Some Pictures from Christamas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was nice. We had friends
over for Christmas Eve. Dinner went well, open presents to each other and
the kiddos had fun doing that. I also got to talk to Nick and he got some
time off to catch up on some sleep and was nice and quiet.

Then Christmas Morning, the kids had a ball opening up gifts. They all were
very happy, since Santa (mom) was up till 4:30 am in the morning putting
together 2 dora trcycles and a Clifford rocking dog, LOL.

Well, I hope you enjoy the pictures!!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/melcoopfamily/

Hugs,

Melanie and Kiddos

An Iraqi and North Carolina update, LOL

Wow, time does fly when you are having fun or very busy, LOL. We have a very full week. Between speech, dance class, a Christmas party on base, 2 birthday parties and a dance performance for Sydney on Sunday. I just keep telling myself this makes time fly, but dude it also leaves you exhausted.

But we seem to be finally adjusting, the kids seem to finally realize that though dad is "far far away", that mom is still the Boss, LOL and they don't get away with anything.

Nick also seems to be a busy busy guy. They dont usually get days off out there, and with some encourangement he has been sending some more pictures. So I thought I would share with you.
The one on the top of this post is Nick on crossing the Euphrates River on the way to do a ride around the area, this is where he gets to interact with the local Iraqis.









Capt. Hadley and Ssgt. Cooper (Sorry, been dying to type that, LOL)



This is Capt. Hadley and Lt. Col. Nameer (I think that is his name), from the Iraqi Army. This is one of the, or the, Iraqi unit they work with. Nick says he is very nice and loves to take pictures of everything. Always asks about everyones families and interested in learning and getting to know them.

I have a few more that I will put in a slide show and post after lunch. Hope you all enjoy them. Hopefully, one of these days he will get time to post on the blog and he can tell you first hand how he is doing. Thank you all for the love, concern and prayers.

Update on Nick

Well, don't ask me how this came to me, cause I don't have the slightest
idea our this ended up forwarded to but I am just thankful I got it.

Dear family members of MTT 0130,

The days and weeks have gone very quickly for our team. Since we boarded the buses at Camp Lejeune to begin our journey to Iraq, we have been very busy. Our flight from Cherry Point MCAS to Iraq aboard a leased Continental Airlines airplane was smooth and uneventful. It took about a full day to make the trip but the aircraft crew treated us very well and made everyone as comfortable as possible; our thanks to them. We arrived in Kuwait on the 31st of Oct. We spent one day at a temporary camp there before moving on by C130 to Iraq. We had a little drama with the C130. First, it needed some repairs on the runway. Then we were diverted from our destination at Al Asad airbase to Balad Air Force base in Northern Iraq. Another delay, but we eventually made it out and got down to Habbaniyah to meet our outgoing team. We still had another week of in-country training to do at the military’s Phoenix Academy at Taji near Baghdad. We spent the Marine Corps 232nd birthday there and PFC Curicabrera was honored as the youngest Marine present and got the first piece of birthday cake.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to finally see our camp at Habbaniyah. The team shares a common building with separate rooms that all face inward to a square courtyard. We have power, TV, computers, phones, internet and we have a US dining facility for our meals as well as a free laundry service. Our camp is on the banks of the Euphrates River and was once a British Air Base. There are plenty of old growth trees that line the streets and provide shade. It is not bad at all. Our compound is on the Iraqi side of Camp Habbaniyah so we live surrounded by our Iraqi army partners. Many of the Marines have already made friends. Our day is spent in constant touch with our Iraqi counterparts as we all try to help each other to fight the insurgents in our area. Fortunately the Iraqi army here as been very successful in its fight. Our area is very quiet. The number of enemy activity in our area has dropped so low that many people believe the war has been won here. There are still dangers from explosives and some small arms fire, but it is not at all what you see in the world media.

Thanksgiving came and went with little notice from us. We did get turkey for dinner but we missed all the football games. We are now all getting settled into our new home and getting into a rhythm of daily activity. The weather has been very nice during the day and pleasantly cool at night. Everyone has had the opportunity to go out on patrols in our area of responsibility and we have participated in several good neighbor projects like school openings and medical assistance events for the local population. Some of us traveled to Falluja last week to meet with our nearest Marine command (RCT-6). All in all we feel pretty good about our new assignment and are excited about the job ahead of us.

