Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

Today was a little different, though it still being a Saturday, and Saturdays are when Jason takes Gracie to training; so, Jason (with me driving) took Gracie to training. The difference with today is that David, Jason's older brother, went with us, as did Stacy and David's son Dylan. Unfortunately we didn't have room for all the kids, so we just took the two oldest. Grandma stayed back with Jackie (Jackie wasn't happy about the fact she couldn't go), and Miriam, David's wife, stayed with their youngest. We all had a great time, even though we "lost" one of the rockets from Stacy's Stomp Rocket.  Stacy stomped on the bladder that shot the rocket into the air, and it went way up, above the trees. When it started to come down the wind caught it and blew it just enough to make it land on the top of one of the trees. David and I did what we could to get it down, to the point of David starting to climb the tree, and the rocket just stayed where it was. ...

Wow, to think that November is just about over and only one month left in this year. It has really been an eventful year and it went so fast. The solidly good news is that Jason is doing so much better and his wounds are so much more close to being closed, and it looks like it is only a matter of time before they do finally close all the way. There are still other challenges that we need to deal with, and he has some heavy decisions that need to be made, and soon, though everything seems to be going in a positive direction. We got up early this morning and the "we" I'm referring to is me and the two girls. Linda wasn't ready to get up just yet, so I went down to play with the girls, mostly to let her get a little more sleep. She doesn't get the opportunity as often as I do, to sleep in, so I thought I'd try to help her out a little. She got up about an hour later and then shortly after that I went for another short (11.5miles) bike ride. When I left the hous...

Today started out with a wonderfully bright day and a nice feeling in the air. I got up and wanted to head over to the gym this morning, then found out that the gym in the housing complex was closed. I hurried on back to the house, though I didn't run, and went back up to the room. It was still about 07:30 and the streets were very quiet so I let Linda know that I was planning on going for a bike ride. I gave her a little kiss on the cheek and went out the door. I rode just over 10 miles and was back to the house at just a little after 08:30. When I went back up to the room and woke up Linda she jumped and I guess she thought it was later. We both took our shower and then I headed down to see if Jason wanted some breakfast, and he was interested. We were headed to the Hamer's for Thanksgiving, and we wanted to be there by 12:30, at the latest, so it was important that he get his shower in early. On top of that the girls were going to arrive at the house at about 10:30, so he ...

Today was another day where Jackie came into the room and asked where's Grandma, only this time Grandma was here. Linda had hid under the covers and when she heard Jackie ask the question she popped out and said, "Here I am!" Jackie thought it was wonderful and was giggling and playing all over the bed, and of course, so was Grandma... ;-) We had a nice easy morning and I made breakfast for everyone. It was nice having everybody here, and the way it should be more often. After breakfast I took Jason to his appointments at the base and Linda stayed home with the girls, to get them ready for pictures. When we (Jason and I) were done at the base we came straight home and picked up the girls, all three of them, and headed to the photo shoot. The photographer showed a great deal of patience, as the girls were just excited to be doing something unusual, and they both love having their picture taken. Combine these two things and it is play time to the Nth degree. Even with tha...

Good day today, all the way around. It started out with Jason and I getting up early, so he could get to his formation and before we left Stacy and Jackie showed up and went with us. After we got done with Jason's appointments we headed back to the house, with Stacy (Jackie went to her day care and Stacy's "new" one has closed this week), and kind of just laid back for a bit. Jason had his shower and Stacy played with some of her toys. Then at about 12:30 the three of us (Jason, Stacy and me) were off to the airport to pick up Linda. She came in at about 12:30, so the timing would have been close to right on, if it hadn't been for all the traffic at the airport. With Linda in the car we went over to have lunch, at the house and Stacy was really happy about Grandma making her sandwich. A short while after lunch we went to go pick up Jackie (Jason stayed back this time) and boy was she surprised to see Grandma there. We did a little bit of shopping, and then heade...

Not much to report about today. Jason and I stayed home most of the day, and I worked on the garage (getting it organized a bit). Jason did go for a hair cut this morning, and other than that we didn't go anywhere. That's okay, tomorrow is going to be a good day, as the girls will be coming at 07:30 (maybe sooner), and then a little later Linda will be flying in and spending the week with us so it is going to be a very good week. One of the things we want to get done is to return some of the furniture we have, that we no longer need. The crib, for instance. Jackie is in a regular bed now and we simply don't have a need, or the space to keep it. Jason said he would be contacting some people tomorrow, and so will I. Thank you, for all the continued support and prayers. Take care and stay positive.

