Family Tree

2011-05-15T23:43:00.001-07:00

If you click on the number count you can change days/weeks and countdown/count up formation. (if you remember from last time!) =)

2010-11-03T09:08:00.001-07:00

First trip to Venice

2010-09-28T00:29:00.001-07:00

Adventures with Ferynne

2010-09-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

Derek & Ferynne

2010-08-22T01:11:00.001-07:00

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Pictures on Facebook.

The Big 35th!

2010-08-07T10:26:00.001-07:00

Ah, 35 down, 35 to go! A perfect evening at the KPC at the Waikoloa! Will post an album later! Pics now posted on Willer family album!

Ferynne Pictures

2010-08-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

Due to the amount of virtual space left on our Picasa Albums and the inconvenient amount of locations we are having to upload pictures... any new pictures of Ferynne will now be posted on our Facebook "Ferynne Isabella" picture album. The amount of people who view photos of her are collectively greater on facebook. The album privacy is set for "everyone" to view... so you shouldn't need an account to view them. You can find the album here:

Ferynne Isabella

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause anyone. But the less of a headache it is for me to upload pictures, the more often you will get pictures. So this is a good thing. ;-)

Ferynne Walks

2010-08-03T13:45:00.001-07:00

In need of some new pics

2010-07-19T23:36:00.000-07:00

The video of our precious Ferynne beginning to walk was priceless, and we all thank you for that, however, we need to receive more pics....Please!! There hasn't been any new pics in Project 365 in some time and we love seeing how your days are going through your picture album. Love you both!!!!!!!! Grandpa D

I miss my girls and life is insane!!!

2010-07-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

Wow, I was just thinking how much I miss my girls and thought I would check the blog and there is my sweet sweet grandchild trying to walk! It was so random for me to check but I am glad that I listened to that still small voice. Craig has his Dr. appt. tomorrow to see about his achilles and how it is doing. I was picking raspberries for a kuchen yesterday and a branch swung (I know its not a word) back and smacked me in the eye. Needless to say I had to go to the Dr. today. I have an abrasion in the lower part of my cornea! yea!! so much pain and discomfort. I guess I won't be picking raspberries with out safety glasses from now on :( The Dr. said that I could have a scar for up to a year.

Well, My family is growing by leaps and bounds that is for sure. For those of you who do not know, Andrew and Brooke are back together. I hope they know what they are doing and can be mature enough to put the little guy first. I am posting a picture of my beauties and their mommies. I am so blessed.

Aren't they adorable?! I will try to be more regular on this blog, especially now that Melanie and Ferynne are back in Italy.

You Can Do It

2010-07-14T08:37:00.001-07:00

Ferynne Cam- STAIRS

2010-05-16T22:41:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZqwi7__wsg

Hey, we're ALWAYS uncomfortable with things we do not know. So lets change that.

2010-05-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

So I guess I don't know why I didn't see this coming. I'm not going to post the reason(s) in its completeness yet though. And yes, this is on my decision to breastfeed until the natural biological time the baby grows out of the need and stops. Just giving you some food for thought...or thought for food. ;-)

"If a child can ask to nurse, there's something wrong with doing so."nursing -- something that is an act of love and affection -- is seen as inappropriate past a certain age. Giving children bottles, which were designed to imitate the breast, is also acceptable. As stated in The Nursing Mother's Companion:

Many toddlers are dependent on a bottle, pacifier, thumb, or blanket, and this is quite accepted, but a mother who is nursing a toddler may have to deal with veiled or point-blank suggestions that her child is too old for it.?????
(good one, that's some brilliant thinking there...the same exact thing is happening, you're just giving it a pacifier or blankie instead. Your baby is in obvious developmental need for something.)

"Extended nursing will spoil a child," also known as, "He'll nurse until he goes off to college." This myth touches on peoples' fears that nursing into toddlerhood spoils children and doesn't teach them independence. In reality, it's not breastfeeding, which meets many needs, that spoils a child -- rather, it's the absence of teaching acceptable behavior that causes a child to "spoil." Bumgarner comments:

It is without closeness and loving, and without sufficient attention to the business of teaching good behavior that children are spoiled...things which are spoiled are things which have been left on the shelf to rot.

It's interesting to note that parents can't force a child to crawl, walk, or talk before they're ready, and yet they're encouraged by others to impose early weaning on these same children without recognizing it as one of the more significant events of their lives.

Dr. William Sears, who wrote The Baby Book, states:

We have studied the long-term effects on thousands of children who had timely weanings and have observed that these children are more independent, gravitate to people more than things, are easier to discipline, experience less anger, radiate trust...[after] studying the long-term effects of long-term breastfeeding, the most secure... and happy children we have seen are those who have not been weaned before their time.

Encouraging autonomy and teaching children how to be independent is a very important life lesson. It is the role of parents to teach a child the skills he needs to care for himself, whether that be cooking, laundry, or changing a spare tire. As Huggins (2007) writes:

It is not our job as parents simply to take care of children, but to help them learn how to take care of themselves. So, rather than fretting over toilet training or weaning in the toddler years -- these things which will take care of themselves -- it is more constructive to help children learn to do the things they want and need to do.

But I want my baby to become independent.

And breastfeeding makes the toddler dependent? Don't believe it. The child who breastfeeds until he weans himself (usually from 2 to 4 years), is generally more independent, and, perhaps more importantly, more secure in his independence. He has received comfort and security from the breast, until he is ready to make the step himself to stop. And when he makes that step himself, he knows he has achieved something, he knows he has moved ahead. It is a milestone in his life.

Well, I think that's all I will share for now.

Ferynne Updates

2010-03-05T23:48:00.000-08:00

-Ferynne has finally started jumping in her jumper. She now rocks out to her favorite music: Bit Shifter (hahaha)

-Ferynne's second bottom tooth came in this morning!

-EC is going great. She woke up at 7 this morning with a dry diaper and told me she had to use the lou. Which sucked at first because I didn't want to get up and she was just doing her usual morning fussiness. But then after awhile of fussy I realized she was actually trying not to go in her diaper and was trying to wait for me to respond to her... so my heart melted and I got up and asked if she had to go lou lou. Of course, she smiled at me and I went ahead and put her on the chair. Then all at once I realized that her diaper was still dry and she was at that moment going all in her chair! Wow! So I was able to put her diaper back on her, the same diaper I had put on her before bed last night!
She really is loving our communication. =)
Things I've learned:
-There is absolutely NO TRAINING involved what-so-ever. It is the natural response to a natural need.
- It's SO EASY! No really, it is! It helps you realize more and more that a baby is just another human being and this is such a great bonding process. She just needs your help, she is not yet able to do things. We deliver babies into this world and yet cannot commit to mothering them enough to help them fullfill a human need? Yes, there are times we need to slap a diaper on them... but not ALL the time. If we ignore their basic needs then what other needs will we ignore as well? Like I said, we cant do it all the time, but they deserve for us not to completely abandon them in their own dumping grounds(poor kids)!
-This is the sort of thing you don't have tot commit to right away, all you have to do is decide to pay attention and begin practicing "signals" with your baby. No mess, no stress. You most likely will not be able to grasp how normal it is until you start and realize there is a whole other world that is right, that Western civilization has blinded you to(don't be a victim of the singular lie you were raised on, recreate your idea of who babies are).
-If you think it will require extra attention of your baby, it wont. Just extra awareness. =)
Each day it gets easier and easier.

Elimination Communication(not potty training)

2010-03-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

I am doing EC with Ferynne.

It's really quite a simple concept people tend to make complicated and sound intimidating. In fact, when I first learned about it, though I recognized it was an amazing idea, I was very intimidated about

it. What is it?

Women, mothers, all over the world(apart from Western Society) have listened to their babies attempt at communication for years. Since time began, babies have got a certain set of needs. And those needs are to eat, to be warm, to sleep, and to eliminate when they need to. When a baby is hungry he/she tells us, when a baby has any sort of discomfort it is communicated. Babies have the ability to communicate when they need to eliminate straight from birth. ECing is simply taking the time to learn how to understand such communication, letting the baby know you understand them, seeing their faces light up when you do, and providing a healthy safe environment for them to eliminate and not sit in it. When you wait until the baby is a few years old to "potty train" by that time your baby has to relearn what you have made him/her forget.

* Babies are aware of their elimination needs from birth and communicate about those needs through various vocal and bodily signals. Within the first few months of life, babies have the ability to consciously release their bladders and bowels. By taking them to appropriate elimination places during infancy, we enable them to maintain a connection with their bodily sensations and learn from an early age what to do when they experience those sensations.

* Elimination Communication should always be gentle, non-coercive, and based on babies' interests and needs. Communication is the most important aspect of Elimination Communication, and should be the focus.

* Elimination Communication can be done using diapers all of the time, some of the time, or not at all. By reducing the number of diapers used, Elimination Communication provides a more environmentally-sound option than conventional cloth or disposable diapering.

* Elimination Communication can be practiced full-time or part-time, by stay-at-home parents or by working parents. Elimination Communication can be practiced by people of all income levels and physical abilities.

* Prompt loving attention to our babies' needs promotes strong baby-parent bonds, fulfilling natural human instincts. The bond of trust built through feeding and comforting is strengthened when caregivers respond to the baby's elimination needs.

Here is a website, if you scroll down you can see her 5 day old baby practicing EC:

http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/elimination-communication.html

If your still not convinced, there are youtube videos you can watch for more info, or you can go here:

http://www.freewebs.com/freetoec/

Sonya and Brendan Get a Home!

2010-03-01T20:32:00.001-08:00

After a long Saturday of house hunting up in Seattle, this house stood out like a shining star! Sonya and Brendan made an offer, and when we went to the open house on Sunday, the agent called to say it had been accepted! [Notice Brendan is on the phone with her in this pic!] So, if all goes well, move in should be around April 5th! For more pics, check out our Web Album!

2010-02-28T04:43:00.001-08:00

2010-02-18T07:35:00.000-08:00

2010-01-30T10:22:00.001-08:00

The Brooks Family Album

2010-01-26T12:47:00.000-08:00

Here

the link can be found on the side of the blog as well!

A Float and a Move!

2010-01-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

Mom and I went to Lincoln City for her 79th birthday and I had made reservations for her to make her own float! It turned out fabulous!!

And the move? SONYA AND BRENDAN ARE MOVING TO SEATTLE!!! Happy Dance! Happy Dance!! Happy Dance!!!

Ferynne Cam 2.5

2010-01-16T08:28:00.001-08:00

And New Ferynne Pictures

2010-01-13T05:49:00.000-08:00

Derek in Afganistan

2009-12-30T06:04:00.000-08:00

Derek up on "some mountain"

Derek is on the far right.

2009-12-28T08:58:00.001-08:00

2009-12-17T12:36:00.001-08:00

2009-12-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

I'm starting a project 365 for each day that Derek is deployed. You can follow this project here:

Project 365 and 2 Days

Ferynne Cam 2

2009-11-20T04:51:00.000-08:00

Ferynne Video!

2009-11-11T06:04:00.001-08:00

Derek's Hat

2009-11-11T04:48:00.000-08:00

2009-10-26T20:09:00.001-07:00

Myspace Glitter Graphics

Italy and Ferynne

2009-09-28T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Wow is all I have to say about sweet grandchildren! Ferynne is an absolute doll, but then we all knew that she would be, look at her Mom and Dad.

God is the best! I am still in shock at how He brought about my meeting with my Granddaughter. I am so thankful that He cares about the little things. Even during our stay in Italy He made all the connections that really mattered. But let me tell you that 10 hours on a plane is a long time! I am so sorry, Melanie that you had to do that being so pregnant! at least it was only once and not twice in two weeks. Debbie, when you get to go just have a lot of reading material or be ready to watch a lot of movies ha ha!

I am not sure where to start. Melanie, Derek, and Ferynne met us at the airport. It was a sweet surprise. I had hoped, but wasn't holding my breath. So I got to hold her right away and all the way back to the base. It is about an hour from the airport, not bad considering it could have been much worse. We walked (Derek, Craig, and I)all the way to the end of the base to get our temporary I.D.'s, then to the commissary, then to the shuttle to get back to their home at Villagio. It was a wonderful evening of catching up and chillin out. I just love being a grandma! Their house reminds me of our apartment in West Linn. The layout is pretty much the same except for the laundry room is on the opposite side. and we only had two bedrooms upstairs, and not a maids room. It was almost like being at home a long time ago. We went back to base on Friday to get our permanent temporary I.D.'s so we could be on base without Derek having to always be with us. And did some shopping and exchanging of dollars to euro's, then went back home and did some more loving on the granddaughter (she is soooo cute!)

Saturday we went in to Vicenza to see the hometown of Palladio. Then Craig and I took the train into Verona for the rest of the afternoon and saw the last standing Roman arena that is still in use, they even had a concert that evening. We also saw Juliette's balcony and no, we didn't take our picture with our hand on her breast. It was a beautiful courtyard and fun to pretend that it really did happen and that there really was a Romeo and Juliette. Verona was our first taste of crowded Italy. The different squares are so beautiful all of the architecture is amazing. Then we had our first try at the city bus all by ourselves and then making sure we pushed the button before our stop came quickly up, it was all very exhilerating. I had never used public transportation before! Sunday was a down day and we all enjoyed being together.

