Tim...In his own words

It's been a while since I updated the blog. Things continue to move along and now we have less than 2 months until Bean's arrival and Tim's trip home! YYIIIPPPPEEEEEE. I got a fantastic e-mail from Tim that seems quite telling of his time there so I thought I'd cut and paste it for all of you who are interested. Here is Tim in his own words:

One of my goals for my year (before I got here) was 100 missions and 200 hours.

I currently have 100 missions (108 sorties) and over 225 hours. It makes me feel good inside that I am achieving a goal while I am here. Now I guess I need 300 misssions and 750 hours… just kidding. I cannot keep this pace going. If I did I would have 400 missions and over 1,000 hours. Not possible. But sure would be fun to try for it.

I am still teaching the #@!%$ out of these guys. If they ain’t good in 1 year’s time, it is not from a lack of effort on my part. You can only squeeze a rock so hard. ........

These guys are just civilians with basic survival English skills. Most have not flown at night, in the clouds, or in any kind of weather. .... I flew back from Faluhjah the other night down the Euphrates and the guy had never been in an airplane at night. He did well considering but imagine teaching a guy to fly instruments at night who you just assume knows what you are talking about. Think about all of those night classes and sims you had before you went out at night. Well, I got guys going from pedestrian to King Air Co-pilot in 60-90 days. That is including Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3. Nights, Instruments and contact. ...... We are busy.

Introducing Bean!!

I am very very excited to introduce you to our precious, beautiful Baby!!! I apologize for the picture quality--trust me, Bean is PERFECT!! Enjoy!!! (You can click on the picture to make it bigger)


(you may see something on/in front of Bean's face...the cord was floating in front of his/her face all day but other than that Baby was very cooperative and I am so happy with the pictures!!!)

Pictures From Tim

Tim sent a CD with a bunch of pictures he has taken in his two months in Iraq. I've included a variety here. In one you'll notice a stuffed-animal snake. His squadron here at Columbus is the 50th Strikin' Snakes so they sent him the snake to get the snake some combat time and Tim took alot of these pictures to send back to them. That's the story anyway. Hee-hee. Enjoy!!!

Where Tim Lives:

Where Tim Works:

Tim's Airplane:

Some Sightseeing:

Recreation??

Thanksgivings....Apart

Well it was the first of the big holidays that Tim and I will have to spend apart--YUCK!! But I think both of us were surrounded by people who got us through it and we both had a nice (albeit separate) Thanksgiving. The military fed Tim well and created a festive environment and he got to eat a nice meal with his buddies over there....


I got to spend the week with my sister Lauren and various members of the family were able to come and go with their families throughout the holiday weekend. It was heartwarming to get to spend so much time with everyone and Lauren and Matt proved to be the perfect hosts...THANK YOU!!! Unfortunately we were so busy talking and watching the kids play and eating we didn't get too many pictures but here's an idea of what we did:


And, of course, there was FOOTBALL. Unfortunately it didn't go well for either team but the kids spirit wasn't to blame at least :-)


Tim and I are thankful for everyone who is helping us get through this year....THANK YOU ALL!!!!

Mom and Dad Visit

This past week Mom and Dad came for a visit for a few days--always good for the soul. We didn't do anything overly exciting but I got to show off Bean's room and mom helped me with my new hobby--sewing with the new maching. :-). I always have fun eating fajitas and just hanging out with mom and dad. Good times and I appreciate them visiting!!


It was freezing the morning they left so here are some pictures of us shivering at the airport before they departed. Thanks again for coming!!!

Tim Pictures

Tim sent some more pictures...I love getting pictures from him so I share them with you too. Tim continues to do well--he is flying a great deal and has more hours in the month he has been there than he got in about 3 months at Columbus. He did mention that "the honeymoon is over". I'll include an "in his own words" post tomorrow (most of his e-mails go to work and I need to forward them home). Enjoy the pictures for now.

Pictures From Tim

Tim continues to do very very well. He sent some pictures....Enjoy.



This last one is a Flintstone inspired playhouse Saddam had built for his grandkids (no really, you can't make that stuff up!!)