James is serving our country in Afghanistan.

I’m proud of you, James! I love you!

James is on his way to Afghanistan. He is trained and ready to go, and he is proud to be protecting our country and our freedom. We feel truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family. Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers! Please continue to pray for James, and all of the men and women currently serving our country. You can also show your support by wearing and/or displaying yellow ribbons. If you can e-mail me pictures of your ribbons, I will make sure he gets to see them. The ribbon in the background is the one I am wearing for him while he is away.

Pictures!

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Updates:

10/11/02	He’s home to stay now! Somebody changed their mind and decided not to keep his unit on active duty. We are thanking God that he is home and we are a family again!
09/16/02	He’s currently home on leave, but he will be returning to Ft. Bragg this weekend, where he will be stationed on active duty until further notice. If you want to contact him, he will be using the same e-mail address he always used. If you want a mailing address, e-mail either of us and we will get it to you as soon as we have it.
09/04/02	He’s stuck in Germany, but he should be home on Saturday.
09/04/02	He’s on his way home!! He will be here by the end of the week! :-)
09/02/02	It sounds like he is really coming home this time!! :-) I will post updates when I have more information.
08/23/02	No, he is not home yet. :-( The newest rumor of his return date is mid-September.
07/31/02	James is still in Afghanistan, but he has moved from Kandahar to Bagram. He is now able to receive mail again, but he has a new mailing address. If you would like to write to him, e-mail me and I will reply with his new address.
07/27/02	He’s still in Afghanistan. I have given up on the countdown (for now), because I have no idea how much longer he will be there, but hopefully he will be returning soon.
07/21/02	James thanks you all for the letters you have written. He has been writing back to everyone who writes to him, but he says he will not be able to reply to your most recent letters until he returns.
07/17/02	We have heard that there is still a possibility he may remain on active duty when he returns to the states, but we don’t know for sure yet.
07/07/02	James will be returning soon, and he says not to send any more letters because they may get returned. You can always send letters to him here at home, and I will keep them for him to have when he gets here. He also asked for me to “post an update telling everyone how much it has meant to me that they are thinking of me and checking the web page to keep up with me. Having everyone back home thinking of me and caring for me has made it a lot easier to be here. I will never be able to repay everyone for all they have done and all their prayers and concern. I would love for everyone to be able to come welcome me home but I know that is impossible. I’m hoping I’ll be able to visit those who aren’t able to come welcome me home.”
	I have changed the countdown (again). He says he should be coming back to the states around the end of the month, and that he’s “still hoping to give Gayle a birthday present of me being home. :-)”
06/04/02	We just heard that James will not stay on active duty when he returns, except for a short time while they turn in gear, etc.
05/27/02	James has said I should change the counter on this page. I have been counting down to the date he would leave Afghanistan, and he now thinks that date will be closer to the end of July. I told him I’m not going to change it yet. Please continue to pray with me that God will bring him home sooner, and especially that he will be home for Gayle’s birthday (August 5).
05/07/02	James says don’t send any more packages, but you can keep sending letters.
05/03/02	James appreciates all of the letters and packages. Thank you! He has enough baby wipes, hand sanitizer and food now. If you want to send a package, he likes the chocolate Cappuccino Coolers, but I’m having trouble finding the chocolate flavor (he already has lots of powdered milk to mix it with). He would also appreciate chips or cookies. He likes tortilla chips and salsa or cheese dips, spicy potato chips, and double-stuff Oreos.
04/15/02	Our prayers are being answered! James will probably be here for Gayle’s birthday! Here’s what he writes: “I’ve heard a few dates thrown around but the one I’m most likely to believe right now is 15 July. I know that is only about 3 weeks early but that is still early enough to get me there for Gayle Ann’s birthday.”
	I have updated the countdown to reflect this date. Thanks for all the prayers! Please continue to pray for us that we can be together when he returns to the US.
04/11/02	Tuesday, April 9 was an extremely difficult day for me, and August seemed so far away. That night I prayed, and I was talking to God about how hard this was to be away from James. I told God that I know He has reasons, and I know there are benefits to James being on active duty, but I asked Him to bring us back together sooner, if it was possible. James called yesterday and God has answered my prayer! James and his unit are now expected to rotate back to the United States in June or July! He will stay on active duty for a while, and we aren’t sure yet where or for how long. We thank God for His answers to our prayers and continue to pray that we can be together when he returns.
