Won't be posting for a few days. We're headed to the beach in just a few minutes! Please continue to keep Cliff in your thoughts and prayers and us too. Even fun times are a bit bittersweet for me because I always think about Cliff and what he would be doing if he were with us.
I've turned off the comments until I get back. Have a great week everyone!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Playing in the Sand
Cliff has made it to his destination in Iraq. He actually was online yesterday when I jumped on to check email, and we were able to instant message for quite a bit. It was great to hear from him, and he is getting his bearings around their new base. He's got email/computer access now due to some of what his job entails, so that's a bonus and an answer to prayer. Usually, unless you have a computer you're required to work at, Seabees don't have much access to email/phone and have to wait in long lines when they can call.
For those that don't know, his group's mission/assignment changed a couple of weeks before he actually left, and it is heavily classified. This means no pictures and no specifics of what he is doing (no, even I don't know!), though we know it is construction, which Seabees are usually used for. The good side to all of this is I believe he is actually in a safer situation than he was going to be and he was able to say yesterday that it is much "cooler" in terms of potential action than they were expecting before they arrived. That's a very good thing.
He is bunking with one other guy who he doesn't know very well but he may get to move in with a buddy of his. He said the food is good and the work is long - a lot of hours in the day that stay busy. His biggest wish right now is DVDs of his favorite tv shows - The Unit, Studio 60, Criminal Minds, and of course Lost. I'm supposed to be burning all these to DVDs for him, saving them on Tivo, but I've been bad about finding the time to sit down and do it.
Yesterday, after I got off the computer with him, we headed to Caleb's birthday party. He turns 6 on Wednesday of this coming week and so we had a party for him at the local jumper place. 12 of his friends from school and church showed up and they had a blast. He got some great presents and had a wonderful time. It was hard not having Cliff there - he would have been on the jumper inflatable things with Caleb, and he always adds his special touch with jokes and making things fun but we videotaped and took pictures, so I hope I can make some videos for him soon and send them out.
While Cliff is experiencing his first full week in the sandbox, Caleb and I are also headed to some sand of our own. The beach! This week is Caleb's spring break, and also happens to be both of our birthdays (mine-the 19th, Caleb's-the 21st). Yes, I turn the big 30 tomorrow and my sister is flying down from NY to come with us. We were given a free 4 day 3 night package from Cliff's work so we're heading to Pensacola. Looking forward to some fun, though unfortunately, I have writing work that has to be done so the laptop is coming too. At least the office walls will change a little! :)
Thank you for continuing to keep us in your prayers. If you would like Cliff's new address, email me and I'll be glad to pass it on.
God bless,
Sara
For those that don't know, his group's mission/assignment changed a couple of weeks before he actually left, and it is heavily classified. This means no pictures and no specifics of what he is doing (no, even I don't know!), though we know it is construction, which Seabees are usually used for. The good side to all of this is I believe he is actually in a safer situation than he was going to be and he was able to say yesterday that it is much "cooler" in terms of potential action than they were expecting before they arrived. That's a very good thing.
He is bunking with one other guy who he doesn't know very well but he may get to move in with a buddy of his. He said the food is good and the work is long - a lot of hours in the day that stay busy. His biggest wish right now is DVDs of his favorite tv shows - The Unit, Studio 60, Criminal Minds, and of course Lost. I'm supposed to be burning all these to DVDs for him, saving them on Tivo, but I've been bad about finding the time to sit down and do it.
Yesterday, after I got off the computer with him, we headed to Caleb's birthday party. He turns 6 on Wednesday of this coming week and so we had a party for him at the local jumper place. 12 of his friends from school and church showed up and they had a blast. He got some great presents and had a wonderful time. It was hard not having Cliff there - he would have been on the jumper inflatable things with Caleb, and he always adds his special touch with jokes and making things fun but we videotaped and took pictures, so I hope I can make some videos for him soon and send them out.
While Cliff is experiencing his first full week in the sandbox, Caleb and I are also headed to some sand of our own. The beach! This week is Caleb's spring break, and also happens to be both of our birthdays (mine-the 19th, Caleb's-the 21st). Yes, I turn the big 30 tomorrow and my sister is flying down from NY to come with us. We were given a free 4 day 3 night package from Cliff's work so we're heading to Pensacola. Looking forward to some fun, though unfortunately, I have writing work that has to be done so the laptop is coming too. At least the office walls will change a little! :)
Thank you for continuing to keep us in your prayers. If you would like Cliff's new address, email me and I'll be glad to pass it on.
