Life in Iraq

Paul sent home photos of his new "digs" in Iraq..... beige is obviously the popular color over there!



He has settled into working the night shift and actually likes it because of the "peace and quiet" and ability to get more done with less distractions. Mortar attacks come in about every 3 days to remind them they are in a war zone.... not exactly what a mom likes to hear, but they are somewhat protected by these giant "sandbags" everywhere.



If you have ever complained about your house being too small, look at these living quarters.... 2 guys to a connex... Home Sweet Home. This is Pauls side of the connex.... guess they didn't have inspection that day :)


November 29th was Paul's 27th birthday! One to remember, celebrating so far from home! We're looking forward to seeing him over the holidays on his "break".... usually it comes much later in their "tour", but all the later slots were taken... so we'll gladly have him home for the holidays!

Thanks for all your prayers for him and all our soldiers! "Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward All" takes on new meaning this year having a son in a war zone! May peace triumph evil! Blessings to all!

Talked to Paul

Dear Friends,

We've been lucky enough to talk to Paul twice from Iraq! Amazing what a phone and a calling card can accomplish! He's working the night shift and likes it.... only hard part is getting used to sleeping during daylight hours. I looked on his Facebook page only to find out that their post had been hit by mortar rounds right before he got to work.... not exactly what a mother likes to read. But he is trained and I trust God to watch over him as well as all our soldiers.

Just wanted to let you know the address I have in the right side-bar of this blog is the correct address for him, so I know he'd love to get cards and letters from anyone who has the time to write. He said he loves to hear news from home, or read clippings from the newspaper that you think he might find interesting. I thought that might make him homesick, but he says it makes him feel connected, so write away :)

I'm hoping Paul will post news and pictures soon. Thanks for keeping him in your prayers.

On another note, Harris, Aaron and I enjoyed a wonderful trip to San Francisco for the wedding of my niece, Jennifer, to Brian Campagna. What a beautiful bride, handsome groom and radiant couple! We all danced the night away. May God bless them and their marriage always. Here's a few shots:




Love, Cyndi

He's in Iraq

Dear Friends,

Well, October 18th they moved into Iraq. Haven't heard much yet other than he likes his roommate and has a "real" mattress to sleep on.... don't know if they've been having to put up with "less than real" mattresses for a while ?? He should get internet in his room (for a pricey price), but we look forward to being able to Skype with him soon.

Also, hopefully, he'll be able to confirm if we have the right mailing address for him...the one posted on this blog is the one they gave him, but he wanted to double check and make sure it was right.

Once again, thank you for your prayers for him...we'll keep you posted.

Cyndi

Paul called

Well, we finally heard from Paul Saturday. He was in Kuwait and enjoying a balmy 95 degrees. He sounded good, but tired. They have been training for circumstances they might encounter in Iraq. They should move over there soon and relieve the soldiers that are going home. You don't hear much about the USO over here, but they sure do a wonderful job providing for our soldiers. They have made layovers in airports much more comfortable for Paul, and in Kuwait they've provided phones and computers for the soldiers to use. Granted, you have to wait in line, but just to have that availability and personal connection means so much. Hopefully once Paul is settled in Iraq we will have much more reliable contact with him. Thank you for all your prayers for his safety and well-being. We'll keep you posted as we hear more.

Paul's been deployed

Well, as far as I know, (and I say that because plans changed about 5 times before last Sunday), Paul shipped out to Iraq on 10-10-10.....last Sunday, October 10, 2010. The Army says that he may be there anywhere from 10 - 15 months.... it's an ever-changing plan....

He called us Sunday morning at 8 a.m. and was waiting for the bus to take them to the airport in Topeka, Kansas. They'd been up since 3 a.m. They initially were to head to Kuwait, and then in several weeks are to head to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Warrior in Kirkuk, Iraq, where he'll be stationed.

In the end, he was glad that he was being deployed.... after all, this is what they train for, and he was ready to see something other than Alabama and Kansas :) However, that sandbox in Iraq may seem dusty and hot pretty quickly. Please pray for all our soldiers who are deployed all over the world.... some in less desirable locations than we enjoy! His new address in Iraq (not Kuwait) is posted to the right, and since it can take 5-10 days to get a letter to him, you could write and he'd have mail waiting on him once he arrived. But I'd hold off sending any packages until we know for sure he is there. He wasn't sure when we'd be able to communicate by email or Skype...

Paul got to come home for two weeks in late September, so I'm adding a few pictures from that visit. Thank you for your prayers, concern and love for him. We'll keep you posted as we know more, and hopefully Paul will add posts and pictures of his own to this blog.

Blessings to all.... Cyndi & Harris

NTC here I come

Just to let everyone know. I will be stuck in the Mojave desert at FT. Irwin for NTC for all of July. So you can mail me, but I will not get it until August. I am also on my way home from August 9th until the 22nd. Anyways. I didn't know who all read this, but if you can contact me at the following addresses
paul DOT wheeler1 AT conus DOT army Dot mil
technaholic AT gmail DOT com

sorry for the weird wording, but otherwise stupid little bots on the internet will spam the heck out of my email. Feel free to email. Thanks.

-paul

New Decade in Fort Riley

Well, here I am back at Fort Riley after spending the last two weeks with the family in Wisconsin and also in Alabama. I have to say that I was really looking forward to Christmas in Wisconsin with my Father's side of the family, but it turned out to be far from the normal time I am used to in Kenosha. First, my Dad's mother was in the hospital the whole time, and don't worry they diagnosed what was wrong and she is doing much better. Second, I had to wake up early on Christmas morning, and it wasn't to open up presents. My cousin Matt and I had to get up on the roof and shovel all of the snow and mush off of the roof, then punch through the ice and make holes in the down-spouts to let water drain off of the roof. It was leaking from several locations in the foyer, family room, and dining room. Third we had some wonderful loud 'talks' between my Dad and his sister. Thankfully, things turned around, my grandmother was getting better, the roof stopped leaking, and everyone made up and was in much better moods when we all left at the beginning of the week.
Back in Birmingham, I did what I normally don't do. I contacted all of my friends and tried to spend as much time with as many people as possible instead of just trying to sloth around the house all day long. I spent four of those days with a girl that I knew from Birmingham-Southern College and also worked with during my days at the Apple store at The Summit. I also saw almost all of my best friends that I grew up with. This included the infamous Alex Batten, Tim Season, Adam Parks, and Victor Wilson. The only people we were missing were John Mark Mitchell and J.R. Williams. I am sure that next time, way before I come home, I will contact everyone to make sure we can all get together at least one day and night to hang out and catch up on what each other are up to since we have really all gone separate ways since going off to college and after graduating and such.

In closing, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and happy New Years!!

-paul



p.s. : PLEASE NOTE THAT MY ADDRESS HAS CHANGED AGAIN!!! it is on the right side of the page. If you do accidentally send anything to my last address it will still get to me, it will just take about three to four times as long as usual.

p.p.s. : I can't thank you all enough for all of the support and letters you have sent me. It really makes life so much better here in Kansas since there is really not that much to do out here after you have visited the official 'OZ' Museum