04/07/02	Sorry I haven’t updated this page in a while. The planes that carry the mail have had “other missions” so I haven’t been receiving letters and didn’t have anything new to post.
	Here’s what he wrote in one of the letters I just received: “We finally received a refrigeration unit so the mess section can receive fresh food now. It is only one meal a day, but it is REAL food so we aren’t complaining.
	“I really don’t have much news. Getting real food pretty much exhausted my list of new stuff to talk about. =)”
	Here’s what he wrote in another letter: “I feel like the luckiest man on Earth to have married you. If it were possible for a man to ‘design’ his ‘perfect’ wife I would have screwed up completely. I could never have imagined and created a mate more perfect than you. I’m so thankful that God created you for me. Only by His design and wisdom was I fortunate enough to be blessed with you, and through His strength we will be together for eternity.” I feel the same way. I could never have dreamed of marrying someone so wonderful. Thank you, God!
03/17/02	Today is our first anniversary. It is really difficult to be apart, but I still feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband. I can’t imagine my life without him. Even though he is halfway around the world, he is still very much a part of my life. I love you, James!
	Here is part of what he wrote in an e-mail to me this afternoon: “Happy Anniversary! I love you more than anything! I’m the luckiest man alive to have you as my wife. I can never say enough times how blessed I am that God sent you my way. I could never have imagined my life as it is now.”
03/15/02	He says they are not getting any hot meals any more, and he’s getting tired of MRE’s. He says he would still like snacks, but he would also like to have “real food.” He says he can boil water, and he has a can opener, so here are some examples he mentioned: “cup of soup” type stuff that he can add water to, raviolis and stuff that he can eat straight out of the can, potted meat and saltine crackers. He has enough hand sanitizer for a while, so we can stop sending that for now.
03/11/02	He’s coming home in August! He leaves Afghanistan “no later than” August 11. We’re still praying he can return before Gayle’s birthday August 5.
	Here’s what he wrote in another letter to me: “My love for you grows more and more each day. The physical distance between us can never separate our spiritual bond and the vows that we swore before God and our families. I never thought it would be possible for me to settle down the way I have. God worked a miracle the day He connected us. I thank God for you and the girls. . . .
	“I miss you and my babies terribly but I have peace that you will be ok until I return. I honestly don’t worry because I have faith in your ability to manage until I come home. You are a strong woman who’s faith is growing in leaps and bounds.”
03/01/02	I talked to James this morning, and got letters yesterday. He’s ready to come home, but doing fine. In addition to the hand sanitizer, toilet paper and baby wipes he requested before, here’s what he is asking for: Kodak Advantix 400 speed film, various snacks like beef jerky, peanuts, saltine crackers, Vienna sausages, instant coffee or coffee bags like tea (I know he doesn’t like Folger’s coffee). He says to send anything else you think a soldier might want. He has asked that snacks be resealable or individually wrapped because of the sand and bugs.
	In one letter he describes the “camp.” He writes: “I am living in a big tent with 20 soldiers. McCall and I share a common living space between our cots that is about 5 square feet. We each bought a prayer rug that we put under our cots to ‘carpet’ the floor with. The floor is a bunch of plywood we brought in a laid down over the sand. We used the 550 cord that I brought to string clothes lines & places to hang stuff. The sand here is a fine as talcum powder & it gets into everything. We actually have a shower facility set up. Unfortunately we have to walk about a half mile to get to it so we’re dusty & sweaty again by the time we get back to the tent. When we first got here we were getting a hot, fresh meal once a day for 2 days, skip a day, then a hot meal once a day for 2 days, skip a day, etc. Our other meals were MRE’s (Meal Ready to Eat) i.e. combat rations. Now that our cooks have arrived I think we will be getting two hot meals for two days & one hot meal the third day.”
02/24/02	Yellow ribbons were hung in his hometown, each with the name of a soldier in his unit. I got to hang his!
02/23/02	Letters have started to arrive! He says he has sent a letter with a list of some other things he wants/needs, but I haven’t received it yet. I will post the list here when I get it.
02/22/02	James and his unit are guarding detainees in Kandahar. He says the “conditions are rugged” and he is starting to get homesick, but he is doing well.
02/15/02	James called today. He says will probably only be able to call once a week “at the most.” He’s doing fine, and he says to tell everyone not to worry. If you’ve seen or heard the news lately, it’s not as bad as it sounds. If you want to send a care package, he would like it to include baby wipes, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper.
02/13/02	I haven’t yet talked to James, but I got a message from the unit. He has arrived safely in Afghanistan.
02/12/02	James has been calling from layover points, but has not yet arrived at his final destination.