8 more weeks!!

Ok, so I am sure everyone knows now that I am a horrible blogger.... It has been too long since I have given an update. Better late then never, right.... Well, as far as news on Isaac goes, not too much has changed. Still no word on an actual homecoming date, but he says that it is getting closer.... whatever that means? He knows he will be back before December 22nd, because that is when their block leaves starts. Hopefully it is way before then. As for us going back to Georgia, we are now putting that thought on hold. As the weeks go by, there is less and less time that would be safe for me to travel. We have decided we will definitely be having the baby in Arizona. We have scheduled to induce on the 1st of December, in hopes of Isaac being home before then. The reasoning for inducing.... It will be much easier to have an actual date for him to take leave. We are all doing great! Things are busy but good for Isaac, and Taylor and I are staying busy. Things with the baby are perfect, and we can't wait to meet him! We hope everyone else is doing good. Thank you all for your prayers, we love you!!

New Calling

So I had been wondering lately if I would receive a calling while in my ward here in Arizona..... I can finally stop wondering :) I have been called to be a teacher in the Relief Society, and even though I have already taught 3 lessons while here, I am still soo nervous!! I am definitely excited about this calling, because I feel like teaching is an area I need lots of practice in. I will be praying that I am able to inspire these women who are already soo knowledgeable.... I am sure they will end up teaching me a thing or two, which is another reason to be excited!! Bring on the lessons :)

Fun times and new news :)

Taylor and I just got back from visiting my Grandparents in Casa Grande, which is 3 hours from where we live. It is right in the middle of the HOT HOT desert!! While the weather was miserable, we had a great time! I think Taylor ran herself completely out of energy... all she wants to do is sleep :) I guess that is not such a bad thing..... As for the new news I have, Isaac informed me today that they have been ordered to complete their Re-deployment health assesment. This means that they will be re-deploying...... home..... hopefully soon!! It will of course take a few months to get everybody home, but I can handle this :) I just want my Husband home, and if I can just get a date out of him, I will be a very happy camper!! Another thing we discussed today, was the fact that he heard that once he re-enlists, he will not get his orders for his next duty station until March. Now, nothing is ever for sure, but we are going to go ahead and count on this. We are definitely NOT willing to live apart until March, so we are going to plan for Taylor and I and possibly baby, to go back to Georgia, as soon as Isaac is home and settled. This is a little different then our perfect plan, but as long as we are together, it doesn't matter. I'm sure there is a possiblity this could change, but as of today, I am really happy with the news of my Husband coming home!! I don't care if he tells me we are moving to Africa, just as long as it's together!! Haha, ok, Africa would be crazy..... We hope everyone is doing great!! We love you all :)

No news is good news....

Well, I don't have much of anything new to tell :( Taylor and I have play dates on Tuesday and Thursday at the park with friends from Church. Taylor has made a new friend whose name is.... Taylor :) They have soo much fun and Taylors mom and I get some mommy time! The other Taylor has a 6 month old brother, so this is also an opportunity for my Taylor to be around a baby brother. She is thankfully very maternal.... but for some reason, she is always so worried about his binky. He is also a great example for me, because he is such an awesome baby. Hardly ever makes a peep :) My fingers are crossed!! As for Isaac, everything is going good. The long hours definitely have him tired, but he is always in a good mood. So far we have kept a pretty good phone schedule, which I am soooo grateful for! My phone is always connected to some part of me though, so I don't miss a call. I definitely didn't expect that we would be able to talk so much, so it has been a huge blessing. Still no real word on when he will be home for sure.... there is still talk of them starting to leave as early as September. My fingers are still crossed for this one too! Although it has been very hard having him away, I can't help but be so proud of his service to our Country :) We love you all!!

Rumors of good news :)

So, not a whole lot of new things to tell. As for Isaac, he had a really scary/great experience the other day. He was able to assist in saving someones life :) He was able to give an IV to a patient who was going into septic shock. The Doctors who were working on him were not able to get an IV in him due to the severity of his case. It was so bad, that in order to administer fluids, they wanted to drill into his bone marrow. As soon as Isaac came in, they put him to work and he got the IV in on his first try. I am soo proud of him :) I know that he was sent there for a reason. Not only is he great at what he does, but he also has the Spirit guiding him. More recently, he was able to attend a relationship seminar on relationships and "love language". He was very excited to report on what he learned, even though he is already great at all that stuff :) I am just happy he was able to do something outside of his rigorous routine.

As for Taylor and I, we just moved out of our apartment. I decided that it was silly to pay rent on a place where we pretty much only slept at night. We have now taken over my Moms upstairs portion of her house. Hopefully it won't be for too much longer, because rumor has it, they may possibly start sending some of the Soldiers home as soon as September. Isaac said that they told him they are going to work it so that he is on the 1st set of flights going out. I think they are all just as anxious for him to get back in time for the baby as I am!! Again, we have learned that everything in the Army is a rumor until it happens, so the fingers are crossed :)

Excited for our baby boy!!

