First game of pool

We have pool tables in our club house, but in the nearly 4 years of living hear none of us have ever played on them. Joshua started begging to play his first game of pool over the holidays, so yesterday we tried them out. I am not a very good player, but could explain the basics of the game to him and give him some tips on how to hit the ball. Sure enough, after a couple games he was beating me and I was trying. We had a lot of fun and I imagine there will be many more games of pool in the future. Here is Joshua holding the first ball he ever hit into a pocket.

Today my brother's family is headed to the Discovery Science Center (DSC), about 30 miles north of us, and have invited Joshua to join them. As an employee of DSC I was able to get them all free tickets, so they can enjoy their day without the added cost. I will enjoy the day doing projects here at home without Joshua begging me to do something else (often something I do not want to do).

Still waiting for a note from Jarhedjon that I can post for you all. He is not as busy as previously this deployment but still has those "fun" meetings to attend either in person or via his computer.

Happy New Year!

Sheryl

Post Christmas Activities

Yesterday Joshua and I didn't do much. Joshua spent most of his day building Legos. I didn't do much of anything, which was nice.

Today I have been working on a PTA project and this afternoon we spent three hours walking to Costco and geocaching along the way. We were three for four, which is great for us. The weather was gorgeous and we had fun walking and scootering (Joshua was on the scooter) along the bike trail and some side streets.

Jon continues to have meetings and work to do, so keeps himself busy. But his schedule seems to be slowing down a bit. He mentioned getting 10 hours of sleep Christmas Eve which is a huge blessing for him. Those of you who know Jon know how much he loves to sleep and that has been something he has not gotten enough (as much as he wants) during this deployment. Hopefully he will be fully rested by the time he gets home.

Counting down the days

Sheryl

Merry Christmas

Joshua and I celebrated Christmas with eleven other family members at our home. We were up around 7:30 (not bad) after Joshua stayed up till about midnight waiting to see Santa. He told me that he was 96% sure there isn't a Santa, but needed proof. Well the stockings were full when he woke up, so not sure where he stands on that issue right now.

My folks arrived around 9:30 with orange rolls (a France family recipe my mom got from my Grandma France). Mmmm The rest of the family arrived over the next hour or so. We opened gifts while we waited for the turkey and other dishes to finish baking. Then we had a fabulous meal around a long table with all 13 of us together -- Sean (7 months old) sat on Grandpa Joe's lap most of the time. After dinner we cleaned up and played games until each family had to leave and head for home. Fortunately we had enough room inside since it rained off and on most of the day.

I hope you were able to enjoy Christmas with family and loved ones. Jon was not able to get through on the phone Christmas day, but we did talk to him on Joshua's birthday and then again this morning. He is doing well and we are all counting down the days now.

Today we made a trip to Toys R Us to exchange the one duplicate Lego set Joshua received. The return line was very short -- I was shocked -- and the store was not busy at all. I guess it is a sign of the economic times. Joshua found another Lego set that he really liked and actually cost a little less and we were in and out of the store in about 15 minutes. Not bad for the day after Christmas.

Not sure what we'll be doing for the rest of the Christmas holiday, but it is nice not to have any plans. The weather is beautiful today -- blue sky and a cool 58 degrees.

Merry Christmas.

Sheryl

Joshua's 9th Birthday

Okay, what mother gets so busy that she forgets to post a birthday announcement for her son on his birthday. I guess a mom who has been a single parent for almost a year and is preparing for her family to come to her house for Christmas while she is also delivering cookies (made about 15 different kinds this year) to the neighbors and friends. So here it is!

Happy 9th Birthday to my favorite son Joshua who was born on December 23! He started and ended the day opening gifts. In between he built Legos (his favorite toy these days), played computer games and ran some errands with me. We had an early dinner at Red Robin, a fun restaurant, where he had a corn dog with french fries and a Shirley Temple to drink. My folks met us at the restaurant and so he had a couple more gifts to open there. When we got home, "Ice Age" the movie was on TV so we watched that until bed time.

It is amazing to think back to that Christmas 9 years ago when this wonderful tiny person arrived in our lives. I remember being a bit panicky when we went home from the hospital with him on Christmas Eve. But then I had a thought and I remember looking at him and saying, "Hey, you don't even know who you are yet, so we'll just get to know each other as we go along." I think that is an awesome way to approach parenting -- getting to know my child each day, month and year, as he grows and changes. I can honestly say that I truly enjoy who my little boy has turned out to be at 9 years of age.

Merry Christmas everyone,

Sheryl

Christmas Dinner in a Combat Zone

In case anyone is feeling sorry for me (at least, as it pertains to creature comforts, etc.), attached is the Christmas Day fare at the chowhall... Of course, I may not go to the chowhall during the noon meal, I tend to eat my meal at suppertime. However, that's a personal choice, which makes it a personal problem... For a meal like this, I'll probably make an exception, if only for the eggnog (imagine, eggnog in a combat zone...). Of course, it's still not like home, though in all seriousness, I realize I am very fortunate--among the many Service personnel deployed this Christmas, I am one of the most blessed. Merry Christmas, and may the Advent of our Lord find you ready and waiting!

Semper Fi, JarHedJon

Church Christmas Concert

Last night and again tonight, Joshua will be participating in our church Christmas concert. He is a member of the youth chorus where he and Conor are the only boys, but he loves to sing, so it doesn't seem to matter to him. The kids did a great job last night, as did the adult singers, readers, bell ringers, orchestra members and all others who made the concert happen.

I volunteered with our youth ministry in putting on La Posada for the younger children who couldn't sit through the hour and a half long concert. La Posada is a Mexican tradition where (when we do it) the children dress up as angels, shepherds, wisemen, and the "leading parts" of the Christmas story. We then act it out together -- all who attend participate. We walk around the church campus where adults acting as inn keepers turn away Joseph and Mary. Finally, they come back to the chapel where one inn keeper lets them in to stay in the stable. After the story has been acted out we have a fiesta with pinata, cocoa and oreos (probably not part of the Mexican tradition). After a couple years of being the "mean" inn keeper, last night I got to be the kind inn keeper and one of the wisemen.

I hope you all are enjoying wonderful Christmas and Advent celebrations that help you remember the birth of our Lord Jesus. Blessings.

Sheryl

Health and Welfare

Thank you for praying for my health. I continue to have congestion but feel okay. We'll see how long this bug hangs on. Joshua has stayed healthy so far. Here is the latest on Jon's health and welfare.

"Well, a week or two makes a HUGE difference out here in terms of weather, at least in the transitional "seasons," as there is such a dramatic difference between summer temperatures and winter temperatures. We're now down to highs in the upper 50's, and low's in the lower 30's. No kidding. And the wind chill (it's almost always blowing here) works something fierce, I guess the only plus is the humidity is low (so at least our bones aren't aching). It actually snowed out here the week before I arrived in early 2008, and though there was no long term accumulation (the ground was not frozen), it serves as an indication of potential things to come.
My health is holding steady, I had a low grade cold that moved from my chest into my head, but very little impact. My tooth has been remarkable in the fact that I don't notice it, and all else is status quo. The reality is that the intensive nature of the staff work and other jobs I've had here have pretty much precluded the exercise I would have liked to be getting more regularly, it'll take a little while following my redeployment to re-achieve a base line of conditioning. It's hard to believe that 13 months ago I completed a marathon. Though 50's are a nice temperature range to run a marathon in, it's a little chilly for three mile stints, so that is another deterrent, even if I had the time.
It appears we may have a few more organizational holiday events this deployment than were permissible back in 2006, partly due to the operational environment. Generally, attendance is expected (that means "mandatory" for officers), though time off work to attend secular events is not what I'd prefer. On the plus side, there is usually free food (OK, I'm reaching here, we don't pay for any of our food over here, thanks to the taxpayers...).

