Where has the time gone?

I know.....I haven't been very timely with updating the blog.
My apologies. I am not sure where the time has gone. Andrew was home for R&R April 20th-May 4th. He got two days late thanks to the Volcano, but he made it home safe and sound eventually. We had a very busy two weeks! We were able to see family and most of our friends.

The first week we were in Washington D.C. and Maryland for Andrew's good friend, Brandon Kasen. We met so many people and had a wonderful time. We went sight seeing and did some relaxing as well.

Then, we came home for a day and then head north to see

the family for a few days. It was so nice for Andrew to see

everyone even though the visits were short. He is really

looking forward to coming home and spending more time and catching up with everyone.

Shortly after Andrew left, I took a pregnancy test and BAM, our lives have changed :) We are pregnant! We had hoped it would happen while he was home and I guess we hope enough. We took a test the night before he departed, but it was pretty vague. Then on Mother's Day I took another test and it was positive for sure! We are so very excited! Andrew was able to call into the first OB apt. and listen to the heartbeat. We were both very emotional and ecstatic! It is truly amazing.

So, for Father's Day, I was able to send him copies of the

ultrasound. The pictures are also on Facebook. As of today

we are 10wks/2days. We will keep everyone posted on

the developments.

Andrew will be home in Indiana in exactly 65 days. The replacements for his unit will be arriving in mid-July and then they will be leaving Afghanistan in roughly 55 days or so. We are counting down the days. Andrew is eager to get home, visit with family, get back to work and live our lives together :)

Attached to this posting are some pictures from Washington D.C. and an ultrasound picture. Enjoy and until next time, which will hopefully be sooner than later, take care and pray for our troops.

Love,

Erin, Andrew & Baby

Pictures......

Our handsomely hairy soldier, St. Sgt. McKalips


Andrew, some Air Force guys and Jack (the bomb sniffing dog)




Andrew and his teammate Joe



In Andrew's words, "The crew on a big ass truck."

MAY THE COUNT DOWN BEGIN.......

I can't believe Thanksgiving has passed, then Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day and soon to be St. Patrick's Day, wow how the time has passed! This means as of today, Andrew will be home for R&R in 59 days, but who is counting? :) We are so very excited. Andrew will be home April 18th/19th until May 4th. We are attending a good friends wedding in Maryland during his leave. We fly out of Indy on April 21st and will return April 26th. A couple of days prior to the wedding we are going to visit Washington D.C. as well. We are looking forward to actually traveling together for a change :) The rest of the days he is home we will be making the rounds to be sure and visit with family and friends. So, mark you calendars so we can visit.

As a report from Andrew.....he seems to have pretty good spirits now that his contract is figured out. We had a mess for a couple of weeks because he was inactive reserve status..blah...blah..blah, but everything is figured out now, thankfully. He had to "extend" his contract for 2yrs. but the overall his time will only be 1 extra month of total duty time. The plan for him is to be home sometime in Aug. 2010 and then a reserve commitment for the remainder of the year and then we will be finished with the Army! YEAH!


I have been begging Andrew to send some pictures, but he isn't patient enough because his Internet connection is pretty slow. He promises to put a photo album together when he gets home to show everyone. However, he loves to get pictures in his care packages. So, please do share with him.


Speaking of care packages. Everyone has been so supportive! Thank you to of coarse the McKalips family, The Lesiak's, Dana, Mitch & Jackson, Morin & Kebert Family, Jacky & Kevin Caudle, Courtney & Derek, IMPD family, Grandma & Papa Lesiak and I am sure I am forgetting others but THANK YOU SO MUCH for showing your support. Every package brings a smile to Andrew's face and a piece of home he knows is waiting for him to return home safely.


That's it for this update. Andrew thinks of all our family and friends often and appreciates all the support. Emailing him at ajm_elv717@hotmail.com or Facebook is the best way to contact him. He isn't very good at responding, but believe me he reads them and appreciates them.


Love to All from the Army Wife,


Erin Lynn

Creative wishes!!

Merry Christmas is spelled out in dog and cat food,
then the next picture the dog was tired of taking pictures
and got hungry! Thanks Joe, Erin, Clover and Debo!


Love, Mike, Lee, Tyler and Jessica Wynn




This picture was made by Erin's brother, sister-in-law
and the kid's diapers. Merry Stink'n Christmas :)




If you can't read the small sign it says, "Look an Afghan"
referring to the blanket Grandma Reed is covered up
with. Very clever guys!

Merry Christmas from Afghanistan!

Well, it has been 9 weeks in country so far! The time has actually flown by, thankfully! Andrew's military orders are for a total of 400 days and we are currently on day 108, so that means we are a quarter of the way through this deployment! Andrew's R&R is attentively scheduled for April 19th-May 3rd, so we are really looking forward to that!

Andrew sent the pictures this week, the Christmas tree picture is "Afghanistan style" because they hadn't received any real decorations yet. It is decorated with PT belts, homemade snow flake, badges of "guys who have been fired from their job" and a cardboard replica of the badge they carry on a daily basis. The tree is know decorated "American style" but I haven't gotten any pictures yet.

Andrew and I have been able to talk almost everyday by SKYPE. We love it and it is free! We usually talk when it is early morning for him and night time for me (9 1/2hr. time difference). It really makes a difference and things easier (emotionally) when we actually get to see each other's face. Some days the Internet connection is better than others depending on how busy the connection is on base. So, if you download SKYPE, then maybe you can see and talk with Andrew. His beard is quite impressive as you can see in the picture.

I want to thank everyone who emailed Christmas pictures to me for Andrew's photo album. He received them last week and loved them! He said it really makes a difference know people haven't forgotten about him :) Of coarse we wouldn't but being that far away he said it can be lonely. Andrew picked out his favorites which have been posted below as well. Thanks everyone!!

It's seems that care packages are taking about 7-10 days, which is great. He has received so many. He said the unit chaplain's office is stuffed full of care packages sent by churches, schools and many other organizations. He said everyone is so appreciative all the support. Keep the packages coming because it helps with the moral.

Andrew and I are so appreciative of all the support from family and friends. Thank you so much. Enjoy the pictures and Merry Christmas from Afghanistan and Indianapolis!

Love,
Erin

It's been awhile....

Sorry for the delay in postings, but it's been a long week for Andrew. I spoke with him last night and he has been feeling a little under the weather and is getting over a cold. He has been working with a lot of the local people and therefore being exposed to the ever so wonderful gross and grimy germs of the Afghanistan people. But he is starting to feel much better.

Andrew finally got the two care packages from me and one from my sister. My first package took 2 1/2 wks to get there and the second package was better, only taking 8 days. My sister's package only took one week. He was so excited! From this point on, the mail should be pretty regular and only take 5-7 days to arrive from the states. Please note the address change on the blog. We have been advised to not put his rank on the packages for security reasons. His company has also changed from C,co. to HHC.

Andrew's unit did experience a loss with one of their unit soldiers last week. An evil roadside bomb killed a soldier from Maryland and two other Marines were injured. Andrew did not know the soldier very well, but he was a fellow soldier which means a brother lost. The news was a lot harder for me to cope with than it was for Andrew. I was a mess and could not stop thinking about how real this deployment is starting to feel. Andrew on the other hand, is in a state of mind to continue working and get the job done, which is what we want rather than being distracted. He said he does not have time to think about the loss. The unit is holding a memorial service for the fallen soldier which Andrew will attend on Wed., so please keep the fallen soldiers' family in your thoughts as well as the unit to stay focused on their mission and to stay safe.

Andrew is hopefully getting a computer this week so he can get caught up on this blog and hopefully write some comments to everyone. And with a computer he will be able to post some pictures of where he is at. I know I am looking forward to that as well.

As always, thank you to everyone for your support, encouraging words and prayers. Until next time.......Count your blessings and hug your loved ones tightly.

Promotion!

I heard from Andrew yesterday on a cell phone he was issued, rather than the hassle of being connected thru the Pentagon. He called at an unsual time with the good news of being promoted to a Staff Sergeant (E-6)!! He is very excited and looking forward to the perks, what those may be I am not sure besides a pay increase :)

He was in good spirits and has a countdown of 335 days until he is finished with this deployment. The 335 days includes his 2wks. of R&R home and also the 2wks. of debriefing when they return to the states. So, we figured roughly about 300 more days of playing in the sandbox and then it's back to playing with bad guys on the street with IMPD! We can't wait!

Andrew is going to buy his own laptop in a couple of weeks and then he will be able to post some pictures of where he is, sleeps, eats, etc. He will also be able to post his own posting rather than me, his wife posting for him. I am looking forward to the pictures as I know most of you will find them interesting as well.

Andrew and I ask that you please keep the Ft. Hood soldiers and families in your thoughts and prayers, what a horrible tragedy. It is sad to know that a fellow soldier you are supposed to trust, loses his mind on a shooting spree! Please pray for the hard work and sacrifices of our soldiers and the toll it takes on their mental health. It is important to have family and friends show there support. Thank to this blog and the comments, we know we are loved and supported.

Until next time........