I hope I have given you some idea of what your Marine is doing and also how he is doing. All of us miss home, but everyone is coping well and no one is alone here. I hope all of you are also well. Please keep up your letters to your Marine as it means so much to him to hear from you.

Sincerely,

J. M. Morrisroe
Lieutenant Colonel, USMC

Hear Ye Hear Ye, I would like to formally announce....

That my husband has been officially promoted to the Rank of Staff Sergeant.

The very proud wife and kiddos,

Melanie, Cameron, Natalie, Sydney, and Ben

Thanksgiving Day!!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We got up and have cinnimon rolls and watched the Macy's Day Parade on TV. Then made cupcakes and decorated them. Finally it was time to get ready to go to our Friends for the Thanksgiving Dinner.

The kids had a great time they got to play with their friends and hang out. Dinner was wonderful. And we just relaxed. Came home to baths and bed. I am thankful that we had such good friends to share the Thanksgiving with. It made it just a bit easier.

Picture from IRAQ

Hello Everyone!!

I am going to blog about Thanksgiving but I need to go to the car get my camera. So this one time things might be out of order. Sunday morning I was happily surprised with this lovely picture. Cameron thought it is so cool. Its a really neat picture. Nick also told me how they were giving out candy and his driver was surrounded by children. Off to the side were two little girls watching, but they new they would never be able to get through all the big tough boys. My husband got a handful and gave them to the girls. Yeah, that sounds about right when it comes to my husband. So I hope you enjoy this picture as much as I do!!!

Packages and email

Hello Everyone!!!

Hope everyone is doing well. We are staying busy. Honestly, I would be happy if we could have a little more down time. LOL. I have Nick first box ready to ship, keep wanting to take it but somehow haven't made it so. Though tomorrow we have to go out for Speech and the main Post office is down the block. So, it will go out then. I am already working on a Christmas decor box. Nick LOVES LOVES Christmas, and it will probably be the hardest holiday for all of us to get through. So, with the kids help we found him a little christmas trees and a few ornaments and even battery operated lights.

Also, Nick wanted to make sure everyone knew that you can email him at ncooper15@gmail.com. He isn't sure if he will have a "regular military deployment" email address. Also, I know alot of websites say to send the guys MCX or PX gift cards, but there isn't an exchange where he is. As the article I posted earlier he is attached to the Iraqi Military, therefore the normal ammeneties most troops have access to, he doesnt. Though, he has email access, internet access and even a lab with web cams. Once he is set up in his sleeping quarters, he has a laptop and is planning to get a webcam. He sent me a list of a few more things he would love to recieve, LOL!!

P.S.- First Picture is of Nick package being sent tomorrow. And the other 2 pictures of the Christmas Decor

Ok, I will add that later, but the kiddos and I have to run to the store.
HUGS!!

What is a MiTT Team?

Good Monday Morning EVERYONE!!

I have a number of people asking me what is Nick exactly doing overseas, especially once they know he has temporarily left his primary duty of being a crewchief on the CH-53. Nick is on a Mitt (Military Transition Team.) Then there is the million dollar question of what is a Mitt? Well, here is part of a “article” I found that seams to describe what they are.

military transition team

A Military Transition Team, MiTT is a U.S. Army or Marine team that embeds lives with and trains the Iraqi Army, the Afghan National Army and other allies in the War on Terror. With the help of up to 6 local national interperters the MiTTs advise the fledgling security forces in the areas of intelligence, communications, fire support, logistics and infantry tactics. The aim is to make the Iraqi unit (at battalion, brigade, or division level) self-sustainable tactically, operationally and logistically so that the battalion is prepared to take over responsibility for battle space. Also, MiTTs can, if necessary, call in U.S. air support and battle assistance, thus boosting confidence and troop morale. In Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the transition teams are a central part of the strategy to train and equip national security forces, hand over battle space and reduce Coalition troop levels. MiTTs also report misconduct and allow the U.S. Military to monitor the level of professionalism of the fledgling security force. Police Transition Teams, PiTT provide a similar function for the Iraqi Police, however, due to the larger number of police units, PiTTs are frequently based out of Coalition bases and rotate to various local police stations.

If anyone is interested in reading more, you can find the page where this came from here http://www.answers.com/topic/military-transition-team Ok, well better get back to emailing and stuff. I WILL  be updatine the Family Blog today without fail. So be on the look out of that!!! Hope everyone has a great day.

