Thursday, March 29, 2007
At 10:45 AM we got a phone call and that was a great surprise. He was just chillin and it sounds like they are going to be moving soon. He said something about hoping to hear something about midnight. I’m not sure if that meant they would start the move then or not. He and a buddy have been working on a project that Chris is super excited about. They are writing a book about all the jokes and stories that you read on the porta potties. He said it is going to be great. Joey has sent him several suggestions for the title..."The Toilet Papers", "The Outhouse Dairies", "The Poop Scoop", etc... Who knows, maybe they can get Charmin to sponsor the book They plan on continuing the book while in Iraq as well. He said it was very interesting because there are comments from soldiers going into Iraq as well as those that have just left Iraq. Obviously he doesn't know what kind of comments and jokes to expect when he arrives at the FOB but he's quite sure they will be worth repeating. He is really pumped about writing this book. He said you would have to be there to understand it...it's a military thing! I am so glad he is upbeat...even if he is excited about spending time in the porta potty to write his book.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Two Surprise In One Day...WOW!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
What a day! Chris had called last Saturday and said he had been shopping at the PX and had gotten us some surprises and mailed them off. Well, we got the box today. It was like Christmas! We had no more than opened the box than the phone rang...it ws Chris. He was doing great and had had a pretty chill day. He did not have to be to work until midnight the next day so he and a buddy were going to the movie. He said he was taking advantage of all the amenities he had right now because it wouldn't be long until he would be moving and things would be CONSIDERABLY different. This is a picture that Chris sent of a prayer rug he bought while in Kuwait. His bear is praying!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Velvet Hammer
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Got a very short email this morning from Chris... Not sure where he is. Also got our first Velvet Hammer announcing the first death. I had a pleasant surprise today. I was online at work and got an IM from Chris. He was doing good. He said that the soldier that died was about 150 meters from where he was. He said it was horrible. He got run over accidentally by a Bradley. Chris said everyone was very sad. He said he was better now but it was a horrible experience. Even though he couldn't tell me where he was, I can conclude that he is back at Camp Buehring.
Got a very short email this morning from Chris... Not sure where he is. Also got our first Velvet Hammer announcing the first death. I had a pleasant surprise today. I was online at work and got an IM from Chris. He was doing good. He said that the soldier that died was about 150 meters from where he was. He said it was horrible. He got run over accidentally by a Bradley. Chris said everyone was very sad. He said he was better now but it was a horrible experience. Even though he couldn't tell me where he was, I can conclude that he is back at Camp Buehring.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Finally Got A Mailing Address
Finally got a mailing address today so now we can't start sending packages.
If you are interested in mailing Chris something, please leave a comment and I will get you his address.
If you are interested in mailing Chris something, please leave a comment and I will get you his address.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
He's Moved
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Got a call around 1:00 PM from Lidia, my friend whose son left with Chris, asking if we had heard from Chris. She had missed a call from Anthony and was so depressed. The message he left was that he was heading North and was catching the plane in about an hour. A few hours later, I got a call from Chris…he had headed South. He said he traveled in a Mitsibushi Montero. He couldn’t tell us much but we did conclude that he was at Camp Arifjan, still in Kuwait. He said the Kuwaities drive like maniacs. He was in great spirits and was excited that he had a bunk to sleep in. It’s so great to hear his voice
Got a call around 1:00 PM from Lidia, my friend whose son left with Chris, asking if we had heard from Chris. She had missed a call from Anthony and was so depressed. The message he left was that he was heading North and was catching the plane in about an hour. A few hours later, I got a call from Chris…he had headed South. He said he traveled in a Mitsibushi Montero. He couldn’t tell us much but we did conclude that he was at Camp Arifjan, still in Kuwait. He said the Kuwaities drive like maniacs. He was in great spirits and was excited that he had a bunk to sleep in. It’s so great to hear his voice
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Safely in Kuwait
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Chris safely arrived in Kuwait. We got a call this morning and he was doing good and was in great spirits.
