June 2011

Zoey loves to sit in drawers

My good friends from back in the day at BYU

Watching a parade, Savannah is in the Lehi Marching Band

Mary's baby shower, her friends decorated SO beautifully and had gift bags for all the adults and kids!

Oh my gosh I couldn't love this baby any more than I do, I could burst!

Tom teasing the girls, I forgot what he was doing but he always is a tease and makes everyone laugh

Chris, Landon, Mary

Nana and Audrey

My Sydney loves to collect snails in my parents yard...this is a snail funeral

 The snail funeral video

Haha, this is Zack fallen asleep on his floor blocking the doorway so Zoey won't get in a wreck all his legos!

Tom starts the bathroom project...

I took Summer to the Princess Festival at Thanksgiving Point with one of her friends

It was so fun to spend a few hours with Summer

Another cheeky baby face

Sydney plays with her 2nd cousins at Uncle Dave's

Father's Day

Savannah in her Marching Band uniform

At another parade watching Savannah

I don't know how she walked all those miles in 100 degree weather in a black polyester uniform!

Another parade  :)  also 100 degrees

Everyone in the bath with Zoey- we're so weird, I know.

Picnic up Provo Canyon

Lunch with my friend Stori

Savannah went to her 2nd yr at YW Camp...without me.  :( 

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More of May 2011

I'm going to try to catch up and do each month...

Zack at the dentist, who is Tom's cousin, the kids call him "Uncle Russ".  He is SO good!  Zack had an abscess.   Poor boy couldn't put any pressure on his tooth. 

 My cheeky Zoey, she loves to sit on the treadmill, it's HER spot.  No one can sit there but her.  She loves McDonalds fries (but I try not to let her eat them)

Cheeky cute girl

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 This is my cute classroom at the end of May. 

 Sydney and Alayna

They are best friends!  

They celebrate their "friendiversary" every year on May 20th.

Cutest friends award goes to them.

They give each other gifts

Summer loves Gymnastics, it's like she was born for it.

I love this picture

Summer is in the red shorts

Trying to keep Zoey occupied during the Gymnastics meet

Zoey loves this blanket

 

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Diary of a wife left behind while her husband was in Iraq

 Three weeks worrying about a loved one in a war torn country is actually a LONG time.  Longest three weeks of my life.

The kids and I dropped Tom off at the airport I thought I was going to throw up and bawl my eyes out but I had to hold it together in front of the kids.  I really thought I was never going to see him again.  It's a terrible thing to go through.  (I can't imagine how Nick and Brooke do it for 9+ months at a time.  Nick is in Bahrain now) I felt more uneasy about him going as a civilian than if he was actual military.

With the 9 hr time difference it was hard to connect at decent times but we got to Skype several times.  I LOVE Skype!!  Tom could do funny things with his computer and the kids thought it was funny, he would make his face turn into animals.

Joani came and stayed with me while Tom was gone.  She was an amazing help!  She did crafts and made yummy treats with the kids, she talked with me in the evenings, it was so comforting to have her here!

This short three week experience has made me appreciate the little things and the big things. 

This country,
the freedoms we have 
of religion,
of safety
of education
the comforts I take for granted, how ridiculously rich we are in general

I don't think twice about driving down the street, sending my kids to school, or going to a public place.  BUT, every single day that Tom was gone I thought of those things. 

I only learned recently that Tom witnessed car bombs while he was in Iraq and a mortar hit their base.  It's good I didn't know these things at the time.  I was already experiencing migraines and insomnia with all my worry.

I keep imagining how I would feel if I lived over there, with my family.  I would never let my kids leave the house, they would be home schooled.  I would be afraid to drive anywhere, I would be afraid ALL the time.  Can you imagine how that would feel?

We would have to practice our faith in private, there are no church buildings or Temples to go to.  Tom met a man who had converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, his wife and two sons also joined.  They saved a lot of money and went to be sealed in the South Africa Temple but couldn't afford to take both of their sons.  So they are saving to go again.  It is such a sacrifice, I have a hard time imagining. 

There are so many good people all over the world, it inspires me. 

