Busy Busy Busy

As you all know by now, Josh was home for about two weeks at the end of March/ beginning of April. We had a wonderful time together and with family. Josh was very thankful for the much needed rest and visit with everyone.

While Josh was home we were blessed with the most precious little bundle ever -- John Allen Anthony. He was born on 31 March, weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces, and measured in at 19 inches. Josh is an amazing father and did such a wonderful job with John while he was home. John loved to fall asleep on his daddy's shoulder or in his daddy's arms. The memories we have already are precious to us and will be treasured forever.

Friday 10 April was one of the hardest moments we've gone through as a family. Josh had to say goodbye once again to return to Iraq, but this time he had to leave his son behind as well as his wife and family. There's a chance that Josh will only have about four months left of the deployment, but it could last several months longer than that. If it's only a few months longer, then Josh won't miss too much of John's "firsts" and the new things he learns to do (crawling, talking, etc.).

Josh just called me early this morning (about 3am) to let me know that he had arrived safely in Iraq. Hopefully I'll hear from him again soon and be able to talk to him for more than two minutes. He's still working on going Active, and we're waiting to see where God leads us with that situation. He has a PT test either late this month or sometime next month that will determine what happens with all of that. Please keep him in your prayers as his knee has really been bothering him lately.

As I hear more from Josh on how he's doing and what kinds of things he needs in care packages, I will keep everyone updated. **PLEASE DO NOT SEND LARGE AMOUNTS OF CANDY** I will also try to post pictures every now and then of the baby and update y'all on him.

Waiting for him,
Ariel

Update

Hey, everyone. Sorry it's been so long since I've posted an update on here. Things have been kind of crazy and busy lately with trying to get things ready for the baby and everything. I talked to Josh this morning. He is doing well. He is super excited that R&R is steadily drawing closer, and he can't wait to visit people. He had a couple rough weeks with the concussion he had (see previous update), and then he was sick for a while from some food he ate. He is over both of those ailments, though. Now he is dealing with his knee hurting him. Thus far during his deployment he has been unable to pass at PT test (pushups, situps, and a 2 mile run in a certain time period) because his knee has been hurting him so badly. He is able to run on the eliptical runner but not on the concrete. Currently, he is on what's called a profile -- he is restricted from running until after he is back in Iraq after R&R. Once he returns to Iraq after R&R, he will take another PT test. If he does not pass that one again, then he will be put on profile again. Then, they will let him replace to 2 mile run with a longer walk (2.5 miles, I think) and probably run some tests on his knee to find out what is wrong. Please pray that he is able to pass the PT test (whichever one he has to take -- running or walking) so he can move forward with his paperwork to switch to Active Duty. We really really really need him to come home as Active Duty rather than Reserves. Pray that his knee feels better -- or that they are able to figure out what's wrong and fix it easily -- and that his Active Duty paperwork goes through smoothly. I probably won't update again for a while since he should be home by April. We will call family once he is home and try to set up some times where we can get together for visits. Hopefully he makes it home before the baby is born.

Waiting for him,
Ariel

Short Update

Hey, y'all. Josh is doing well. He had a concussion a few days ago but is doing much better now. Apparently he hit his head extremely hard while getting into one of the vehicles and the doctor put him on bedrest for a couple days. He's much better now -- I could see in his face and eyes (over the webcam) that he was feeling a lot better today. We're still not sure of the exact dates for R&R, and honestly I won't know anything definite until I get a phone call saying he's home. We've been talking a lot about visiting with family and everything during R&R. I proimse that we will get around to see everyone, but please remember that this is going to be an extremely chaotic time for us with Josh only being home for a short time and also with the baby coming. We are going to try really hard to see everyone before the baby comes, so expect some short notice planning toward the end of March/ beginning of April. After the baby is here, visitors will be welcome at the house for short intervals at a time. Please don't just show up without calling (or even without giving much notice), and please don't expect to hang around all day. We will not have visitors at our house every day from when the baby arrives until when Josh leaves. If this starts to happen, then I will put my foot down and everyone will see one very cranky new mama. Josh and I need time alone with our son, too, before Josh heads back overseas. I'm sorry if anyone feels I am being rude, but that is just how it's going to be. Josh and I will have a few days of family time to spend with our son, and we will not hesitate to tell anyone if they are intruding. Once he gets home and the baby is here, we will decide what days we're going to set aside for us, and we'll let y'all know. Please respect that.
Keep Josh in your prayers as the heat overseas is going to be getting pretty intense again. Lack of showers makes this pretty miserable for the soldiers over there. Also pray that he is able to get enough sleep since he hasn't been able to lately.

Waiting for him,
Ariel

Hello Again

Josh and I have been able to communicate a little bit more lately through instant messenger. The weather over there must be getting better since it doesn't seem to be not knocking out the phone/internet lines as much. Temperatures are going to be getting extremely hot for him again here soon -- up to 130 and 140 degrees, I think is what he told me the other day. He's doing well but not looking forward to the intense heat again. They're busy with missions again now, which doesn't leave him too terribly much time to be bored anymore. Every time I talk to him, he talks about being excited to come home for a little bit. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. Pray for him to get enough rest while he's over there. He said he is having trouble sleeping lately. Also, please keep praying that he can get the Active Duty stuff all set up very soon. He hasn't been back at his main base long enough to do that. Overall, he's doing well but is busy and tired. He's proud of himself because he's been losing a lot of weight, though. All the exercise and carrying his gear, the hot temperatures, and trying to eat better is helping him shed the pounds. I'll try to post some pictures later for y'all to see. Keep praying for his safety and that things go smoothly for when he comes home for a couple weeks. Also, please pray that the baby doesn't come early. If the baby comes early, then Josh will miss the birth of his first child. Neither of us want that at all.

