A Little St. Paddy's Fun

It was my turn to host the class party, so we did it up for St. Paddy's day with the three-year olds!

Rainbow of fruit.  Not sure why I didn't foresee the big pile of marshmallows being such an overwhelming hit.

We made shamrock antenna hats.  The girls of the class were more interested in the baby on the floor.

Class pic.  Classic.  But check out Si's hand on Hannah's arm for protection! 

The next day was Millie's bash (of which I was not in charge).  Si always joins right in, though.  Millie's teacher just pulls up another chair for him.  This will be his class next year and it makes me so happy that he absolutely LOVES it in there

We hit the "Greening of Ghent" on Friday night and ran into some friends.  Ghent is the name of our neighborhood, and this was the St. Paddy's street festival.  Seemed like a good idea for us to walk...UNTIL we all got caught in a torrential thunderstorm.  Picture me, Hannah in a pack on my back, kids in the double jogger.  It was such a ridiculous mess that I just had to laugh at it all.  

The leprechaun sneaked in and turned the milk green and left gold for the kids!

Our St. Paddy's breakfast!

Deployment Updates

Many of you remember that back in 2004 Christopher deployed to Iraq for six months on the ground with the Seals.  While he was out there he sent back weekly-ish updates about his 'adventures' called "Iraq Updates".  Well, he has picked the habit back up and is sending out "Deployment Updates" from the Enterprise.  Now that they've crossed into the Med, these updates are really getting interesting.  I've copied one of the latest reports below.  It seems to give a good summary of his last two weeks.  And, of course, if you'd like to be added to his list, just shoot me an email or leave a comment.

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March 24, 2012
Friends,

Well I guess I probably have something in common with Donald Trump this week – no, not the hair – I took a helicopter to work three times.  It’s been crazy busy for me since the last time I sent you an update – which is why it’s been so long – but things are going well.

The focus of my effort this past week was to get around to all of the different units that make up the Carrier Strike Group and conduct training on the Rules of Engagement (ROE).  Basically training them on the rules that apply whether they are flying into Afghanistan, conducting a counter-piracy mission, boarding a vessel to verify its country of registry, or transiting through a strait – you name it they have to be prepared to do it since we’re not really sure exactly what we’ll be called upon to do when we make it there.  A week ago I gave briefs to all seven of our aviation squadrons – 7 briefs in 8 hours made for a long afternoon but they generated some interesting discussions.  I also briefed the various watch standers on the ENTERPRISE as well – 17 slightly different briefs in all.

Probably the highlight of my week though were the helicopter rides over to our other ships.  I was able to visit three of our four ships this week and hopefully will make it to our fourth one before we make it through the Suez.  The skill that it takes to land these helicopters on a rather small platform on the back of a ship that is not only moving forward but is also bobbing up and down in the waves is truly amazing.  These guys make it look routine and act like it’s no big deal.  I’ve take a bunch of helicopter rides in my time in the Navy but had never gotten to land on the back of a small ship until this week.  The pilots need to put the helo precisely on a clamp that will hold them on the deck.  All that and the weather wasn’t too great for a couple of the flights either.  It was definitely an exciting way to get to work.

One of the ships that I traveled to this week was the JAMES E. WILLIAMS.  A real small world story: when I flew over to the JAMES E. WILLIAMS the pilot who flew me over was a friend of mine from San Diego.  He’s married to a Navy JAG and is now stationed in Mayport, FL.  The helo Detachment on the JAMES E. WILLIAMS is from his squadron and he’s the officer in charge.  It was nice to know that I was in good hands and it was great to catch up with him onboard.  I’ve attached a picture of us in the hangar bay of the WILLIAMS.  For those of you who have never met me I’m the bald guy on the left.

Once on board I conducted briefs in the wardroom (where the officers eat) and then separate briefs for the Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) teams.  These are the young guys that go and board vessels whether it be for counter piracy or maritime interception operations.  The seas were a bit rough for a few of the briefs so I had to have a wide stance while I was giving my brief since it would have been pretty embarrassing to fall over in front of the whole crew.  I got to drive one of the ships for a while and it’s not really the easiest thing in the world – I’m just glad we weren’t really close to anything.  The picture attached was taken on one of my return trips back to ENTERPRISE.  You can see the weather wasn’t too great but it was a pretty cool scene anyway.

And to top it all off I was able to have one of the pilots take me down to the hangar bay and get me into an F-18 so I could look around the cockpit and see what he sees when he’s flying.  He got the power on the jet and turned all the instruments on and explained it all to me.  The multi-tasking that they have to do – even when there are two of them in the jet – is pretty amazing.  It’s good for me to see and understand that though so that I have a better context when I brief them on the ROE that they need to follow when they are flying.

