Summer Weekends

The word has been passed down and I knew it would just be of a matter of time . The updates going forward for quite some time will be on how James is doing rather than what he is doing.

Tabitha and I made a "Welcome Home Sailor" sign and Thomas, Joseph, John and Michael made their own "Welcome Home" sign for James when Mom and Dad first picked him up. They both turned out pretty decent and it was a nice added touch of happiness to the already electric environment when James first came up to Mom and Dad's house. Now he has been reunited with his car and has his own transportation again. What a treasure it is to have your own set of wheels and communication (phone with e-mail)!

These past two weekends he has been able to come up to North San Diego County Friday night through Sunday afternoon for lots of good food, showers and sleep. Last Friday night he spent the night at my house. The funny part was when he woke up at 7 Saturday morning and said that it was sad that he felt like he'd slept way in when just a few months ago that would've meant getting up pretty early! Ha!

James has been pretty popular with several of his buddies because he's on familiar territory with good home made meals just a reasonable drive away. So far he's brought two up for a family dinner at Fudruckers but for the main part he's just enjoyed getting to hang out with the family again and knowing where to go. You take for granted being familiar with your surroundings until you have to learn a new area. We're glad to have him for as long as we get him :)

James' first North Island Liberty is this afternoon until Sunday night! What a weekend :) My parents and siblings will be picking him up in just over an hour then it's time for some family time and fun! James is excited to be back on familiar territory and even more so that he will be ruinited with his own set of wheels. We're all very proud of his accomplishments so far and even more excited to see him!

In Coronado at Last!

James is on Coronado Island at long last! He finished a 39+ hr "day" last night and finally got some much appreciated rest. At some point this morning he will be briefed on his Liberty then our parents will go pick him up. Frankly I'm rather surpised (and pleased) that my mother hasn't just ran down there and tried to jump the fence!

We are all greatly looking forward to seeing him again and to having a family meal for the first time since before he left for Great Lakes.

Welcome back to Southern California James!!

Transfer to Coronado (North Island)

James is currently scheduled to fly out of Chicago Wednesday night (Aug 12) at 11pm which puts him landing in San Diego around 1:30am. They will most likely be pulling another all-nighter check in Wednesday night/ Thursday morning. As of now, James is hoping to be given Liberty some time on Friday (possibly in the afternoon/ evening) once they are all checked into North Island. He will most likely be updated with that information during the check in process and should let us know some time on Thursday what he will be able to do. Once there is more current information you'll know! :)

One more down, On to the Next Goal!

US Navy SEALs Trident

James, You are one step closer to this! :)

A BIG Congratulations to James!!! He has passed his PST Exit Exam this morning and will be heading to Coronado in two days! He said that they will be briefing them on the details later this afternoon about arrival time and liberty (if any) so once I hear that information it will be posted.

Thank you all for your prayerful support thus far. And thank the Lord that James has passed yet another hurdle in this wonderful carreer path.

Tough Week for James

James just called. This is already and will continue to be a pretty tough week. The first half of the guys took the PST exit exam yesterday and there were at least eight that failed. Which means they are out of the SEAL program now and will move onto another part of the Navy.

Yesterday James ran eight miles and today swam three miles. I can't imagine measuring swimming in miles, that's quite the distance!! On top of those amazing feats James' severe ingrown toenail has grown back. Apparently the military Dr didn’t cut out enough of the nail bed when he operated on it several weeks ago. As a result James has been putting more weight on the right leg while running and now has a huge knot on his thigh. Hopefully he will be able to break that up enough so that it doesn't add to the discomfort/pain of overcompensating for his left foot.

Two main things make this the toughest week of Pre-BUD/S: (1) It is the final week of preparation before entering the actual BUD/S training program. (2) Tomorrow the BUD/S instructor is flying up from San Diego for the day to meet and observe the men during HooYah PT.

Please vigilantly keep James in your prayers this week. Especially now that his toe is adding to the strain of the already difficult drills. Please pray that he is able to get good sleep at night, that he can focus on the tasks and goals at hand and push through to the end of this phase.

We all love you James and are supporting you from around the country through our prayers.

A Message From a Co-Worker

I really like the quote below. I was thinking that when James is having a tough moment, he could recite to himself and trust God. I find that when I am stressed I recite a prayer over and over. It has a meditative quality to it.

"Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.

Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.

Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.

Painful moments, TRUST GOD.

Every moment, THANK GOD"

Reading Materials

Amazon's link to used books is a great money saver! Recently James had mentioned how it'd be neat to get to read more books along the lines of Lone Survivor, the book that really motivated him toward SEAL training. He listed a couple of titles that his buddies were reading and then I was able to find a few more through the helpful "people that purchased this item also purchased this other item". One of the books was only $.01!! All I had to do was pay the $4 for shipping. So wonderful. The titles that I had sent to James are:

"The Finishing School: Earning the Navy SEAL Trident" by Dick Couch

"Down Range: Navy SEALs in the War on Terrorism" by Dick Couch

"Rogue Warrior" by Richard Marcinko

"Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy SEAL" by Chuck Pfarrer

"The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228" by Dick Couch

And if you are curious about his "motivation book" it is: "Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10" by Marcus Luttrell with contributions from Patrick Robinson.

A lot of good reading! It could even be an end of Summer read along for some of you. James has already started The Warrior Elite and says it has a lot of detail, even more so than Lone Survivor.

James is now exactly one week away from his exit exam (physical test). Please continue to pray for his physical health and strength during this last week of preparation leading up to the test.

First (short) Blog

Hello All!

After several inquiries from people into James' status I asked him if it'd be OK to start a blog. This will be a great place to check back periodically for updates from myself (Sarah) or James himself on how things are going. He has limited time at the moment for contacting people via e-mail and phone so having one location for many to check will be helpful all around.

James has his exit exam on August 10th then, Lord willing, will fly to San Diego on August 12th. As of now he doesn't know when his first liberty will be or how long it will be for. Once he knows more it will be passed on.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support for James and his family through his preparation, basic training, pre-BUD/S, and soon, SEAL training. It is beyond appreciated. Thank you.