Where are they now?

2010-06-12T07:57:00.002-04:00

Our lives changed on May 18th. The war hit close to home. Two of our neighbors were killed in Afghanistan after a suicide vehicle hit their convoy. In a blink of an eye two families lives were changed forever. One of the soldiers killed was stationed with us in Fort Carson with us back in 1996. We were thrilled when we heard they were coming to Drum and enjoyed reconnecting with them. They invited the kids and I over for Christmas dinner and I remember Tom's prayer. He talked about that Terry would be home soon and thanked God for taking care of him during the deployment. I saw Tom shortly before he left for Afghanistan and my memory of him is this smile he had while listening to Terry and I banter back and forth.

Due to the tragedy I have been learning alot about the survival benefits, and am compelled to learn more. After 19 years of being a spouse I knew nothing about the benefits and I am sure not many other spouses do. None of us want to think of the what if, but I would strongly suggest you try to make a plan now.

Where have I been?

2010-05-09T10:20:00.006-04:00

I really miss blogging, I have to admit I spend way to much time on Facebook and combine that with work, unit stuff and occasionally doing laundry it doesn't leave much time to blog.

Terry started a new job in April, he is now the 3 BCT XO. He started about 3 weeks before the brigade Change of Command so he jumped in just as they were finishing OER's, Awards and all the other stuff Col Haight had to finish before he left. There are still not enough hours in the day to answer every email and clear his inbox. This job will keep us here at least another year if not two.

We enjoyed a trip to Niagara over Easter Weekend.

Dylan is playing Lacrosse this spring and we were all very thrilled when he scored a goal in his first game. I have absolutely no idea what is happening during the game, but I do know when the ball goes in the net it is a score.

We have had quite a bit of warm weather over the past few weeks, however this morning we awake to a dusting of snow on the ground, gotta love Northern New York. Jason and I planted tulip and daffodil bulbs last fall and we were rewarded with some very beautiful flowers.

The boys made a beautiful cake for me for my birthday.

Terry and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. We enjoyed a lovely dinner out.

So there ya go, you are all caught up with the Clarks.

Welcome Home

2010-01-24T07:47:00.004-05:00

On January 5th after a very painful week (felt like a month) of delays we were reunited with Terry. The one of the best moments had to be the next morning when we went to wake Tyler up for school, and told him happy birthday, he was just waking up and said "Daddy, I am so happy you made it home for my birthday!" Jason asked Terry about a dozen times whether Terry had to go back..was he home for good.
Reintigration has been painless for the most part...we seem to have all found our way again with a family of 5.
January has been very busy for me with work, volunteer opportunities, and unit functions. The Financial Readiness manager encouraged us interns to sit thru the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) class here on post. That took 3 days one week and then we decided to do the certification (taking a test) to be able to volunteer at the Tax Assistance Center here on Fort Drum. Let me just say that the test was very painful, even open book working with someone...but we did pass and will probably donate some of our time (like we have any extra) to helping soldiers do their taxes.
Our St. Barbara's day ball is on Jan 29th and I have been helping with that...we are making some ceremic cannons (45 of them) and it has turned into quite a project. Many Saturday mornings have been spent at the Arts and Crafts center working on them.
Some kind Veteren donated a ton of money to throw 3 BCT a party. It was a great turn out and alot of fun.
February is block leave for 3 BCT and things will quiet down, and then in March gear up again with people coming and leaving....and then in April we'll have Change of Comands...
Terry is starting to work with Branch on our next assignment...we could very well be moving from Drum, bittersweet this Army life ,hate leaving all the wonderful friends we have made, but would love to be closer to family...

365 days ago

2009-12-26T19:44:00.002-05:00

Today is the anniversary of the day my husband left for Afghanistan a year ago....and I learned this morning that he would be delayed at least few more days to get home. My goal of getting him home in 2009 is fading and so are my spirits. I know it isn't 15 months and he is on his way and really he was here for Christmas last year (not really but I won't argue that point with anyone whose husband was actually out of the country).

I'll have my pity party in the privacy of my own home, won't let my kids see me down only happy thoughts about how Dad will be home soon...just not soon enough for me.

23 days or so

2009-12-08T21:37:00.002-05:00

Terry should be leaving FOB Airborne in a couple of weeks or so and then another week or two after that he should be landing at Wheeler Sacks Airfield here on Fort Drum....WOW our "YEAR" is almost over and dang am I happy about that.

As Capt Gardner wrote in the newsletter there is nothing more moving than watching families reunite after a deployment. The kids and I have had a very long year and can't wait to have our "moment" with Terry.

Looks like a big storm is headed out way and the weather man used the words significant amount of snowfall...not to mention wind, wind, wind. 50 to 60 miles per hour gust. Should be a fun weekend....

2009-12-06T09:59:00.002-05:00

Someone I know from our days at Ft. Carson lost her mother this week when someone ran a red light and hit her car. As soon as I read about it on Facebook, my own heart skipped a beat and I felt the same pain/shock as the day I heard about Kirk...

There are no words that can make this person feel better, all you can say is that you care and you are praying for them, and that means the world.

Losing someone is devastating...but losing them suddenly, accidentally brings a whole new dimension to the devastation. There is no time to say good bye...there is no time to come to terms with it...there is no time to adjust to life without them. It is sudden and quite simply takes your breath away, and you have to remember to breath.

Even after almost 2 years I find myself thinking of Kirk, and then suddenly my breath changes and I remember he is gone...

1 more Month

2009-11-30T22:08:00.002-05:00

Today I wrote on Facebook that I would start my last month count down tomorrow (Dec 1)...As I was thinking about that earlier tonight I almost started crying. I can't believe that we are so very close to being done. He has been gone for 11 months, all of 2009 (except 15 very short days). That is all we have seen each other in the past 11 months, 15 days....

And to get my husband home and the rest of 3 BCT someone is starting their 12 months apart, an unending cycle that doesn't seem to be going away any time soon. So even though I am thrilled to death that our deployment is almost done, I will be thinking and praying for those who are just starting.

Thankful

2009-11-26T22:57:00.002-05:00

Today I am thankful for so many things, my husband, for serving his country for the past 23 years. I would like to share a small quote a friend recently wrote to me "I feel grateful for having been there with Terry...and I do recognize the sacrifice he makes...but he does so gracefully and with a humility, setting an example for all of us lucky enough to know him."
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, I certainly can say that I can't imagine my life without him. We were certainly meant to be together.

I am thankful for my kids, even though some (most) of the time we don't see eye to eye, I know that at the end of the day that they know I love them with all my heart, and that they love me with at least part of theirs....

I am thankful for my family spread out across the country, how I wish I was with you during these holidays. Thank you for your love and support.

I am thankful for my "Army Family". Everywhere we go we add to the family, I have been very blessed to have so many extraordinary people come into my life. It is how we thrive in this crazy life we lead, we meet more family at every location we move to. Thank you friends.

I am thankful for the good health we have had on this deployment, with all those nasty germs out there we have managed to miss most of them.

I am thankful for all of this incredible weather we have been having.

I am thankful for my memories of Kirk, not a day goes by that I don't have a thought of him pop into my head, only to have my heart hurt when I think of the time we won't have with him.

And I am thankful for Mick, Liz, Derek and Ashlee, for surviving an unimaginable event and getting up every day and putting one foot in front of another.

Wow

2009-11-21T08:34:00.002-05:00

Okay so between being really busy and not knowing what to write, I have been a very bad blogger. Will regret it someday when I want to look back and know how this year long deployment went.

Everyone is doing well, this week was Dylan's teacher conferances, there are no appointments you just go and wander around and sign up to see a teacher. I met with most of his teachers and all had great things to say about him. More than once I heard "he is a pleasure to have in class" WOW my kid!!! I am thrilled that his grades are closer to where his abilities are. I know with just a bit more effort he could have all A's, but he has to choose that is what he wants, and he isn't there yet.

The little kids started after school care this week, so I could get more hours in for work and wouldn't you know that this week was so busy with other things that I really didn't get any more hours into work.

Work is great, just a few bumps in the road, but I hope that in the next couple of weeks those bumps get smoother. I am still enjoying it. I think in just the short time I have been doing this I have already helped lots of people.

The deployment is winding down quickly, we already have one flight home and are expecting another one on Thanksgiving. In December they should be coming every few days. Terry was due to come home between Christmas and New Years, but I was told this week that often they don't do flights during that week, so who knows when he will get here.