Monday, Craig took me away from my sweet granddaughter for the first time since getting there for two whole nights! He is lucky He took me to the Cinque Terre! Oh My Goodness, words cannot describe the beauty and the true Italianess of this area. The Italian Riviera is truly and amazing place. We Stayed in Vernazza which is the smallest of the five towns and it is truly postcardable! We got in late needless to say. after a full day of traveling and could not find a room to save our souls. We were still in awe of the beauty even at night so it did not totally sink in for a while that we might be sleeping on the beach or in the train station, but when it finally did, we had one last option. Climb the hundred stairs to the castle restaurant at the end of town on the break point and see if anyone there knew anyone who might have a room to rent for the night or just give up. (We had already asked around every other restaurant and store that was open) So we decided to go ahead and give it one last try, and as we ascended the last step a waiter caught us out of the corner of his eye and seeing our raggedness and probably figuring since we were not excactly dressed for dinner the only other reason we could possibly be there was to ask if anyone knew of anyone who had a room to rent. Alas, he asked us if we needed a room, and we of course said "si". Giving us our first glimmer of hope, do we dare hope?, he said "come with me". We went with him. He led us into the castle to a room next to the kitchen where he introduced us to MiKayla. He told her of our plight and she looked at us and said that she already turned away a party of four. Then she must have seen the despair in my eyes for the next thing I knew, she asked us if it was just the two of us, we said "si". She said she would call a friend after she finished the desert that she was working on and gave us another glimmer of hope. We waited while she finished the desert, it was a beautiful platter of fresh fruit, cakes and fresh flowers. Craig and I admired the inside of the restaurant. It was fairly empty as most customers were out on the patio overlooking the Ligerean Sea. We couldn't decide if we would rather eat inside or outside (I mean, it would be so cool to eat in a castle, wouldn't it?) So MiKayla finished the desert and took it to the customers and came back in and called her friend. With one look, I knew. God had heard and answered our prayers, she had a room for us! all we had to do now was figure out our instructions on how to get there. Now lets see, go back to the main square go toward the train station take a left at the Farmacia and go up the stairs. Find #54 and she will be there. What she didn't tell us was that there was a maze of stairs and walkways after the Farmacia. Oh, and what was her name? Maria right? o.k., here is #54 but there is a man answering the door. After getting out that we are looking for Maria who has a room for us he says to wait, so wait on the steps we did, half joking half serious that there is no Maria and they were all getting a big laugh out of us. But after a while we hear footsteps and lo and behold Maria comes out of the darkness and into our light. She gets the key and takes us down, down, down to #24. yipee less steps to go up and down tomorrow! Alas, we can only have the room for one night. We use the medium key for the outside door, the big key for the door on the left at the end of the hall, and the little key for the door to our room, directly inside the last door. Then we enter! Our heavenly wonderful, 6x8ish room. It was the best room I had ever seen! seriously though it was spotless, very clean. Now the moment of truth. How much? 60 euro's I could not believe it, I seriously thought they were going to rake us over the coals and then some, knowing how desperate we were, but no! God is good! I quickly gave her the money then Craig and I sank into the best slumber ever! until BONG, BONG, BONG,BONG,BONG, BONG, BONG, seven o'clock already? that was probably the fastest night ever. We spent the early morning securing another room so we didn't have another repeat of last night, then went on our merry little way hiking and exploring the Cinque Terre. It was an amazing day! Wednesday brought our travel day back to my sweetness and children. We trained it to Pisa, it was pouring cats and dogs, until we got to the Field of Miracles, and then voila, God told it to stop and stop it did! Once we got inside the entrance, wow, wow, wow! amazing! the buildings that are there along with the tower are spectacular. The artwork and the craftsmanship that it took to make these building is truly awe inspiring, and the tower, wow! it really is leaning, even more than you would think a building could lean and still be standing! After we left Pisa we trained it to Florence, again, WOW! The Duomo and surrounding buildings were just as spectacular if not more than the previous ones we saw in Pisa. We thought to go check out the line to see Michelangelo's David (after all doesn't every one want to see the perfection of manliness?) and since we were not so lucky with the rain in Florence as we were in Pisa we thought the line might not be so long, not. It was amazing how long the lines were even in the rain. (to be honest, I am kind of glad, no offense Micheal, but I would rather see my perfection of a granddaughter and go home to Melanie and Derek)so back to Melanie and Derek's we went. We trained it back to vicenza, bussed it back to villagio and walked it back to their house. A full day of travel and sightseeing and we unfortunately got back too late to see them for they had turned in for the day as queen Ferynne demanded. lol!

Thursday was a day of rest and a day without Derek as we soon learned that he was to be put on 24hr duty (I am sorry Derek. So we made plans without him to leave Friday morning(meet him at the base as soon as he gets off duty, again, sorry Derek)Then train it to Bolzano and Bus it to Castelrotto for two nights. Oh well, your young, right Derek? Ferynne did absolutely awesome on the traveling end. And Castelrotto, what can I say but WOW! When they tell you this part of Italy has an identity crisis, believe them, they are right. It really felt like we were in Austria or Germany (not that I personally would know what that feels like). It was a beautiful Bavarian village with a beautiful view of the alps (as we were basically right there). Our hotel was about 650 years old and so way cool! It was right next to you guessed it, the bell tower, and boy do they like their bells! I didn't mind them, it was all part of the ambiance. Right away we found a bakery and got pretzels woo hoo! oh, but yes, they still have their gellato shop because after all, they are still Italy, right? Their grocery store I wanted to transplant to Turner, I loved it, it was small and quaint and perfect for a small village, They had two other supermarkets, but I didn't go in them. They didn't seem to have the charm of the one by the hotel.

Saturday we took the bus back to Suis where the Lift to Compache was. It was soo cool, we were on our way to Europe's largest Alpine meadow, yes that is what I said, Alpine. We were in the Alps, I have always wanted to be there! Now I am in such a dilema. What do I like better, the sea or the mountains? I can not decide!!!!! It was soooo beautiful, especially because the weather was so iffy that the clouds actually made it more awesome to look at. It did not start to rain until we were in the lift on our way down the mountain and then it stopped raining by the time we were back at the hotel so we could do some more exploring after the baby was fed and changed. We found the shop that caters to the fans of Kastelruther Spatzen. A famous yodeling group that hails from Castelrotto. They have everything and anything with a picture of this group on it. From calendars to gummy snacks to key chains, you name it they have it and it has Kastelruther Spatzen splattered all over it! Sunday was our day to go back home and of course my grocery store and most other stores in town were closed so say la ve, I will probably never see you again my store of dreams! It was a long way home, I think we were all tired and ready to just be home.

Monday came and Derek went to work, Craig and I took the day and went to Venice as we had not been yet and it would be sad to have landed in Venice and not actually see it, and Melanie and Ferynne, well they got to be home and chillin for the first time alone for the day(I really wanted to stay with them, but Venice was calling and I knew I should probably go). We caught the airport shuttle from the base and then a bus from the airport to the island. We decided against a map as we had not had much luck in the past and I am actually glad. We just wandered around and followed the signs on the buildings to St. Mark's square. We had a wonderful time and found most of our gifts for the kids there. When we got to the square we were once again rewarded with amazing architecture and craftsmanship. Totally awe inspiring. It is amazing to be in a country so much older than ours and see what a civilization can leave behind. It also makes me wonder what we will leave behind, if anything, here in America. Well, things had gone too smoothly the rest of our trip so I guess we needed our glitch. We actually got lost on the way back to the bus and ended up over by the prison,yes, Venice has a prison! We missed the bus by about five minutes, which put us about 3 hours later getting back than we wanted so, instead of being back by 2:00 it was closer to 5:00. We did beat Derek back though.

So it was finally here, the dreaded last night. It all went so fast, and I didn't have enough time with my girls! but, my little guy was calling and my heart was going out to him, I did miss him terribly.(It stinks to be torn, Mom, Chris, I now know exactly how you feel and I totally relate and yes, it does stink! Why can't we all just live next to each other?!) So we did laundry and had to dry our clothes in the infamous dryer (I sure hope you guys call on that thing and get it replaced, it truly is possesed!!!!!!) We even tried to secure a taxi so we wouldn't have to walk the infamous labor walk at 3:30 in the morning with suitcases none the less. They said to just call 10 minutes before we needed them even at 3:00 in the morning, so we took their word for it and packed then went to bed saying our goodbyes then because who wants to get up at 3:00 in the morning right? we sure didn't. So we call the taxi when we are ready to leave as it takes about 10 minutes to get to the gate of Villagio from their house. Craig gets a recording and we leave the address hoping everything works out and out we head with our suitcases making about as much noise as they can on the street at 3:20 in the morning--Sorry people! We get to the gate and wait and wait and wait I know it was only about 5 minutes but we had many things whirling through our heads like if we miss that 4:15 bus to the airport we are not going to get home to Jadeon! Yikes! We take the plunge, we start walking. Only we decide to brave the busy dangerous overpass, after all, how many cars are whipping by at 3:40 in the morning right? well as it turns out there were two, but we didn't pass any at the really dangerous parts thank goodness and then the long haul to the base (I hope the suitcase wheels last--sorry mom). We made it to the base and past security and to the stop by 4:00. A little (lot) sweaty but other than that, no worse for the wear (except the blister that is starting on my heal). We made it, but where was the bus? we were a little paranoid to say the least, oh good, hear it comes. The rest of the way home is pretty much a lot of waiting and luckily we didn't have to make a connection other than my mom and aunt Deanna in Seattle because they were about 45 minutes late taking off from Frankfurt. We had gotten boarded, but had to wait for a missing passenger, then a seat in Business class would not go upright so we had to wait for the repair crew to come and fix it, then we had to wait for a plane behind us, then we had to wait for two more planes that were landing in the runway we needed to take off on! basically it turned a 10 hour flight into and 11 hour flight oh well, what is another hour right? The point is we made it to Seattle (Portland would have been much better) and let me tell you, it is much easier to get into Germany and Italy than it is to get into the U.S. After getting our bags, which I think were the last ones off the plane, and getting through the last checkpoint, it was sure good to see mom and Deanna! Just four more hours and then I could see my sweet Jadeon! We got home a little before seven and were in bed by 8:45ish (from being up at 6:00 the night before--Oregon time, to bed almost 27 hours later) Whew, what a trip! I will never, never, never forget! Thank you God for your generous blessings!

Pregnancy update!

2009-09-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

So, I'm now 8 months along...Monday I will be at week 32. It's going by so fast! Today is my last day at work, and since I've been having braxton-hicks contractions for quite awhile now, the leave is well looked forward to! I've been having pretty bad Siatica. The other night I couldn't even walk! It hurt so bad and then my leg just wouldn't even move, so when I tried to get up to go to the bathroom, I just crumpled down to the ground. Luckily, Bo was there to help me. I tried to just sleep through it, but when I'd try to turn over or move my leg to a more comfortable position...well, it just wasn't happening. It hasn't been as bad since that night, but it does still cause me to limp around every now and then.
I felt Korban turn recently. At first it felt really weird...Bo and I were in the kitchen and then I exclaimed, "Geez! It feels like he just went side-ways!" Bo looked at my belly and was shocked. He said it LOOKED like Korban was side-ways! It was freaking him out because, as he put it, "it was round, and now it looks like an inner-tube!" So he made me go sit down. Later, I felt a lot of pressure in my pelvis...I can't even really describe how it felt...just odd...just that it HAD to be his head. So, I guess my baby boy is all ready to go! I'm not. lol. We had a talk in which I told him he needed to wait until at LEAST the start of the 9th month. He still has time to turn again, but I hope he doesn't because I don't want to have to worry about trying to deliver him breech. He seems pretty happy where he's at right now, though.
My friend Nikki is making Korban's diapers for me. They are going to be amazing! She's very tallented and I figure I gotta help her get her business started. I'm excited that I get to be her first customer! The next couple of weeks are going to be filled with baby stuff! Baby showers, shopping for the stuff that we need that we didn't get from the showers (I LOVE baby consignment stores for this!), etc! I'll be starting my weekly prenatal check-ups instead of the monthly ones here pretty soon! Gotta tour the birth center again...just cuz. Practicing my hypnobirthing technique...prenatal pilates to stay in shape and prep my body for labor...and so much more! So, I guess that's it for the pregnancy update!

Family Visits

2009-09-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

As you all know, mom and dad have been visiting us here in Italy for the past 2 weeks. It's been great fun seeing them and hanging out with them and they are also having a blast seeing us and the various sites around! This last weekend we vacationed up in Castelrotto, Italy near the Italian Alps and they were amazing. Words cannot express actually being there in all the beauty. The area we stayed in used to belong to Austria before the war and they are still very proud of their heritage. Being there you wouldn't even think you are in Italy anymore, it's very German/Austrian looking. We will definitely be returning someday soon! As for the rest of the visit, I will let mom and dad tell you about it when they get home! =P

There are pictures posted of the trip in "Military Life" and more pictures of their visit in "Family Ever After" and of course MORE Ferynne pictures in "Ode to Ferynne". =)

2009-09-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

Ferynne Isabella Willer

2009-08-31T06:42:00.000-07:00

And there is our beautiful, darling girl in all her sleepy cuteness! It's been a long, crazy, fasciniting, interesting, and at times nerve-wracking experience, and here we are, all three of us smiling happily! We've been relaxing for a few hours now and are excited to begin sharing our (perhaps not so) little adventure!

