Merry Christmas

just wanted to wish everyone a merry christmas hope yall have a good one and santa brings all that you desire. most of all, enjoy each other and appreciate all that god has given all of us. so from half way across the world, you all are in my prayers and i love you all and merry christmas

December is half way gone

december is half way gone and we are almost into the new year. in all of my previous years i never would have thought that i would bring in the new year in a different country and never would have thought that country would be iraq. but we all embrace the idea and it will be something to talk about many years down the road. i feel bless in alot of ways, being here at the JVB has led me to meet some pretty cool people. this past month has been pretty exciting month. the hooter girls were here, they were nice to look at, real nice to look at, but once they opened their mouths all i wanted to do was to tell them to shut up. they were pretty anoying and that is an under statement. next we had arron tippin arrive here, though he didnt stay with us he stopped by and we got some photos with him and he had a concert which was enjoyable. that guy was pretty cool, down to earth and you could tell that his sole mission here was to be with the soilders. if yall didnt know he was an elite soilder back in his day so he new what we all are goin through. then i got to cook dinner for the WWE wrestlers and that was un-real. seein these guys on tv for most of my life then haven them right in front of me was exciting. i made them some fried rice with chicken and vegies with buddha belly's and they ate it up. vince was here and so was john cena to name a few and i got pictures with them both and they were pretty low key guys and vince seems to not like vegies, he didnt eat a single one. then kid rock came to town and put on an awsome show. i always wanted to go and see him in concert and i got to go for free and to see him here in iraq was amazing. he put on a pretty kick ass show and alot amercan patriot songs. then last weekend we had a cook off with the navy for the "army vs. navy" and i heard that the navy had the best cooks in all of the military, but that was the case till they came head to head with the guys from the oregon national guard. we wooped up on those guys, all three judges voted for our plates. so to beat the navy in a cook off has to be the highlight so far of this deployment.
every day that goes by here means that i am one day closer to gettin back to my life with erika and family and freinds. i can not wait till that day comes. though being away from loved ones for so long this in ways had tightened bonds with ones that i though couldnt be tighter and has grown my faith in God in ways i thought not possible.
i am not too sure how many people still follow my blog, i know i dont write too much too often, but for those who still do, thanks for all the support and prayers you throw our way over here and thank you

facebook link

hey yall,

click on my facebook inbox link below and a video should pop up then click on it to watch it. just a little something that sfc humphrey put together of our time from georgia to now, hope yall enjoy it.

not to much goin on here, meetin some pretty cool people, i will put a picture on here to show ya who i met. never would have thunked that i would have met the governator.

besides that, just the same ol day, finally gettin into a workout routine and my leg is excellent. no problems what so ever. i ran a 7k obsticle course a couple of weeks ago, i finished it in 52 minutes so that was a good metal boost for me and also to see what my leg could take. if you go to http://www.xdogevents.com/ and click on the scramble in the sand it will take you to some pictures and i am in one of them, look kinda goofy though, but when dont i huh. you can also watch a special that is goin to be play on GAC around dec. 9-11, dont know the exact times so check your local times for broadcast, and i should be on there.

hope all is well with everyone and nov. is flyin by so that is awsome, it is always one day down and one day closer to gettin outa here, it will be nice to step foot on american soil. and also leave is comin up in a couple of months and it is very much needed.

God bless you all

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5 MONTHS TO GO!!!

