A Mother's Love

 I have been really reflecting on the woman I call "My Mom." Let me tell you I am sure being my mom was not any easy task... but GOD truly knew she was up for the challenge. Being adopted you often wonder about the love that this person who CHOSE to be your mom. I am so blessed that God literally chose her for me! I know I don't tell her enough how amazing she is. She, over the years has loved me with a fierce love. Funny it never matters how old I get I always need her. I am so thankful that she was and still is a prayng parent. I am sure she has spent countless hours praying over her children. It pains me to think of the times I said or did things that I know were not honoring or pleasing to her. The sacrificial love that My Mom has is well... God Given. She has this amazing way of making people feel important like they matter. She spreads the love of Christ to all those that meet her. She is Kind, Thankful, Gracious, Humble, Sacrificial, a Counselor, a prayer warrior, a friend, an encourager, baker of the best Chocolate Chip Cookies, she loves God and loves others! The list could go on and on.

She has taught me through her example and life what it means to be a daughter, wife and friend. I watch how she cares for my precious Grand mother. I hope that one day I will care for her the way she does for my g-mom. She is an amazing wife, just ask my Dad. : ) I know that David would thank her... she is what has helped shape me to be a Godly wife for him.

This year I am especially thankful for her, as having David gone, she has been such a great support and encouragement to me!

Thank You MOM!! I love you more than I can even put in to words!

A Mother's Love (featuring Mark Masri) by Jim Brickman Thank you for watching over me All of the sleepless nights you lay awake Thank you for knowing when to hold me close when to let me go Thank you for every stepping stone And for the path that always leads me home I thank you for the time you took to see the heart inside of me You gave me the roots to start this life and then you gave me wings to fly and I learned to dream because you believed in me There's no power like it on this earth No treasure equal to its worth The gift of a mother's love Thank you for every sunlit day That filled the corners of my memory Thank you for every selfless unsung deed I know you did for me Thank you for giving me the choice To search my soul till I could find my voice And I thank you for teaching me To be strong enough to bend You gave me the roots to start this life And then you gave me wings to fly And I learned to dream Because you believed in me There's no power like it on this earth No treasure equal to its worth The gift of a mother's love I thank God for a mother's love

Just checking in

Hello all,

  Its me again saying hello from the sandbox. Time is moving ahead quickly as I will pass 90 days in country on May 12, true I still a have a ways to go but I am staying as busy as I can and that helps. My day consists of work from 730am -430pm and then I spend an hour in the gym and then its time to skype and start any homework that I may have.  I have been attending Ashford University online and I have already completed 3 credit hours and working on another 3 now.  The military pays the entire cost of my classes so while you are stuck out here might as well be productive.

We had a fairly large sand storm this month and I have attached some photos to show how it looked:

Normal sunny day

Sand Storm

I ran my second 5K run this week and even though I finished in good time, some old guy ran past me, and when that happens you never really quite recover. Overall it was fun and you get a t-shirt each time you complete one.

Nice Shirt

November FWD Group 5k Run (the guy in the packer shirt is awesome)




Special thanks to all the folks that have sent care packages while I have been deployed:
Lindsay Cloer
Mom & Dad
Karen Cole
Jimmy & Kristen Turner (best neighbors on the planet, thanks for all you do)
Heather Williams from Landmark Church of God
Toni Dennison
Kim Rheingrover Pruitt
Laura McHargue and the HR Lunch Bunch
Renee Gragg

Your care packages have not only been enjoyed by me, but many others on post here as well. Thank you for everything.

Lots of Love

Hello all,

As I am completing my 3rd month of deployment, I look back and all I can say is that I have been blessed!

     I am devoting this blog to all the friends and family that has sent care packages to me since I left on Jan 2nd.

Over all there has been a total of 10 packages. The lady in the mail room knows me by name as much I am over signing for my boxes, I remember one Saturday afternoon I picked up 4 at one time and trying to carry them back to my PCB was a challange, perhaps I should have used a forklift.

Ok so here we go, and these are in perticulair order:

Thank you JPS Statesville for send the Girl Scout Cookies and the dust masks which have came in handy with the several sand storms we have had so far.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the goodies and cards and T-shirts.

Thanks also to Toni Dennison for all the awesome St Pattys Day items, the green fortune cookies were awesome.

A Long Flight & Sand Storm

Hello all,

I thought it was about time that I posted a new blog, it's been at least a month since I updated any new information, so here we go!

As most of you already know I have been in Kuwait, for almost a month now, and I will tell you it felt weird at first to be here. First lets talk about the flight over. I was really not looking forward to sitting on a plane for 14 hrs at a time, but to be honest with you it was not that bad. I made myself stay up all night so I would have to sleep for the biggest portion of the flight, that worked for the most part, of course they showed movies non-stop which helped pass time.  After the first 7 hours or so we landed in Germany for about an hour to refuel and then we were back at it for another 7 hours which of course you try to sleep even more.

