Cherry Blossoms

The flowers and flowering trees are all in bloom... just had to post one of the pictures I took this week as I walked! Last night we had a huge rainstorm that knocked all the pollen out of the air... we've all been coughing and it looks like everyone drives a yellow car! So glad for the rain!

Have a blessed day! Cyndi

Pushing Past Limits

In searching around on the internet today, I found this page that tells more about Basic Training, which is what Paul will be in for 8 more weeks... it answered some of the questions I had. If you are wondering what they do, check out http://www.militarymoms.net/basicformoms.html

We got our first letter from him and he sounded good. He said the first week was "hard, but he was sticking with everything and looking forward to the coming weeks of Basic." He also said "I have been pushing myself past limits that I thought I had.".... good advice for all of us! We are proud of him and know this will be a good experience for him.

Thank you for your prayers for him... I know they are giving him strength.

My Favorite Pictures of Paul, Aaron & Masayo

This is my favorite picture of Paul, which hangs in our hallway... note the new sign under his picture, which is from our friends, The Frys...it says it all!

The picture was taken by our friend, Amanda Traywick, at Precious Memories here in Birmingham. I think he looks very cool, calm and collected!

Aaron and Masayo are very photogenic and are always taking pictures...this is one of my favorites of them taken almost 2 years ago at their wedding in Japan! They are living in San Francisco, CA, where Aaron is working for the "search" division of Yahoo, and Masayo is writing for local Japanese publications and teaching English to Japanese students. We hope to visit them this summer some time.

He's In The Army Now

Well, he’s in the army now! Paul joined the Army and left 3/16/09 for Montgomery, AL, for processing. March 17th they bussed those going to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, to the base there.

We’ve had 3 short messages from Paul on our answering machine, and Harris and I finally got to talk to him for about 5 minutes today. They have been “processing” since they arrived in SC and Boot Camp officially starts Monday, March 23rd!

He will only be able to receive and write “snail mail” for 9 1/2 weeks. It will be up to his drill sergeant whether or not he gets to call during that time. He’ll graduate late May and start his training at the same base to be a Human Resources information Technology Systems Management Specialist. In other words, he’ll be working on computers.

If you’d like to write to Paul, here’s his address:
Paul Wheeler
2nd Platoon
E Company, 1st Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment
Fort Jackson, SC 29207

Thank you for your love, prayers and concern for him. We’ll keep you posted!

Cyndi

Fort Jackson is just about 6 1/2 hours due east of Birmingham... right outside Columbia, SC.