Melanie and Kiddos

Happy Veteran's Day!!

Just wanted to share that Cameron got a yellow ribbon in honor of having his Dad in the Armed Forces. I thought it was need all the kids who have a parent in the military got a yellow ribbon. Cameron was very proud to wear his yellow ribbon. I am proud that Cameron is so proud to be the son of U.S. Marine and part of a Military Family.

Laundry, children loosing their minds!!

I really want to update this more often but just never seems for me to get to it. I will try to update more often. Anyway, tomorrow will be 2 weeks since Nick left. We have had good days and bad days. Kids seem to adjusting fairly well. Now they are testing the boundaries to see what they can get away with, since Dad is gone. They are beginning to find out that if anything Daddy is not around to try to wrap around their finger, LOL.

But beside the normal quest of driving their momma insane the kids seem to genuily try to help out. The above pictures are of the girls trying to help out with folding laundry. It was quite sweet. Sydney just came to the couch grab a hanger and a shirt, and started to trying to put the shirt on the hanger. Then she told me she wanted to help me and if I would show how to do it. I told her sure and showed her how to do it. But the more shocking thing is that Natalie came and join us. When it comes to chores, Natalie hides and trying to blend in the background, lol. But she came and wanted to help. After a few tries they gave up and help bring the folded clothes the the designated rooms.

We also have a picnic movie night on Saturday night. We had fun. We picked up Arby's and got the Dennis the Menace Christmas Movie on pay-per-view. We layed a blanket out in Toyroom and had dinner while watching the movie. Kids really seem to enjoy it and they earned. A couple of days before, they had really been helping out and been very well behaved. THey had even set the table and helped with dishes. But then Sunday, they lost their minds. Cameron whined and questioned everything. Sydney threw a fit over everything and was very upset that I would buy her the things she supposely wanted for Christmas. Ben just wouldn't stay seated in the cart. But we survived. My friend Allie took the three oldest yesterday. I had a very early at appointment and it was in a small office. It was nice to have some down time and I was able to run some errands with Ben. They came home after lunch and played out side.

Tomorrow will be back to routine. Cameron will back at school. Girls have thereapy and I have dr. appt. just to get refills.

Nick is doing good. Though I think he is getting sick. He sound no so good today. He said he has a runny nose and sore throat. Hoping that some rest will be all he needed. We have bee able to talk or im on the computer pretty regularly. He will be getting to where he will be for the next year soon, then we will have a better idea of his accomadations and things.

Well that is about it. I should atleast be posting more pictures more often. Hope everyone has a great day.

ANd I want to take the moment to Thank all the Veterans. For all the military families that came before us. I have the most upmost respect and admiration. Thankyou for setting such good examples and sacrificing your lives and time away from your loved ones. When there was no email, Im'ing or the ease of calling home. It was all done by snail mail, when no news is Good News. You are my Heroes!!!

Ooops, forgot halloween!!

I forgot to tell you all about Halloween. We went trick or treating on base housing with our good friends. We had lots of fun and Ben even was getting the hang of saying trick or treat and even thankyou. Here is some pictures for your viewing pleasure, LOL.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/melcoopfamily/1873864568/

Update on Nick

I though I would make a different entry for Nick. I have gotten to talk to every other day or so on average. I feel like I am getting spoiled. Though it was almost 5 yrs ago. When he deployed on the boat, I would only get a call once to twice a month. And I also got my first email yesterday. He sounds like he well, tired but ok. Their sleep schedule is all messed up.

THe kids really enjoy talking to them and it seems to really help. We are getting his first package ready to mail out. I have a list of items that he said he could use or enjoy in his packages. I will post them in the next post. But before I go, here is mailing address.

Sgt Nicholas J. Cooper
MTT 0130
Unit 73013
FPO AE 09509-3013


He will be training for the next few weeks. So, its very possible he wont be getting mail for 3 weeks or so. I am planning to send him a package so it waiting for him when he finally reaches his "accomadations" for the next year. I know he will enjoy a touch of home. He will probably really start getting a bit home sick. So feel free to drop him a line or a card. Also it will probably be close to Thanksgiving. IF anyone has any questions or anything feel free to email me at Melcoop@msn.com. And latest tomorrow I will have the start of a list going so anyone who wants to send a care package, will have ideas what to send.

