Christmas Letter Post

Christmas letter 2009

Dear Friends, Family, and people who I perennially annoy with my exaggerations and bold faced lies…

It’s time for the Brough Family Christmas letter. I’ll skip the lengthy preamble and start with the updates.

Eli is 6 years old, and quite the ladies man now that his front teeth have grown back in. He has cut quite a swathe though the female population in his kindergarten class and is an unrepentant playboy. His current interests also include Lego’s, viva piñata on the xbox, and of course his longtime goals of world domination.

Becca has spent the last year putting up with my crap (or maybe more appropriately the lack thereof, since I haven’t been around for most of the year). With Eli in school for 3 hours a day, and me on the other side of the world, Becca doesn’t have to get us dressed, tie our shoes, or make us snacks all day long. She works out, edits home movies, cooks wonderful creations, and she makes me wish I were at home with her instead of playing Army on the other side of the world.

Here is the recap of the year:

After spending the holidays in Utah, we went back to Kentucky for a month while I attended the Army Reconnaissance Course, which culminated with the worst ice storm the region had seen in decades.

Graduating the course ended our six-month stint at Ft. Knox. We then started preparing ourselves for a deployment to Afghanistan. This of course consisted of a lot of denial while we attempted to simultaneously live life to the fullest and ignore the dates on the calendar and eventually the ticking of the clock.

This deployment has taught us that no matter how much we drive each other nuts, we prefer to drive each other nuts from a distance close enough to give each other hugs.

Regardless, I’ve still been able to accomplish some of my personal goals:

· Promotion to 1^st Lieutenant (I can’t believe it’s not butter!)

· Lead men in combat and bring them back safely

· See my family for leave

· Find Osama Bin Laden crap…

We still have a bit of a haul in front of us, but we are freshly energized after I was able to come home for leave over Thanksgiving. For those of you who are with your loved ones this Christmas, be thankful and let them know that you appreciate them.

Love

The Broughs

Updates

I got my new bike. I love it because it's pink and SO much lighter than my other bike...which was really Stewart's bike. After I bought it I almost threw it over my head when I was loading it on the car rack. It's SO light. I went with a hybrid bike because the road bikes intimidated me and my back hurts after biking so I am really only good for a 2 hr ride at the most. It's easier to sit up straighter with these kind of handlebars. The day after I bought my bike it snowed! I was so sad and had to wait about a week and a 1/2 to get my first ride.
Our Halloween was not the best. Eli got a tummy ache after the 6th house. I was worried that he was getting the swine flu but he was better the next day. Danny and Emi came to visit and Danny really freaked Eli out.

Here are some of our other October pictures. We had a fun month.

Eli

Naughty: Staying up late to play Lego's, draw, or play the Leapster under the covers.
Nice: confessing these things the next day.
Naughty: Sleeping in so long because you didn't go to bed until midnight.
Nice: Leaving a note for your mom outside her door.
This note says "Dear Mom, I know you miss Daddy, you deserve a great big hug."

He was already asleep when I found the note. It made me SO happy. I smiled and went in and kissed my sleeping little boy. I feel so blessed to have such a sweet little boy! He is very perceptive and kind and loving. I talk about Stewart with Eli but I really don't cry or anything. Yesterday I was very worried about Stewart and he was on my mind a lot. This letter was very sweet to get at the end of a day like that.

Lego Maniac

Here is Eli with his General Grievous Lego set. 1085 pieces and 2 days later it was done! (this was awhile ago and it's already taken apart and built into other things)

I just love this Lego Maniac!

Effusive Eli:

This week is DARE week at school. I don't actually know if that's what they still call it but it's the week they teach kids to say no to drugs.

After only ONE day Eli is very prepared if "any one offers him alcohol or tobacco." What he will do is turn his back on the offender. He gave me a preview of this and here's how it went:

Me: Eli, have some tobacco (he keeps saying tobacco. So formal.)
Eli: *puts his arms in his shirt and turns it around. He looks very brave and proud of himself*
I'm now looking at the back of his shirt and he doesn't look like he's ready to walk away.
Me: *trying not to laugh* um that's not really what you should do. Let me show you.

I then showed him how to actually turn around and walk away. He smiled and said "oh I didn't know that's what they meant."

Ha ha I guess someone said something about "showing them the back of your shirt" or something. It was SO funny.