We landed in Kuwait as the sun was starting to rise, and all that did was just remind us of and that this was really happening. Afterward they loaded us up on these nice buses and of course the driver is a Kuwaiti local and he is sporting the turban and man dress, I mean he was representing, again the reality was still sinking in. The buses had blue curtains over the windows which we were we told not to open, of course I could not help myself, I looked out the window the whole trip, and to be honest most folks did.

Of course we ended up at Camp Arifjan, my temporary home for the next few months. The following picture is of the tents we stayed in until we were moved into our living quarters.

 The next day was orientation and base tours, and this place is huge, I still have not been to even half of it.

I think that tank is the most photographed in history, everyone who passes this way takes this photo.

Life at Arifjan is not bad at all, everything you need or want can be found somewhere on post, I spend my time at work, from 730am -430pm, then an hour at the gym, and then chow and calling Lindsay. I start school on the 13th so that will pass time as well.



Someone asked about food here on post, well of course they have the DFAC (chow hall) and you have fast food places as well, although they are not quite as good as you might find in the states, so I usually don't eat there but maybe once a week. I do spend a lot of time at Starbucks, because they have free Internet, and yes I am still caffeine free since Jan the 8th, thank the Lord for Sprite.

 Starbucks

You see a lot unique things here on post like this van, can you tell what it is?

I had the chance to visit one of the other bases to perform my duties, and it's so weird to see the landscape. There are no trees along the highways like we are used to seeing in the states, it's just open space with miles of dessert and sand. Of course you see a lot of small cites with unique shaped buildings and the smell is different, keep in mind they don't have an EPA here so they have a great deal of air pollution, some days you can't even see the water tower on post due to the haze.

The other day, I was caught in a small scale sandstorm, and I did not have one of my dust masks handy. I quickly learned 2 things:

• 1st thing is run faster,
• 2nd is to keep your mouth closed.

 The second one is a tad more important then the 1st one, trust me it will change your attitude quickly when you have a mouth full of sand and grit.

Well that's about it for now, more to come later, I do want to thank everyone who has sent me packages and all the prayers and facebook messages I have received so far. I am so grateful to have such awesome family and friends, and of course all the JPS crew back home, and lets not forget my awesome wife, as she has been the best, and I'm blessed to have been married to her for 5 years.

Too be continued....

Valentines...

This Valentines of course was different. One David is 8hour ahead so Valentines came earlier for him.  David and I usually get Breakfast at Ihop or Panera on valentines. Which is a treat, because rarely do I get out of bed that early. This Valentines David and Skyped... I was waiting on my valentine flowers to arrive. Funny that his is how we will spend time together for the next year. Let me tell you our communication skills at least verbal are going to be amazing by the end of this. The time we have is so short especially with the time difference. So you listen more carefully and are much more intentional with your words.


David of course being the sweet and precious husband he is... Sent me Flowers, Gave me a SWEET Card, and I haven't showed it off officially but he gave me two new wedding bands. They are beautiful and look like they were meant to go together! They are my Valentines and 5 year anniversary Gift.

There is love that swells the heart so full it splits and leaks an aching joy.

I never want to say good bye and I can’t imagine this ever ending and who am I to have lived having been known, the Adam knowing Eve? I lay by his rib, of his rib, and I rise and fall with his breathing. Familiarity breeds boredom only to the blind.

And the real see-ers know the worth of vows worn polish smooth with all the days. 

One can become true one and God knows the mystery.

www.aholyexperience.com

anne voskamp

Signing off!

The humbled and loved wife!

Short but SWEET

So David and I had accepted the fact that we quite likely would not see one another in person again until November. But David called me Wednesday February 1, that they were going to get what the call, "liberty" before they shipped out. So of course I immediately started to look up flights hotels, and a rental car. So in less then 24 hours I had everything booked! (side note: Thank you to my amazing Friend/Employer for giving me the time off and paying for my hotel! You guys are simply amazing!)

So I could hardly wait till February 9th to see David. So fun to be that excited to see your beloved! I simple touch of a hand means sooo much more now!








So Thursday evening finally arrived, I headed to the GSO Airport! When I arrived at my gate I was reminded by a sunset as to how much God loves and blesses me. All the reds, pinks, and oranges blended in this beautiful messy glow.

God's Blessing never stop when we take the time to look and listen. As I flew into Philadelphia I looked out the window and was taken away by the view.

