Deployment by the Numbers

Seems like there was something I wanted to tell everyone... now what was it... Oh right. Chad has been deployed for the past four and a half months!

Please take us with you!
taken March 20, 2009

I decided not to talk about it on the blog because it is public and that made me feel a little unsafe, but also because I wanted to keep the blog about the girls and the funny things they do, not complaining about him being gone all the time. Since Chad will be home today I wanted to tell everyone. It has been a hard four months. We have missed him so much. We have gone as long as two weeks without talking to him and often even my e-mails didn't get through to him. The girls have been okay at times but been sad/mad/clingy other times. But at the same time, God has shown me over and over and over that He is taking care of us and to trust Him. Our friends and family have stepped up and helped me tremendously. My mother deserves a parade, or a Nobel Prize, or at least a HUGE THANK YOU for all the time and support she has given me. I hope to tell more of the things that I learned during this deployment another time. But for now, here is a little information about what Chad has been doing.
As many of you know, Chad plays drums in the Air Force band. This deployment was on a US Navy hospital ship, the USNS Comfort. The Comfort provided medical services in seven countries in the Caribbean and Latin America for "Continuing Promise 2009." (There is even a blog for it here.) So what on earth was my Air Force musician husband doing on a Navy hospital ship? I have been asking myself that question since we found out about this last November! Just kidding. (Sort of.) The band has provided music for many ceremonies and official events on and off the ship, and community relations types of events. They have played at schools, children's homes, a women's prison, for patients awaiting medical care, the list goes on and on. I hope to be able to share lots of Chad's pictures and stories soon. Because of the difficulty we had communicating, I haven't even heard about all their adventures yet. And this wouldn't be a military story without some statistics, so here you go.

Days Chad was gone: 134

Days I thought I might lose my mind: 134

Birthdays we celebrated apart: 3 (Elliott, Bethany, Chad)

Countries the USNS Comfort visited: 7 (Haiti, Dominican Republic, Antigua, Colombia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama)

Latin American music superstars that Chad met: 1 (Check it out here)

Steps Chad had to climb to go eat each meal on the ship: 90

Minutes on each Navy calling card: 20 for $20

Lizards that got into the house and I had to catch because Chad was gone: 4

Times we went to my mom's house: 4

Times my wonderful mother and step-dad came to visit us: 4

Newmans who are so happy to be back together: FOUR!

More stories and happy pictures from the airport coming soon.