God bless,
Sara
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Bizaars and Water Bottles
It's 2:30 in the morning, and I just got off the phone with Cliff. They're in Kuwait, and he had some time to call and I was so glad he did!
Though I probably should have rolled over and went back to sleep, I wanted to jot down some things we talked about so I wouldn't forget in the morning when I tried to remember and when I tried to tell everyone else.
First, he sounded great. Sounds like he's catching up on sleep - he was his old self, joking and describing things in huge detail which I have always loved about him. He told me about the bizaar that's nearby that he and his friends have walked through. He said there are a lot of knock off kind of things being sold, as well as Saddam dollars and even sheer lingerie which he said they jokingly said, sorry, you don't have my size.
He said there's a KFC, McDonald's, Subway, Pizza place and a Chinese restaurant, as well as a Hole-in-One Doughnuts that says they're the best doughnuts in town. Cliff laughed and said they're the only doughnut shop in town.
They've run into a lot of international troops, not just U.S. He said they've seen guys from South Korea, and a couple of other countries my brain can't remember right now, and also some "Aussies." They passed a group of them, and one of them said something like "Cheers, mate" and Cliff's southern-drawled friends kind of looked like "what did he say" and Cliff said, "he said hi." No doubt having Lucas, our Aussie friend, has helped Cliff with Aussie lingo. :)
They've also been hydrating a lot. Cliff said wherever you go, there's water bottles for the taking which has been great, but the downside is they've had the need to "go" almost constantly, even at night when they're trying to sleep. But the good thing is it's not just one guy, so they've been going in packs to the bathroom, even in the middle of the night. And they always make fun of us ladies for doing that! :)
Caleb actually got to talk to him and hear his voice - I almost forgot that he had crawled in bed with me, so I quickly put him on. He was coherent enough to remember to tell Cliff about figuring out what Aunt KK was going to do at the beach with him - earlier tonight, when he was taking a bath, I was talking to my sister, Karen, and she gave him some hints about what we're doing - she said, we'll need a bucket and a net. As soon as I got off the phone with her, he said, are we hunting crabs? So of course I had to call her back and tell her. She thought that was pretty funny. Cliff did too.
Thankfully, the delay and echo I'd heard the first time he called went away during this phone call within the first 10 seconds so we were able to talk echo free so it was like he was calling from the street over. We got to talk about 10 minutes I think, before there was a "beeeeep" which Cliff said was the warning that the phone would cut off in a minute. So it was quick "I love you's" and "be safe" and we hung up. Such a great feeling to be able to talk to him.
Well, it's almost 3 now, so I'm headed back to sleep. Dreaming of Kuwait bizaars and water bottles. :)
Though I probably should have rolled over and went back to sleep, I wanted to jot down some things we talked about so I wouldn't forget in the morning when I tried to remember and when I tried to tell everyone else.
First, he sounded great. Sounds like he's catching up on sleep - he was his old self, joking and describing things in huge detail which I have always loved about him. He told me about the bizaar that's nearby that he and his friends have walked through. He said there are a lot of knock off kind of things being sold, as well as Saddam dollars and even sheer lingerie which he said they jokingly said, sorry, you don't have my size.
He said there's a KFC, McDonald's, Subway, Pizza place and a Chinese restaurant, as well as a Hole-in-One Doughnuts that says they're the best doughnuts in town. Cliff laughed and said they're the only doughnut shop in town.
They've run into a lot of international troops, not just U.S. He said they've seen guys from South Korea, and a couple of other countries my brain can't remember right now, and also some "Aussies." They passed a group of them, and one of them said something like "Cheers, mate" and Cliff's southern-drawled friends kind of looked like "what did he say" and Cliff said, "he said hi." No doubt having Lucas, our Aussie friend, has helped Cliff with Aussie lingo. :)
They've also been hydrating a lot. Cliff said wherever you go, there's water bottles for the taking which has been great, but the downside is they've had the need to "go" almost constantly, even at night when they're trying to sleep. But the good thing is it's not just one guy, so they've been going in packs to the bathroom, even in the middle of the night. And they always make fun of us ladies for doing that! :)
Caleb actually got to talk to him and hear his voice - I almost forgot that he had crawled in bed with me, so I quickly put him on. He was coherent enough to remember to tell Cliff about figuring out what Aunt KK was going to do at the beach with him - earlier tonight, when he was taking a bath, I was talking to my sister, Karen, and she gave him some hints about what we're doing - she said, we'll need a bucket and a net. As soon as I got off the phone with her, he said, are we hunting crabs? So of course I had to call her back and tell her. She thought that was pretty funny. Cliff did too.
