Another week down. On the 14th, it will be 9 months until we can expect Mark back.
We just found out too that his leave is in December, which I am SO excited about. It will be a 2 week leave. We are planning a vacation- just him and I. Not sure where to yet, but it should be fun!
This last week has been especially challenging, but there are always small blessings to be found in hard times. The good news is, we are all alive and kicking, and I am really enjoying the new job. This weekend I am in a friends wedding, which will make for a very busy couple of days. I also get to watch my Godson (see picture) for the first time this weekend. He is a fresh, new, squishy baby and I think we'll have a good time together :) I haven't had trouble staying busy, that's for sure! If any of you know me well enough, you know that busy is my middle name, I seem to function best under pressure- whether that's a good or bad thing, I'm not sure. In November I will for the first time in the history of being employed, NOT have to work weekends! I won't even know what to do with myself, but am looking forward to some free time!
Mark has started working the night shifts (7pm to 5am). I think for the most part he is really enjoying it. The downside is, he has to try to sleep while half of his "tent-mates" are up and moving about with the lights on. Speaking of lights, he has moved to a 20-man tent instead of 200- person tent. The bigger tent didn't have electricity, and just before he found out he was leaving, decided with another soldier that they should rig up the tent with some electricity. Only Mark. He said that in a 20-man tent, usually there are only 10-15 guys because of the space all of their gear takes up. In Mark's tent though, they have managed to squeeze 22 guys in, so Mark said it is really cramped at the moment.
He got one of the care-packages I sent him already, and was really happy just to get a little something. I sent him a magazine, some fresh jerky that my uncle makes, some candies, Samoa cookies- compliments of the Pound parents, and some other things. The only thing that didn't make it the best were the cookies. He said they were all melted together to form three giant cookies- but he still ate them up and requested more hehe.
I have had a couple people ask about sending Mark a letter. To send a letter, I think I remember it requiring a special postage as well. You wouldn't be able to just put a stamp on it as you would if you were sending it in the states. The best bet would be to bring it to the post office and have them figure it out. He has said numerous times that he is very thankful to have such caring people in his life. We are blessed.
I'm thankful that they are getting into more of a schedule now, rather than working 14 hour days. Even though they don't really have anything else to be doing, it is nice to just relax for a couple of minutes. He has sounded really upbeat in our conversations, and is calling more often with more time to talk. For the first month, we had only been talking about every 3rd day for about 5-7 minutes, and now he is able to call more often and we get to chat for 20-30 minutes. Neither of us are phone people, but we seem to come up with tons to talk about while he is gone. Both of think it is cool so watch our relationship grow- even while he is a world away.
I've gotten lots of feedback about the care package party, which is great! If you have any more questions, let me know. I should be a good time. I wanted to say, if you can think of anything else that wasn't on the list that the soldiers might like, feel free to bring it over for our get-together, or send it to him. Items are not limited to what was on the list. There are also some people who aren't able to make the actual event. Some have wanted to send some stuff over, or send their own package, both of which is alright. E-mail me if you want to drop some stuff off for the rest of us to package up. I'll have to make a list or take some pictures of all the people involved in this! Mark will be so happy to hear from/see all of you!
I feel like there was something more I had to say, but can't seem to remember. I guess i'll save it for a different day.
-Heather
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