The adventure began all the way back on Friday. I had been put on staff duty until 5:30 in the evening, so Melanie had come on post to busy herself and get some good walking in. After my shift was over, we went to the comissary to grab some food for the weekend (the comissary is closed on Mondays, and we don't have a convenient way to get to post on the weekends, so Friday is our "stock up" day) and then boarded the shuttle bus to take us home. At this point, little contractions were pretty normal for Melanie, but she already had a feeling that we should probably stay on post over the weekend. We went home timidly, and Melanie's contractions took a serious turn, so we decided that we would wake up early in the morning and find a way to get to post. We had some various options, calling the sergeant in charge of me and asking for a ride, calling one of my squadmates' wife and asking for a ride, taxi, or walking to post (something we had never done before and we weren't quite sure how exactly to get to post on foot.) Morning came, and after a long morning of preparation and discussion of our transportation options, we of course took the method that suited our ridiculous personalities most: Blaze a trail on foot!

And blaze a trail we did! Whilst walking we decided that the highway overpass with no shoulder probably was not the best route to take with a pregnant lady in Europe, so we opted for a shady road that I had spied on GoogleEarth that appeared to become overgrown. We had to walk past some awesome old estates and then just as Google told us, voila! A wonderfully lush road of underbrush with a little path down the middle of it. But it doesn't end there, the path ran perpendicullarly right into a set of railroad tracks that we were quickly made aware of as a passenger train shot by. Crossing would not be easy, as there was a sizeable wall on the other end that we didn't want Melanie to try and brave. I did however spy a little pedestrian tunnel when I climbed the wall, so after peering through the brush on our side we found the entrance which of course was barred. This was easy enough for both of us to pass over, and we were quickly and triumphantly on our way. From there the gate to post was easy to find, and we took our baggage into the barracks where would be spending the next few days.

As you may or may not know, I was scheduled to go up to Germany for a month of training and certifications with the rest of the unit, but at the last moment my platoon sergeant gave me the go ahead to stay behind and be with Melanie. Because of this, the barracks are empty, and one of my squadmates gave me the okay to use his room while they were gone, so Melanie and I decided to use it as a little outpost while we waiting for labour to begin. So the weekend was spent watching movies, walking around, and Melanie suffering from some crazy contractions.

Saturday night was our first dash to the birthing center. It was around 11:40PM or so, and Melanie's contractions were getting to that infamous 3-5 minute mark between contractions so we gave the center a call, waited a while longer, and rolled out probably around 1 or 2 or so. They hooked her up to the various machines and started watchin' her, then dove in to see how dilated she was. Still the same 1.5-2cm she had been the week before. Melanie wasn't too happy to hear this, that all the pain and work she'd been through wasn't doing anything. So they sent us on our way, with an Ambien for Melanie just in case she couldn't sleep. We both slept on and off the rest of the night, and napped through the early afternoon the next day.

But then... it started! Melanie's contractions started getting really bad for her. She was nearly writhing sometimes at how painful they were, and the day was very tedious for her. We just tried to relax and rest and watched some movies. Eventually night came and we tried for bed, but it was just too much for Melanie. She was having the contractions fairly often, every 7-10 minutes, and by 11:30 she was fed up with it, so I called the center and asked if the Ambien would interfere with her labor at all, and they said that if it's true labor no, but it may help her calm down. Down goes the pill and we hit the hay, but it did far from help, haha. Melanie started hallucinating from the Ambien, whimpering about coloured fairies bringing on the contractions. She would get up every 15 minutes or so to pee, and I would call her back to bed afterwards, and she would mutter stuff about me just wanting to help the colours bring the contractions. Haha, it was great. Weird, but very amusing. We laid there, Melanie writhing every few minutes, and me in that weird either totally REM cycle sleep or groggy "Wha?" face awake until about 4:30 at which point Melanie said she had had it, and wanted to go in to the center. So again we packed our bags, and shuffled off.

Same as before, Melanie got hooked up to the fun machine (I amused myself by watching the little graphs when she was having contractions and comparing the numbers to the look on her face) and the same nurse from the night before dove in and was shocked at thinking Melanie was now dilated 8cm! She had one of the lead docters come in to verify, and she too said Melanie was 8cm. So we waited until Melanie felt the urge to push, which took about two hours or so, and then we called everyone in and we started the pushing game. This went by super fast, like movie magic five minutes fast (another amusing moment of laughter I stifled at the time) and out popped our beautiful darling you see above!

So the details! Born at 7:43AM Italy time, 6lbs 6oz, 19.75in long, and a good healthy little baby!

Melanie did a fantastic job through it all, no painkillers, never screamed or anything. Didn't even tear! The nurses were all super impressed and proud of her and I am too! And Ferynne has been doing a great job at life so far! She only cried for a second or two after coming out, and already knows that mama and papa are good caring people to safeguard her. She was feeding for a good 40 minutes, was peeping out of those little eyelids from the get go, she's already smiling, and can lift her head a little bit at a time. I'm waiting for her to start speaking Greek and working on that whole world peace thing. And that's about the long and short of it! I'll see if Melanie wants to add anything, and I'm sure we'll remember more as we wait to be released, but until then I hope you're all excited as we are!

In Memory of Mom (Grandma) Willer

2009-08-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

Mom fought a long hard fight with pancreatic cancer. I was fortunate that God saw fit to bring me down here to Simi in the last days of her life. I got to sit by her hospital bed, then helped be a caregiver during her last week at home. We had times of laughter while we browsed through old pictures, and times of sadness as she became unresponsive. She continually whispered to us all how much she loved us. Her pastor came over that last afternoon and prayed over her and anointed her. The obituary is here: http://www.legacy.com/venturacountystar/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=131337360

Buongiorno!

2009-08-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

There is a wifi connection near our house that fades in and out. So I don't know how long I have to type this out. But if any of you would like to see pictures of the house, we posted some in the "Military Life" album on our web albums!

Ciao!

Pictures uploaded ;-)

Trip Pictures

2009-07-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

I decided to try my hand at Picasa and post my Colorado pics there - I have a public set that is open for everyone and then one with just pictures of me and Sonya posing around (didn't want to make that public). So, you can click on the link to the right you'll get the public set and if you'd like to see the 'private' set, let me know and I'll send you an invite (I'll need your email for that if I don't have it already!). Enjoy!

It's a boy!

2009-07-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

Well, we had our 20 week ultrasound on the 11th. We are having a baby boy! Bo and I had a little issue picking the first name, but after consideration, the baby's official name is Korban Atreyu Brooks. We picked Atreyu for the middle name in honor of my friend Nikki's son, Atreyu, who passed durring labor. She is very touched that we chose to name our son after hers because she wants the world to know that Atreyu DID, in fact, exist. Just because he was still born doesn't mean that he wasn't here, that he didn't live, and that he didn't have an impact on other's lives.
On a brighter note, we got the specs back from the ultrasound a couple of days later. Korban is very healthy, everything is just the right size it should be, etc. They did find out that I have a...retroverted (?) uterus. So, that's why I'm only looking 3-4 months pregnant instead of 6. My uterus was tipped back, now it's straight up and down and it SHOULD pop forward to the correct placement around month 7-8. The only difficulty this posses is that it's harder to feel where the baby is at right now. Which would explain why I'm not feeling him move nearly as much as I think I should considering how active Korban is!
Work is getting very difficult. I'm going to apply for the Oregon Health Plan once I reach my third trimester. If I wait until then, I will be 100 percent covered, if I get accepted. And if I do get accepted, I'm quitting my job! Nikki and I are starting a business together. We will be making and selling cloth diapers, blankets, burp cloths, post-partum pads, nursing pads, etc. We have almost everything in place. We just have to figure out our pricing (we know the cost to make each of everything and aproximately how long it takes to make them), get some inventory stocked up, and get licensed. We all ready have an offer from the store "Off the Rack," a baby consignment store, to sell our diapers! I'm very excited for this! It's also something I can do from home while taking care of Korban!

Tetons and Yellowstone

2009-07-15T10:39:00.001-07:00

I'm never quite sure what pics will be in what order when I add them, but now that they're here, this is what you see! Top pic is of Yellowstone Lake from the top of the Elephant's Back. Second down is the Fishing Hole geyser in West Thumb Geyser Basin - they used to catch fish and then dip them into here to cook them! Next is up in the Tetons on the Canyon Cascade Trail. Last is a beautiful morning in front of the Tetons. I'm hoping to get all my pics up and into a web album soon! We had a marvelous time and loved every minute of our trip (except for maybe road construction...).

Red Rocks, Aspen and Rocky Mountain National Park

2009-07-03T17:34:00.000-07:00

The first pic is at Red Rocks Amphitheatre where we saw the tribute to John Denver. Red Rocks is an amazing place and we got there early to explore and then just stayed until the concert. The place was packed, the weather awesome and I almost sang myself hoarse! The next pic is of Emerald Lake from our last day in Rocky Mountain National Park. Sonya and I hiked over 9 miles and visited 7 lakes on the hike! Next pic is of the Ute Trail in RMNP where we came across these two marmots and this one kept getting closer and closer to Sonya! Next pic is near the Alpine Visitor Center at RMNP at about 11,796 altitude. We hiked up the 'stairs' to Marmot Point and this view to the Never Summer Mountains. Last one is up at Crater Lake underneath the incredible Maroon Bells just outside of Aspen. I got to see a pika up there! I can see I'll need to set up a Picasa account for all my pics! We've had a great time, and leave tomorrow for the Tetons and then Yellowstone!

Big South & Agnes Lake

2009-06-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

The top pic is of incredibly lovely Agnes Lake. Just a mile from the Nokhu Hut we spent the night in last night. We had to cross some snow fields, but well worth the effort. The bottom pic is of 'Big South' going up the Poudre River. Sonya and I both loved the hike most of the way along this gorgeous mountain stream. Home here for tonight then off to our concert, Aspen and Rocky Mountain National Park tomorrow!

June business

2009-06-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it is already June 25th. Where did the month go? I thought that after Andrew graduated things would slow down lol. Oh well, I will just have to slow myself down on my own. Graduation was, in and of itself, quite the ordeal. At least Andrew is done with high school. The trick is to now get him done with college ha ha. The next Saturday was his party, we had a house full. Then I got to bake over a hundred cupcakes for my friend to choose for her reception. Thankfully my cousins were here from Alaska and we had a family dinner to go to, so I got to take the extra cupcakes there to get rid of them. I made eight different flavor combinations. We just got back from Sun River and now I am planning Jadeon's birthday party, he turns four on Saturday! It doesn't sound like I am slowing myself down does it? I will keep trying.

God is good, He is very good! He gave me two tickets to be able to go and see my granddaughter after she is born! This also means seeing my daughter and son-in-law whom I know I will be missing like crazy! I already am missing them and I know that I will get to see them before they leave! I just can't believe it though, the way God shows Himself is amazing. I had just finished telling a friend that I didn't think that I would be able to go and see Ferynne after she was born because of financial reasons and then another friend came up to me and wanted to talk to me before I left church, so we went to the nursery (how fitting,now that I think about it) where she proceeded to tell me that God gave her a gift but it was meant for me to have it. She had won two tickets to Europe; any destination, any time frame between August 10th 2009 and August 10th 2010. She felt that God had told her that she was supposed to give them to me, so she did! I couldn't believe my ears! I was crying all the way home from church knowing that I don't deserve these tickets, but am so thankful for a God who delights in my joys and wants to give me the desires of my heart! Needless to say, I AM GOING TO ITALY!!!!!!!!!!!

High in the Colorado!

2009-06-25T06:50:00.000-07:00

Fabulous flight into Denver! I was lucky to get a window seat and this was taken out the south windows just as we started descending into Denver. We should be in these mountains on Sunday heading to Aspen! Sonya and I just messed around together for the rest of the day. Had lunch at the Silver Grill (in business most of the time since 1912!), toured downtown (don't go into the Cupboard shop! Too many cute things!) Saw the Budweiser Clydesdales - they have a brewery just on the edge of town and 6 of the clydesdales are here in training - Evan was in one of their commercials as a young colt! Hooked up with Brendan and headed out for a picnic dinner at Horsetooth Reservior and watched the sun set. Back to their fabulous apartment (wow, I wish I had their shower, kitchen, amazing!), getting to know the kitties (Cocoa and Cookie) and planning out hikes for today and tomorrow just north of Rocky Mountain National Park! Mt. McConnell here we come!

Pedicure, Facial and Massage, Oh My!

