterday!  I'm not sure Eric believes me on that one..but I did.  Next Tuesday, Brenden and I will go to Iowa City for his cardiologist appointment. And I'm sure the trend of staying busy will continue once school starts.  I am looking forward to Labor Day weekend and our trip to Mt. Rushmore with Ayden and my parents. 

I have been sorting, organizing, and rearranging.  Last Thursday I had to be up early to meet Jayme and her mom for a little more wedding gown shopping.  If you don't know, I am not the best morning person...okay, I'm not a morning person...and sometimes I don't even remember getting dressed in the mornings.  I was running a little behind so as I searched for my lighter denim jeans I grabbed what I thought was the pair I wanted, put them on, and kept going.  And I was out of time to make coffee or stop for coffee to wake me up.  After the first shop, Shellie stopped at Kum & Go for me.  And that is when I became very conscious that I did not know what or whose jeans I was wearing.  But they fit and they were comfortable.  But the hems were worn away and tattered which was confusing to me. I shared this with Jayme and Shellie and we shared a laugh...it is bizarre to not know  whose jeans you are wearing.  I wore those jeans all day long and until I got a chance to visit my half-organized closet to see if I could find the jeans I had intended on wearing.  And it turns out that I was wearing an old pair of Logan's jeans!  So I'm going to finish organizing my closet today.

It was very special to go with Jayme and her mom this week as she searched for her wedding gown.  Brady is going to have a stunning bride!  I can't wait to see his face as she walks down the aisle.  And I loved the grin on her face and the twinkle in her eye when she knew she'd found the one.  She was so beautiful in the dress that we'll forgive her for being a... choking here... Hawkeye.....  ;)

Prayer requests:
1) Please pray for Eric as he is still traveling and hoping to reach his final destination very soon.
2) Pray for Brady as he is adjusting to being away from home.
3) Safety always for both of them.
4) Praise for my health.  I am feeling awesome, well-rested, lots of tears and saliva, and lots of progress with my tennis elbow.  Please pray my Sjogrens stays in a upswing as I manage the house through the coming seasons.

Romans 15:13  May the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with the hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

love and blessings,
Monica

She wore a yellow ribbon

We arrived home from RAGBRAI Saturday night.  I was very blessed to be able to text with Eric all through the week and tell him what we were doing and even send him some pictures.  We saw some amazing things during the week including The Grotto and St. Francis Xavier's Bascilica.  Sunday morning we went to church and then had a few errands to do including a pedicure for my tired feet after all of that pedaling!  As I left the nail place and walked towards Victoria Secret, I received Eric's text that he was leaving within 15 minutes.  I kind of froze and wasn't sure what to do...step forward or run back....but I did have a free panty coupon and Eric did tell me to continue on with life while he was gone so...I decided there was nothing to do but run my last errand and then gather up the boys.  But emotions are a funny thing during deployment.  I stepped into the store where an associate quickly saw my coupon and whisked me to the area where I could pick something out.  And as she talked, I choked up and started to cry.  And here's how God works... she said, "Oh..I am deploying in a few weeks, too, and you need a hug".  And so right there I found myself being hugged by a stranger who understood.  And then we laughed and cried a little more while we rummaged through the drawers of panties. 
The evening continued with some texting and eventually Eric landed at his first destination.  He could not get a bed on the base and they found themselves in a hotel waiting.  And all day Monday he waited.  They finally took off again but to a second place for a 16 hour layover to have a repair done on the plane.  And as frustrating as that was for him to wait, we found ourselves with a valuable day of texting and even an afternoon skype session between just the two of us which I will cherish.  And then finally that night I received his last text.  He said he would call at his next destination if he could but unbelievably I slept through his phones calls.

I was assuming I wouldn't hear from him for quite awhile but by late afternoon Wednesday my phone was ringing off the hook telling me that Eric had posted he had a good connection and was looking for me.  And before you know it we were all sitting in front of my laptop skyping with him for just a few minutes.  I was also able to talk to him a couple of times including early this morning before he left again and before we left for Brady's sending ceremony. 

And then we left.  We were a parade of five cars.  Brady and Jayme, myself and Ayden, my mom and dad, Bren, Sarah, Laramy and Sarah, and Logan and Jenna managed to stay together as we drove to Ankeny High School.  I wish so much that Eric's travel didn't have to happen while we could have no contact during the ceremony but that was God's plan so we'll run with it. 

When they opened the curtains today and the crowd saw the horse and our cavalry...wow..what a response.  It is a moment I will never forget.  And to know that Eric was a part of the cav for so many years and now to carry on that tradition with Brady was a very cool moment for me.  I am not just a military wife and mother, I am a cav wife and mother.  I was reminded of a couple of  cav sayings when we attended Brady's family picnic on Monday.  "First in, last out" is one which I think truly speaks to how a cavalry soldier operates.  And so I came home and dusted off Eric's stetson.  And I look forward to Brady returning with his stetson. 

Most of you know that even though Eric can be a tough soldier he is one of the most tender men I have ever known.  He has a very strong faith, huge visions for things that most of us can't imagine, and a heart that cares and feels.  The night before his sending ceremony as we lay talking before sleep, he started singing "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" to me from John Wayne's cavalry movie.  Yep..that's my soldier.  That's why I can stand strong and support him and Brady. 

Prayer requests:
1) Safety, safe travels, and rest for both and all soldiers.
2) Praise for awesome friends and family who came out for Brady's ceremony.  Thank you so much.
3) Praise for all of the support we have been receiving especially my friends who have been calling and constantly checking on me.  I can't express how much I appreciate it.

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Love,
Monica