Semper Fi, JarHedJon"

Catching up with our family

I have been fighting a head cold since Thursday and this morning it feels like it might be moving into my chest. I would appreciate prayers for healing.

Joshua finally had his last soccer games of the season. Most AYSO teams in our region finished the season November 8, but since his team won their championship, they went on to play other regional winners. The team had a rough day Saturday, but came back to play well and win on Sunday, so they were pleased. Of course now he wants to play winter soccer, which goes from January through February.

Here's the latest from Jon: "I'd like to thank Joe and Helen for the great box they sent, M&M's really should be one of the staple food groups, along with peanut butter cups (PBC)... I was able to share the carrot/banana bread with a comrade who had just returned from two weeks of eating packaged rations (MRE) in the "field", both of us enjoyed it immensely. Unfortunately, we've had a vector control problem, and four of the PBC were sampled by a rodent (mouse) and had to be discarded. I've since moved my stash into a plastic bag and to a higher elevation, and in the meantime, we've disbursed sticky pad traps in various places. The sticky pad traps are effective, we've caught eight mice so far in this building since September--the problem comes in the dispatch following the trapping. We've developed a humane, efficient method, but I won't go into detail (application of the Marine slogan, "Nobody likes to do it, but somebody has to know how" seems to fit).

I appreciate your prayer regarding my tooth (ache), since the posting (and your prayers), I've had no recurrence of the pain, nor have I had to change my eating/chewing patterns to avoid pain. My guess is it's still a little cold-temperature-liquid sensitive, but not being an Iceman (I generally prefer "cold" beverages at just slightly above room temperature), it's not been a problem. I was able to down the B&R (caramel and pralines?) at the chowhall the other night with no problem, that's the main thing... Oorah. Semper Fi, Jon G."

Thank you for keeping all of us in your prayers.

Sheryl

Marine Hymn History and Other Songs

Jon sent this to me and I thought you all would get a kick out of it. Enjoy!

The U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Air Force all have their own songs. For the U.S. Navy, Anchors Aweigh was written in 1906 by Lt. Charles Zimmerman and midshipman Alfred Miles. Initially the song was a tribute to the Naval Academy Class of 1907. Various people revised it later, trying to weed out the nonsense. Another midshipman, Royal Lovell, penned the final stanza in 1926. Anchors Aweigh has a snappy little tune, but no one knows what the words imply. The original first stanza in 1906 had dealt solely with the game of football. Even today, the song offers a bittersweet "farewell to college joys." The lyrics end by "wishing you a happy voyage home." Many musical experts think that Anchors Aweigh is a ballad for football players who like sailboats. But, no one really knows for sure.

The U.S Army adopted a snazzy tune for The Caisson Song. Unlike the words in the Navy's song, the words of the Army's song make sense. According to the words of each stanza, The Caisson Song clearly is a melody for rural motorists. Edmund Gruber wrote the original lyrics in the Philippines during World War I. Naturally, since most of the fighting was 8000 miles away in Europe, Gruber made only a passing reference to warfare. Yet, he was careful to be "politically correct." He apparently sought the help of first grade students in composing the lyrics. The banal "Hi, hi, hee" is a dead giveaway. No one has a clue as to what it might mean. Still, at least it rhymes.

The U.S. Air Force did not exist in 1938. But, that year Liberty Magazine sponsored a contest for an official song for the Army Air Corps. The magazine received 757 entries. A group of Army Air Corps wives (yes, believe it or not, wives) selected the entry from Robert Crawford, Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder. After World War II the Army Air Corps evolved into the U.S. Air Force. This fledgling flying club adopted Off We Go' as their official song. It suited the illusionary nature of the new Wild-Blue-Yonder-Wonders with references to "those who love the vastness of the sky" and the fictitious "rainbow's pot of gold." The final stanza speaks of the "gray haired wonder," an admirable gesture of non-discrimination for the new civilianized Air Force.

These three songs, Anchors Aweigh, The Caisson Song, and Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder, are often played at public events. They obviously delight the members and advocates of the affected service: Navy, Army, or Air Force. When their song is played, sailors, soldiers, and zoomies leap to their feet and shout, cheer, clap their hands, and jive with the music. They have a jolly time, almost like a high school pep rally.

The U.S. Marine Corps is the United States' military band of brothers dedicated to warfighting. The proud Brotherhood of Marines is guided by principles, values, virtues, love of country, and its Warrior Culture. This brotherhood of American Patriots has no song. Instead, Marine Warriors have a hymn. When The Marines' Hymn is played, United States Marines stand at attention. They silently show their pride in their fellow Marines, their Corps, their Country, their heritage, and their hymn. The Marines' Hymn is a tribute to Warriors. Marine Warriors stormed fortress Derna, raised the American flag, and gave us "the shores of Tripoli ." Marines fought their way into the castle at Chapultepec and gave us the "Halls of Montezuma." Marines exist for the purpose of warfighting. Fighting is their role in life. They "fight for right and freedom" and "to keep our honor clean." They fight "in the air, on land, and sea." The Marine Corps is Valhalla for Warriors. U.S. Marines need no song. They have a hymn. Ironically, no one knows who wrote the hymn, which was in widespread use by the mid-1800s. Col. A.S. McLemore, USMC, spent several years trying to identify the origin of the tune. In 1878 he told the leader of the Marine Band that the tune had been adopted from the comic opera Genevieve de Barbant, by Jacques Offenbach. Yet others believe the tune originated from a Spanish folk song. Whatever! Regardless of its origin, The Marines' Hymn has remained a revered icon of the United States Marine Corps for almost 200 years. In 1929 The Marines' Hymn became the official hymn of the Corps. Thirteen years later in November 1942 the Commandant approved a change in the words of the first verse, fourth line. Because of the increasing use of aircraft in the Corps, the words were changed to "In the air, on land, and sea." No other changes have been made since that time. When you have attained absolute perfection, there is no need for further modification.

Sir Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, became an ardent admirer of the U.S. Marine Corps. In the company of guests of state, he often demonstrated his respect for U.S. Marines by reciting, from memory, all three verses of The Marines' Hymn.

THE MARINES HYMN

From the Halls of Montezuma,
To the Shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of UNITED STATES MARINES.

Our flag's unfurled to every breeze,
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far off northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job --
The UNITED STATES MARINES

Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve;
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By UNITED STATES MARINES.

Thanksgiving 2008

Here are a few tidbits from Jon. He worked all day and well into the night on Thanksgiving day. He is grateful that his busy schedule is helping to make the time go by faster.


"The weather is making it less enjoyable [here], it is cold and blustery (highs are mid 60's, lows are mid 40's, winds up to 25mph), the last 48 hours or so have been rainy, though not the downpour we need, just a smattering, enough moisture to muddy things up a bit (literally--this mud here is like sticky glue)."


He also asked for prayer about that tooth that first bothered him early in 2006. "I have in the last week become aware of a pretty acute level of sensitivity to the ingestion of cold food on my one tooth (that gave me problems during my deployment in 2006). There are no other problems associated with it, but my life could quickly become beyond miserable if this thing goes south quickly." Thanks for keeping him in your prayers.


Joshua and I had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We enjoyed turkey, ham and ALL the fixings with a group of 18 extended family members, including 4 grandmas and 1 grandpa. Oh, yes, there were many fights over precious baby Sean. This picture is compliments of my photographically talented brother-in-law Sonny (also known as the father of Sean). Joshua and I spent the night at Steve and Sandi's and I enjoyed a relaxing day while Joshua played with his cousins. We even found a couple geocaches on our way home Friday afternoon.


