phone conversations...

Jay found a dsn phone line. What this means is that he can now call me and the charges are minute for minute, where as before a 120 minute phone card gave us 10 minutes. PRAISE GOD! He has been calling daily and e-mailing daily from his office computer. He still does not have personal internet. It will be awhile. He will be sending me pictures within the next few weeks and some information about what he wants to post on the blog. He sounds great! He works a 8-5 or 6 job and can relax for the most part in the evenings.

He told me he had today (Sunday) off of work. I am happy once again that he has some time for himself and God. he misses worship at church.. hopefully we can video it and send it to him very soon.

He gets to carry around a pistal instead of a machine gun... jeeze here I go again.. I do not know the names of this stuff! :) anyway he likes the new gun a lot better!
He wants to see color... everything is tan, tan and tan!
I gotta go for now.. I'll be back

God knows how much I can handle!

Most of you know that my brother Tom was in a car accident. Serious enough that he was air lifted to Mayo. He was released from the hospital yesterday and the plan was that he was going to stay at my house. I have been praying for the Lord to help me draw boundaries and I asked the Lord to make it clear where Tom was supposed to be. If there was an alternative I believed that the Lord would open that door. Tom has several health concerns that I feel need extra attention, I am not at liberty to share, however it would have been a lot of extra work for me. I could have done it however the question is would it have been good for me and my children at this time. In the last two days Lois, Kris and Julie… literally freaked out on me and got in my face… I’m not exaggerating a least bit. They all told me that Tom cannot come to my home. I realized that the Lord sent them to me; to help me draw those boundaries. I praise God for people that care enough to be honest with me and look out for my well being… BLESS YOU! My sisters are taking turns caring for Tom… pray for them, and pray for NO NEGATIVE SIDE AFFECTS WHILE TOM IS HEALING IN JESUS NAME!

While dad is away the boys will... BUILD

Josh and Tyler make building Reign a playset look so easy.. they have done a fantastic job on Reign's little playhouse, swingset, slide ... her weee!! THANK YOU! guys! Jay and I ... especially Reign appreciate this sooo much! I love how people from the church come together to help us. This has been a great opportunity for Josh and Tyler to develope a closer friendship and Josh to encourage Tyler! I cannot say it enough you two are AWESOME!

Tyler and Prom

Here is a picture of Tyler at Cleveland's Prom his date was Hannah Skinner. He had a great time!

Keep Those Letters Going!

(A portion) Of the latest e-mail Jay sent to me...

I would like to thank everybody for the birthday cards, birthday wishes & gifts that I received in Iraq. The cards were a blessing, there is not a whole lot to do here.(besides work and sleep) Some of the cards brought tears to my eyes; especially the pictures of us in Seattle area. Right now I am good on stuff I just need letters & words of encouragement! I miss the worship at church & our church family. I love you and miss you. I sent the boys and you a card in the mail the other day. Just tell the boys that I appreciate what they are doing helping you out around the house.

I am very happy that Josh is coming over to help put up the play yard stuff. Thanks Josh, keep Tyler and Caleb busy!!!

We are still living three to a chue one guy is on a cot not much room! I miss you and am in LOVE with you; I look at the pictures of us and just imagine I am holding you. You are so awesome and I cannot imagine life without you. I am so grateful to have such an awesome wife and woman of God. I pray every night for you and the kids. Love you
Jay!!

After reading stuff like this.. I (Nancy) sit at the computer and cry... "deep sigh"
KEEP THOSE LETTERS GOING TO IRAQ!

Small Towns Are The Best!

Not everyone may agree with me on the small town thing, however I love it! The people of Le Center are amazing!

It has been busy at the hospital with my brother, I will be going back and forth to Rochester for awhile. "CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR HIS TOTAL REOVERY" physical, emotional and spriritual health!

Whom the Son sets FREE is FREE indeed!

Jay's truck was in need of repair, Tyler has been wanting to drive it and when I took it out to test drive it, it ran horribly. PRAISE GOD for RoadRunner Repair, Tyler can now drive this truck safer now. whew!

We got a book and video in the mail from Jay today. I cried when I watched the video. "deep sigh"

Blessings to each of you and thank you for Praying!

