Brian's off to start his Army life

Brian left today from Phoenix to start his Army life at Fort Jackson South Carolina. Well, almost. He called me this evening to let me know that he and the 6 other guys that left MEPS today all got bumped off their flight. The Army is putting them up for the night at a hotel and they'll try again in the morning.

He'll be in inprocessing for about a week and will then begin Basic Training probably the first week of May.

It was very nice to have him up here for a few days in the middle of the month. Here's a picture of the two of us at the Marion Wade Center at Wheaton College. They have a little museum with one of CS Lewis' wardrobes (and all that that implies!)



Please pray for him as he enters this new phase of his life. I'll be sure to post his address as soon as he gets settled. He won't be able to get care packages during Basic, but they DO encourage letters and cards. He's going to be without cellphone or computer for 8 weeks, so he'll really be looking forward to word from the outside world!

Today, April 11, 2007

I opened the garage to put Percy out and this is what I saw-



Percy was NOT happy about the return of the cold, wet, white stuff and had to be dragged out of the garage to go to the bathroom. When I came back (with the camera) just a moment later, he was already waiting for me at the door!



We were under a winter weather advisory, but the snow was SUPPOSED to go just north of us.

And yet, here we are. I hope Brian brings a jacket!

The Catch up Post (this is a LONG one!)

Wow, sorry for the long break between posts!

Things have settled into a kind of rythym for me and there's not a whole lot new to post about Aaryk.

I've got to tell you though, he's said to say a huge THANK YOU! to everyone who has sent care packages, letters, and emails. He appreciates each and every one of them. He's really enjoying being the pen pal for Jeanine's Kindergarten class too!

He has settled back in to being a mechanic and is really enjoying the physical (as opposed to mental) exhaustion that comes with it. That may sound odd, but THIS is what he went back into the Army to do, and he's glad to be doing it again. He did have a slight...disagreement with his wrench the other day though and had to get two stitches in his split lip! I told him that was NOT the way to get out of work early! ;) He's doing well though, and I have a couple of pictures to share with you all-

Aaryk in the airplane on the way to Iraq


Army Man Pose!


This is his corner of the barracks-


He's also got a wardrobe/closet at the foot of his bed for the rest of his stuff. He said he's recently done more soundproofing for his area, and built himself a small desk for his computer. All the comforst of home...or at least a close fascimile!

Let's see, on the home front, I got a job and started at the Target store about 5 minutes from my folks' house. I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm one of those odd ducks that really does love working in retail.

Going back a couple of weeks, I finally got my hair cut! My brother Scott and I both decided to get haircuts, and so we took some before and after pictures. Here they are-

The 'Before'


The 'Just for you Aaryk' ;)


And, the 'After'!


I think we clean up pretty nice, don't you? We both donated our excess to Locks of Love, something I've wanted to do for some time now.

We celebrated Easter a bit early this year, because my Mom was headed to Greece on a Missions Trip with her church. They went to help the Greek Bible Institute build a new dorm and do other work around the school for a couple of weeks.


My brother Jeff showed off the newest addition to his Peeps collection-

Percy apparently doesn't think much of Peeps ;)-


On Easter, I took Dad out for Brunch at St. Andrews Golf Club. It was a very nice way to spend the afternoon!

Tomorrow Brian flies in for about a week, and Mom comes home on Thurdsay so we'll be celebrating Easter once agin THIS weekend. You can't can't get too much Easter! ;)

Anyway, that's about it for here, I'll have more to post when Brian gets here I'm sure!

Thank you all for your prayers and support (and especially to Chris, who's email asking about us got me posting again tonight!)