michael yon widget

Things seem to really be taking off in Iraq right now, and I wanted to know more about it so I found someone who is acutally over there! I have posted what is called a "widget" on the right hand side of both of my blogs so that you can see what a reporter writes about who is actually there. It seems that he is accurate, I have read articles about him in different newspapers and he seems to be honorable and trustworthy. (I guess we can ask Ross when he gets back right?!) Anyway, his name is Michael Yon and he is a 40-year-old veteran. He was a green beret. I like what he writes anyway...so read it if you want a glimpse into what is happening. yah, the widget is there...check out Michael Yon.

His site is : http://www.michaelyon-online.com/

feist concert

feist played in P-town, and ellyn bought brad and i tickets for his birthday!! yay. we went up with ellyn and andrew, went to sushi, to powells for coffee and then to the chrystall ballroom for the opening act of "grizzly..."..uh....something and then feist. it was fun...the company was way fun too. yay! rock on hendrix!! (that is an inside joke...i think.)

ellyn and bethany

Chrystal ballroom gargoyle
trying to hear

ourselves

strange picture, really.

people...do this many people in a closed-in environment make you nervous??...they do me. what if there is a stampede?!

ellyn suggested swinging from this chandelier... so that i could actually see.

here's to ellyn for the tickets...and to andrew and ellyn for spending the night with us even though we are sitters and not shovers. we love you.

ARROWHEAD RIPPER: Our Toops Mission in Baqubah

An update on the mission that Ross is a part of. I am not sure if he is directly involved in the reports from this exact search, but I do know that he is on this mission.I just found an article that I am going to share with ya. ..after you read the excerpt i have here click the link for more...it is worth it!! this article is good.

Operation Arrowhead Ripper

michael yon reports from Baqubah:

The heat is intense for the enemy and for us...

our guys are seriously outsmarting them. Big fights are ahead and we will take serious losses probably, but al Qaeda, unless they find a
way to escape, are about to be slaughtered. Nobody is dropping leaflets asking them to
surrender. Our guys want to kill them, and that’s the plan.
A positive indicator on the 19th and the 20th is that most local people apparently are happy that al Qaeda is being trapped and killed. Civilians are pointing out IEDs and enemy fighters, so that’s not working so well for al Qaeda. Clearly, I cannot do a census, but that says something about the locals.
Much going on here in Baqubah. Unfortunately I have no assistant with me, and so no time for photos or video.
More soon.

Here is the link. READ THE WHOLE THING:
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/operation-arrowhead-ripper-day-one.htm

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This one is from globalsecurity.org:





ARROWHEAD RIPPER: Troops Find Execution House, Illegal Prison in Baqubah



American Forces Press Service

BAQUBAH, Iraq, June 25, 2007 – Iraqi security forces and Task Force Lightning soldiers discovered an execution house and an illegal prison in the Baqubah neighborhood of Khatoon yesterday during the sixth day of Operation Arrowhead Ripper.
The two buildings were in the same area as a torture chamber and illegal courthouse linked to al Qaeda, which were found on the fourth and fifth day of the operation, officials said. Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, discovered the execution house using information from local citizens, who said it had been used by al Qaeda. Soldiers searching the house found five bodies buried in the yard behind the building and bloody clothes in several rooms inside it. Located nearby, a house had been converted into an illegal prison, with several numbered rooms and bars covering the building's windows. Several blindfolds were found inside.

(From a Multinational Corps Iraq news release.)

for more information and updates on the mission head to:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2007/06/mil-070625-afps01.htm



_______________________________________________________

the news today

this was the news that made me uneasy, nervous and fearful...then I remembered it is all in God's hands. He has a plan...His wisdom is not human wisdom. He will use all our mistakes together to make something beautiful. Please God...keep my brother safe...please.