What an experience this has been for all of us.  Who knew such a short time could affect me so deeply.

The kids prayed everyday while Tom was gone, that he "would be safe and wouldn't die".  Still they pray and say, "thank you that daddy was safe." 

We pray for all our military.  I only had a glimpse of their sacrifice.

Even if something happened to Tom I know that God would take care of us and that we would be with him again.

I am grateful for so many things.  The little things and the big things.

I love all my family,
I love my Heavenly Father
I love America,
I love Utah,
I love my freedom AND safety

Tom delivering his presents

Zoey got a stuffed camel, she loved it

She was shy with her dad at first

Zack got some Iraqi coins

All the kids got a really ornate camel and a Dinar-  Iraqi currency

All the girls got these beautiful scarves

Zoey doesn't let me put anything on her head

Diary of an HR guy in Iraq Part 2

To My Awesome Family 2
Hi Family! I love you guys so much and can’t wait to see you again...almost half-way there!
Well, lots of stuff going on. We work a lot. We start early in the morning and go well past dark. I’m finally sleeping well...for a while there, my body was waking me up at 4:00 am! I’m also learning to binf my way through the maze of concrete walls that surround all the buildings here. I took some pictures to show you what I mean...

At the end of this twisted corridor it my room! These giant barriers are called T-walls. They were put in recently to keep out mortar shells and giant bugs (joke). Everything looked the same, so I would always get turned around and lose my way! The wooden walk way in the picture below is called “Mortar Alley.” This is where the mortar hit a few months ago (and resulted in all the T- walls being installed). Pretty cozy, eh?

They mop the wooden boardwalks every day. They also do my laundry and clean my room. It’s kinda like living in a hotel! It’s always hot and sunny here...usually around 105 degrees or so. Mommy would hate it! However, it actually rained yesterday. And to my surprise, it was followed by fog! Not exactly what you’d expect in the desert.

When I step out my door in the morning, this is what I see (right). At the end of the walk way is our loading yard (through the gap). This is where military convoys load water onto their
trucks to take off to different bases around Baghdad. The giant T-walls also surround the loading yard (left). On just the other side of the wall is Suddam  Hussein’s  palace grounds. I’ll show you some pictures of his Palace later on.

Check it out, here are some non- military truckloads. These will go all the way up North. It’s a long drive for them. The men wear long man-dresses. It actually keeps them more cool in the hot sun.
To the side of the trucking yard is our little emergency bunker. It’s kinda snug but I guess it will keep you more safe. Our security guy told us that if a mortar shell goes off, we need to stick our thumbs in our ears and open our mouths...otherwise out lungs could explode...nice. Hopefully, I won’t have to worry about that kind of stuff! I feel really good knowing that I can rely on Heavenly Father for protection. I don’t seen how people do it without have the comfort of the Gospel.

We drive past Saddam’s palace every time we go to lunch. The sights are really quite amazing! Below are few pictures. Saddam had dozens of palaces. And because he never wanted people to know where
he was, he made all of his palaces prepare a the meal for him just in case he popped in. Look at the picture on the right. Do you see all the sandbags stacked in the windows? US forces now occupy the palace. It’s very creepy seeing these palaces, knowing all the horrible things that took place here. Since coming here, I’ve heard things that would make your skin crawl!

The gun to the right was left on Saddam’s palace grounds. It’s an anti-aircraft gun. Compared to the everything else out here, it looks very old fashioned. As we drive along the roads here, we see tons of armoured vehicles. I haven't seen any tanks yet, though...which kinda bums me out.
In addition to all the armoured vehicles and stuff here, there are also lots of orchards. However, they’re not the orchards were used to seeing in Utah. I think this orchard grows dates. I tasted a date the other day...not too bad!

Check out these awesome pictures! These are straight off my computer. Seeing these is always the best part of my day! Look familiar?

I love you guys tons! Can’t wait to see you again!
Love, Daddy



Due to security reasons I can't post the pictures, but if you would like an email let me know.   
My nerves aren't any better after reading this but I do feel some peace.  Joani is staying with me and that is SO helpful!  Conference weekend gave me lots of spiritual strength too.


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