Four weeks behind us

There are days that it's hard to believe that we have four weeks behind us and others that feel like there should be more...

Nick is still in the process of getting into a groove. The unit that they have replaced has since left and so Nick and his soldiers have assumed all of the missions. He has been consumed with his administrative responsibilities and wishes that he were flying more (I don't think I've ever heard Nick say that he wished he was flying less :-P)...But he logged a good 5 hour flight this morning and was quite happy about that. As I mentioned in my previous update, he is living in a MOD building and is sharing a room with, now, four roommates. He will hopefully have an elevated bed-over-desk unit built to maximize his tiny living space very soon. He has purchased "hadji" internet until his company's satellite is up and running, which has allowed us to "talk" via messenger whenever possible (the highlight of my day!) Nick was able to "see" Emmy and I over the webcam at Kris and JP's house this past Saturday...we are so grateful to Kris for making it possible.

We had a wonderful conversation today, despite the fact I could barely see the computer screen through my tears as I typed out the description of our daughter's eye color. I suppose this is the life of an army wife. Millions of women have done it before me and millions will do it after me. Some days are better than others, heck, some hours are better than others. No one ever said that war is a walk in the park.

I have been growing roots to the couch (I guess that makes me couch potato...) not because I watch too much TV, but because my laptop lives on the coffee table. My last check shows that I have written 265 FRG e-mails alone in the last 6 weeks (and that's just one of my four e-mail accounts...) Among other things, I have been busy organizing upcoming FRG events (a book drive to establish a library from which our soldiers can select stories to read to their children via DVD, new company t-shirts, a Father's Day photo shoot and our baby shower extravaganza). We have also had to put on our counselor hats to handle some family crises. Without going into too much detail, in the last week and a half, we have supported a deployed husband and wife who are in the middle of a marriage crisis and we are taking steps to bring a soldier home to his incredibly high risk pregnant wife (who is at the same early gestation that she delivered and lost their first child). It's been a good reminder that so many people struggle with far more difficult situations, and we are humbled that we have been placed in a position to help them.

Emmy is having a ball establishing her place in the world. She's our little monkey, clinging to every object, fabric, (hair) in her sight. (I told Nick not to be surprised if he comes home to a bald wife because Emmy is hard at work pulling out each and every strand of hair from my head). She loves hearing her own voice and most prefers her high pitched shriek. Her favorite toy is a little rattle ring with pieces of "noisy" fabric from the Easter Bunny (aka Auntie Kristi). She stops wiggling just long enough to watch the videos Nick made of himself reading to her. Looking at herself in the mirror brings forth her biggest grins. I cherish each of these Emmy-isms...I just wish I could call Nick over to cherish them with me. That's why I carry our flip video camera in my pocket. I think about the feeling of elation that I will undoubtedly experience the next time I watch him wrap his arms around our sweet girl. That image helps me through the tough days.