Thankfully, the delay and echo I'd heard the first time he called went away during this phone call within the first 10 seconds so we were able to talk echo free so it was like he was calling from the street over. We got to talk about 10 minutes I think, before there was a "beeeeep" which Cliff said was the warning that the phone would cut off in a minute. So it was quick "I love you's" and "be safe" and we hung up. Such a great feeling to be able to talk to him.
Well, it's almost 3 now, so I'm headed back to sleep. Dreaming of Kuwait bizaars and water bottles. :)
Monday, March 12, 2007
Thank you, Bangor, Maine
I got a call from Cliff about midnight last night, a very welcome but definitely unexpected treat. Turns out they had to wait most of the day to fly out and had only just arrived in Bangor, Maine.
While it was a surprise that he wasn't halfway across the world at that point, I was absolutely thrilled that they had a layover in Bangor. I read an article probably a couple of years ago about that airport and the Bangor volunteers. Ever since the war started in 2003, these incredible folks, many veterans themselves, have greeted and sent off every service member who passes through there, whether they're coming home or heading out, whether it's 12 noon or 12 midnight.
They pass out cell phones for the troops to use and that's how Cliff was calling me. It was such a huge gift and knowing that it came from people who don't have to do it but do it anyway made it even more special. Knowing that my husband was receiving applause and hugs and well-wishes before he flew off to a war zone is something that I won't soon forget.
Here are a couple of links to articles I found about this special group if you'd like to read more.
Please continue to keep Cliff and his unit in your prayers.
How Mainers greet troops: hugs, fudge and 41 cellphones (slow loading)
Maine Group Greets Troops
Mainetroopgreeters.com (I'm assuming this is an official site of this special group of volunteers)
While it was a surprise that he wasn't halfway across the world at that point, I was absolutely thrilled that they had a layover in Bangor. I read an article probably a couple of years ago about that airport and the Bangor volunteers. Ever since the war started in 2003, these incredible folks, many veterans themselves, have greeted and sent off every service member who passes through there, whether they're coming home or heading out, whether it's 12 noon or 12 midnight.
They pass out cell phones for the troops to use and that's how Cliff was calling me. It was such a huge gift and knowing that it came from people who don't have to do it but do it anyway made it even more special. Knowing that my husband was receiving applause and hugs and well-wishes before he flew off to a war zone is something that I won't soon forget.
Here are a couple of links to articles I found about this special group if you'd like to read more.
Please continue to keep Cliff and his unit in your prayers.
How Mainers greet troops: hugs, fudge and 41 cellphones (slow loading)
Maine Group Greets Troops
Mainetroopgreeters.com (I'm assuming this is an official site of this special group of volunteers)
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Sorry for the lack of posting. Life has been busy! We were able to go see Cliff a couple of weeks ago for Family weekend and had a wonderful time together as a family, despite dealing with Los Angeles traffic, LOL. We spent Saturday at Disneyland and it was so nice to just be together.
Cliff looked really good and I could tell he's been working out! I'm going to make this short because with the time change, Caleb and I are both in need of a nap. Cliff has headed overseas. It was hard saying goodbye because we've gotten so used to talking to each other on the phone every day and seeing each other on web cam at least a couple of times a week. It will be much different now. Not sure when we'll hear from him again, and it may be quite a while before we see a picture of him since he wasn't allowed to bring his camera.
March will be busy for us here though - we have birthdays, spring break and I've got a writer's conference I'm going to that I'm excited about. With Cliff's departure from the States, we can finally start officially counting down until the time he can come home. We are more than looking forward to that! Will try and post more later this week...
Sara and Caleb
Cliff looked really good and I could tell he's been working out! I'm going to make this short because with the time change, Caleb and I are both in need of a nap. Cliff has headed overseas. It was hard saying goodbye because we've gotten so used to talking to each other on the phone every day and seeing each other on web cam at least a couple of times a week. It will be much different now. Not sure when we'll hear from him again, and it may be quite a while before we see a picture of him since he wasn't allowed to bring his camera.
March will be busy for us here though - we have birthdays, spring break and I've got a writer's conference I'm going to that I'm excited about. With Cliff's departure from the States, we can finally start officially counting down until the time he can come home. We are more than looking forward to that! Will try and post more later this week...
Sara and Caleb
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