Pray for my Brother ~ Jay's Birthday today!

My Brother Tom was in a car accident yesterday. He was air lifted to Mayo. It is serious however not critical. he is in ICU and will be here for several days. I ask that you be in agreeemnt with me in prayer. I am praying and believing for total healing. Tom is covered in the blood and will be completely restored in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!

On a lighter note Jay is 47 today! No ice cream cake for him this year, I was able to talk with him for about 45 minutes yesterday due to my brothers emergency. I really needed to hear his voice and talk to him. He said it was 110 yesterday, and it is not even summer "wow" He sounded so good, it does not compute that he is half way around the world. I am totally in love with that man!

Gotta Go... love you all and thank you for praying!

This is dedicated to cousin CHRISTINA....

There has been an emergency!
Call in the cleaning crew!

Reign pulled a cousin Christina today, she decided to take off her diaper in her crib after she pooped! We did not get any pics it was quite the sight! Poor Tyler found her, and he started gagging right away.. I could not help but laugh the entire time...

Poor lil baby her hands and little feet were caked with poop! PRAISE GOD she didn't have any around her mouth or on her face! thank God for clorox wipes.. perfect for that kinda thing! :)

I love you Jay.. guess we have to laugh at the little things.. you would have been right there with Tyler gagging...ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!

12 weeks gone and 40 to go...

We are so blessed! Josh C. is going to meet Tyler and I at Menards to pick out the supplies for a play gym for Reign. He is going to get a few ppl together from church and get to work. Our back yard is a little boring for a two year old.. cannot believe I just said, "two year old" out loud! they grow up way too fast! THANK YOU JOSH AND TIFF, if you are reading this! Jay and I really appriciate YOU! and our church family so much! :)

Jay's last e-mail (early this morning)
Hey Honey, I love you and miss you also. I am still very busy getting everything set up including my office computer. I have limited access to a computer right now also. I am missing talking to you and seeing you. I am glad that you are keeping me going with emails and the pictures. Reign is growing and it looks like Caleb is stretching also. Mail takes two weeks to get here from what they are telling me. I am missing you guys a lot, I will try too get a more detailed email at a later time. Love YOU!!XXXXOOOOXXX!!

I don't think we have heard each others voice in over a week, It is harder than we thought!

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"Just as it is written, 'For your sake we are being put to death all day long, we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'
"In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:35-39

calling cards

As of today... Jay has been gone for 80 days!
only 274 days to go, give or take a few.

This no communication thing is harder than I thought, first not seeing him, then not hearing his voice, I do get a quick e-mail each morning. However his e-mails are like his first phone calls when he was at Ft. Lewis, GOTTA GO!!! He said he doesn't have time for anything except to eat and go to bed... hope he gets to shower, he didn't mention that!? lol! ;)

just a note: If you are going to send him anything to drink, remember to send small, individual bottles because he does not have a refrigerator in the desert to store large containers :)

Jay would love it for you all to send him some at&t phone cards.

Harmon, Jay
HSC STB 34th ID
S4, Unit #117
APO, AE 09374

Jay made it to Iraq

Part of Jay's last e-mail

Everything is coming along but it will be a while before we have good internet, I am in a three room man container right now, for about a month. Things are very busy, It is very hot here 100 plus the last two days. I love you and miss you and the kids. Gotta run love you! XXXXOOOXXXOOOX!!!!
Jay

Married "19 years ago" TODAY!

Today is our 19th Wedding Anniversary and Jay sent me flowers... I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

First Day in the Desert!

Jay left for the desert around 1 a.m. About 25 hours later arrived at a temporary location for a few days. He will hang out there to get acclimated to the weather as well as participate with some training. It sounds like the accommodations in Iraq are not the greatest. The phone and Internet services are just getting up and running, so I am believing communication is going to be minimal for the next 3-6 weeks. I have no expectations as far as communication.. this way I will jump for joy when he does call! The PX.. "shopping center" does not exist as far as I understand. I will know more once I hear it from Jay. I guess I will be mailing him everything he needs. Please Please send Jay cards, letters, and gift boxes. He loves to hear from everyone and hear about what everyone is doing.. send pictures of your families and pets, he loves it! The church signed a huge banner for Jay and the troops and as he read it he got a little emotional.. IT MEANS A LOT TO TO HIM TO GET MAIL!

