Latest Updates

Yesterday was Brendan's 20th birthday. Who doesn't want to spend their 20th in Iraq? Between Rachel and I we worked to get as many people emailing him best wishes as we could. Made him feel pretty good. You do what you have to do with what you got. We saw him for just a few minutes last night before the kids went to sleep. He was just getting off guard duty ( 4:00am) and was exhausted so we kept it to a few quick Happy Birthday and I love you's.



Since I last posted he has moved to a new JSS. After 6 months of missions and guard and 4 hours sleep this new JSS is a bit boring to him. He guards 2 4 hour shifts a day. That's it. He's still working out and has his computer to keep him busy. He's been spending time on Craig's list and had Rachel pick up a plasma tv the other day for their new place. He'll be moving to the next JSS in a couple of weeks from what I can tell. Hope it's the last move for him.
Brendan is one of the last to get leave. Why? He's the only infantry guy in the unit is the best guess. The Army is a lot like High School in so many ways when it comes to status. Everyone is better than the next unit ,etc. He may have his leave moved up by a couple of weeks though , which would be wonderful. Brendan LOVES Halloween and it would be great if he at least gets home for that. It would also be within a week of his son's 1st birthday. He's missed so many 1st. At any rate , we'll do a Christmas and Thanksgiving all while he's home.

I'll be sure to have lots of pics of his leave. Sorry I don't post that much but Rachel has a letter she sends out weekly to friends and family so it seems a bit repetitive. If you would like to be on the weekly email list please let me know and I'll be sure to get you added.

6 Months Down , We're At The Halfway mark

We got a new FRAG not long ago and we are really missing our old one. We used to get weekly updates from Brendan's commander. Now , all we get are local (Killeen) info. Very disappointing but what can you do?
Brendan is using Skype now and the connection is fantastic. No disconnects , no huge delays , clear as a bell. Of course we rely on the internet being up which isn't always a given. They've had quite a bit of trouble with that in resent weeks.
Rachel's school did another drive and mailed out 15 boxes of goodies for Brendan and the boys. I sent one out as well. He says it was the best one I've sent so far. Must be because it was mostly junk food.
Rumors are running rampid that they may be coming home a bit early. I try not to think about that because the Army is good at disappointing. Would be a fantastic Christmas present though.
Brendan's brother Bryan is back from Afghanistan and all in one piece which is a blessing. He's in Minnesota getting things together for the family move to Texas. They also are pregnant already!!! Such fantastic news!!
As for us back in Ohio the summer is always a busy time. Tom and I went to a Kid Rock/Leonard Skynard concert for our anniversary. Met a Navy and an Army guy who just returned from Afghanistan. The Army guy was a medic and stayed at our hotel so we got to hang out for quite a bit. Real nice guy.
County Fairs are going strong and I plan on taking the kids over to the Ohio State Fair on Wednesday. Journey and Eddie Money are singing that night which is SWEET! I've heard Eddie before but never Journey.
Schools are starting early this year so the kids summer is coming to an end quickly. Didn't get much camping in. Camper needs new tires and we've just had other expenses to worry about. Hope to get a few fall trips in though.
Elijah is a senior and is focusing on his college of choice. He goes for testing on September 19th and if all goes well he'll be in there. After that is looking for all the help we can get to cover the $26,000 cost.
Canning season has begun. Been busy with pickles this week. Tired of the smell of vinegar.
That's about it. Short but sweet for now.

The Real Heroes

As I sit here listening to the Michael Jackson Memorial rather than my usual soap opera my blood once again begins to boil. The whole world seems to be in mourning over the death on a 50 year old pop star. People are spending money traveling to get out to LA in the hopes of a glimpse , spending hundreds of dollars on memorabilia and records and the news channels have had non-stop coverage. Throw in the mix an ex football player who was shot to death by his lover when he should have been spending time with his wife and kids who is being praised left and right. You know who else died that day? A number of our young , brave soldiers over in Afghanistan. Do you know their names? Have you seen their faces? Heard coverage of their lives and sacrifice? 7 more have died there since then. Can you name them? Do you know anything about the soldier who the Taliban claims to be holding?
We have had thousands of men and women give their life for our country in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years. Tens of thousands more have returned with serious injuries. Thousands of children live each day without their parents , some never to return to them. These soldiers are willing to be away from their families for months and years at a time to fight for our country. How do we honor them? Drive down our streets. How many flags do you see being displayed on people's lawns? How many can say they have written a thank you note to a vet , sent a care package to a soldier , donated your time for any number of organizations that reach out to soldiers , vets and their families? How many of you know the words to the National Anthem and sing along at a sporting event?
The REAL heros are these brave soldiers and their families. THESE are the people who deserve to have the coverage on the national news shows. Show them , name them , tell us about them and end with a moment of silence. Let us see their flag draped coffin on the news. It's a sad society that ignores the brave men and women who are willing to DIE for your freedom and yet spend hundreds of hours praising a singer , actor or athlete as though they made the world such a great place. Entertainment does NOT equal freedom. We would have NOTHING if it weren't for our brave soldiers past and present. Wake up America!! If you can write , bake , sew , shop , pack or dog sit you CAN do something to show a soldier you care. Take a few minutes to go to www.soldiersangels.org and cruise the list of options and click one. Painless , takes so little time and very little money.