God is taking care of us.....

2009-10-31T20:55:00.002-04:00

I am sure there are times in your life when you looked back and said "God was taking care of us"...whether it be on a test in school, keeping your kids safe, keeping your deployed spouse safe...on and on. I too have those moments...some of which I would like to share.

When we were living in Germany, my dad suffered a heart attack...he would need to have by pass surgery within days. This would be his second bypass surgery...at the time no one told me that the survival rate after a second surgery is much lower than after a first one...after much debate we decided not to return to the states...he survived and recovered quickly...God was watching out for us.

An accident claimed the life of my nephew weeks after moving to Fort Drum...Terry was not yet deployed...thank goodness, God was watching out for us.

I believe with whole heartly that God put us in this house in this neighborhood. Of course not all as been roses, but I can honestly say that I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I am blessed by incredible, giving neighbors and I wouldn't change a thing.

Often times it is hard to see God's blessings till after time has passed, but they are there.

9 months down.....

2009-10-07T20:50:00.002-04:00

As 2nd Brigade says their goodbyes, 3 BCT starts their redeployment briefs....life at Drum...someone is always leaving and someone is always coming home.

Even though it is not my husband leaving, it is sad to watch your friends go thru it. I know it isn't easy for anyone and my heart and prayers go out to all of you saying goodbye.

We are still hoping Terry will be home around the 1st of the year...give or take a week or two. The boys and I are trying to figure how we will celebrate Christmas and still do something more when Terry gets home.

We have gotten a ton of rain over the past 2 or 3 weeks cancelling many soccer games for the little boys...I guess we should be thankful it isn't snow (YET). We might see some of the white stuff next week...I hope we only see a handful of flakes.

The boys are enjoying school, and other than one day of Jason deciding he didn't want to go, there has been no drama.

Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Fallen Soldier - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com

2009-09-17T17:20:00.001-04:00

Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Fallen Soldier - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com

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1st Day of school

2009-09-08T21:38:00.002-04:00

The boys had a great day at school today, no complaints. Let's hope tomorrow goes just as well.

Tyler 3rd Grade, Jason Kindergarten

Dylan 8th grade

Happy birthday Ashlee

2009-09-03T08:06:00.001-04:00

My niece Ashlee is 21 today...where has the time gone, I am certainly not 21 years older.

(if I can find a good picture I will post it later.)

2009-08-30T21:29:00.003-04:00

So my sister said I should just write that we are good, and just don't have anything to write about. I am good and nothing interesting going on...okay I'm done.

School starts day after labor day....Dylan starts football practice tomorrow, Tyler and Jason start soccer practice tomorrow and guess who got coeirced into coaching Jason's team...yes me. It really wasn't fair what they did, Jason was on a wait list, and they called and said if you will coach we will put him on a team...what is a mom to do.

We are down the the last 4 months of the deployment. We will start having redeployment briefs in October, hello only a month away. I am very glad we are so close to getting this year over. It hasn't been that bad...just a few crazy neighbors and no major problems.

I think snakes follow us, as DB found a very small garden snake in the yard a couple of days ago. He was barking longer than usual and when I went out to yell at him I noticed he was all nervous, I walked over to where he was and he was low crawling trying to sniff at it and his back legs were shaking, he was scared to death. I looked and didn't see anything so assumed he was just crazy or a bee had gotten him, so I stepped in the grass by him and a little snake scooted off into my neighbors yard, Dylan and a friend were nice enough to go scare it off under the fence.

Article on 4-25 FA

2009-08-14T13:06:00.002-04:00

http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=4198

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Heart of Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Goes to Family Friend - Heart Disease - FOXNews.com

2009-08-10T14:49:00.001-04:00

Heart of Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Goes to Family Friend - Heart Disease - FOXNews.com

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2009-08-09T22:45:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Kirk...

2009-08-08T08:43:00.000-04:00

TF Spartan Web Documentary

Small Army....

2009-08-01T11:21:00.002-04:00

When Terry is deployed he always runs into people we were stationed with at some point over the last 22 years for him (only 18 for me). While making the trip home for R&R he ran into a Col. Day from out 3-29FA days in Colorado. While making the trip back to Afghanistan he ran into Jason Riley who just arrived in afghanistan with the 82nd. Jason and his wonderful wife Lisa were at NPS with us in California and ILE in Kansas.
Terry also bumped into Robert Hamilton (aka BOB) in Afghanistan, another guy we were stationed with in Colorado.
There is a guy in the unit replacing Terry's that Terry went thru ROTC with, what are the chances of that. He will get Terry's office when he leaves.

I think it is great that he always meets up with someone we used to know. I wished that happened more to me. It does happen though as a friend and her husband from Colorado have moved in around the corner from us.

2009-08-01T09:53:00.010-04:00

So R&R was the quickest two weeks yet this year. Terry came home on a Monday, on Tuesday he was hanging pictures and shooting a bow with Dylan. Wednesday we headed down to DC for a couple of days and really the only thing we did there besides swim and eat was to visit the Air and Space Museum located out by Dulles Airport. The museum was incredible and it was in part of the new Transformers movie so the kids were excited to see the same planes as in the movie.
After a painful long drive to Virginia beach that should have taken 3 or 4 hours but took closer to 7 we arrived at our cottage on Fort Story. We had a lovely time hanging out at the beach, swimming at the pool.
One of our favorite activities happened at the beach after sunset. The crabs dig up out of sand and run to the ocean to eat. The boys had a blast chasing them. Lots of folks brought flashlights to do their crab hunting. It was so funny to watch the boys get so excited about finding one and then chasing it down before it went back in a hole or into the ocean. They would catch them in a bucket and then when it was time to go they let them go. The crabs are really fast and a little crabby when you try to grab them, or scoop them into the bucket. No one in our family got pinched but some boys playing with our boys did. Doesn't hurt too much I hear. Another fun thing for the boys was to get a bucket full of sand from the water and dump it out on the dry sand and grab the critters that were running away. Funny little animals that looked like a cross between a crab and shrimp, we called them scrabs. I never got a photo of one.
We drove home by way of the Chesapeake bay bridge and thru Delaware (one state I have never been in). It was a long trip back that we had planned to do in two days, but it was going so well that we drove it all in one.
The rest of R&R was spend doing things around the house. Terry built us a gate in the back yard and we also worked on the garage. I now will have room to park in the garage this winter. We have a huge pile for the next yard sale and anything left after that will be donated to some great organization.
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Train at Tysons Corner Center near DC
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Beach on Fort Story VA, near Virginia Beach
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Jason took this photo, I thought it was pretty good.
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Sackets Harbor NY
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Found my husband

2009-07-11T20:58:00.001-04:00

My husband woke up me this morning with a phone call from Kuwait...I had the dates all wrong.
We hope he will be in the states on Monday...

I can't find my husband

2009-07-10T23:15:00.002-04:00

Terry is somewhere on his way home for R&R and I have no idea where he is. He assured me he would have access to phones and email, but.....no word yet. I hope that means good news and he is out flying across the world to see us.

New Job for Terry

2009-07-06T13:57:00.002-04:00

Terry is currently moving into his new office at 4-25 FA. He will be the XO (Executive Officer) for the BN (Battalion)about a week after returning from R&R. He is ready for the change and it will be keep him very busy for the remainder of the deployment.

This will be the first time we have been in a BN since around 2000. We are both excited for the change.

Here is the link to the "WOLFPACK" website so you can read about them.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T09:08:00.003-04:00

Today is our third day of not seeing the sun, not that I am complaining much because the moisture and cool temps are great for my grass, but a little bit of sun never hurt anyone. The grass is growing, throw down seeds here, give it a little water and it will grow, just give it some time.

Dylan heads off to boyscout camp tomorrow morning, and is gone a week. He is dreading it a bit, but I am sure once he gets there he will have fun. The day he gets back is the day Terry leaves Afghanistan so we are all looking forward to that.

Lots of people are taveling this weekend to visit family or other exciting destinations (anything other than Drum seems exciting to me) so it makes for a quiet and lonely weekend. It is certainly different when most of your friends husbands are home and yours is deployed...how soon we forget how it feels to have a deployed husband.