Chris safely arrived in Kuwait. We got a call this morning and he was doing good and was in great spirits.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Arrived in Germany
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Started the day with a pleasant surprise... a phone call from Chris. He was in Leipzeg, Germany and doing fine. It was so good to hear from him. Next stop, Kuwait! Chris sent this picture of the trip to Germany. Looks like they were having a good time!
Started the day with a pleasant surprise... a phone call from Chris. He was in Leipzeg, Germany and doing fine. It was so good to hear from him. Next stop, Kuwait! Chris sent this picture of the trip to Germany. Looks like they were having a good time!
Friday, March 2, 2007
Our Emotional Roller Coaster...Deployment
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Chris had called yesterday to let us know that he was being told that he might not deploy on Thursday. He said he would find out at 9:00 on Wednesday. We decided to cancel our 8 something flight on Wednesday and wait to hear from him. He called this morning at 9:30 and said he was 99.9% sure he was leaving on Thursday night as originally planned. I immeditely tried to get us a flight out. Not much available but found a noon flight at about 10:45. Threw clothes in the suitcase and flew to the airport...made it just as they were boarding. Arrived in Georgia and saw Chris at the airport...he was picking up his Dad. Drove to Columbus. Chris had dinner with his Dad and then met up with us at the hotel. Had a nice visit. Boy am I going to miss him. He looked so skinny to us. I can only imagine what he will look like when he returns.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
What a day!!! It was already a sad gloomy day but the weather made it even worse. We got up early and headed to Chris' house. We stopped at Target to pick him up a couple of movies for his PSP. When we got to his house we started helping him with the last minute things. He still had boxes in his attic and still had a few things to take to storage. Got the rental truck packed up and headed to the storage unit. After it was all put away, we headed to cafe 222 to pick up lunch while Chris went home, cleaned up and got into uniform. Got to his house with lunch but he wasn't feeling very good (really seemed to be stressing out) so he didn't eat very much. He then went to meet his Dad while we stayed and packed up his kitchen and took several boxes to Joleens and put in her attic. It was raining very had when we got ready to leave her house so we sat and visited for a while. What a sweet lady. She really admires Chris and Nick. She said she was going to keep in touch with them and send them lots of goodies. Her first box was going to contain a pocket Bible. We then headed to base to meet Chris and his Dad at 2:45. We met at the bowling center and just hung out to kill a little time because he didn't have to pick up his weapon until 5:00 PM. Believe it or not it actually went well. I was so dreading being there with his Dad but it was cival. We had a nice time and at 5:00 we headed to get his weapon. It was pouring down rain and we waited under a little gazebo outside the building. He was supposed to walk to the motor pool once he got his weapon because he couldn't get in a private vehicle with his weapon. We thought that was going to be our final goodbye at gazebo. Chris found a ride in a government van so we said our very sad goodbyes and watched him drive away. We decided to drive to the motor pool to see if by any chance we could see him walk in. We saw some of the parents walking into the building so we went too. We got in and were able to see Nick and tell him goodbye. We were only in for a few minutes when they told us they were locking the doors at 6:00 so say your final goodbyes. Christen called her Dad but he didn't make it down in time because he was already heading off base. We said our goodbyes and waited outside the gate to watch him get on the bus and leave. The Martinez family gave us an American flag to wave as the busses went by. It was the most horrible day of my life! When the busses pulled out of the parking lot I felt like my heart hit the ground. We headed off base and back to the hotel. As we are heading back we see that all the street lights are out and traffic is crazy. Everything is dark. When we finally make it back to he hotel which is completely dark like everything else in the neighborhood, we find out that a tornado hit about 45 minutes ago less than a mile away. We packed our things up by candlelight and headed to Atlanta. The drive was terrible. It was raining, high winds and more bad weather was on the way. We laughed and said, Chris leaves and the whole town shuts down. Got to Atlanta at about 11:00 and tried about 5 hotels before we found a room at the Red Roof Inn which was a DUMP! Joey and Sis went next door to McDonalds to get supper and just as we sat down to eat, my phone rang. It was Chris. He wanted us to come get him because the flight was canceled due to the weather. I felt horrible because we had left. We called Jim and he went and picked him up. I was crushed because if it weren't for the tornado, we would have been there for him. My emotions are shot...This whole thing stinks! Now he is supposed to leave tomorrow at 2:30 PM. I get to look forward to another day on an emotional roller coaster.