Tuesday, December 9, 2008

It is finally OVER!




439 days, 62.71, 14.63 months, 1.2 years. That is how long Jamie spent in Iraq. Wow! That's a long time! And in case you're wondering, I had an excel program that kept track for me, because you know I would miss something somewhere in there if I had to keep track of it manually.

Last Wednesday (Dec. 3) we woke up to snow. It was so pretty! And falling so quickly. A.J. and I took Kaitlin to school (after I checked my email for the hundredth time-I was waiting for our FRG to contact me and tell me that Jamie was on the way) Then, A.J. and I headed for the airfield so that he could go to school. The traffic was so bad it took us a half an hour to go maybe 2 miles. We were right at the exit that I could get off and come back on post the back way so we headed home. By then I had an email from the FRG letting me know that Jamie was in Kuwait! I was on pins and needles all day waiting for the next email. That evening I had an email telling me that Jamie was on his way to Germany and would be here the next morning at 5 A.M. I also had a phone call. We were warned that there were weather warnings, that it was supposed to snow all night and there was a danger of black ice in the morning. I decided that we would leave for the airfield around 3:30 AM. That would give me plenty of time to get there if it was too icy. I finally went to bed around midnight, and was back up around 2:45 (I overslept! I wanted to be up at 2) Then around 3 AM I received another phone call telling me that the reunion ceremony had been moved up to 4:15 AM! We rushed around getting ready and were out the door by 3:45. The roads were clear and DRY. We arrived at the gym, and sat down. It turned out to be a great spot, because as the guys marched in they turned RIGHT IN FRONT of us, so we saw Jamie right away. There were a few speeches, and then FALL OUT! And it was over. This deployment seemed like it would never end, and just like that we were through!


Thanks to everyone that has emailed, called and sent packages to all of us. We appreciate and love you all.


2 comments:

Charlene said...

We are sooo glad James is home. And what a perfect gift for you all this time of year! Just wish you ALL could be HOME in Iowa :)
Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

Our church has prayed for 'our boys in action' every Sunday morning. So glad this prayer has been answered!

Love and blessings to you and yours,

~sister r~