FIRST LEG UNDERWAY....

Around 7:00 this evening Tino left Atlanta, Ga for the first long leg of the trip. From Atlanta they will fly to Ireland (about an 8 hour flight), after a layover there he will be heading to Kuwait, then from Kuwait to Iraq. He may not be in contact with me for a few days, depending on communication access.

Unfortunately at the airport we didn't realize that I needed a pass to get through the gate with Tino to wait, so I had to run back to the ticket counter and try to get a pass. I waited for about 15 minutes at the counter and there was only one woman working and she kept leaving and going out back. Then I heard the final boarding call for his flight! I was beside myself, I wasn't able to get a pass, so I didn't get to even hug him goodbye!! I was hysterically crying with Tino on the other side of the window telling me it was alright and he would call me soon. I begged the lady at the door to let me through so I could at least hug him. They all saw he was in uniform, but they still wouldn't let me even say goodbye! He called me from the plane when he got situated but it just wasn't the same. At least it's good to know the airport employees are doing there jobs!

Please keep praying and sending good karma his (and all the guys) way!

Well, today's the day.....Tino leaves to go back to Iraq! His plane leaves around 12:15 this afternoon.

I knew the time was going to FLY by! It seems like he just got here and now I'm putting him back on the plane to go back to that place! BUT on the other hand he is almost done!! Six more months and he will be home for good! Maybe only 4 more months in Iraq, they have to go to Kuwait and then MS for debriefing type stuff.

We have a bet that I will be 40-60 pounds lighter when he gets back, so I got to get to work!! I also just found out that I have a torn Miniscus and the Doc says he wants to operate. I'll have a lot to work on before he gets back.

So stay tuned, Tino and I will be back to our postings soon!

Say a prayer for him while he's flying!

Michelle

YOUR MOVE HOLY MAN!

I know, no posts for a week and then BAM! Here I am with a shitload of them! These are too funny; as I was finally taking down the Christmas tree I thought the skirt looked an awful lot like the things they put on you when getting a hair cut, so Tino indulged me in putting it on then he decided it was a holy man's "frock" (is that what they call them?) anyway here he is preachin' to the choir! heheheehe.

BTW my reference in the title is to a comic named DANE COOK never heard of him? Oh you will! He is HILARIOUS and I have been lovin' his stuff for a few years now! He's just starting to get some recognition his link http://www.danecook.com He also has a My Space blog but they won't let me post it here I guess.

For the birds...

Hi everyone! WOW! Almost a week and I haven't posted! Tino is enjoying his time home, we have pretty much stayed as close to home as possible. This week I'm afraid is coming WAY too fast! Before I know it he will be on that *@%$%&@ plane again!

One of our favorite things to do is to watch birds, Tino knows EVERYTHING about birds hence the "Rooster" name. He can spot a Red tailed hawk before I even can find the tree it's sitting in! We have the pleasure of living in a bird sanctuary we call our property. We almost 4 acres of land with alot of the area covered in wild roses, a FAVORITE safe haven for our feathered friends. We have our bird watching book and binoculars right on the sill of our big bay type window in our kitchen so as we sit there we can watch the activity that happens out at the feeders.

We have had several Cardinal families that live on our property, recently we had a major snow storm. As we were watching the feeders, what a delight to see that RED of reds blazing against the white snow. Something just so relaxing and peaceful about watching birds.

If you haven't done it, try it you may find it very calming, freeing and even spiritual.