New Desk

Doesn't take much to make you happy in a war zone. I was thrilled when I moved to this desk in the corner by a window and had my own phone on the desk! No more walking 100 yards and hoping a phone was available to call my dad and sister. True bliss! Moved to this desk around the end of October. We're supposed to get new furniture (Herman Miller) in mid-December and that should be my last change in office movement, etc. before I leave. But I'm staying in the corner by the window!

Me and the General

On Sunday, 7 November, GEN David Petreaus had a photo shoot for everyone at the base. About 300 people showed up to take advantage of his thoughtfulness. It's been an honor to serve with this man and seeing him almost every day. I predict his next assignment will be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and down the road, maybe even a run for president. You heard it here first folks!

Bye Dad---see you in 5 months

Got to add this one to the blog--Taylor and Tim as Tim leaves to go back to Afghanistan (very early) on a Sunday morning after his 2 week leave home.

Now...Hockey Season Begins

Last night marked the official beginning of the 2010-2011 hockey season for the Jenison/Zeeland Varsity Hockey Team! Taylor's team started the season off with a win--9-3! It started off a bit rough, but when they got together as a team, they started to put the puck in the net. His next game is tonight on their home ice, so hopefully, they will add to their win:) New socks made the uniform a bit more exciting--vertical stripes! Hopefully, the next step is to get the names on the back of the jerseys.

Tennis, Tennis and more Tennis!

Well..I've been a little busy with work and need to update a few things on the blog. My goal is to get more organized with the blog in the last few months and really document more of our life while Tim is away.

I have to say the last few months have been busy and full of excitement for our family and our son, Taylor. His tennis team did an awesome job this season which ended in an undefeated season. The Zeeland East Varsity Tennis Team won the OK Green Conference title for the first time and they placed second at the Regional competition. This earned them a chance to go to the State finals. They competed very well and ended up with being place 13th in the state--not bad at all. I'm guessing that there are at least 200 schools in Division 2 in Michigan, so placing 13th is mighty good:)

On a personal note, Taylor and his doubles partner were OK Green Conference Champions and ended their season with a overall record of 24 wins and 10 losses (they were 6 wins and 1 loss in the conference matches). This also broke their own record from last year of wins and losses. It was an amazing year of tennis! And to top it all off, Taylor and his partner were named to the Holland Sentinel's All Area Boys Tennis Team! Way to go, Taylor!!

Happy Veteran's Day

We want to wish all the veteran's a very special Veteran's Day today. We appreciate your service to our country. I especially want to thank Tim for his sacrifice by being in Afghanistan and giving of himself for these last 8 months. We appreciate your sacrifice and know that you and our family will be better for it. Not much more to go and you will be home for good. Enjoy your day--I hope there's some fun, even in Afghanistan, on this Veteran's Day!

Roommates

One of the absolute necessities in a successful tour in Afghanistan is having good roommates since there are three sharing a space 8 feet wide and 17 feet long. I have had 8 roommates in about 6 1/2 months. My most recent were (left to right) Army Major Brad Bowman and Army Major Alex Fuerst. Both are great guys. Alex is from Alabama, is active duty Army and Afghanistan is his second deployment after Iraq. When he gets in the room at night, we discuss the day and his day usually involves him asking me some philosophical question about the war, etc. He is also wicked smart and leaves his two alarm clocks ringing until they shut off automatically after about 15 seconds. Not a big deal. Speaking of wicked smart, Brad received an MBA from Yale paid for by the Army. He left Afghanistan for DC 17 October and despite being in the Army for 15 years is getting out. Having these two in the room made me feel mentally challenged!