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Well, we got up early from Atlanta and headed back to Columbus. We called Continental and got our flight changed to Saturday morning at 9:55 PM. As we got closer, we called Chris and he told us to meet him at IHOP that the Boer’s were going to be there and we could all have breakfast. We all ate and then went to the UHaul place that Kimberly’s sister worked at for Chris to tell everyone goodbye. He was good friends with all of Kimberly’s family. Went back to the bowling center for a while just to pass time. Christen decided to bowl. It actually went pretty well. I was not feeling too good…coming down with something. At about 2:00 we headed back to motor pool. The Boer’s were there to see Chris and hopefully Nick off. Here we go again. When Chris got there people were talking that it had been postponed again. Well, it was true. Now they are to report at 8:30 PM. Nick wasn’t at the motor pool and Chris was concerned, as were some of the others. Since nobody has cell phones anymore, he couldn’t just call him to find out where he was. We drove by Nick’s office to see if he was there but no luck. We had a lot of time to pass so we all decided to go to the mall…Sgt. Boer wanted to buy some new sunglasses. Walked around for a while and then decided to eat at Johnny Carinos. After dinner, Chris took us to Commando’s and Ranger Joe’s to get some souvenirs. He bought us all dog tags to wear while he was gone. They mean the world to us. We decided to go back to Nick’s office to see if we could find him again. Chris was really concerned. Well, we found him. What a sight…he was sitting on the floor on a box of papers for padding and was on his laptop. He said his parents had found him and he had to go to the family thing with them. He wasn’t happy. He slept on the floor in his office last night. We visited for a while and then all headed to motor pool, AGAIN! This time it was the real thing. It went very quickly this time. They arrived, we said our VERY SAD goodbye’s and off he went to formation. Within no time at all he was heading to the bus and off they went. My heart sunk! I already miss him and he just left. After we watched the buses drive off we headed off base. We decided to drive around a few minutes in Columbus and see the tornado damage. There was a lot. Then we headed back to Atlanta. We called Continental and got our flight changed AGAIN because we were absolutely exhausted. What a day…I miss you son and you’ve only been gone a little while.
Chris had called yesterday to let us know that he was being told that he might not deploy on Thursday. He said he would find out at 9:00 on Wednesday. We decided to cancel our 8 something flight on Wednesday and wait to hear from him. He called this morning at 9:30 and said he was 99.9% sure he was leaving on Thursday night as originally planned. I immeditely tried to get us a flight out. Not much available but found a noon flight at about 10:45. Threw clothes in the suitcase and flew to the airport...made it just as they were boarding. Arrived in Georgia and saw Chris at the airport...he was picking up his Dad. Drove to Columbus. Chris had dinner with his Dad and then met up with us at the hotel. Had a nice visit. Boy am I going to miss him. He looked so skinny to us. I can only imagine what he will look like when he returns.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
What a day!!! It was already a sad gloomy day but the weather made it even worse. We got up early and headed to Chris' house. We stopped at Target to pick him up a couple of movies for his PSP. When we got to his house we started helping him with the last minute things. He still had boxes in his attic and still had a few things to take to storage. Got the rental truck packed up and headed to the storage unit. After it was all put away, we headed to cafe 222 to pick up lunch while Chris went home, cleaned up and got into uniform. Got to his house with lunch but he wasn't feeling very good (really seemed to be stressing out) so he didn't eat very much. He then went to meet his Dad while we stayed and packed up his kitchen and took several boxes to Joleens and put in her attic. It was raining very had when we got ready to leave her house so we sat and visited for a while. What a sweet lady. She really admires Chris and Nick. She said she was going to keep in touch with them and send them lots of goodies. Her first box was going to contain a pocket Bible. We then headed to base to meet Chris and his Dad at 2:45. We met at the bowling center and just hung out to kill a little time because he didn't have to pick up his