Remember Me??

OK, I have not posted in a long time and I am sorry. There are have been a lot of things going on in my life, and honestly, I did not want a lot of people knowing about it. I think I mentioned that I have to be careful of what I say on here because a couple things I said were taken out of context. Keep in mind that all things said on here are our own PERSONAL opinions and not that of others, the military or any other person or organization in the world. If your name is mentioned and you do not want it here, tell us and we will remove it as soon as possible. We have granted this request a few times in the past. There is no need to hold a personal grudge or treat others differently because you did not like was said on here. With that said....

My life has been a roller coaster here recently and I just got settled in the US. That is right, I am back in the states now. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. I was in Germany to have my gall bladder removed due to gall stones and other nasty stuff. While I was there I kept having pain and they decided that it was better for me to return to the states and receive treatment for it here. The treatment has been taking it easy and going to the doctor for it once a week. No matter what rumors or reasons you have heard, I was sent home for my gall bladder. I am not going to entertain the other rumors that are out there I am hearing about.

Now that I am here, I am back in physical therapy for my ankle and will be held in the wounded warrior unit until I am released from that as well. They are not sure why I am still having pain other than I sprained and fractured my ankle back in Oct. I start my third week of therapy on Tue and then it is back to the doctor to see what is going with it. I can tell you it is not getting any better and it is concerning some people here if there is something that is being missed or there is something else to it.

Also, I am going through the normal psychological evaluations that is required when you return from a war zone. That has been a lot of fun. I thought about sharing it with you, but I figured that was a little too personal.

I am in a good unit with good leadership that really looks after the soldiers. I will be in this unit for a few more months at least, or until my ankle is better. My stomach is doing a lot better, all except for it is hard to handle certain foods. I just wish my ankle would stop hurting.

OK, now you know the personal stuff, it is on to the good news. Tessa, my wife (oh did not tell you all that we got married 16Oct when I was home on leave), and I bought a house. We closed on it yesterday. We are very excited about it. It is a new house that was just finished in a new neighborhood. We have a new addition to the family as well. Masey is our German Shepard/Chow mix. She was Tessa's dog for a long time. She is house broken and stays in the house with us. She is a great dog. She sleeps on the end of the bed at our feet and keeps our feet warm for us. She loves to go for rides. Every time I get ready for work, she thinks she is going for a ride with us. She gets a little upset when she does not get to go. We take her to Lowes and to the pet store with us when we go. She really loves it and the people always want to pet and play with her.

Tessa and I got to go to Parris Island and see her brother Bryan graduate from Marine Boot Camp. That was very interesting.

Life has been interesting for us and exciting the last month.

I have not seen Courtney as much as I would like, but that is no surprise. My attorney needs more money, but we are not sure where are going to get it seeing that we have a mortgage now and money will be tight for a while with me coming home so early. That is something that we have to put faith in God to help us through. We are really fighting to get more time with Courtney. She is getting really big. It is so much fun to have her around and she really loves Tessa, or Tessa Mommy as she calls her. I just hope that I get that extra time with her that I am fighting for.

I want to thank everyone for the support they have shown us and I will try to continue posting on here as much as I can. I will aim for at least one a week. Please continue to keep all the warriors out there in your prayers.

I hope to get some pix of the house and Masey on here as soon as I can. I am really proud that we have a house that we can call our own. We are more excited than you know. Life is going really great for us even with all the things we have to deal with recently.

I want to thank mom and dad for all the support and help they have given us. They moved us into the new house and really go the extra mile for us. We love them with all our heart and could not ask for better parents. Mom and Dad, we love you!!

Jeremy is due home soon and I cannot wait to see him. I know that Courtney is missing him as much as he misses her. She is always asking about him and want to know when he gets home. We are really trying to make sure that we are able to have Courtney when he gets home. It will mean the world to him and I am doing all I can to make it happen.

On a side note, I want to ask everyone to take a step back and realize that we have a new president. Although you might not have voted for him, he is our Commander in Chief and those of us in the military took an oath that we will obey the orders of the president. I get tired of hearing the comments about his race, his past and so on. I will support him no matter what. That is what I have raised my hand and sworn to three times now. I plan on doing it again this year. We have to support our leadership. My current First Sergeant made a great point on Thursday when he pointed out that if we have a problem with a black president, we have a problem with black First Sergeants and Sergeant Majors and other black leadership. We have a problem like that, we need to step out of formation, take our uniform off and go find a different job. I have to agree with what he said. It made great sense to me. God did not ask us what race we wanted to be when we born. We did not have a choice of our race, but we do with how we lead our lives and influence others. It is time that people grow up and support the man that seems to have a lot of great ideas already. I am excited to see what he does about the Middle East. Also, the blacks and other minorities did not vote him in. Blacks only make up about 13% of the voting population. I remember hearing that the college educated middle aged people are the ones that voted him in. That tells you the "smart" ones thought he was the better choice. So, sit back and think about it. I know that a lot will not agree with what I said, but you will get over it and one day you will realize that this huge historic event made a huge change in our country and we took a step forward. A HUGE step forward.

Mom and dad, we love you.

Jeremy, it almost time for you be here and we are all excited. You better come see the new house!!

Courtney I miss you and love you.

Tessa, it is great to be home in your arms again!!

TO everyone else, thank you again for the support!!!!!

SGT John Strader
7512

Until next time.....