Greetings from Afghanistan...

Things here are very busy, but that is ok. It is making time go by very quickly. Work has been really busy lately and my two Masters classes are keeping me very busy. I have had an exciting couple of days though. Last night LTC (Ret.) James Megellas was here and told us some war stories and handed out free signed copies of his book “All the Way to Berlin”. He has the distinction of being the 82nd Airborne’s most decorated WWII officer. From what I am told the book is very well written and a great account of the 82nd and their exploits during WWII. The other big piece of news is I have been emailing back and forth with Shah Muhammad Rais better known as the bookseller of Kabul. He has written a book that rebuts some of the liberal propaganda published in the book “The Bookseller of Kabul”. This morning it was delivered to me and Rais signed that book as well. It is only published here in Kabul and I haven’t seen it offered anywhere online. It is very short, but it is very interesting. It was delivered by Rais’s cousin Mustafa. The pictures are of me standing with him.
That is my exciting news for today. I guess I am taking too many classes because I’m having fun collecting signed books. Hope all is well at home. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Take care and God bless.
Ben

A little late...

sleeping at the zoo

eating birthday cake... kinda

Well, Hunter's first birthday has come and gone! I'm a little late with this post, but I suppose it's better late than never, right? Hunter had a wonderful birthday and he is enjoying all of his new toys and clothes. Alright, maybe not the clothes as much, but he is definatley enjoying the toys! On the Saturday before his birthday we had a party and Hunter enjoyed his favorite dinner of pizza, although he fell asleep in his high chair while eating. The poor little guy was apparently quite worn out! He was quickly revived when he started opening presents though, and he did a great job of that! The first couple presents were great and he did a great job of tearing the paper off all by himself. After that he opened a ride on Lightning McQueen (from the movie Cars) and he was done opening gifts. He was way to busy playing with his amazing car to worry about anything else. Must be great to be a kid, huh?
I am going to try to post some pictures of his cake eating, hopefully they will work. He had a great time smashing his birthday cake. He didn't actually eat very much of it, but it sure got everywhere!
On Monday (the 18th) my mom and I took Hunter to the zoo for his real birthday. We had a great time and it was a perfect day for the zoo. Hunter wasn't so sure about all of the animals, but he got a kick out of the bears and the elephants. He also loved the petting zoo because there were goats to pet and brush. That was pretty cool to him! I personally thought it was a bit smelly, but it sure made him happy. He must have had a great time because he fell sound asleep in his stroller until we got some ice cream and then headed home. What a great first birthday! Thank you to everyone for the wonderful gifts and cards, we really appreciate you remembering his birthday.
Hunter and I also started a mommy and me class at the park district called tumble bees. It's basically a class that allows the kids to play on different equipment and mats in the gym, it's a lot of fun and Hunter just loves it. We are taking it with a new friend and so that makes it even better for both of us. We have been keeping really busy and trying hard to pass the time. So far, so good!
Ben should be home in mid-October and we are very excited about that! Everything is set for going to a wedding in Atlanta and then vacationing as a family for a while afterward. We are looking forward to just spending time together for a while.
I think that is all of our news for now. Hope that all is well with our few faithful readers!
Love, em and HJ

First Haircut

So, today our little Hunter got his very first haircut! We went to this amazing place called Kid Snips where he got to sit in a little car, watch a movie of his choice and get his hair cut all at the same time! He even got a toy and a balloon, and a certificate (which is sooooooooooo adorable!) He did cry, but it could have been a lot worse. And his new hair cut looks adorable! I just realized as I went to upload pictures that I didn't get any good shots of his new cut, so I will have to do that soon. It must look alright because tonight we were at Kohl's and a lady who must have been at least 75 said that he was "quite a little dude." What a compliment!

We are busy getting ready for his birthday party, I can't believe that he will be turing one in just over a week! Where has the time gone? We ordered a cake today and now all we have to do is order the pizza. My mom and I are planning to take him to the zoo on his real birthday, so he has lots of exciting stuff coming up. He is just getting so big and soooooooooo smart!

Well, I should be getting to some other stuff, but I wanted to post about his first haircutting adventure! Hope that everyone is well...

Love,

Em and HJ

Walking, walking!!!