well, it is november and this marks the half way point of our deployment here in iraq. though i have gone pretty much since last april. lets see that is ..................seven months ago. i am ready to get away from this place. last month marked the first full month that i have been on duty here in iraq, due to the unfortunate events of my leg. every thing is gettin kinda old. we do the same stuff day in and day out, this is one of the reasons i got outa cookin in the first place. i do miss the quiet time at home and actually sittin on the tractor with my own thoughts. the high stress of workin in a kitchen enviroment and being a person in charge is started to take its toll. we had a pretty big party here and we had alot of cookin to do. though i like the high stress enviroment from time to time and the challenge of gettin everything right is taken head on, i would like quiet time and the comforts of home and my wife erika. the little things in life is what i miss, i encourage everyone readin this to take the time and reflect on all those things that you might take for granit and enjoy them and charish them, those are things that we soilders do miss and cant wait to get back too.
on a more exiting note, it is november and it is always one day closer to leave and also HOME. i can not believe that i am goin to be thirty this month and it marks erika and mine seventh aniversery(i think erika, let me know if i am wrong). it will also mark the tenth year that erika and i have been together and man has it flown and i cant believe that she has put up with my shit for that long. last week craig morgan and chris young were here on a GAC and stars for stripes concert and it was awsome to go to. it was bout and hour or so long and it was an hour to hear music that took you back home where we all were used to hearin the songs played while drivin in our rigs or bein with the ones we love. it was a great stress reliever and much needed. the day after the concert we took the GAC film crew around the JVB and our chews plus we got interviewed and so myself and my buddy garibay will pry be on tv. i think it is goin to air on dec. 9 or 10 around six. so "check you local station for time and brodcast." i will post some pictures from the concert here sometime. well......duty calls and i hafta go and get to work, i am makin shrimp w/noodles and vegies with a form of buddhabellys. i hope all is well with everyone, continue prayin for us all over here and also for the guth family as they are dealin with their loss. love you all and take care

takin a shower in the nude!!!

love the title dont you? i finally get to take a shower with out haven a bag over my leg. yes, it is the small stuff that get soilders through their boring day sometimes. we dont get much here, so the little things mean the most. i am also off of my anti-biotics so we will see if the infection will come back, lets all pray that it dosent. the last time i stopped takin my pills it took about ten days for the infection to come back so we will see what happens. i also got to go on my first walk/jog today for the fist time in about two months, so it was really nice. besides all of that not too much going on here, just livin, cookin, poopin, and sleepin. it all goes somewhat in the order. hope all is well with everyone and will write again soon

a new blog

hello again from iraq,
today started out a great day, first off the chicago bears got their first win of the season and it was against the super bowl champions. that goes to show that last weeks lost again the packers was a fluke. and speakin of that crappy team, who did they lose to, the bungles. that's right dad, your team lost to the bungles and next they will lose to the lions. better luck next year.
the other main reason why i am writing, erika just informed that she is starting a new blog. it will be about the both of us, what is going on in our lives and this blog will continue long after i get home and be with the one i am sapposed to be with. i encourage you all to check it out, she just started it yesterday so we need some followers for the blog. the sit is www.moorebrook.blogspot.com so check it out, and dad you can stop crying now that your team lost.

let it rain

so tonight we had water fall out of the sky. and then the night sky lit up, but it wasnt from getting mortar attack it was lightning. thunder and lightning in the desert with alot of rain. it was nice to feel the rain fall on your face. i had to stand out there for a couple of minutes just to get wet and enjoy the rain. felt just like a bit like home.
the leg is doing pretty good, still there and still working. not too much exciting going on here just the rain tonight. i finially got my tv working in my room so i get to yell at it tomarrow night when the bears play. it will be nice watching the bears again.
better get to bed now it is getting late, till next time

back from the hospital AGAIN

hey all
thanks for your all your prayers, i do appreciate them. well, so what ended up happening was that an infection set in where my absest was. they were thinkin that maybe they didnt get all of it when they went in the first time, but they are not too sure. then during my stay there, the infection was going down pretty fast the first couple of days then it stopped. then i started getting another absest. this one was a superficial so it was right under the skin, so they did a local anestetic and cut my leg open. it was only about an inch to two. they got all the crap out and the next day i didnt have any more redness or swelling, so that's what was keeping the infection goin. so now i am finally back at my houch, a week later. i will be on anit-biotics until my cut heals up. that will pry take about two weeks or so, then we will see what happens. so it is so nice being back from the hospital, even though the staff there are great. i am pretty much like family with them now since i am down there so much. so pray that this dosnet return so that i can start gettin my leg back in shape. i just wanted to say thanks again for all of your prayers and support, they do mean alot to me and thank you so much to my beautiful wife for keeping everyone updated on my progress, i love you erika, will talk to you all later

Blog malfunction

Also, a quick FYI - for those of you trying to post a comment and are having difficulties, hit "post comment" one more time after you get an error message. I'm looking into it, not sure why it's doing that, but the comment will post the second time.

