Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I was lucky and got to talk to Matt this morning while I was watching everyone open gifts. He wanted me to tell everyone thank you for all the great gifts. Kathy, he loved the yummies you sent him. He told me that he got a lot of stuff from different schools saying thank you for his service. He doesn't want anymore store bought candy and treats. He wants homemade cookies! He wants you all to know that he shares the treats we send him so if you want to put cookies in little bags and leave a note that would be awesome! He says to help make the cookies last, you should try and suck as much air out of the bags as you can. It keeps everything fresh for a bit longer, or so he says:). He is doing good and was really up beat today. It made my day to get to talk to him. I wasn't expecting to hear from him til tomorrow. He might be going on some missions for the next couple of weeks but he doesn't know for sure.

We love you all and wish you the best Christmas ever!

With Love,
Kayci & Matt

Had a delightful time talking - "Instant Messaging" with Matt on Friday. It was awesome to be able to see his face with the web cam. Jeni and Matt were on a roll - playing, Name that Movie. Jeni had him laughing and it was fun to see his great smile. He is super busy with his job and does not have much time to relax. He loves playing games on his computer and watching movies.

He has asked for information on his siblings and a couple of people that he knows in Utah for a Security Clearance check that he is having done so that he can change his MOS when he gets back from Iraq. So you might be getting a call from the Army.

WE LOVE YOU - MATT. BE SAFE and know that we are praying for your safe return.

MOM

Matt called Saturday. He had been out on a mission for a week and half fixing a vehicle. He is very busy and gets only 1/2 day off at a time. As always, he is tired but it is good that he is busy. He is adjusting to having a room mate - who is a battle buddy. Matt says that a battle buddy is someone that you trust your life with.

He has received his Christmas packages that I sent and he also received a gift that he did not know who it was from. He loves the gift that Aaron and Denise sent. He has played the game as often as he can and thoroughly enjoyed it. He says - THANK YOU, Aaron and your family for the great gift.

Merry Christmas, MATT - We love you and are praying for your safety. We are proud of you and your service to our country.

MOM & DAD

Hello From IRAQ

Hello this is Matt.

I am writing from FOB (foward operating base) Marez. I am safe and ok. I have been very busy and working hard. Today i got the day off so i was going to write a quick note. Thank you everyone that has sent me something or a package or letter, it means the world to me. I am having the time of my life here. On my off time i have been doing everything i can to stay in contact back home but have found it hard to because the internet is slow or the phones are busy. We hear 50 cals. going off all the time and we hear explosions going off about once a day. Lucky we haven't been hit yet.

Well sorry that this is short but I will try to write more next time

Well, this is my first entry. I hope it works. Matt ended up losing his single room. He is now rooming with another soldier. They had to make room for other companies to come in. He is doing good. I talked to him late last night. I don't really remember the conversation but he is out on a mission and should get his birthday off. I am hoping to get to talk to him before I go into work tomorrow afternoon. He loves and misses us all and looks forward to care packages. Just little things will make him happy. He loves his cookies and would love home made ones. I can't bake so I am asking those that can to send him some and send lots of love with them.
I am doing good. I am keeping busy with work. Well, kinda. I usually work the late shift and stay up late and sleep most of the mornings. Just depends. I am coming home on December 20th and will stay until the 31st. I hope to get to see everyone there!
I love you all and can't wait to see you!
Love ya tonz

Matthew is now in his "room" - a small room about 10x12 that he does not have to share. He got his locker - finally and all the things that he has been without for the past month or so. He does not have internet in his room yet and goes to the computer room to "talk" - instant message. He has a web cam and I have been able to see him several times as we chat on instant messaging. He says that I "talk" too fast. He works hard and has been very busy. His off time is watching movies, playing games, and talking with Kayci, Richard, and of course, his Mom - ME!

He will be working today, Thanksgiving, but have tomorrow, his birthday, off. I am not sure what he will be doing but relaxing and eating pumpkin pie will be on the list.

He has not been able to send pictures or post because of the internet connection that he has. He tells me that he is SAFE and WELL. You cannot ask for more than that.

We have much to be grateful for - especially for the service men and women that are fighting to protect our freedoms here in the USA.

Matt has been deployed for 1 month with 14 months to go. It seems that the best time for Matt to call is during work and the office staff knows that when I am on the phone with Matt - work stops for me. It is always good to get a phone call saying, "Hi, MOM - I'm safe". He states that he will be moving to his "room" by the end of the week. He has been super busy working on vehicles. His unit has been doing lots of missions and thus repairs are always needed. They work on the vehicles until they are all fixed and ready to go which causes some long days and nights for him. He worked on 2 power steering pumps that took almost 20 hours to do.

He has a mentor that has been in the service for 27 years as a mechanic and has lots to teach Matt. Sargent Mulos will be teaching Matt while they are there.

He has been designated one of the mail clerks for his company, which means he gets to go and get the mail when it comes and distribute it. Oh course since the mail pilot quit and the runway needs to be repaired, the mail has not made it to them for over a week and it will be several more days before he will be able to get any mail.

We talked about Brother Bob Call, who was Matt's scout leader. He wanted me to tell Brother Call - THANK YOU for all that you taught me in scouts. Matt is using what he learned in scouts in Iraq. Always nice to know that when you serve that you have benefited someone and Brother Call - Matt is grateful for all that you taught him.

That's all for now. Hopefully as he gets his internet he will be able to post to this blog.

I got a call from Matt today and we talked for 30 minutes. He was given a free phone card from an AT&T representative. Thank you AT&T for that wonderful call.

Iraq is about 2x the size of Idaho. Where he is there are some hills but it is mostly flat and very, very dusty. It will get in the 40-60 in the winter time but summer will be 125 during the day. It was cold this morning at about 45 degrees.

He tells me that the food is amazing and plentiful. There are more non-USA people there where he is then there are soldiers. Many from the Pacific Islands. They serve the food for them and do a wonderful job. The kitchen is huge and they have won his heart with the pumpkin pie. He LOVES pumpkin pie and has it every day. He eats 3x a day and breakfast is omlets, bacon, hashbrowns, and lots of pancakes. He gets all the Gatorade that he can drink. The Hot sandwich, like a subway, with cheese bread is a favorite.

He has been there for a couple of weeks and the time has been going by quickly because he has been very busy. His day consists of PT in the morning for an hour - pilates is tomorrow. He then gest showered and goes to breakfast. Then work - the vehicles are in bad shape and need to be repaired and cleaned. Power washing will take an hour per vehicle because of how bad they are. Dinner is about 5:30/6PM. After dinner is down time with talking on the phone, using the internet, and playing air hockey and foos ball, which he is becoming very good at.

They have adopted a cat "Nuts" is his name and he looks like Pongo, who was white w/brown spots. He has seen heards of camels from a distance but not one close up, yet.

He is still in a temporary room because his unit is moving to another spot on post. He will have a room similar in size to Jeni's room. He is planning on getting the internet but it is dial up and will have access to satelite TV.

MATTHEW DEPLOYED

Matthew was deployed this month. He left Ft. Leonard Wood (Fort Lost in the Woods), MO, the first of October. His orders are for 15 months with a scheduled R&R in September 2008. He called and has now arrived at his duty station in Iraq. He had some problems with change of climate, food, etc. He is doing better and expects to be busy working on vehicles that need repair. He says that the sand is fine and gets in your throat, nose, eyes, ears, etc. He said that it was 110 degrees during the day and 85 at night. He said that he was safe, the food was great, and he was in temporary housing, waiting to get moved into his permanent quarters. He is 9 hours ahead of Moutain Daily Time.