Sydney Seven weeks Old.

I would have to agree with Paul in saying that the month of December has flown by. Christmas is only four days away!

Sydney is getting big. She is still a petite baby but a long baby. Her attitude along with her height is also constantly changing. She is talking and smiling whenever she is happy. She can already say ah, oh and goo :) She still unfortunately has the Princess and the Pea syndrome. She seems very touch sensitive. The lacy, fancy dresses(socks, diaper covers, hats etc.) are not her cup of tea! As well as, of course, a wet diaper. Although it can seem overwhelming at times, I am extremely blessed to have such a healthy little girl. I am also so grateful for the family and friends that love her. My mom is so much help with Sydney. She takes her for a few hours in the mornings so I can get some sleep! Sydney has recently been introduced to a bottle, to give her mommy a little freedom! Sydney has taken her bottle, with great ease, from Grandma several times. I am proud to say we, mother and daughter, have accomplished so much together.

Although Paul is not here for Sydneys first Christmas he will not miss out on much. Sydney will have her first "Real" big girl Christmas next year! We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!

Christmas!

Well Christmas has really snuck up on me this year. I cannot believe we are already so close to it. It seems as yesterday I was deployed. I have explained this before as it relates a lot to my past; it seems as though the days are soooo long but the weeks and months fly by so fast. I just want to put my head down at night, but it seems as though I wake up a month later. I hope when I get home I can cherish the long hours that I have with my family instead of wanting to be asleep. We have stayed really busy here in Kirkuk. Life is good and comfortable and everything has been fine. Thank you to everyone for sending me love in the form of packages! I got three from the wife, two from my parents, two from myself, one from Aunt Jaylene and PeePaw (and precious) and two from my old Wells Fargo branch. All these packages have been great and will definitely make this holiday season a bit better for me!

Talia recently sent me some videos of our little angel, and I know this is cliche but she is already getting sooo big! I have been running like crazy still. I hope in the end I am building up mileage slow enough. Sometimes I get a little over ambitious with my goals! This week I ran a total of 45 miles! This morning I ran a half marathon -13 miles! Ahhhhh

I love my new Garmin Forerunner 405 with Heart Monitor watch that was a little present to myself out here. It is definitely a God send in the form of training for running. Probably the best technological tool out there right now! \

Excercising feels so good and puts me in such a good mood! I hope everyone out there reading this can gain some desire to have a healthier life style. I have found you do not have to follow a crazy diet or regiment, but you definitely have to put your heart in it and work hard.

To anyone else reading this , read your scriptures and pray! Nothing will give you more daily power to do anything you want than these simple steps. It is proven! I love you all. Take Care. We will talk to you soon!

Tis the Season

We are in the midst of the holiday season and I am stuck in Iraq. I am glad to be serving my country and I am so very thankful that God has blessed me so much in my life. I feel so thankful for everyone's prayers for me. I can truly feel them. Yet, even with all these good feelings it is not the best feeling to be away from family and alone on these wonderful holidays. Thanksgiving dinner was great here in Kirkuk. They spoiled us rotten with food. I "repented" with a lot of working out the next day!

They say it takes 28 days to establish a routine or a good habit and really lock it in. Today was the 29th day of my workout routine. I am running 20-30 miles a week and do upper body and core workouts 3 times a week each. My body is feeling in much better shape but I still have a lot of weight to lose and a lot of work to do. I am hoping to run the Las Vegas Marathon. I invite any friends or family to join me for this event. It will be in the beginning of next December so everyone has a full year to train! I am currently 203 lbs (still a big boy) but I deployed weighing 240 lbs so I already have lost 37 lbs!

Right now it looks as though I may be home for mid-tour leave just in time to join my beautiful wife to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Many men forget the date of their anniversary. I just can't seeing that I am married to such a wonderful woman, I got to do it twice on the same date, and it was one of the best days of my life BOTH TIMES! (The best has to be Oct. 31st 2008!)

It feels weird to be a dad since I am not able to spend time with my child. Yet I still feel a responsibility even though I am so far away. It is a curious thing, but I like it.

Well before this gets to long, I just want everyone to know I will be thinking about them this holiday season, but I hope all of us can turn our hearts to the real celebration of Christmas. I hope everyone can turn their hearts to Jesus Christ, and his wonderful sacrifice he made for this world. I testify that Christ lives again, that he overcame death, and he is waiting for us all on the other side. Through prayer, repentance, and good old hard work, we can once again see our big brother and truly give him thanks for the wonderful gift he has given us!

In the spirit of Christmas I hope we are also thinking of those less fortunate than all of us who have our health, our wealth, and all of our posessions. I hope we can give and make this season a season of charity and love!

I will try not to wait so long until my next post on this blog. I love you all. God be with you til we meet again.