Safe in Iraq

Matt has arrived safely to Iraq. He is living with Will (bestman in the wedding) and next to a few other friends. Matt and Will are working on getting things cleaned up and settling in. The facilities are great. They even have Baskin Robbins ice cream! Matt said that he had a few pieces of mail waiting on him when he arrived. If you haven't gotten his address yet, let me or Pat or Donna know and we'll get it to you. Please keep Matt in you thoughts and prayers, there is still a long ways to go.

Julie Is Growing A Baby!

Julie was in town for the night on Friday. We were all amazed at how much her belly is showing now! Of course we all had to rub her belly and talk to the baby... It won't be long now until we know if its gonna be a boy or girl!!! Julie seems to be past the worst of the pregnancy now, she rarely gets sick anymore. She continues to work hard at church as always.

Still In Kuwait

I have talked to Matt a few times this week and he is doing good. He has had more busy days than lazy days this week. He wrote an email today at about 11pm his time just before going to bed. He continues to enjoy the free Baskin Robbins ice cream. However, it seems he enjoys telling me about the ice cream more than eating it.

Amy

Last night was a girls night out. Allison (from Florence) had come to Huntsville with Austin (her youngest child) and was staying the night with her mom. Allison's mom graciously offered to babysit so the two of us could go out. We ended up going to the Big Spring Jam for a while then headed out to a Bar in downtown Huntsville. We had tons of fun!! And yes, we did behave...
I tried to convince Julie to go out, but she generally gets tired early these days.

I have got my work schedule through the first week of November and will be working full time. However, I won't be working too much around the time Julie is due, and I won't be working at all when Matt is home for mid-tour.

Austin Pullen

Austin is Allison's son who has Lukemia. He is doing wonderfully and is growing like a weed. They are headed back to St Jude's this week and will be there for a month. They are going for Austin's scheduled high dose Chemo treatment. This will be a rough time for them but Austin is a trooper. Please keep this family in your thoughts.

My Hubby

Talked to Matt this afternoon!! He was saying that some days are really busy and some days aren't. For example, today he didn't really have anything to do and he played video games for about 3 hours. Matt has a few good friends in his unit who he sees everyday. This makes me feel good to know he has someone close to him there. The guys seem to enjoy having eachother around too.
As for me, I'm starting back to work and getting back into the swing of things.

Matt

Matt is still doing good. He has had a little trouble getting his sleep clock adjusted. The phone and internet facilities are pretty good. He has been able to call or email (sometimes both) everyday. Plus he isn't too terribly busy, so he has some free time.

Here is an excerpt from an email I got today: "All things considered, it is going okay. It is kind of weird because as much as I hate the fact that we are back here already, and as much as I hate this barren wasteland, and mostly as much as I hate being away from you, there is an odd comfortableness to this place.. it's familiar as opposed to new, so things really don't bother me much. The food continues to be great, showers are nice (taken one everyday), and they have a reliable laundry system."

Despite the fact that Matt and I are so far away, we are surviving...

Safe Arrival

Matt has arrived safely to Kuwait. He called me just before he was going to bed. Matt said that the quality of life is much better this year. He has come accross a few friends since his arrival. Not too much else really to update on...Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.