Update on Justin

For those of you trying to reach Justin, it may be a few days for he is back in the hospital on base. Justin was experiencing sharp pains similar to the initial onset of MRSA, so he went back in to have it looked over. He had a swollen bump at the top of his scar which turned out to be infected slightly, so the doctors drained it and put him on antibiotics. They also sliced a two inch gap to allow it to heal properly. Justin is in good spirits, considering, and I hope to hear from him in a couple days. I'll keep you all updated if Justin is unable to get to his computer. Respectfully submitted, Erika.

a total let down

well, about almost two weeks ago i was off my crutches. last monday i got my stitches taken out. thursday i was sapposed to go to physical therapy and they were going to take me to the gym and show me my new workout rutine to help strengthen my leg. notice how i said "were". well i wokd up thursday mornin with more pain than usual and a bump on my leg, right where the absest was. so i went to my doc and he thought it could be scar tissue but to be safe he sent me to the ER, where i had my surgery done, to go get looked at by my other doctor. he saw it and messed with it, which which hurt like a sum bitch, and he also thought it could be scar tissue. so they did blood work, took xrays, and a cat scan and all came back negative. everything was were it was spose to be. well, these past few days, pain has increased, bump is a bit bigger, not by much though, and it hurts like hell to walk again. today i decided that i should go back to the doc and ask for crutches. he also put my on some meds just incase if it is an infection. so ya, almost back to square one again. laid up in bed, elavating my leg and using crutches. it was a total moral buster to go from thinkin a full recovery was in the near future and now CRUTCHES
totally sucks. but oh well what can you do huh. i hope all is well with everyone reading this, i thank god for havin you all in my life everynight
love you all and take care

dinners

here are a couple of plates that we have put out. the salmon is my famous pistachio salmon that everyone loves. the guests that i cooked this for loves it. then the other one is a pork loin with vegetable melody, garlic mash potatos and a apple sauce. i will put more dishes up here as soon as my leg lets me back in the kitchen to cook

add another scar to the body

here is my new scar. well it hasnt healed completly yet, but it will get there. things are gettin better, the infection is pretty much gone, i am almost off of the anti-biotics and i am goin to physical therapy. right now the therapy consists of me stretchin my leg out. it does get painful at times, my knee is what is bother me right now, but oh well just as long as i get back to normal.

i heard today that they weighed the absest that they took out of my leg and it was six ounces. i guess that is pretty damn big. so i just wanted to show everybody me new scar, i hope all is well and thank you all for your prayers

back from the hospital

hello everyone,
thank you all for your prayers, they truly did work. i aparently had something that the doctors have never seen or heard of. (shit like this usually happens to me). so i had MRSA, wich is a bacteria that grows on or around flesh, i think. well my case was that i had and absest grow inside of my quad. i suppose this is very rare. so i had three surgeries in four days and spent a week in the hospital. the size of the absest was three quarters the size of a pop can. so i had a big hole in my leg. the first surgery was goin in and cleanin all the bacteria and puss up, the second was to remove the absest, and the third was to go back in an make sure the infection didnt come back. we had a little mess up with the anti-biotics. they was using one kind but they werent happy with how fast it was working, so they switched to a better one, and it did worse. my white blood cell count went back up, so they put me back on the other one, and my count went back to were is should be and so they sent me home today. it is nice to be back, now the rehab it going to start in. that is going to be painful since my leg muscles are all locked up. i will ge the job done and hopefully be back to normal before to long. oh ya, the length of the incision was about twelve to fourteen inches long. the doctor took pictures for me and i will put those on here when i get them. again, thank you all for your prayers and keep sendin them my way.
love you all

for erika

if it wasnt for erika, things wouldnt be goin as well as they are. she is holding everything down back home. for instants, she is workin her regular job, which is alot of work, runnin buddha bellys, taken care of the house in the dalles, keepin our house in hood river clean, inside and out. the outside was my job and it took a bit of time. plus she takes care of everything in my life that i can not do.

