Packages Galore!

Work is going great. Got two packages yesterday. One from Kevin and Ginger and the other from The Popcorn Factory. My Squadron is very thankful for both of them.


P.S.  Forgot to mention I also got a card from Uncle Bob. I really am appreciating all of the packages and letters. They mean a lot to me and the packages mean a lot to the squadron. It really lifts morale here.

Yay for Soft Sheets!

Hey. I got the package with the sheets and my dvd's I'll need to call kate and thank her for the amazing sheets. They're really comfortable. Things have been going pretty well here. I appreciate all the prayers that have been sent up for me. They have helped me immensely

Andrew

Sick

I just got your package yesterday. Some of the Esther Price candy was melted unfortunately but the rest of the package made it in one piece. It rained here today which was nice. Not so nice is that I managed to catch a cold here. Been medicating myself like crazy to beat it as quickly as possible.

Work Keeps Me Busy

Sorry I haven't been talkative lately, been busy with a lot of work. Days have been going by slowly here but there is talk of us going to the other base as well so that should take up quite a few days of this deployment. Glad my car is going to be clean when I get home. Sorry I keep stealing your swiffers :P. I haven't had much time for "fun" out here yet. I'm still working 12 hour days with no date set on when we can take those down to 6-9 hr/days. All in all i'm just hoping the days go by quickly while I'm here. I already can't wait to be home again.

Andy

Mailing Address

Hey,

Been getting into my routine here hence why I haven’t really talked. I leave my ipad in my room which has wifi which is why I look like I’m online when I’m not. I’ll try and figure out a good time/date for us to skype as well as a morale call. I would like to have my phone charger. If at all possible I would also like to maybe get a pair of twin xl sheets as the ones here are terrible. My mailing address is:

Andrew Stover (Don’t put the rank after my name)

71 EACS/DO

APO , AE 09309

Thanks for all of the emails and comments on facebook. I really appreciate it.

Andrew

I made it!

Made it to Al Udeid safely at around 0400 local (8pm est). Forgot my phone charger. Gonna get some rest. Will send another email later. Love you

Andy

Slight delay

From Andy's e-mail:

So bad news. My plane out of qatar is delayed until midnight on the 20th so i'm not going to be able to make it in on the 21st. I'll update you more as i have details. :(

Andrew Stover

Flight Info.

from Andy's e-mail...

Yep. I have a flight from bradley to cincinnati that should arrive around 7am may 21 on delta

Andrew Stover

Heading Home

From Andy's e-mail:

Looks like my flight out of qatar is on the 20th at around 3am. We'll have a stop in germany than another one in connecticut. I'll let you know more specifics when i know them. Cant wait to be home!

Meeting a Friend for Coffee

From Andy's e-mail:

just fyi I got to see Trey today at the coffee shop. He says hi to everyone. It was cool getting to meet him again since the only other time I had talked to him was at Springfield . I'm all packed and ready to go. Can't wait to leave this place :D

[Trey is someone that used to go to church with us. He and his family are now stationed back in their hometown of Dallas. Strange coincidence that he and Andy are at the same airbase in Iraq right now!]

Last Box

From Andy's e-mail:

I just got your box today so I'm good to go here.

Looking Up a Friend

From Andy's e-mail:

I sure have been keeping close to God. I went to the Chaplains last service tonight. I also found trey's email address. going to see if he wants to go out for coffee soon. Thanks for the heads up on that btw

Yummy Cookies!

From Andy's e-mail:

Yep. Got the cookies in one piece. They were a big hit around the site. I wish i had gotten a picture of it but we had a literal ton of girl scout cookies. Two completely stacked pallets of them. I think they're trying to kill us lol. Well i'm going to go get some sleep over here. Ttys

Making preparations

From an e-mail:

Sorry i haven't written back. I've been really busy getting everything in order for my trip home. I'll try and make one more phone call before I leave here. I'll probably mail my trunk on the 1st of May. Can't wait to be back.

Now on Facebook

Andy got on Facebook (he said he “snuck” on there) so Mom told him not to get in trouble for it!

yeah. I got to do the candlelight vigil [for Easter]. it was good. And I can't get in trouble for face book. I paid $10 for internet service for the rest of my time here.

Easter

From Andy's e-mail:

For Easter, yesterday we watched Passion of the Christ and today we are having a candlelight vigil (weather permitting...never knew it could rain so much in a desert lol)

Easter Boxes and New Tires

Here’s the latest email from Andy. I told Andy about Jen and I shopping with Jake, Ellie and Emmy yesterday and that I was glad he didn’t run all over like Jake and Ellie did when he was little. He has decided that the “cheaper” tires are probably the way to go since all 4 need to be replaced.

I got your easter box and the worship team's box a couple days ago. All of the treats were greatly appreciated. I wish I could still have my racing tires on my car but I'll survive. I'm glad I never acted that way then if that's how bad it was lol. I'm counting down the days here...may can't come soon enough. Miss you and love you. - Andy

Mural Work

Nothing much to report over here...counting down the days until the advon gets here. Once they get here and get spun up it's on to the main body and from there its our trip home. i've still been working on the mural. I'll take pictures of it when I get done.

Andy

Souveniers

I have something that can be turned into a magnet :D. I got an Iraqi Journal cover for Alora. There are some hear no evil, etc. monkeys carved from "camel bone"(highly doubtful but they'll say anything to make a deal) that i'll probably get for jake. They have cute boonie hats at the alterations shop that I might get for emmy. and they have plenty of tshirts for everyone else that I can't think of what to buy. I found some Iraqi Occupation Badges(similar to my Command and Control Badge) as well that I can divy up. The weather here has gotten a lot warmer. It's great knowing I'll get a tan since I'm outside working on the unit mural but It's ridiculously hot. I think they have coasters at the Bazaar btw. I'm trying to remember everyone since I'll be seeing them all in the smokies. If I leave someone out then it's completely an accident. Well I'm off to dinner here soon. I'll talk to you later

Andy

Sorta like "M.A.S.H."

Good to know freckles is still his same self. Sad to hear that my jade plant got frozen. I got 3 boxes from Angel today as well as 1 from Ning. I think I have the most boxes out of anyone here. Good thing I'm sharing them or I'd come back about 200 pounds heavier. I've been doing great here. They have me working on the Unit murals so I've been pretty busy. I can't wait to come home. I'm getting to the point where I don't want to be here any more. Oh well. Only 60 more days and I'll be heading back. We have signs up with distances from home(kind of like in M.A.S.H.) Evidently Dayton , OH is 6540 miles away. Just thought that was interesting. Well I've got to get going. I'll make sure I get started on thank you emails soon.

Andy

[His reference to Freckles has to do with his eating one of our jigsaw puzzle pieces. His “lucky” bamboo plant wasn’t so lucky. We turned off the heat to Andy’s bedroom this winter and I guess it got too cold in there for it.]