Settling In

Hi all. I don't know if anyone even looks at this anymore, but I did tell a couple people that I would put one or two wedding pictures up, so here they are :)

Things with Seth and being home have been great. He took some much needed time off to relax, help me with wedding planning, move, and then to get married and have a honeymoon! Now that all that excitement is done and we are beginning to settle into things together, he is starting his job search.

I know a lot of people have been asking what is next for him as far as deployments and military related things go and the answer is we don't know. He is contracted with the National Guard through May 2009. Anything beyond that depends on what we think is going to be best for us and on whether or not any orders come down for anything before that.

That's really all there is to share. Thank you for all the prayers you've been praying as far as all the reintegration stuff goes and for us as we start life together. They've all been needed and appreciated! Continue to pray as this crazy adventure goes on :)

I think I'm signing off for the last time. Thanks again from both of us and our families for all the support and prayers you all have offered to us over this last year. It means more to us than you know.

~Lyndsay

Maryland National Guardsmen Return To Hugs, Cheers And Tears

SILVER SPRING, Md. (WUSA) -- 130 citizen-soldiers from Maryland's National Guard were greeted by joyful and tearful spouses and children, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and friends at a ceremony at White Oak Armory Saturday afternoon.

The soldiers arrived aboard large civilian interstate buses escorted by a dozen motorcycle riders. They were the first contingent in a total of 600 troops slated to return home.

The troops were serving in the Guard's 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment and were tasked with finding and disabling improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq. They had been serving there for nearly a year.

The troop contingent mirrored Maryland's racial diversity with Anglos, African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians represented. The remaining 470 soldiers are expected to return to Maryland between April 21 and 23.

Written by Armando Trull
9NEWS NOW

Video

HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seth is HOME! I picked him up from the armory last night and I can't even begin tell you how wonderful it is to have him here again.


We'll be heading to Indiana to see his family this weekend, he has an Army school just after that, and then whatever "normal" will be for this next phase will begin. Please be praying for general readjustment things and everything that is coming next for Seth. Lots of decisions to make so be praying for some clear direction and a willingness to follow it!



Here are pictures from the homecoming ceremony:

Banners people made


Girlfriends waiting for their boyfriends. A. Very. Long. Time.


Motorcycles! Buses! Home!


EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!


Can you find him?

That's all for pictures. After he came to me, I was too excited to think about pictures and he was hungry.

Thank you to all of you for your prayers and encouragement to Seth over this last year. And thank you to those of you encouraging and praying for me and those close to Seth as well. Would have been a much harder year without it!

I guess as far as this blog goes, this is goodbye...And that kind of makes me happy since it also means the deployment is over. (The prayers, though, those can keep coming!) Maybe I can talk Seth into writing something on here, but I imagine with everything going on, it might be a few weeks before that happens, so check back later!

~Lyndsay

He's in America!

Ft. Dix, New Jersey to be exact!!! Sadly, it sounds like it will be longer than I had hoped before i get to see him. They are talking next the end of next weekend and I was sort of hoping for Thursday-ish :) Unless something comes up, I think that this will be my last post until I can post homecoming pictures and stories. Keep praying all the things from my previous post.

SOOOOOOOOOOOO CLOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSE!

Out of Iraq!

Just wanted to pass along to you all that Seth and most of his company are out of Iraq! Not sure how long they will be waiting in Kuwait for a flight back to New Jersey, but he's that much closer to being home. Be praying that travels from Kuwait to Ft. Dix are safe and that all the stuff taken care of at Ft Dix goes quickly and smoothly. (I'm hoping that this time next week I am picking him up in Maryland, but that may be a bit optimistic of me!)

Also be praying for Seth; for the direction that he goes next-that there is clarity and peace in what is next for him. He's basically coming back and starting over. Pray that any fears involved in that don't push him in a direction to settle on something that isn't right for him simply because it's there, that there are opportunities that really allow him to use his passions and many talents, and that he is able to have some level of permanence/stability through what comes as well. Continue to be praying for his heart and his spirit as he shifts into this next phase.

This may be a bit selfish of me, but since I am the one writing this, I am going to take advantage of it! I'm going to ask you all to pray for us as a couple. After not really being together for a year and having limited communication during that time, this is going to be pretty huge. Lots of emotions involved in homecoming as well as many challenges ahead in discerning how different choices and directions will impact where we are going both together and as individuals so prayer, as always, will be key!

Soooooooooo Soooooooooooon!

I can hardly take it. :) The reality of how soon it is truly sank in when his boxes of stuff arrived at my house in the mail over these last couple of days! I feel like a five year old girl with how I prance around my house because of how excited I am!

I was able to talk to Seth both yesterday and today (spoiled--seriously). Said he's not feeling all that great and because the guys have moved into a closer, tighter, and more communal living space than before, everyone is sharing germs and things so a lot of them are sick. He also said that although some of the guys are done, he'll basically be running missions until they leave for Kuwait. So be praying for their health and that it doesn't impact their missions.

I'm sure there are more things I should say, but my head is filled with a lot of happy right now, so coming up with more than "AHHH I'm so excited!" really isn't going to happen. :)

More Prayer, Please

Hi all,

I got an email from Seth this morning and I want to ask you all to pray right now for him. Sounds like things are getting crazier and harder as they wrap up and it's getting to him. He's been given some extra responsibilities, then there is the general wrap up stuff they are doing, training the other unit, and what he has said to be the highest operational tempo they have had yet. It's hard to imagine the kind of stress that might put on a person and I have to admit that I probably haven't made things much easier on him lately either.

As always, please being praying for a sense of peace to wash over him. With the stress of being there, plus the stress of him figuring out what is next and what he is coming back to, I truly believe that the enduring peace and love of Christ is the only thing that can bring a person through this.