Catching Up

With our unexpected trip I didn't get any posts up or scheduled, so I'm catching up.

Clayton we got our mail delivered today and your packet to us was in it. Great picture of you in the magazine. I'll post it on the blog later so others can see.

Also, as I was unpacking and cleaning today I moved a chair cushion and found that I forgot to send one of your Christmas presents. So, guess what you'll get it in the next care package. Nope - not going to tell you. :)

Uncle Gary & Aunt Karen, Aunt Vickie & Uncle Alan, Kyle & Tashina, Mike and Jennifer & Justin are coming to Grandma's this weekend to have Christmas.

To everyone else: You may have read in a previous post that Barry and I took 8 days to drive to Georgia to take care of some things for my Daddy. Hopefully things will improve from now forward. We talked to Clayton via phone twice while gone. One was on Christmas day and that was the present I wanted - to hear his voice. He's doing well.

Trip to Georgia

Dad and I took an unplanned 8 day trip to Georgia to check on Grandpa Stafford. He had a stroke earlier in the year and we wanted to make sure his health issues were being addressed. We got a lot taken care of while there and will continue to follow up from here.

Thought I'd share these pics with you.

They still have these grocery stores in Georgia.

Yum. Nuff said.

We got to see Linda, Tressie & Jessica and families while in Georgia. I didn't take pictures when were all together but here is a picture of Linda's 5th baby. He was born the day before Thanksgiving.


Cameron Robert Isaiah Guthrie



The above picture was taken at Granny and PawPaw's house. We stopped in for a quick visit on Christmas day. Granny cooked Christmas dinner so Dad and I ate there before heading out to Tressie's to see everyone. It was a nice visit with Granny, PawPaw and your Aunt Pam. Your Granny will be 80 on her birthday in January.

Christmas Trees

With you being gone I almost didn't put up the trees. Decided to go ahead.

Bath

Dad gave your truck a bath :)

Kitchen Changes

I forgot to send you the before and after pics of the kitchen. Looks much better. We still have to pick out tile for the backsplash and repaint.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a Merry Christmas! We miss you and love you beyond words!

This & That

Dad tells me he is working down there in the basement. Wonder how much he actually gets done?

Its been cold here lately. Nothing says cozy like a nice fire.

And, here are pics of my birthday gifts. Thank you for the camera backpack.

What we look like

Dad and I don't want you to forget what we look like. Ha ha! We went to KC this weekend for his office party. We had breakfast at the Old 56 in Olathe. Still looks the same and the food was really good! I finally got to see a different tie on Dad this weekend at the Christmas party. He has been faithful in wearing the flag tie to church every week. I will be glad to retire it! We miss you!

Love,
Mom & Dad

12 Days of Penguins - Day 12

On the twelfth day... we bring you:

12 Days of Penguins - Day 11

On the eleventh day... we bring you:

12 Days of Penguins - Day 10

On the tenth day... we bring you:

Update on Clayton

Just a quick post to update everyone on Clayton. We talked to him last week and also this past Tuesday night and Wednesday. Those 2 calls brought me birthday wishes. It was the one thing I wanted most - to hear his voice on my birthday. My birthday also marked 7 months of his one-year deployment. I have never wanted to age so fast in my life but I can hardly wait until this year is behind us and a distant memory.

He is doing well. The weather is about what we are experiencing here in Kansas. I'm sure they are ready for cooler temps after the heat they experienced this summer. Hopefully where he is located will be somewhat protected from the extreme cold.

He is back to 12 hour days most likely until January. But we know that is always, always subject to change. He seems to bounce back and forth so often I can't keep up. Please keep him and our troops in your prayers. We are experiencing our first Christmas without him. Thanksgiving just wasn't the same and I know Christmas won't be either. There are so many families like us. I am hoping we will get a video call with him. I haven't seen his face in a while. Hearing his laughter over the phone is great but seeing his face and smile is so wonderful.

12 Days of Penguins - Day 9

On the ninth day... we bring you:

Santa and the chimney

Uh, tell me again how the big guy gets down the chimney with all this fire.

What! No Santa Claus. Waaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!

Is that how you felt? Ha ha!

12 Days of Penguins - Day 8

On the eighth day... we bring you:

12 Days of Penguins - Day 7

On the seventh day... we bring you:

12 Days of Penguins - Day 6

On the sixth day... we bring you:

We miss you!

