Stryker is Home!

Stryker is home! Yesterday I took him into the vet, and they did some bloodwork and turns out he's having some issues with his kidneys. They were going to keep him until Thursday but when I came in today to drop off his bed and some toys for him I found out he chewed through his IV they were giving him (to flush his system and normalize his kidneys). Not only did he do it once, but he did it twice. So I got to bring him home. They said he seemed to be doing better, and I have to feed keep him on a special kidney diet for a month. After that we have to bring him back in and they will do some more blood work on him, and we can go from there.

Other than that, that's what's new with us! Jesse's still in the field, and right now it's pouring down rain. So he's probably getting pretty wet! There are some tornado warnings in some of the southeastern counties of Alabama. Nothing to bad here though, just some heavier rain. He'll be home tomorrow evening though. Not only that but they're in barracks and they have hot showers. I actually think they have TV, possibly satellite. I haven't been able to talk to him long enough to find out.

Other than that, we're still going to Atlanta friday, getting back early afternoon to pick up Stryker from the boarding facility. I'll be posting pictures of Coca-Cola and of the Aquarium soon!

A Busy Monday

So today wasn't extremely productive, but that's ok. I got up early to drive Jesse in to work (so we didn't have to leave his car at the barracks for 4 days), and came home to go back to sleep. I did a few things around the house this morning, but Stryker was making me crazy so I took him to the park.

I ended running into Cassidy there, she was there with her dog Daisy. I talked to her and a couple other people that I've been seeing there on a regular basis. It was pretty sunny, probably about 75 today. I got a little bit of sun on my face, but other than that it was ok. I know it's not that sunny or warm in Washington right now. And appearantly there's been rumors of more snow. Yikes.

Cassidy and I ended up going out to do a little bit of shopping and I had dinner at her house today. We always end up talking for a long time, which is good. I enjoy hanging out with her. I'm also her "alternate" for Bill, just in case she needs to go to the hospital and he can't get out of work. I can at least be with her so she doesn't have to be all on her own if she starts having contractions.

Other than that I made up my mind that Stryker needs to go to the vet for a check up. He hasn't been eating much, unless I mix it with canned food. He threw up several times today, what looked like what was grass and one that looked like dirt. Nevertheless you can never be too careful, and I don't want him to get too out of hand in case something is wrong with him. He's updated on everything shot wise, but I would rather be safe than sorry.

Other than that it's been a pretty decent day. I briefly talked to Jesse and there's really nothing too new with him. I'm guessing everything was well. Nothing bad to say, which is a good sign. Other than that, that pretty much concludes my day!

Big Announcement

Most of you may know this by now, but for those who don't know yet we are not going to Germany as planned. We are now going to Ft. Bliss, TX instead. Jesse will be with 1st Armor Division, 3rd Brigade. The decision was made because with Germany Jesse wouldn't be able to have as many opportunities to be an active leader in a combat situation. The unit in Germany was involving training units from all over the world, rarely deploying. Jesse wanted a unit in which he would be able to be a little more hands on. We are scheduled to be there at the beginning of November.

Ft. Bliss is an expanding post (much like Ft. Benning at this time), expecting to have a 300% increase by the year 2012. They are rebuilding everything including training areas, shopping centers, and housing. It is located next to El Paso, which is right next to the Mexican and New Mexico borders.

For more information on Ft. Bliss you can visit:
https://www.bliss.army.mil/

It should be interesting moving to a hot climate again, since the southwest is where I spent a good portion of my youth. We will also be very close to Arizona, which a portion of my family currently lives. Jesse has a good chance of deploying shortly after we get to Texas to Afganistan. We don't know anything 100% as of now, but it is a very good possibility at this time.

We will keep you posted the best that we can!

Another Weekend...

Jesse found out yesterday that he will be in the field for for days this coming week, monday through thursday of this week. He will be there without coming home, but will be back for the weekend. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday he will have off and then he will be in the field again for the five days following. Just so you know if you try and get ahold of him. He will be unavailable, and doesn't know how much time he will have access to his phone.

I have additional pictures of Georgia and the surrounding area online. This is the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/marissa.mcadam/Georgia?authkey=JaLEuNun_so&feat=directlink

Please let me know if this link doesn't work.

Other than that, Jesse and I have been doing errands again this weekend. We've been trying to eat out at certain places that we've never seen before! Other than that it's just more unpacking, organizing, and hanging things! Not much new really...

Most of you will probably recieve a card from us this next week with our new address, also.

We're going to Atlanta next weekend. I will make sure to make pictures available for you to see if you'd like.

I'll write more later! :)

Our Ft. Benning Residence

To the left is a picture of the front of our Townhome. The door the furthest to the left is our front door. To the immediate right of the tree is another door of our house, which is through the kitchen and to the garbage can. All of these houses are officer housing, and they are that yellow color in our area. There is additional parking around the back of the house.

The second picture (to the right) is a picture of the back of our house. The door in the center is the back of the house. Most of the yard is dirt because we had a bush and a bunch of holes in the back yard which matienence had to come in a fix. The residents before us had a dog which dug holes and caused the basement walls to mold. They planted seeds, and the hay that you can see. You can probably tell the back of the house looks dirty, which is also from the previous owner's dog.

First Blog From Georgia

Hello! We hope everyone is doing well, Jesse and I are still getting settled in the new house. We are currently living in a townhouse on Ft. Benning. We have had a few hiccups, but other than that everything is good.

Jesse's been working quite often, mostly into the evening. I have been taking care of groceries, cleaning, and unpacking. Jesse does the best he can to hang pictures and put things away on weekends, but lately we've been getting extra shopping and stuff like that done since that's the only time we have to do those things together.

The animals have adjusted well, sometimes I believe that Spuz is doing better than Stryker. I have been noticing that Stryker seems more protective of the house than he ever had been. He likes to look out the windows and see the birds, the many squirrels, and any person that might pass by.

I will do the best I can to keep updates on this blog, giving updates as I can.

Marissa and Jesse