Last entry from Iraq

I have been lookin back at all of my blogs that i have put on here and i can not believe that it has been a year. Like i have said before, it has but it hasnt seemed like a year. A lot has happened through out the year and so very much has changed. Most things has changed for the better, a lot of us younger soldiers have grown up, and i think all of us, family included, have all grown in a different direction from this deployment. Some relationships have failed while others have only grown stronger. God blessed my life and i have stronger bonds with those who went through this deployment with me. I just wanna say again thanks to yall for being with me, mom and dad, thanks for believing in me and praying every day for me. I know three years ago yall thought this wasnt the right decision that i made, but i dont hold that against ya, just your protective instincts. But, God has made me a better man and in turn brought our whole family closer together. He does work in crazy ways. Thanks to my brothers for believing in me and helping me out when the time was needed.
Erika, what can i say, one thing i do know is that God has a plan for us and we are following it. Through out this whole thing i have learned a few things. There is no way in hell that i would want to trade places with you. I would rather be deployed to a combat zone than do what you do every day without me. For you who are reading this imagine what life would be like if your other half wasnt around every day for a year but you kept living your life everyday doing the same thing, going home everyday, waking up in your bed, but you dont have your husband or wife there. just think what you would be feeling. i know most of us have been apart for a few weeks, but not a whole year. Erika, you are the strongest, the most courageous person i know. I love you with all of my heart and then some. Just a few more weeks and you can finally let down the strong front you have been putting on and we can finally go back to being us, together again.
Thanks again to everyone who has been with me and thanks to God for blessing me, keepin us all safe, and for the friends and family that i have.
From Iraq, this is my final blog, I love you all and so damn glad to be seein yall soon
justin

a few more weeks

i cant believe that we are under a month left on this deployment. it has been a quick but very long year. it is a bit odd to say that there are only weeks left and not months, but i kinda enjoy saying weeks. i am thinkin that i should be back in oregon around the middle of april and back to enjoying a normal life away from the army. though i am sure i will not be able to escape all that the army engraved in me through this past year but just hope that all will be well when i get home. if i dont get to say thanks to all that has prayed and encouraged myself, erika, and my family through this whole ordeal, i say thanks and may God bless you all. it will be nice to see all of your faces soon.

back from leave

oh, i much i miss being in hawaii with erika. wich one do i miss more........i guess i better say erika. two weeks in hawaii with erika was a much needed break from all that we both have been through that past year. we didnt even miss a beat, i guess that is what happens when you are trully ment to be with someone, you can be away for so long and when you are back together is almost seems like you have never left. this picture is taken in wainaie, i dont know how to spell it. we traveled the whole island and ate the plate lunches off the road. then we spent a week in downtown waikiki, and alot of relaxin on the beach, playin crib and throwin back a few drinks. all i can say is that i enjoyed every minute of it and being with erika, well i dont know how to put it in words. Then i had to get back on the plane and fly 30hrs back here to the dessert. it took about a week to get used to being back, everything and anything reminded me of the previous two weeks. now we have a little under two months and i will finally be back in hood river. i cant wait till that day comes.

Could this be Iraq?

Hello all,
i pray that the new year has been good to yall. I know it will be for me, we have about three months to go then i will be back in the states on American soil. This picture was taken yesterday morning and when i see sights like this one, sun rise, sunset, or just through out the day, it is hard to believe that a place where bad stuff happens everyday that it could be so beautiful. It is times like these that i know that God has truly blessed my life being here and i know that he is around. If you didnt know i was in iraq, you would pry never guess that this picture came from this place.

Happy New Year

just wanted to tell everyone Happy New Year. hope everyone had a great time and got plenty to drink and is not hung over too bad this mornin. congrats to brian and danielle(hope i spelled that right) on gettin married. We sure sent out last year in a bang, littereally. we had six mortars launched into the VBC. not to sure of the extent of the damage. so hope everyone will have a good year in 2010 and i know i will because i will be at home at the end of this year and kick 2011 off with erika, sorry i wasnt there babe for it and our anniversery(7), plus all the holidays, but there will be next year.
love you all and take care

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