Ok, well I am babysitting, So I have a total of 7 kids and if I dont feed them soon. The might just throw me in the pot and have me for dinner. ROFLMAO!!!

One Week Down!!

Well, We have survived out first week. Must say 10x better then I could have even hoped for. The kids seem to understand the need to make the best and stay busy. They have really all rolled their sleeves up and tryed to help out.

Sydney is having the hardest time. Besides calling for her Daddy when she gets in trouble, LOL. It seems every other day she lets me know she is missing her daddy. The other day, she was beyond tired and the whole way home, she kept saying "Daddy GO HOME!!" over and over again. Then she followed it with "I miss my Daddy". But after I kept trying to make her feel better and being unsuccesful, Cameron stepped in and was able to bribe to feel with a promise of letting her play Monoply with him. (Awww!!) This was after he told her he missed Daddy to. And it was ok to be sad, and that he couldn't come home because he had a very important job.

Natalie seems to just be needing extra sunggling. And her rebellious streak has gotten a tad bit more prodominate. I get alot of I dont want to or just plain ignoring me. Which sends me wanting to pull my hair. Seems no punishment bothers her. So, trying to do the positive reinforcement. Where her sibblings for chipping in and not sassying me get a treat and she doesnt get to have one. Seems that being left out has some effect. Now to get her potty trained, even Sydney has tried and she just won't have it. She definitly has the stubborn streak in her.

Cameron misses Nick a whole lot. I think at times he feels out of place. Cameron is Nick's partner when it comes to running to the store, or fixing things around the house or even for chores. But, I have been trying to encourage to talk about it and draw. And his best friend Matt, said he would share his dad. And that is helping. Matt's dad just came back from a 7 month deployment. And Nick always invited Matt to the movies and outings with Cameron. So, they are kinda changing rolls and it seems to really working.
Matt's younger sister Madison also told the girls that she would share her daddy too. They get along really well and Madison is like a Big sister to the girls. I am thankful for having them around. It really helps. Allie and I have been friends for over 3 years. And we are lucky that our kids are so close in age. Matt and Cameron are a month apart. The girls and Allie's youngetst Joe are 7 months apart. Madison is almost five. So she is right in the middle of the boys and and the younger ones. And she can hang with either group, though she mostly likes to teach the girls the fine arts of pretend playing and dress up. =) But dont think for a min. she wont go and run with the boys and get dirty cause she can definitly hold her own.

Ben is the spoiled "baby" in both families. They all fuss over him. They take turns playing with him, teaching him things and TRYING to keep him out of trouble. He is entering the terrible twos and along with that he is cutting teeth. So he has been a tad bit difficult but once we can sooth him, he is back to his happy self.

For me.... I run around with head cut off all the time it seems. It took me a whole week to get my house in working order. And though not all the laundry is done, we are so much closer. Atleast, I can function and at this moment that is all that matters. If anything else, we are definitly staying busy!!!

P.S- The picture above is of Ben sitting in his new favorite spot. I keep telling him that the table is not for him to sit at but he wont listen, LOL.

Saying Good bye is sometimes the hardest thing!!

Well, on Monday Nick started his journey to Iraq. Things went of pretty well. The kids were sad to say bye, but there was no major breakdowns. Ben was very clingy most of the morning with his daddy. He probably feeding off out anxiousness. The girls did relatively well. Syd didn't really get upset till daddy got on the bus. I think that was when she realise it was for real. Poor Cameron said he already missed daddy after daddy said his final goodbye :(

The kiddos, mostly the 3 oldest are showing their missing daddy with acting out. Syd, who usually is my good kid, has turned into a rebellious talking back 13 yr old, LOL. But I am hoping this is only temporary. Cameron has been acting out for a while now. But on Tuesday he woke up with a new outlook, I am guessing. He got up and has been very helpful with helping with breakfast, and no whining. And I have a feeling he gave his younger sisters a pep talk cause they have been picking up and offering to help. :)) Nothing can make a mom prouder. Ben is pretty oblivious so far, though he carries his “daddy doll” I made him everywhere especially nap time and bedtime...

I have uploaded the rest of the pictures of Nick leaving, feel free to take a look and leave some comments. You can find them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/melcoopfamily/sets/72157600431552876/

Thankyou for all the encouragment and prayers, they mean more then you all will ever know. And remember all the service men and woman who are far away from their loved ones!!