...and he's off! Our little Hunter J is walking all over the place. It's amazing to see! He had been taking a few steps here and there, but on Saturday we were at my grandma's house (Hunter's great-grandma, his Gigi) and he just discovered that he could walk quite a bit. It was so fun to see him toddling around and giggling like crazy. He's just getting so big so quickly!
He was also asked to be a ring bearer in his Uncle Jonathan's wedding, so he's very excited about that. We will have to perfect this walking stuff in time for the wedding in October, especially since his Daddy will be there and we have to show off for daddy. Only two and a half months until Ben is home to visit and we can't wait! We have a great time planned, starting with going to his brother's wedding (yay for Julie joining the Feicht family!), then on to Biltmore in Ashville, North Carolina, and finally to Gatlinburg where we have a FABULOUS cabin for a week. We are sooooooooooo excited to be able to spend time as a family and just be normal for a while! After Gatlinburg we will head back to Chicago because Ben has to fly out of here, but it should only be for a couple of days. We are leaving that part of his trip open for right now, just in case we think of something fun to do.
Anyway, it's getting late and I should be sleeping but I just wanted to share the great news that Hunter is walking!!! Yay!
Love, em

Grad School Here I come

Hey everyone. I know it's been a long time and I haven't posted anything exciting. Work here is really boring actually. It keeps me busy, but it just involves researching different questions (you'd be amazed what some people will ask) and trying to keep people working together. Let me tell you, some people are really stubborn and very hard to work with. Other than that nothing exciting here. Emily just posted my big news. Yes, I am going to try to start grad school over here. The Army pays for most of it and I get a Masters in homeland security. I am very excited about the possibility of teaching at West Point though. If I get selected (I've been told only about 18 CPTs a year get selected) then the Army will pay me to go to grad school full time for two years and get a Masters in military history. After that we would move to West Point to teach. I don't like West Point cadets (cadidiots), or the communist NY gun laws, but it is a great opportunity to get some great schooling and teaching experience - while at the same time not having to deploy every other year.

The nly other exciting piece of news I have is that I have switched rooms yet again. Hopefully this is the last time. The pictures in this post are of my new pimp pad. The roommate I just moved away from snored so loud that one night some folks thought we were being attacked! Okay, not really, but he was the loudest snoring guy I've ever heard. The walls of our connex room literally shook from his snoring. The new room is great though and I'm rooming with Scott, the guy I also work all day with. One of the good things is I won't have to get a new roomie every couple of months (yes, some branches of the military send their people for 4-6 months...air farce) while the Army sends me for 15. But, at least for now things are looking up as far as housing.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I am doing fine over here. I miss everyone and I can't believe HJ is already taking steps, but time is flying and pretty soon I will be back home.

Ben

His First Step!

Hi all!

Well...I just wanted to share some exciting news. Hunter took his first step! He hasn't been able to get more than one step at a time yet, but he is sure working hard on it. He uses his little walker thing to get all over the house so I'm sure it will be no time at all before he starts cruising around on his own. Of course, he took a step toward me because I had one of my Grandma's homemade peanut butter oatmeal bars and he wanted that...but hey! It was a step!

The other good news today is that Donna, my mom's friend who is battling cancer, found out that her tumor is actually shrinking so the chemo is working this time. Yay for that! She is fighting hard so it's very encouraging to everyone to finally get some good news.

Ben is doing well, he has started his master's degree online at American Military University (AMU). He is studying homeland security in hopes of maybe getting a second master's later in History and a job teaching at West Point. We are really hoping for that but it would be a few years down the road (after this deployment, career course in Missouri and a company command somewhere...) But, we are hoping and praying that it will work out because that would be an amazing opportunity for Ben.

Well...that is all the news from IL. Hunter and I have been passing the time although I have no idea what it is that we do all day! Thanks for sharing all of our exciting news with us.

Love, Em and Hunter J

Happy Father's Day!

Well, I had written some of this post quite a while ago, and wouldn't you know, I forgot to actually post it! So... Happy belated Father's Day to all you dads out there! You have such an important job, and an exciting one. Since Hunter can't spend the day with his Daddy, we spent it with mine. We went to the horse races in Arlington Heights where there was a petting zoo, pony rides, tractors... and of course, HORSES! It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

Hunter and I are going to be travelling next week to visit his Grandparents in Ohio and we are looking forward to seeing all his Uncles and Aunts; it will be a full house and I'm sure that Hunter will love the chaos! He is getting closer and closer to walking, which I am so excited about, but dreading at the same time. I just can't believe how big he is getting. Since our last blog he has gotten three more teeth (for a total of 8) and is getting better and better at getting himself around the house. He uses his little bike to help him walk around and he's getting very good at it. Naturally, he takes quite a few tumbles, but I suppose that is just part of this learning process. I put a couple pictures up, the blue truck is a Toyota!!! Can you believe it? I just couldn't resist getting it for him. Now he has a truck just like Daddy's! Well... maybe like what his Daddy wishes his truck looked like.

Well, hope that everyone had a great Father's Day and a good July 4 coming up as well!

-Em and Hunter