people think that deployments are just on the soilders shoulders, but their wives, i think, have a harder job. we the soilders focus on our task at hands, but our wives, they have multiple jobs. They go and do everything for a year missing a complete half of themselves. Most of us would have a hard time being away from our spouse for a week, but think of them doin it for a whole year. Erika, you are the best wife i could have ever asked for. i think God for ALL he has us put through, it has gotten us ready for this moment in our lives and for the present and the long future together. This is for you, and how much i appreciate all you does and this doesnt even start to show how much i miss and love you Erika. so for everyone readin this, pray for erika and all the wives that are going through deployments without our wives support, deployments would be a lot rougher.
love you all

poor me

hey yall
from the last time i wrote and told everyone about the knot, or bump i had on my leg, well it has gotten alot worse. what started out down by me knee, has gone up to outside of my quad just about up to my groin area. my leg is about two to three times that size of my other one. been seein our medics but they cant seem to find out what is wrong. let me tell ya what, it hurts quite a bit sometimes. they got me on some good drugs though, i get knocked out about twenty minutes after takin them. since the doctors hear cant figure it out, they are sending me to an er room, maybe to get an mri, and maybe surgery. who knows, so i am leavin here this morning to go and figure out why my leg is so big, so i ask everyone to say a prayer for me
love you all
justin

Gettin in the swing of things

hello all from my grand palace.
things are startin to get repetive around here now. we are all getting in the swing of things and the flow of how it is all goin to be. not to much excitin has been goin on around here, wich is a good thing. we have been doin our thing and i have been putting out some pretty nice plates for the people we have been cookin for. once i get my camera powered up i will put them on here. i have been meeting some pretty cool people and we just added another cook, so that will lesson the load a little bit, (but it wasnt all the rough without him). i have been cooped up in my room for the past few days, the medics said that i have an imflamed muscle in my quad so i have been hoppin around like a bunny rabbit. it is not too fun, every buddy i go by asks what happened and it is gettin pretty old. i dont even know what happened. one day i was fine the next morning it wasnt. besides all of that just gettin into my routine, cookin, sleepin, workin out, and hittin golf balls. it is kinda hard to be me, i dont wish this on anyone:) life is too rough over here.
i hope all is well back in your neck of the wooks, ahh, since i am bed riddin for a while one of my privates just brought me lunch.
yall take care, love yall, keep prayin for all of us
justin

this is a little journey from the states to kuwait then up to iraq then is ends wth the pictures of the al fasad complex, i think that is how it is spelled. so this is what i get to see everyday while i am at "work"

mansion on forsythe park

here is a little video of myself and my section cooking at the mansion. enjoy

baghdad, iraq

hello all,
just wanted to write a quick note and tell everyone that i fianally made it to baghdad. the jvb is a really nice place to be. the people here are pretty nice and my job is goin to be great. on my free time i can go fishin right out my back porch and hit golf balls out into the lake. when i get a chance i will take some pictures and put them up here. it is hard to believe that god has blessed me so much and putin me up here. it is also hard to believe that i am in a combat zone and not at a resort. hope you all are doin great and i will write later

camp buerhan, kuwait

we made it to camp buerhan in kuwait, i think this is how it is spelled. to whole trip took 21hrs. we flew from georgia to new foundland canada, then to iceland, then to germany, and finally ended up in kuwait. we were up for about 40hr until we finally got some sleep. it took only about a coupld of days to get used to the time change, we tried to stay up all day then sleep at night to get used to the time change and jet lag, it seemed to work.

it hasnt been too bad here, two days ago they had a country band here playin music for about an hour and so we got a milkshake from baskin robin and just sat there for about an hour and a half just enjoyen ourselves and it felt like bein back home.

we will be hitten some ranges in the next couple of days and the weather here is about 110 to 125, it sounds hot but it is dry heat so it isnt too bad. tomarrow or the next day they are calling for a sand storm to hit so that will be exciting to see.

i hope all is well for everyone back home, Erika i love you, and i send my love out to everyone else, thank you for all your prayers, and keep all my fellow soilders in your prayers as well

love you all
justin

mansion on forsythe park

hello to all

sorry that i have not written for a while, our internet here has been pretty bad, and i have also been pretty busy up till a couple of days ago. We are finally winding down from all of our training and getting ready to go over seas.