12 Days of Penguins - Day 5

On the fifth day... we bring you:

12 Days of Penguins - Day 4

On the fourth day... we bring you:

12 Days of Penguins - Day 3

On the third day... we bring you:

Happy Holidays

It's getting that time of year again!

Over here the weather has turned agreeable to me. Which means low 40's and I find that I am enjoying the cold more so than others.

Thank you for the suprise package. I hadn't checked my email in a while so when I went to gather the mail for my section I was suprised to see one for me. Thank you!

I try very hard not to count down the days. All around me I hear others doing it, counting months, weeks or how many paychecks they have left in country. It works better for me just to let one day blend into the next.

Will I wait till Christmas to open the boxes from mom and dad? I think not!

Another earthquake last night. Just a boom with a short rumble. Lasted about 15 seconds total. Thought we were under attack again but we quickly realized what it was when our B-Hut started to shake just a little. I never knew earthquakes made a boom sound as they first start when the ground rips and grinds against itself.

So long for now!

PS - The oatmeal cream pies did not last long. Thank you for those :)

You've Got Mail

Hi Clayton,

These left today. Are you going to wait until Christmas day to open them? Talk to you soon.

12 Days of Penguins - Day 2

On the second day... we bring you:

12 Days of Penguins - Day 1

On the first day...we bring you:

We love you!

Happy Thanksgiving

This bunch of turkey's wish you a happy thanksgiving. We missed having you here with us.

Remember these little people? You got these for me when you worked at Publix in high school. I always loved that commercial at thanksgiving.

We love you!

Gallery Showing

Hi!

I told you a few weeks ago that I joined the local photography club. And just in time to participate in a showing at Gallery 7 on Third Thursday this month. You can't really see my photos because I'm in front of them. I did have someone interested in purchasing 2 of them. Instead of selling them we made a trade. She creates beautiful jewelry and so I came home with a lovely necklace and earrings. Good deal!

Too many leaves

The leaves are falling and the trash can is way too small. Dad can't keep up so he had to resort to the following! Good thing we brought your truck back from Kentucky. Ha ha!

And little miss diva is always trying to get one of us to rub her head and ears. It's still cute after all these years. Well, except when it's in the wee hours of the night.

Looking forward to talking to you in a few days.

Update on Clayton

Despite my day not turning out as I had hoped, it did begin on a very good note. We had a 55 minute phone call from Clayton this morning. Just when I thought he may be settling into the night schedule again he has been bounced back to days.

I worry about his ability to get the rest he needs. Afghanistan is no place to be operating without a clear and rested mind. Then I remember, this is a war zone. Sleeping in a wooden shack with constant aircraft noise, alarms sounding, real and drills, and being tired, physically and mentally, are what make up a normal day for him at this time. It is hard to enjoy my basic comforts knowing he cannot.

As thanksgiving approaches I am mindful of the abundance of blessings I have to be thankful for. One of them being God's protection over my most treasured gift on this earth.

Please remember Clayton and our troops this week. Because of their courage and sacrifices we enjoy so many freedoms in our life.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Note from Grandma

Dear Clayton,

Turning colder here as your mom told you. I'm not ready for cold weather. Everyone that can is coming here for Thanksgiving. Wish you could be here also. Hope you have a good dinner on turkey day. All of us will be thinking about you.

Tashina got her commission. She reports to Ft. Riley, Kansas January 4. We are all excited about that. She thought she may have to go to Louisiana. They will be about 95 miles from Aunt Vickie and Uncle Alan. They found a house in St. George a small town east of Ft.Riley. They will move the end of December.

Wanted to let you know there is a package on the way to you from the Blue Star Mothers in Edmond. Talked to a friend from there a few days ago and said they were getting the boxes ready to send. You should get it within the next 10 days. They do this from the church that I went to.

Praying for you and all our troops safety and I thank all of you for the job you are doing in keeping us all safe.

I love you and miss you,

Grandma

Busy Weekend

Hi Clayton,
Just a quick note to tell you we are thinking of you and miss you! We have a busy weekend. We prepared communion this morning and have lots of other errands and chores to do today. You got a recall on your dishwasher so Dad is going to check that out today too.

Hope you have adjusted back to the night schedule and getting some decent sleep now. Take care of yourself. We hope to hear from you soon.

We love you!
Mom & Dad

A few flurries

We saw our first snow flurries today. I am NOT ready for winter. It didn't last long. We will take your truck over to Grandma's soon and store in her extra garage space for the winter.

We love you!

