FINALLY got to talk to my sweetheart!!

YAY!!!! I knew that Phil would be calling yesterday, as long as his PLT didn't get in trouble, but I didn't know when or how long he would have. So, I kept my phone on me and tried to keep myself busy. I opted to stay home from church because I didn't want to miss it, that would be horrible. I'm actually glad that I did because he called a little after 11. Anyway, I was re-organizing the dvds and games and all that stuff in the "media closet" and my phone starts ringing but its playing Phil's special ringtone!!! I think I answered it after 1/4 of a second. hahaha and I answered "hi!!" super excited and then immediately started crying. You aren't surprised right? Yeah, well we got to talk for 20 minutes, which was much needed. It made me miss him more though, but only 37 more days and I get to see him again, WOOHOO!!! So, here are a few things that he said:

* Still having fun, and his DSs are really cool. One of them is female, I can't remember her name, and he said she is one of the nicest people he has ever met.

* He had a missionary experience yesterday ... one of the guys in his PLT missed his church for some reason and I guess he was talking to Phil about it. He had been reading his Bible and had a question about one of the verses and he asked Phil, unfortunately Phil didn't know the answer. But, Phil invited him to go to church with him and told him that he could ask the missionaries and one of them would be able to answer hm. So, he went with Phil and asked the missionaries his question. And, sure enough, the missionary was able to answer the question right away. He was so blown away that a young kid was so knowledgeable and was quite impressed. Once they got back to the barracks he was asking Phil questions about the B.O.M. and how and when Phil know that it was true. Phil had him read in the Bible about the 3 witnesses and then showed him the testimony of the 3 witnesses in the B.O.M. He was intrigued by it and Phil gave him a B.O.M. Phil was really excited about it and I'm so proud of him!!

* He is making lots of friend and getting stronger every day.

* One of his DSs will start telling a story and then an hour later will still be talking :)

* He's excited to be able to come home on the same flight as us ... I'm quite excited about it too.

* He is getting a letter from me everyday. He also said that when they do the mail call, the DS will yell their name and then throw the letter across the room and they have to run to get it. I've sent him some cards and letters with pictures in them so they weigh a bit more, he said that those cards go all the way across the room and its funny.

It was so great to talk to him and I can't wait until next Sunday to hear from him again. I love him so freaking much and miss him terribly. 37 days will fly by, the past 30 have, and then we get to see him!!!!!!!

Saturday is a special day ... because its BCT picture day!!!

I LOVE Saturday's ... I wait anxiously for 1LT Guzman to post new pics of Phil's Company :) I saw these literally 1 minute after they were posted LOL. Of course I cried when I found the first one, and I threw my hands up in the air and did a little "Woo-Hoo". ENJOY!!!

This one is AWESOME, why is it so awesome you ask? Because he is giving me the " I love you " sign. I sent him a letter saying to tug on his right ear whenever the camera was around and he was able to do so ... Oh I love him so much!!

BUM SHOT!!! I knew it was him as soon as I saw it LOL, I didn't even have to zoom in to check the name on his hat :)

Another I love you shot ... you can't see him completely, but you can still tell that his hand is on his ear.

This was the first one that I saw ... dang, he is cute!!!

Only 39 more days!!! YAY!!! It honestly is going by fairly quickly, and tomorrow I get to FINALLY talk to him. It's been a whole month since I've heard his voice .... wayyyy too long!! I love you PFC Sievers!!!

For Little Kenny

This is a quick post for my little brother ... I will do some more blogging later today, I have a lot to catch up on!!

He is in the back along the wall and flashing a thumbs up ...

This is one a CLASSIC Phil smile ... he is looking thinner isn't he??!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this one!!!

Dang, I sure do LOVE that man!! I cant wait to see him in December!!!

The best day I've had in 3 weeks!!

Look who that studly man is in that picture!!! Thats right, my sweetheart!!! So, I was checking the Fort Jackson website and I read from the Commander of Phil's Regiment that the have integrated all the updates and photos to Facebook. So, I popped over there and I saw this gem!!! I could tell it was him from the little tiny thumbnail pic in the album and I IMMEDIATELY started crying. I stared at him for about 10 minutes and then looked through the rest of the pics and there was one more of him but it wasn't very clear, so I decided not to post it. If you want to check out the Page of the Regiment go HERE. The commander said they update the page every Saturday, so keep checking back. Or, you can just check the blog because I will be checking facebook FREQUENTLY and will put any updates on here. Ok, I also got another letter for "everyone" from him this week. I tried to upload the document, but apparently I can't post a PDF document and I have NO IDEA how to reformat or if that's even an option. So, I'm just going to have to type it, so here it goes (I'm typing it EXACTLY as its written, the effect is better that way:):