Waiting for him,
Ariel

Josh Called

Hey, everyone. Josh called me this morning at about 2am. He's doing well. They weren't as busy this past week, so he's been kind of bored compared to normal. He said that they only went out on two missions, one of which he was the only CA (civil affairs) person on the mission ... that means he basically was in charge of the mission, from what I understand
He's making new friends with the Infantry soldiers there. Most of the guys in Infantry he's getting to know are stationed in Alaska currently, but he said there's one guy that's from Indiana. They get along well, and he's enjoying getting to know them and spending time with them.
They've all taken up hunting. Apparently there is an abundance of wild cats, dogs, and foxes around the bases that get into their rooms and tear things apart. I told him to leave our cat alone when he gets home, and he said not to worry about that. :)
His team has a new team member, and they all get along with this new guy much better than with the guy that used to be on the team. The stress level is down by far, and everyone feels more relaxed and works better together, which is good. When the team leaders were switching members around, Josh said that there were two other team leaders that wanted Josh on their team, but his team leader said no and kept Josh where he was. When Josh asked why he was told that the other team leaders can see that he gets his jobs done and doesn't cause trouble, that he's the only one there that has no bad reports against him. He still seems kind of surprised, but I am extremely proud of him. He's doing so well over there.
They haven't had any more attacks on them, which is very good. Hopefully, they won't have to face anymore, either.
Josh said that at one of the bases he stays at, they have a "pet" eagle. The eagle was shot with a shotgun, and they've adopted it. He said it's very skittish still, but I think that's understandable. He also said that there are some really big, really ugly spiders over there. To his disappointment, he hasn't seen any camel spiders yet, though; and he has yet to see any scorpions.
Overall, he is doing quite well. He's getting very excited to come home for R&R for a little while. In fact, he talks frequently of getting to see everyone again. Please keep him and the people around him in your prayers. He's having a hard time sleeping at night, so prayer for that to be resolved quickly. He has not been able to get things straightened out for Active Duty yet, but he will soon hopefully. Please also keep that situation in your prayers. We need him to get it all figured out soon; otherwise, he will have nothing to do when he comes home (no job, no insurance, etc.).
As I hear from him again, I will update y'all more as to how he's doing.


Waiting for him,
Ariel

Little Update

Hey, everyone! Josh sent me an email Friday afternoon saying that he wasn't going to be able to call this weekend because the phone lines were down (happens a lot over there), but apparently they were fixed because he called this morning (Saturday morning) at about 2:30! He's doing really well, but they're still extremely busy. I doubt that he'll be able to call next weekend because they're so busy right now. He didn't really give me a ton of updates because we just kind of chatted about what's going on here and there, and I gave him some updates on things that have been going on around here. He hasn't been able to get things figured out with switching to Active Duty yet because their schedules are so hectic, but he's working on it. There shouldn't be any problem with him switching over and having order to move somewhere by the time he comes home after the deployment, and he did say a while ago that he is going to request one month home after the deployment before we have to move (which means everyone should get to see him before we move ... as long as we're allowed the month home). Other than that, not too much is going on. He misses everyone here, and he can't wait to come home for R&R. Things are going to be extremely busy during R&R, but we will make sure we get around to visiting everyone while he's home, so don't worry! :)

Well, that's about it! Keep him in your prayers and thoughts, and feel free to send him a little email of encouragement or something if you want (bigmanjosh2005@yahoo.com). He probably won't respond because he doesn't have a lot of internet access, but I'm sure the thought would be appreciated!

Now for a little update on my end ... I am almost 30 weeks along in the pregnancy, which leaves about 10 weeks (two and a half months) left! Pretty soon little John Allen Anthony will make his appearance! I am already getting things around in the nursery -- the dresser, changing table, and crib are all assembled and ready to go (well, there's no mattress or bedding in the crib yet). I also painted and put together letters that spell "John" to hang on the wall, and they have been put up, too! I'm getting extremely excited about all the baby things and getting everything ready for my son, and I cannot wait to hold his tiny body in my arms and look into his precious little face and tell him how much I love him. He is extremely active lately -- making my belly dance and twitch when I least expect it. I adore his little twists and turns and kicks. He's already stolen my heart! Please keep us in your prayers as he has started to drop already. My doctor said that everything is fine, but he is dropping a little early. Hopefully he will just stay put for now until his daddy can make it home to welcome him into the world! I have attached some photos of what's finished in the nursery. You can view the baby registry by going to www.babiesrus.com and searching for Ariel Anthony from South Bend, Indiana (I am the registrant, and Josh is the co-registrant). On the registry is the full themed set for the nursery as one of the items.

**Please note that if you cannot view the photos in the email update, then you will have to access the blog directly and view the actual post. There should be a link near the bottom of the email update that you can click into**

Heard From Josh Today :)

Hey, everybody. I just got off the phone with Josh not too long ago. He's doing well and is still extremely busy. He was very curious to know how everyone here was doing, so I gave him a few updates as I could. I'm sure he'd love to hear from anyone. If you want to email him, then his email address is bigmanjosh2005@yahoo.com . He is now a gunner (the person in the vehicle that sits up in the turret), and from what I understand I think he's enjoying that position. He's really excited about coming home for R&R and getting some home-cooked meals. Celeste, get ready to make him some lasagna! :) He can't wait to come home and see everybody for a little while. Anyway ... all in all, he's doing well and is staying pretty busy. I talk to him maybe once a week for a few minutes if I'm lucky, and his emails are few and far between (don't expect an email back from him if you send him one). Please keep him in your prayers as he is on missions constantly. He misses and loves everyone!

Waiting for him,
Ariel