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Make an impact in the life of a military family that has lost it's Hero...

Hello everyone!

Richard and I have some very exciting news- we are running the Seoul Marathon (our first) on 20 March! We have been training for several months now but not without some great motivation provided by the Knights of Heroes. The Knights of Heroes Mission is to provide young men who have lost their fathers in military service the opportunity to experience character building events with the positive support of a male mentor. A fairly large group of members from our bases have been involved in training and raising money for the Knights of Heroes. In fact, we have raised enough money so far to fund a female version of Knights of Heroes which we have affectionately started calling "Ladies in Training". This will allow the boys' sisters to have their own summer type camp that gives them the opportunity to flourish and learn from other females that have similar life experiences.

Anyway, we are not required to meet a minimum donation or anything like that, we just want to tell everyone about this organization and give you all the chance to donate if you feel called to do so. If you are interested in learning more about the Knights of Heroes, please visit their website at http://www.knightsofheroes.org/ or Richard and my webpage at http://knightsofheroes.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=443122&lis=0&kntae443122=E73A569CEB934B949C46563A44B02850&supId=314734138 and you can donate at either site.

We feel so blessed just to be able to take on this adventure together but doing it for such a worthy cause makes us all the more excited to take on this challenge. If you are able to donate then that is great and if not then please at least keep the families in your prayers (and us when it comes to finishing the marathon ;).

We hope this finds you well and can’t wait to get the chance to see all of you again.

God Bless!!!

Love, Richard and Micki

Clean Slate!!!

Hey all. I am warming up my blog for Korea. I leave this Saturday for Seattle, hang out with Jessi for the day, then on to Korea that night. I will update this as travel permits.

Wish me luck!

-Micki

Jamaica 3/5

More Margaritaville. These were super yummy! They had so many flavors!! When we got there we got free leis and free shots.



Out on the beach behind Margaritaville. Sunset was beautiful and we were just happy to be together. We also got to see a guy breathing fire and an old lady trying to rub up on him. Great performer- he even walked around on crushed glass. Interesting...

Us in the hot tub after Margaritaville. They had random hot tubs around so we got some time to ourselves that night. Other than getting eaten by bugs when we tried to lay in the hammock after the hot tub it was great!

And this was us using my underwater picture function in the hot tub. :)

Us in a kayak. There were free water sports and lessons at the resort. We also learned how to wind surf. Cory and Kendi went wakeboarding. They were awesome!!!!!

Alright 2 more to go. I am excited I am making progress with this.

Have a great day! God bless!

~Micki

Jamaica 2/5

More Jamaica pics- this one is of me and Kendi trying really hard to open our eyes and not blow air out of our nose at the same time. It is harder than it looks believe it or not.



Second night. We ate at the entertainment venue. They have a stage and a covered dining area. It was a pretty big seating area and even had some "patio seating" around the outside. I got to wear the necklace and earrings I designed in Doha so that was pretty awesome! And we got to dance.

The maintenance guys on the resort were super nice. They went and got a coconut for us and cut it open so we could drink the milk. Then they chopped it in half so we could eat the meat. We repaid him with a water bottle full of vodka. We had free drinks available to us so we didn't mind. :)

Fun in the sun! This was in the swim up pool. This was probably after the 11am beach volleyball game. Every morning had beach volleyball (not going to lie we slept through a few :) and the afternoon had pool volleyball. I think that counts as working out every day we were there.

I think this is the only place the Lions and Broncos can live harmoniously with each other. This was at the Margaritaville in Negril.

Well, two down, three to go!

Later!

Jamaica 1/5

So I am trying to get this thing updated now since we have been doing a lot this summer. Here is the first installment of the Jamaica trip but we took so many pictures I need 5 Posts to put it all in. So here is number one...

We went to Jamaica in May with Cory and Kendi Knop and had a great time. Other than Kendi being sick while we were there (later we found out it was because she was pregnant with little baby Knop!!!!) I think everyone had an awesome time and we can't wait to do it again in a few years!

