Hi from the USS Stennis

Wow, it has been a long time since I have put anything on here. Does anyone even check my blog anymore? I am still on the boat so I decided to send Brenda this info and then have her update the blog for me. Hopefully if any of you comment, she will share the comments with me too.

So, I left for deployment on July 28, 2011. I have now been out here for 140 days! I am well over half way done, but I still have a long time left! I miss my family so much! I have missed out on so much of little Clara’s life. She was born in January and just a few days after her birth, I had to leave to go on a Detachment to the Stennis. That lasted 30 days and then I was able to spend about a month with Clara and my family before leaving for another month to go to Fallon. Another 30 days and then about another month at home. We then left for another detachment to the boat for another 30 days. After that, I was able to spend just over a month with my family and during that time we took some leave to spend time with extended family before I left on Deployment! Then I left! It has been very hard being separated from family, but very nice to have the chance to email everyday! Without that, I would have lost it long ago!

I have had the opportunity to send videos of myself home for the girls to watch. At first I sent them on micro SD card via the USPS, but I recently figured out that I could convert them to a small enough format to actually get them to send over the ship’s slow email. I do have to burn them to CD first because of the Navy’s policy on inserting flash drives into their computers, but at least I can get videos home quickly now! I don’t know how those who served before modern technology dealt with the separation from family. Brenda’s grandfather wasn’t able to be there for his daughter’s birth and the communication was strictly snail mail. I am so thankful for all those who served and sacrificed for us when it was even harder than it is now. I also have a new found appreciation to those serving currently, there are a lot of benefits that didn’t used to be available, but the separation from family members and some of the stupid rules they are required to deal with certainly make the life of those in the military harder than life as a civilian!

I have also had the opportunity to see how many people do kind things for those who are deployed and away from home during the holidays. We received special packages from the Madera girl scout troop 413 as well as packages put out by the USO. Today I got a bracelet from Survivorjoe.com. Apparently they have a program where anyone who purchases a survivor bracelet online has their name placed on a business card and another bracelet is shipped to the troops (sailors in this case). All of these things, even though just small tokens, are very nice and help me to be much more thankful that I am dealing with some things I would rather not be right now.

Even more than all of that, I am beyond thankful for how my family has supported me. I have received items from so many family members and they mean so much to me! It is hard to express how it makes me feel to know that so many people care so deeply for me. I think the statement “absence makes the heart grow fonder” has been proven true on this deployment. I also feel like being separated for so long from those that I love has given me a much deeper appreciation for them. When we are finally reunited and there are no more detachments pending, it will be a wonderful day. I am praying that God will help me to always remember just how much I missed my family and that memory will help me to never take time spent with any of them for granted!

I am really looking forward to something called Tiger Cruise right now. You are allowed to have a person meet you in Hawaii (it can’t be a spouse or girlfriend) and then they are allowed to ride on the carrier with you for the trip from Hawaii back to San Diego. My dad is supposed to meet me in Hawaii and I think we are going to have a great time.

I still have to go on at least a few more detachments before I am finished with my enlistment, but God will continue to provide and we must continue to trust Him! We ask for your continued prayers as this is obviously very hard on Brenda and I. Emily has been very good about trying to understand and has never lost her desire to have me come home. We pray that Clara will be quick to get to know me when I am finally able to be there for her again. We also continue to pray about what our future holds when we are finished with the Navy. I would like to go to school and earn my bachelors in network administration. We are currently thinking about the possibility of moving to Colorado Springs at some point as well. We will continue to trust God with our future and we appreciate all the prayers that you are offering on our behalf.

Well, if you made it to the end, thank you for reading. I miss all of you. Maybe I’ll post again in a year or two.

1. Starbucks in Kuala Lumpur
2. The Sandbox
3. Indoor Ski Park
4. downtown Kuala Lumpur
5. double rainbow seen from the flight deck
6. chili dhurka chips
7. 4 ships seen from the carrier