2009-06-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

So, I finally cashed in my Christmas present today from Derek and Melanie - Wow! That took a long time! I made my appointment starting at 2, and didn't get out until after 6! Started with the massage and she worked a traction thing on my neck - I could do that every week! It certainly felt much better. She was very good and her kids go to Sprague - so I knew her name! She was very good and I enjoyed my time with her. Then it was off to do the facial. I never knew you could put so many different things on a face! Exfoliating, scrubbing, toning, steam, hot towels - when she put some kind of fluffy white cream on my face with this little brush, I could just imagine her making designs with it, those curls like on top of a Dairy Queen sundae. Then, with something else I teased her that she was using amazing colors like purple and orange and making cool patterns while I lay there. She also gave an amazing hand massage while we were waiting for something to set, or dry or something! Then I got a wonderful lunch in between that and the pedicure. I picked a nice deep purple, but it looks blue in the pic! It was a lot of fun, and I thank you kids very much for getting to experience something new!

Baby Knits!

2009-06-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to share some of our handcrafties we've been working on for Ferynne! I started knitting just before going out to selection 'cause I felt like making some stuff with my hands, wanting to make something for Melanie, and perhaps a little out of boredom, haha. Melanie of course was wanting to get into the craft back before I left for basic, and has now been working at it again! It's been fun as we each inspire each other to start new projects, either for each other, for the family back home, or for little Ferynne. =)

So here are two of the projects we've completed for Ferynne, the first is a blanket I made for her. This started right before I left for selection, though with a different yarn and pattern, then as I was working on it (it was very tedious) Melanie and I realised how small it would be, so I found the pattern for this blanket, which was much larger, and wouldn't be quite as detrimental to my sanity. So here's my toss in the running for Ferynne's security blanket!

The colors are a little more bright and vibrant in real life. It is nice and cozy, and should last her quite some time. And Melanie helped with this one by tying little knots in the end of each of the tassles so they don't unravel (no small task!)

Next up is a beanie that Melanie has been knitting for Ferynne and just finished today. She started it... oh, two nights ago maybe with a completely different yarn (two of them actually) but after several attempts at learning how beanie making goes, she changed over to this yarn last night and whizzed on through it, ending with this awesome little beanie for our little rumpkin. The bottom edge actually rolls up and down so you can adjust the length of it and how thick the bottom roll is, and the squiggly mass on the top is a little spindly tail Melanie finished it off with. Very cool I think!

It's not quite as orange in real life, thanks to the bedroom lamp. More a good deep, dusty blue fading into a raspberry reddish pink.

On the needles right now I have a little hoodie I'm making for Ferynne (though inspiration for it has gone through its waxings and wanings, suffering a wait through three other projects until getting back to it finally today) that I will possibly finish in the next week or two, supposing we can find a good long movie series or show to watch while we knit (helps keep the repetetiveness less mind-numbing) and since Melanie only just finished the beanie moments ago, I'm not sure she's sure what she's going to make next.

Otherwise, things are going on as they have been, slow and peaceful with the odd hiccup here and there, with our return to Oregon hopefully coming up in July! Our love to you all! =)

It finally happened

2009-06-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

Here lies our connecting rod.

It gave an exceptional performance at the end of its life. Breaking clean through the engine and out the bottom leaving a wonderful oil spill. We could do nothing as we clacked our way down the road hoping to at least reach home. But a mere minute away from the apartment, after the connecting rod exploded out the bottom and we pushed the car into the nearest parking lot, the old car was able to run its little combustion engine the rest of the way without the sad little piece.(As soon as we heard the clacking, we were smart enough to stop at the grocery store on the way home, knowing it was the near end!) Knowing this was going to happen with such a car, I was only happy we had made it home with the groceries!
So for now Derek runs to base every morning for formation. As sucky as that sounds, I'm actually quite jealous of his vigorous 8 mile morning runs! If only I didn't have a pregnant body! I'd be so pumped to join him as he reaches such body condition. But as out of shape as I am right now, it'd probably put me into labor, haha. We mess with the idea of maybe finding a cruddy bike from a pawn shop for him to use... but for now he seems to be fine with the brisk morning run! None of this, nor any of the interesting hardships life has presented us with has any effect on me. It just makes things more interesting and liveable. I'm glad to have the excuse to walk to the grocery store and keep up on my health!

yard

2009-06-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

Rick has been working really hard in the yard. He had to scrape off the old yawn and did a ditch for drainage. He added pipe and piped it to the lower part of the yawn towards the rose garden. So hopefully when we replant the yawn and it rains it will not flood the walk. The yard will be lower than the walk this time Yea!!!!!. We still will need to do a wall above and around the yard witch will be a project in its self. So lots to keep us busy for the summer. We are excited to have Derrick and Melanie home soon for a visit before going abroad. Will miss them terribley but what an experience for them. Of course, we may all be able to go visit.

Hot Tub

2009-06-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here is my new hot tub. I just love it. It is smaller and easier for me to take care of. The top is light weight and easy for me to lift. I can cool it down for the kids to play in for a pool and it will heat back up within the hour, so the kids have fun and I have my heat back in time for my relaxation in the evening.

eyeliner and no glasses

2009-06-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hi I hope I know how to do this, hear goes. I had my eye liner tattooed on beings I am having cataract surgery and will not have to wear glasses. YEA!!!!!!!!!! I have worn glasses since third grade so this is very exciting for me. As for having my eye liner tattooed on, ouch!!!!!!!!. but love it. Its fun to be old and can get away with silly things like this.

Missing my girl!

2009-05-29T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess the test came out positive! Melanie that is an awesome picture! I can't believe I am missing out on the everyday lives of my children and grandchild. Mom cries miserably in the corner feeling much pity for herself.
Things around here are ramping up for Andrew's Graduation on the 3rd of June, with a family bar-be-que on the 6th. I am almost finished with Ferynne's crib set and it is looking pretty cool. Melanie has quite the eye for colors going together, but then she is an artist at heart. After the graduation festivities I am hoping to get it done.
I have looked at the pictures Melanie posted and it is good to see their happy faces (I am glad that in the midst of the chaos of the Army you two are together--it makes it possible to face whatever may come your way). That is all for now, just wanted everyone to know that I am still here. I will post more after graduation, maybe with some pic's.

2009-05-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

So life has gotten back to normal pretty well here. Got things straightened and fixed for the most part. Derek's buddy, Carlos, left to go on leave(he will be going to Italy as well) and sold us his car for a deal. It's a relief having a form of transportation again! Lets just hope this car makes it okay through the time we have left here. It's an okay car and runs fine, but if your looking for reliability this car has warning signs of its future death written all over it, lol.

We get up bright and early each morning and drive to base for Derek's 6am formation and every day is filled with different things to do. We've started taking some pictures of our "life" here and I'll be posting some in our web album today for any who want to see. Derek and I have been catching up on our knitting together and he is just about done with Ferynne's baby blanket!(will be sure to post a picture of that as well!) As for me, i'm happy with the scarf-making safe zone for now... and somehow I manage to still mess things up.

That's all, not much to say. Just thought it was about time for a belly picture!

and then there was the Army...

2009-05-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

And the Army, though great and mighty, begot many screws and many balls that they could not keep. So they dropped some of their balls and "inserted here" many screws... resulting in many screwed persons and many injured plans.

*Begins to translate as the poor exhausted soldier rests from his day of stress and fear*

Oi mama. Plans have been changed. We did not need a visa for Germany but now we need one for Italy. There is not enough time to get one now. So after a bunch of this: (#$*&(%*&#$)%(@*#&$@(*$&#($*@($^&^!@*&#!@#!*&!!@(*#&(@*#(!&#$$#)%#*&!@#@#Y$I#@UHRKJHFI#U$YN#IWENIWRYI#$UYN@#UNYUFNOINU#O$IU@#$NO
RWRWERIWUENRI@#M#RPO#NROIEWRNUEWORUWOIRU#$(@*&$()@$&@#(*$

New Plans:

Orders deferred until July 20th for the sake of me being able to actually GO WITH Derek to Italy instead of being left behind.

What this means:

We are NOT leaving to fly home to Oregon tomorrow. Completely canceled flights day before departure! Good thing I was slacking in the packing department. We are having to stay here another month and a half! I don't want to be friends with the cockroaches for that much longer!!! I want to go home! I want to breath beautiful Oregon air and soak in the beautiful Oregon weather! Oh fairest of fair! No southerners, no roaches, no North Carolina! Sweet, wonderful Salem! It calls to us both! But instead I get to bug bomb on Thursday and dink around Fayettenam longer(SO BORRRRING). Thank you ARMY!
On top of that...heavens! I will be too pregnant to fly without a doctors slip. Not that a doctors note will keep me any safer on that plane while ALMOST 8 MONTHS PREGNANT. GUH. Scary stuff. Thank you ARMY!

Anywho. Sorry to be so brief. There is just no possible way to explain everything that lead up to this. Simple as this: Visa.

Oh yeah, there are many great little notes such as: We've already shipped our bikes back to Oregon, thus having no form of transportation. (just a sample)

Brooks pregnancy update

2009-05-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

So this baby is all ready showing me who is boss. I don't have morning sickness as bad as Melanie, but it's still pretty intense. And the tiredness and shortness of breath! Doesn't make work any easier. I mostly get stuck on register. I suppose I should get used to it since I'm sure that's where I'll be for the next 6 months! I get tired of yelling at(well, not really yelling...more like lecturing) customers at the drive through window to put out their cigarettes. When they get mouthy about how it's their choice if they want to get a ticket for it or not, I have to very kindly, but sternly inform them that not only is it the law now, but that I am also pregnant and for the sake of the health of my baby, they really do need to put it out. So far that's all I've had to say, but I just know that one of these days that reason will not be enough for someone and then I will very politely explain that I do have the right to refuse service to anyone, so if they cannot abide by the law, I will have to close the window on them. Maybe not those words exactly, but something to that effect.

I've had my first ultrasound and with it have discovered a few new things about my baby. One, that he or she is an unusually active child. The nurse couldn't measure the heart at first because the kid wouldn't keep still! She said it was very unusual for it to be so active so early on (I mean the kid just recently developed it's individual fingers and toes for goodness sake!). So, Bo and I are definitely in for it in that respect. Two, the kid is due on my birthday! Nov. 23rd! I figure it's my mom's revenge for her missing Thanksgiving dinner with me. ;-P Course, I'm planning on a home birth (unless complications arise), so I will hopefully still get some turkey and gravy!

One thing that we will definitely need prayer for is my rare blood type. Apparently, I am A-. Not many people are negative. And in a woman this is very much an issue. As Bo is A+, this could cause issues with future children. My negative blood doesn't like positive blood. If the baby has positive blood, and our blood mixes (not usually until birth), then my body will develop antibodies against positive blood. So, while this baby isn't at risk, if I have positive babies in the future, my body will reject their blood and they will either die before birth or have severe issues after. What they will do is after I give birth to this baby, they will test the baby's blood and if it's positive I will get a Rohgam shot which will hopefully trick my body into thinking it all ready created the antibodies. I have 72 hours after birth to do this. It is normally effective, but I could be in the small 3% of women that it doesn't work in. On top of that, for every positive baby I have, I will need to get this shot after the birth. So it's a little scary.
Well, that's that. Pretty uneventful otherwise.

Updates, Fayettenam, and Germany(Italy)... Oh my!

2009-05-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

And that's what Melanie has to say about her adventures so far in the far Easterly South! An exciting adventure of two souls, filled with the old Nordic wanderlust leading them around the globe (and perhaps influenced a tad by the whims of the big army thrusting them about as the winds blow.) And so, the past few weeks have been filled with such glorious adventures as trying to find apartments near the base that would give short leases (since we would be getting orders to go elsewhere soon), finding out when exactly to fly Melanie out here, moving her in, trying to buy a car, scheduling to by a car, cancelling the scheduling to buy a car because we ended up getting order to Germany, dealing with stupid banks that bear the flag of the Credit Union, when in fact they are totalitarian terrorists hellbent on controlling every dime of money you give them, clearing Melanie so that she could come to Germany with me, and now the wait so that I can out-process from here and we can leave the country. Oish. Oh, and of course Melanie being pregnant every second of every day (and night!) and all the hilarity, joy, and long nights that causes us, haha.

But yes, for those of you who had not heard yet, I was informed that I was being assigned to an airborne unit in Bamberg, Germany (about 150 miles North Westish of München) and we'll be heading there the beginning of June. Do not fret, though, we're planning on taking leave so that we can return to our homeland to visit with the family and snag the remainder of our belongings before hopping the big pond. More updates on dates and such to come as we find out ourselves.

Once all the issues of officiality, arrangements, and scheduling are done though, our lives could not be happier at the moment! Melanie has enjoyed the spite of many a North Carolinan driver, much to her befuddlement, and little Ferynne kicks more and more every day. It felt like home the moment she arrived. (The both of them, that is, hehe.) We apologise for not necessarily communicating with many of you, as there has been much running to and fro and during the week our time during the day is precious (and time during the night reserved for as much sleep as possible!) and the weekends, well, the weekends are ours. So =P

Anyways, we love you all, hope to see you soon, and hopefully will be posting much more often now!

