Fortress Building

When you were a kid, did you build forts in the living room with couch cushions? This is similar, except we were building a privacy room out of cots.

Different parts of Iraq have different types of farming. Some is irrigated. Other areas obviously receive enough rain not to need irrigation. Here are examples of two different areas of the country.

Monopoly?

This whole FOB has street signs from Monopoly.

Sunsets

Pretty sunsets in Iraq.

High Dive

Plastic throne

These are like thrones. They are so important, it's not even funny.

Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer

Saturday, my friend Marci and I enjoyed some beautiful weather at Snoqualmie Pass for a great reason!  Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer!  The event was a smashing success with many people participating and over $28,000 raised for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.


Pink Everywhere:

Marci and I in the requisite self portrait.

The start of our 5K walk.

We met up with another friend from our Battalion.

Amazing scenery.

More pink!  This group had some great costumes, Pink Mrs. Claus outfits, very cool.  Other teams wore matching hats that looked just like what this event is trying to get us all to check on a regular basis.  Men and women alike wore these hand knit creations.  Did you know that men can develop breast cancer as well?  I didn't before Saturday.  Guys, check yourselves!

All done!  This was our full group from the 109th MI BN.  Next year, when our spouses and significant others have returned we hope to do this again with them.  Maybe next year Joshua can come along too.  I saw so many children and infants out on Saturday.  I guess Joshua could have come along but I know he had a great time with our good friends all day long and I enjoyed some time not being "mommy".  

The weather was so nice that by noon the parking lot was a muddy mess!  Did you see those gorgeous mountains though?  Who cares about mud with this view?

Scenes after a rainy day

These are scenes from up north after a rainy day. Very pretty clouds. Pretty puddles. A long flat area.

Part Time Job: Kitchen Help

Name:  Joshua 

Job Objective:

I bring to this job a creative perspective which allows me to redecorate my mommy's kitchen quickly and in a very unique manner each and every time.

Experience: 

October 2009 - Discovered my innate ability to open and close drawers while crawling through the kitchen.

November 2009 - Realized the objects in the cupboards and drawers can move at my will.  I educated myself well on how to make things stand up, knock them over, and rearrange.

December 2009 - Began to entertain myself very well with rearranging the drawers and cabinets.  So much so that my mommy gave me a drawer and cupboard all to myself to further encourage my great potential.

January 2010 - Expanded my horizons to removing and replacing objects in my drawers and cabinets with other objects around the house.

February 2010 - Perfected my ability to completely empty a whole set of drawers and a cabinet in the matter of a few minutes, mommy's email checking time.

As noted in the photograph above, I can give a clean kitchen a whole new look in a matter of minutes.  Nothing is sacred, be prepared that I will use every object at my disposal to create a new look for you and your kitchen.  Rest assured, you will giggle with me the whole time because my "work" really is quite entertaining.  I plan to continue my education by moving on to the bookshelf in the living room.

References:

Mommy and Daddy

Christmas at "home"

Not quite the same, but this was my view at Christmas.

Abstract Photos

These are actual photographs.

Cool spiral staircases

This staircase was seen in a guard tower.

Drinking Root Beer on the Roof

This is a rather unique access panel that I found while walking around one day. So much cooler than a boring diagonal grate pattern.

The Bat House

No. Really. It's a house for bats. Smack dab in the middle of a FOB. Anyone scared of vampires?

And what's that stuck on the door? Yep. That's a Wall Drug sticker!

Where the Heck is Wall Drug?

Where the heck is Wall Drug? 6712 miles away. That's where.

This post dedicated to all of the Walligans, Wallahoos, Wallites or whatever the heck you're called when you live in Wall, South Dakota.

A shout out to Jonah!

Yes, I mean Jonah, not Joshua.  Who's Jonah?  Jonah is an adorable little boy who has a first birthday coming up pretty soon.  All first birthdays are special, but Jonah's party will be celebrated all over the country and beyond.  Why?  Great question.  Jonah has a skin disorder called Epidermolysis Bullosa, EB for short, in which blisters develop easily all over the body.  Children born with this condition are given pretty poor prospects with regard to longevity (87% of infants with Jonah's type die in the first year).  "An estimated 1 out of every 50,000 live births are affected with some type of EB. The disorder occurs in every racial and ethnic group throughout the world and affects both sexes equally" (http://www.debra.org).  So, to say that Jonah can celebrate his first birthday is in many ways a miracle in itself.