The FRG folks sent out a flyer with dates for the redeployment briefings. They will be in October, that feels good to know that when Terry gets back to Afghanistan it will be just a short 5 or so months left to go. Most of which will be filled with school, football, soccer and anticipation of holidays and then redeployment activities.

Halfway mark

2009-06-28T08:39:00.004-04:00

On the 26th of June we made it thru the halfway mark of the deployment. If all goes as planned Terry should be home in 6 months. It feels really great to be on the countdown.
Terry will be home in about two weeks for his R&R. We are very excited to see him and will have him for about 15 days. We are going to drive down to Virginia Beach to get away from Drum for a bit. We'll stop in DC on the way down and visit a museum or two.

The boys finally finished school on Friday, seemed like the never ending year.

The Fort Drum Mountainfest/Airshow is going on this weekend, and I took a chance to go late in the day to visit it and was disappointed that most things were not in full swing. We might have to go back today to tour the airplanes. I also thought we would enjoy the fireworks that they have only to realize the fireworks were on post and we could barely see them so we left...well over an hour later we made it home. Horrible time trying to get out of the parking lot and then they sent us 10 miles in the wrong direction to get home. CRAZY!

Harvard prof leaves lab for Afghan deployment

2009-06-27T23:51:00.001-04:00

This is a guy that Terry worked with in Afghanistan...must have made an impression on him as he was sad to see him leave.

Harvard prof leaves lab for Afghan deployment

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2009-06-17T21:53:00.001-04:00

That is a little Toad as they told me...it is about the 4th one Jason has captured. I guess he lets them go, I haven't seen any hopping in the house.

2009-06-17T21:30:00.002-04:00

New trees they planted behind the house today!

More new trees...aren't they nice!

Back of the house from the hill with the nice trees. All our stuff is on the porch to get it out of their way.

Front of the house, they just sprayed the grass stuff down again today, that is why it looks so green. The grass is starting to come up nicely. Won't be long now.

I have lots of flowers planted in about a million pots...oops bought a few too many flowers. As they get more established I will spread them out to enjoy.
Lots of people have moved in over the past week so we meeting our new neighbors slowly. For the most part it should be a very nice neighborhood.
I have the inside of the house unpacked, I just haven't hung pictures and stuff yet.
Looks like Terry will be home on R&R in the middle of July. We have a trip planned to Virginia Beach and then some quiet time here at home. Well quiet for me, Terry will be working on Honey Do list. When he returns to Afghanistan he will change jobs and join 4-25FA as their XO. He is anxious for the change.
Dylan is done with school on Friday, and the little boys will be done next week. And then we are done till Sept 8th.

Staying busy

2009-06-11T21:03:00.003-04:00

Life certainly hasn't slowed down since we moved, along with unpacking, walking the dog (still don't have a fence) and all my other single parent duties, I have been putting in time working with the person who currently does the books for the Gift shop. With interruptions it took much longer for us to go thru all the stuff she does. I think I have a pretty good grip on it and will enjoy the new challenge.

We are all adjusting well to the new neighborhood, we hosted a Happy hour on Friday, which was a huge success. We got to socialize with new neighbors and some old friends who are leaving Fort Drum soon. As always the food was good and the fire pit was warm.

20 houses were offered this week so the neighborhood will fill up over the next week or so. Most were people living on post in the older homes so I know a few of them. They finally sprayed the front yard with the grass seed, so in a week or two we should see some growth. The backyard is still a mess, they have been fixing the "problem" this week and hope to have it completely fixed tomorrow, they hinted that maybe our fence might get started. I was getting upset as they were starting to fence houses that were still in the construction zone...even before all the ones that were offered this week.

Terry is doing well, he will be home some time this summer for his 2 weeks of R&R. There is a bit of confusion on exactly when that will be. When he goes back, he will change jobs, he will be the X-O (Executive Officer) for 4-25 FA (Field Artillery). He is ready for the job change.

2009-05-25T08:08:00.003-04:00

My parents came for Tyler's 1st Holy Communion. It was really a special day for Tyler and us. He did a wonderful job, and he couldn't have looked any more grown up.

Moving drama

2009-05-25T07:39:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I think I have the worse luck...

On Monday May 11 I got to tour the house, got a crazy lady from the community center who basically ran thru the house turning light switches on and off (like I couldn't figure out where the lights are). At the end of the tour she starts asking me if I am going to take it or I have 24 hours to decide and how am I going to pay for the prorated rent.. Not often am I imitated by people but that day I was nervous and after all this time scared not to just take it...for many reasons. Bad choice!

Went to transportation after signing my life away, and was told they couldn't even meet with me till Wednesday...so two days of paying rent and I don't have moving dates...then I find out from a new neighbor that the construction company is planning to repave the one and only street into the neighborhood on the next Monday and Tuesday. So I can't move in either one of those days...now we are on a week of paying double rent. So I scheduled my move in date for Wednesday the 20th. All goes well, as far as the move except I know have a garage full of stuff I don't' want (just been moving it from house to house) and no fence for the dog. Monday morning while the packers are at the house I find out the paving has been delay till late summer due to supply issues.

All along I had been questioning housing on the fence...how long, when will it be up...

On Thursday I ask one of the guys working on the fences in the houses before mine when he is doing mine...go talk to the boss...okay...Mr. Boss man says there is a problem and starting with my house they can not go any further till a drainage pipe is fixed...a problem they found when they started the construction...so maybe in a couple of weeks. I email housing a nice note saying why wasn't I told of this...housing comes back with they didn't know there was a problem. So she has a meeting with the head of construction who says "yes there is a problem, didn't we tell you?" She says the drop dead date for us getting a yard is mid June...I am not happy at all since that is a question I asked a million times and I guess no one actually asked construction. Now that is customer service for you.

So the boys are having a blast with the dirt in the back yard and DB hates his kennel.

My other complaint is about the packers, they took the toys out of every container and dumped them in one box and then packed the containers empty...so every toy is in one big pile...like I have time to sit with the boys and sort 4 boxes of toys...

Some day we will have a house without boxes, but not very soon...and I may go crazy before then.

We were offered a house!!!!

2009-05-07T06:24:00.003-04:00

We finally got the call....

Sometime next week we will tour it and sign for it and then the fun of moving starts....so I was thrilled for about a minute before the reality of moving by myself and unpacking....set in. Transportation will move us..so that is nice. I just wish everything would jump out of the boxes and into the drawers and up on the walls.

Photos from Afghanistan

2009-04-30T06:22:00.002-04:00

Here's to a wonderful 18 years

2009-04-27T07:08:00.002-04:00

Wow what a journey it has been, living in 9 different states and in Germany. 3 kids, 4 cats, 2 birds, 2 dogs, 1 turtle, 1 frog, 1 or 2 fish. It really has been a wonderful 18 years, we have had bumps, walls, deployments and have come thru stronger and more committed. Thank you Terry for making me laugh, smile and holding me when I cry...but most of all thank you for picking me.

Happy Anniversary

They are moving the fence...

2009-04-26T18:33:00.002-04:00

Best picture ever...they are starting to move the fence in preparation to start releasing the houses...Whoo Hoo....hooah...Yea...it can't be too long now can it? This isn't the best picture...but to the left of the gate there used to be a fence...it is now along the houses to the right.

Surprise VTC with Terry

2009-04-23T21:40:00.002-04:00

Tonight we had a FRG meeting. (Family Readiness Group) I thought we were just going to make DVD's to send to the guys. Tyler and Jason did. But when we got there they had a big TV set up and I found out that some people were doing VTCs. I guess it was up to the soldier. It was 4:00 in the morning there. They did get Terry up and the boys were able to see and talk to him. It is hard as you are trying to get them to talk about stuff, but I know seeing him had to make them feel good. Even Dylan said it was a "Good Time". He looks good and was very happy to see the boys.

I am Blessed!

What's new

2009-04-23T07:20:00.004-04:00

I had a birthday....I am now 42, holy cow I remember when that was old, I am not old...

Terry, the boys and my Drum friends made the day special. I had mentioned to Terry that I saw a purse at the px that I liked, even took a picture with my phone and sent it to him (don't you just love technology) and he was able to call the px here at Drum from Afghanistan and buy the purse, then he told Dylan how to go get it. Wasn't that nice!!!

The boys made a cake and decorated it. I think they did a great job. They also bought me earrings that I had been eyeing at the Gift Shop where I volunteer.