Well, we’re steadily making our way towards our first port visit in Greece.  That should be an adventure as I’ve never been there before and it’s always interesting when an aircraft carrier with over 5,000 people pulls into a foreign port.

Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers – they definitely helped pull me through this week.

Christopher

Coping

A peek at how we're doing -- how we're coping and getting through the days (and now nearly two weeks) since Christopher's been gone.  But there's no way this "just getting by" stuff happens at all without the unbelievable blessings we've received from our family, friends and neighbors.  Maybe soon I can document the ways that we have been simply showered with the love from our little community.  We are so fortunate.

So, before he left we asked fellow military parents for tips and advice on some practical ideas for helping the kids cope with this business.  One of our favorites was the hershey kiss trick.  We loaded up two containers with enough hershey kisses to mark each day of the deployment.  Every night after dinner the kids get to eat their "Daddy Kiss".  As the pile grows smaller, we know we're getting closer to his return.

Around here, Bed Time is Daddy Time.  I'm just about fried by the time bedtime rolls around, so Christopher has always handled the books and snuggles with Mils and Si while I'm managing Hannah.  In a stroke of pure genius, Christopher recorded himself reading all of their favorite bedtime books on the iPad.  This is the most awesome thing ever.  The kids get all ready and snuggle up together in the bottom bunk and watch and listen to Christopher every single night.  What brought me to tears, however, was the night that Millie carried the iPad into Hannah's room where I was rocking her before bed.  Hannah heard her Dad's voice and just sat up and spun around trying to find him.  Gulp.  She misses him too.

The kids are forming their own little gang.  Mils and Si are constant playmates and both of them are just amazing with Hannah.  She's the most serious baby, but Mils and Si never fail to get a big smile out of her.  And the moment above just melted me.  I walked into the living room to find that Si had climbed down on the floor to hang with Hannah.  He's still watching Monkey George, he's just doing it closer to his sister.

Impromptu playdates.  We're spending lots and lots of time with our friends:  at parks, here at home, in their front yards, at the ice cream shop...wherever a get-together breaks out.  My introverted nature is getting a true test, and I find that I'm loving the new and deepening friendships that are being formed.

Personally, I like to think about what an amazing job Christopher has.  It blows my mind that this is his workplace.  It's important to me that he really loves what he's doing, and so far it seems like he does.  It helps me to hold on in the hard times when I know that his work is meaningful.  This is one crazy life we've got going!

Ode to The Homestead

I love it when something not only meets, but exceeds my greatest expectations.  We wanted to make the most of Christopher's pre-deployment leave, so we planned a little get-away to the mountains of Virginia.  We took off for a resort called The Homestead.  So awesome.  It reminded me of some kind of cross between the resort from "The Shining" and the resort from "Dirty Dancing".  Can't you picture it?

Our family did it up: swimming in the roman-style indoor pool, private showing of Nemo in the theater, a beautiful family hike, a private tractor/hayride around the area that included feeding horses and ended with spectacular s'mores in an outdoor fireplace, and a little ski adventure for Millie (the highlight of our trip, I think).  What would normally seem like a drawback ended up working to our advantage.  By visiting on a Monday and Tuesday in the middle of winter, we had the activities and the staff to ourselves.  It was relaxing and adventurous all at the same time.  Get ready...here come loads and loads of photos...

Getting ready for the Bunny Ski School.  Not only was Si too young for the lesson, he was completely uninterested in giving it a try.  He hung with us on the deck in the sunshine.

Whoa Nelly!  She's doing it!  We signed her up for a group lesson, which turned out to be a nearly three hour private lesson.  PLUS, she had the mountain completely to herself and it was nearly 60 degrees and sunny.  Could there be any better circumstances to learn to ski?

Here's what we did while Mils skied.

A ride through the lobby.

Settling in and bundling up for our hayride.

A morning hike on the beautiful trails.

I am so thankful for these great family memories!

Seven Months

The Longest Week

It's public information now: the Enterprise heads out to sea on Sunday morning.  I can't believe this is it.  I'm in a constant state of wiping away fresh tears and turning my face to hide them from the kids.  The lump in my throat grows by the day.  I feel overwhelmed by all that needs to be done but also the intense desire to just lock all the doors and sit still with each other.

And Oh Lord Help Me when I look at Christopher playing with Hannah.  In my quiet moments with our perfect little girl I just feel so sad for all that Christopher is going to miss.  She is seven months now.  He'll be gone for seven months.  Literally, a whole lifetime.  What will she look like?  Will she be walking?  Will she know the sound of his voice and remember his smile?

So we are making plans for the send off on Sunday morning.  It's so hard to prepare for the unknown...I don't know what Sunday will feel like for us, but I imagine it might not feel so great for Christopher either.  I am so proud of him, so thankful for what he has chosen to do with his life.  It gives me comfort that he likes his work and that it is important.  I know we'll all be fine.

OK.  Here we go.