We spent Saturday putting up our Advent and Christmas decorations, having a soccer practice in preparation for those regional playoffs next weekend, and then went to see "Bolt" with some friends from school.


Today was a restful day as we finished up our Christmas decorations, talked to Jon on the phone, decorated a store-bought gingerbread house and found 3 of the 6 geocaches we were looking for. We even ran into a man who was geocaching when he found us behind a bush and called out, "Are you guys geocaching." :) Caught! The three of us together couldn't find the next cache on our list, but it was fun to share the search.


I hope that this advent season is full of many new discoveries as you "wait" and anticipate what God's coming into the world means for you.


Sheryl

Gratitude

I am thankful for so many things this year.
* My husband is safe, able to e-mail me almost every day and call me weekly.
* I have immensely enjoyed the time I've spent with my son this year.
* God has blessed me with friends through my church and Joshua's school who love me in so many ways.
* I have a new home (not quite a year old) that is lovely, spacious and keeps me warm and protected from the elements.
* I have more than enough food and take clean water for granted.
* God has opened my eyes to amazing opportunities to serve his body and the world around me.
* Our family has been healthy this year -- a few colds and stomach flue really don't count on the spectrum of health struggles.
* I live in a country where I can worship when and where I want with other believers.
* I live in a diverse country where people with diametrically opposing views can argue and debate openly without going to war and killing each other.
* Today I will be able to join with most of my extended family to celebrate a holiday that reminds us all to stop and express our gratitude.

I am blessed in so many ways. I hope you have a wonderful day expressing your gratitude for the life you have with people you love.

As you begin this advent season (November 30), I'd encourage you to check out the video on this website http://www.adventconspiracy.org/ and think about how you might make Advent and Christmas more meaningful this year.

Blessings,

Sheryl

More Mail Arrives

Once again, a BIG thanks to all of you who have taken the time to write to Jon or send him packages. They are a huge blessing and encouragement to him. This just in from him.

The mail, though I don't think it's completely on track yet, is at least starting to function in a limited fashion. To illustrate, I just received a Moto Mail from Joe dated 09 October, and one from Lina dated 26 September. Moto Mails are basically teletype messages that are electronically delivered to the postal address closest to my unit in less than 24 hours from submission, so obviously something is still "broken" here, but at least I received them :) I also received a heart-warming envelope from Tiffany and the Star Wars cast, thanks, you guys, for thinking of me... Barbara, thanks so much for the card and the picture taken above the San Clemente pier, it reminds me that Marines actually have a uniform besides MARPATDDCU (Marine Corps Pattern Digital Desert Combat Utilities); I also have your picture of the Pilgrim entering Dana Point on my desk (which I received from Sheryl). I also received an encouraging note from Al and Enid, a card and some newsy letters from Helen, and inspiring and supportive card/letter from Dick and Doris, a card from Uncle Pat and Aunt Sharon (thanks so much for the encouraging Scripture references), and certainly not least, a card from Sheryl :)

This will be my first full week since returning from R&R in which I will be fully plugged back into the Battle Rhythm (I've been functioning as a member of the Command Element--CE-- Advanced Echelon--ADVON--for my unit up until now). "Battle Rhythm" is the military staff buzz word that really means "all the meetings you have to go to, all the administrative deadlines you have to meet, and to whom all your deliverables are due." So far, halfway into my busiest day (Mondays, as Murphy's Law would have it), things are actually on track. Thanks so much, all of you, for your prayers and support. Semper Fi, Jon G.

A Fun Thanksgiving Week

Joshua and I had a wonderful Saturday to start off his week-long Thanksgiving holiday from school. After doing our chores around the house, we headed to the South Coast Repertory to see the play "Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing" with a group of 17 friends from Joshua's school. The South Coast Rep is a great theater, especially for children since it is not too big and every seat has an excellent view of the stage. After the play the 6 adults and 11 children took about a half mile walk across a few bridges, threw a couple malls to grab lunch and then back. It was a beautiful fall day in Southern California -- blue skies and low 70s.

After saying good bye to our friends, Joshua and I drove a few blocks north to visit my cousin Richard France, who we haven't seen in years. He has his own locksmith shop and can't get away very often. It was great to chat with him while Joshua was entertained by the cockatiel Richard was pet sitting for a friend.

Then we headed further north to visit my parents who were babysitting my nephew Sean for the weekend. Joshua and I enjoyed visiting with Sean (and my parents too, of course). Joshua fed Sean and had a great time playing with him. Then we stayed for dinner to top off a great Saturday.

Last night to top off the weekend, Joshua's friend Charlie came for a sleep over. The boys played soccer on the porch, touch football in the living room, board games and watched a video before heading to bed at 9:00. Of course when I went to bed at 10:30 they were still whispering in their fort (under their beds). Not sure when they fell asleep but they were up before 6:30 this morning. Yawn!

Joshua and I have fun plans for this week of no school. Today we will join some school friends for bowling in the morning and soccer practice in the afternoon. Tomorrow we will join members of our church as we host hundreds of Marines for a Thanksgiving dinner down at Camp Pendleton. Wednesday evening Joshua will sing with the Youth Choir at our church's Thanksgiving Eve service. Thursday we'll drive to Escondido to spend the day with our family. It looks to be a wonderful week that we are very thankful for.

Blessings to you this Thanksgiving week. I hope you will be aware of the many ways God has blessed your life this year.

Sheryl

Joshua's Soccer Team Wins Championship

Yesterday was an exciting day for the Blue Smashing Warriors and their parents. We met the #1 team in our league for an 8:00 am game. It was a tough game, but the boys played so well together. We had great saves by the goalies, excellent defense and outstanding offense. In the end we won and headed home to rest for our 3:30 championship game.

Joshua started getting a cold Friday night and after the game Saturday morning, he was pretty exhausted. He rested on the couch and took a nap during the few hours of down time. I was able to e-mail Jon and ask him to call Joshua to find out the news. Jon was still up at 11:00 pm his time and called Joshua, which was a thrill for him to share the great news of their win with his dad.

Up until this year every child who plays AYSO soccer has gotten a small trophy, but this year the only children to get trophies are those who place 1st - 3rd during the season or 1st - 3rd in the playoffs, so the boys were "playing for trophies" and by winning that morning, they knew they'd get a trophy.

It was back to the field at 2:45 to warm up for the game. Of course it was in the high 80s or low 90s so the boys were warm soon enough. We were facing the Tsunamis who had beaten us in a practice game and then we had beaten in one of the season games. The Tsunamis started off strong and scored two goals in the first quarter. We came back and tied the game in the second quarter. The final half our boys were in great form and scored two more goals to win 4-2.

Our season started the last week in August when these 12 boys came together for the first time. Very few of them even knew each other, but coaches Ajay and Chris, did a great job of training them and bringing them together as a team. By our final games every boy was playing as part of the team. It was fun to watch them work together and winning was icing on the cake.

The surprising news, that we got just before the championship game, is that the winning team will probably go on to play other AYSO Region champs, so maybe we'll have another game. We enjoyed a fun pizza party last night to celebrate the season but it would be fun to get together again with these great new friends.

Sheryl

Thank you from Al Asad

Jon finally has had enough time to write an update for the blog. The picture is of him and a group of Marines celebrating the Marine Corps' 233rd birthday.

Greetings from Al Asad:

It is a matter of public record now that my unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, is headquartered at this air base in western Iraq (Al Anbar Province). The mail has finally been fixed, and over the next few days they should be able to get all the mail correctly routed. I'd like to especially thank Steve and Carolyn, my Mom and Dad, Wyndi and her K-class (your Birthday Greetings on the Corps' 233rd birthday are very special) and Sheryl and Joshua for their packages (as I type this message, I'm listening to music because I received the batteries I needed for my MP3 player; I'm eating candy and grub I'm sure I need to supplement my diet--I've dropped to around 175; and I've got a couple good books to read...).