A few of my friends decided to take me out to Texas Roadhouse the evening of my birthday and as always it was filled with fun and laughter.

I feel so blessed and never once felt sorry for myself the whole day that Terry wasn't here.

Lots of activities over the next couple of weeks, but most importantly Tyler makes his 1st Communion on May 2nd. My parents are coming on Wednesday and staying a couple of weeks. In a perfect world I would have moved and they would be helping me unpack, but we all know I don't live in a perfect world.

We will hit the 4 month mark this next week for Terry being gone...good that means only around 8 to go...

10th Mtn Division is coming back over the next month from Iraq, and of course I have mixed feelings as Terry did deploy with them last May. I am thrilled for the families as their "year" is over, I am just saddened realizing we are only a quarter of the way thru ours...that is how it is here, someone is always leaving and someone is always coming home.

Three generations on the Burns Ranch

2009-04-18T15:19:00.002-04:00

Jimmy (my oldest brother), Robert (my father), and Kirk

I don't know what to write about this picture that won't be incredibly sad...Kirk someday would have been in charge of the "Burns Ranch". If you ask Derek about it he says there were three chiefs (my brother, Daddy and Kirk) and one Indian (Derek). Kirk wasn't a straight A student in school, but he could tell you anything about land, cows and ranching in general.

Happy Easter

2009-04-11T22:34:00.004-04:00

I hope everyone has a very Happy Easter!

Someone in Afghanistan loves me!!!

2009-04-10T15:41:00.001-04:00

I saw Terry today on a VTC

2009-04-06T12:39:00.002-04:00

Today Col Haight had a VTC (Video Tele Conference) with all the spouses here at Drum. We were able to ask questions. I honestly can't tell you what he said for the most part. He did say that all the soldiers in 3 BCT were doing an outstanding job. He was honest in saying that it wasn't fun, it isn't easy and they would much rather be home with family. One more thing that he did say was that the MRAP vehicle that you probably have heard about, is worth every dime that it costs...they have had several of those involved in incidents where the vehicle was basically destroyed and the people inside walked away. If you ever have a chance to tell people about it please do...it is saving lives.

How it worked was there was a camera (probably on a laptop) pointed at Col Haight, CSM Byers and Col Peterson. On their laptop they could see the microphones where we could ask questions...eventually they started using a camera to pan out over the spouses that were present.

I asked Col Haight about Family VTC, which he had sort of covered before but he had the tech guy explain a little about how they were going to set it up so that families could get 15 minutes to talk to their spouse. It will be a few more months. I then told Col Haight and Col Peterson to tell my husband the next time they saw him that I loved and missed him. After the tech guy explained the process, Col Haight sent him to find Terry and brought him in, he had been working out so he was in his PT clothes...I of course started crying and I am not sure I even said anything to Terry....but it was great to see him and made me miss him all the more. It has been a little over 14 weeks since he left and this is the first time I have seen him other than in pictures...what a difference that makes...

So today I am on cloud nine!

MRAP

Housing and stuff

2009-04-04T21:58:00.003-04:00

On Thursday I decided it was time for my monthly check in with housing. No new news...May. They have no news from contractor which houses will be released, or how many or when. A few facts I did find out. They will release them without the back yard fences up....I guess the fencing company has to finish any they didn't complete last fall before the freeze. I don't even know how long it won't have a fence. This is bad news for me since we have DB trained to just let outside and be happy here on the farm. I am almost hoping it is in May due to that inconvenience...
They also will not spray the grass seed down till after Memorial day...due to it could frost or freeze again. Gotta love Upstate NY. So not only will they not have a fenced back yard, but it will be dirt/mud. GREAT!! Dang am I complaining.....Nah...just expressing some concerns.

In other great news we have a couple of inches of snow on the ground...it has been blowing and snowing all day...had it been colder we would probably have several more inches on the ground instead of the 1 or 2 that we do have.

My Tahoe let me down again today...stopped at the commissary with the kids, Dylan stayed in the car while the rest of us ran in for a few things. When I tried to start it NOTHING happened. Thank goodness a friends husband is home and he was able to come jump it. And like that isn't good enough for a deployment story our other vehicle Terry's Toyota pickup had a bit of a problem this week also. Tuesday before Yoga I went to dump a couple of bags of trash in a dumpster and when I went to move it over to the gym it wouldn't shift out of park...WHAT the heck is going on. Had to have it towed to the dealership where they discovered the after market hitch wiring had gone bad causing my brake lights to go out. Vehicle will not shift out of park when your brake lights don't work. So having one car go bad is bad but having them both go bad in the same week just sucks..

How many months are we into this deployment?

Task Force Spartan on YouTube

2009-04-03T07:13:00.002-04:00

The Army seems to really be trying to get out this info on what the troops are doing while deployed so that America really knows what is going on...it is one sided, you won't see anything bad on here only the good. This will be updated often so click play each time you visit my site if you would like to see new video..hopfully you will get the updated version.

OSC Women's Conference

2009-03-28T18:43:00.004-04:00

Yesterday and today I attended the OSC Women's Conference here on Fort Drum. I can not say enough good things about it. It was really wonderful and I enjoyed everything about it.
We had many choices of things to go to and these are the ones I choose over the two days.
Think Spring with Flowers (my creation in the basket)
Wine 101 - A local Winery taught us the basics of wine making in the North Country
Thousand Islands Winery
Spring into Decorative painting (my flower pot I painted)
Pottery for the Soul...a guy showed us how to make a bowl on a pottery wheel. Something I would definitely would like to try.
Fitness made Simple - How to get started exercising and tips for doing it at home.
Stamping Make & Take - see the adorable cards I made.
Jump start the Metabolism - Detox and what foods help the metabolic process.

Blizzard in NM

2009-03-27T21:39:00.002-04:00

My parents got to enjoy some Upstate NY weather today. They have had blowing snow all day. Wish they had a digital camera so they could snap a few pictures and send them to me....

They have electricity but my older brother and his wife don't. I certainly feel for them, it isn't any fun.

Of course they might hit 50 degrees tomorrow, I don't think that snow will last long there.

Nothing like the smell of Daddy

2009-03-23T08:18:00.003-04:00

Dylan had a boyscout camp out at one of the leaders backyards last night..Yesterday when we were gathering stuff he started looking for one of Dad's old Army backpacks, he went downstairs to the basement to look thru some of Dad's stuff. He came back upstairs and said "I can't find one, but I found a box of his stuff and it smells like Daddy" I of course got excited and said "really, it smells like him" and he said yes, come down and smell it. So off we went downstairs to the basement for me to smell Daddy's stuff and yes it did smell like Daddy.

Some people might not understand the pure joy of smelling the scent of your deployed loved one. And I am beyond thrilled that Dylan recognized it and told me, my kids continue to amaze me with their strength and resilience.

The good news is that we have made it thru 3 months, only about 9 more to go.

Who does this remind you of?

2009-03-18T21:39:00.004-04:00

Another joy of living in Upstate NY, is when all that snow does melt...the ground is muddy, wet and very nasty. We live on a farm, there is no way to avoid it, I have to walk thru it to get to my car.

DB also can't avoid it, not that he would if he could. So now every time he comes back in the house we have to wipe his feet off, I took this picture this morning when we were having quite a downpour and his feet were dirty.

Nothing like a wet dog with muddy feet.

Kirk in his element

2009-03-18T21:35:00.002-04:00

Hooah

2009-03-15T16:11:00.002-04:00

This is their full Battle Rattle uniform...make them look pretty tough huh! Of course that smirk on his face kind of ruins the tough guy look...

Could the snow season really be over?

2009-03-12T07:06:00.002-04:00

As soon as I type this we will get a lake effect snow and get another foot...I was looking at the 15 day forecast, the lowest we are suppose to get for the daily high is somewhere in the 30's with the majority of days being over 40. I am sure we still have plenty of nasty weather...rain, sleet, and so forth...but I am thrilled that just maybe we won't see another big snow this season.

The main reason I don't want another big snow is that it has to melt...and I have been blessed by God during this warm up period that alot of snow has melted and my basement hasn't flooded yet. It is melting just slow and steady enough to not saturate the ground just yet, and really I just have a couple of huge piles of snow around the house that would be a problem right now. The area around me is still 80% covered by snow, Fort Drum and Watertown have very little snow left. I guess we haven't gotten as warm, or haven't gotten as much of the rain that they have.

