Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Homecoming - News Clip

Here is a news clip from the Ft. Meade TV Station showing the return of our Soldiers. You can even see Dallas giving part of his speech. I am not sure how long this link will work but you can click below to see the clip:

http://meadetv.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/meade-week-sept-29-2008/

Friday, September 26, 2008

More Homecoming Photos Provided By Ft. Meade

Lin-Ley and Emma wait semi-patiently.

Where are they?

I see something...

Let's get into position...

Ahhh, the first Soldier finally exits security.

And he quickly gets a hug.


But where are the rest of the Soldiers???
Oh yeah!

Oh yeah!

Oh yeah!


Father and daughter.
Husband and wife.

Mother and son.

Sisters.

Mother and daughter.

The whole family.

Mother and daugther.

The whole family.

The two grinning monkeys.

Time to get back on the bus.

Lin-Ley leads Dallas.

There is our police escort.

We finally arrive back at Ft. Meade.

There are many other soliers there to greet the bus.


And many other happy reunions.






Time for the ceremony.

Dallas gives a few last commands.


Finally Dallas can release the Soldiers to their families.
Here I am on the front row trying to keep Tru still and quiet. I finally had to give him my cell phone to play with. I think he managed to buy a ringtone before I realized what he was doing.

Then it was time for some fun and some cake. Doesn't this cake look wonderful?? It tastes even better. Thanks again Mr. and Mrs. Robinson for the cake.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

DALLAS IS HOME !

The kids and I arrived at Ft. Meade yesterday where we met several other families. We were then driven on a bus to the airport to meet our returning Soldiers. Of course the plane was 23 minutes late!

So we waited and waited and waited and....

The kids kept themselves busy:

Tru wanted to buy Daddy some flowers.



Lin-Ley and her new friend Emma held long telephone conversations.








Tru really tried to get Daddy some money! This kept him busy for about 10 minutes.


















Finally we saw all of the Soldiers coming through the security check point. All of the families (there were over 30 people there) started yelled and the kids started running toward them. Lin-Ley ran right through security to her Daddy. Tru and I eventually got a hug and kiss. As far as Lin-Ley was concerned that moment (and the remainder of the day) was all about her and her daddy. That's fine!

I had two choices - enjoy the moment or worry about taking photos. So here are the only photos I have:

We made our way to baggage claim. The Soldiers' bags had already been collected and put in the luggage trailer provided by Ft. Meade.

If you are wondering where Tru is - he spent the rest of the day chasing these balloons.

He did give Dallas a kiss and then went on his merry way.












Back on the bus.

Lin-Ley was all over Dallas so Tru and I just talked amongst ourselves. The bus had a police escort to and from the airport so Tru was concentrating on the police car and it's flashing lights.














When we arrived back at Ft. Meade there were other soldiers there holding up "Welcome Home" banners and cheering as the bus pulled in. There were many more military and civilian friends inside where they had a short ceremony. As the Commander's wife I had a seat reserved on the front row. That was a challenge! Tru just wanted to chase his balloon around and eat the potato chips he spotted in the back of the room. I did everything I could to keep him in my lap. He babbled throughout the ceremony, kicked the man next to us constantly, somehow threw yogurt raisins on the floor right at the Soldiers' feet, and kept saying, "chip, chip, chip now!".

Dallas gives his troops a few last orders as their Commander.













After the short ceremony there was cake, sandwiches, chips, etc. If we were ever missing our kids we just looked toward the chips and there they were.

It was a happy day. Everyone there was smiling. Between the balloons and the potato chips our kids had a ball there.
I met many people I had only heard about and several of the other wives and I had some bonding time as we waited for the plane to arrive.

Once we finally made it home Dallas took a stroll around the house checking out the new windows and the yard. He took a look at the flower beds around the front porch and said, "So... did you do any weeding while I was gone?" I just looked at him... and he looked at me... and we both smiled. Enough said.

A GOOD DAY!