I'd like to thank the folks who took the trouble to actually pen snail mail, in today's convenient world I view this as an intentional commitment to communicate (for which I am the grateful recipient): Uncle Dan and Aunt Glenda, Uncle Ron and Aunt Marcia, Uncle Jim and Aunt Ruth, Joshua who sent me his school picture (he looks SO handsome), Dave and Cathy and their family, Sonny and Sandy, Joe and Helen, Steve and Claire, Chris (I totally dig your photographs!), and Ryan (talk to me about being a Jr. High volunteer when I get back, it sounds like more fun than just being an elder).

Finally, I'd like to thank those whom I consider the most "self-less" writers, whose correspondence cannot possibly be answered in kind--Moto Mailers: Bruce (more than one!), Lina, and Joe.

My life is truly enriched by all of you, and I certainly appreciate your support and your prayers. Oorah and Semper Fi.

Plumbing problem repaired

Thanks for your prayers. The plumbing problem at our house in Orange has been repaired. It wasn't cheap, but it is done.

The pipes for the downstairs portion of our house all go through the floor. The leak was in the hot water line under the master bathroom. The plumber was able to reroute the pipe and took it up through the attic and down the wall behind the sink. The plumber used a machine to check for dampness under the house but could not detect any. He said the soil must be really sandy and rocky. Yippee! Finally a benefit to the horrible soil for planting and digging trenches for sprinkler lines. The company sent out an extra worker so they finished before 4:00 pm, which was nice since I had plans last night.

The plumber discovered that the water pressure coming into our house is at 90 psi instead of the recommended 60 psi. I'm sure the high pressure is not helping our 40+ year old pipes, so we will probably spend a little more to have a regulator installed to control the water pressure into the house.

Hey, at least we are investing in the local economy. I'd highly recommend that if you have a few dollars to invest (we don't), you put it in plumbing companies. No matter how bad the economy is, if you have a leak in your pipes or your toilet won't flush, you are going to call a plumber.

Jon celebrated the Marine Corps Birthday yesterday. Maybe he'll be able to send some pictures and a little write up later this week.

Joshua had a fabulous time with his friends yesterday. He got to play with Max and Maxie most of the day, had soccer practice and then played Wii with his friend Noah during the evening. I owe a big thanks to my friends Kris M. and Jim H. for helping me out with childcare.

Sheryl

A day at the Zoo

Since today I will be up at our house in Orange with the plumber, I decided to take Joshua to the San Diego Zoo yesterday after church. We were able to meet up with my cousin Kimberly and her daughter Natalie and enjoyed a couple hours cruising the beautiful park-like setting of the zoo. Most of the big cats were up and about so that is always exciting. Of course Natalie was thrilled to find a leaf while visiting the hippo tank.

Joshua and I searched for 4 geocaches around the Zoo in Balboa Park, but we were only successful in finding one, which Joshua discovered. Oh, well, it is a beautiful place to walk and hike and be outside together. Joshua is sitting on the "waterfall roots" of two huge trees in the park.

On our way home we stopped at Kimberly & Nate's home so we could at least say "Hi!" to Nate. He is hard at work on a Masters at UCSD and so he couldn't join us at the Zoo. These are the cousins our extended family surprised a couple months ago by setting up their apartment for them when they moved here from Minnesota. It was fun to be in their home again now that it is all set up and warm and cozy. Natalie was intrigued by Joshua and me and we loved playing with her.

I'm off to the house in Orange shortly. Thank you for your prayers.

Sheryl

This just in from Jarhedjon

As I enter the final one fourth of my deployment, I thought it symbolic to provide a snapshot of a sunset. This was taken by a fellow Service member who takes better pictures than I, though I was there at the time. Mail is still very messed up (I have not recieved any mail per the "normal" channels that was mailed since I arrived back from R&R), though there are promises to resolve all these difficulties shortly. My health continues to be sufficient to the task, and I am continually reminded of God's blessing and provision in the midst of a time of pretty concerted industry. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers.

A busy October

I would appreciate your prayers regarding what could be a huge plumbing problem at our house in Orange. I received an e-mail from one of our friends who rents from us describing what sounds like a leak under the house. As I mentioned a month or so ago, we are starting to have a few plumbing problems with our 40+ year old home and those tend to be expensive. I guess the good news is that we will be supporting the economy by investing in a plumbing company. Please pray that I will stay calm and think clearly when meeting with the plumber next week. Joshua has Monday and Tuesday off from school, so I have arranged a play date for him so I can be at the house with the plumber.

Since I am finally back on the blog, I might as well update you on all of our lives. Jon's life has continued to be very busy as the transition of his unit to the new base has had many problems which were beyond his control. By the end of the month he expects to be back to his "old" job, which may or may not cause him to be busier than he is now. Please continue to pray for him to stay healthy. He fought off a cold this past month but he often does not get enough sleep, so that doesn't help. We have heard the first (I know it will change) date for his departure from his current location. It is what we have been anticipating. The encouraging thing is that we are getting close enough to his departure that they are starting to pick dates.

Last week Joshua had a couple days off from school due to parent/teacher conferences. He and I enjoyed some time at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and he was able to spend an overnight with his cousin Evan. Joshua chose to dress up as Harry Potter for Halloween, which was great for me as it was a very inexpensive costume and he looked quite cute. He was thrilled when neighbors who were handing out candy recognized him.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that his photos and video were selected to move up to the next level of the PTA Reflections contest. There will be an art show at our local high school in a couple weeks displaying his work and all of the other students in our district whose work was advanced. He is quite excited about adding to his medal count. We'll see what happens. In the mean time, he has had a number of opportunities to participate in after-school art programs at our school.

This weekend the soccer playoffs begin. Joshua's team, the Blue Smashing Warriors have a game this morning. It is single elimination, so we'll see if we are playing next week or not. Their team ended up tied for 4th among the 8 teams in their AYSO league of "under 9 year old" players. They were 3-3-1. I have been pleased that Joshua has gotten to experience winning, losing and even a tie. Lots of great learning experiences for him this year.

I continue to stay busy with PTA activities, meetings at church and have even put in 5 hours of work with FSEA (Future Scientists and Engineers of America) each of the past three weeks. It definitely keeps life moving.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.

Sheryl

How the Weeks Fly

Wow! I can't believe it has been another week since I posted anything to the blog. I have finally finished having birthday parties -- the last one was last night with dear friends from church. Thanks, Claire, Nanci and Cyndi.

Last Friday, the San Juan Elementary winners of the PTA Reflections Art Competition were announced at the school assembly. One of Joshua's photographs won and his video as well, although he was the only student to enter a video. He was quite proud of the medals he received.

We had a busy week at school and are ready for a little break this coming week. We will have plenty of activities at the beginning of the week but it is Parent/Teacher Conference week, so Joshua has short days on Tuesday and Wednesday and no school at all on Thursday and Friday.

Today we continued a new Sunday tradition that Joshua and I started last week. We went geocaching. If you are new to my blog and haven't heard of this wonderful activity, check out www.geocaching.com or visit my sister and brother-in-law's podcast (see links to the left). Sandy and Sonny gave me a GPS for my birthday and Joshua and I are having such a good time exploring our neighborhood as we search for caches hidden in places that we pass each day. Today we were three for four in our searches. If you like walking, hiking and exploring, let me know and you can join us on one of our Sunday explorations of South Orange County.