We decided to fly out of Colorado and to take a little vacation there as well. On the way to Fort Collins we stopped in Colorado Springs and watched the Red Wings play-off game at Buffalo Wild Wings with our old friend Caracillo and a couple new friends I met in Baghdad Josh and Lt Col Allen (not pictured). I think the Red Wings lost but I can't be certain. :)

This is a picture of Cory and Kendi at the airport before we got on our shuttle to the resort.

Here is Richard and I at the airport too. Richard got free beer so he was happy. I got to wear my travel outfit so I was happy too. :)

First night at the resort. Awesome sushi for appetizer. We tried to go back there a few nights but it was packed. We finally went there the last night and just ordered take out and ate at the nacho bar. It was awesome!

My camera takes underwater pictures. I think Richard was showing how he was inverted...

Alright well 4 more left but it will probably take a few days. You know how I am with this thing...

Oh yeah and if Cory or Kendi are reading this I finally bought cushy envelopes to send the picture CD- sorry I am a bad friend...

Later!

I swear I have been back for 3 months... Well here is the Vegas trip

Ok so I am a bad person and despite Kendi's persistence, I am just now updating this thing. Again I apologize but hopefully most of you figured out I made it back by now. :)

Well I made it back to Texas and was met by a small army of family and friends and co-workers. I decompressed (i.e. slept on the couch for 2 weeks) and then we headed to Vegas with Annette and James. Here are some pictures below for proof!

Here is Richard and I at Margaritaville. We went there with Annette's family to celebrate her brother Greg's birthday. We stayed so long we saw the hour show with the girl sliding down the volcano 3 times!

Here is our crew, Greg, Annette, James, me and Richard doing a shot to Greg!

This picture was supposed to make it look like we were on a beach but I think it just makes us look silly. That is my Carmen Sandiego travel dress so I wanted to show it off. :)

And here are the guys. They went out like this, oh yes. Greg and Richard had the song, "Whatever You Like" by T.I. song playing in sync on their iPhones in their pockets while they were walking down the hall in the Belagio. It sounded like they had their own theme music ans Annette and I walked behind them as the entourage.

Pretty fun trip overall. The next one was Colorado/Jamaica so I will post that next.

Laters!

On my way!

Yay! I am on my way home! I was able to catch "Space Available" out of BIAP on the 7th which got me here in Al Udeid, Qatar a day early. That is 3 extra beers to enjoy! Anyway, I have been relaxing and trying to hang out with my friend Tim and his new mustache, Wilbur, who are deployed here as much as I can. So far I have pretty much just been sleeping, but I did get out and play BINGO this morning and won a $25 gift card to AAFES which I am currently trying to sell so I have cash to fly home with.

Here is a picture of Saad and me the last time I went to see him at his pizza place. We had a lot of going away parties there and he had the best hummus in the IZ so he was great to get to know.
Every Friday night before bible study we would go to the Green Beans coffee shop since it was in the same building as where we met. These guys would put on fun music and crank it up and dance with me. It became quite a tradition so I had to get a picture with them my last Friday there.

This is Moses one of the Ugandan gate guards. I use to walk around whistling so he started whistling songs back whenever he saw me and we ended up becoming friends. He wants to work on air conditioning units in the U.S. so hopefully I get to see him again.

My last night in the IZ a bunch of people came out to smoke hookah, drink chai and play cards. It was great to get to hang out with everyone for the last time and look forward to seeing them again in the future.

Here is a picture of Tim, Wilbur and me. Tim keeps threatening to shave Wilbur because it is starting to get hot. I think he is too emotionally attached to get rid of him though...

Well that is all for now. I will be home in 3 days and may post some more pictures of anything I forgot to post on while I was there but we will see. This has been quite a journey that I will not soon forget for many reasons. Thanks to everyone for all the support while I was here and I can't wait to see you again!

