Invasion

It is with a heavy heart, and a sad soul, that I inform everyone that our outpost has been invaded by cats. We have identified that there are three cats. There is a mother, and 2 kittens (pictured). We help keep them fed, as they are excellent at hunting mice and rats, which plague the area. Not to mention they help morale by quite a bit. Nothing like having a cat come up to you on a glum day.

Obama has been elected

Barack Hussein Obama has been elected as the next President of the United States of America. I find it very interesting that he won by such an overwhelming majority. He received well over 66% of the electoral votes. It seems the majority of Americans want him as the next president. 

I have a line of thought that I came up with today on this topic though. A majority of people are aware of the question of Barack Obama's qualification as President in that he may not be a "Natural Born Citizen". I am thinking that he isn't as he has yet to release an original certificate of live birth. 

I would imagine that this will be discovered, but seeing as the Senate and House are well controlled by the Democratic Party, they have the required votes to overturn an amendment. This means that the "Natural Born Citizen" clause could very well be removed from our Constitution, thus allowing anyone of the appropriate age, and period of residency to run for President.

With this, I am predicting Arnold Schwarzenegger will be running for President on the next election. I suppose we will see how this will all pan out though.

Election Day

The polls are coming in, and this race is looking like it will be very close. Obama is being reported with 207 with CNN having gratiously giving him several states that have not even reported. It is obvious they are trying to inflate voter confidence in Obama in a last ditch effort to sway still neutral voters. McCain (predictably) is only being appropriated votes for the states that he  has secured. They have been doing this for the last week or two. I imagine the drama will be quite overwhelming.

Post-Surgery

I haven't had a chance to talk to Kathy directly yet, but Mom says she is doing well. I am glad to hear everything went smoothly. We are hoping that this appendicitis has been causing the issues she has been experiencing for the last couple of months. Only time will tell though.

Surgery

Kathy is going into surgery today, and boy am I stressed out. She has an inflammed appendix and they are going to have to remove it. It's a fairly standard procedure, but I'm sure it's not unusual for a husband to be concerned about the woman loves needing surgery. Prayer and a strong testimony are a great companion at times like these.

On a cheerful note I am scheduled to leave for mid-tour leave on the 12th, and arrive in the States on the 15th. We are all very excited, and I can't wait to get home to my family. I miss my wife, kids, mom, dad, brothers, and sisters a lot (not to mention our close family friends). It will be cool to be able to see alot of the extended family as well on thanksgiving. Uncle David and Aunt Sandy are going to be renting a house in Utah again, which means it will be quite a big event. I am very much looking forward to it.

The Big 4 Months

Hunter is now officially 4 Months Old. Isn't he a handsome devil? From what I understand he spent most his day travelling around with Kathy. He is certainly getting big. He wears '6 month old' size clothes, and they fit him comfortably. I can imagine this guy is going to be quite strong, just like his big brother.

Afghanistan Slideshow

Here is a slideshow of some of the pictures I have taken of 

Afghanistan so far.

Afghanistan

The Kunar Province of Afghanistan is remarkable. I have been here for many months and the landscape still amazes me. In Northern Afghanistan the dominant language is Pashto. I have been learning this language slowly, as it is quite alien from our own. I have a vocabulary of about 100 words, and I am still learning. I feel silly when I talk to the locals as I am sure I sound like a caveman. It is normal with Pashtuns to be extremely polite, so the embarrassment of my repeated failures on pronunciation are non-existent. The majority of the locals hate the Taliban as much as we do, and absolutely love America. The translators are always asking questions about America and what they need to do to move there. I receive about 5 or 6 offers to convert to Islam a day. The surprise is quite apparent when they ask me "shta muslim sari" (You muslim man?) and I respond with "Zh Nah Muslim" (I am not Muslim). They cannot believe that someone so willing to help muslims would not be a muslim himself. I have even been told that I would go to hell if I didn't convert, and that they honestly did not want that fate for me. They are a very sincere people, so I do not doubt their motives. I kindly tell them that I am not concerned with whether or not I will go to hell, and that I am more concerned about what I can do to make this world a better place. That seems to baffle them even more.