"WASHINGTON, June 19, 2007 – The beginningof a new offensive
targeting al Qaeda in the Iraqi city ofBaqubah highlights recent
operations reported by military officials in Iraq.Troops began
Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Baqubah today, killing 22 insurgents in a
large-scale effort to eliminate al Qaeda members. The 2nd
Infantry Division’s 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team launched the offensive with a quick-strike night air assault early this morning. By daylight, attack helicopters and ground forces had engaged and killed the enemy fighters in and around Baqubah. “The end state is to
destroy the al Qaeda influences in this province and eliminate their threat
against the people," said Army Brig. Gen. Mick Bednarek, deputy
commanding general ofoperations for the 25th Infantry
Division. “That is the No. 1, bottom-line, up-front, in-your-face task and
purpose.” About 10,000 soldiers,with a full complement of attack
helicopters, close-air support, Strykers and Bradley fighting vehicles, are
taking part in Arrowhead Ripper, which isstill in its opening stages.
Elements of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 3rd BrigadeCombat Team from Fort
Hood, Texas, the 2nd Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat
Team from Fort Lewis, Wash., and the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade from
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, also are participating in the operation. "

( this is an article in American Forces Press Services today, June 19th, 2007)
for more info and the rest of this article check out: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=46459

my little brother is in the 3rd Stryker Brigade from Fort Lewis...please pray with us for his saftey and the saftey of all the soldiers in this war. we will not forget our heroes.

hero productions1

this is for ross...he has already seen it, and so has the rest of my family...but for those who haven't. hereyago-yo.

snaps

we have recently been completely addicted to movies here at our bungaree home. Okay, so i figured i would share our likes and dislikes and the variations of likes and dislikes of Brad vs. Bethany.

the Queen is a story of the people, England's royalty, and the prime minister during the difficult time of Dianna's death. we both enjoyed this movie, relating to some characters, and wishing we could understand others...it is a movie of the heart. however being a movie of the heart, it is not sappy or overdone i guess i just liked it. brad did too. we give it a collective 8.5 snaps. we are in good company too since it has a list of nominations and awards that seem endless.

check it out on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen_(film)

Cars is a great kids movie, and Brad and I enjoyed it as well. I think we will buy this one in a couple years when j can actually sit through a whole two-hour movie. The principles are spectacular and pixar films are getting even better than they were. all of us enjoyed this one.

since j made us all pick our favourite cars i'll share that with you too: I like "Chick Hicks" , Brad hands down loves "Mater", j likes (who else!?) "Lightning McQueen", and o...well, jsays he likes "Doc Hudson"...but we'll update this when he can actualy pic out his own. ha!

So, for reals this film gets a collective 7 snaps...(3.5 each) just an overall beaut.

check it out on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cars_(film) if ya wanna....

Syriana. well we do vary on this one. Brad liked it because it didn't really have a plot, he liked the acting, he liked it. I didn't like it. to me it seemed like it did not allow for character development, you didn't connect with anyone, and if you did they were killed off quickly. i know bad things happen...yes...but to me this movie had no light moments in which to even breathe, and yet it seemed almost boring. so i guess we give it a collective 5 snaps, being that brad gives it his 3 out of 5 and i give it 2 out of 5 .

you can check it out at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrianna

a prairie home companion, has good and bad. no true plot, really, and just a little bit of a behind-the-scenes of the radio show. Brad liked this one, for me it was not a waste of time but it was not very interesting. it is a different type of movie...the aimless type. if you like aimless, odd ones give this a try. it reminded me of that movie "like a mighty wind" or something like that, which i didn't like either. oh well...not good, but not bad.