-Derek

****

So it seems I am to update you all on this mornings recent news. In our long wait to get Derek's "official" orders, they have decided to change his orders to Italy! We knew some people were being sent to Italy instead, but when we checked his AKO it still said "Germany" in the document. Apparently, this morning one of the other married guys in Derek's platoon came up to him and asked if he had been changed because his orders changed just YESTERDAY. So of course when Derek checks his AKO again this morning it had been changed as well!

And so the process of waiting for THOSE orders starts all over again...*hums a little tune about the army*

Anyways. that is what is happening with us. Not that you ragamuffins deserved to hear it! Not that I know ANYTHING about YOUR lives from your amazing POSTING HABITS. Hah! *huffs off*

-Melanie

Germany!

2009-04-21T21:23:00.000-07:00

So many things whirling around in my mind! Melanie leaving home for North Carolina then less than a week later calling me to tell me that my baby will be having a baby in another country where her mommy can't help out like she would like. But, oh, the adventure! Watch out you guys, with a name that means adventurous, Ferynne is already calling the shots and the United States is too boring of a place to be born I guess. I just keep reminding myself that God is the ultimate provider and He will take better care of them than I could. Thank you both (Derek and Melanie) for dreaming big and stepping out into His beautiful creation to live big. Two passages of scripture come to mind Philipians 3:13b-14 but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toard the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. and Philipians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Live big you guys and always keep God your center and know that there is someone here who is always praying for your wellbeing and walk with God.

I am still processing everything. And yes I have been online to find out how much a ticket to Germany will cost. With Amanda and Bo also having a baby, Andrew graduating and trying to get into OSU, Jadeon turning four, Craig turning 42 (Grandpa!!! ha ha), garden season starting, change is on the horizon and it is coming at us all fast! Thank you Lord for not ever changing and being our constant in these crazy times. I am looking forward to all of these changes, I just hope I can be a constant for my family like God is for me. Well off I go to make sense of this wonderfully crazy life. My love to all my family and extended family too!

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

I Think...

2009-04-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

Our elusive family members need to post an update of their lives for us...at least an introduction? Gram#2? Lutzfam?
We want to hear from you! =P

Operation: Clean Out & Move Out(Oi Vei)

2009-04-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

UPDATE:
I will be flying out in the evening on the 15th. 3 layovers and 14 hours later I will arrive in North Carolina on the 16th. Fun stuff. Especially since I'm practically paying for another plane ticket for the baggage I will have with me.

********

Derek will not be able to make it back out here to see everybody. So this week I have to go through and get rid of most of our belongings. I will be flying out the week after Easter with a very large bag full of items we would need to live off of and move into our new place! Not my favorite plan, seeing as though Derek will not be able to visit family before we move, but it's what's going to work right now. Besides, there is something liberating about completely starting over. Aside from the sense of adventure, it's the opportunity to start fresh, go back to the basics, and realize what a fulfilling and wonderful life someone can lead without the need for "stuff".

Would you like to simply "hold on to" items for us? Borrow it for an period of time?

-Vast Game Collection
-Auto harp
-Guitar
-Sportsman's Warehouse Cot
-Sizable book collection

*You could use all these items as if they were yours*

Cousin Visit

2009-04-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

My cousin Wes and his lovely wife Amy came for 'Aunt' visits and one of his 'aunts' is my mom! So, I came over to mom's last night and we fixed a wonderful dinner (Orange cranberry salmon with parmesan rice and carrots and asparagus and other goodies) and had a marvelous time! It was a blast spending time with them and we connected so well! He is interested in doing some calligraphy (can we all say 'Moon Rust Studios'???) perhaps and is writing a novel on his 'ferry' commute over to Seattle every day. Amy is involved with many groups, Toastmasters, a book group and loves scrapbooking so we all enjoyed learning new things about each other. Brennen got started talking to Wes and he's a big D&D fan, so they connected as well! Fun evening and before we knew it, it was 10pm! We're planning on a visit in the future!

Surprises

2009-04-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

Things have been happening quite fast and a bit surprising around here. As announced before, Bo and I will be having a baby! Don't know if I'm 1 month or 2 months along yet...hopefully will find out soon. Either way, that will put it at a November/early December birth. I have my first prenatal exam on Wednesday at the Alma Midwifery Birth Center. I DO know that I would like to try a water birth since I plan on having no pain meds and it is supposed to be easier on the baby to adjust right after birth.
The most surprising thing occurred on the 31st. Bo's dad got an email from Bo's biological mother! She wanted to know how Bo was doing, etc. Bo has been emailing her back and forth and even started talking on the phone with her! He is sooo extatic to hear from her! Hobby and Dianna have raised Bo, explaining that his mother didn't want to give him up, but that her life was a mess and it was actually dangerous for him (bad marriage apparently...didn't know all the details), so he's always thought of his mother in the highest regard, knowing that she did it to protect Bo. So, they've been catching up and it turns out that Bo has a brother and there's all these cousins and aunts and uncles who are so excited about hearing from him!
I'll post more details later and pictures, but I've got to finish dinner! TTFN

babies

2009-04-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

Yea!!! I am going to be great grandma twice. My granddaughter Melanie and Amanda are having a baby. They will be a couple of months apart is all. It will be great for sister to have baby around the same time. I guess God decided Grandma Nina need a baby close by as Melanie will be off in another part of the US when Ferynne is born. Don't know yet what Amanda is having and don't know if they want to know before the birth. It will be real exciting around our house hold this fall. Rick is now retired. Yea!!!! hope we will be able to do some siteseeing if gas goes down some so we can afford to pull our trailer futher than the coast.

This crazy week

2009-04-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Wow! I just found out that I am going to be a grandma twice. I guess my girls are ganging up on me! Just kidding. What a change though, to think of myself as a grandma. Amanda just filled us in on the news this last Saturday. The gang was all here, it was perfect timing. And boy were we shocked, though we shouldn't have been (they were on the five year plan, and September it will be five years). It reminds me of that insurance commercial "Life comes at you fast". I just hope I can be a good grandma and spoil them rotten then send them home for their mommies and daddies to deal with them lol. Really though, I can't wait.

Yesterday Melanie let me go with her to her ultra sound to find out if their baby is a boy or girl. I am so blessed to be able to share this with her while Derek is away, and before they move away. I can't believe how emotional I got. I thought no big deal, I have seen lots of ultrasounds and I would not need to cry ha ha ha ha. I took one look at my granddaughter and the tears would not stop! God is so good and I just can't believe how he has planned the life thing. It so amazes me how intricately we are created. How he has planned every little detail, to create just the person He wants us to be. We got to see her yawn, which was especially neat since Melanie had just told me the day before that the baby can now yawn. She is so beautiful, even without seeing clearly, and I am not prejudiced one little bit ha ha.

I also got to cook an April Fool's dinner for the church last night. That was sooo much fun. I hadn't done anything like that before. We had fish sticks, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and carrots, with a cherry cake for dessert a.k.a. sugar wafer cookies spread with peanut butter rolled in crushed corn flakes, vanilla ice cream with carmel sauce, green tootsie rolls and orange died marshmellows, and meatloaf with a roasted red pepper filling covered with pink mashed potatoes. It was a big hit, I think everyone loved it.

So now I guess back to painting doors, ugh, will we ever be done.

2009-04-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

Ferynne Isabella Willer

^left foot above^

*right hand over head in first picture*

brendan's birthday trip to co springs

2009-03-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

so here are our pics from co springs. brendan on top of pikes peak, garden of the gods (gog) park with pikes peak in background, 7 falls with ladder on left side leading to trails, two more gog park pics, pikes peak summit, top of 7 falls on a trail, and another gog park pic! ate dinner at an old train station right on the tracks (giuseppi's) and could watch the train go by. food was so good, we couldn't even eat the free birthday brownie!

Today hopefully some snowshoeing after the big storm we just had!

I-5 Again?!

2009-03-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

Den headed off this morning at 9:07am for his new job. Brennen did a great job helping him pack the truck and Jeff from next door got the Miata all loaded and cinched down. We are so thankful he's got a job, and now some time with his family down there. Traveling mercies on him as he takes that long drive.
Update: Dennis has safely arrived in Williams, CA and is stopping for the night. Just a little over halfway - 6pm.
3-27-09 - update: He took off at 4am (good thing he didn't call me!) - heading up the Grapevine at about 9am - journey almost done! He should be in Simi by 12:30 or so! So far, so good - but he says the wind is really moving!
Arrived at 12:17pm to warm welcome and the fixings for potato salad! Safe and sound, huzzah!

2009-03-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it. I am posting. So, there! We are in the middle of big paint/remod project and I get to repaint 17 doors and frames. Yea. Life is crazy and I wish things would slow down, but I can't see that happening in the foreseeable future so I just hang on to God and go along for the ride hoping I am doing Him credit and bringing Him glory. I love my family and don't get to see them all enough, but isn't that every mother's lament? I am just blessed that I have most of them around if only for a little while longer. And if any of my kids read this, When Derek comes back for his 10 day leave before dragging my daughter and grandchild all the way across the country, We are going to get together for a family portrait! If I personally have to drag you all here one by one! ha ha, I am serious though. So be ready in April! And Derek, I love you son and I know Melanie is happier with you so it is o.k., I will just miss you all. Just come back here when all is said and done and we won't have to drag you back ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Well back to painting!

Timothy Botts

2009-03-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

Absolutely loved having Timothy Botts here for 4 days. Dennis had invited him about a year and half ago to put on a workshop here in Salem with the Capitol Calligraphers and he accepted! He is Dennis' great inspiration and it was a treat to have him stay with us. His wife joined him and I got to show her around the area while the guys were busy calligriphying. With an all invited presentation on Thursday, workshops on Friday and Saturday with a potluck on Sunday, we were all busy! The word picture that comes to my mind with both Tim and Nancy is gracious. (Picture that in a lovely script with flourishes!) He is very humble and whenever he received a compliment he would tell the person how kind they were and how honored he was to receive their thanks. As we got to know each other, the laughter rolled and we found how many connections we had with each other. He did an original piece on Saturday and presented it to the calligraphy guild and they presented it to Dennis for all his work and planning. After the potluck Sunday, Tim and Nancy treated us to the Northern Lights Theatre Pub for a movie and dinner! We hope to visit them one day and continue the friendship!

Playing with my new camera!!!

2009-03-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

Lots of interesting settings to shoot pictures with!

Meeting W. Paul Young - author of The Shack

2009-02-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

Went to the Oregon Christian Writers one day conference today and our guest speaker was Paul Young (he doesn't use the William!). These are some of the notes I took during his three talks during the day: He told us he only has two prayers he prays on a daily basis anymore - #1 - "I don't want to die as an old man who never took the risks involved with faith and trust." #2 - "I will never ask you again to bless what I do - but if there is something you are blessing, can I hang around that just because I want to be around you."

He talked about how sometimes he spent so much time trying to find a worthy enough idea to have God bless it - that the idea becomes the idol, and in the end, it becomes something about our life that we can control. Until you deal with God, he won't let you keep idols that damage you.

He said the book was a gift to his children, so they understood the big things in his life and sometimes he feels that its 'success' is because God said, 'yeah, give it to your kids, then I'd like to give it to mine.' He talked about our significance to God, and how if something can be taken away from us, then it's not a part of who we really are. How we know how to justify our fears, the place where we're not going to let anyone else in, and we build our new facades to match the people we want to please. God refuses to let us build facades, or put up with the paint jobs we paint as fast as we perceive people's expectations.

His 'weekend' in the shack lasted 11 years (January of 1994 to June of 2004), and it took him 50 years of this life to stop trying to earn God's love. The father of the prodigal and the righteous son loved both of them 100%, all the time. Fear is a gift that shows us where we need to trust God. He said that after God took everything away in 2004, with 6 of them living in a 900 square foot house, the joy of God fell on them like a ton of bricks. Sometimes God lets everything go wrong just so he can heal you deep inside. If your burden is heavy, you're picking up things that aren't yours. He is the only one that can heal your unique damage and sometimes the surgery has to cut deep. It's all right to grieve for the person God created you to be.

He's dealt with having members of his family killed (a niece who was just 5), with adultery (the beginning of his own 'great sadness') and was abused sexually since he thinks about 4 or 5. He says he has no more secrets from anyone, and one day hopes that he and his father will have their relationship healed. In the book he is both Missy and Mac. Paul has a website: http://www.windrumors.com/ where he talks about the things that matter to him. We laughed with him a lot, and he talked about husband and wife submitting to each other quipping "I submit stuff to my wife all the time, articles, letters, my writing...." He is also firm that his wife selects his engagements "that way I know I have her approval to go!"

His main theme, God loves us, completely, all the time - what freedom and joy!

I'm the Dad.....don't scold!!

2009-02-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

I thought I was posting to the family tree dear........let's remember, I'm old!

A Mom Here!

2009-02-26T17:55:00.001-08:00

I had one of my aides at work pull books for the Read Across America display and he pulled out my Mom's book to use! So, here it is in the case we have in the middle of the library! Talked to Sonya tonight - I will hopefully get to visit this summer. Den has the possibility of starting work (!) big yeah! Derek should have gotten cookies in the mail today awaiting his arrival to pick them up. We have Bible Study tonight, I have an OASL (Oregon Association of School Librarians) meeting tomorrow afternoon and Saturday is the Oregon Christian Writers conference here in Salem. So, off to eat dinner (a chili-ish concoction of meats and beans, corn and pasta) and for snack tonight I made the cinnamon muffins with streusal topping but more like a coffee cake format - they smell awesome! Love you all!

