Happy New Year!

The new year is starting with some great news! For months there have been rumors that Scott's battalion might be coming home earlier than initially expected. Not wanted to get my hopes up too high, I've kind of blown it off, but now a few adminstrative changes [not to be confused with administration changes :-) ] give a bit more credibility to the rumors. For instance, yesterday Scott was told that his battalion will not be getting mail delivery past February 1st. This does not mean he'll be back by then as they stop mail service a few weeks before the end of the deployment, but it is likely he'll be home in the spring instead of the summer!

Any mail sent after the third full week in January will not be delivered which means he will not get any mail for the last few weeks. Next week I plan to send a few letters marked with instructions not to open until Ground Hog's Day, Valentine's Day, Mardis Gras, etc.

Thanks for all the cards, letters, and packages you've sent so far. Scott told me today that the person who handles the mail for his battalion singled him out and told him to make sure his "fan club" knew that the mail service was ending. Apparently Scott and two other guys get more mail than the rest of the battalion combined. Keep it up; we're on the home stretch!

Christmas Camel

Scott sent this camel--complete with uniform boonie cover and dog tags--to Gianna for Christmas.

Chrismas Messages

I know how hard it was to not have Scott with us over the holidays so I can only imagine how difficult it was for Scott to be without all of us. In an effort to bring us all a bit closer, I compiled a video of Christams messages for Scott. A DVD of the complete video was sent to Scott just before Christmas. Here are just a few clips. (I tried to load the entire video but it was too long.)

The Bob Salm Family

Oshkosh Friends

Gianna Ramsay

Happy Birthday, Gianna!

Gianna got a birthday phone call from Daddy this morning. While we were on the phone, Gianna opened her present from Daddy--the book Green Eggs & Ham and a DVD of Scott reading it to her.

(Screen capture from the video.)

After we hung up, we put in the DVD. Gianna went up to the TV and stood cheek to cheek with her daddy for the entire video (almost five minutes!). She watched it at least a dozen times before I was able to coax her away with the promise of swimming. We went to the Y and then to Chuck E. Cheese. She went to sleep on the way home and is still napping!

Christmas Happenings

We've been traveling, so I haven't had mush time to post. Here are the highlights from the week:

Scott's Christmas party was a success. It was last Saturday. I had sent a Santa suit and some decorations. Our friends Tracy and Chris had sent hundreds of holiday plates and napkins. (Thanks again, you two!) Friends and family of the other guys at the same rank as Scott sent a variety of party supplies, too. They had a great time and even had to do a beer run--near beer that is--half way through the evening. One of the chiefs was going to wear the Santa suit but the $30 felt costume I found didn't quite fit his 6 foot steelworker frame, so Scott was going to wear it but the chaplain asked if he could do the honors. Scott didn't think much of it until later when he overheard two women complaining that they couldn't very well climb up on Santa's lap and be naughty-not-nice when he was the chaplain. Scott's not one for public attention to begin with so you can imagine how embarrassed he would have been!

At long last, Scott was pinned with his SCWs (seabee combat warfare) pin. A few weeks ago I mentioned that he had been studying for written and oral tests. He successfully passed everything and earned the certification. Getting pinned is a bit like a hazing ritual but he seemed to enjoy being part of the tradition!

Scott plans to attend Christmas eve mass. There is a midnight mass that is actually being held at midnight (out local parishes have them starting as early as 9:00) and he planned to attend with one of his running buddies. They got to reminiscing about going to midnight mass as kids and wondered if they could still stay up that late and function the next day now that they are in their 30s. While their parents were in their 30s when they took their kids to mass, they probably did so knowing the kids would pass out before the readings began and it would be the one mass all year that they'd actually get to enjoy! In the end, Scott and he decided since they were in their 30s and were not taking kids to mass, there was no reason they could not go tot he 4:00 p.m. mass and get a good night's sleep!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Blessings!

This year has been filled with blessings! Scott’s deployment to Iraq has given us opportunity anew to recognize how very blessed we truly are. Allow us to share a list of this year’s blessings:

Care packages! Thanks to all who have kept Scott supplied with jerkies, granola bars, phones cards, and most of all, your thoughts and prayers!

Hospitality! Grandma and Grandpa and Nana and Papa--whether at our place or theirs, they have gone above and beyond to help us! Countless friends have invited us to spend nights, weekends, even weeks with them to save on travel and to provide companionship.

Rome, Italy. Thanks to my parents (and lots of frequent flier miles!) we traveled with the entire Cerny family to Italy for nearly two weeks last May. Highlights were touring the excavation site under St. Peter’s Basilica, attending an audience with the Holy Father, visiting each of the four basilicas in Rome, and walking in the streets where St. Gianna worked, lived, and prayed.

Incredible colleagues! They have covered classes and writing lab hours at a moment’s notice.

Snow! Admittedly, I’m probably only thankful for a white Christmas because I have not shoveled a flake since Scott left thanks to the generosity of our amazing neighbors for whom I am incredibly grateful!

Thoughts and Prayers! Sunday school groups out east, prayer chains in Iowa, novenas and lit candles in Wisconsin, countless individual prayers. They mean more than anything, and they’re working! Know that you’re all in our prayers, too!

