Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Hello I am Home

Hello,

I am so blessed and thankful for getting the chance to come home. It took me three hot days to get back but I am so glad to be home. I drove across Baghdad, got to the airport, flew to Kuwait and then to Atlanta. I finally rented a car with a comrade and got to Nashville 4 hours before my plan would have arrived. I called Allie and told her to be there at the Budget rental turn in and she sat for almost a hour at the Hertz rental store which is right next door in the garage. I borrowed the cell phone from my friends family once they arrived and called my parents and her parents because I have forgotten Allie's cell phone number. Once I got it, we called and met each other in the garage outside the Hertz rental car garage. I was so elated to see Allie and Jacob and Will. Jacob has become such a big boy. He shied away from me, somewhat hesitant at first and then came right to me and gave me a big hug. Will was in the car seat and came right to me once he got out. I feel like I don't even know him because he changed so much since I held him last. He has definetly changed the most. I am the luckiest and happiest Husband and Dad in the world. Thank you for all of your prayers and concerns for our safety. I love you all and hope to see you soon. God Bless.

From Allie: Yes, can you believe it? I sat for an hour at the WRONG PLACE, while he was right next door. I have no idea why I was thinking Hertz, other than he called at 6:30 that morning and I was still asleep when he told me where to meet him. I even asked what other rental car agencies were there, and Budget didn't ring any bells. Oh, well. The boys were so excited. Jacob hasn't let Andy out of his sight for more than a few minutes. He has so much to show him and tell him. Unfortunately, Will is sick. He had a fever yesterday of 104 degrees, so Andy spent part of his second day back at the pediatrician's office. Hopefully, the rest of his visit will go more smoothly. :-)

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Andy's on his way home!

I just got off of the phone with Andy. He's just gotten to Kuwait, and should be arriving in Nashville sometime on Monday. We are all so excited that he is almost home for his R&R. He said that they lost his bag with his change of clothes in it, so we might need to hold our noses when we get to see him. Apparently, he's been in the same clothes for 2 days already, and has 2 more to go. I don't think that any of us are going to be too concerned, though.

Will loves to crawl into little spaces. I've had to take all my candles out of the fireplace so that he can get in and play. Posted by Picasa

We were outside playing in the sprinkler when Will decided that he would go cut the grass. Posted by Picasa

Jake running back to first.  Posted by Picasa

Jacob hitting the ball in his very first baseball game. He did such a great job! Posted by Picasa

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Happy late birthday, Andi! (I did call you on the correct day :-), just forgot to post it.) Love you!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006


This is Andi below a painting that she did that is a replica of a bumper sticker that Noah brought home from Iraq on his R&R before he died. The bumper sticker said "I love Iraq". Posted by Picasa
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMANDA!
Happy Birthday, Amanda!!

Andi's Art Show

Okay, so I messed up when I was trying to post this. Below is a picture of Andi at her art show. Her show was entitled "Strength". Here is a description of how the collection was started, taken from her promotional flyer.
Last year on my birthday, Noah Harris, a young man I went to high school with was killed in Iraq. Both of my brother-in-laws are also in the Army, and have been stationed in Iraq. When I heard the news about Noah, I told my sister and watched her collapse onto the pavement outside of a restaurant in downtown Ellijay because of two reasons. One, Noah was her friend. Two, her husband was in the same unit as Noah and we did not know who the other soldier killed in the explosion was. After a very hard few hours, we found out that his name was William Long, and my respect and heartfelt sympathy continue to go out to his family.
At this time, I started watching my family, my friends, and my community. The outreach and love that came to my family and Noah's family was tremendous. I can't even go grocery shopping without being asked how Andy and Ben are. Because of this, I wanted to do something to show the strength of not only the soldiers, but of their families and friends who stay behind knowing that they may never get to see their father, brother, sister, lover, or friend again.
This is the story of emails, phone calls, prayer meetings, tears, homecomings, birthdays, first steps, and above all else, the love that it takes for these men to know that when they come home, it will be a home that is worth fighting for. To Andy and Ben, I love you both so much and I couldn't have been blessed with better men to call my brothers.
I wanted to call this show "Strength". It is about strength. Strength of men, strength of mothers, fathers, family and friends and I want everyone to know how I appreciate that strength that has been shown for us all.

The show was wonderful, Andi. Thank you.
Love,
Allie

This is a picture of Andi at her very first art show. It was wonderful and I am extremely proud of her. Her show was entitled "Strength". This is how the flyer described her collection and how it got started.  Posted by Picasa