Jon continues to be very busy, but is hopeful that things will slow down in the near future. Thanks for keeping him in your prayers. I am hopeful that he will have a update that I can share with you soon.

Sheryl

Good News from the Front

I received this e-mail from Jon today. "This article gives you a little more "public" word on what my command is doing, I'm at the heart of the move to Al Asad Air Base (AAAB) for my section." You can find the article at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,439612,00.html

If you cannot open the link for some reason, I have copied the article from the Fox News website:

Last One Turn Out the Lights: Marines Quietly Begin Leaving Bases in Iraqi Cities
Friday, October 17, 2008
By Jennifer Griffin

WASHINGTON — When Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly deployed to Iraq in February, the violence had fallen so low in Anbar province that he began figuring out how to start closing bases and prepare to go home.

In the last 10 months the Marines in Fallujah have done what was unthinkable before the surge began — they have quietly transferred out of one of Anbar province's largest cities. FOX News has learned in an exclusive interview with Kelly from Fallujah that 80 percent of the move is complete. In February there were 8,000 Marines living at Fallujah base. Now there are about 3,000 left. By Nov. 14 there will be none.

"We will shut down the command function here and I will move; my staff has already started to move," Kelly, the commander of Multinational Force-West, told FOX News in an exclusive interview via satellite. "We will turn the lights off here."

They will hand the Fallujah base over to their Iraqi counterparts on Nov. 14, having relocated themselves and thousands of combat vehicles to the desert base of Al Asad to the west. Marines will no longer be seen in city centers such as Fallujah — a major step toward leaving Iraq, and one step closer to Iraq's goal of having U.S. troops out of its population centers by mid-2009 — one of the key points enshrined in the Status of Forces Agreement being reviewed on Capitol Hill today.

On Wednesday, to little fanfare, the Marines quietly closed down Al Qaim base near the Syrian border. Now it is run by Iraqis.

In Fallujah, where the U.S. Marines once had three large mess halls to feed troops, they are now down to one. The Marines have quietly disassembled the entire infrastructure of the base.

"We probably had several thousand of those large metal containers — tractor-trailer containers," Kelly said. "I bet we don't have 200 of them here now."

Of the thousands of vehicles once parked at the base, now there are only 300 left. Their transfer occurred at night, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., over the past 10 months so as not to disturb Iraqi drivers and clog the roads.

They dubbed it "Operation Rudy Giuliani" because they were cleaning the streets up and returning Fallujah to normalcy — taking down barbed wire and tearing down checkpoints and Jersey walls that made Anbar look like a war zone.

"There is almost no barbed wire left anywhere in Fallujah," Kelly said. An Iraqi no longer sees barbed wire when traveling in and around the city.

Between 300 and 400 concrete barriers that divided the city were removed by Navy Seabees.

One of the big changes Kelly made when he took command in Anbar was to remove fixed checkpoints, and Iraqi vehicles no longer had to pull off to the side when a military convoy was on the road. His troops risked car bombs, but the gamble paid off in what had once been Iraq's most dangerous province. The new road rules instantly lowered the tension between military and locals. Soon he transitioned to moving military convoys only at night, so they would not encounter locals. This also stymied many of the insurgents laying IEDs or roadside bombs, which they often had done at night.

Another change for the better since Kelly arrived in February: He pushed the central government to provide more fuel to the people of Anbar, so the mostly Sunni population is now happier. In February, Anbaris were receiving only 8 percent of their allocation of fuel from the central government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Now it's 90 percent — eliminating one of their main gripes.

But perhaps the biggest sign that the situation has changed for the better for Sunnis living in Anbar: With the help of the Marines and the Iraqi police, nearly 100 percent of the eligible voting population were registered a month ago to vote in upcoming provincial elections.

"They seem to add another political party every day," Kelly said. "We didn't have a single security violation of any kind. They're at least going to give the electoral process a shot … at least going to give democracy a chance."

The Sunnis, who fueled a large part of Iraq's insurgency, boycotted the last election for Parliament with only 3 percent of Sunnis participating. Now they feel they have a stake in the government.

"This is an amazing indicator as to where this province is," Kelly said.

He and the Marines no longer use violence as an indicator of how much progress they have made. Two years ago they had 400 attacks — roadside bombs or shootings — at U.S. forces every week. In February it was down to 30 attacks per week. Now it is down to under 12 attacks per week. There hasn't been a Marine death in a few months.

Troop numbers have dropped, as well — down by 40 percent since February. About 26,000 Marines still serve in Anbar.

"In Anbar there is no longer an insurgency," Kelly said. "Unless someone does something stupid (for instance, if the Coalition were to accidentally kill a large number of civilians), this place will not go back to the way it was."

In football terms, Kelly says, the Marines are "in the last 10 yards of this fight."

"Could it go back? I don't think so," he said firmly. "We are winning this thing."

Thanks, Mom

Forty-seven years ago my mother had a long, hard labor after being told she should expect me to arrive 3 weeks earlier. Yikes! I arrived at 1:26 am on a Tuesday morning in Chicago, Illinois, a 7 lb. 5 oz little bundle. This picture is of me at 2 months old -- my first Christmas -- close enough.

After I had my son Joshua, almost 9 years ago, I started thinking that birthdays should really be a celebration for the mom. I mean really, what did we do the day we were born? We don't even remember the trauma. But Moms, now they are the ones who work hard the day they give birth and that is just the beginning of the work they will do the rest of their lives.

So, Mom, thank you for all you did that day 47 years ago and all of the days since. Happy Birthday from your first born!

Sheryl

Getting caught up again

I just noticed that I have used this title for previous posts. Hmmmm I think that says something, but ah, well.

Since I last wrote, we have had plumbing and various other problems with our house in Orange. Fortunately our tenants are patient and I was able to get a trusted plumber up to the house quickly. It cost us a small fortune, but such is life with a 40+ year old house. Everything is settling down now.

Joshua has continued to have a great soccer season with many wins and a couple loses, which are always good for the parents. :) He is also busy with school and doing quite well with his Spanish and English. Last night our school had our annual Fall Art Festival. Students are encouraged to create art -- visual, photographic, video, literature and music -- and Joshua created entries in four of the categories. As you know, I posted his poems last time. Here is a picture of him posing in front of his three photos. The theme for this year's art contest was "Wow!" Joshua even entered a short video of a polar bear that he took at the San Diego Zoo. He was taping the bear while he rested and then suddenly it sat up and stretched. You can hear Joshua say, with awe in his voice, "Wow!" It was very cool and perfect for this year's competition. Winners will be announced at the school in the next week or two, but just having Joshua express himself is the prize for me.

Last weekend Joshua was invited to have an overnight with his friend Alex (Thanks, Mr. Ken) and so I had the evening to myself. Some dear girlfriends came over for dinner and I had my first birthday party. I am one who enjoys celebrating my birthday Month! Tomorrow is the big day. Looking forward to being with family, including my Aunt Judy who will be down this Saturday for a birthday gathering.

Jon continues to be very busy with work. He works so late some nights that he sleeps in his office. Please pray that he will get enough sleep and will not get sick. The weather is getting cooler over there, which is funny because Southern California is experiencing Santa Ana Winds so we have had highs in the 90s the past couple weeks.

Okay, I think that gets you caught up on our lives.

Sheryl

A New Poet in the Family

This week Joshua participated in an after-school creative writing class designed to help students write something that they can submit to the PTA Reflections Competition. Joshua did not initially want to participate but since I had a meeting to attend at the same time and one of his friends was in the class, he agreed to try it out. Here are the two poems he wrote during the class and he has submitted for the competition.

