Day 43

WE ARE 1/4 OF THE WAY DONE WITH THIS DEPLOYMENT!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!

We're off to the Transiberian Orchestra... so pictures will have to do for today =)

Day 42

Yes, it was 6 whole degrees this am on my way to work. Dang! With the wind chill, weather channel said it felt like 5 below!

Grandpa and Grandma Bertsch are here!

 Cooking with Grandma

Trying out Grandpas headphones

Reading Daddys Deployed

Stuart got to enjoy the day in Germany. He drank beer, wine, and went to the Christmas Market. He's headed back to Bagram tomorrow.

It was a busy day at work! I saw more patients in the morning that I did all day yesterday! I even had to send my first patient to the hospital... A cute little 6 year old with Pneumonia, Dehydration and Hypoxia. Poor thing. 

I'm exhausted. Here's hoping to a good nights sleep...

Day 41

Just when you think you have it bad, someone else is always worse off.  So, tonight, I am counting my blessings. Poor Stuart is finally in Germany. They had a tough mission. I have yet to talk to him - but through one of the other docs, and his RT Tylers post on Facebook - I know all is ok! This is what Tyler had to say..

1 patient. 4 countries. 13 hours flight time. 36 hours of direct patient care. 50 hours awake. 1 good outcome. Time for a bottle of wine, a shower, and bed (definitely in that order). Glad to be in Germany. 

Amen. So glad they can relax.

And here are the kiddos today...So glad that they're starting to play together =)

Day 40

Got a little surprise this morning - about 2-3 more inches of snow! Not exactly what I was planning on dealing with today. The trash truck got stuck on our road about 615 this am. It was kind of entertaining to watch. I'm sure other neighbors who were trying to sleep didn't appreciate it. He wasn't the only person to get stuck either. Luckily, the plow had been by and the sun was up by the time I needed to head out. It was still a bit slushy on the way up the big hill, however!

Jackson was my big helper today!

He definitely deserved hot chocolate after all that work!

We had a delicious Olive Garden lunch at my work Christmas shin dig. Jackson was the entertainment and provided lots of good laughs as usual.  Very blessed to have such awesome co-workers and very much appreciative of the gifts I received.

J man got to play outside with the boys again. Fun times for him!

I spent the rest of the day catching up on laundry. Mom and Dad Bertsch will be here Thursday! Stuart planned for us all to go to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra on Friday night. Very much looking forward to it =)

Poor Stuart. God Bless Him. Last night as he was getting ready for bed he learned of a possible mission.  A stroke patient in Manas needed transport to Germany.  That turned into the real deal, and within several minutes he was starting to get his gear ready.  His team (on no sleep!) flew to Manas late last night.  They stabilized the patient and then had another 7 hour flight to Germany. He sent me this email this morning around 630, you can tell he is exhausted.

Got on plane to manas, arrived and started taking care of patient-been here for 4 hours but our plane doesn't leave for another 3 hours. We are all dead tired. Still have 7 hour flight to Germany. We are all dead. Miss you and love you. 

Stu

Lord help me. Hadley is on the move. Today she discovered the kitchen drawer knobs. I guess I'm going to have to baby proof the cabinets soon. Yuck.

Please pray for Stuart and his team. Hopefully they will get some good sleep once they arrive in Germany. Lets hope they get "stuck" and get to enjoy themselves a little!

Day 39

Heaven in a box arrived on my doorstep this afternoon.  Stuart is obviously trying to get me fat. He sent lots of chocolate including the most delicious treat - Happy Hippos. Yeah, if I keep eating them I will be a hippo. Google them. They are made in Germany, but it looks like according to the internet are available here in the states.. uh oh. Also in the box was my christmas present! A purse from Longchamps that Stuart got in Paris. Love him.

We went to Kroger today. Twice. Lol. The second time was for a prescription. Thank goodness its a Kroger marketplace because we had 20 minutes to kill until the script was ready. Jackson had fun jumping on all the furniture and perusing the toy aisles.

Heres just a snapshot of the rest of our day...

Back in Bagram - Stuart watched another movie, played cards, and hung out. He's cheating. He started the other book I sent him. lol. Apparently there was a USO event there today... with a bunch of celebs and Willie and Jeb from Duck Dynasty! Stu didn't go, said those that did said it was ok but way overcrowded. Georgetown Cupcakes sent a bunch of cupcakes too! How cool?! Anyway, there is potentially a stroke patient in Manas that his team may have to go get. Time will tell.

Day 38

It snowed some more this morning. Enough to keep us at home.  But, never a dull moment around here!  The highlight of my day, family nap time =) The low - Hadley blowing out her diaper all over me and the carpet. Yeah. Enough said. 

We face timed with Stu so the kids could show off their new pjs! He helped send off another team today, so he is first up for the next mission.