weapon until 5:00 PM. Believe it or not it actually went well. I was so dreading being there with his Dad but it was cival. We had a nice time and at 5:00 we headed to get his weapon. It was pouring down rain and we waited under a little gazebo outside the building. He was supposed to walk to the motor pool once he got his weapon because he couldn't get in a private vehicle with his weapon. We thought that was going to be our final goodbye at gazebo. Chris found a ride in a government van so we said our very sad goodbyes and watched him drive away. We decided to drive to the motor pool to see if by any chance we could see him walk in. We saw some of the parents walking into the building so we went too. We got in and were able to see Nick and tell him goodbye. We were only in for a few minutes when they told us they were locking the doors at 6:00 so say your final goodbyes. Christen called her Dad but he didn't make it down in time because he was already heading off base. We said our goodbyes and waited outside the gate to watch him get on the bus and leave. The Martinez family gave us an American flag to wave as the busses went by. It was the most horrible day of my life! When the busses pulled out of the parking lot I felt like my heart hit the ground. We headed off base and back to the hotel. As we are heading back we see that all the street lights are out and traffic is crazy. Everything is dark. When we finally make it back to he hotel which is completely dark like everything else in the neighborhood, we find out that a tornado hit about 45 minutes ago less than a mile away. We packed our things up by candlelight and headed to Atlanta. The drive was terrible. It was raining, high winds and more bad weather was on the way. We laughed and said, Chris leaves and the whole town shuts down. Got to Atlanta at about 11:00 and tried about 5 hotels before we found a room at the Red Roof Inn which was a DUMP! Joey and Sis went next door to McDonalds to get supper and just as we sat down to eat, my phone rang. It was Chris. He wanted us to come get him because the flight was canceled due to the weather. I felt horrible because we had left. We called Jim and he went and picked him up. I was crushed because if it weren't for the tornado, we would have been there for him. My emotions are shot...This whole thing stinks! Now he is supposed to leave tomorrow at 2:30 PM. I get to look forward to another day on an emotional roller coaster.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Well, we got up early from Atlanta and headed back to Columbus. We called Continental and got our flight changed to Saturday morning at 9:55 PM. As we got closer, we called Chris and he told us to meet him at IHOP that the Boer’s were going to be there and we could all have breakfast. We all ate and then went to the UHaul place that Kimberly’s sister worked at for Chris to tell everyone goodbye. He was good friends with all of Kimberly’s family. Went back to the bowling center for a while just to pass time. Christen decided to bowl. It actually went pretty well. I was not feeling too good…coming down with something. At about 2:00 we headed back to motor pool. The Boer’s were there to see Chris and hopefully Nick off. Here we go again. When Chris got there people were talking that it had been postponed again. Well, it was true. Now they are to report at 8:30 PM. Nick wasn’t at the motor pool and Chris was concerned, as were some of the others. Since nobody has cell phones anymore, he couldn’t just call him to find out where he was. We drove by Nick’s office to see if he was there but no luck. We had a lot of time to pass so we all decided to go to the mall…Sgt. Boer wanted to buy some new sunglasses. Walked around for a while and then decided to eat at Johnny Carinos. After dinner, Chris took us to Commando’s and Ranger Joe’s to get some souvenirs. He bought us all dog tags to wear while he was gone. They mean the world to us. We decided to go back to Nick’s office to see if we could find him again. Chris was really concerned. Well, we found him. What a sight…he was sitting on the floor on a box of papers for padding and was on his laptop. He said his parents had found him and he had to go to the family thing with them. He wasn’t happy. He slept on the floor in his office last night. We visited for a while and then all headed to motor pool, AGAIN! This time it was the real thing. It went very quickly this time. They arrived, we said our VERY SAD goodbye’s and off he went to formation. Within no time at all he was heading to the bus and off they went. My heart sunk! I already miss him and he just left. After we watched the buses drive off we headed off base. We decided to drive around a few minutes in Columbus and see the tornado damage. There was a lot. Then we headed back to Atlanta. We called Continental and got our flight changed AGAIN because we were absolutely exhausted. What a day…I miss you son and you’ve only been gone a little while.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
