Boots On The Ground

At our FRG Meeting Tuesday night, the CSM of Ben's Brigade was there and spoke to us, answering questions, giving out info. It was good to see a familiar face, and though not that familiar, it was the face of a man that my husband has been working with every day since he left our home for Iraq. Because of that link, it was good to see his face.

The best part of the night, however, was his announcement that a Boots On The Ground Date has been announced. "Boots On The Ground" refers to my husband's boots....and those of the men & women in all of 4th Brigade.....! In other words, they're COMING HOME!!! Oh, did I mention, it's sooner than we expected??

YAY!!!!

Of course, due to OPSEC, I cannot post actual dates here, but those who are interested can contact me for specifics. :)

In Other Exciting News, Ben will be coming home here for 18 days of Leave on February 1. Only a couple more weeks till we see him!!! I'm getting pretty excited....starting to be all "Nesty" again. We're making only a few plans for Things to Do. Mostly, we'll just be hangin' around the house, being a family again. Ben, of course, has not yet seen this house we're in. We moved here about 5 weeks after he left. Though, it is a similar home, being just across the street from the previous one.

A Third Exciting News Bit: Yesterday, all at once, Violet cut 3 new molars!!! Little girl didn't even flinch! I had no idea she was teething...no fussing, maybe just a little sawing at the back gums....and *pop*pop*pop* there they were! This little tiny infant is all growed up!

Other than those 3 exciting bits, life in between is just be-boppin' along. I keep a friend's kids after school, teach a few children on Fridays, and cook and watch Violet grow the rest of the time. :) God IS gracious.....my husband reminded me that grace isn't always the "in-your-face" kind of Show like we saw back in July, when Ben's life was spared in an IED explosion....sometimes it's the quiet stillness, the peace that signifies God has His hand over us, keeping us from catastrophe and disaster. It's like the peace and stillness of the inside of our van, Violet asleep in the back, classical music streaming softly from the stereos, while 18-wheelers and motorcycles and fast cars and carrier vehicles whiz by us just inches away sometimes-- at 70 miles an hour. God's hand is always between "Death on Wheels " and us. That is also Grace....