Williams Update

James is doing very well at wrestling this year. His record is now 24 wins and 5 losses. He has one match left for Middle School, then Freestyle starts on March 17th. Those matches are held on Saturdays from March thru the middle of May. In these pictures, he is wrestling my boss' grandson. James has beaten this kid twice this year.

Okay, I have an address for Nick in Iraq. He calls us every now and then and we can also e-mail him and talk to him on MSN Instant Messenger. It's weird - he's so far away but we still talk to him about once a week. He is doing fine - not at all homesick yet, but he's only been there for over a month. He did smash his hand in a humvee door and the doctors thought they might have to cut the tip of his middle finger/right hand off. They put his hand in a cast and it is healing. He took the cast off a week ago and says he'll keep his fingertip. Here's his address:

Cpl. Williams, Nicholas A.

II MEF FWD (DET 3)

Unit 73923

FPO AE 09509-3923

He'll be moving from this address which is in Ramadi, Iraq, to a base in Fallujah, Iraq, but he's not sure when. He doesn't think it will be too soon. The good thing about that is that Tim is leaving for Iraq on March 14th and he's going to Fallujah. They will be stationed on the same base.

James, Barb & Nick in Nick's barracks at Camp Lejeune, NC

Just checking in

Hi! Wow - it's been a long time since I've posted. Let's see, we took Nick to North Carolina just before New Year's. He was even able to go up to PA for New Year's with a buddy of his whose mom lives 12 miles from Aunt Dot. Nick left for Iraq a couple of weeks later - I forget the exact date. He was sent to Ramadi and did have an address for us to mail him letters and packages, but he called us this past Monday (Feb. 5th) to tell us not to send anything more because he is being moved to Fallujah. He'll give us his new address when he gets there. While in Ramadi, he is staying in one of Sadaam Husein's palaces. He says it's not so nice anymore, but at least he has a roof over his head!

Tim leaves for Iraq on March 14th. He is also being sent to Fallujah, so he and Nick should be able to see each other. I am flying out to San Diego on the 10th to see Tim off, then I'll drive home with Jill, who is going to spend the seven months that Tim is deployed living with her parents in Dearborn Heights, MI.

Michael is still in California with Tim and Jill. He's still waiting to see if the military will take him. The Marine Corps. is definitely out. They won't take anyone with fake body parts. (Michael severed his right index finger in 2003. It was sewn back on, but he lost his knuckle, so a rubber one was put in in it's place.)

Kyle finished SERE school in Maine in January and is now at Camp Lejeune, NC at Air Crew School. He'll be there till the end of March, then he'll go to Camp Pendleton, CA (where Tim is currently stationed). He'll be in school there till the end of August, then he'll find out where his permanent duty station will be.

James is wrestling and doing pretty good. His record is now 18 wins and 5 losses. He wrestles in the 130 lb. weight class. In the picture, he took first place out of 16 kids at Napoleon H.S. in Michigan.

It's been pretty cold here lately. We didn't have school on Monday or Tuesday (Feb. 5 & 6) because of the cold temps. The high all weekend was 4 degrees F. Hopefully it will warm up soon!

Okay, bye for now. Barb