The first time Terry was in Iraq I went to live with my Mom and Dad in NM to have Jason. I ended up taking lots of video while there with the intent to send to Terry. Not so much went to Terry but it has provided us with some video of Kirk that we would not have had I not been there that year. This clip happens to be after Terry came back in 2004, we made a trip to NM from Germany for Christmas, while there we celebrated Tyler's birthday. Not only is it a wonderful video of Kirk and Jason....Tyler and Dylan are about as sweet as they come...they do grow up way to fast.

As much as we were all dreading this week...it is now here and we have to deal with it and face it and get it over with. I am proud of my parents...they took a trip to Reno to visit with my mom's nieces...that is where they were last year when the accident happened..

I feel so extremely lucky that Terry was here last year, I feel bad for him that he had to be the one to tell me...but he was also my rock for getting me thru the days leading up to the funeral...

One day at a time, one breath at a time...and we'll all make it just fine and Kirk will look down at us and smile to know that we are all still going and the cows are still calving, the horses are still running, the kids are still playing.

After 18+ years together I wasn't going to be upset if Terry couldn't get me flowers this year...I mean come on he is in Afghanistan....but thanks to the Internet I magically got flowers today. Even though I was fine with not getting any...it makes me extremely happy that I did get some.


Here is a photo from the night Tyler made his First Confession...


Last but not least here is a photo from the New housing construction...a ton of new ones are up...I hope they are doing interior work on the ones already framed...but I can't tell from the road.

I honestly really haven't had anything exciting to talk about and haven't taken the time to think up something.

We have had some above normal temps that have really melted some of our snow. Our Driveway is now a sheet of ice...but is starting to melt down to the ground in places. In other places where the snow has blown to other spots you can see the ground, and in some places there is still two feet of snow.

Yesterday the boys were talking about birthdays and such and asked when Daddy would be back, would he be back before his birthday...well yes he should be home for a short visit before his birthday, but then he will have to go back for a few short months and then be home for good...Tyler says "you mean he will never have to go again?" At least not for a while I hope, someday he will have to go back. What I wouldn't give for the days before I had to explain to my kids that Daddy will have to leave again for a year before all this craziness is over.

Our heat finally completely thawed over the weekend..so we are toasty warm burning propane again like it was oxygen...too bad it is so expensive to heat here...Hope I don't have to worry about that at least one winter here.


Tyler made is first Reconcilation today...he was so brave and he did a wonderful job....

I think we might have hit 32 degrees over the weekend...tomorrow and Thursday will only be in the teens. Then on the weekend we might actually hit 40...I am thinking an outdoor party might be in store for us.

I talked to my brother in New York City, and my mom and other brother in New Mexico yesterday. My brother in the City asked if we had a warm up...I said yes we made it above freezing...he laughs and says well I think we hit 50 yesterday..well isn't that nice for you.

Then I talked to my Mom....she says oh it was a lovely pleasant day...well isn't that nice for you.

Last night my brother in NM called again mentioning what a nice day they had...well isn't that nice for you.

That is why I miss the Southwest....on Thursday they will get to 68 degrees...68 degrees...please what I wouldn't give for that right about now. (Although as I told my brother any warm up is going to melt the snow and if it happens too quickly my basement will flood again)

Really I don't really mind the snow and cold...yea it gets old..but I can deal with it. I could really deal with it if Terry were here...and I think...just maybe if I was on post and didn't have to worry about heat, water, and commute and all that stuff that I could do even better by myself...
A friend and I were talking about this the other day and we decided we all needed an award for surviving a Fort Drum winter with a deployed spouse. Let's face it Deployments are tough...add on 146 inches of snow, heat that doesn't work, using a wood stove, that you have to fill at 6:00am 2:00pm and 10:00pm, no matter how cold it is, or how hard it is snowing, raining or blowing. Think about how it sucks to shovel snow...well here you might have 3 or 4 kids in the house and you are shoveling a foot snow...then the next day you have to shovel 6 inches of snow, and the next day you shovel 9 inches of snow. And here at the farm I have all kinds of room for my snow...but on post...in the housing areas the snow is 4 and 5 feet high in places due to no place to put all that snow. These pictures are from a friends house that lives on post...