Hello Everyone,

Hope everyone is doing well? Time here has been going by pretty fast. We are almost finished with our "Red Phase". this coming we are doing First Aid, so I feel like for me ti's going to be fairly easy. But today we did the famous "Gas Chamber". It was rough to say the least. I don't care who you are, that sucked. I honestly would rather do chemo again than go through that. I didn't throw up, but like everyone else I had a massive amount of snot and spit coming out. It was crazy. Before going in I was a little stuffy, but WOW that cleaned my sinuses out for sure. My eyes were burning my face cause i shaved this morning, but I'm glad I got through it. We also did a land navigation course. My team of 4 took first in our Platoon. Even though our DS's gave us the plots for the wrong grid. We found our way and finished. It was awesome. Anyway, overall I have been having a good time. I still haven't received any letters, still waiting. Thanks everyone, Love You all!!!

I've seriously sent him a package or letter or a card everyday this week sometimes 2 a day, so I'm hoping that he has started receiving them. It broke my heart to hear that he hadn't got anything yet. Maybe if I am lucky, I will hear from him on Sunday. :)

PFC Sievers' Address and Update!

Well, Bucket and I came down to St. George On Thursday so I could make Joni's new baby girls crib bedding and window treatments. When I left I still hadn't received any letters from Phil, but I had a feeling that as soon as I left I would get one. And, of course ... 4 came in the mail yesterday. My dad read them to me, I couldn't wait a whole week to read them!! So, here is a little update:

* He is actually enjoying himself and says his DS's (Drill Sergeants) are the calmest out of all of the other ones ... thats funny

* There are 4 other guys in his Platoon that are LDS ... Phil was quite surprised.

* His graduation date is DEFINITELY the 11th of December.

* Says he did about 400 pushups in the first week ... I can't even do 10.

* He misses me :)

* He says the M-16 is AWESOME!

* There are a bunch of young "kids" in his Platoon that don't know when to shutup and they get the whole Platoon in trouble.

There was a bunch more in the letters but since I don't have them with me I can't really remember what. So, I will do a second part to this once I get back to Salt Lake :)

Oh, if you want to send him a letter or card:

PFC Phillip Sievers

B. Company 1-34 3 Platoon

Fort Jackson, SC 29207

** Remember: no food or candy. Just uplifting and encouraging letters and cards **

Bucket is 6 months old!!! I know I'm behind

He turned 6 months last week but I didn't post anything because my camera was being repaired (turns out it was unrepairable, good thing I have that warranty. I get a new BETTER camera for only $50!!!) Anyway, I still don't have a camera so there isn't a 6 month picture, but I will see if I can get one later with my moms camera. Ok, on to the monthly milestones:

* He is a professional sitter now, I dont have to worry TOO much about him falling over anymore.

* He is looking soooo much like his daddy, SERIOUSLY.

* He rolls his ankles in opposite directions WHENEVER he gets the chance. While he is sitting, lying in the tub, being held seriously ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE!! Its weird, but cute.

* Still rolls from his back to his belly but he seems to have forgotten how to get back on his back ... WEIRD.

* Still no teeth, but I think they may be making an appearance soon ... He is showing the signs of teething and they have been sooo much fun!! NOT REALLY

* Still loves to scratch everything and put everything in his mouth.

* Getting better at sleeping through the night but he still wakes up once to eat ... but I get a good two 6 hour spans out of him every night.

* He is laughing and smiling constantly and makes funny little soft whimpers when he is tired, its cute.

* He can't wait to see his daddy, only 63 more days!!

Ok and speaking of daddy ... I missed a phone call from him last night while Bucket was getting a haircut TOTALLY BUMMED ABOUT THAT!! But his message did say that he started BCT (Basic Combat Training) and that he is doing Fine ... I really dislike that word. BLAR!! They start repelling today, so that sounds fun :) I should be getting a letter in the mail sometime this week or next that has his address and other info. So I will post that once I get it in case some of you want to send him a letter or something uplifting and encouraging. But NO FOOD OR CANDY, the drill sergeants will eat it. BUMMER RIGHT? Thats really all I know for now. But I am so proud of him for what he is doing for our family and our country. 63 MORE DAYS!!!! Sounds like an eternity doesn't it??

ALSO ... this picture is Bucket sitting in a high chair at a restaurant. His first time!! He did OK kinda started slipping around a bit ... still gotta work on that one :)