Nate getting promoted...

Well, it's been awhile since I have updated everyone, so here is what's new...  First, when you get promoted it doesn't become official until there is a ceremony and you get "pinned" by someone of a higher rank.  Nate was officially promoted today by a one star general in front of two squadrons.  It's not often that you get promoted by a general, so he was pretty excited about it.  I am so proud of him!!!
Second, as of right now they are not having anyone from Nate's squadron stay for the full year as previously planned...which means NATE IS COMING HOME IN AUGUST!!!  I am so excited and can hardly wait.  I am so happy for him and for Mailie and Mav.  I know this time has been especially hard on them.  Okay, I just have to say it one more time..it's June and Nate will be home in August!!!

Check back to see pictures of Nate getting his promotion.  I should have them soon.

At the end of last week Nate received a meritorious promotion!  That basically means that a superior officer has to recognize that you consistently go above and beyond and recommend you to the board.  The board then reviews everything and decides if you get it or not...and he did.  The ceremony promoting him to corporal will be at the beginning of June.  Getting a meritorious promotion looks really good on your record, so this is great.  I am so proud of him!  Of course, he is already looking for extra things to do to help him get promoted to sergeant as fast as possible.

There was an article stating that there are talks about getting our military sent back here sooner than anticipated with the recent turn of events, but I'm not sure if that is speculation/rumors or something that is actually possible.  It would be so nice if he could come back on schedule instead of staying a full year.  I'm praying for divine intervention on that one!

I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the boys on Saturday.  I didn't really expect Nate to be thinking about it being Mother's Day weekend, but it was so nice that he did!  It was a hard day not having him around and not being able to get to the cemetery to put flowers on my mom's grave, but it was definitely nicer every time I looked at those flowers.  We didn't get to talk or Skype, but we did email back and forth a little, so all in all it made for a nice day.

I haven't been getting an opportunity to talk to Nate too much lately, but he did check in today.  He had just returned from medical.  Apparently someone had parked a C-17 (which is a large transport plane--I googled it) where is wasn't supposed to be and it was blocking something that they needed to work on, so while Nate was trying to hook up the towbar to move the equipment, the 60 pound towbar fell on his foot.  They sent him to medical where they decided that is wasn't broken, just very badly bruised.  I, of course, pointed out that he should come home and elevate it, but that didn't seem to fly with him.  He was supposed to be running a 10k race tomorrow moring, so he is pretty upset that he isn't going to get to do that.  He was really looking forward to the run, and there is very little to look forward to over there.

There is still no word on return orders as of yet, but we didn't really expect that there would be.  Hurry up and wait.  :)

Obviously things are kind of crazy with Nate right now.  Lots of "Mom, I can't talk about that right now".  I talked to him on Friday and he said they had gotten some big news or "intelligence" that he couldn't tell me.  I think the main concern is retaliation although, again, he will not confirm or deny that.  He has gotten very good at that.  I get "we will talk about that later" alot too.  My imagination is working over time!  Of course, my first thought was...okay mission accomplished.  Send our kids home!  But, I guess it isn't that simple...or so Nate says.  He is not sure how this will affect his deployment though.  There is some talk that no one will be staying for the full year as was previously thought, but then someone else tells him that everything is proceeding as planned...so once again, we just wait.  I guess we really won't know for sure until he is either on a plane heading home at the end of summer or standing on the sandy ground waving to the rest of his unit.  I guess you get used to that eventually, since you really can't change it.

Yesterday they were without power most of the day, so he is pretty sure he lost about 7 pounds.  I can't even imagine being stuck in those heavy tents in 100 degree weather with no air, no fans, nothing.  Fun stuff!

We are supposed to skype in the next few days, once we coordinate our schedules, so hopefully I will know more then.  At least when I ask him a question, I can see his face when we skype.  Sometimes that tells me more than he ever would!

Nate received his package from Dawn and Denny today!  He is thinking he may have to find a thin mint girl scout cookie addition group.  He is not a big candy person and doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, but you set a box of thin mint girl scout cookies in front of him and he just melts!

He also got his computer today so he is working on getting that set up so that he can see Maverick tonight.  He is sooo excited about that!  He said he isn't telling Mailie that he got it, so that he can just surprise her when she gets on (on Skype you can see when someone is online, so that you know when to call them).

Yes, the tornadoes that hit North Carolina over the weekend did hit in the area of the base.  They had everyone with family there call home to make sure they were okay so that they wouldn't be worried and distracted.  Carrie and Drew had lots of trees and branches down around them, but thankfully no damage to the house.  Of course, they had a showing on Sunday, so they were scrambling to get everything cleaned up so the house looked nice.

I was explaining this crazy weather to Nate and he pointed out that it's 100 degree there right now.  By June/July it will be 120 degrees there.  He asked me to send him some of his dessert camis so that when it gets "really hot" he will have them....not sure I remember what hot weather is, but I'm kind of thinking that 100 degrees qualifies!  I just can't imagine.  They not only have to walk around in that heat, but he is taking the marial arts and running the pt in that everyday. 

Mailie sent Nate the picture below.  She said "smile for daddy" and this is what she got....  He is such a happy baby!

I told Nate that in this picture it looks like he has graduated to the big boy table, but he still has a little boy chair.  Apparently when they first got there, they did not even have work stations so they put a piece of plywood over two toolboxes to set their stuff on.  So, it was either stand for the entire 12 hour shift or set on a metal folding chair and reach.  At least now they have actual make-shift work stations in the hangar that are the correct height...progress!

He is still waiting for his martial arts class to start, but he said it's okay because he has a big paper to write for class that is taking up alot of time.  As is typical for Nate, he chose the hardest topic from the list of topics that they could do the assignment on.

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in an given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
                                                                                                - Viktor Frankl