News from the Front

John received the Commander's Award today, presented to him by Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp, the head of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Pretty sharp, John! We are so proud of you.

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

That's what today is. John sent me the link to this blog, The Corps of Engineers Blog. It has a nice tribute to the author's wife, Corps spouses, as well as military spouses everywhere.

What nice sentiments. Usually the one serving gets the recognition, so it's nice to get the pats on the back sometimes. Thanks, John, for sending me the blog post, as well as this sweet note:

You are truly a great Military Spouse and greatly appreciated. Thank you
for holding down the home front.

Thanks to my mother, too!

Afghanistan Engineer District

Something new since John's first trip to Afghanistan...the Corps of Engineers' website now has the Afghanistan Engineer District on it. Lots of information there. Since I don't have a support group like many of the spouses whose soldiers and airmen are deployed, this is a very nice tool.

John was stationed there when it became an official district office of the CofE! Pretty neat. (John, I can't find the disc of Afghanistan pictures to post that pic of you with the cake--can you email me and tell me where it is, please?)

For the Dads--that's a good site to bookmark in your favorites list!

What to Think?

Today Osama bin Laden has been in the news--a "new"photo of him was on the tv screen. Luci walked by and said, "That's Jesus." No, honey, he's just the opposite.

When that guy gets on the news, we pay attention in our house. John's been overseas twice since September 11, and he's on the list to go again--although this time a long stint is unlikely since he's nearing retirement. John's second trip was to Afghanistan, and I think he really loved it there. He got to work with the locals quite a bit, and his group, the Corps of Engineers, did some special things for the Kabul Orphanage. It was very similar in feeling to a missionary trip.

Above, John is getting a salute from one of the little boys. It is my absolute favorite picture from that trip--the little guy is thrilled to get a new toy, a pair of socks, and have the attention of some nice strangers.

Right after that photo was taken, our church started a big effort to send toys and clothing to the kids there--some of you reading this helped in that endeavor, and we are still so thankful for your kindnesses to these children.

John's work with this orphanage is what got us on the road to adopting Luci. I wish we could have brought them all home.