Before Chris left to go back to Iraq after his R&R, our four year old was having a really tough time with him leaving again. Chris gave her his army hat to help whenever she got sad and was missing him. The other night I went in to check on her after putting her to bed, and she had put on the hat without me knowing...

Please check out the picture in my gallery

Well Chris has been gone now for almost 6 months (halfway there) but it feels like only yesterday that he left. Now with summer almost upon us, we miss him more. The constant reminders of seeing families together doing outside activites is heartbreaking. Chris is always doing things with the girls, and our oldest, who just turned 6 in March, is still learning to ride her bike and wants daddy's help. Another birthday is coming up and our soon to be 4 year old wants daddy to be here for her birthday party, but is (kinda)  okay knowing that he is way too far to come home for it. Our youngest turned 2 a couple of weeks ago and asks to see pictures of daddy on the computer everyday. She may be young, but she speaks of him on a daily basis. I get the tears here and there asking when daddy is coming home, and how much they miss him. We are anticipating his R&R in July, the girls won't let him go...

We love you and miss you!!!

Tracy, Olivia, Camille & Ella

Well this is my first post. I know Chris has been anxiously waiting for me to write, so here goes nothing. My name is Tracy and I am the proud wife of Chris, who is presently serving in Iraq. Chris was called back from civilian life back in October as were many others in the IRR. He was out of the military when we got married, so this is all new to me. We have three daughters, Olivia 5 1/2, Camille 3 1/2, and Ella, 1 1/2. How do I feel about this whole deployment?? It stinks. He has been called away from his home and family for a year to serve in this senseless “war”. This is something we never thought would happen, and imagine the shock when we got the orders back in September. He had been out for 5 years with not a second thought of returning. I don't think he would like me saying how I feel about the whole situation over there, but I honestly don't ever see peace happening in that country. Chris is proud to serve his country, proud to help the soldiers that need his medical care, and we are all proud of him for doing it.

We miss you and love you lots!!!

Tracy