FRG success

I know this is a little late . . . But oh well. We had our first Family Readiness Group meeting and retreat last Saturday, it went really well. It was a lot of fun to get to know the rest of the wives, moms and loved ones of the soldiers Al is serving with. Our kids got to enjoy a fun day of crafts sponsored by Operation Military Kids. This all took place in Hutchinson.





Al got to spend a whole day at the shooting range, which was very much to his satisfaction. :) He was assigned to an M249 machine gun. Here is a picture of him with his buddies.

Thank You

I know you are all dying to hear from Al and how his training is going. Just talked with him tonight -- so grateful that, unlike his BCT and AIT, we are able to talk almost every day and email occasionally, too -- well, they ARE having fun in hot humid Mississippi. Today (actually, since it's already Friday, it was yesterday) they had to get up at 0230 for a LandNav Course. Despite it being an early hour, it proved to be a fun experience. I am hoping to relay more info for you as more becomes available. And perhaps some pictures.

As for us back home, well, I must say I am overwhelmed by kindness and love of our friends and family being poured out on us. Thank you for blessing us and carrying us through this time. It means more than words can say. I especially want to thank the Martin family and Jared Finsaas for just showing up and mowing our more than plentiful lawn -- I was prepared to mow it, but definitely not looking forward to it, your help was a huge mountain off my shoulders! :)

Thanks to the amazing Olsen family for adopting us for this week and feeding us a homecooked meal EVERY day! You are amazing! Thanks to our wonderful friends, Paul and Barb Borene for coming over and helping me battle the weeds, and thanks to Ken, Al's amazing Dad, for being there to fix our water heater, plumbing, Suburban, etc. etc. etc. and to Denise for clearing the fallen trees after the storm and dealing with the "hay issue" -- she knows what I mean. :)

And thanks to all of you who keep in touch and ask how we are doing, and even though you keep hearing back the good ole "So far so good," please don't stop asking. You are blessing.
Helen

UNDER ATTACK!!

It was a hot humid day, SGT Harcey and I went to the TOC to get a printout of our LESs. After we got them we walked back to our barracks. When we got to the door I noticed a baby bird stuck on the screen door. It was hanging by one toe and wasn’t strong enough to fly up to free itself. So here’s a baby blue bird, hanging upside down at my mercy. So me being the rough, tough, US Army soldier that I am gently grasped it by its tiny little leg and freed it. As I bent down to release the little birdie to freedom I felt a sharp blow to the back of my head. My first thought was that the SGT had slapped me for some reason. I looked up in time to see papa and mama bluebird diving in for their second ferocious attack. They were very angry. I dodged that attack and they beset on SGT Harcey. He ran around flapping his arms, generally, but not very successfully, trying to stave off their attacks on him. They winged him and then made another Kamikaze pass at me. We ran around trying to get away from them, but they were everywhere. I dove for the door, threw it open and yelled – “FRIENDLY COMIN’ IN!!” And then held it while SGT came dashing in behind me. The whole thing lasted about 10 seconds. But that 10 seconds seemed an eternity. Time slowed down, everything seemed to go in slow motion and I began to get tunnel vision. We finally got inside and stood there and laughed for about 5 minutes. I may get my Army Combat Badge before we even get to the Box. :-)
 

Al's Current Address

I know he'd love to hear from you, so if you have a minute, drop him a line -- it's amazing how God uses us all to build each other up even when we are completely unaware.

PFC Arends, Alan
849th MAC
2490 25th Street
Camp Shelby, MS 39407-5500

Helen

The Day Has Come

The three months, which seemed like such a long time in February, went by lightning fast. June 4th Al reported to Litchfield unit for his deployment orders. We got to spend three days together at the Armory, meeting the guys he will be serving with and their families. (The picture on the side is of his squad.) The emotions in the air were thick and heavy. These are not just some guys from far away. These are our friends, neighbors, dads, sons, husbands, boyfriends, brothers . . . putting themselves in the harm's way. Makes me think back to all soldiers deployed in a war zone -- every single one of them is somebody's son at the very least. Every single one of them has loved ones waiting anxiously for his return. This is beyond TV, or media as a whole.

It was surreal. Feels like a dream. Like any minute we will wake up and life will be back to "normal." But wait a minute, this is now our "normal."

In a way, it was a lot of fun to meet everyone. The ceremony on Wednesday was very meaningful, complete with Governor Pawlenty and Patriot Guard in attendance. I did hear a rumor that an anti-war protest had been scheduled, but got canceled when they heard about the Patriot Guard. Yeah! The PG's are AWESOME! A couple of them were the young OIF veterans, home for medical leave after suffering wounds in Iraq. Another, a close friend, whose husband is serving in Iraq right now. Yet another, a mom, who recently lost her son there. If you would like to see the news coverage of the event, you can find it at: http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=
E5A4F17AC157EB8DCA90221C96AB15D5?contentId=3419494&version=
1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1 and http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=
BF89A3DC7E11BE04B85532820DC8D898?contentId=3421713&version=
3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1

and here is a slideshow -- even Al and I and Nat got on it :)
http://www.independentreview.net/node/1078

Well, we took the plunge. And it is definitely a stretch, a leap of faith . . . We talk about trust and faith a lot, but here is where the proverbial rubber hits the road.

Thank you to all our dear friends, who showed up at the send-off -- just by being there, you blessed us! I know that a lot more wanted to come and weren't able to, thank you for thinking of us, and for praying for us.

Check in often as I will keep updating this as much as possible. Right now Al is in Mississippi, going through some training before they ship out to Iraq, and is not able to publish updates himself. Howbeit, this is his site and he will be the one updating as soon as he is able to.