This morning Tru sat on the floor of Lin-Ley's room next to Dallas. He looked up at me and said, "I like-a Daddy."

Monday, September 22, 2008

1 DAY !!!!!

Dallas and his crew were successful in turning in all of their gear today. They begin their journey home tomorrow at 3:30AM.

Lin-Ley, Tru and I had a dilemma tonight.... Should we spend the evening cleaning the house for Daddy? Or should we just decorate it?
Hmmmm.... easy choice!

Lin-Ley helps make Moddy's cake.












After all of that hard work it was time to enjoy the benefits. Tru was not so sure why I wanted him to hold the sticky silver thing.

He caught on pretty quick!


Lin-Ley told me that this was exactly how she wanted the house decorated. She told me several weeks ago that she was going to have three presents for Daddy when he returned.
The presents are his favorite cake (red velvet), his favorite coffee (Dunkin' Donuts) and his favorite candy (Reese's).

It will be a long day tomorrow so I will probably catch up with photos on Wednesday.
Until then....

Sunday, September 21, 2008

2 DAYS!!!!

Dallas is back in the United States!! Oh Yeah - Oh Yeah! He is currently in Texas.
Their first stop in the U.S. was in Maine at 10AM this morning. They continued traveling until they arrived at their hotel at around 7PM tonight. Dallas said they have not slept (or had a shower - gross!) since Friday.

Tomorrow they turn in their equipment as quickly as possible so they can catch another plane home on Tuesday morning.

I am not sure how Lin-Ley is going to function at school tomorrow knowing that it is only one day until her Moddy will be home.
(That goes for me too!)

Saturday, September 20, 2008

3 DAYS!!!

No news!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

4 DAYS!!

I received one last email from Dallas as they were leaving for the airfield. Now we wait to hear from him once they arrive in Texas.

5 DAYS!

Dallas has confirmed airline reservations! The sand storms are really causing problems in Kuwait so we are praying that their flight to the U.S. is not delayed. They head to the flight field tomorrow to wait for their flight.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

COUNTING DOWN... 10 DAYS....

Dallas sent me a coded email last night. Sounds like everything is still on track.
Lin-Ley has given me her list of supplies needed to decorate the house for Daddy's party.

Monday, September 8, 2008

COUNTING DOWN... 15....

All of the replacement Soldiers are in Kuwait and Iraq. Dallas and his crew have trained the new guys/girls. They are working with them now just to make sure they have the swing of things. Now Dallas is basically just hanging out until their flight home is available....

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Lin-Ley's Charitable Recognition

As I mentioned in June, Lin-Ley has collected toys and treats for the "Soldier Dogs" at her last two birthday parties rather than gifts for herself. We have delivered the doggie gifts to a local Dogtopia in support of their K-9 Support program. K-9 Support collects donations (mostly monetary) and holds dog washes to raise money to send care packages to the military dogs (as well as their handlers) serving in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan as well as other military locations. Lin-Ley gets a big kick out of the fact that there are dogs that are Soldiers like her Daddy.


I received an email from Dogtopia today letting us know that Lin-Ley has received a place of honor on their K-9 Support website. I showed it to Lin-Ley tonight. She was thrilled to see her photo and read their note about her.


Here is a link to their website:
(Just click on the link, scroll down and find the section labeled "A Very Special Donor")
http://dogdaycare.com/k9support.php

Lin-Ley wrote a letter to the Soldier Dogs that will be going with the goodies that she collected. They will be splitting up all of the items Lin-Ley collected so that many different units will receive her note.


Here is the letter that Lin-Ley dictated to me:

Dear Soldier Dogs,

My name is Lin-Ley. I had my 6th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. I collected presents for you because you are soldiers and I hope you like them. My friends brought you presents. You are cool. My daddy is a soldier too. He is on a long trip right now.

Do you have fun? I hope you play with your new toys. I am sending you some big bones. Do you have human helpers?

I hope you have a good time with the presents. You are the best soldier dogs.


Love,
Lin-Ley


And we included this photo: