On the road again...

Willie must have been high when he wrote that song...(big surprise huh?)... Cause I can say that I see no great fun in being on the road again. Another 2 and a half hour bus ride back to the gates of hades...some people call it Camp Shelby...not me. But I must admit I feel a renewed sense of purpose and motivation in my life after this brief but wonderful pass. The past 4 days I spent at home were lovely...and verythingbthat I had hoped they would be. I got to spend almost all of it with my precious girls and really felt so privileged to hear my baby girl coo and see her smile at me...and watch my big girl stand and try to take steps. She is so adventurous and playful now, a true joy for me to watch my little 21 month old miracle child! Most significant I think was watching my lovely bride handle all of this with such poise and strength...I was truly humbled by her dedication to our family and home and her endurance in handling so much stress. She is much stronger than I am and her patience is seemingly infinite (though I know it is not). I am not sure how she handles it all becase it is so tough with both of us at home? But she does and I imagine that the stress and tedium of it all is unbareable at times. I hope you'll all remember her in your prayers more than me. I witnessed first hand now the obvious pain and discomfort that Juliana has been feeling these past two months that I have been gone. Katherine was exactly right that Juliana seems to be suffering from acid reflux and our pediatrician agreed. So just like Maddy, Julie will take prevacid for the next weeks until she is able to handle her formula without assistance. I sure hope thy this helps her as much as I did Maddy. Other than that, Julie is a WONDERFULLY pleasant and Happy child. She smiles so easily and her whole face lights up! She makes me very happy! Madeleine has also become such a good big sister! She does the cutesy things and absolutely adores her baby sister. She even says "Hey Sissy!" in the highest octave you could imagine! It's precious. Her mobility is vastly improved and her skills with her left hand are also improving greatly. I still cannot believe that this is my same daughter who was on a
ventilator for 6 weeks and had a Grade 4 Bilateral Brain Hemmorhage!!! She defies all
science and brings tears to my eyes as she is a living testimony to God's grace and love!

A few people have expressed their desire to pray for me and I am truly honored and humbled. But in all sincere honesty I am in so little danger that I barely warrant them. I'd instead ask for you to first remember my family in your prayers and secondly I'd ask you to pray for the members of the Tiger Brigade that will be traversing the dangerous roads of Iraq fo the next year or so. They are the ones that will risk life and limb for our nation and they are the ones that will truly need your prayers. My days of being in their shoes are behind me and it is now my shared responsibilty to provide them with the tools and intelligence to execute their missions without fail or interruption. I am committed to this mission and our goals. But I assure you that if you wish to pray for my safety, you will honor me by praying for them. I believe in every fiber of my heart and soul that it is only through prayer, that the soldiers of my platoon made it back alive and largely unharmed from our last tour. I am flattered by all of your prayers and wishes and hope that you will join me in praying for the safety of our "front line" troops and for peace of mind for their families.

So I'll be leaving for our mission in just a few days. We have our ceremony tomorrow that should be quite a spectacle. The majority of the Tiger Brigade will be in formation on the field as our Commander and Guests address us, then we'll carry out the tradition of pass and review, then in true Louisiana style we'll "pass a good time" with food and music and most importantly our loved ones! I'm actually looking forward to it and hope that my family has a good time. I just hope the girls don't melt down in the middle of it! LOL! I'm so thankful that Katherine's folks will be with her to help! I really do have the best in-laws around. That by itself is q huge blessing!

Well I imagine that is enough writing to make up for the past 15 days of missed journal entries. Maybe I'll get the hang of this soon and won't leave y'all hangin so much! But I doubt it! Take care everyone! I'm sorry if I didn't visit with you all while I was home the past 3.5 days. I'll make it up to ya when I come home for my 2 weeks of leave! Until then, I remain in your service....

Pro Deo et Patria!

Will