Oh, My, the Trainer has Died

This dolphin looks like it is going to jump.
And it will land on the ground and go thump.
Then the trainer died.
Then the dolphin cried.
And then a bird said, “coo.”


The Two Rattle Snakes

Once I saw two rattle snakes in the middle of the road
And we could only cross if we got the right code.
When we got 2/4 of the code, then my mom got bitten.
And that’s the part when I started hittin’.
And that was the end of us both.

Text for the Dust Storm pictures

This just in from our lovable Jarhed.

As you can see by these graphic snapshots, I was in a bad dust storm recently. However, this was some weeks ago, and the temperatures have actually moderated a good bit since then, as has the wind and dust--though I expect there to be a relapse into hot and windy weather before it turns fallish for good. My days are hectic here, I'm organizing and supervising projects, doing physical labor (I was out shoveling, sledge-hammering, and otherwise trying to remove some concrete aberrations that are scarring the landscape around the building where I work, call it garrison beautification), and coordinating the activities of a small team that is working to accomplish a specific mission for our staff section. Obviously, my days are much less chair and desk bound nowadays, and though that is good, I must say that it is more frustrating. My days went from being fairly clearly defined and scheduled (generally predictable) to having to deal with people--who of course are not clearly defined, have their own schedule, and are not predictable in the least. I am very busy, actually have less time to myself than I did before (I didn't really think that was possible, but I guess it was), but as always, absence of boredom means time is flying. There's a flu bug going around, but so far I have escaped infection (I can often sense God's hand of protection on me, thanks for your continued prayers for me).

An indicator of the success of the military aspects of our mission in GWOT in this theatre is the apparent and almost dramatic diminishment of this topic in the lead-up to the election. Of course, this is also an indication, perhaps, of the extent of the domestic economic crisis. GWOT, of course, can be blamed for this as well, depending on your view: the international community and some of the domestic crowd do not view the US investment in GWOT to be an investment at all, which has contributed to the decline of the dollar against almost all other currencies, which in turn has contributed to an economic down turn in the US, which has impacted the real estate market, etc. I for one firmly believe our commitment actively counter terrorists wherever they operate, deny them safe-haven and the means to attack us, and to provide war-torn and oppressed people groups with hope, freedom, and choice to be a very positive investment wherever such efforts have been expended. Oorah.

Semper Fi, JarHedJon

A Dust Storm

I was hoping Jon would have time today to send an update, but something must have come up. He did send me these pictures of a recent dust storm. The pictures were taken "between 1500 and 1600, normally the hottest and brightest time of the day. The picture of me was taken from about 8 feet away."

A full Saturday

Saturday turned out to be one of those full, fun days. It started with the annual San Juan Creek Cleanup which is the creek within walking distance of our home. Joshua really wanted to help but we had soccer pictures and a game and would need to leave the clean up at 9:00. So he woke up early and was ready to go by 7:45, so we got to creek cleanup at 8:00. We signed in only to find out we weren't supposed to go into the creek to start picking up trash until 9:00, after the mayor came and spoke, etc. I explained our situation to the organizer and he said Joshua and I could clean up along the edge of the creek. So we picked up trash for about 20 minutes along the path above the creek. Then we went into the creek when we heard the mayor start speaking. We found a car tire half full of water, and managed to drag it to the top of the creek wall just as everyone was heading into the creek at 8:45. Then we tackled the great treasure that Joshua has been begging to remove for weeks -- the Vons shopping cart. A man who was picking up trash gave us a hand and we got it up the steep wall of the creek and rolled it, on two wheels, to the park where we deposited our two bags of trash as well. A good job for one hour of work.

Then we were off to the sports park with hundreds of other little munchkins all dressed in matching soccer uniforms for the annual photos. Joshua's game was 45 minutes later, so I prepared to sit in the shade and enjoy my magazine until I noticed my friend Rosa whose son Jamie is a good friend of Joshua's from school. So I enjoyed a nice long chat with Rosa while her son's game finished up.

Joshua's team was playing a rematch against the team that beat them 3 to 1 last Friday night. The game last Friday night didn't count because it was the second game of the season and the first two games don't count. Yesterday's game was the first game that "counts" this season. The boys were geared up to to play a better game. Plus two of our stronger players who had missed Friday's game were back. Our boys turned out to be the better team on Saturday, winning 6 to 1.

We had about an hour and a half at home to do chores and homework before heading down to Escondido for my niece Emma's 11th birthday party. We had a fun gathering with about 20 family members in attendance. Emma received a brand new sewing machine, which many of us pitched in on and before the evening was over my mom had helped her get it started and Emma was practicing on it. In our family, the desire to sew has definitely skipped a generation. Joshua and Evan are good buddies and played well with Evan's other cousin Eli. In fact they spent hours building a fort out of palm fronds. We headed home at 7:30 pm and of course Joshua was asleep half way home.

It was just one of those great days where you feel like you've accomplished something and enjoyed yourself at the same time.

Jon's visit from the big wigs went well and he should be a little less busy for a few days. I'm hoping he'll be able to write an update that we can share.

Happy Fall,

Sheryl

On the mend

Thank you to those of you who prayed, sent e-mails, brought food and took over my PTA responsibilities.

I was able to get into the doctor on Tuesday. He told me I had "what's going around." My doctor was actually getting over it, and thus the mask he wore. No one is immune from germs. He prescribed some medicine that would help my symptoms and could cause drowsiness. I was hoping it would help me sleep, but last night it worked just the opposite and I was awake tossing and turning for hours. Oh, well, so much for drugs.

The good news came from Joshua's pediatrician who assured us the red in his eye was caused by allergies and not the awful pink eye. He gave us a bottle of sample eye drop that cleared the pink up immediately and helped with the itchiness. So Joshua was back at school yesterday.

I'm trying to take it a little slower. My amazing PTA Team (especially Melissa H. and Rhonda) took charge of the 1st PTA meeting of the year and led like champs. I owe them and all of my PTA Board a huge thanks!

Jon is staying healthy, although sometimes a little short on sleep. He is preparing for important visitors soon and so is busy with various projects as well as plans for the VIPs. Thanks for keeping all of us in your prayers.

Sheryl

First sickness of the season

I have been sick with a sore throat and runny nose since Sunday morning. I kept Joshua home from school today because he complained that his throat hurt bad when he woke up. But most of the day he seemed fine. This evening I notice one of his eyes is looking pink. No discharge, but we'll see in the morning. I have my first PTA General Meeting tomorrow night so I am hoping and praying I'll be able to lead it. Talking hurts so I have 24 hours for my throat to recover. I'd appreciate your prayers.

Sheryl

Update on Donna Moran

I just received this update from my father-in-law on my mother-in-law Donna.

"Again, thanks for your prayers. Although Donna is still very tired she continues to heal rapidly. The partial plate is working though she can't really put any bite pressure on it as yet. The Navy blue, purple, gold and pea green colors have faded significantly since yesterday. Still applying intermittent cold packs and topical salve to the bruises. Both seem to be helping. Oh, got word from Medicare yesterday afternoon. The definitely will not cover anything in any way that involves oral surgery and teeth...sigh."

Thank you all for keeping Donna in your prayers.

Sheryl

Assembly of a Table

While Jon was home, we tried to find a bar table that would go with the three bar stools we had. I finally found what we wanted online, but of course it came today, long after Jon had left. But with Joshua's help I am proud to report that I assembled it and it works great. I even got out Jon's power drill, found the correct attachment and got the screws in all the way. What a feeling of accomplishment. Of course Joshua had to take poor Bristles outside so he wouldn't have a panic attack.

You may notice in the picture another table in the kitchen. My work table has been in the kitchen almost the entire time Jon has been deployed because Joshua and I love puzzles and we usually have one that we are working on. The current one is too large to transfer to any other surface, so we'll just have two tables for a while.