Jay's address is listed below, please DO NOT ADD ANYTHING TO THE ADDRESS. IT NEEDS TO BE PRINTED JUST AS IT IS BELOW. if you are sending him a box, you will need to fill out a customs form at the post office, to send with the package. Flat rate boxes are available at the post office and are very reasonable, the weight limit is 20 pounds and trust me you can put a lot in there for 20 pounds. If you are planning on sending him a box please let me know so I do not send him the same stuff.

Harmon, Jay
HSC STB 34th ID
S4, Unit #117
APO, AE 09374


Yesterday I was laying down with Reign for a nap and I was thinking about Jay, I was crying and Reign took her Daddy doll and wrapped it in my arms. She then took the pacifier out of her mouth and started kissing my face.. kissing me on the nose, lips, cheeks. She was so sweet.

I just want to thank all the military families that I have met.. you are all an inspiration to me! and to the Langworthy, and Doyle families you have done so much for us, and I know that you truly care! GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU!

Seattle-Tacoma

I landed at Sea-tac at 11:05 am. Our hotel was literally across the street from the air-port. Mindi and I checked in at the Radisson and Theresa picked us up to take us to Ft. Lewis. I called Jay once we got to the car rental on base. I saw him walking across the parking lot and I had to run up to him and give him a hug and a kiss. He smelled so good! It was a process to get a car, with so many going on pass at the same time, however it all worked out. We decided to stay on base for a few hours and look around. There were so many people leaving base. It was better to hang out at Fort Lewis than to sit bumper to bumper on the highway. We drove to Jay’s old barracks that he stayed at in 1981. We went down to the sound and checked out one of the old museums. We stopped at the Post Exchange and picked up some food and then headed back to Seattle. We hung out in our suite and relaxed. God blessed Jay with feathered pillows and a down comforter, in the hotel, Jay’s favorite, and something he has missed from home.

Pikes Market

5 am wake up call… neither of us could sleep. We laid in bed until 9ish it was so nice to hold each other and talk about life! We got ready and went to eat at IHOP. Jay looked at the map and had a plan. We went down to Pikes Market and took all kinds of pictures. We walked and walked and walked. It was a little chilly in the morning. After our cup of Starbucks we were all warmed up and ready to go. We picked up some souvenirs for the kids. We went back to the Hotel for a quick nap and headed to church. I found a church on-line to visit. It felt like home. They had the youth mixed with in the adults and the youth Pastor spoke about John the Baptist and what made him different from the other prophets. One thing he talked about was John the Baptist had purpose. What is your purpose? It was really good. Worship was amazing. We really felt at home with the youth leading worship. We got back to the Hotel and went to subway and watched “Fire Proof” with Jake and Mindi. Jay’s friend, brother, son. Not sure what to call him! We just love them! Went to bed at 2am… it was a very long, yet amazing day!

Snoqualmie Falls

Jay got up at 8am to get ready for a job interview in St. Peter, MN. I stayed in the bedroom and prayed during that time. We have been patient for Jay’s promotion. We want God’s best and we know that God’s timing is perfect. If he were to get the job he would start when he gets back from this tour. 12:30pm we met up with Jake and Mindi and Ryan and Savahna. We drove to “Snoqualmie Falls” we ate at a little café before we reached the falls. It was a lot of fun trying to get down the hill to the base of the falls, we of course did not follow the path they provided. After a few… almost face plants, we made it! The Guys were so sweet to offer to walk back up the hill and get the cars so the ladies wouldn’t have to. All of us came back to our room and hung out for a little while and then we went to Best Buy for some electronic stuff. We ate at Chipotles. The two couples joined us again in our little living area. Jay and I were able to pray for Ryan and Savahna. We believe for God to move in their lives.