I have taken on two more little activities, I am going to be the treasurer for the Afghanistan project that 3 BCT is heading up. It is called Operation Education for Afghanistan. We will be collecting school supplies to send over to the schools in Afghanistan. If I can ever figure out how to put the flyer on my blog I will, otherwise I will email it out. It is a great project for Churches and Schools to undertake because it will directly benefit the Afghanistan people. And to be honest...the most effective way to participate will be to collect money and send us (the organization) a check so that we can buy the supplies (without shipping) and send them to the unit to distribute. We have a very specific list of supplies we are collecting so don't just send anything...again I will work at getting the flyer on by blog or email it out.

I am also going to keep the books for the gift shop where I currently Volunteer. We are a non profit business and all our profits go to the 10th Mountain Association. Most of the people that work at the shop do it on a volunteer basis.

Terry is staying busy, I haven't heard from him much in the past few days due to a big brief that they are preparing for. A friend once said we are trying to win the war on terror one slide at a time... You would not believe the time and effort that goes into preparing for a brief of a General. Many many hours are spent preparing slides, and usually they have to be redone many many times.

I told the housing lady I would leave her alone till April....do you think I can? I am still holding out hope that they might get some of the houses done early....we are having awfully good weather.

I am going quite regularly to a yoga class on post...we'll see if I reap any benefits.

Funny

2009-03-10T06:42:00.003-04:00

Yesterday at some point Dylan asked if I had gone to the gym because I was still in my workout clothes so I pretended to be kickboxing and threw some punches at him and kicked at him. So he says let's see how high you can kick. I still have shoes on (in one second you will see why this is important) and so i do my kick and it is pretty high. Tyler does his, and then it is Dylan's turn. He is only wearing socks...He does his kick and when he comes down his sock slips on the tile and down he goes right on his back. I tried really hard for the first second not to laugh, but it was just so funny. He was fine, just really embarrassed. I honestly could not stop laughing telling him was going to put it on my blog, and then he reminded me of another story he wanted me to put on my blog.

As you can imagine the lunch room at Dylan's school has pretty strict rules...there are times when you can and cannot talk. It comes to no surprise to me that Dylan often doesn't do well with that rule. So he tells me the other day that he has an assigned seat for a while since he got caught talking when he wasn't suppose to. He then tells me how mean the lunch ladies are. And apparently when you are getting in trouble you become either genius or sunshine. So when one person is getting in trouble his buddy might giggle and then he gets this "so you think that is funny sunshine how about you come over here and get an assigned seat yourself". It really is funny to hear Dylan tell it...but imagine some North Country woman calling the kids Sunshine and Genius...in my mind she probably has a cigarette hanging out of one side of her mouth.

Cute doesn't even begin to describe him!

2009-03-09T11:52:00.001-04:00

More pictures

2009-03-08T15:18:00.003-04:00

More pictures of construction....

After several friends told me they drove thru the new construction area...I braved it and went in this morning.

This first house is a 5 bedroom I think...two of my friends are on the 5 bedroom list and none of us knew what the 5 bedroom ones looked like. We think this extra room on the back of this house is another bedroom. The front is also a little different. The mud room door is set back, on the 3 and 4 bedroom houses the door and window are even.

Finally a picture of the front of the red house.

Fun pictures with the boys

2009-03-07T20:17:00.002-05:00

The boys and I had some fun and took some pictures tonight... I think they are cute..

Housing

2009-03-07T10:22:00.002-05:00

Housing sent out this invite to an Open house for all FGO...(Field Grade officers). So several us agreed to go together. Their basic message was that starting in May they would have 5 - 10 new houses to offer each month. We all agree that they are being conservative in their time line due to past mistakes of telling people when houses would be done. They met with people individually to talk about where they were on the wait list. Again I guess if you are 10 or 40 on the list maybe that would help you. Me not so much. All they told me was that I was in a good place and that I should start cleaning our closets. I was hoping to hear that they expected some of the houses to be ready in April. My parents are coming for Tyler's 1st communion in May and I was hoping to be moved..it would be so much easier.

Having said all that I drove by the housing today after dropping Dylan off at a boyscout event and I can tell that they are putting up dry wall in the red house that is already sided...

When do you think I will move?

Tooth Fairy is coming to our house tonight!!!

2009-03-05T20:48:00.003-05:00

Jason's tooth was about as loose as it could be, so Dylan offered to pull it. Jason agreed and that is that...

Dylan had him lay down...got the leatherman...got the pliers ready...couldn't get a good hold, I showed him how to get a better hold...us working together he got a good grip made two little pulls and on the third one...out came the tooth. Jason never made a sound. I just love how they both have dirty faces...

Giving up Facebook for Lent

2009-03-05T06:35:00.004-05:00

I am not afraid to say it...I am addicted to Facebook. We all get on there post what we are doing that minute and then read the funny comments that all our friends post about what we are doing. It is real time, you can let 200 people know what your new duty station is in about 5 seconds...not that 200 need to know or even care where I live.

The great thing about it is I have reconnected with Friends from all of our last duty stations...some of these people I wasn't close to but it was great to see where they had ended up...if they were still in the Army and how many kids they have. My current friends here in Drum us it as an invitation tool...want to get together for a drink...put it on facebook.

So when thinking about Lent this year I was leaning towards my usually no alcohol for the 40 days which i have done successfully for the past two years. I then thought about what was the one thing I was really into..that I could spend alot of time on...FACEBOOK..so I gave it up. I have posted a picture from my camera onto FB but I didn't have to log in to do that...I also posted this article from Fox news there today. Again i didn't look or read anything (I promise).

Thou Shalt Not Text Until Easter, Italians Told

Another fever

2009-03-04T21:12:00.002-05:00

Jason has caught something else and had to stay home with me today. He has a fever and a little bit of a runny nose and a slight cough. But when that fever gets going the boy feels like crap. Thank goodness Tylenol and Motrin do wonders for him.

I think we hit 25 today...but still had a pretty good breeze bringing that temp down to where it wasn't pleasant to be outside. Jason decided he needed to go outside with DB this afternoon so I thought that would be a good time to get the pickup started...it has been a while since I have had it started. It won't start at all when the temp is in the single digits so today when I tried it the battery was gone. When I mentioned to a friend that I was going to have to jump it, she was very impressed that I could jump a car...and today I did just that...with no problems.

Tomorrow it will be in the high 30s and then i think we hit 40 or close to it for the next 5 or 6 days...oh my gosh....above freezing temperatures in March. Could life get any better?

Cold, Cold, Cold

2009-03-02T20:40:00.002-05:00

Okay...it is March already...why do we need the daily high to be 10 degrees with a very negative wind chill?

Oh my gosh it was cold today..that bitter cold that once you are cold, it takes forever to warm up. My house also struggled to warm up today due to the nasty wind and not very air tight house.

My Tahoe threw me for a loop on Saturday when it wouldn't start. And of course that was one of those 5 degree mornings and the pickup wouldn't even think of starting either. So here I was on the Farm thinking I was going to be stuck here till I could get the Tahoe towed to a dealership to get fixed. Okay maybe that was a bit dramatic but it did occur to me. The Tahoe did end up starting after about 30 minutes. I took it to the dealership today and there was some electronic part that had to be replaced. All is well again.

Thoughts

2009-03-02T06:27:00.003-05:00

I know I keep posting the picture of the red house...doesn't mean I will get that one. What I assume will happen and of course I may get all these answers Friday at the very important FGO Housing Open House...I am assuming the ones that are being sided first are the first ones they will finish...and will be offered as they are finished...so depending on the status of the one person ahead of me that does not have a hold of some sort on his name. And the two people ahead of me with holds on their names can come off any time they damn well please...so in all honesty I have no idea what house I will be offered.....

We are having a bit of a cold snap while people in NYC are getting a foot of snow or is that in Boston...oh well at least it isn't here. We haven't had any to speak of for a couple of weeks. But it is very cold the high today is in the teens...overnight below 0 and then a slow warm up and maybe hit the 40's by the weekend. I can't tell you how happy it makes me when it hits 40. I used to think people were exaggerating when they talked about getting out the BBQ when the temp gets above 40...it is so true, it actually feels warm when it is 40.