"First out of the gate!"

2009-02-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

Hi there! Melanie here. ;-)

So I'm going to be lazy and paste some of my last posts here as my "official update". I'm pregnant, I can cheat!

Derek came home for the month of December and for that seemingly eternal yet short amount of time the gravitational forces of the moon were in balance once more. It was wonderful to visit with family and spend time with everyone. A more perfect existence could never be created when we are side by side, as two soul-friends could never contain more happiness than that.
And whether it was expected by everyone or not, we now get to share the joy of having a baby on the way! (September 2nd is the "due date")

Sometime towards the end of March or April, once Derek finish his selection for Special Forces, I finally get to join him in North Carolina! By that time I should be over my extreme morning sickness that seems to be the bane of my life right now.

****

Sometime in March I will have another ultrasound and find out if I'm having a boy or a girl! A friend of mine says she wants to give me a baby shower before I leave for North Carolina(The shower would be around the first week in April or so). So I've decided until I know for sure, to create 2 different registries. You'll find they are pretty similiar.

It's a Girl! Registry:

http://www.target.com/registry/baby/3HN1PASMWKEEJ

It's a Boy! Registry:

http://www.target.com/registry/baby/3DQ8ISZLJ1QKF

And for the most recent. Today I turned in my application for admission to Fayetteville State University! I obviously wont be going until the Spring Term seeing as though I'll be popping out a baby during the Fall. But after a good 4-5 months of getting used to all the changes, I don't see why I can't continue my education and bring baby to class! It will be fun! Stressful! And when the baby cries I will probably miss some of the lecture as I quickly retreat out of the classroom! But hey, why not? It's like when you were a kid and wanted to bring your pet frog or new kitten to school and your mom always said no. But this time I get to and nobody can say no! And if the school has any problems I'll just tell them straight up that the baby is simply "auditing the class". =P

Also in September, a friend of mine is moving to NC! She currently has 3 jobs and is trying to finish her education at Chemeketa here in Salem. So call me crazy again. But I told her she has a place to stay rent-free with us! It will give her a financial break and she has already offered to be nanny whenever I need it! Life is so much more exciting when your living to help people out. I always want my home to be open to the world in need, and that will always be the way my household rolls. ;-)

Vso. Da Svedanya!

Family Tree Blog Introduction!!!

2009-02-23T20:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our new family blog!
The idea of this blog is to keep the family close and updated on each others lives! No matter how far away we go in the world, this is the place where we can all come together and post what is happening in our lives. Post pictures! Events! Anything you would love to share with family!
If you are a mother, father, brother, or sister of Derek and I(Melanie) we would love for you to join the family blog! Grandparent? Aunt? Uncle? We would love to have you!
Even if your not interested in posting, you are invited to follow along with the lives of the family members that do!

If you've been invited to be an author via e-mail, simply sign up for a blogger username and password through google. Then once you've explored and learned how to post, go ahead and post a blog to introduce yourself to everyone! That way we know all the family members that are here to share their lives!

Baby Registry

2009-02-20T13:17:00.000-08:00

Sometime in March I will have another ultrasound and find out if I'm having a boy or a girl! A friend of mine says she wants to give me a baby shower before I leave for North Carolina(The shower would be around the first week in April or so). So I've decided until I know for sure, to create 2 different registries. You'll find they are pretty similiar. But the few clothing items are obviously different.

It's a Girl! Registry:

http://www.target.com/registry/baby/3HN1PASMWKEEJ

It's a Boy! Registry:

http://www.target.com/registry/baby/3DQ8ISZLJ1QKF

Dusting off the collected silence

2009-01-21T09:24:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately this is just what happens when you live in apartment with no internets. And of course I'm likely to spill out a hearty blog on a short visit to friends and family who have internet(Not!).

So now I resort to spilling out information in a most regular way. Updates:

Derek came home for the month of December and for that seemingly eternal yet short amount of time the gravitational forces of the moon were in balance once more. It was wonderful to visit with family and spend time with everyone. A more perfect existence could never be created when we are side by side, as two soul-friends could never contain more happiness than that.
And whether it was expected by everyone or not, we now get to share the joy of having a baby on the way! (September 2nd is the "due date")

Sometime towards the end of March or April, once Derek finish his selection for Special Forces, I finally get to join him in North Carolina! By that time I should be over my extreme morning sickness that seems to be the bane of my life right now. You ever hear about those women who are SO sick during pregnancy they cant do anything and feel like passing out ever moment of the day? yeah... I'm so lucky! That's me! Guh...
Also, quite recently, Derek finally got a cell phone! It is inexpressible how wonderful it is to be connected with him in some way again.

Well I'm going to go. This is starting to sound too much like an annual "Update Letter". =P

Annotations of a Soldier #5

2008-11-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

November 4th 2008

"...Lets see... Sunday was a fairly slow day. Lots of being sad at being back here, then happy about the weekend, then happy about Exodus. Church was pretty nice, and chow was hard to get down. Yesterday as the ten (actually 11) mile ruck march, which hurt. Not sure how much weight we had, but estimates are around 60-70, plus the heavy weapons( one of which I had) Talk about rough. y calves are still sore, haha. Once we got to the area, we ate breakfast(it was about 7:30) and then went to set up our camp (or "hooch" as it is called) I made a nice little lean-to, with Tobin sharing some space, but then we got moved, so I broke it down and moved to a new space and set it up again. There were MREs in there somewhere, and at around 1300-1400 we started training in squad tactics. Mainly in crossing roads and ambushing, kinda fun. Did that until dinner, then we went back to camp and basically hung out until 8 and went to bed. Woke up around 5, broke down my hooch, and hung around until breakfast, finally moved on to more training. That ended around 1400 and we came back.

And now I'm on fireguard, bleh. It's 4 right now, and the shift after mine is only 30 minutes, so its hardly worth it to even try to sleep some more. Oh well. Today we do the confidence course again and the obstacle course..."

November 6th-9th 2008

"...And for this past few days events: Wednesday saw Hepatitis A/B shots and a flu nasal spray thing. Good stuff. Then we went and did the obstacle course the rest of the day. Today consisted of a nice morning run, some fabulous chow, and then a land navigation paper test and field test. Was pretty easy and made for a relaxing day. Tomorrow we have testing on weapons and medical stuff..."

November 10th 2008

"...We packed for the FTX today and we also got the awesome surprise of our Class A jackets! They are fitted and fabulous and I love them. We're also getting our Class A pictures taken today, so I'm super excited for that, too. I can't wait to get some ribbons to put on it, infantry cord, airborne tab...Mmmm...

The drill sergeants have been saying that the FTX goes until next Wednesday, but the PNN continues to get reports of the big schedule in the command station saying Sunday. So we'll see if they're just messing with us or not. We also had the final PT test this morning and I"m so happy to say that the Lord helped me achieve a 274/300! A respectable score that I of course wish I had pushed beyond, but I am exceptionally grateful to have passed(a 180 is all you need to pass) and with a good score. Now just one week and all the training portion is done and no more stressful worrying.

And back after chow and pictures. So the pictures look awesome and you should be getting a little postcard with info to find it on the website. The site is: prophototogo.com, go to Ft. Benning, then find my graduating class, which will be something like FC, 2-58, 2008 DEC 5 or something. They might just be sorted by number or name or something.

It's Tuesday morning now and we do indeed have another day of preparation. For PT this morning we had Battalion PT, which is a competition between all the companies, and each platoon competes in a different event. Today we had the deuce push wich is pushing a big truck around the mile track, and we won by like, a 30 second lead. Good stuff, first time we had heard Drill Sergeant Wedoski say "Good job, second." and we was grinning quite a bit. He even ran alongside us, very cool to see him involved with something like that...."

Annotations of a Soldier #4

2008-10-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

October 3rd 2008

"...Today was good. Morning PT continues to be good, chow has been great as usual, and we got a Special Forces brief thing which was good. They had three SF guys come in and talk about how long everything is currently, what exactly you'll be doing during everything, and all that jazz. The best part was really just getting to see how SF guys act, talk, and hear about their families.

So, some big hopes here. Saturday we go out to the range to officially qualify with our weapons. The first sergeant said that if the company achieves an 85% qualification percentage(that is, 85% or more people qualify) we'll get a main post pass on Sunday! On Monday he said we were getting around 81% or higher, so we should be good to go. Oh and tonight we ended up getting smoked again, haha. A guy from our platoon got cake at chow tonight after we got back, and you can only have cake if you get a 300 on your PT test, which he didn't have. So each squad had to lift a ranger log(big log, weights a lot) and carry it to Brigade HQ, about half mile away. THen we had to go back to Company then back to Brigade, then back to Company. Fun stuff. Called some cadences, had to stop traffic so we could cross the road, good stuff.

Alright! Monday morning now. Got 5 hours of sleep then we went out on a 6 mile ruck. Fun stuff. 2nd Platoon rucked the company again with no fallouts, making our DS's very happy, so tonight at dinner we all get cake, haha. Funny how that changed around. SO tomorrow we're going on our first field excersise. Three days two nights. SHould be pretty fun...On firegaurd right now. Er, laundry guard. I always forget to write in my prayer requests so you can pray for me and pass it along to the family. Send some requests my way as well. My main requests are for the Lord to continue to help me trust that He'll get me through anything. Any pain, trials, difficult moments, I know I can rely on his strength. Also that He would continue to make me a humble servant and exemplary of the faith, and to help my time in the word grow in length and depth. If you could pray for me in those areas it would be much appriciated! "

October 11th-12th 2008

"...Lets see. The field excercise(called a Bivuoac, I think) was pretty okay. Basically we went to range that had thick forest around it and we trained all day doing buddy team move and shooting, then we went into the woods and made a kind of gypsy village with sticks, ropes, our rain ponchos and wet weather jackets. Then it rained hard (like right as we finished our night firing training, and got to the camp, it started pouring.) So we all crawled into our makeshift tents and went to bed. Ours actually did really well. Don't think anyone got wet at all. Next morning we got up, waited a lot as other platoons trained, then we got to train, then it rained bad, then there was a lightening storm, and they had us pack up and leave (a severe disappointment to 2nd Platoon) So we went back to the barracks, slept there, and headed out to another range bright and early for grenade launcher and anti-task rocket training. That night our senior Drill Sergeant got back from leave, and as a welcome back gift he trashed the bay, which was a downer having to clean it all, and some folks were slacking bad.

Today was pretty laid back. SImple run PT, then went to the range and got some trigger time and a class on basic team tactics. Pretty uneventful. Wondering if tomorrow I might go to sick call because my inner right thigh has been hurting the past week or so. THink I may have pulled a tendon or something...."

October 13th-16th 2008

"...Okay, so, some good news, and some bad news. (FYI, it's Tuesday evening right now) The bad news, we got smoked today, haha! Nothing too bad. But enough to make you breath hard and want to schedule an untimely second encounter with the spaghetti you had for dinner(thankfully I only wanted to and did not actually have a second encounter with it) Was because a kid in our platoon was a smart mouth to a DS at chow this morning. Lame stuff. ANyways! The good news! I think a new paragraph is needed for this:

It's like 99% positive I'll be coming home right after graduation! The DS said that anyone who's going to airborne school can sign up for the hometown recruiting thing and get sent home right away! ANd the Army will pay for the ticket plus I think there's a pay bonus just for signing up for it!

Next day now. Had a four mile company run this morning, then we started on patrolling tactics which was pretty fun. Our squad did really well, best of the platoon. I had to rear security which is hard because you have to watch such a big area to your rear and side without walking backwards and still looking forward to recieve any commands from the team leader. We came back early though..."

October 18th 2008

"...Thursday was a long day, we did light and meduim machine gun training( the medium one, the M24OB, is really hard to aim when firing. Like, impossible. I don't get it) And some more team tactics practice. THen Friday we did this big event called the Battle March and Shout. THis consists of several events that are timed and/or scored. First you do a first aid scenario with your squad, then you have to do a tactical movement utilizing the buddy carry to your extraction point, then the whole platoon gets together and has to carry one guy on a litter for a mile and a half (and everyone is in full combat hit for this, body armor, pads, helmet, weapon, boots) then you drop the litter and just run another mile and a half (at this point I'm seeing spots and thinking i'm going to drop as a heat casualty. THankfully I don't) Then once everyone makes it you sprint a bout 200 or 300 meters to a range and have to shoot at a target with 40 rounds and get them all in the same area. Wowza, talk about a rough day, haha. Really tough. We came in 3rd, which is pretty shameful. WE had a lot of people falling back during th elitter run then giving up on the run and just wlaking it all(I was the 3rd/4th guy to hit the finish mark) Mainly it was the Medical stuff that hurt us. Ah well, we didn't get smoked for getting 3rd, so I guess I'm okay with it since it wasn't directly my fault..."