We slept in until like 9am! We got ready and did a little shopping. We ate at Red Lobster and came back to the Hotel and relaxed. 6:30pm and Ryan and Savahna came and got us to go to the Space Needle. It was my dream date. It was nice to walk along the bay area. It really was amazing to be up in the Space Needle during the sunset. Christina you would have loved it! We walked about 30 or so blocks that night. My feet hurt in flip flops.. guess I wasn’t thinking. Jay and I purchased a bottle of wine from the Needle. We are going to keep it until he comes home! We stopped at a Sports Bar and Restaurant to eat. They had the most amazing burgers EVER! They had Larry Bird’s jersey on the wall, signed and framed… Jay was tempted to buy it I could see it in his eyes! Once we got back to our room; we were exhausted. I know I did not hear Jay snore once! I was so tired!

Our last day in Seattle, WA

“Our last day together” I staged the room to get a few pictures. Then I started to cry. My crying outbursts lasted off and on though-out the day and into the evening…
We got ready and headed into Fort Lewis “the base” for some t-shirts for the boys. I had an opportunity to meet one of the Generals that will be talking care of this mission. It was really nice to visit with him. Jay and I ate lunch at a Chinese Restaurant.. Where Jay ate some creepy crawlers that literally made me GAG.. “not even funny Harmon” YUCK! We drove down to the area where Jay used to scuba dive, back in 1981. We did some more walking and sight seeing. It was so nice to be together, talk, laugh and just be! We went back to the hotel; Jay took a nap while I uploaded the trip pictures on the computer. We just relaxed and watched movies until 9:30pm and then Jay took me to the airport… I felt as though my heart was being ripped out of my chest, I cannot describe it any other way! I pretty much cried all the way home and at my sisters and at church… I landed in Minnesota at 6am. Got home around 8am and went to church to get my babies!

I am so glad to have had the opportunity to go out to Seattle. It is an amazing city. It is so clean and very beautiful to say the least. Our time together was absolutely perfect!

much better today... whew!

Today was a good day.. I kinda know what Ester went through before she met the king. I had my nails done today and eyebrows waxed. hair cut in a few days along with a pedicure... all for Jay! (well, I like it too) Its been fun, in many ways it feels like we are dating. We have had a chance or two to talk on the phone for hours about nothing. I feel like a teenager in that aspect! too funny! The stress level has dropped and we are all doing good.. We are all still fighting this virus. I have had a sore throat all week. I think I might go to the doc tomorrow. Andrew is back home and working construction. Praise God he found a job for the summer! things are busy. Reign can now say each one of our names. She is so cute! Tyler is driving everywhere and is so good with his little sister. Caleb is an amazing helper he sees stuff that needs to be done and does it without being told mom likes that! God is good!

We need you to be praying....

This last week has been VERY FRUSTRATING for me (Nancy) to say the least. During these times I so desperately wish I hade a Mom and a Dad to help. (with the little things) But Praise God, He is the FATHER to the FATHERLESS. Sometimes it would be nice to have something ~ someone tangible. For all of you that have parents I am not the one to complain to about them… I DO NOT HAVE THEM!... LOVE your parents and THANK them for all that they do for you!! They are NOT to be taken for granted! "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you." Exodus 20:12

Jay and I have both been dealing with this confusion and communication issues. NOT WITH EACH OTHER, however with other people around us. A friend of mine reminded me that Jay is going to Babylon! Talk about confusion?! Prayer is vital!

I am really seeking God about doing a 10 month fast. Please be interceding for me. I am not sure what? or how? This will turn out. I really feel that I have to do this. When I am not fasting or when I skip a day of prayer I can definetley feel it.

This week I have not spent the time with the Lord, that I like to. Reign has been sick for the last 10 days I took her in to the Doctor this morning and I told him she has a sinus infection… of course mommy knows best, and he gave her the meds, and out the door we went. Tyler was sick Friday and Saturday and now Caleb is sick. My time with God has been filled with SICK KIDS. No wonder I feel like I am loosing my mind! Good Grief!

Please PRAY for:
Our health ~ "For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds, declares the LORD." Jeremiah 30:17
Sound mind, and peace for me ~ "In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8
Confusion to leave.
Good communication with those around Jay and I.
Ministry opportunities in Seattle, God has planned it, we will obey Him!
For the kids while I am gone for six days:
Safety ~ "The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever." Psalm 121:7-8
Bless those that will be preparing meals for the Andrew and Tyler. Bless those that are caring for Caleb and Reign.