I have to send out a big Thanks to a few close friends that got me thru the week of the Anniversary of Kirk's accident. With their kind words and actions they made it much easier. I have been blessed with meeting people here that go above and beyond the call of duty to help out. And thanks to all the people not here that sent their thoughts to us. Trust me on this one you want to hear that people are thinking of you during a rough time, so don't be afraid to write a note that simply says "I am thinking about you". This small effort means the world.

Jason has his first loose tooth. The boy turned 5 at the end of November and already has a loose tooth. He is so excited. Tyler is also going to lose another one soon.

I am worried we might have a skunk near by. A couple of nights ago I let DB out and a few minutes later he was barking. I go out to check on him and smell skunk...I have him come in (he wasn't sprayed) but I don't know where the skunk was. Tyler says that when you start seeing ground hogs and smelling skunks that means it is Spring...and to think I thought Daffodils meant Spring was here. Also the maple sap is starting to move in our maple trees...there are maple icicles coming off of it.

Sunny day

2009-03-01T19:12:00.003-05:00

What a great Sunny day to show the progress on the new homes. They have finished siding this one and have started on the next one. I did walk up to this one to get a picture of what is behind it. I don't see much progress inside but I am sure they are doing the electrical and plumbing. Housing is holding an Open House for all the Field Grade Officers (Majors and LT.Cols) on Friday. I am hoping they are going to have some dates on when these houses will be done...

This is the view this house will have from the back yard...not my favorite...lots of these houses have big trees behind them...wish this one did and it would almost be perfect.

2009-03-01T18:15:00.003-05:00

I finally gave into the boys and we made a trip to the local ski resort DRY HILL. Too bad I decided to go after we had several days of warm weather and a big rain. The hill and tubing run were icy. Dylan made the best of it and seem to have a good time. Jason and Tyler made about three trips down the sledding hill and were done for the day. We have such great snow this winter and I am sad that I didn't take them sooner. Oh well.

Housing

2009-02-22T21:34:00.003-05:00

There is progress!!!!

2009-02-22T21:13:00.004-05:00

A year ago today is the day we laid Kirk to rest...

The funeral was very well done, the Church was packed and there were too many people at the cemetery to count. An old friend of the family sang this George Strait song at the graveside service. Kirk's horse and dog were there. It was a fitting way to say Good bye.
I thought it was quite a coincidence that today while waiting for Church to begin the Protestant service sang the song I can only Imagine. My brother sang it at Kirk's funeral.

George Strait - The Cowboy Rides Away.
Uploaded by taduckly_">

2009-02-16T22:36:00.005-05:00

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.

The tough week has started

2009-02-15T23:59:00.003-05:00

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.

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-14T20:01:00.006-05:00

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.

Lazy blogger

2009-02-10T16:20:00.002-05:00

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....

Weather

2009-02-03T08:33:00.005-05:00

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...

2009-01-31T08:14:00.001-05:00

This is one of those stories that just brings you back to what it is all about!

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Life for us

2009-01-26T16:29:00.004-05:00

Life continues for us with a ton of snow on the ground and a new foot or so every weekend or so it seems to be for the past few weeks. Even though everyone is so so done with it we also realize we have a good two full more months of this weather.

Today when I went out to add wood to the wood furnace outside I realized it was shut off. Not sure what went wrong... but since I only have a few weeks worth of wood left, I don't think I will pay to have it fixed, since I am not sure if I will be reimbursed. So that puts us on propane for the next two months (or however long we still live here). I called the propane company today to get a delivery and she said there is a propane shortage...are you kidding me.....I will get enough to last a month or so, which is fine with me...but propane shortage...how does that happen?

Talked to housing today and they are still estimating end of April before new homes will be done and people assigned to them. Since I have no idea how long it takes to build a new home in upstate NY...I have to believe them. Some of them have the paper wrapping and windows in... I didn't get by this weekend to get pictures due to the snow so maybe next week I will get a new picture up of the progress. I have to give those construction guys credit...they are still framing a bunch and if you have been watching our weather we have had very few days above 20 degrees...glad I don't do that for a living.

Dylan has decided he wants a Leopard Gecko.

I figure it is a harmless enough pet so this week when he is getting out of school early for the next three days we will go check one out at Petco.

Terry is doing well. They are at their final home for the next year. The living conditions are much better than we anticipated. He is still fighting a cold that he has had since arriving in Afghanistan. Here are some photos of him there and a lovely sunset.

He is making new friends, some artillery folks from France last week. We (he) have been so lucky in our many years in the Army of meeting so many soldiers from around the world, and like most of the American soldiers we have had the privilege to serve with they too are the best their country has to offer.

So with a month under our belts the kids and I are doing well and staying positive for the most part. We all have our "poor me" moments but they pass and we move on to the next thing.

Clark kids at their best

2009-01-21T07:28:00.000-05:00

And I wonder why none of our airbeds hold air!!!

11 months

2009-01-18T13:37:00.002-05:00

Today is my sister in law's birthday... Happy Birthday Liz.

It is also a month before the year anniversary of losing Kirk.

Kirk was a meat and potatoes kind of man...he loved certain things more than others here are a few I can think of....

Grandma's homemade buns
Green chile
BBQ sauce
and
Homemade ice cream and homemade fudge sauce

Wonder what his favorite things in Heaven are?

2009-01-17T10:19:00.002-05:00

I looked out the window at 3:00am...no snow yet. At 7:40 I woke to the dog barking and looked outside and we probably had at least a foot of new snow...It has almost stopped now at 10:30am. I would guess anywhere between 1.5 to 2 feet of brand new snow....and it is 8 degrees....Gotta love upstate NY weather.

The snow that DB was walking thru was as tall as he is his back....

This is looking at my neighbors house...where is it?

Different mindset living here

2009-01-14T07:23:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we had a front blow in...along with lake effect snow we had wind like you wouldn't believe. So what do we do...we get in a car last night at 6:30 and make the 10 or 15 mile trip to Fort Drum for a mandatory parent meeting for Tyler's 1st reconciliation. 5 years ago I would have never driven in weather like that on snow packed roads, yesterday I did it with 3 kids in the car. About 2 miles outside of Drum there were white out conditions, and I am not kidding about the white out part. Don't forget that the roads are all ready snow packed, so they are white, everything on either side of the road has 2 or more feet of snow on it and now the sky is white. I can see how easy it would have been to just drive off the road, since I had no idea where the road was. For MOM...I didn't realize how bad it was when I left the house, and once I got in the stuff, never in a million years would I have tried to turn around in it...going strait and hoping the car in front of me was on the road was all I could do. By the time the meeting was over, it had stopped snowing and was just blowing and only in a few places was the snow blowing so hard across the road making it really hard to see.

Now our temperature for the next 3 days is going to hover around 3 or 4 above 0....At night another story, one night they are expecting -20 or below. That is some cold stuff for us at least. Again I just don't really need to retire here or spend any extra time if we can help it, just not my cup of tea.

Tyler Robert Clark

2009-01-12T11:12:00.002-05:00

Found the baby pictures last week, but couldn't get the scanner to communicate with the computer...all is well today. Here is Tyler the day he was born...a little background.

I was huge...the people at work asked me daily if I was having twins. At 36 weeks my doctor assured me I wasn't having a big baby... My due day came and went with no baby. (even more background, Dylan was breech so I had to have a c-section, this time I was able to choose and wanted to try have him). At 41 weeks they do a stress test and discovered there wasn't much fluid and decided to induce me...this was on Friday the 5th. Around noon they started the pitocin and all was good till 11:00 that night, I was having good contractions, but wasn't progressing much, so they decided to stop the pitocin and let me sleep. I continued to have contractions all night and starting getting that they call titanic contractions lasting well over 3 minutes and gave me some drug to stop all contractions. At this point the doctor on call asked me what I wanted to do...C-SECTION!!! Tyler was born about 45 minutes later and when they weighed him we discovered why he didn't want to come out...he was 10 lbs and 3 oz....

Time flies....

2009-01-11T21:09:00.002-05:00

Just occured to me today that a year ago today we moved into this house...it was cold, rainy and the heat didn't work all weekend. We had spent the prior 3 weeks in various places finally at an Apartment I wouldn't wish on anyone. And no house on post any time soon. (Most likely March/April time frame.)