Kathy

Kathy and I have been married for almost 5 years now. We have known eachother for nearly 8 years. We are very much in love with eachother, and our 3 wonderful children. This deployment has been difficult, but we have rarely been strangers to being in a situation of geographical seperation. It seems the fates have it in our lot to love eachother from afar. I remember the first time I saw Kathy. She went up in a testimony meeting and shared her feelings on the Gospel and the Book of Mormon. All I can remember is her saying "It's a really good book." I was dating a girl named Sarah V. at the time and asked her who that girl was. She said that Kathy was a "very bad girl." Interesting I was to end up marrying that "very bad girl" and find out what she truly is, a pearl of infinite worth. We didn't actually meet until a few months later at a Quad-Stake dance. Sarah and I had recently broken up, and I was in no mood to socialize. Kathy (un-beknownst to me at the time) was upset with her controlling boyfriend and decided to sit and talk with me because I looked lonely. She and I talked about video games (We were and still are gamers) and other things. We became immediate friends and stayed that way for some time. Then things started to happen. Katie (my Sister) was interested in this guy named Ben.  With our religion (LDS) we are required to go on double dates, and she needed someone to go with, so she asked me if I would go, if she hooked me up with a blind date. I obliged. The blind date was a girl named Jamie and was fairly fun, but I didn't feel any friendship potential with her. I told Katie the only way I would go on another double-date was if I got to choose my next date. I asked Kathy and she accepted. We had a blast for several months hanging out as friends, and then it just slowly grew until we decided we wanted to spend all eternity with one another. Kathy and I have been through a lot together, and there is no one I think I can trust more. I only hope that one day the fates will bless us with the ability to spend more than a few months together at a time.

Peyton

Peyton is our oldest child and only daughter. She is, as my wife says: "Daddy's little girl". I don't know what it is, but there is a powerful bond between Father and Daughter. I remember a year or two ago, we were going up to Grams' and Opa's house for a visit. We needed to stop for some fuel and it was a warm sunny day, so we had the windows down. Peyton was sitting at the Rear Driver's side, and was looking at me as I was refueling the Saturn (Georgina). I looked at her, and she looked up at me, tilted her head, and asked in a clear voice "God?" I couldn't help but laugh and say "Not exactly". Kathy just laughed and said, give it another 15 years and she will do the same thing, but only say "Satan?".

Broc

Broc is my first son of two. He is in the difficult 'middle child' position, which leads me to believe he will be the glue between the three. Broc and I have a very close relationship. I have many memories of rough-housing with him, and just hanging out. I can tell from Kathy's observations that this deployment has been really hard on him. He is always looking for me saying "Dada" and other things. He has a very strong personality and can be quite sensitive to others. He and Peyton pal around all the time.

Hunter

I have been watching my children grow like weeds, through photographs. Broc and Peyton have grown so much since I remember them. My youngest son (Hunter) and I have only briefly met. I had the luxury of spending alot of time with Peyton during her infancy, as well as a good portion of Broc's. From what it seems though, he is quite the feeder. It seems I can't speak with Kathy for more than an hour before that guy needs a refill. Kathy says he reminds her of me quite a bit.  I often imagine how great it will be when I finally get to spend some time with him and create an actual connection with him.

My first entry

Well, this is my first blog entry, ever. I have been in Afghanistan now for over 4 months serving as the chief medic on a small Combat Outpost. You can see the Kunar river from where we are at, and the mountains that seem to be walls jetting above it. We have the luxury of climbing these mountains for various tactical reasons. I miss my family very much and I am looking forward to spending time with them. It's funny how being away from the ones you love, only makes you realize how much you have taken them for granted.