On his way!!!

So it looks as if I have not updated the blog in a LONG TIME...oops! Please forgive me! With the busyness of training for a new job at the Hospital (Operating Room RN now!) and making my body re-adjust to being awake during the day again; I guess I just completely forgot to post updates. Let me just take a moment and mention how THANKFUL I am to be back on dayshift!!! That nightshift hell was really starting to effect my moods, energy, health and more. Being back on days has made it a little hard to chat with John without it being extremely early or late or one of us - but neither of us have any problem sacrificing sleep to get to talk to one another :). I am absolutely LOVING my job as an OR nurse...I honestly look forward to going to work each day. I am so so so thankful God has blessed me with providing that position!

Well enough about me, you all read this blog to hear about John not me! I have VERRRRRY exciting news!!! JOHN is coming home THIS WEEK for 15 days of leave (he may be in the air as I am typing this!). I am so excited, there are just no words sufficient enough to express the excitement I am feeling!! We will be trying our best to visit most of you during his time home. He is beyond excited himself, not only to see his family and I...but also his "extended family" - that being YOU. He is so so appreciative for all the packages, words of encouragement/support, letters, and most of all prayers you have all provided! It is humbling to see all the people who love and support him (us) during this time. You all have been such a blessing over the past 203 long days of deployment. Please continue to pray as he and other soldiers from his unit make the long trip home. Please pray for safety as well as good weather and few to no delays! 

So you may be thinking...."Well what has John been been up to since my last post"...months ago...oops again! (or you may be like me and the only thing you can think about is JOHN COMING HOME!)

Well he has been doing pretty much the same 'ole same 'ole stuff. Of course any of you who watch the news have seen that the "natives" are starting to get a little more restless over there as the weather starts to warm up. According to John and the other soldiers, this is to be expected. John and his unit have been staying busy with long-multiday missions, lots of continual truck maintenance, briefings/meetings, PT testing, working out, goofing off (they deny it but we all know a bunch of men cooped up together can only be serious so long!), "relaxing", and probably screaming at the AWEFUL internet connection over there!! - because I know all the families over hear are; including myself. Nothing too monumental or exciting has happened since the last post - which is a good thing I suppose!

John is planning on trying to have his cell phone reactivated as soon as he gets stateside, so if any of you want to contact him he should have the same number. If not, I will post and let you all know. In the meantime if you need/want to contact me and/or pass message to him through me please feel free to do so. If you need my cell phone number please email or facebook message me and I will gladly give it to you! Also if any of you know of a day starting April 9 - 20th that you want to get together with John/both of us, please message me and let me know ASAP. I'm sure his "leave calendar" will fill up fairly quick and I don't want anyone to feel ignored or left out! Right now his ETA to be home is somewhere between April 6th and 9th - all dependent on weather and flight availability. 

For those of you who have facebook (which I think is most if not all) please be on the look out for quick updates during his leave. It is a lot easier and quicker to put stuff on facebook then to make a post here. I will also be taking lots of pictures over the next few weeks, as well as, John is bringing home some pics he has taken over the past few months and I will get those posted after he leaves. 

Like I've mentioned above, I will do my best to update you all on his arrival and the actual dates he will be home, but as you can imagine I will be so overwhelmed with excitement and I may forget (I apologize in advance)! Thank you again for all you support so far, this deployment is far from over....but at least me are more then halfway!! I look forward to seeing most of you in the upcoming weeks!

God Bless you and your family during this Easter/Resurrection season. 

February Spartan Newsletter

Hey everyone!

I have attached pictures of the February Spartan Newsletter from 1st SGT Zike of the 883rd RCC. It has a picture of John and an article about being awarded NCO of the month!!! Enjoy!

Awards!!

Just wanted to share the exciting news!!! Sgt Webster was awarded NCO(non-comissioned officer) of the month!! Very proud of him and his hard work and dedication :) Also SPC Harris was awarded soldier of the month. He is also from 3rd Platoon (John's platoon). Way to go 3rd platoon...staying strong and showing 'em who's boss!!

I will post the pic and little bio about them that will come out in next months newsletter!

SO SO SO Proud!! :)

The long awaited update!!

Hey everyone!!