This last week was very crazy...Monday our first day back after Christmas started off well for the boys with a two hour delay for school, Tuesday was Tyler's birthday and we all enjoyed our family party. Wednesday school was cancelled and I hurt my back and couldn't stand up straight for the rest of the day, thank goodness Dylan was around to help out. Thursday was another two hour delay for school, but they did go and I did make it to get my hair cut and colored, it looks much better. Friday we had dinner at a friends house with 4 other families for a total of 18 kids ranging in age from 14 to 10 months. Saturday was Tyler's friend party at a place called Velocity in Watertown, where the kids played on huge bouncy houses and played laser tag and ate tasty pizza and cake. Great day.

My favorite Dog in the world (DB) learned a new trick...or maybe I should say he forgot a trick. Friday morning after Dylan left, but before Jason and Tyler left for school he went down in the basement for some reason. I heard him whimpering, but thought him and a cat might be having a standoff...finally I look down there and he has his stuffed pheasant in his mouth looking up at me...okay no cat in the way, just come on up. I wasn't worried to much and the kids tried to bribe him with treats and such, no luck. I got them on the bus, opened and closed the door a few times (he loves to go outside with me) no luck. I went down and tried to have him walk up with me, no luck. Went and got a hamburger out of the fridge...gave him a bite put another bite a few stairs up and more a few more stairs up...NO LUCK. I got his leash and tried to force him up, NO LUCK. I finally had to get behind him and put his paws on the 2nd step and lift his bottom on the bottom step and move his paws to the next step and lift his bottom to the next step...and so forth all the way up. He has been up and down those stairs a million times in the past year, and has never had a problem. He goes upstairs to the bedrooms all the time. I don't know why he has decided the basement stairs are scary... Love my 80lb brave dog.
And wouldn't you know he went downstairs twice on Saturday and Dylan and I had to bring him up the same way both times...Door is now shut...but it is only a matter of time till someone leaves it open.

So life is going well we have a house over our heads, kids are thriving at school. Terry made it to his final destination.

Happy Birthday Tyler

2009-01-06T20:55:00.003-05:00

Tyler celebrated his 8th birthday today. Wish I had the energy to go thru my boxes to find I picture of my 10 lb 3 oz boy, maybe tomorrow. He had a great day today and on Saturday we will play laser Tag with several of his buddies.

Holy cow it has been almost a month

2009-01-04T15:28:00.004-05:00

That just shows you how crazy it got here the few weeks before Terry left...so today after dropping the kids off at CCD I drove to the new houses...and got out and checked one out...so here are the updated photos...

I really like the location of this one...we'll see if I can sweet talk my way into it...

This is the house I always take a picture of...

Where did the week go?

2009-01-03T21:49:00.004-05:00

I was surprised to realize today that a week has gone by since Terry left. Maybe that is a sign that the next 51+ will go.

I received a really nice Thank you note in the mail today from my neighbors. We had given them a basket of goodies for Christmas as a small token of thanks for all they have done for us. In the note she thanks us for the items in the basket ending with an ornament that says Fort Drum saying they will think of us each year when they put it on the tree. She goes on to offer their help during Terry's deployment. At the end she mentions that having a "military neighbor" helps them to see the sacrifices the families make for our country.

I was moved to tears by her kind words. I am so eternally grateful for what they have done for us in the year we have lived here. God is taking care of me....

Deployment Ceremony speech

2009-01-02T09:45:00.002-05:00

Finally found a video from the Deployment ceremony...the sound is not great but is worth listening too...Turn your speakers up, that might help. Also you have to listen to one other story before the Deployment video comes on. One more thing, to turn off my music player, look at the player and at the very top left hand corner under the picture there is a box with two lines on it, click on this and it will pause the music.

Happy New Year "2009"

2008-12-31T22:47:00.002-05:00

2008 was a tough year....I won't even go there

2009 I will probably only see my husband for 2 weeks... I won't even go there

I certainly pray that 2009 brings moments and memories that I will carry with me the rest of my life and look back and laugh and say oh that happened in 2009 when Terry was deployed to Afghanistan.

I pray that my family, and friends stay healthy and make wise choices...I pray for world peace, that's a new one.

I pray that I take better care of myself in 2009, more exercise, better food choices, less margaritas (okay maybe I am not praying so hard for that one).

I pray that Terry and the rest of 3 BCT come home safely at the end of the year and they exceed all expectations.

I pray 2009 brings laughter, love and all good things to each of you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

One Day at a time

2008-12-29T21:35:00.003-05:00

The day after Terry left I decided to take down the Christmas stuff and rearrange the stuff in the basement...just in case of a flood. Not 24 hours after doing that the basement did flood. With all the rain and warm weather the ground was just saturated so it comes in the basement....I wasn't feeling well at all Sunday (the day of the great flood) but between the little kids vacuuming up water and Dylan and I hauling it outside we got lots out of the basement. I was overwhelmed, not feeling good and tired as could be and it was only day 2 of the deployment. I checked the basement before going to bed to discovered the water was back at the level where we had started..oh well it has to freeze again right?

Monday I wake up to Tyler yelling at me around 6:00am throwing up...he was sick as a dog all day. The water did go down and there is only a little that we will have to vacuumed up tomorrow. I also decide that our outdoor furnace is low on water and before Terry had left we discussed how we might put more in, he said there is a cap on top where he had to add some solution back in the fall, he thought I could add water there. So with Dylan in tow I climb on a ladder and add 2 quarts of water, no change, then a gallon and 2 quarts, no change. Finally I get on the phone with the guy that installed it and he tells me turn on the pressure valve down by the boiler and that will fill it....He might as well have been speaking French because when I get down in the basement there are about a million valves. So I call another number he gave me to someone here in Carthage who sounds about 18 and he starts trying to help me over the phone. Again he is speaking French and I am speaking Russian, but he is able to direct me to the right valve and I get it turned on and it fills the tank...
We had incredible high winds here on Sunday, about 30 minutes North of here on the bridge going to Canada they recorded 75 miles per hour gusts.. Here at the house at some point the wind got under the trampoline and blew it down the field.... I will have Dylan hike to it to take a photo. FYI the trampoline belongs to the owner of the house not us.

So with Day 3 under our belts I am again positive and sure that we can do this...be sure to check back for more deployment adventures.

Did I mention it is snowing again?

And so it begins.....

2008-12-26T20:15:00.002-05:00

We dropped Terry off tonight about 4:30pm...I think they were going to fly out of Drum a little after midnight and it will take several days to get to their final destination. Please keep him and the other soldiers in your daily prayers.

Today's the day

2008-12-26T09:38:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas day....the power went out on Christmas eve around 11:00PM or so due to incredible high winds. The wind gusts were so bad that the house shook and I was waiting for the roof to just fly off. In the morning we found a few things moved, but damaged the most was a pretty new basketball goal that the owners had put in to cement, yesterday it was bent over backward...amazing!!!

Terry and I took advantage of the good weather on Christmas to move part of the 4 cords of wood that were dumped on the driveway and had been snowed on and rained on a few times.

The boys were thrilled with all their stuff. Santa brought the family Rock Band for Wii and a Nerf game for Wii. I haven't played the Nerf game yet, but the boys love it and Rock Band is too much fun!!!

After a nice dinner we talked to family and played a bit and then Terry started packing. We talked about Terry leaving right after Christmas so I think yesterday during dinner I mentioned that we would have to take Daddy to work today so that he could go to Afghanistan. Once or twice Tyler has said he will miss Daddy, Jason hasn't ever really said anything. Last night as I was taking them to bed...Jason asks Terry "Are you going to be here in the morning?". So...today we start the clock...he should be home no later than January 15 2010.

Some fun snow pictures

2008-12-23T21:54:00.006-05:00

This was on Sunday during our big blizzard...we probably got over 20 inches between Saturday night and Monday morning!

When in Northern New York you have to appreciate the snow...we have had a lot since October proabally between 80 - 100 inches.... Kids know how to enjoy it.

Jason sliding off the barn roof!

Tyler Sliding off the barn roof!

Dylan sliding off the roof!

Dylan sleding off the barn roof!!

Tyler sleding off the barn roof!!!

Emotional Rollercoaster.....

2008-12-21T17:17:00.003-05:00

All of you know how right before your husband deploys how crazy and emotional it can get...

Terry recently learned that a couple we have known for over 12 years, who seemed to have it all, are no longer together. When he told me we both felt this sadness that just wouldn't go away.

Today I received a Christmas card from some friends and found out that one of them has just gone thru a very scary and dangerous health situation.