I give it a 2.5 out of 5 and Brad a 3.5 out of 5 so i guess the math is a collective 6 snaps.

here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Prairie_Home_Companion_(film)

Blood Diamond was an incredible film. the more it settled in the more i thought about the meaning of it. Brad says that since he rates his movies artistically he can only give it 3.5, i say rubbish. I guess i rate my movies on how much the characters bring me into themselves, on how much they make me think, on how deep they go, on character development...so i give this movie 4.5 snaps, for a collective total of 8 snaps. brad is right that it is mainly action, not artistic. jennifer connelly is one of my top5 favourite actors/actresses and she is perfect in this movie. i loved it, brad liked it...rent it! you'll never want another diamond again!

wikipedia for blood diamond: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Diamond_(film)

mistress of spices....uhhh. nope this does not win either of us over on heart, mind or artisticness. it is a story of love, an impossible love and an incredibly cheesy list of events. there is somehow on some level a little enchantment of some sort...for that i rate it 2, but Brad rates it an unforgiving 1 for a total of 3 snaps. i love indian films but this one is just to americanised and ends up lacking any sort of flavor. better luck next time. eh?

for more movie info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mistress_of_Spices_(film)

that is it for now...but i am on my way to the local lebanon Blockbuster and pretty soon i'll have some more to write about. any of you out there better than me at math...you might want to check my addition! (not a joke)

not a word

you know when your brain is cramped to the point that all your ideas are to heavy? how-a-bout when you just have too much to say so you can't really say anything? this is the way i feel most of the time. i have little glimpses of this topic and that, this thought and that thought, but not anything coherent or worth the energy of moving my fingers across the keyboard or even picking up a pen.
it's something like: ZAP!-oh!... gone.
some would argue that " you need to do rough drafts", "just jot down what comes to mind"..."you'll probably make something out of the gibber-gabber someday". the truth is this is of no value to me, i move on, i have new thoughts and don't like to constantly sift thought old ones that seemed relevant, but no longer are. i live to dream new dreams, toy with current thoughts and not exist as if every thought that comes into my head is actually a sovereign work of art that needs to be written in permanent marker across some scrap of hard-to-find paper. i have written all my life, and sometimes i wish i hadn't. i have endless journals in which i wrote deep emotions on hello kitty paper, emotions such as crushes when i was 11 and heartbreaks and dreams. some i like to read, mostly i don't. i don't like the immaturity i used to pridefully expose on paper. now i keep that to myself. i hide weakness. i hide those worn diaries with hearts drawn and scribbled over time and time over. i hide the selfishness written on the pages, the thoughts that are just too embarrassing to even remember. i hide them in a box in my attic.
yet sifting through all the junk i sorted out in words- i find myself. i find me, just younger, bolder, my thoughts more black and white,with a belief in humankind, innocence...and i miss those things. and even if i don't want to, i hide those too, mostly just because it takes to much time to decipher my bad handwriting.

R&R with our very own S.Sgt. Jackson

i miss my little brother. here is a video from when he was home on R&R with his family in WA. the song is by "the listening" aka "the worship circus".
I LOVE YOU LITTLE BROTHER....YOU ARE AMAZING!



ps. sorry about the poor quality...sorry. i figured something was better than nothing.

my broken record-no worries.

lately i have been going through a season where i am realizing i am no longer as young as i once was. i know this is obvious to many, much sooner( or later) but for me it has happened after graduating from university, getting married, having two kids, and last but not least my high school state record in track was broken this year.

i was hoping to be able to tell my kids, "well i know you think i am just a regular soccer mom, but i still hold the state record for the 4 by 400 meter relay!" ... really though I know better. would i have cared if my parents had a state record in some track meet billions of years ago? would i have listened to them more, thought they were cooler or tried harder in school? nope! that type of thing did not matter to me and it still doesn't. what matters is that which lasts longer and is of more value than something that someone can just erase, break or take.

