April Update

Well, sorry for the month of time that's passed since we last posted.

As I expected, March flew by. Caleb and I had a great time at the beach with my sister Karen for Caleb's spring break (which coincided with our birthdays), and Cliff made it to his destination in Iraq with no problems, and even got to call three or four times along the way.

I then had a writer's conference I went to in California which was wonderful, and Cliff's parents came and stayed with Caleb for the week. They were a huge help to us, as was my mom, and I am very grateful for all the support.

So, we are now in countdown mode and dealing with the new challenges as they come. I've said since Cliff left in January that it would hit Caleb the hardest after he left for Iraq and unfortunately, I was right. He's had a hard time with Cliff being gone the last couple of weeks since Cliff can't email or call nearly as much as he did when he was in California, and due to the classification of his job and his location, there is no web came or photos allowed, so we haven't been able to see him, which for a visually-oriented 6-year-old, that's hard.

But, we're taking it one day at a time, and Caleb's teacher has been wonderful with him, and I'm doing as much as I can to keep him connected to Cliff. We'll post pics when I have time, but we got a "Flat Daddy" made of Cliff - this has become a really popular thing to do for military families - you take a picture of your service member and get it made into a lifesize picture which is mounted onto foam board and cut out. There's actually a company that does them now, free for military families (though I think they're now charging shipping because of the demand), and all I had to do was take it to a craft store and get them to put it on matting board for me. Caleb likes carrying "Flat Daddy" around with him and he even took a ride in the car with us to dinner last night.

Cliff is trying to send more cards and emails to Caleb and let him know what he's doing, and assure him that he works more with bulldozers and building than with guns. Caleb has been worried about him getting shot, so Cliff was able to get a picture approved to send us through email that shows him in a bulldozer (will post when we can). That seemed to help Caleb quite a bit and he's had a much better week this week.

Cliff is working long hours and doesn't have a lot of access to a computer anymore due to some job responsibilities being shifted around, so we're hearing from him by email a couple of times a week and by phone once a week or so. He said the days are very long, and it's getting hotter. There isn't a lot of down time, that's for sure. One funny thing - he and some other guys are working on building an ottoman - he asked me to send some black "pleather" and batting to cushion it. The ladies at Joanne's got a kick out of that one. I hope he'll be able to get permission to take a picture of it. I'd love to see how it turns out!

I have been extremely busy finishing up ghostwriting projects for the one publisher I've been steadily working for. Just turned the last one in, and now I hope to do a little more freelancing. I've missed writing for magazines. Also, I'm turning my attention back to Wives of Faith and AGreaterFreedom.com. I know I've allowed myself to be distracted quite a bit with other things this past year, and I feel like it's time for me to get back to those - God has really laid it on my heart that that's what I'm supposed to be doing.

We'll keep you posted! As always, if you'd like to send Cliff a card or a letter, feel free to email me if you don't already have his address.

Thank you for your prayers,

Sara, Cliff and Caleb