Love you all!

~Me

Going away parties

For the two weeks before I left it felt like a whirlwind trying to get everything done and to see everyone before I left. It was hard to schedule separate going away parties with all the different groups I hung out with but well worth it when I pretty much got to spend time with each person individually. Packing, teaching everything I knew to my replacement and outprocessing also added to the craziness.

One of the going away parties was with the choir. There were about 6 of us leaving over a span of about 2 weeks so it was nice to get to spend time with each other besides church and practice. Here is a picture of the rug I got from them. Here is a picture of the whole choir, minus a few that couldn't make it.

Here is a picture of me and CAPT Rice when I got my Joint Commendation Service Medal.

Here is a picture at the roast they did for J-7. There were 5 of us leaving at once but for some reason my roast was longer than anyone else's. In fact once they finished mine then my boss got up and said more stuff to make fun of me. Didn't realize I had given them that much ammo in only 6 months. For everyone that leaves they do "Order of" awards. For me they did "Order of the Party Animal". Guess they got to know me well.

Here is a picture at the going away with my favorite PSD team. Neil, Wally and Hannes took really good care of me on a lot of trips to the border wells and some Baghdad Police Departments and I will miss them a lot!

Well that is all for this one. On my way home so I will post some more pictures right now.

My 4-Day Pass to Qatar

So I got a little vacation while I was here and went to Qatar. They let some of us go there to break up our tour a little. I went with about 6 people from my unit back in Baghdad so it was pretty fun. I got to take some city tours of Doha, go shopping, hang out at a beach for a day and basically just not work (oh and get to drink beer). It was awesome. Here are some pictures from the trip.

One of the stops on the Doha City Tour was a camel market. This one was pretty friendly and didn't even spit on us.

Here was me in the really nice mall they took us to. Of course I go half way around the world to go to a really sweet mall and hang out at a hockey rink. Go figure...

Here is a picture on Doha Bay with the Doha Skyline in the background. We just hung out there to take pictures.

Here is a picture of me in the old Souks (old shopping area) with the Falconers. It was pretty cool and if you moved your hand around they spread their wings (cause they thought you were going to drop them).

This was the first night we got to drink beer together. It was awesome. From left to right there was Ty, Matt, Tom, Me, Craig and Steve. All of us work on the same base in Baghdad.

Well hope that gives you a good idea of how much I had on this deployment for 4 days. I am glad I got to go and see the sites. And can fill you in on even more details when I get home.

See you soon!

Thursday, 25 Dec- Christmas

On Christmas we got to serve in the Dining Facility (DFAC) just like at Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun so here are some pictures from it.

This one is from the week before Christmas and goes with the video posted on the Christmas for Kids entry. This little girl was so cute with her reindeer antlers!

This was at the Christmas Eve service for church. We had a Night of Carols so it was pretty fun. Craig and Amanda joined the choir before Christmas so this is the picture of the Three Amigos.

This was Amanda and I with one of the guys that runs the DFAC. He is one of our favorites!

Part of our Christmas dinner. No take out! We also had the traditional turkey, ham, prime rib, etc. I still just ate turkey cut up and mixed in my mashed potatoes with gravy on top. Oh, and a roll (not as good as Grandma Bert's though).

Here is a picture of our office. Well at least the people that work there. It's not that great a shot but you get the idea.

I think that pretty much covers my Christmas experience. It really was a great season and super busy just like at home. Of course it wasn't the same being without friends and family, but luckily I have some temporary replacement friends and family here!

Talk to you soon!

Take care and God bless!

Love, Me

Thursday, 25 Dec- Christmas for kids!

About the week before Christmas the Christian church here in Baghdad rounded up a bunch of kids (the total congregation is about 2,000 people so we only had a fraction) and brought them into the IZ for a Christmas Party. We went to a park and played games all day and then took them to meet Santa and get gifts. This video is of the kids singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". They learned it in English for us, then sang it in Arabic as well. The visual is not great the the sound is amazing (just the song they sing really).

