A sad goodbye...

Hi Family and Friends,

As we walked through the airport last night we saw a wife and five small children waiting for daddy to return. They had small American flags in their hands and we're so excited for the upcoming reunion. I rocked Bowman and clung to Christina as long as I could before helping them to the security line to catch their flight. I wish I could fast forward to the day I return to see my family together again...

As I watched Christina and Bowman walk down the ramp I had mixed emotions...1. I was so thankful we had had the weekend together. 2. I hate goodbyes...

One day Heaven will be wonderful. There will be no more goodbyes! I'm thankful the Lord watched over Christina and Bowman as they arrived safely back in Colorado late last night. I'm thankful for Grandpa and Grandma Niehues watching our Herbie and Allie for the long weekend. I talked to Herbie on the phone tonight and he sounds so big!

Yesterday at school was exciting as we went to the field to train with live fire for an IED (improvised explosion device) exercise. We had to hide behind a wall and fall on our faces when the explosion went off. Then we jumped the wall and ran to our "chaplain assistant" (young soldiers training for basic) to hide behind them as they engaged the enemy.

Lots of sweat and waiting in the sun for a two hour exercise. The state chaplain of Colorado has taught me in the past that war is "hours of boredom, surrounded by moments of complete terror." To be honest, I was more afraid of our bus ride out to the field as the driver went too fast and forgot about a speed bump...I'm sure the whole bus was airborne for a second or two...

Here are a few pictures:


This is my buddy Scotty Sewell. He is from the TN Guard. He is a very funny Chaplain with a thick Southern accent. People say he looks like Vladimar Putin from Russia and others say I look like Slater from "Saved by the Bell" Hmmm....I guess I can see that...



Goofin' Around as we wait for six hours...



Waiting to charge the wall...