Sheryl

Flat and Sandy

A little news about Jon's new post along with a picture of the flat, sandy landscape.

"I'm trying to get on a schedule at my new location that will permit me to get up early enough in the morning to run (days are around 118 degrees now, so it is too hot to run after about 0630, peaks by 1500, and is usually above 90 degrees even an hour after the sun goes down). There is a Episcopal/Lutheran Eucharist Sunday at the chapel near me at 0900 tomorrow, I should be able to make that. I hope I'm not gaining weight, the food is good here at the MOACH (mother of all chow halls, this building is about the square footage of two football fields)."

Sheryl

Soccer Begins

Today was Joshua's first AYSO soccer game with this year's team, the Blue Smashing Warriors. There were a number of changes from last year's U8 (under 8 years old) to this year's U9 (under 9 years old), not the least of which is the much larger field. But our team has been prepared well by volunteer coaches and so they played quite well in their first game. They did win (2-1), but the first few games of the season don't "count." But that is another change -- this year the games will count and there will be play offs at the end of the season (if our team can find another volunteer referee). Jon is a trained AYSO referee but unfortunately his commanding officer doesn't seem to think Jon should be sent home early to fill our need for another volunteer ref. Go figure!

Soccer Mom, Sheryl

Prayer Request for my Mother-in-Law

I received news from my father-in-law on Thursday that my mother-in-law Donna had experienced a bad fall.

"Donna tripped on a curb around 12:00 noon today. She hit the ground face first. I got her up and off to the emergency room for 3 1/2 hrs. Then to the dentist's office. Upshot is that she will have oral surgery tomorrow. In addition, her lower lip and left hand where scraped and bruised quite badly. They are suspicious of a fracture in the facial bone as there is air in the sinuses. Won't know until the oral surgeon checks that out. Meantime, she is on pain pills and antibiotics and a liquid diet."

Then came the update today:

"We got home from the oral surgeon. At this point Donna is sleeping albeit with much soreness and pain as well as substantial swelling across her face. The oral surgeon found that in addition to four broken teeth that her upper jaw bone was also broken.
He was able to get the teeth out and the jaw bone together and positioned correctly. However it will be about 2 weeks before any chance of getting a temporary bridge. She is not able to talk at this point and her diet for 24 hours is restricted to ice cream & such. We would appreciate your continued prayers for her rapid recovery and healing as she is planning on meeting with her former high school student for their 50th class reunion -- in TWO WEEKS."

I echo my father-in-law's request for prayer. Thank you for joining us in praying for Donna's healing and recovery.

Sheryl

First Day of Third Grade

Joshua started 3rd grade on Tuesday, September 2. His teacher is Sra. Garcia-Serrato and we have heard wonderful things about her from the parents whose children had her last year. Joshua is the class helper this week and so spent a good portion of his day handing out papers that needed to go home and be read and signed by the parents (my homework). He even had homework, although not much. He needed to read 30 minutes in a Spanish chapter book and then do an activity with his family and write a paragraph about it in Spanish. I thought that was a pretty creative idea. We had a new puzzle, so Joshua insisted that I help him get it started since it was his homework. This year he will stay with Sra. Garcia-Serrato all day. In the past the 2-way immersion students went to a different teacher for 20 - 50 minutes a day for English class, but in third grade they will spend the morning studying in Spanish (reading, writing and math) and spend the afternoon studying in English (social studies and science). We continue to be thrilled with the 2-way immersion program and the way Joshua is excelling in all subjects as he has been learning them in Spanish. Now of course he is very excited that he will get to read in English.

My PTA work started weeks ago with planning for the new year, but my first official board meeting is Wednesday, so I am off and running. I appreciate that my busy schedule will help the next 6 months move by a little quicker.

Blessings to you all.

Sheryl

Jon's move

Just got this update from Jon regarding his move.

"Well, I'm here safely, it was quite a trip (more exhausting than I thought it would be), but things are going well. I had a long day (was at work before 0900), and then rode to the landing zone (LZ) for the chopper ride at 2330. We waited for a little less than the expected 2 hours, and were in the terminal at our destination by 0330 or so. The thing that made it exhausting (besides the late hour) was lugging my sea bag and carry on, wearing my full body armor, across about 100 yards of heavy gravel to get on the bird, and the same thing getting off the bird -- and it was still over 90 degrees. Needless to say, I was dripping sweat the whole way (as was everybody), and the sweat that gets trapped by your clothes under the body armor does not have a chance to evaporate, so it can get pretty miserable. I was in bed by 0430, the containerized housing units (CHU) are fairly decent (I'm in my own CHU for now, though it is a two man CHU, and I'm slated for a room mate when everyone else gets here. Also, I'm not in my "final" CHU, as there is some shuffling of personnel going on; I should be moved to my final CHU sometime in early October).

I woke up around 1130 after I crashed (slept, no aerial mishap), and I had a BAD head ache, so I took some aspirin and went back to bed for an hour. I got up at 1230, and it was a little better, but didn't truly fade away until a couple hours later after some food, some more hydration, and some caffeine. I rearranged my room, I think my head might have been downhill (I don't think my CHU is exactly level), so hopefully I won't wake up with a head ache tomorrow. I fixed it so I can do my sit ups and exercises in my room, that's a good thing (the mechanism will be portable to my new room when I move). I feel fine now, but am taking extra care to stay hydrated."

Thank you for your continued prayers. Today was Joshua's first day of school, so I'll post something about that tomorrow.

Sheryl

An update from the front

Hope you had a relaxing Labor Day. I did! My extended family has been having a Labor Day BBQ together in Southern California for about 21 years with very few skipped years. Joshua and I enjoyed the pool, great company and delicious food at my cousin's home in North San Diego County. But Jon did not have the day off. He sent this information a couple days ago.

"Sheryl was forwarded a couple news article from one of my unit's Key Volunteers (Sheryl can tell you more about Key Volunteers than I can). Penned by Robert Burns and Jonathan Steele in two separate articles, the following paragraph is representative of the success that deployed service members and civilians have achieved in GWOT...

"Fewer Marines needed...
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Marine commandant said Wednesday that forces can be reduced, as the military moves to hand over control of the region. Conway said Marines told him, "There aren't a whole heck of a lot of bad guys there left to fight." Driving through once-dangerous cities, he said, "Our vehicles seemed to go largely unnoticed as there was much construction and rebuilding taking place." Toward the end of 2006, the Arabs who were leading the insurgency decided to join hands with U.S. forces to jointly fight the extremists, and violence levels plunged. The father of a family who drove through said: "It is safe. I had no fear about bringing my wife and children."

To say things have changed dramatically since I first deployed here in early 2006 would be the epitome of understatement. It will doubtless take decades for the full nature of the changes that have been wrought, with impact across the globe, due to the vision and initial guidance of our politicians, the determined and adapting leadership of our military, and the steadfast and brilliant execution by all those "in the field"--some in uniform and some not, but all warriors, none the less--for the greater good.

Semper Fi,
Jon G."

Address change

When Jon returned to his base, his move was delayed a bit. However, it looks like plans are moving forward. As you may remember, he wasn't sure what would happen with his mail. Below is the result of his meeting with the postal service. We'll see if it works. This will be the address for letters and packages. For Motomail go ahead and use the same old address (you won't find 'AAAB' as an option in the address book) and we'll see if they forward it or not. As a side note, Cory, he did get your card, and had a good chuckle. Thanks!

