Froggy

Dad and I went to Klear Nearly days in Nickerson last week. Cassandra took third in the frog jump. [It was her group that sent you all those girl scout cookies].

This week

Well, not much is new this week. The new sprinkler system was finished on Monday. The yard has some areas that are ugly from it but it should be gone by next year. It's nice to have it automated on a timer again. The old system was better than nothing but not like this.

Dad was in Kansas City all week so I had plenty of play time. I spent some time with my friend Diane on Thursday. The week flew by and I didn't get everything done like I wanted. I have put up some tomatoes from the garden. Just stewed them a bit. They will be nice to have this winter. I also put up some pepper sauce. I have two more baker's dozen of sweet corn to put up tomorrow and that should be enough for the winter.

Our friends, the Issinghoff's are downsizing and we bought their wicker set. I took the brown set off the side porch and replaced it with the white one. I'll save the brown one for you.

Keep safe and we'll hopefully talk to you on Monday.

We love you beyond words,
Mom & Dad

Address to the 101st

Clayton was present on July 25th when Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [highest ranking officer in the U.S. armed forces] visited Afghanistan and addressed the 101st.

He received a coin from the Admiral. Second only to the presidential coin. I will see if he can share a photo of it with us soon.

Update on Clayton

Soon Clayton will receive the "Combat Action Badge" from when his base was attacked June 30th. They only way to receive it is to "directly engage" or "be directly engaged" by the enemy. Scary thing to me!

He is scheduled to return to the states about August 23rd for 15 days of R&R. If you are local we hope you will stop by and visit while he is home. This leaves comes early into his deployment which means the second half will be longer.

Thank you for your letters to him and words of encouragement and prayers for us. We appreciate your support!

News from home

Hi from Mom - who needs a haircut!

Hi Clayton,

I hate that we had such a bad connection on Monday. It was good to hear from you what little we were able to talk. You sounded so tired. I hope you adjust to your new schedule soon. Is the fan helping with the heat? I forgot to ask you the other day. I'll have another care package ready to mail by the end of the month. Let me know if you need anything else.

News from home:

Well, the new sprinkler system is finally in. This morning the lawn was watered before I rolled out of bed. It is so nice to have one on a timer again. We still have 2 other major projects on the list for this year but time is slipping by. Dad wants to get the barn resided and the other bathroom remodeled. I'm glad you gave me access to your checking account - now I know how we are going to pay for them. Ha! Ha! Just kidding.

Recently I was working in the flower bed and found this

How many more can there be? :)

Your Grandpa Stafford had a birthday Sunday. I called him after church and wished him happy birthday. He asked how you were doing in Afghanistan and if you had been in combat since last month. He doesn't have a computer so I have to remember to tell him what everyone else hears from this blog and facebook.

I'm planning my menu for next month so be thinking about what you must have while home.

Well, that's it for now. I'll chat with you later in the week. Stay safe.

We love you beyond words,
Mom & Dad

Sopie says Hi

She needs more attention than any cat I've ever had.
[I need to adjust the quality of my cell phone pics]

Update on Clayton

When he sees me trying to take a photo
of our video chat he acts just like a little boy :)

We continue to talk to Clayton twice a week. Most of the time we get to do video chats. I love being able to see his face, even when the connection isn't the greatest. It's HOT over there. His days are going from 8 hours to 13 for a brief time and then I believe to 12. It is not known if this will be permanent or not. I guess the R & R leaves are starting so there will be jobs and hours to cover by those remaining. Hopefully we'll get some new pics from Clay now that his internet is hooked up. I'll keep bugging him ;)

Domestic Stuff

These pictures will show some of the things going on around here. [some were taken on a low setting on my BlackBerry].

Starting to harvest good things from the garden

About 22 pounds of Sand Hill Plums that Kathleen and I picked

Washed and ready to cook down

Cooking down the plums.

Getting the good pulp out for bread and Jam.
I gave Grandma the juice so she could make Jelly.

Sand Hill Plum bread. Yum!

Sweet corn from the Gaeddart Farm.
2 bakers dozen to put in the freezer for fresh corn this winter.
I may do more in the next week or two.

You've Got Mail

Winging its way to you. 2 different boxes. The second one is the fan. We had to take it out of the box it came in since it was a tad too big for the flat rate box. Since I did this one at the post office it won't have the #4 on it.

What goodies does this box hold?

Hope this helps with the heat.

At home with the cats

Sidney aka Bubba

Can he really be comfortable sleeping like that? This is his stool by the window.

Sophie aka Diva

It's not that I don't want to make the bed. It's just hard to make little Diva get up. She really thinks the bed is there for her comfort. And don't even get Dad started about it.

Scary Day

This picture was taken on the day Clay's base was attacked and he was in combat. It was taken after the fact, not during.

While that day was a few weeks ago I know it can happen again at any moment. Now we can laugh at the fact that he was in combat wearing the skull and crossbones shorts that I had mailed to him in a care package. If I had known something like this would have been photographed I would have mailed the Sponge Bob shorts that I picked up first. Be careful what you sleep in during war!

The Penguin Makes An Appearance

This picture is for Aunt Karen and Uncle Gary!

If I remember correctly this was on the first attempt to fly into his final destination in Afghanistan. Due to bad weather the plane turned around and he later was transported on a helicopter.

On Saturday, July 10th, Clayton FINALLY got internet access to his laptop. After a hefty fee and weeks of waiting he can now pass some of his time connected to the world. We tried doing our video chat using Windows Live but couldn't get it to connect. We finally used Skype, which was an okay connection. We'll get the kinks worked out in the weeks ahead. Monday and Thursday's are the days we talk, so in a few hours I hope to have a video chat with Clayton.

Update About Clayton

It's been a few weeks since I've posted an update. We have talked to Clay during this time. He has weaned me down to twice a week. He tried once a week but that didn't fly.

Barry and I took a week off and went to New York. We spent the week on the lake with no access to the outside world, except for our phones, which allowed us to hear from Clay. Thankfully I didn't hear or see any news until I received a call from Clay, a day earlier than our scheduled day to talk. He called to let us know he was okay after his base was attacked and he was in combat. As I stood there and listened to him share what he could, I could only cry. They were tears of fear and joy. The reality of this war was upon us and I felt so helpless. My instinct as his mother to protect him was met with the stark reality that it was out of my hands. I was unable to do anything. This left me physically shaken.

I know there are so many people praying for his safety and protection. Thank you to all that continue to support us with your prayers and words of encouragement.

Clay's looking at the end of August to return to the states for a little rest. It's early into his deployment which means his second half will be much longer. I guess those with rank got the "good" dates. Regardless I will be anxious to see him. He will be spoiled and catered to during that time. As his mother that is something I can joyfully do while he is home.

Update to Clay

Well, it's been a few weeks since I posted an update - even though we have talked to you on the phone. We spent a week on the lake in New York with no TV, cable or internet - our BlackBerry's being our only contact with the world.

We had a good time playing tourist. Too much to see in such a short time so hopefully we'll go again next year. While at Liberty Island there was a small group of monks visiting. They were having a good time taking pictures and letting people have their pictures taken with them. I enjoyed seeing the statue in person. Everyone should have the opportunity to visit the statue and Ellis Island.

Well, now it's time to play catch-up. I'm expecting a lot of mail to be delivered today. Lots of other things to do as well, like mail your care package. I plan to do that tomorrow. I do hope your internet connection is ready today. I know you get bored easily and hope this will help pass the time. Stay safe and I look forward to talking to you on Thursday.

We love you beyond words,

Mom & Dad