Marriage! My sister wed Ben in October. I was pleased to serve as the matron of honor and Gianna was the adorable flower girl at the beautiful private ceremony in a quaint chapel in central Wisconsin. We are grateful to have Ben as part of the family!

Adorable Gianna--what a blessing! She is growing up so quickly; it seems impossible she will be three this month. She is obsessed with Dora, wants to eat nothing but peanut butter, hot dogs, and the occasional serving of peas, and misses her Daddy. She has even started saying separate “daddy prayers” after our regular night time prayers.

Safety and security! We praise God that Scott and his group have remained safe. More now than ever, we are grateful for the hundreds of thousands of troops and their families who regardless of politics or position have volunteered to do their part to help provide peace on earth.

CHRISTMAS!
The birth of our savior--the greatest blessing of all!
We pray you and your families have a wonderful Christmas and

are blessed in the new year!

School's Out!

Scott and I both finished school yesterday. I submitted semester grades and Scott had his last oral board for the SCWs pin. He has been in class after class and taken test after test. After a three-hour oral defense, he was finished. Surprisingly, three hours is relatively short. A guy he spent time with in Mississippi spent 8 hours in his and had to go back the next day for three more. Hopefully now that this hurdle's been jumped, he'll have a bit more time for sleep!

Steel Stories

Scott's back in steelwork and since he has no fear of heights, he was volunteered to do some work 26+ feet up in the air. So, he headed up the ladder only to discover the ladder stopped about five feet short of the piece of steel he needed to mount. After analyzing the situation, he begrudgingly made his was back down the ladder. Another Seabee was volunteered. He too made his way up--and down. There was no lone left to be talked into volunteering, so Scott decided to give it another go. He climbed up the ladder and reconsidered the possibilities. His chief called him down, told him to forget about it. Did he not realize that was as good as a double dog dare??? Scott yanked himself into a partial chin-up and swung his body onto the beam before finally being able to tie-off for safety. (There's a reason steelwork is the second most dangerous job.) I'm sure he was quite pleased with himself, that is until a chief ten years his senior walked onto the job site, strutted over to an I-beam that was straight up in air, and managed to shimmy up the thing in no time. Granted, the chief is a journeyman steelworker, but I'm sure it was a bit deflating. In any event, it made for an interesting first day back in steelwork and a great story that is sure to get greater with time. By the time he gets home, I bet the steel beam will have been at least 40 feet in the air!

No Peeking!

Scott received many packages in the last few days. He decided to wait until Christmas morning to open everything so that the day is marked in a special way. He asked that if anyone wants him to open a package early, he or she should email him at ramzeeola90@yahoo.com.

SW1 Ramsay

He has has office jobs, driving jobs, and miscellaneous other jobs, but for the first time since he mobilized back in June, Scott was assigned to do steelwork--what the SW stands for!

It may not last, however. Scott's roommate was on a construction project in which many Turkish civilian contractors were involved. Apparently the communication gap was making progress impossible until Scott's roommate told a higher-up that Scott knows some Turkish. Scott was called off of his work site to translate and while his working vocabulary has diminished a bit over the past 15 years, he was able to get the two groups on the same page and the project up and running. Afterwards, he was grilled on his language skills. Given the number of Turks and Azeris on base and in the area, translation may become another job to add to the list.

The Fewer. The Prouder. The Seabees!

A group of Marines who had gotten themselves in a bit of troubled were sentenced to a day of hard manual labor. Their punishment? To work with Scott's company for the day. What Scott's group does day in and day out is what the Marines consider punishment!

Go Navy! Beat Army!

The Midshipmen pulled out a huge victory--the first shut-out in 30+ years! Scott was able to watch the game. The command was projecting up on a huge cement wall. It meant a late night for the sailors but I'm sure it was well worth it especially since they were the winners. I'm sure the soldiers on base will be dragging tomorrow!

Unfortunately, the shout-out Scott was a part of was not aired. I've got feelers out to see if I can get a copy of his Badger shout out. I'll post it if I track one down.

There's Still Time!

Believe it or not, the Christmas presents I mailed on Monday, November 24 arrived today--in just 10 days!

I had written on the sides, "Do not open until Christmas day!" I even gave him strict orders that when he saw that message on a box, he was not allowed to read the customs slip! I didn't know if he would follow my rule though, so I devised a test. When he told me it arrived I said, "wow, already? What date did it say it shipped?" If he answered, I'd know he cheated. Luckily, he said he didn't know because he didn't look at the label. So either he wants to be surprised or he wants me to think he wants to be surprised.

In any event, if you haven't yet sent a card off to your favorite sailor, you have time to get it there by the big day!

SCOTT THOMAS RAMSAY
NMCB-27
DETACHMENT 4, CHARLIE COMPANY
FPO, AA 34099-2204

Testing, Testing, Testing

No, I'm not checking my mic. Scott is in the process of earning his Seabee Combat Warfare pin--a three-test process. He had a written test this morning which he passed with a solid score. He has two more tests to come: a preliminary oral board and the final oral board. Scott tests and presents well but this is a pretty big deal so let's pray that he is able to demonstrate his knowledge and strength during the tests to come.