So...it might be best just to not talk to me for the next week or so, cuz my emotions are CRAZY!!!

2008-12-18T09:01:00.002-05:00

I can't believe this is the only Christmas picture I can find of Kirk...this is from 1996 I think. Wonder what he is thinking?

My whole family will be gathered for Christmas at my mom's house this year..all but Kirk and us. How very sad that makes me!!!

December 18, 2007

2008-12-18T08:46:00.003-05:00

After a very crazy drive across half the country in a very bad winter storm we arrived in Watertown/Fort Drum a year ago today. With 3 kids, 2 cats and 1 dog, driving two cars, one pulling a travel trailer we made it after driving for 5 days thru weather you might not go to the grocery store in (well people that don't live in Northern New York). A year later we are still waiting for a house on post (think Spring) survived a short deployment and have prepared for another one, survived on no heat and water problems. In our year here we have made many wonderful friends all who at the drop of a hat would come running to help, changed units, I have been a part of 3 coffee groups. On a side note, we still miss our friends that we spent 2 1/2 years with in Monterey and Leavenworth and all our dear friends from Leavenworth that went several different directions.

What's new

2008-12-15T07:12:00.002-05:00

I don't know where the last week went, but it is gone and I didn't post a thing. Monday started off the week bad when the temperature that morning was -15, yes that is a minus in front of the 15. Our living room heat decided to take that day off so it was a chilly day in the Clark house. Terry left for Washington DC to meet with some secret people about operations in Afghanistan and wouldn't you know that no sooner was he gone that a full blow cold hit me. For the next couple of days I was pretty miserable.
Friday brought our Deployment ceremony, my second one in a year. If you have never been to one, it is military tradition at it's finest. 3 BCT has 5 Battalions (I think) under it so each Battalion is represented by a few folks and they are in formation. Each Battalion has a different Flag (their Colors). During the ceremony Col Haight (3BCT commander) calls to the Battalions to case their colors. So one by one they take their colors (the flag) and roll it up and put a cover on it. They will stay cased till they arrive and get start their job in Afghanistan and will have another ceremony there to uncase the colors. After the Battalions are done then Col Haight and his Command Sergent Major cased the 3 BCT colors. Col Haight gave an incredible speech and then the 10 th Mountain Division Rear Detachment Commanding General said a few words.
On Saturday my friend Angie hosted a gingerbread making party so Tyler and Jason and I went and had a ton of fun making our house.

2008-12-07T21:00:00.002-05:00

This is Saturday after the foot of fluffy snow that we received on Friday. We got another 5 or so inches today. Very cold tonight I am sure we will wake up to negative Temps in the am.

Progress!!!

2008-12-07T20:57:00.000-05:00

Salute to Stars, Stripes & Soldiers

2008-12-02T08:47:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was our deployment brief..during the brief they explain the mission, show us where they are going and then several post agencies get up and talk about how they can help during the deployment or help prepare for the deployment. The Rear Detachment Commander spoke in length about the Causality Notification process. Just hearing the information makes your mind wonder to "what if it is us", just enough to make tears come to my eyes.

Today Spouse Buzz had a post about a blog of a wife whose husband was injured in Afghanistan in late October and died yesterday. Not for the faint of heart to read.

I often get caught up in worrying about how I am going to survive for the next year, do I have enough wood to get me thru the winter, can I make it out here on the farm by myself thru the toughest 3 months of the year? Can I be a good single parent? Will anyone come visit me and keep me company for even a weekend? During all this worrying about me I often forget that he is headed to a dangerous place to do a dangerous job. They will be at around 8000 ft, living in tents, eating MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) and eventually their showers will have hot water. (Eventually, are you kidding me?) They will miss birthdays, anniversary's, football games, award ceremony's, school musicals.

To keep my mind occupied during the next 12 months I have a goal. I found this project on a blog and I would like to make one of these quilts every month that Terry is gone. Salute to Stars, Stripes & Soldiers I have a group of women here that I know are going to get together to make some of these, but if you would like to help I can think of several ways that you can. 1. Donate the fabric to make one quilt, send it to me and I will make it. 2. If you can sew, make one and donate it. 3. If you can't sew and would still like to participate you can buy the fabric, and I can help you cut it out (that doesn't require too many skills) and I will sew it.

Where are they now!!!

2008-11-30T21:25:00.003-05:00

Terry spotted this photo over the weekend, and I had to post it. This was from the St. Barbara's Day ball January 2005 Raimstein Germany. Starting from the left are Pete and Beth Kremzar (Fort Benning - Pete is currently almost half way thru a year tour in Saudi Arabia. Beth is expecting their 3rd child). Next are Peter and Caroline Sittenauer (Fort Sill - I believe Peter is teaching at the Artillery school). Casey and Rynn Randall (West Point). Rynn goosed Caroline seconds before the photo...What a great group of friends.

5 years old!!!!

2008-11-28T21:19:00.002-05:00

5 years ago today Terry was in Iraq and I was in Amarillo TX having a baby. I was living with my parents and all the family was gathered for Thanksgiving. I woke up on Friday having contractions and after a call to my doctor (2 hours away) Mom and Dad took me to the hospital, after they decided I was in Labor they went ahead and scheduled my C-section for that day. At around 12:45 I had a baby boy, with my Mother by my side during the whole surgery. My brother John, Daddy and Mom got to see them give him his first bath. John was able to complete the complicated phone call to Terry to let him know (Terry didn't even know I had gone to the hospital). What a sweet 5 year old.....

I have some stinkin cute kids

2008-11-24T21:05:00.001-05:00

A warning

2008-11-24T07:25:00.003-05:00

Someone I knew since childhood died this past week from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. His family lives next door to my parents (over a hill and about a mile away). He was living a very full and successful life. It is very sad. Please go out and buy a Carbon monoxide tester today, it might save your life.

Annoying Construction photos again

2008-11-24T07:13:00.003-05:00

They are building so many 4 bedroom houses that every other one is a 4 bedroom. I guess they are also building a few 5 bedroom, but I don't know what one of those looks like, so I could be confusing the 4 and 5 bedroom ones.

This would be a nice one to have as long as the plant some trees behind it after construction is over.

This is the one I always take a picture of.

The one far off by the woods between these two would be an ideal one for us...I can dream all I want.

In this picture you can tell the difference between the 3 and 4 bedroom. The one on the right goes over the porch, the one on the left does not, and the 4 bedroom has 2 windows in the back and over the garage, the 3 does not.

Where are they now?

Where have I been?

Welcome Home

365 days ago

23 days or so

1 more Month

Thankful

Wow

God is taking care of us.....

9 months down.....

Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Fallen Soldier - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com

1st Day of school

Happy birthday Ashlee

Article on 4-25 FA

Heart of Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Goes to Family Friend - Heart Disease - FOXNews.com

Small Army....

Found my husband

I can't find my husband

New Job for Terry

Happy 4th of July

Halfway mark

Harvard prof leaves lab for Afghan deployment

Staying busy

Moving drama

We were offered a house!!!!

Photos from Afghanistan

More news stories from Emeded Reporter in Afghanistan

Here's to a wonderful 18 years

They are moving the fence...

Surprise VTC with Terry

What's new

Three generations on the Burns Ranch

Happy Easter

Someone in Afghanistan loves me!!!

I saw Terry today on a VTC

Housing and stuff

Task Force Spartan on YouTube

OSC Women's Conference

Blizzard in NM

Nothing like the smell of Daddy

Who does this remind you of?

Kirk in his element

Hooah

Could the snow season really be over?

Funny

Cute doesn't even begin to describe him!

More pictures

Fun pictures with the boys

Housing

Tooth Fairy is coming to our house tonight!!!

Giving up Facebook for Lent

Another fever

Cold, Cold, Cold

Thoughts

Sunny day

Housing

The tough week has started

Happy Valentines Day

Lazy blogger

Weather

Life for us

Clark kids at their best

11 months

Different mindset living here

Tyler Robert Clark

Time flies....

Happy Birthday Tyler

Holy cow it has been almost a month

Where did the week go?

Deployment Ceremony speech

Happy New Year "2009"

One Day at a time

And so it begins.....

Today's the day

Some fun snow pictures

Emotional Rollercoaster.....

December 18, 2007

What's new

Progress!!!

Salute to Stars, Stripes & Soldiers