These 2 died on July 4th:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12787

7 more since then:
http://www.freep.com/article/20090707/NEWS07/907070303/7+U.S.+troops+killed+in+Afghanistan++Taliban+claims+to+hold+a+soldier



OK , I will now pass the soap box to the left......Thank you.

This holiday wasn't the same. I spent alot of time thinking back to last year camping at Meadow Lake and Brendan taking the kids to see the fireworks in town. We were waiting for him to sent to Texas and were trying to enjoy every minute we had left with him. I hope and pray that he'll be back , safe with us next year.
I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to send Brendan emails and packages. Brendan is a growing boy and LOVES to get his care packages. He told me when he gets them he skips chow hall and does nothing but graze on all the new goodies. I suppose my packages aren't that good. Momma has to send some dinner type items too. I am finishing a package now and have tried to cover all the junk food without filling it up with too many good things. You know it's driving me crazy!!!
We are hoping his deployment will be cut a few months short but as anyone in a military family knows , you never count on anything until it's here.
Brendan's brother , Bryan , has returned home. His wife will stay in Minnesota for a bit longer until they get to a permanent base , is my understanding. Haven't heard anything directly from him but I'm sure he is so glad to be back home.
One other note , a friend of mine's son , Lee , will be deploying this week for Afghanistan. I tear up just thinking about it. It takes me back to the day that I watched Brendan's face through the bus window as it pulled away from the base. He is being attached with another company that is already in Afghanistan and is hoping to not be there very long. Please add Lee to your prayer lists so that he may return home safe to his family.

As Promised

Sorry for the long stretch between posts. I suppose you can consider no news as good news. Brendan was picked as one of a group of 40 soldiers for Freedom Rest. It's a bit of R & R at one of Sadam's palaces. It was a wonderfully relaxing and much too short break. The huge pool was obviously the highlight of the stay. The high dive looked like something you could parachute off of. He still has the bruises from his jump! Here are a few pics he sent us.






Things where he's at have gotten much worse. They are patrolling twice a day now plus he pulls guard duty a couple of days a week. The heat there is crazy. He says his whole body feels just like a sidewalk that's hot enough to burn your feet. Here are a few more pics he's sent back. The kids over there LOVE getting their pictures taken!





























Brendan is up for a promotion soon. A much over due one but the company he's with isn't famous for promoting people until they have to. Hoping he'll be Private 1st class Smitke in a couple of weeks , though. There is also talk that they may be back as soon as December but we've gotten used to the Army and will count on nothing until it happens.
Brendan's brother Bryan was due back from Afghanistan over a week ago and has been bumped 3 times now. His wife , Lindsay , is in Texas waiting and getting very impatient. All has been quiet for a couple of days so we're hoping that means he's back and they are just honeymooning it.
Father's Day was a rough day as were all the other 1st's that Brendan is missing. Rachel sent him a card with a recording of Caiden screaming Dada Dada. He's got that down pat. He knows his Dad's voice and visits with him on the computer all the time.
My parent's were in Ohio this week-end doing a whirl wind tour of parties and get togethers. Saturday we all met at Bob Evans in Bellefontaine as well as Rachel's parents. Here are a few pics from the meeting. Notice my hair...Rachel colored my hair Friday night and it looks SO good! A belated Birthday present from our future hair stylist to the stars.





