Family...

Is amazing to think how one legacy continues to grow...across mile and time and obstacles.  The love of one person continues to be spread throughout the world by those she has touched.  Alixander (4), Haylee (2) and Nathaniel (8mo) may not know their Grandma Cathy in person in this life but in each of them there is a little of her and I know they will grow to love the memory of the amazing women we were blessed to be able to call Mommy!

A Military Wife

The Military Wife

A Poem

When she was a girl, her dreams were bold, as bold as her fine, free gaze;
And every gift of grace and mind was hers in her younger days.
When she was a girl, a golden girl, with a soul as fine as fire
She could outshine the brightest jewel that a rich man's love might buy her.
Yes hers could have been the glittering path through a careless, carefree life.
But she fell in love with an soldier, so she became a military wife.

Away from the home of her childhood she marched at her husband's side.
For she chose a wide and winding road when she became a bride.
And sometimes the road was a hard one, so different from what she had planned;
And sometimes she wept for the home she had left as she lay in a foreign land;
And sometimes her steps would grow weary as she followed the drum and the fife;
But she set about making the world her home because she was a military wife.

She learned to build a hearth for them wherever her man was sent;
And she knelt to plant a garden every time he pitched their tent.
Yes, she always planted a garden though she never saw it grow,
For she knew before the flowers came that she would have to go.
But she left each garden gladly though it cut her like a knife,
For she hoped it might bring some comfort to another military wife.

To the hardships in her married life she brought one simple truth,
A promise that once was spoken in the ancient words of Ruth:
"Wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Thy people shall be my people and thy God shall be my God."
She shared his joys and sorrows as they made their way through life,
For she was proud to love a soldier and to be a military wife.

She bore the weight of worrying what fate might hold in store;
And the wordless fear of waiting when her soldier went to war;
And the nights that she spent fearing that her waiting was in vain;
And the pain of wanting someone she might never hold again.
But she bore his children gladly through uncertainty and strife,
And they never heard her crying for she was a military wife.

She raised a military family with the faith her love had taught her;
And she gave the pride she had inside to her son and to her daughter;
And she taught them to love freedom and to know what it was worth,
As they helped her plant her gardens in the corners of the earth.
And she never wished for better than the road they marched through life.
Because she was as much a soldier as she was a military wife

Sunrise in Iraq...

You know, for a woman who was no fan of early morning rising, Cathy loved sunrises....And we were blessed to be able to share sunrises together around the world. I cannot see a sunrise and not think of Cathy, and the wonderful sunshine she brought into the lives of all those she met, but no one more than me. As I find myself in Iraq for a second tour of duty, I know it will be more difficult this go-around because I cannot look forward to all the e-mails she would send me each day just to let me know how much she loved me, supported me, and missed me...But I know she is so happy for me to get another opportunity to do something I love to do and to have the honor of serving my country and lead great American Airmen in a combat zone...And how proud she is of Meaghan, Rebecca, and Kimberly pulling closer together once again as a family while their Dad goes "off to war". As I am so very proud of them too, knowing it is more difficult for them this go-around not having Mom around to let them know everything is going to be all right with Dad...We each have her strength to get us through the long days and separation of thousands of miles...And I still share our sunrises...

New Chapters in Life...

What a wonderful weekend! Got to spend a great day on Saturday enjoying good food and good company with family and friends at "Pagitt Acres"...Was a great chance to see everyone before I head to Iraq. Then on Sunday, was able to attend Kimberly's graduation ceremony. We are all so proud of what she has accomplished and hard to realize that she is now out on her own as an Air Force wife so her and Landon have started their new chapter in life.

And with Kimberly moving to North Carolina, I find myself out on my own so to speak. So the 6-7 months in Iraq will be a good transition time for me as I have to get used to 2 empty houses and alot more quiet than I am used to! But I can deal with that next January...I am really excited about getting a chance to go back to Iraq and know Cathy would be excited and supported me just like she did back in 2003. And she will be with me on this new adventure and chapter in my life!

More Wedding Pics......

Kimberly and Landon's Wedding

Click on the slideshow to view it larger. These are not the "real" photos, just a few we wanted to get up here right away. It was a beautiful day :)

The Second Year...

Yesterday, 25 January 2009, was the 1-year anniversary of Cathy's funeral. While it would be nice to simply say we survived our year of firsts without Cathy and can move on, it will never be that simple...or that easy. The last 365 days have been incredible in many ways, some good, some not very good. We have a wonderful addition to our family to enjoy, and are looking forward to adding another son-in-law to our family tree in the coming months. Throughout it all, we are very fortunate to have the wonderful memories and experiences with Cathy that continue to guide us, comfort us, and inspire us. In any equation, that will always outweigh the sadness and loneliness we each feel in our own way, and at our own times, without Cathy physically with us in our lives.

And with those special memories, and cherished experiences, we start our second year....