Stuff Portrait Friday - FREE

When I got the assignment, for lack of a better word, from Kristine at. random and odd I wondered what I could do....free can mean lots of things. Free like all the couponing my friend Traci does.....free, like Will running around buck naked. I swear I can't keep clothes on the child. But then I got all sappy and changed free to freedom.

btw, I think I am going to officially make it Sappy Friday....I have done that three weeks in a row now!! Orange looks sappy, (shout out to all those year-round-Halloween lovers like the Barto) oops, just saw it was Tuesdays that I am sappy....sorry Barto! but Orange still looks sappy!

Okay now where was I, oh yeah...changing free to freedom.

That brought me to this photo. It has become my favorite photo of the two of them.

This picture of Husband and Livi was in the Austin paper just before he left. It was taken at the casing ceremony for First Cav. But looking at it now, it reminds me of the Tuesday update I sent the day after Mike left.....so in lieu of retyping it all, here it is....I still get all weepy and teary-eyed reading this again....four months later!


from October 9, 2006:
Hey there all....I dropped Husband last night. They flew out early this morning...I only that I have to take each day hour by hour at this point. Husband left me as prepared as I can be....I have a great home in a wonderful neighborhood, a super safe car, and two kids that will help pass the time! I know soon we will slip into our routines....and this year will fly by!

I am not the sappy kind, but I really did like this email that was sent by the chaplain of the First Cavalry division....it does sum up all the feelings I am having. As I dropped him off, there were many families doing the same thing we were.....saying goodbyes, I love yous, and all the tears that goes along with that! I know he is a soldier and is doing what he is trained to do! I am very proud of him and all that has led us up to this point. With two kids under three, my life is never dull or boring....everyone says times flies when you are having fun....I can only hope it flies this year!

From Chaplain Brewer:

I want to take this opportunity to share with you the pride I felt this past week as I witnessed the courage and strength of the First Team during our many manifest operations at Larkin Terminal in support of the deployment. The best way for me to share this with you is to tell you what I saw when I looked at our great Soldiers in their eyes and sensed the meaning of what it is to be part of America's First Team. I saw eyes filled with determination,

anticipation,

dedication,

devotion,

fearlessness,

anxiousness,

sadness in leaving loved ones and yet, each one seeming to grow more resolute in their actions as they stood shoulder to shoulder, back to back, heart to heart, Soldier to Soldier locking eyes with Battle Buddies affirming their decision to serve our nation and to watch out for one another. I believe I saw the very heart of America through their eyes and I saw a heart beating strong and resolute. I took strength from this resoluteness to fulfill the tasks assigned to me in caring for each of you and encouraging you to look inside your own heart to find the same determination,

anticipation,

dedication,

devotion,

fearlessness,

anxiousness,

sadness in knowing such sacrifices are required today in this war against terrorism and for the freedoms we cherish and hold so dear for ourselves and our loved ones. There is a passage in a book written long ago that shares a similar word to all of us in such times as we find ourselves battling against those who oppose the freedoms we cherish and seek to destroy our way of life. This passage provides a word for us today as we wage this war against terrorism to not be afraid but to keep watch and work to fulfill our assigned tasks. I want to encourage each of you to keep watch,

stay alert,

pay attention,

be on your guard,

against all who would seek to disrupt our pursuit of life,

liberty and

happiness.

God bless you all and thank you for your service to our nation, our Army, and to the First Team. KEEP WATCH!

Honor and Blessings to the First Team,

Your Chaplain,

CH (COL) Brewer