It's been a busy month the month. I took the kids and their friends to Kiser Lake State Park camping for a week right before my birthday ;Teresa had a slumber party that drug out an extra day for her birthday; many trips to drop the kids off at Mad River to canoe or swim near the dam to help fight the sweltering heat here. Also , the Friday after my birthday out friend's Dirk and Felicia invited teresa and I up to Dayton for a birthday treat. We ate dinner at Dewey's pizza which is THE best pizza EVER made! And then we went to the Dayton Dragon's baseball game. They have season tickets right behind home plate. We were surrounded by scouts. The man right in front of me was from the Padres. He had a radar so I got to see how fast every pitch was. Here are a few pics from some of the going on's:






We went to Chicago since a dear friend of mine's daughter was killed. Albe was my best friend when I lived in Chicago. She now lives in Florida and I'm in Ohio but friendships as close as our's will always stand the test of time and distance. Her daughter Nikki babysat for Brendan , Elijah and Christopher when they were little. She was trying to close the garage door which was broke and she somehow lost her balance and the door slammed on her neck. A neighbor found her body several hours later attacking out from under the door. She leaves behind 4 children , one of whom just graduated from High School that same week. We went up for the viewing (Tom went with me) and we headed home the next day. Not much time to visit with Albe but I know my presents meant so much to her. She is now heading back to Florida with 2 of the 4 kids.



One final note: Erin says Cheers to you Brendan! lol

I've got a few hairs on my chins but my sister really got the short end of the german stick!!

Been A While

Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted. As many military families that blog know , there are times you just don't want to write about it all. But , rest assured that Brendan is doing well. He keeps very busy going out on missions as well as pulling guard duty and other details. Thank goodness for the internet and webcams. He is able to see his son and wife almost everyday. And , although it's not the best thing it's certainly not the worst thing. He misses his family and wishes he could be home to see all the milestones that Caiden is reaching. I'm dealing with a few tragedies close to my heart right now but I promise I'll post pictures and a bigger update once I get back from Illinois.

A Streaming Video Chat From The Sandbox

This afternoon was the first time Brendan was able to get his cam up and running for me on yahoo so I could see him. It was so good to see his face and his smile. It seems like forever. He's changed so much just since I last saw his face looking out of the bus at Fort Hood. He's turned into quite a man and I'm very proud of him.
Conditions have improved greatly since they first arrived. They now how mattresses and bunks to sleep on rather than cots. They also now have there own closet lockers , air conditioning , internet and electric. The day the internet was suppose to be up and running the electric went out but for today , at least , everything is working well. Showers are still mostly cold water but as hot and humid as it is it has to feel really good. By the time they get back after a day of patrolling and lugging all their equipment they are soaked with sweat.
He's been receiving a few care packages a month which helps his spirits tremendously. Had a ton to take care of this month so wasn't able to get anything sent so it's good to know other's are able to help from time to time. They don't get back to the main base often so supplies start running short fairly quick.Luckily the mail gets to him pretty quick , too. His brother Bryan waits 3 weeks to get his packages.
Brendan goes on patrol 7 days a week and pulls guard duty several times a week. He spends a couple of hours a day in the gym which is a good way to focus on himself for awhile and work off the stress. When you're in a war zone there is no such thing as a day off. He gets a 2 week leave at some point during the year and that's it.
His buddy Sandusky seems to be doing really well over there. He was in ROTC so this is what he's worked towards for years. He's posted some pics from over in Iraq that I will unload on the next post.
I've got flowers planted in the tree stump under the flag. Hope they pop up soon. I went with seeds rather than buying flowers to plant. Couldn't decide what to plant so I ended up just planting white and yellow daisies which are my favorite flowers. The yellow will watch the ribbon we have for him.
Brendan said he recorded a Mother's Day wish on for a local news channel but we never got a call so don't know if it showed or when. I am really bummed about that. I'm going to email the local news stations and see if they have the clip and if I can get a copy.
Less than 9 months to go. Would sound so much better if it was 9 weeks or 9 days. I hope his visit home will come sooner than November. That will be up in the air until the last minute , I'm sure. Hometown recruiting really burnt him in the butt as far as that goes. Just have to have faith that the powers that be will correct it soon.
Took Caiden , Rachel , Christy , Christian and Matty T to the Zoo a couple of weeks ago. Caiden LOVED being on my shoulders. I would shake my head and it would tickle him and he laughed and laughed. No better sound than a baby's laughter. He's also crawling now but does a sniper crawl. It is so cute! Daddy would be proud.