Why am I even mentioning this?


Last year, while up in the middle of the night pumping for Joshua, I stumbled across this blog via another friend's blog (Thanks Autumn!).  Immediately I became enthralled with the writing style of Patrice and Jonah's miraculous story.  I found myself checking the blog for updates every day, sometimes more than once a day.  Reading about Jonah's day to day gives me renewed faith and hope that things like prayer actually do work.  There have been many times that Jonah has needed a complete 180 and for no known reason, except prayer, circumstances changed.  Seriously, some things can't really be explained.  Another reason I return to this blog time and again, education about EB.  EB affects so many more children in this world than Jonah.


Because EB's reach is so far and wide Jonah's birthday celebration will also have an auction.  An auction?  Yes.  Many people have donated wonderful items to be auctioned off to raise funds for research of EB.  All proceeds from the auction will be donated to DebRA.


What can you do?


1.  Check out the auction site, if only to bid other people up higher.  Hey, it's all for a good cause.
2.  Bid on and/or purchase some items.
3.  Spread the word about the auction.  Patrice (Jonah's mom) is a little concerned that no one will bid, thus no money for DebRA.  Share the news far and wide, let's help fund some research on this disease!
4.  Most importantly, find out more about EB.  Educate your friends and neighbors so when you encounter a person with EB, they are treated with love, compassion, and understanding.


Recap:
Jonah's story:  http://patriceandmattwilliams.blogspot.com
The auction:  http://jonahsebauction.blogspot.com/


That's all folks!


P.S.  In case you were wondering, here are the logistics for the auction.  http://jonahsebauction.blogspot.com/2010/01/jonahs-eb-auction.html

Mosques on FOBs

All of the FOBs have mosques on them. Because they were Iraqi bases prior to the U.S. invasion, they were used as places of worship. Now they sit walled off, because Soldiers are forbidden from entering them.

Irony in Naming

Saddam Hussein told the Iraqis that they won the Gulf War of 1991. Ironically, he started to build the "Victory Over America" palace as an extension of the "Victory Over Iran" palace.

The palace wasn't finished when the bombs started falling in March of 2003, and the construction workers fled leaving their cranes in place.

Bedrock in Baghdad?

In the Radwaniyah Palace complex is a place that Saddam built for his grandchildren. The playhouse area is very large and is built to resemble Bedrock from the Flintstones. There is even an elevator that goes up three floors. The buildings are next to the lake, and really, if it weren't for the bedrock and general sense of decay, would be very neat.

Sadly, there's a sad story with this place. Saddam Hussein did not trust his daughters' husbands. He felt they had betrayed them and killed them. In order to alleviate his grandchildren's despair and sense of loss, he built them Bedrock.

Great place. Sad purpose.

The Baath Party House

Here is the Baath Party House.

Animals abound

The lakes of the Radwaniyah Palace complex abound with birds and fish. Evidently, there is a type of carp that grow to a hundred pounds. Soldiers regularly catch the carp in the lake.

I'll Love You Forever

The other day, I found Joshua in the bathroom in a rare moment when I forgot to close the bathroom door.  What I found completely reminded me of the children's book by Robert Munsch, "I'll Love You Forever".  I really couldn't get upset.  Reason #1, the boy knows my weakness, children's literature.

Reason #2, he is so stinkin' cute!

Reason #3, he cleans up after himself.  I guess his fascination with trash cans does have a few positive notes.

Oops, I guess he needed to take some back from the trash!

Chapels in Baghdad

There's a great story with this chapel. Saddam didn't trust his people to cook for him. He imported Chaldean Christians from the north. Because they were Christian, he built them this beautiful chapel on the water. I'm slightly envious, because I preach in a worship shed. It's not the space though. It's the people, right?