August 29, 2011

It's been a long time. A long time since I've been home, a long time
since I've seen my husband, a long time that I've been on vacation. A
couple of months ago Josh got deployed to Afghanistan, and I've been
in Utah spending time with my family. I was planning to fly back to
NY today, but all flights to NY have been canceled due to the
hurricane. So it's going to be even longer.

We've had a wonderful time with Utah, with the highlights being a 247
mile bike trip to Yellowstone that both Josh, his brothers, and Samuel
completed, while the rest of us biked a little and camped along.
We've had fun spending time with the extended family, and 'finishing'
our stay with Samuel participating in a half iron-man triathlon ( 1.2
mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, 13 mile run).

We've had a few mishaps while here. Mosiah (2 yr old) got bitten by a
black widow, Samuel (12 yr old) hit a diving board during diving class
and broke his shoulder. I threw out my back and could not move for a
week. Isaiah badly sprained his index finger, and got 4 teeth pulled
to make room for a spacer and a retainer. He is learning how to talk
with his mouth full of plastic and wires.

Josh is doctoring in Afghanistan. He calls just about everyday,
unless somebody dies and all communication is shut down. He also
writes just about everyday. Sometimes his letters are sad and
sometimes they are very funny. Below is a sad one, and attached is a
very funny one about the drama going on with the doctors in
Afghanistan. It's a soap opera that Josh wrote for our entertainment.
Sorry about the sad one, but enjoy the funny attached one.

Sylwia

From Josh August 2011:

"Wonderful family,

As I mentioned in my last email, tonight it was my job to pronounce
two soldiers dead. I had to examine the bodies and make sure that
their hearts weren't beating, and that they were, in fact, deceased.
It was very sad. One of them had a t-shirt with pictures of his kids
on it.

I just wanted to let you know how much I love you guys. I wanted you
to know how grateful I am to have the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how
grateful I am that we have been sealed together as a family. Please
remember to pray for my safety and for a quick end to this war. I
love you all."

29 Sierpien 2011

Juz dlugo nie jestem w domu. Juz dlugo nie widzialam mojego meza i
juz za dlugo jestem na wakacjach w Utah, prawie 4 miesiace. Mialam
dzisiaj wracac do Nowego Yorku, ale byl huragan wiec samoloty do
Nowego Yorku nie lataja. Bede tu jeszcze tydzien.

Bardzo fajnie bylo w Utah. Nasza ulubiona wycieczka to byla jak
rowerami pochalismy 247 mil do stanu Wyoming do parku Yellowstone.
Josh, jego bracia, i Samuel tylko jechali na rowerach. Ja i inna
rodzina jechalismy tylko troche rowerami, a reszta samochodem i przez
cale 10 dni spalismy pod namiotami, lub w chatach goralskich. Fajne
tez bylo przez 3 miesiace spedzac czas z dalsza rodzina. Nasza wizyta
miala sie zakonczyc wyscigiem w ktorym Josza bracia i moj syn Samuel
bral udzial. Plywali 1.2 mil, jechali na rowerze 56 mil, i biegali 13
mil. To wszytko pod rzad. Zajelo to okolo 9 godzin.

Przez ostatnie trzy miesiace tez mielismy kikla wypadkow. Moj syn
Mosiah co ma tylko 2 lata byl ugryziony przez niebezpiecznego pajaka i
mial infekcje nogi. Samuel podczas klasy nurkowania upadl na deske i
zlamal sobie ramie. Isaiah prawie zlamal palec od reki, i tez 4 jego
mleczne zeby byly wyrwane aby zrobic miejsce na aparat do prostowania
zebow. On uczy sie mowic z drutami w ustach.

Moj maz juz jest dwa miesiace na wojnie w Afganistanie. Prawie
codziennie dzwoni do nas, i tez prawie codziennie pisze listy. Jak
ktos umiera to nie ma komunikacji z nami bo rodzina musi byc najpierw
posfiadomiona of smierci zolnieza. Nieraz jego listy sa smutne a
nieraz wesole. Raz napisala jak musial robic egzamin na umarlym
zolniezu i jak go rozbieral to zobaczyl ze zmartwy zolniez mial
zdjecia swoich dzieci na swojej podkoszulce. Jesi czytacie dobrze
po angielsku to zajaczylam bardzo smieszna sztuke ktora Josh napisal o
lekarzach w Afganistanie.

Sylwia