Well, that sure went fast!
Jacob got a lot of R&R in this last couple weeks. It started with a long ride home from Anchorage with Chris and me. We got to chat and chat and chat for that long 4 hour drive on snowy, icy roads. Jacob didn't know that Grandma Di had come up to visit! I almost gave it away twice, but he didn't catch it. When we got home at 4am, Grandma was there to greet him; he was very surprised!
The first thing he did was to roust Jonny out of bed and give him a big hug. Then everyone woke up, gave rounds of hugs to Jacob, and then Rob, me, Chris and Grandma all went back to bed. The other boys got up and went on a (very) early-morning snowmachine ride!! They rode their little hearts out until Jonny said they gotta get home to go to school!
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The next day we all went to the Caribou Hills and stayed at the cabin for several days. They played hard, worked hard, ate hard and slept hard! (see pics in our "Alaska Snowbunnies" blog - link is to the right.)
.Rob and Jacob took another snowmachine trip with some area business owners. They had a great time. Jacob said there was nothing but powder. They also got to watch some avalances in the distance. He said it was very interesting.
The last 2 days I spent more time with him alone. I took all of Tuesday off and Wednesday afternoon off. On Tuesday we just ran around, did some errands, vistied some people. I drove him out to the bluff so he could see his old grade-school-days stomping grounds. We had a nice visit with Lori. When we left there we just looked out at the beautiful expanse of ocean, mountains and sky. As we drove away Jacob said, "I just wanna be a kid again. Can I do that? I'll be good, I promise."
We ended the day out at Dea McClure's house. I didn't call her ahead of time, but by chance (divine appointment) she pulled up just as I was leaving her a note. We haven't gotten together in probably a full year, so it was neat that we were able to connect that day. We went in and visited for awile. Jacob got prayed over good and we took off, promising to stop and see Grant on the way back. We did and that was a nice visit as well.
The next day Jacob and I went to lunch together and I spent the rest of the day with him. I could see how much he didn't want to leave. I don't blame him at all. I didn't really want him to go either.
Then, bright and early this morning we took him to the airport. To our surprise, several people showed up to say goodbye. Mikie Reed was there with his mom Debra Harriman and girlfriend Anna. Our pastor, Cameron Dockery, came by as well. Jacob ran into Mr. Whittaman, a teacher that he really liked. He happened to be flying to Anchorage on the same flight. The big surprise was when Jan and the girls came in complete with "We love you!" posters and everything.
What a treat. Jacob said, "I have fans!!" :) How fun.
My only request is that you say a prayer for Jacob when you read this. I would like to ask everyone to put him on your regular prayer list, but that's up to you.
If you decide to make a prayer commitment, please leave a comment on this post so Jacob will know of your support. Or you can write to him at:
. He checks this log all the time from Iraq, and I'm sure any contact will be an encouragement to him and his unit.
Thank you, sincerely, from the deepest part of my mommy-heart.