It is soo exciting to think that in just 4 1/2 months, I will have a new baby and my husband back!! Thankfully, time is actually going by fast for me. We were so happy to find out that we will be having a boy!! Especially Isaac, he didn't want to admit it, but he didn't want to be the only male in a house full of girls :) Taylor is excited, she even has ideas for a name.... She is much too opinionated at times. She can't wait for her brother to be here. As for a little update on Isaac, everything is pretty much the same. He did get switched from night shift to day shift, and it has been very very busy to say the least. He is dealing with some pretty interesting things. With his 12 hour work shift, he doesn't have much time for himself. His schedule consists of working, the gym, and sleep. He is so busy, that he hasn't had time for the internet, so we are thinking that Skype is probably not going to work :( He has had time to call every morning, though not for very long. I am grateful for what I do get though, just hearing that he is doing good is enough for me :) Unfortunately the Camp that he is at is pretty deserted, so when he went to look for a Church Chapel, he founded a boarded up place :( I know that the Spirit will continue to guide him through this tough time. We hope that everyone is doing good. We love you :)

Taji....

So Isaac is finally at his place of duty.... it is called Taji. He say's what used to be a pretty busy place is now basically a ghost Camp. They still feed them meals though, and that makes me happy :) He had a chance to tell me a little about the job he will be doing and it happened to be around 1:30 in the morning when he was telling me, so I hope I get it all right :) I can't remember the exact name, but it is a lot like a ParaMedic. When people get "hurt" (I'm putting that in the nicest way possible), he and his guys go get them. I asked how busy he thought he would be, and he wasn't too sure. He said he can't get a straight answer, because everyones ideas of "busy" are different. He will be working 12 hour shifts.... 8pm to 8am. Hopefully getting some sleep in the day. I finally have an address for him......

SPC. Isaac McAlister
HHC 369 AR BN
Camp Taji
APO AE 09378

I know I listed things before, that can and can't be sent, but if you really would like to send a package, he is going to need snacks. With working the 12 hour shifts, he is not too sure if he will be allowed to eat. We talked again about things that he would like..... Sunflower seeds, Beef Jerky, any type of nuts, Trail Mix (with NO chocolate), and anything that would help provide energy that doesn't have to be cooked, and won't melt. Also, I know that he doesn't expect it, but would love to receive letters from everyone. So far, I have been his only source of our world. Sadly, I am not the best reporter :(
He has asked that I tell everyone that he Loves you and Thank you for all of your thoughts and Prayers!!

Moving on....

Well, Isaac's mini vacation has quickly come to an end in Camp Striker, Baghdad. As of tomorrow they are headed for another destination.... not their permanent place of duty yet though. They have another stop before they will be meeting up with there actual Unit. As for what he has been up to over the past few days..... Patrols, ping pong games (Yes, ping pong!!), weight lifting competitions haha, surviving the heat, watching Iraqi versions of our new American movies and 3 meals a day :) I laugh everytime Isaac mentions another activity that I never would've imagined him doing over there. Now, like I said before, the mini vacation has quickly ended.... from here on out, it is all work and no play. I am glad that he has gotten to enjoy some of his time over there :) The good news about this all is, he may be home sooner then we thought!! According to someone who sat in on a briefing, his whole Brigade is supposedly going to be home no later then December 11th!!!! Now, his Unit was one of the first Units within his Brigade to be deployed..... even though he is a late deployer, he is still attatched to his Unit, so they will supposedly be home in November!!!! I am not making any bets on this, but I am EXTREMELY excited about it! I would love to have him home long before the baby is due. As for baby, we find out what we are having next Wednesday, so get ready for the big news :) Thank you everyone, for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, we love you.

Camp Striker, Baghdad

Hey guys,

I received a call from Isaac today and he is currently in Camp Striker, Baghdad. I looked up pictures of this place on Google and it is crazy how much it looks like the Arizona desert.... well a bit dirtier, but the tree's, smog, dirt, etc. He will be staying there until the 18th and then he will be headed over to where he will be stationed. He said until the 18th, he doesn't really have a whole lot going on, except for 2 Formations, one in the morning and in the evening. He is planning on buying a few phone cards tomorrow, so he will hopefully be making some phone calls soon. Also, he is able to use the internet in 30 minute intervals. He doesn't get to use his own computer, so he can't use his Skype, but he will be going on Facebook and checking his Emails. If you wanna send him a message, I am sure he will send one in return. I was able to catch him twice on Facebook today and we were able to im eachother. It has been great getting to communicate with him finally, I think I was about to lose my mind. He says that everything is good and they are feeding him well, which is a relief to me! We hope that everyone is doing well, I will update again, when he reaches his Duty Station :) We love you all!!