      Well I have been waiting on John to send me some more pictures, but unfortunately their internet connection lately has been AWEFUL! (which leads to very frustrating skype calls that disconnect every 2-5min) John says he thinks its mainly due to the nasty weather they are having - lots of SNOW! I have heard through the rumor mill (army wives facebook group) that they are considering changing the contractor that supplies the internet in hopes to improve the over all connection - I won't count on that happening anytime soon :) It is the Army after all...haha! I'd love to report that they are all staying warm, dry, and happy, but that doesn't seem to be the case right now :( John says that the weather has been COLD, WET, SNOWY, and just down right miserable for them all. The 8+ inches of snow has made completing their missions more difficult and time consuming with the trucks getting stuck frequently. The coldness has also caused the water pipes to freeze on the FOB - which means no showers, running water, or toilets. I can imagine the tents have a pretty strong stench of sweaty dirty men by now!! (maybe I should send some Febreeze in my next box!) John reports that he and the guys are tired, cold, and ready to come home. They have been working VERY long days 12+hours with few to no days off. A lot of the guys R&R (leave to come home) are coming up in the next few months, so hopefully that will help lifts their spirits a little. John wanted me to reiterate that he VERY much appreciates all the care packages that have been sent, on their way, or ones coming in the future. Keep in mind anything from friends and family is very much appreciated - if you don't have time or money to send a whole box - just a hand written note or pictures are great too!! (FYI: if your letter is handwritten, don't write in fancy cursive, John can't read it hahah!).

For those of you that missed my post on facebook...John's facebook account got hacked (along with some other soldiers) and he couldn't access it so he deleted his account. He will be making a new account as his has time! I will post on facebook and here when he does so you can re-add him as a friend.

I did find some pictures on some of the other soldiers from 3rd Platoons (John's platoon) facebook pages...that way you can see some of the crazy weather they have been having. Thanks again for your support and prayers for  John these soldiers....I know they all appreciated more then they can express.  God Bless!

Trucks lined up to head out on mission...before the snow hit

Snow starting to fall

 Brrrr....looks cold!

Snow out on mission

I doubt those trucks have very good defrosts or interior heat

The Yetti...aka the 8+ foot snowsoldier

Snow is getting DEEP

Weight room....I'm sure working out in the snow isn't as fun as it sounds...

Slacking...

WOW! Its been FAR too long without an update...and for that I am truly sorry. I got so busy with the holiday season that I forgot all about updating the blog. I will be posting an update with pictures John has sent me soon...waiting on him to finish sending me them all! He and the guys are still doing well...trying to stay warm in the frigid mornings/evenings with little or NO hot water...brrr. Check back soon for a more complete update!

PICTURES!!

WOW! It has once again been FAR too long since the last post. In all the holiday business I've forgotten to take the time to update you all...sorry! This post is mainly to share some pictures John has sent me as well as some I've gotten from some of the other soldiers in his unit (Thanks SGT Cross!). John and his guys have been doing well and staying busy with missions. They have been having some mechanical problems with various trucks which has been frustrating for them all!! John wanted me to pass along that he has enjoyed and really appreciates all the cards and packages he has received! He feels very loved and blessed by you all. He also really enjoys getting facebook messages or emails so keep them coming! But over all John reports that they are all healthy and well and really missing their families during this holiday season. Please continue to pray for both the soldiers and their familie!

Well I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season and have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thank you so much for all the kind words of encouragement you have sent my way...some days are much harder then others and those thoughtful words have definitely helped me through. I can't express how thankful I am to have such loving and supportive friends and family. I love you all!

John's "room" (he looks a little drugged lol)

Like I said...truck problems...

 Camels! (John still refuses to ride one haha!)

 John out on mission

Some of the other NCO's in John's Platoon (Kilby, Cross, Marsh)

SSG Cross out on mission

 Out on mission

John out on mission (looks pretty boring and sandy out there!)

 Some of the soldiers from John's Platoon

John and Jon (Cross)

 Cross and John

The Army may have my soldier...but I have his HEART!

So I've been dying to share pictures of John's Christmas Box, but didn't want to ruin the surprise and post them before he received the box. I had such a good time making it for him! He received the box today and called and told me how much he loved it! Definitely made my day =) For those of you sending anything to John, it has been taking about a week for the packages to get there. Mama Webster, I don't know if he told you, but he's gotten your packages and love them too! GOOD NEWS...John says they are much closer to getting internet on their personal laptops...which means more communication and probably more frequently. That is the best Christmas present ever!! It was definitely hard not having John home for Thanksgiving...but was thankful I was able to skype with him for over an hour that morning. He was also able to skype most of his family members, which was such a blessing for them!

John reports that he and his soldiers are doing well and staying busy with missions, briefings, and duties around the FOB. Last time I spoke his John it sounded like he had a cold...so hopefully he's taking the vitamins and Emergen-C I sent him :)

John promises he will let me know of any needed items...and I will post them on here for any of you wanting to know what he might need.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families.
Enjoy the pics!

The Box! 

(for those wondering, Spooby is John's army nickname from some of the other NCOs)

One of the sides...

Another side...

Letter, Stocking, Healthy gifts...

big bag (6lbs!) of protein is John's christmas present from my parents!

 (John says thanks a bunch Mom & Dad Babcock!)

Junk food and snacks (special ordered Venison Jerky!)

 More snacks.. 

(from what the guys say, you can ever have too many!)

 Homemade Christmas Gifts and more boot socks!

(CD of some of our favorite songs, Christmas wreath, Photo album)