Adam

Adam recently passed on some really good news....his Leutenant was fired. He's the guy (idiot) that Adam was talking bad about while we were home in Wisconsin. Adam was very excited and relieved, so am I!!!! :) Things on the base have improved. They have heaters, electricity, and a chow hall. Adam's captain is trying hard to make things as comfy as he can on the base for all the guys. Adam doesn't talk much about what's going on over there. All I know is that he's been on some missions that were very successful. I hope you're all doing well and staying warm :)! I'm doing fine. I finished Noah's room a few nights ago. I'll have to take some pictures to show you. Noah's going to be here before we know it, and I can't wait!!!!! Take care!!!!
Love ya,
Jen

Stryker Website

Aloha! I just wanted to pass on an interesting website about the strykers. It contains recent news of what's going on with the stryker brigades in Iraq.
http://www.strykernews.com
Adam wrote me an email yesterday. He said that he hasn't been getting much sleep, but other than that he said everything is going well. He heard the bad news about the Packers and Chargers through the internet. I guess him and some guys were on duty during the games so every now and then one of the guys would log onto a computer to check the scores. He said that they finally got some heaters and electricity and that they should be getting phones and more computers this week. Keep your fingers crossed! Seven more weeks until our little Noah's due date. I'm getting very anxious to see him! I hope you're all doing well! Take care!
Love,
Jen

Adam

Aloha everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I finally started school after a very long but wonderful break. I knew my pregnant belly has gotten bigger but all the kids (and teachers) were shocked when I walked into their classes, haha! Anyways, Adam was able to call real quick yesterday morning around 2 AM. They had to get more supplies from the big base (Taji). He sounded really good, real positive! The little tiny base that they are at right now has nothing- no heaters (just snowed a few mornings ago), no chow halls (all they eat is MRE's), no phones, four computers, and no showers. He's able to boil water so if you need any ideas of what he needs all I can really say is food, especially breakfast type food since MRE's don't contain breakfast food. I went to a meeting last night and I was informed that the commanders are working on getting phones on the base for the guys, hopefully by next week. I will keep you guys updated as I hear things. Take care! Go PACKERS and CHARGERS!!!!!!!!
Love,
Jen

Please Vote on Your Favorite Fabric

Hi family! I'm finally getting around to reupholstering the chair that the dogs chewed the arms off of last year. Well, I'm not doing it, I'm having it done, but I need to pick out some new fabric. I obtained several swatches last night, which are shown in the photographs below. I would love for you to vote for your favorite. You can pick several, or you can pick none. I'd love to hear what you think. Leave your likes or dislikes in the comments section. Thanks!!

p.s. If you click on the picture, it will enlarge the image so you can see the texture.

Resolutions for the New Year

Has everyone committed to any new resolutions for 2008? I made about 12 for 2007 and kept exactly one of them. This year, in order to set myself up for success, I have only two resolutions and one of them only counts for the next three months.

Resolution #1: Ski at least once a week.

I know this one sounds like cake, but it's not. I dig myself into a lazy slump sometimes and it gets to the point where even something as awesome as skiing doesn't sound appealing. But then when I actually get out there, I'm really glad I did. In addition, there always seems to be something else to do, whether work or household chores or television. So I am resolving to "force" myself to ski once a week. Household chores be damned.

Resolution #2: Eat vegetables with every meal, and maybe sometimes a fruit.

Again, this one appears relatively easy to the innocent bystander, but believe me, it's not. Most of the time when I get home from work all I want to eat is a large slice of cheesy pizza, or some other chub inducing fat/carb combo. How hard should it be to steam a bag of frozen veggies?

How life actually began...

Joe (reaching in the back of the refridgerator for a container of mystery leftovers): What's this?
Abby: no answer
Joe (removes the lid): Why is it bubbling?
Abby: Because it's alive and probably pissed that you opened the lid.

My favorite photo from Christmas vacation

Evvy and the buffalo...a children's story

Those of you who have seen Evvy's new buffalo pelt will be pleased to know that she has formed a tight bond with him. She carrys that little guy everywhere she goes. Sometimes she chews on his head. Sometimes she tosses him in the air and growls at him. This morning I saw her pushing him around with her nose and playfully batting him between her paws. Right now, she is on the couch, laying on his head.

Adam's address change

Aloha! Hope you're all doing well! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a fun new year's eve! Abby, what happened to your ankle? My trip to San Diego has been great, very eventful! My sister just found out she's pregnant. She hasn't been to the doctor yet but she took two home tests and both times the positive pregnancy sign came up immediately. She thinks the due date will be sometime in July, maybe on Abby's and my brother's birthday. :) I talked to Adam yesterday. He was really tired but doing good. They will be leaving Taji (I don't know if I spelled that right) around the 5th of January to head to a small base outside of Baghdad. They wont have phones or internet for at least a month but I know he would love to get letters and care packages. I just sent a care package yesterday. While he's on the small base they will only be eating MRE's. I sent some pop-tarts and granola bars for him to eat for breakfast because the MRE's are only lunch and diner types of food and who wants to eat roast beef for breakfast? His address has changed a little, here's his new address:

SSG Lisius Adam
2nd SBCT, 25th ID
A Co,1-14th Inf BN, #6260
APO AE 09378

Noah is doing well too! He keeps me up a lot at night by playing in my belly. One night I only got about 3 hours of sleep because of him moving around so much. I've been taking a lot of naps lately! My belly has grown so much in the last two weeks. I'll send you some pictures of my growing belly on your private emails because I really don't think everyone will want to see them on here. :) Take care!