I love having updates!!

Hey Family and Friends,
I received another phone call this morning from Isaac. They have been being trained to the point of exhaustion. To give an example of how crazy the training is, they went to bed at 7pm, woke up at 1am and were not released from training until 6pm!! Bless his heart, but he is still soo positive, I can't help but smile when he tells me about his experiences. He said the weather is still in the 120's and the dust has been blowing. Part of their training is in using their weapons.... he said when they were at the firing range, there were Scorpions and Camel spiders everywhere... that would be enough to make me wanna come home :( Due to the mass ammounts of training and classes, he wasn't able to make it to Church, but I shared our Sunday school lesson and a few Scriptures with him. He said he has really felt the Spirit very stronglly lately and he hopes that when he gets settled in Iraq, that they too will have Church services. They are leaving for Iraq now on Wednesday, not Tuesday. I know that all our thoughts and prayers are helping him stay positive :) Until next time, we love you guys and hope everyone is doing great!!

Isaac Update!!

Hey everyone,
I finally have an update on Isaac, I just received a phone call from him. He said he had to wait 2 hours for his turn to use the phone, crazy huh.... Well, he went from Shannon(spelling?), Ireland to Camp Buehling, Kuwait, where he said he should be until Tuesday. They are going through training there at Camp Buehling before they head over to Iraq. He said it is a melting 125 degrees over there and it is miserable, but luckily they have huge cases of water constantly being shipped in. They all went the whole trip until around 6am Kuwait time, before they were able to go to sleep. He said it isn't the most comfortable thing sleeping during the day in that kind of heat, but they were exhausted, so they didn't complain. Get this, they have a tent set up serving as an LDS Chapel, so he will be attending Church Services tomorrow! He was really excited for that. I think it is awesome! Isaac is in such great spirits, somehow he seems wiser already. He is such a great example to me. He didn't have one negative thing to say, other then his skin felt like it was burning off..... but thats more of a fact, right haha. Well, his phone calls in Kuwait are only allowed to be 20 mins long, and thats per day, so until he gets to Iraq, we will continue updating everyone this way. He is in hopes that once he gets there, his schedule will be a little clearer and he can set up times for communication. Alot of that will be through the Internet, so everyone get their Skype downloaded :) Also, I am aching to start sending letters and care packages, so I asked him to give me suggestions of what we are and aren't allowed to send... here are the things we can't send: Anything having to do with Religion :(, anything Pork, so no bacon haha..., and of course, Guns, alcohol, tobacco etc., he didn't think we would have a problem with those last few :) As for what he would like to receive: Beef Jerky, or any snack that provides energy that won't melt and will fit in his pockets, Letters, phone cards, and sunflower seeds. I'm sure he will think of more things as time goes by. As soon as he gets his permanent address, I will be getting that to everyone. He loves you all!! Thank you for all of your support!!

June and July 2010

I didn't teach her this pose!

Isaacs trip update....

Hey everyone, just wanted to give an update on Isaacs trip. Well, they were supposed to leave yesterday at 12pm Arizona time and when I received a call from him at 8:30pm, they had only made it to Maine haha. At that rate, he may not even make it to Iraq by December :) The awesome thing about Maine, was that they had free cell phones for everyone to use to make calls. Next stop, Ireland.....lucky him, I have always wanted to go! I think they arrived there around 4am my time. I am not sure what his next stop with be, or if he will be able to call. I have my ringer as loud as it will go, so I don't miss it if he does. Also, we downloaded Skype, and tried it out last night... it is great! Isaac sent everyone an email invitation. It is very easy to download and use and you get to do video chats. If he didn't get you an invitation, you can simply download Skype and search for him. His user name is.... ike_mcalister . Well we hope everyone is doing well and can't wait to see you all :) I will do my best to keep everyone as posted as possible.

Not so fun Farewell.....

Hey everyone, on tuesday the 6th, Taylor and I had to drop Isaac off at the airport and bid him farewell....... For the next 5 and a half months... I hope. While it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, I have Faith that there is a bigger purpose for them needing him over there. I know he will do his job well and touch many lives the way he has touched mine. We love him and are already counting down the days until our reunion!! I ask that everyone please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, as I know you will. He loves you all!!

Happy Birthday Taylor Sage!

Mis Taylor turned 3 years old on June 18th. She is growing up soo fast, it is almost hard to watch. Pictures soon to come.....

Finally settled.... but not complete.

Just wanted to give a quick update. Taylor and I are settled into our apartment where we plan to stay until Isaac comes home. Everything is going good, but we do miss him very very much!!

Taylor Sage

YAY! The McAlister's FINALLY have a Blog!!

Ok, I am trying to get the hang of this blog stuff so please bare with me :) More to come, I promise!!