The three weeks i have at the hotel were pretty good. i got to know the chefs there and pick their brains. A couple of the chefs grew up in the south so i got to learn how to cook some pretty good southern dishes. We are going to be cooking for the govener of oregon and TAG of Oregon as well plus two hundred more on July 2nd.

It looks like we are going to get the 4th off and i here savanah has a pretty good fireworks show and to make it even better, the love of my life is going to be here for that, so that makes everything great.

I finally got promoted to sargent. It is a pretty nice step up in life. It has its good moments and bad, but it is all good.


God Bless

JVB Hotel at AL-FAW Palace Complex

Here are some pictures of the AL-FAW Palace Complex. The JVB Hotel is behind on the right with columns, which is where I'll be.

christmas

hey kristi,
good news, all the visitors and high ranking officers go home for the hollidays, so they told us that christmas will be the time we get to come home. I figured that you would LOVE to hear that

j.v.b

for all who has not yet heard, at camp roberts CA. I was part of a team who cook for some dignataries and the General of Oregon and other high ranking officers and NCO's, apparently i know how to cook because the meal that we served got me a ticket to the joint visitors beareau in bagdahd. which means that i will be cooking in a five star hotel for all the high ranking officials that come in from that states and also enertainers. so that is some new news from my end and i will keep you all posted on how it all goes. thanks again for all your prayers and support

Ft. Stewart GA

This is the first hello from ft. stewart GA. The first step I got off the plane it brought back memories of basic training. We got off the plane about midnight and the muggyness in the air sank right it. It felt like north carolina. from about the first day we got here it has been go, go, go. We havent had too much time to ourselves, a lot of traing. One of the reasons why i havent been updated this blog.

We have been here for about two weeks now, the first week consisted of uniforms being issued and also our weapons. We got our vehicles dispatched to us and been going to ranges firing out M4's and 50 cal's.

This last week was a full week of intense training. We got put into firing teams wich consists of three soilders. One driver, one truck comander, and a gunner(which was me). We had a pretty big lane and we rolled aroung in the humvee's taking out targets during the day and night. It was alot of fun the first day, we scored 788 points out of 900. the second day I couldnt hit the broad side of a barn. It sucked, my platoon sgt. was me truck comander and he lade it on me on how i was screwing up, stressed me out just a bit.

so we had to go back on the third day and re-qualify. we needed to get 280 pts to pass, which ment that i had to hit all the targets. it was a good thing i did or my platoon sgt. would have kicked my ass. Then we went to convoy live fire. it consisted of 5 trucks, we had day and night missions, and we engaged targets.

this traing took about six days and we just got back yesterday. we averaged about four hours of sleep during the week. so it is nice to be back to catch up on sleep.

hope you all enjoy the little video i put together and thank you for all your prayers and support. May God bless you all and until next time

sunny california

hello all from cally. my writing style will be a bit different from the previous two blogs, and that is because erika wrote them, bless her heart. so here goes my writing style. we arrived here in california on thursday about midnight and didnt get to bed till four then up at six the following day. since the it hasnt been too hot here, yet. the mornings are a little cold. so far we have been going through briefings and doing PT at five in the morning, so dad no worries about me sleeping in. besides that there is not to much to say so far but i am enjoying standing in lines and dealing with all the fun stuff that the army throws at each day. keep on praying for me and my fellow soilders and you all are in my prayers

17 days in counting

The goal is to make the most of each day before I completely lose my freedom to the Army National Guard.

18 days in counting

There are a mere eighteen days before I leave for California for my last training session before I ship off to Iraq.  I have mixed feelings of anxiety, fear, excitement, sadness, and hope.  I'm afraid leaving my family and friends is weighing most heavily on my mind...