There is always a peeker!

Every family has one. The Christmas gift peeker! Growing up, it was my brother, Mike. We would double wrap and triple tape his gifts. He would sit under the tree feeling and shaking his presents trying to figure out what they were. Sometimes his gifts would mysteriously have a corner ripped off just enough to see what it was...hmm, wonder how that happened? Me, I'm the opposite. I don't even want hints. My mom, is not so good at this. I think it because she gets excited about what she is giving people. I would say 90% of the time, I have at least an idea about what she is giving me for Christmas. I'll be talking about something I want and she'll say, "well maybe there is already one under your tree." or "I think Santa has that covered." She even, more often than not, tries to get me to open presents early! Nope! I won't do it. Tradition in my family is one gift on Christmas eve and everything else on Christmas day. And I stick to this!

This year for Kyle's Christmas - Iraq style - I sent him a Christmas package. I asked his gift givers to send me his gifts unwrapped and early. I took a picture of these gifts and wrapped them to look like presents. This way he can open things on Christmas and have more to look forward to when he gets home. Along with these wrapped photos I sent his stocking filled from Santa. KYLE PEEKED! He tried rationalizing this to me. But there is no excuse. No presents, including stockings until Christmas! I totally busted him to. Causal asking if he liked what was in his stocking! This year Kyle is the Christmas gift peeker!

Happy Birthday Citizen Soldiers

Today is the Army National Guard's 373rd birthday this year. On Dec. 13, 1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colony divided its citizen-soldiers, or militia, into the North, South and East Regiments. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was seven years old in 1636. The colonists needed a military force for protection, but they had no money to hire a mercenary army, which was common practice in Europe at the time. So, they turned to the English tradition of the militia - citizen-soldiers who gathered for military training and who could fight when needed.
In Massachusetts, all able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60, except ministers and judges, were required to join the militia.

Today, the military lineage of these 1636 regiments is carried by the 101st Engineer Battalion, the 101st Field Artillery, the 181st Infantry, and the 182nd Cavalry, which are all still part of the Massachusetts Army National Guard. The 101st Engineer Battalion of the Massachusetts Nation Guard is currently serving with me in Baghdad. This morning, during a 3.73 mile birthday run, I saw their units colors (flag) and battle streamers, which include a streamer for participation in the skirmish at Lexington & Concord- the first of the revolution.

Not many military organizations can claim 373 years of unbroken history. Only the Vatican's Swiss Guard (1512), London's oldest unit and also citizen soldiers the Honorable Artillery Company (1537), and Britain's Royal Scot Regiment (1633) predate the United States National Guard. Amazing, considering how much older these countries are.

--KYLE

Care Packages

Care packages are more than comfort items from home. They are morale boosters, reminders that you missed by loved ones. I'd like to take this blog entry as an opportunity to thank every one of you that sent Kyle a care package over this last year. I can't speak for Kyle but heard the genuine happiness in his voice when he would tell me about a care package he received. Truly, thank you.

Tomorrow, December 11, is the last day to send packages to be received by Christmas and Tuesday, December 15 will be the last day to send Kyle any packages or mail at his current address. BECAUSE he will be heading home soooooon!!!

However, there are many care package programs out there (Any Solider!,Treats for Troops! , Give to the Troops!) for soldiers just beginning their tours. Let's make sure all 170,000 of these courageous men and women – who are risking their lives every day, for us – know they have not been forgotten.

Celebrity Sightings!!

The military devotes significant resources to "MWR" or Morale, Welfare, and Recreation programs for deployed service members, and the USO, the non-profit group championed by Bob Hope, also provides invaluable morale support to service members. Part of the MWR program and USO mission is to arrange performances and meet & greets by celebrities and entertainers of all types for deployed service members. Kyle has been lucky to have quite a few celebrity sightings with his time in Iraq, including: a live taping of the Colbert Report, meeting NFL coaches like Jeff Fischer, meeting Angelina Jolie, having a meal with the stars of Burn Notice (a USA channel original series and one of Kyle's shows), performances by talented NFL cheerleaders and celebrity waitresses from a famous wings restaurant named after an owl, and most recently, a concert with Kid Rock, country music artist Jessie James, and comedian Carlos Mencia. Whatever you think of these celebrities and entertainers, know that they travel to these war zones without publicity, compensation or the comforts they are accustom to for no other reason than to lift the spirits of the soldiers serving our country. That they do, and for that they are appreciated.

"A Day that will Live in Infamy"

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese raided Pearl Harbor, and changed the course of history. The carefully-planned and executed attack devastated the United States Navy's battleship force, allowing the Japanese Empire to expand southward undeterred. America, unprepared and considerably weakened, was abruptly brought into the Second World War as a full combatant. We lost 2403 people that day and about 1178 wounded from these attacks. The memory of the "sneak attack" on Pearl Harbor fueled a determination to fight WWII, a war we as America didn't want. Very parallel to 9/11. On September 11.2001, 2,985 people died in the terrorist attacks, again propelling the U.S into a war on terror, a war we didn't ask for.

Today we remember those lives lost and affected during the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. I was fortunate to visit Pearl harbor and the USS Arizona memorial this year with my family. It is a solemn and sobering experience, even for those (like me) who were not alive when the attack occurred. You are literally standing over a grave of 1177 men. Even more ere, you can still see oil and air bubbles that are trapped in the vessel still coming to the surface today.

Admiral Yamamoto, is quoted after the attacks as saying, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant." He was right. America mobilized an industrial war machine never before seen in history; producing more tank, planes, rifles, and ammunition than anyone thought possible. Maybe the terrorist of 9/11 should have taken this quote to heart.

Marathon #4

Kyle completed the Seattle Marathon via their first Baghdad Shadow Run! His finish time was 4 hours and 11 minutes on a chilly and breezy race day. Impressive! This was Kyle's fourth marathon, and his first without me:( There are many things that STINK big time about this deployment but one of the biggest things for me, is this kind of stuff. Experiencing things apart that we would otherwise be doing together. I'm looking forward to sharing experiences again soon:)

Training was difficult for Kyle in the sandbox. With long work days and limited time and space to run and without me keeping him on a strict running schedule! Kyle reports only some soreness in his legs but other than that he feels pretty good. He's planning on running another half marathon this next Sunday. Crazy!

Congrats, Kyle!

Happy December!!!

Kyle' Thanksgiving: Uncle Sam really does put in the college try. He had all the food staff wearing pilgrim hats at the dining hall where Kyle eats. They also had most of the traditional Thanksgiving dishes to eat. The 1st CAV Division Band was playing Christmas music- which was actually depressing. For some reason, they also had a12' tall 15' wide Styrofoam sculpture of the White House. Nothing says "Happy Thanksgiving!" like a huge fake White House!

Kathy's Thanksgiving: This year I hosted Thanksgiving at our home. Not being much of a chef, I channeled my inner Martha Stewart and was mostly successful. I learned alot from the experience and got to use lots of my fun kitchen stuff. My pretty pink mixer is not just for looks - it works great too! I only had one non-edible dish. The crab stuffed mushroom appetizer was not so good. It tasted like a salt cube. It was fun and I would host Thanksgiving again.

Happy December! Another month down for this deployment. Bring on Christmas, New Years, and 2010. I'm ready for Kyle to come home!