***Twinkling Lights***
The moon above guarding the city

The view was spectacular to say the least


I arrived in Philly in one piece and got my rental car... well half a car

I got a FIAT. Funniest little thing I have ever driven. Anyway, I arrived at the Days Inn around11:30pm Thursday Nite. I tried to sleep but it was quite difficult. I was sooo excited about seeing David I could hardly contain myself. I finally fell asleep around 3am, only to pop out of bed at 7am. I could not sleep one more wink.

I finally got to see David at 10:am. You have no idea how sweet a kiss from the one you love feels after a month and half.(I'm sure it's only half as sweet then after 9 months). Our time was short and sweet. We just really enjoyed our time together. We explored Philly a little and went to the Aquarium in NJ. We even got in an Anniversary/valentines dinner in at Maggianos and saw a movie.

Saturday was of course bittersweet. We made the most of our time mostly just relaxing. When 3:30 came we said our goodbyes and held hands and prayed together. Let me tell there is very little that compares to being able to hold the hand of your beloved and Go before the Throne of our Heavenly Father.

So  the time was short but such an amazing blessing. The time together was priceless. watching him walk away, I'm not gonna lie it was tough. But God is sovereign and I bowed my head and thanked Him! That is what life is truly about! Eucharisteo!

GRACE***THANKSGIVING***JOY

So once again we flipped the switch to "The new normal."

Before I left it had snowed. This is what the drive from Fort Dix to Philly looked like. And again my heart was "THANKFUL"

Signing off

The Wife

Part B Over. Now on to the sandbox...

Hello all,

  Well its been quite busy these last two weeks as we are finishing the Army training, and now we are about to begin customs training which will only last two days then its off to liberty (time-off). I am looking forward to see Lindsay during liberty even if its only for a couple days.

  Well lets recap the last week and a half, but first I want to show you the hummer that I drove during my time here.

A few interesting facts about the vehicle shown here is that Humvees came in several different models, this one shown is an armored type. It has 3 inch windows all around and can resist AK-47 rounds, it also has doors that weigh 500 pounds each and can be combat locked so enemies cannot enter, lastly the tires are designed as run flats so if they are blown out they can be driven for an additional 15 miles.

  I had the pleasure of shooting at an Army 9MM range and was able to qualify as well. The Navy course is quite different but the course here has pop up targets that were programmed to pop up at different times and distances, and of course it was job to shoot them down again. This course was fun and was my first experence at shooting while wearing my gasmask. You had to be able to shoot 25 out of 40 targets to qualify, I was able to shoot 30.

I also was trained on the crew serve weapons (squad based weapons) like the SAW M249, although we did not get to actually shoot them instead we trained on weapons that were modified to operate on air pressure so that they worked, and felt like you were shooting them. This was called EST Simulator. Try to picture a large scale video game that was designed with these weapons and you shoot enemies on screen.

I completed land navigation which was a three day long training event, now most of you who know me well already know that when it comes to reading maps and giving directions I am the worst by far. So day one was basic map reading and compass reading, and later that day we had to complete a 3 mile course wearing all of our gear, which is about 40 pounds. Day 2 was the same except we were driving our humvees through the woods, which was fun. Day 3 was something special, the Army ran us through a squad movement course that involved us low crawling under barb wire, throwing hand grenades (not real ones), all the while the trainers were throwing live explosives around us, you could feel the blast wave when they were close. This course was fun but I was exhausted afterward.

Next we moved on to IED (Improvised Explosive devices), which are the primary weapon used by insurgents. This class was interesting as we looked at examples of IED's used in the past and how to identify IED's while in a convoy. This was also a 3 day class, so I will skip over to day three. Day three was Humvee convoy training, we were tasked with trying to identify an IED's along the way, and locate a homemade explosive lab. They had actors dressed up as middle eastern locals some of which were friendly, & some that were foes. They used live explosives on the course as IED's, our humvee was destroyed about half way through the course. If you are interested, watch the film Hurt Locker it shows a great deal about IED's

The next course was CLS (combat life saver) it lasted 4 days. This course was challenging and fun. Day 4 was the final exam which involed more obstacle courses like transporting a patient while trying to avoid being shot. At the end of the day you were fairly exhausted.


The next day we moved right on into MRAP (mine resistant ambush protected) vehicle training. I was able to drive the M-ATV later that day.

The M-ATV was designed in 2010, and may one day replace the standard humvee. This thing was massive, notice the wheel comes to my waist, now try to imagine the size of this thing. I am not allowed to tell you much about the M-ATV, but this thing was awesome.

I want to say thanks to Lindsay for my second care package.

I dont know how she manages to pack so much into such small boxes but she does. My room mates also thank you as well.

Well my time is over in Fort Dix, and now its off to Kuwait. I will publish my Kuwait address as soon as I know that its not going to change.

Thanks to all for the prayers and support this far..

To be contined