Love, Me

Wednesday, 24 Dec 08- Promotion

This was the day I finally went from 2nd Lt to 1st Lt. Normally I would be wearing my service dress and we would do a "pinning on", but since we are in the iRaq, we improvised. Notice the awesome sharpie we used to color in my gold bars black. Since we are in an Army command, everyone wears black rank anyway so no one really noticed that I wore those around for two days. The people "pinning me on" were Craig (see blog post Thankful if you don't know who that is), my old boss Lt Col Allen, and my new boss LCDR Schlise. CAPT Rice (Navy O6 in charge of my unit) did my oath for me. We did it on the patio of our building before I turned everyone loose for the Scavenger Hunt I organized. Everyone had a really great time and it was a good way to celebrate the holidays.

I will write again soon!

Take care and God bless!

~Love, Me

Monday, 22 Dec 08- "Wetting Down"

So the Navy has this tradition called "Wetting Down" (my boss is a Navy O-6). When a officer is getting promoted they throw a party and pay for all their nearest and dearest friends and co-workers to eat, (mostly) drink, and be merry. Part of the ceremony involves throwing the new promotee into the sea. Luckily for me Baghdad has hardly any bodies of water and the ones it does have I need my M-16 to access. Below are some pictures of the party. Of course thanks to GO#1 we could not have a proper party (no alcohol) and even worse the espresso machine was broken at the pizza place. I did manage to get some yummy bread and hummus- oh yeah, and get drenched by about 15 people throwing liters of water on me. Enjoy!

My friend has some really good ones of what I looked like after it was all over so when I get those I will post them as well. If you can tell I am trying to catch up here so look for the actual promotion ceremony, Christmas, and my 4 day pass to Qatar in the near future!

Take care and God bless!

~Me

Thankful...

Most people have already received my email but for those that haven't here is the story of the accident I was in last week with some pictures to go with. Thanks to everyone who has already emailed and called to show their support!

On 5 Dec I was in a convoy of civilian vehicles heading to the Saudi Arabian border to check out our water well project at the border forts. I was in an armored Suburban with 4 other people. Around noon-thirty we heard a loud pop and the car started to pull. The rear driver-side tire had burst. The driver tried to correct but it's a 5 ton vehicle and we spun around out of control and started tumbling. We think we rolled 5-10 times, not really sure but it was it seemed like a lot.

When the car came to a stop, the other guy in the third row seating with me, Capt Craig Holder, and I were the only ones left in the car. The other three were thrown from the vehicle while it was rolling. They didn't make it. Craig and I got out alright and walked around taking care of the situation while the rest of the vehicles stopped to help. We spent that night in the ICW of the Al Asad hospital where they took very good care of us (other than missing my vein once while taking blood) and even gave us some ABU Christmas hats. Other than some scrapes, bumps and bruises we ended up being just fine.



Craig and I with our ABU Christmas hats at the Al Asad Hospital after our accident.

This is a view from the road above. I was sitting in the very back of the Suburban on this side. This was right after the crash so nothing had been moved. This is actually how the vehicle came to a stop.

Here is a close up of the passenger side with the chassis out in front.

Here you can see the engine is clearly no longer in the vehicle.

Another side view. We think the last time we rolled we went end over end but we're not really sure.

I hope no one was freaked out by these but rather realizes what a precious gift life is. I am thankful to be here to write this to all of you and can't wait to see everyone when I get home! Both Craig and I know that the Lord has something special planned for us and we are truly blessed to be here to accomplish whatever it may be. I am attaching my contact info below in case you would like to email or write or call (if you have DSN).

Please take care and God bless!

~Me

Lt Micki Smeeding

MNSTC-I J-7

Phoenix Base

APO AE 09348

amanda.smeeding@iraq.centcom.mil

asmeeding@gmail.com

DSN: 318-852-1062