Today I am turning this space over to my daughter so she can update you on their family news. Take it away, Angela. -------  

Well, Steve is finally home from Iraq!  He arrived on May 15 and led the ranks as the troops marched into the terminal full of emotional families holding Welcome Home signs.  The kids and I are happily adjusting to having another person in the house (even though the laundry seems to have doubled – as well as the food bill!).  Steve was able to take 30 days leave and we all drove up to Ashland, KY, Steve’s hometown and home to many of my relatives as well. The high point was a Father’s Day welcome-home celebration, a “bring-a-dish” barbeque picnic for Steve at a local park.  We were all happy to see many of our friends and relatives, some Steve hadn’t seen for many years and some I met for the first time.  

Steve’s crazy uncle (doesn’t every family have one of those?) alerted the media so a Charleston TV station sent one of their reporters to interview us in 90-degree heat.  She did a great job honoring a “local hero” on their evening news show, and there is a story about Steve on their Web site with a place for reader comments.  The local newspaper reporter couldn’t be at the picnic, but later in the week he interviewed Steve and me separately and wrote a great human-interest story that appeared in the paper with a picture of us that covered almost half a page.  

And what about the kids, you ask? Mom actually had me write this blog entry because she said whenever she talks about the grandkids it sounds like she is bragging. Okay, I’ll try to give you just the facts! 

Zachary is 15 and will be a sophomore in high school, continuing his engineering magnet program in the fall.  His passion (obsession even) is mixed martial arts.  After getting his black belt last summer and obtaining his long-awaited work permit, he now works as an assistant instructor at Premier Martial Arts where he still takes classes himself to get the next degree on his black belt and is a member of their demonstration team.  I love the way the studio teaches respect, but it does sound strange to me when the tiny kids in the Little Champions class address Zachary as “Mister Howard.”  Recently Zach got his learner’s permit so the promise that Grandma Jean and Poppy Brad made to him a couple years ago to match any of his savings when it was time to buy his first car has led Zachary to save most of his pay. (Frugal Grandma can’t help but feel proud of this!). This growing up process is proceeding faster than we can keep up with.  

Kaitlynn is almost 14, now much taller than everyone except her dad, and will be a high school freshman in the fall.  Her passion is soccer – and she plays on both her school and community teams.   Right now she is on a 10-day visit in Holland, playing soccer in the Friendship Games with a group called “People to People Sports Ambassadors.”  Sports Ambassadors strive to uphold the ideals set forth by President Dwight D. Eisenhower when he founded People to People in 1956. He knew young people and one-to-one contact were the keys to global understanding. (Kaitlynn is especially grateful to Grandma Jean and Poppy Brad for financing this experience of a lifetime. 

I am still working part-time (is there any such thing as ¾ time?) as the administrative assistant to an attorney.  Shuttling the kids around to all their activities is still my major “job,” but I am happy to have Steve home now to share this taxi duty. 

Steve and I want to express our thanks again for the great support we had from so many people, many of them just kind strangers, during Steve’s deployment to Iraq. 

So that is the news from Columbus, GA, for now.   Mom will probably ask me to write an update in the fall, when Steve retires from his Army career and takes up a civilian job. 

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