Annotations of a Soldier #3

2008-10-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

September 21st 2008

"...We are officially out of Red Phase and in White Phase now. The Drill Sergeants are relaxing their grip the slightest bit, we can pick what entrees we want at chow, get chocolate milk, should have a pass coming up soon. The phase one testing was easy, and I've had some great MR Es. Really, I guess not much has happened since the last letter. Though we do have a "mission" smokey thing going on. Our platoon leader fell asleep with his weapon disassembled, and a Drill Sergeant came in and stole the firing pin. He came back later and told us that in the sandbox(the huge pit of sand inside our 1/4 mile track) he had buried an envelope with instructions in it and we need to find it. He also said that the fastest anyone has ever found it was in two days.

Talked with Tobin a lot about our lives, girls, dreams, was a good time. I was made team leader by our squad leader on Saturday, which is a position I wanted to end up with. Not much responsibility, still an NCO and getting to make sure your team is squared away. So lets go over some of my buddies here. Best bud here is Tobin. He's 24, possibly has a kid on the way, from New Jersey(awesome accent, haha) and just a good guy. We also have Peplow who I think I introduced in a previous letter. There's Rues, our Squad Leader, who's pretty similar to me when it comes to thought processes and the life. Mueller is another, and he's a cool cat, again, very similar interests and views on things. And of course there's Walters who I've spoken of before. Otherwise there are just acquaintances. We're rucking tomorrow, 4 miles. Looking forward to it.

Oh, we got to cheer on a company marching in from the last big field training exercise (lasts a whole week as they went up to Honour Hill to get pinned with the Infantry crossed rifles, and it was really cool. Can't wait to be there, only another 10 weeks! Getting so tired here with Squad Fireguard and getting up at 0430 every morning (the other Platoons usually sleep until 0500 or 0600.) "

September 22nd 2008

"...Today was the 4 mile ruck march with was actually like 6 and way too easy, and fun. Then we went to this range to do our scope adjustments today and a platoon of rifles firing is LOUD. The first round of firing I didn't have my ear plugs in (they hadn't told us to yet so I had been waiting then they started us and I didn't have a chance to put them in) and wow. I have permanently lost hearing I'm sure. It's 12 hours later and my ears are still ringing and muffled. But shooting is fun. Hard, but fun. It's all we're doing for the next two weeks I think. Though on Saturday I guess they're doing a make-up ruck march for the folks that fell out and they asked if I"D WANT to go along to help motivate. So that will be fun. Love the ruckin..."

September 25th-27th 2008

"...I'm doing alright I guess. There are a few good souls here, mainly Tobin and Rues. We've all kinda grouped together well, made a good support group. Peplow was a part of it too but he's since left. And we're kept fairly busy here.

All day all I think about is home, hanging onto it as tightly as possible. I don't want people to expect me to have changed. To be different, I wont be.

...Had to go to the range and shoot for a few hours... Fireguard right now on Saturday morning(0200, bleh). Yesterday we went to the range again, shot decently, then came back. All our sheets had been removed and tied into a giant ball(like a rubber band ball) Was really impressive. Think we're doing the same thing today; bleh. Yeah, shooting is kinda fun while doing it, but it's not exciting to remember or anything. I know God's helping me with it, cause there are some shots I don't know how I got..."

September 29th-30th 2008

"...Alright, so this is hilarious. Mueller, this guy in our platoon who's pretty cool made a four sided die and played D&D today, haha! It was hilarious. Sorry, just had to mention that..."

September 29th-30th(I think)
"...There hasn't been much training going on other than basic marksmanship. We've gotten some small classes on room clearing(SWAT kind of stuff but better, pretty fun) and an initial class on radio communications. I've decided that I want to try to get assigned being a communications Sergeant in SF. Decided that I find that job a lot more interesting than the others, and is more practical then weapons or engineering sergeant. Especially if I do end up getting into Astronomy and use radio telescopes. I'll already have a bit of an understanding of that. Coming up shortly we'll be doing some overnight training exercises and things will get more interesting. Marksmanship just isn't that interesting to talk about.

Today(Wednesday now) we actually did something other than marksmanship! We got to go back to the electronic simulation range and do a kind of identifying hostile targets thing. Basically a movie played on the screen and whenever a possible hostile was around your group had to perform ?????? technique and all and eliminate them. Kinda fun, but we went dead last, had to clean the room, and had about 5 minutes to eat our MR Es. So anyways, we get back and move out to the sand pit to have a pugil stich?? tournament(like american gladiators or something, amtgard almost with some wrestling thrown in) and I made it to our platoon's middle-weight finals! I didn't get to fight in the finals because we were running out of time and he picked the other two guys to fight and said the winner of that bout would be our representative*shrug* Lame, but oh well. At least I am undefeated, haha. So after that we took a break then came back out for the company tournament, which was great. Our lightweight got beat the first fight, our middle-weight got beat in the final fight, and our heavy-weight won the last fight. Good times. Then later on we got kinda smoked(it was smoke, but maybe like, just the smoke from the match smoke.) It wasn't really for any reason and other platoons were getting it as well, so scheduled smoke says me. Just had to run up and down a long set of stairs, then pick up a big ruck and do it for a while, then ruck for awhile and that was it. Nothing too bad..."

Annotations of a Soldier #2

2008-09-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

September 14th-15th 2008

"...Things have let up here since the day of smoke. Getting nutri-grain bars regularly, not much if any smoke(knock on wood) and it seems like we're heading out of Red Phase. All good points, at least in my book.

Went to chapel again today and it was pretty good. I still struggle with wanting more out of a service and needing to just love God for making anything possible and having the opportunity to praise him and be with others. Tobin and I are going to the bible study at 1530 though, so we'll see how that is.

Monday evening now, long day. Up at 0400 for a PT test. Got 218 out of 300. I could have done better and am kinda disappointed in myself, but 218 is pretty good. 180 is all you need to graduate. Then we went to do land navigation and oh my gosh that was fun! Walking around this huge forest finding posts by using map coordination, had MREs on us for chow so we could stop whenever we wanted and have lunch, was really fun, like a good day of hiking. I got the penne pasta and it was pretty good. Got a lemon poppy seed pound cake in it and that was so good. Traded the last bite for a chocolate dairy shake, and got the insta-coffee mix from someone who didn't want it, mixed it all up and had a delicious improv Mocha Milkshake. Blew starbucks out of the water. Once we finished the land nav we sat around for a while, and then the hurricane slammed down. Hurricane rain and lightning is AWESOME! We were supposed to stay and do night land nav. but we had to come inside because of the lightning. Tomorrow we do grenades, should be fun, and we get MREs again. Wednesday will be the gas chamber, which I'm really excited for actually, haha..."

September 17th 2008

"...Yesterday was grenades, which are ridiculously powerful. There was a sergeant there who talked to me for a long time and wished me luck at Selection and seemed really honest about it. It was very encouraging. My squad is Duty Squad this week, which basically entails packing up all the equipment for the day in a truck, riding out to the training area, unloading it all, then you wait for the company to show up. Today was nice for that. Rolled out and put together a bunch of test grenades and opened all the real ones' containers, then got to sit around and eat our MREs for about an hour with the morning mist and sunrise filtering through the forest.

Today we're doing the gas chamber, I'm excited, even though it's probably going to suck more than anything else we've done and will do here, haha..."

September 18th 2008

"...Alright, so let me tell you about the suckiest but very exciting experience of CS Gas in the Chamber. CS Gas is an incapacitating nerve gas, used frequently(It's stronger than tear gas) and uh, yeah. My group was the first to go. You go in with your mask on in a group of 30, and they already have the gas going. You can feel it burning on your neck kinda, it's not that bad at that point. Once every one's in and ready they go up to each person and have you pull your mask off and say your last name and social. That didn't hurt till I put my mask back on, and it wasn't too bad just some burning in the throat. Then the suck begins. They have you take your mask off, put your helmet on, and hold up your rifle and mask. Man, I took that mask off and it was the worst throat burn, couldn't see, coughing, snotting, spitting bleh ever. You had to stand there like that until everyone was ready. It was great because my side of the room had to take their masks off first, and all you could hear from the other side was this terrified "Holy @#!!?+" as they watched us immediately start coughing and wheezing and yelling, a few people puking. I started to laugh but that ended quickly once I realised laughing made it worse. After that we had to walk outside and do a few laps around the training area still holding up your rifle and all. They took pictures and laughed at us, it was fun.

Today we took the Red Phase test and Land Nav test. Did good on land nav but haven't gotten the phase test results back yet. Should be tomorrow. Almost white phase, it's so close..."

"Annotations of a Soldier"

2008-09-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Segments of My Updates From Derek

August 15th 2008

"... I can't wait for BCT to start because at least things will be happening. Yeah the Drill Sergeants will be louder and meaner, but at least we'll be progressing towards their respect, unlike the reception ones that just treat you lower than low and will your whole time in.

It's been hard to sleep and I think I'm sitting around with 45 minutes of sleep since the hotel. Oh! Also, jeez, they make you eat so much! They sit you down and just make you scarf and eat until you're sick. Also the heat is kind of weird here. It isn't that hot, you just sweat standing still. A lot.

Golly, I was just gone for two hours for dinner and standing around some more. That pause was cleaning our barracks and showering. At least all the guys are cool and chill since they're all older and going as either SF or Rangers. It's interesting seeing all the other personalities and thinking about what strengths they'll have during OSUT and selection and comparing it to my own. THough I'm afraid I might be at the weaker end of the scale. I still have lots of hope though! =)

Okay, so, it's the next night now and I have some bad news: Reception got extended for us because thy're getting their summer rush now, and they now say that we're not going to actually start OSUT for like, THREE MORE WEEKS or something. We still don't have our ACU's(the camo uniforms) or anything other than the PT uniform.

Some of the platoon is doing wrestling on some mattresses on the floor, it's kinda ridiculous, haha.

Okay, new morning of the next day. Fireguard is pretty lame though if you rotate thorugh the four different stations with the other guys ever 15 mintues the hour goes by fast. Thy're going to play some movies today so it will be nice to relax some(my back is sore from standing straight). And if nobody screws up we get to use the phones this afternoon..."

August 18th 2008

"...So yeah, reception continues the course of being lots of standing, eating, and waiting. Recent highlights: My bunk-mate ate a cockroach for $29(no, I did not put any dollars into that pot, haha); we got our shots today, and let everyone know it wasn't bad at all. I actually had a really bad case of the grins and giggles. It was bad, like, I was scared of getting called out for it. And that was for the butt one. The pancakes are fantastic. Like, really, it's all super delicious. Other events...hmmmm... still no ACUs.
(The next evening) So crazy day. We sat around forever only to discover we had been FORGOTTEN and it was too late to get our ACUs again. I forgot to say "sir" to a Lietenant Colonel once today. I was so cared once I realised and tried my best to say "sir" a LOT for the rest of the conversation..."

August 20th/21st 2008

"...Finally got our ACUs today, kinda look good in them, though they're a little baggy. Today I had to convince an entire section of staff and NCOs that a staff Sergeant had messed up and completely disregarded me the other day which threw my ID card precessing all out of whack. It was ridiculously annoying. One of the personnel asked me to go find a guy while I was in line, and as I left the room a staff sergeant stopped me and had me sign out and everything even after explaining that I hadn't sat down yet. Bleh, so yeah, I wish I had been writing down everything we do each day. Let me try to remember today:

0330: Wake-up
0410: Down to formation
0450: Go to finish shots
0615: Done with shots, wait in line outside
0640: Go to chow, think I had biscuits, eggs, gravy, pancakes, yogurt, and a banana
0730: Form up for Dental check
0800: start dental
0930: start financial
1015: begin ID hassle
1215: go to chow
1300: start ACU/Boot stuff

1550: just getting to boots
1640: final chow
1730: Formation, then back to bay
1900: final formation
1950: call you
2000: start this

And now a new day. They said my contract was a really good package(the financial people did). Like, one of the better ones they've seen recently; because of the retirement package, bonus, college, and doing it all married. Oh and the final tally on the paycheck is going to be about $2500 a month, though the first one has some stuf taken out for the PX stuff we bought. Lets see, I also signed both of us up for life-insurance and tri-care should be coming so that'll be like $170 out with the GI payments, so we're good. Off to chow.

So it's pretty crazy here. Like, in a bad way. Yesterday a kid hung himself in his locker, and this morning a sergeant that was processing OD'ed and is in an ICU. And there are around five kids that have to wear big red vests for suicide watch because they tried to. They also have to have two people with them at all times. It's sad..."

August 21st/24th 2008

"...still haven't recieved phone privelages. I'm pretty hungry right now, didn't go to lunch, and then we all got smoked for not going to the movie. I can't wait for chow.

The rain is so weird here. It's like 80 or 90 outside and pouring. I step outside expecting cold to go along with the grey and rain, but instead you get hit with hot, humid rain. We're in a hurricane right now if you didn't hear on the news or from somebody, pretty crazy. There was a little Q and A session from some guys just completing OSUT, and they said that your best day at reception is like ten times worse than your worst day at OSUT, which is awesome, cause i've had some enjoyable days..."

August 25th/26th 2008

"...We're doing PT int he mornign finally, which is exciting, still need our dog tags though. People are going AWOL every night(not from our platoon) so we have to get up in the middle of the night and go to formation. So the sergeants can take role and count everyone. Another guy killed himself this morning, and the suicide watch is increasing. It's crazy.

