Finally . . .

I got to hear his voice after 3 weeks! Music to this mother's ears. I had been having a hard time today just missing him and then he called. God's blessing to me today!

He says he is doing ok. He was anxious to hear if we had received his letter and said he had another one on the way. He said, "Everyone just writes like crazy". I can't help but chuckle. He thought no one would write home, especially not him!

He said he has been eating lots of yogurt and Nutri-Grain bars (I could never get him to eat those at home). He says they are "tasty"!

He said the weather there is terrible. He said the mornings are freezing cold because the wind blows all the time. His exact words were, "it is ridiculous how much the wind blows. It never stops"! He said you dress for the cold in the morning but by afternoon you are dying because you are so hot.

He said the routine is setting in and the days are very long. He said they do a lot of marching. Paul asked him if he felt like he had gone in physically prepared and he said "yes - that's a piece of cake"! I guess that's a good thing.

I told him that he had lots of people praying for him and he said tell everyone "thanks"!

That was about the extent of our call tonight. He hung up rather quickly. I was able to say "we all love you" and the last thing he said was, "I love you guys too"!

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for going on this journey with me.

Dawn
"Proud Mom of an Army Soldier"

Letter from our Soldier

I am pretty excited tonight. We received our first letter from Spencer - a letter from the boy who said, "Mom, I don't write letters-I'm not writing". Well, he did write and as Whitney put it "he actually wrote a real letter".

It sounds like he is doing good. He says, "they call you names and you can't do anything right, but you get use to it and you just don't take it personally". Sounds like he might have that part figured out.

He is making friends and he even referred to one soldier in his platoon as "my good friend" and this after two weeks. I'm impressed.

He ended by saying, "I'm doing fine, don't worry about me", and he loves us!

So, big sigh of relief tonight. Thank you for your continued prayers.


Dawn

Unexpected Phone Call

What a blessing we received today - Spencer called Paul! We weren't expecting to hear from him for three weeks but he was given about three minutes to talk.

Paul said Spencer said he was doing well and that he sounded good. Paul asked him if he was glad he "did this" and Spencer replied, "Absolutely"! We were so happy and relieved to hear that. Paul said Spencer said his Drill Sgt. and Basic Training Camp were just as you would expect, but he was surviving. He said he has adjusted to his sleep routine really well. His day starts at 4:30 a.m., and he is usually in bed around 9:30 p.m.
(Is this the same boy who would GO to bed at 5:00 a.m. and wake up around 2:00 p.m.????)

He ended his short conversation by saying he loved us! (Melt my heart!) Although I didn't get to talk to him, just getting the word that he is doing well made me feel so good!

You don't realize how much we take for granted the ability to stay in contact with our loved ones (i.e. by cell phones, text, facebook etc.) until that freedom is taken away.

Take advantage of being able to commnicate with those you love tonight!

Until we hear from him again . . .

Dawn

He is now officially a Soldier

After months of anticipation Spencer is officially a U.S. Army Soldier. We met up with him at MEPS this morning and at 9:00 a.m., were privileged to see him sworn in to the U.S. Army and to our country. We are so proud of him. He is a very brave young man. Leaving him at the airport was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but the goodbyes had been said and he was ready for us to leave. In his words, "I need to do this on my own". So we left knowing that when we see him the next time our boy will be a man.

He landed in Oklahoma City around 6:20 p.m. We received a text from him around 7:00 p.m., telling us he was ok. He was waiting for the bus that will take them to Fort Sill. He will not be arriving at Fort Sill until midnight. He said they will get to bed around 2:00 a.m. and up at 4:00 a.m. Please pray that God will multiply those few hours of sleep and give him the strength he needs.

I know God loves him way more than I do so I am resting in that tonight. I will keep you all updated as we hear from Spencer and let you know how he's doing.

Thank you so much for keeping us in your prayers today - definitely feeling God's peace tonight.

Dawn

One Week

Well, my friends, we are one week away. I have to say that I am thankful for the snow today because it has given me extra time with Spenceer. Spencer and his friend, Gary, hung out in the kitchen with me for a while. I baked Snickerdoodles and made them hot chocolate. It just does a mom good to do things for the boys. Loved being with them.

I was telling Paul this morning how good God is. Spencer's first date to leave was scheduled for today and then got changed to February 8. Am I ever glad it got changed. What a mess that would have been!

My mind is beginning to whirl with all the things I have to make sure we get done - mainly just banking things, etc., and we have to get his 2010 taxes filed before he leaves. I am also scurrying around trying to get ready for his open house on Saturday. I know we will get it all done, we always do!

Well, I guess I'll post next week after we have said our goodbyes and we begin our new normal. Please remember us all in your prayers. We are sure going to miss him.

Dawn

Three Weeks and Counting

Three weeks and Spencer will be at Fort Sill beginning his Army career.  Spencer took his physical training test today and passed. One part of the test was running 2 miles in 15 minutes and 52 seconds.   He ran 2 miles in 15 minutes 39 seconds!  Pretty impressive!  And I might add he did that in a long sleeve t-shirt and shorts in 20 degree weather.  He said he was absolutely freezing.  His Sgt. told him not to wear sweats because he would get too hot - afraid not!  Anyway now that he passed this means that he got bumped up a rank and will now be entering the Army as a Private First Class.  He is really happy!  

We are all trying to take advantage of these last few weeks together.  Paul and Spencer got to go to Jefferson City together on Monday and have some time alone enjoying each other's company. Taylor is enjoying all the snow days with Spencer.  They have been staying up late having movie nights together and with Spencer's buddies. Whitney came over the other night and spent some time.  It was fun to see her and Spencer joking with each other and hearing their laughter.  I treasure every meal we have together but most of all I cherish all the hugs Spencer has been giving me.  It seems like he comes and hugs me a lot more these days.  I know I'm going to miss those hugs, but I'm pretty sure he's going to miss them too!

Until next time . . . keep hugging those you love! 

"I'll have tears as you take off, but I'll cheer as you fly"

Friends and family,

I, too, am joining the world of blogging.  I have had sevearal people tell me that I should start a blog when Spencer leaves for the Army, so since our time is drawing closer, I decided to go ahead and jump on the blog wagon. 

We are down to one month left with Spencer at home.  Where does the time go - one day he was this little boy who told me he wanted to live next door when he grew up so he would always be close and now he is leaving me to become a soldier in the United States Army.   I am so proud of the man he is becoming, but still in this mother's heart he is still just my little boy. We raise our children to spread their wings and fly, but I didn't really want him to fly so far.  I keep reminding myself that God loves him way more than I do and I will trust my Heavenly Father to take care of him while he is away.  

Any of my friends and family that have little ones, I know there are days that those little ones wear you out, but don't blink because one day it will be you watching your little precious boy or girl spread their wings  and fly and you too will be saying, "where did the time go".  Grab those babies and give them extra kisses and hugs today! 

Okay, that's it for today.  I'll be updating as we get closer to February 8.  I'll use this blog to keep you posted, but also just to share my heart. 

Have a great day and don't forget about those kisses and hugs!

Dawn



"Find your Wings"