Andi's Senior Art Show

I was suppose to post this awhile back, but things were a little hectic between Andy being home and then leaving again. Andi's senior art show will be this Friday (tomorrow) from 5 to 7 in Dahlonega. Her graduation is August 11th, but at this time, they are only allowing her to invite 7 people. She is going to try to get more tickets when and if they become available, but there is no guarentee. I personally think that it is stupid that they are limiting the amount of people, but does what I think really matter to them? I have some pictures to post of Andy's visit, but I have to wait until I get back to Clarksville to post them. I forgot to bring the cord for my camera. Thanks for all of your well wishes for us for when Andy was home. It shouldn't be much longer now until he is home again for good!!!

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. :-)

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. 

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

Jake running back to first.  

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

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

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". 

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.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANDY! WE LOVE YOU!!

We have been pretty busy the past couple of weeks. We are getting ready for our last trip to Georgia for a while. Andy and Courtney are renewing their wedding vows on the 18th, and we are going down for that. Jacob is about to start t-ball. He finds out tomorrow what team he is on. I find out tomorrow just what "necessities" the registration fee covered. He is so excited about it.
Andrea is having an art show at the Crimson Moon next weekend, the 26th-28th. It is going to be all her own artwork, so we are very excited about that.
Andy is hoping to be able to come home on R&R sometime at the end of June, beginning of July. We can't wait. It's already all that Jacob can talk about. He has big plans made for them while Andy is here.
Will's birthday is tomorrow. I can't believe that he is already a year old. This year has really flown by. He started walking a few days ago. He took his first couple of steps trying to get to the phone after hearing Andy's voice over the speaker.
That's about all that is going on here for now. Hopefully, once all of our traveling is done this weekend, we will be able to get some things organized around here and ready for our big visit with Andy.

Jacob got a Thomas the Tank Engine tent from Granddad and Grandmommy for his birthday. He and Will had a lot of fun playing in it last weekend when I finally got it set up for them. 

Great new picture that I just received of Andy.  

Jacob was all set to relax on the beach with Grandmommy and Granddad, but Will was ready to go exploring. 

Jacob and Will enjoying the beach at St. George Island this last week. We went and spent the weekend with Grandmommy and Granddad, and we all had a great time. 

new car

We finally got rid of our gas-guzzler. Looking back, we realized that gas prices have doubled in the three years that we have owned it, and if they double again in the next three years, we would be paying an outrageous amount of money each month in gas just to drive it. We already were paying way more than we wanted to. So, we bit the bullet, got over it, etc, and are now the proud owners of a Dodge Grand Caravan. Jacob got to pick out the color, and it has a DVD player, so he's happy about it. Will just wants to face the front, so he can see the DVD player. It was a little daunting to try and do on my own, but I managed to survive unscathed.

Andy is doing pretty good. He hurt his knee playing soccer a few days ago. He said that he went to kick the ball and then go after it, but his cleats stayed and he fell. When he did, he twisted his knee and heard a loud pop. The doctor told him that he had tore or bruised his meniscus, which is the cartlidge in the knee. Andy says that he is fine and that he should be running again soon. He said to send everyone his love.