So let me tell you about some of the guys here, realised I haven't mentioned them. First is Lee and Durrett, who are probagbly closer than anyone else to me. They're not as boyish as the others. There are some more mature guys that I think are pretty cool, like Dang, Pops, Robbins, and Carlos, but I think they think that I'm just kind of whatever. Interesting, but not regularly. Lee is short, Asian, and innocently funny. He's straight infantry, no airborne, no ranger, no SF, which is odd for our bay. I think there are only two or three other non-SF/Rangers in here, but they have airborne. Durrett is about my hight but lankier. He's from Virginia, kinda squirelly, 26 I think, and...I don't know. A strange personality that I haven't experienced before. There is Hopper, the other 18x from Oregon. He was standing next to me at the swear-in. He's pretty cool. Nice and mellow, similar-kinda interests. It's funny how many gamers and nerds are in here. A suprising amount play D&D, haha..."

August 26th 2008

We're shipping on Friday now, but we're moving into a trailer tonight. We went for a run this morning and it was so good, haha. It was pouring, so good. Getting anxious about starting OSUT, just want it to start already. Worried about the "shark attack" and being scared even though I know I shouldn't be.(shark attack is right when you get there and there are like 20 or 30 Drill Sergeants there to tear you apart) But that's all, really.

Snuck laundry in this morning while everyone was asleep, it's nice to have some clean clothes. Though we have to use shampoo since we couldn't get detergent at the PX. I still don't have my glasses but I do have the prescription inserts for the ballisties glasses, which are awesome looking. So if I never get them the Drill Sergeants will let me wear these.

Let me know any news down there so I can keep up with things, and apologise to my parents for not writing them..."

August 27th/28th 2008

"...Getting ready for leaving tomorrow. But we're all squared away. Getting anxious again, haha. Leave tomorrow at 0900, crazy. The power went out at the DFAC and delayed lunch for like an hour while we were al in line. It was bad..."

August 30th 2008

"...Sorry for the sudden delay in contact, we got shipped and it's all crazy. Graduation is going to be December 5th.

So right now we're in red phase, which really sucks. It's the basic people think of. Drill Sergeants in your face all the time, getting smoked all day(crawling through long sandpits over and over, running up and down steep hills and doing pushups, and so on). Right now I'm on laundry guard. Today we got issued our rucksacks, body armour, sleeping gear, and guns. Hopeing tomorrow will be smooth. Cause this sucks right now. Thankfully we're fairly squared away as a platoon. So my main task in the platoon right now is road guard, which is given to the fastest runners. It's pretty fun but kind of stressful. I can't wait for red phase to be over and be able to get off my toes for awhile. Oh showers are crazy, The shower room is a big square with four shower heads on a side. Everyone gets in line and walks through, soaping on one side and rinsing on the other. Crazy. Chow is pretty bad too. Eating all that food in like 3 minutes..."

September 4th 2008

"...Lets do some updating. OSUT started on Friday, around ten o clock, with the shark attack, which consisted of running about half a mile from the buses to a covered area with all of our gear on our backs, then having to hold the bags over our heads for about ten minutes, and if you dropped it the Drill Sergeants would grab the duffel and toss it far away and yell at you as you run to grab it. I never had mine tossed but it was hard. Then we ran to the barracks, got our roster numbers, bunks, rules, stuff like that. God smoked a bit, more rules, then went to bed. Saturday was kind of the same though we went and got our rifles and I think our field gear. Sunday we went to chapel services and had classes, Monday was our first PT day, and we had more classes and more smoking. Lots of smoking. The classes mainly consist of values stuff, legal stuff, and the like, but we did have some disassembly classes with our rifles(which is real fun, oh and tell the Nerd Herd I get to tote around an M4 Carbine, they'll probably think that's pretty cool). We also have done some Drill and Ceremoney training(marching), tactical and fast reloading drills(which are fun), malfunction drills, and other little things. Tuesday was way fun because we got to go and do about half of the confidence course, which is one of the two obstacle courses here. It's hard to explain each one, but it was really fun and really hard. God's been helping me a lot as I realise I can't do these things without his strength.

Today we didn't do much, except PT was super hard because it was a run day, and I joined the A Group wich moves FAST. The First Sergeant leads it and he flies. We were all huffing after that. We also played some interesting games tonight, like pong, frogger, and bunk-races. Our Drill Sergeants are starting to joke around some more. Apparently, we are doing a lot better than the other platoons, and 2nd Platoon has a reputation for being the toughest in the company, maybe even battalion. We have this guy named Lerado who is a "restart", someone who was told to start OSUT over for whatever reason. He had to restart from week ten for faking a PT test. But he's pretty awesome about it and has given us some good tips. There are only 3 guys from Reception in my platoon, one of which is Peplow who seems to have a similiar personality to mine. He's pretty cool. Oh, and here's the address, they finally gave it to us:

Private Willer, Derek RN #254
F Company, 2nd BN, 58th INF Regt.
9375 Conway Drive
Fort Benning, GA 31905-5914

I'm already bulking up a bit from muscle growth, it's crazy. Oh Friday we're doing Eagle Tower, which is a really tall repelling course. And on Monday I think we're doing the Gas Chamber, which reminds me! Go to http://www.soldierschapel.info/ and I guess they'll have pictures there of the company doing stuff..."

September 5th/6th 2008

"...So it's like, 3AM right now on Friday and I'm on squad fire guard. The whole squad is up, and we have to wear our "full battle rattle" which is our ACUs, body armour, helmet, and utility vest. Normally there are two on fireguard, and they can wear just ACUs or PTs. Must be nice. I don't know, I'm usually laundry guard. But we all did our boot displays different so we got smoked(ouch) and had to do fireguard in squads for two hours each. Oif.

So yesterday was pretty fun. We did LRC which is the Leadership Reaction Course. You would go with your squad to different stations and there would be a few obstacles and then some equipment and you would have to find a way to get an army box to the other side using the supplies you had(usually boards, rope, pipes, and so on.) It was great. We also started bayonet combat but that wasn't too interesting. Today is going to consist of some intense running PT, the repelling course, and evening remedial PT(which hurts).

Man this body armour is uncomfortable right now, and I'm tired and cough and infection is pretty bad. Bleh. I hope today goes well.

It's Saturday night now. So repelling was so much fun. It was scarey at first, but once I got over the ledge and got my legs straight it was smooth sailing. I think the tower was around 50 feet tall. Been getting lots of MREs lately, and they've all been pretty good. Today we did map reading and land navigation stuff. That was funn too, knew it all already, but it was fun to really have the map and compass and mark it all. God continues to help everyday. Always there are tasks I don't knwo if I'll have the strength to complete, but I preay for help and God pushes me through to the end.

So we might be getting out of Red Phase early. We're doing grenades, gas chamber, ruckmarch, phase one testing, and peer evaluations all next week, and they smoke every platoon really hard at the same time with the same excercises, as if it's just scheduled and not because we did something really bad.

The platoon is still in its storm phase. Generally people are cool with each other and get along, but since we don't have a leader or anything yet the minute authority is needed or corrections needed, it gets kinda crazy in here.I'm in 4th squad, which is probably the most squared away of the squads, and also, the oldest by average. I think we also have the restart Lerado which gives us an edge. Tonight we're all supposed to pick our temporary squad leaders so that's going to make an interesting week I think. Wright from Reception sleeps next to me(I don't think I wrote about him, but he's pretty awesome). And my bunkmate Walters is SUPER nice, probably one of the nicest and most selfless person I've ever met. Peplow from Reception is in 3rd squad and he and I get along real well..."

September 8th 2008

"...They started doing the 2 or 3 minutes to eat thing, which really sucks. No one gets close to finishing everything. I've had like, one full meal today, plus we had PT at night and ruckmarch this morning, smoked after PT, and will have PT tomorrow before breakfast. I'm already hungry, haha. And here I am on two hour fireguard shift, bleh. Today we learned that cerebrospiral fluid smells fruity and tastes sweet.*shrug* Was all the combat Life Saver stuff. Tomorrow we get to do IVs, i'm excited. The ruckmarch was short but it sucked being roadguard and ending up at the front of the company. Crazy string of events just came around. Walters might be medically discharged tomorrow for a pst knee injury that's coming back, and there's a guy in our platoon with a cellphone, which is WAY not okay and he is not cooperating. If he's caught with it he could be dishonourably discharged or stripped of rank, pay, and contract, and it could affect the platoon as well. Take our 36 hour passes away at week 9, make red phase last longer, and so forth. Not good..."

September 11th 2008

"...The Drill Sergeants have let up a bit.

As for the news from Basic, we did Combat Lifesaver Training yesterday and got to give each other IVs. Was fun, though my partner(Tobin, great guy, I love him) pierced my vein the first time and it hurt bad. Felt a lot like the penicillin shot in my arm. I bled a lot, was pretty cool. I did p retty good and responded to the stress of blood flowing out of Tobin pretty well. We also did buddy carries and I got teamed up with Tobin again and he's got like 50-60 lbs on me. Wowza. Tough stuff. But I made it.

Alright, so later in the day now. We got smoked bad because someone from our squad stole food from the DFAC. And it was just all downhill from there. Almost ended up as a heat casualty. Dehydration sucks, had to drag Tobin around some more. Now we're in the barracks and everyone is arguing about the phone issue(it got way out of hand, someone stole it to throw it away and the perpetrator threatened to tell the Drill Sergeants about it).

And back again after some medical training scenarios. Got smoked really bad. I almost puked like three times. It was bad. Had our platoon pictures today, and now I'm just hoping for a good dinner with no rush, and no more smoke tonight.

Forget no smoke, we got smoked from after dinner until bed time. My body is screaming no at me like never before. We did low crawls across the width, then lenght of the sand pit. Sprints, more low crawling. 1845 to 2045. Also had to lowcrawl in the sand, then get up and run to the barracks and get everyone in before the timer ran out. We stared at 30 seconds, and every time we didn't make it in time we'd have to run back to the sand pit and lowcrawl until he said go, and he would ad 5 seconds each time. We got to 55 seconds before we made it finally. So five times we had to do it. Oh, we also had to run around the battalion once. Now i'm on fireguard at 2300, bleh. Oh well. .."

September 12th 2008

"...Yesterday,(well, Friday, it's Saturday morning right now, fireguard, woo...) We went out to the mine warfare range and learned about explosives, how to set up mines, and how to look for and ract to IEDs. Got to see some claymortes blow up, and, those are crazy. Scarey stuff there. We had to march there and back and that sucked. I got badly dehydrated again. I just don't want to go down as a heat casualty..."

Updated E-mail Address

2008-09-05T01:08:00.000-07:00

Greetings All!

I have a new e-mail address:

isaiah.55@live.com

Also, if you want to get a hold of Derek go ahead and use that. He doesn't have e-mail right now but I will pass on the message to him myself. =)

If you want to be in my "Contacts"
then PLEASE reply to this with your e-mail or message me with your e-mail. It takes a lot of work away from me if I don't have to go through and type in millions of e-mails. (Copy & Paste works like a charm) THANK YOU!

Family Tree

First trip to Venice

Adventures with Ferynne

Derek & Ferynne

The Big 35th!

Ferynne Pictures

Ferynne Walks

In need of some new pics

I miss my girls and life is insane!!!

You Can Do It

Ferynne Cam- STAIRS

Hey, we're ALWAYS uncomfortable with things we do not know. So lets change that.

But I want my baby to become independent.

Ferynne Updates

Elimination Communication(not potty training)

Sonya and Brendan Get a Home!

The Brooks Family Album

A Float and a Move!

Ferynne Cam 2.5

And New Ferynne Pictures

Derek in Afganistan

Ferynne Cam 2

Ferynne Video!

Derek's Hat

Italy and Ferynne

Pregnancy update!

Family Visits

Ferynne Isabella Willer

In Memory of Mom (Grandma) Willer

Buongiorno!

Trip Pictures

It's a boy!

Tetons and Yellowstone

Red Rocks, Aspen and Rocky Mountain National Park

Big South & Agnes Lake

June business

High in the Colorado!

Pedicure, Facial and Massage, Oh My!

Baby Knits!

It finally happened

yard

Hot Tub

eyeliner and no glasses

Missing my girl!

and then there was the Army...

Brooks pregnancy update

Updates, Fayettenam, and Germany(Italy)... Oh my!

Germany!

Happy Easter!!!

I Think...

Operation: Clean Out & Move Out(Oi Vei)

Cousin Visit

Surprises

babies

This crazy week

brendan's birthday trip to co springs

I-5 Again?!

Timothy Botts

Playing with my new camera!!!

Meeting W. Paul Young - author of The Shack

I'm the Dad.....don't scold!!

A Mom Here!

"First out of the gate!"

Family Tree Blog Introduction!!!

Baby Registry

*Dusting off the collected silence*

Annotations of a Soldier #5

Annotations of a Soldier #4

Annotations of a Soldier #3

Annotations of a Soldier #2

"Annotations of a Soldier"

Updated E-mail Address

Dusting off the collected silence