my parents brought me up to understand that what matters is not the temporary glory we receive from achievements, and the satisfaction of believing we are better then everyone else because of metals earned or honors given...what matters is what will last, or eternal. eternal as our impact on the world is eternal, our impact on our children, our parents, eternal as serving no matter what the cost, eternal is giving when we are not getting...eternal humbles, brings true joy and true admiration. i admire my parents not for any achievement, riches, intellect....but because throughout all my life i have seen them answer the call no matter the cost. i have seen them live day in and out worthy of the calling they received. times where hard, people non-responsive, the going very (very) slow, hardly any signs for all their work and long hard years spent alone, away from family...and they remain steady. i know why my dad's fave chapter in the bible is Hebrews chapter 11 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see...", it is because it is the faith chapter and that is how they lived, many days many months and years on faith alone. that is why i admire my parents. they are my heroes or faith and patience, and that impacted me and was a testimony to me and will be forever...that is eternal.

i believe they only doubted the cost of the call when it came to us (my brother and i), feeling that we were somehow missing out on "the American life" of high school sports careers, drama teams, sitcoms, chocolate chip cookies and the steadiness of a life lived in one single town where everyone knows you. don't worry mom and dad...we were called too! and we loved it too! but because we did need and education for the last two years of high school we voyaged off to Canyonville Christan Academy where we learned what it meant to be an American, roast marshmallows, run track, x-country, play soccer,watch basketball...and just be like everyone else. that is where i had the opportunity to run...and run and run. and we won and won. it was a rush...but i am glad it is over, i don't have enough energy for that type of stuff anymore.

even though i do admit i was a bummed when i looked up this years state meet and saw that my relay team no longer held the record- that does not define me, that was temporary. so now when i can no longer run fast (or at all due to broken down joints!!), no longer invincible, no longer have a flat stomach and on the verge of becoming an average American soccer mom...i realize that is fine. i will be obedient to wherever God calls, i will be steadfast wherever he leads me, i will raise my kids up knowing God and the fear of God, i understand that which is eternal means so much more and will impact those around me in a way that will last.

here's to you mom and dad, to track, to running, to perseverance, to Hebrews 11, to becky for "encouraging" me to write more and to my sons always knowing the cost of true obedience.

to: S. Sgt. Jackson from: his sister

this is dedicated to my heroic little brother S.Sgt.Jackson.
he really isn't that little anymore(actually he has been taller than me for a long time now), but it is never hard for me to remember when he was. we fought, we yelled, we punched each other...but we were really lucky to have each other. we had a great life growing up together...in a country far, far away dancing like funky monkeys all night long. we loved spain, we loved spaniards, we loved the customs and the jokes and the soccer 'till all hours of the night. we loved dancing like dorks in the discos with our true friends. we loved climbing tall mountains in sneakers and soccer shorts, camping in bumpy (illegal) terrain, and soaking in sun and many waves the next morning ( minus when he got stung by some sea fish, and kicked in the eye!) we loved the warm spanish nights, the warm spanish hearts, the warm greasy spanish food. we loved it.
time ticked, we grew up, jumped from spanish schools, american schools, home schools to boarding schools...and really i think we loved it. we griped and complained, but what else do you do when you are a bored teen? at least i look back now and i think it was a pretty good time.
we did things together, we stuck together. so, together off we went to a boarding school, away from a home, a family and a country we had loved...to a new place we would also learn to love. we ran track, cross country, played soccer, and capture the flag with machine guns and machetes (not really, bummer!), we slept through our high school lectures, joked about stupid things, quoted movies over and over, laughed about sad things and cried about silly stuff.
then we were done, school was over...we graduated and moved on. we moved to very different places. he enlisted in the army and i went to a liberal arts university. i graduated, got married, had two boys, am a freelance translator and live in hickville USA. he got promoted, got married, reenlisted, had a son, got promoted, was deployed, got promoted and was made into a hero.

i am way older (ha!) and wiser now and look back only to see the great times we had, the amazing things we accomplished, i forget the boring days, the hard times without friends...the ugly awkward years of our youth...i just remember that we were(and are) buddies, we were together and we did have a great time (most of the time) and we loved it. (at least i think he did too) and really the hard times were what made us who we are today.

here's to hard times, good times, little brothers, and having true heroes...