Update on Clayton

I thought I'd better post an update here since those on facebook knew this days ago. Clayton's base was attacked again this past weekend. Thankfully no American or Afghan soldiers lost their lives.

---------------

From our local newstation website is this brief account:
[kake.com]

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Would-be suicide bombers have been repelled after trying to storm a major NATO base in eastern Afghanistan early Saturday.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. It's their second assault on the base and an adjoining airport outside Jalalabad city in six months.

Meanwhile, a bomb attack in the north of the country killed people.

A national army commander says the militants attacked the Afghan army checkpoint outside the Jalalabad base shortly after dawn, sparking a gunbattle that lasted at least two hours and involved NATO helicopters firing from overhead.

A provincial government spokesman says eight assailants were killed -- including two who were wearing explosives vests.

A Taliban spokesman says there were 14 attackers and that 11 of them were killed.

NATO forces say initial reports indicate no foreign or Afghan forces were killed.

--------------------------
Most know that Clayton is at FOB Fenty in Jalalabad and his base was also attacked in June and he was in combat. This attack came while he was working. He was not in combat this time but that does little to relieve my worry.
 
They have also experienced two earthquakes since this past weekend. One shook them pretty good.

We have had email and chat communication this past week and know that he is doing well. I think he was delighted to find chocolate in his last care package and I was told it went pretty quick!

Please keep him and our troops in your prayers.

What's for lunch?

UPS delivered this to me today. Pretty cool, huh?

A surprise gift from Uncle Gary & Aunt Karen.

Thank you for your service!

Dad and I are remembering you, with much pride, today - Veteran's Day. We hope you know how proud we are of you. When you enlisted you made us proud. Enlisting during two wars made you our hero. We are thankful for your courage. You follow in the steps of the other brave men in our family including Grandpa Wall and Duke and my grandfather's: Daniel U. Stafford [top right] and Cleveland H. Snell [middle left]. Grandpa Stafford is the one that gave you the little orange truck when you were 3 years old. The one you still have today. Keep safe and we look forward to talking to you soon.

This photo of you [bottom right] is in the veteran section of The Hutchinson News today.

Overdue Photo

Okay, so I promised my mom I'd upload a picture I took of me when I had all my gear on during the night I was assigned to tower duty.

Well here it is!

Now let me give you a run down of what all I'm wearing. On top of my head attached to my helmet are the night vision goggles they gave me. They make the world very green, but it lets me see at night just like it was day. A strange, green day, but still I can see so that's all that matters. They also do some other neat stuff I can't talk about, good thing they gave me extra batteries.

I have my mandatory eye protection on, because I can't get away with not wearing them try as I might. Then, obviously, I have my body armor on. It's what all that other stuff is attached to. That "other stuff" is my magazine rack, which sits over my stomach, it's the vertical rectangle looking things. I have six magazines of ammo plus one more in my weapon for a total of seven. Then, to the side of the magazine rack I have a smoke grenade pouch which the penguin is riding around in. I have my first aid pouch, its the pouch with the tiny bit of red showing on the clasp.

I have my weapon, pretty self explanatory. Also you'll notice that my cargo pocket seems a little bulky. Well, gotta have snacks up in a tower, right? I took the picture at the end of my shift, which explains the daylight and the smile.

Here are two other pictures I took when I managed to get outside the wire.

This was on the way to the range, when we were stuck in a traffic gridlock in the nearby town. I was looking over the side of the road into a low area where locals had built up their housing. A group was standing out there looking at us (looking at me) so I took a picture.


The next one is at the firing range. A crowd of Afghani children and teenagers gathered when they had heard we were out there. They come to collect the brass from the ammunition that we shoot. I'm pretty sure they sell it for the value of the metal to someone somewhere. Our security element had to keep them at a distance while we were shooting, otherwise they would have run up between the trucks while we were shooting to grab the brass.

Yes, I know its out of focus.

About the "Then and Now" - I look very strange with hair.

Lauren - Nice hat :)

Dear Clayton

Today I am celebrating. You see, today marks the half-way point of your deployment in Afghanistan. In each situation we should look for the good and this is good for me today.

My prayer is always for your safety and protection. That you get the rest your body and mind needs for each new day. May we remember to count our blessings daily. Dad and I are looking forward to your safe return to us at the end of your deployment.

We love you and miss you!
Mom

Matthew 11: 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Another "Then and Now"

I know you're glad I saved all these photos. lol

Note from Lauren

Greetings from Texas!

 

[one of our beautiful nieces]

Then and Now

For those that need a good laugh