"Following coordination with various authorities, I've been informed that my mail should be good to go -- the following address is supposed to work, albeit with possible delays:

I MEF G2 (AAAB)
Unit 42540
FPO AP 96426-2540

Just a reminder, now is NOT the season for chocolate or anything that melts. It is always the season for ground coffee (Freedom Press grind is preferred). Thanks for your continued prayers and support!!!

Semper Fi,
Jon G."

Moving In Day

Today my cousin Kimberly, her husband Nate and their 9 month old daughter Natalie arrived after a long week of traveling from Minnesota to La Jolla, California. We had about 2 dozen family members there preparing their home for them, unloading their truck and welcoming them to the neighborhood. Nate is in a Masters program at University of California in San Diego (UCSD) and they have married student housing. Their upstairs apartment is a reasonable size with a great view of grass and gardens from their porch. They are about 15 minutes from Kimberly's brother Ethan who lives in San Diego. Others in our "clan" are 30, 45, 60 minutes and more away, so it was wonderful to gather together to help them get settled into their new home. We'll all be seeing each other again on Monday for our traditional family BBQ at another cousin's home.

Hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

Sheryl

Address update from the Jarhed

Just got this from Jon. As soon as I have his new address, I'll post it on the blog then everyone can flood him with mail in honor of Veteran's Day on November 11 or the Marine Corps birthday on November 10.

"Things are going well, I'm plugged back into work, but mightily refreshed after my two weeks R&R (the vacation made a huge difference, and projects that were overwhelming me when I left appear almost trivial now -- though I'm sure there is a diminishing law of returns on my new energy level). I will be working at a different base in the near future, it is a very secure and established work environment, but I've been informed I will be unable to receive mail there until after 1 November. I would ask that you refrain from mailing me anything until after that date -- once a piece of mail gets thrown in the "undeliverable" stack, who knows whether it will ever get to me, and in the meantime it will doubtless clutter up someone's work space. Thanks.

I know there is a constant desire to know how things are going over here, and what the indicators might be that we are achieving success. I experienced an event today which was to me about the strongest indicator that I could have imagined that our mission here is close to accomplished--random periodic urinalysis tests have been implemented for service members here, and mandatory urinalysis tests are required upon return from R&R. This is about as clear a signal as you could wish for heralding the cessation of combat operations (kind of like the number of late night pizza orders at the Pentagon signaled the kick-of of Operation Desert Storm).

Thanks for your prayers and support, and I'll keep you posted."

Interesting Travel Conditions

Jon has arrived safely back at his home base and is still expecting to move to a new base shortly. He sent this description of the second to last leg of his trip back.

"The flight in was typical, the C-130 stretched cloth rack seats were as uncomfortable as usual, but this time around, I had my poncho/bleacher seat combo on hand as a seat cushion, so it was bearable (I had it on the way out, as well, which is how my buns survived the four hour convoy on bench seats in the back of a seven ton). Interesting this trip was the air turbulence, which had us jinking around quite a lot, and at the end, we were in a pretty steep turn when we hit some turbulence which seemed to put us into an even steeper turn, I think that's the most G's I've ever experienced in an aircraft. For what seemed like about ten to fifteen seconds, I could not lean forward, my back was pressed back into the seat (my back was facing the starboard side of the aircraft) by the G's. One guy (fortunately at the other end of the aircraft) threw up (the turbulence was at the end of the trip), but the smell never reached me (and the upchuck never made it rolling up and down the floor as far as my pack). As is typical in these flights, I was fervently praying that I would not be the one to get sick, and that God would bring us safely in. It's actually been a long time since they lost a C-130, but statistics don't provide much comfort when YOU are the one on the aircraft. It's pretty hazy here, but we may get out of here tonight back to home base, but we don't know yet. I just got out of breakfast, scrambled eggs, hash browns, a large biscuit, cup of coffee, and a large glass of mango juice. Not bad for being back in a combat zone."

Shortly after posting the paragraphs above, I got another short message from Jon with a current update.

"Got up this morning and did my stretching and exercises, and then went for a three mile run. It hurt a little, but I took it easy, and there are some stiff parts now, about an hour and a half after the run, but hopefully nothing that I can't overcome. It is a real blessing to have had that extra day in Kuwait to catch up on sleep, and to already feel "acclimatized" to the time zone on my first day back at work. Speaking of acclimatized, it is a little hotter here than when I left, about three to five degrees a day hotter, but that's a small enough gap to assimilate. It was about 80, I'm guessing, when I was running this morning at 0545, which I can handle. I had a Motomail from Joe waiting for me, that was very encouraging that he thought to do that, send a Motomail to be here when I got here... I also got a Motomail from Lina, sent before she left for her trip to Canada to play piano at a friend's wedding (a friend she met at Sakeji)."

Thank you for your prayers and notes to Jon. Please remember that he is moving shortly, so please hold all mail (Motomail included) until I send his new address.

This is Joshua's last week before school starts so we are going to have some play dates with friends and do a few fun things before the school routine begins.

Sheryl

Delayed in Kuwait

I received two short e-mails from Jon this morning. He is delayed in Kuwait for now and not sure when he'll restart his journey back to work. He wrote, "Waiting around with nothing to do is further demoralizing to folks already demoralized by having to come back after only 15 days R&R..."

All for now.

Sheryl

Jon is safely to the next step of his jouney back

Jon called this morning to let us know that he arrived safely in Kuwait around 2000 today. He is looking forward to a good night's sleep before muster in the morning when he'll find out when they head to the next step of their destination. He was encouraged by a group of girl scouts who served goodies and greeted all of the Marines who were in the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport preparing to head "back to work" yesterday. He said that all along this return journey many people shook their hands and thanked them for their service.

Thanks for your continued prayers for his safety as he heads back.

Sheryl

Out with the Old and In with the New

The title for this blog was not my idea but suggested by my husband to report on his departure and the arrival of the newest member of our family. Yep, we have acquired our first guinea pig. Joshua has begged for a dog or a cat and finally a guinea pig for years. In our small mobile home where animals must be kept in doors, Jon and I did not feel comfortable with either a dog or a cat, but gave in on a guinea pig. With all of our traveling this summer, we put off getting the little creature until the end of the summer when we didn't have any more traveling scheduled. So yesterday we took a trip to Pet Smart and invested in "Bristles" (named for the stiff hair on his head). Animal and humans are all doing well so far in our co-habitation.

So that was "In with the New" and here is the "Out with the Old" part of the story. This morning we were up and out of the house a little after 0500. We had checked Jon in and had his boarding pass last night so we didn't need to get to the airport too early. As it turned out, since he was traveling in uniform, the Orange County airport TSA officials had him go through the "Employee" security gate so he didn't have to wait in line at all. Of course a pilot and a couple flight attendants had to wait for him to get his boots off since he still had the same screening to go through. But he got through security by 6:00 and headed to his gate where his flight was to depart at 6:45.

There were some tears but I was so tired, I drove home in a fog and went back to bed and was able to sleep for 2 hours. Joshua couldn't sleep and so played with his Legos until I woke up. Then we headed to the beach with good friends from school. We were there about 5 hours and expect to sleep well tonight. It was a gorgeous day and Joshua and I both enjoyed time in the waves. Jon was able to call from the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport before he caught his connecting flight. He hadn't slept on the first leg of his flight due to a bit too much caffeine. Hopefully he will sleep well on other portions of his travel. He isn't sure how long it will be before he can call again.

When he arrives back at the base where he was before, he will only be there a short time before moving to a new base. Once I get his address at the new base, I will post it on the blog, but in the mean time, please do not send him any letters, packages or motomails.

Thank you for your prayers and encouraging e-mails. We are glad to be counting down the final 6 months of our family's separation, but it is not easy. And of course we still have an unsure future when Jon returns next year. We really appreciate your continued prayers.

Sheryl