Well, it looks like we survived that severe weather that rolled through here these past couple of days, or at least that's what it was called on the news. It did rain pretty good for about an hour, and then off and on for parts of the day, I guess that some of the people around here just aren't ready for anything but the regular San Diego weather. Don't get me wrong, I just was taken aback by the announcement of "severe weather" when I just thought it was a little rain. I do understand that it picked up some strength as it went east, and there were some areas that did get hit hard, but around here it stays pretty tolerable. Anyway, we didn't take Gracie to the training today, because of the rain, yesterday, so I went for an early morning bike ride. I got in 12 miles and felt pretty good, so I guess it is just a matter of finding regular time to ride, and I'll be back to my 30+mile rides and feeling much better. Jason spent most of the day in bed, as he w...

I got up this morning and checked on Jason - he was fine. It was early so I decided it was a good day for another trip to the gym. I'm easing into the working out world again, so I mostly work on aerobics and only hit the weights lightly. I still generate a good sweat and when I'm done I head back to the house. Jason has no appointments so I simply go upstairs and take a shower then come down and help Jason with his shower. After the shower he wants to head over to Best Buy to pick up his new X-box One (I think that's how it is written). He ordered it a while back, because he didn't want to have to wait in line to get one. We actually arrived at Best Buy before they were opened, and that surprised us. I would have thought that getting this close to the holidays the stores would all be opening at 09:00 at the latest, but not Best Buy - they open at 10:00. Anyway, we didn't have to wait very long, and once in the store Jason was the second person to get a unit at th...

A kind'a slow laid back day for the two of us. It started out with me going to the gym (yes, I've decided that I need to start doing something, since I don't get to ride that often anymore), and burning a few calories. When I came back I showered and we had breakfast - mine was kind of lite, then Jason took his shower and a dressing change. I was particularly pleased with the wounds, in how they have improved. If you look at his wound area, and divide it into quadrants, the "top" two quadrants are completely healed now, and the areas in the "lower" two areas are improving greatly. The challenge is that the skin is so very thin that it doesn't take much for new ones to suddenly show up. I've continued to use extra padding in those top areas and hope it continues to help. Anyway, late morning we ended up heading up to Miramar to check out his uniform, Alpha's, and to see what else he needed to do. It is absolutely amazing how many uniforms he...

Today we took the girls to their respective day care/pre-schools, and said our good-bye's, thinking we wouldn't be seeing them again for five days. But, as it turned out, Jason was contacted and asked to get the girls tonight, and so we did. It was actually kind of fun, and they both enjoyed the surprise. The frosting on this cake was that Jackie completed her second day with no accidents (at least up to the point of when we dropped her off) and she was very happy about it. Jason only had the PT session for an appointment today, and then a few other things to be done at the base, so we had a relatively easy day. Tomorrow is going to be even easier, appointment wise. He and I will be heading over to Miramar to pick up some uniform and probably ordering another one, then we can do just about anything we would like after that. I'm actually going to bed early tonight and hoping to get the full eight hours of sleep, and maybe even more. The weather looks like rain tonight (f...

Today was a very good day for the Ross household... This morning, Jackie was up early again, and came into greet me. She looked at me and again asked where Grandma was, and then asked me why I was in Grandma's bed. I chuckled and said Grandma would be here soon and you (Jackie) can talk to her about why I sleep in this bed. She went back down stairs and went straight to her closet, where she keeps her puzzles. Jackie and Stacy both enjoy puzzles, though I'd have to say Jackie is the bigger puzzle fan. Stacy was still sound asleep, and Jason was still waking up, so I went back up stairs and brushed my teeth and washed up and got ready for the day. I came down and before I got the girls dressed and ready for their day I checked in with Jason and asked him if he wanted some breakfast. I brought him a bowl of cereal and then got the girls up and dressed and then got their breakfasts on the table. We packed up all the needed bags and such and headed out the door at about 09:00 (+/...

Today was a nice productive day, beginning with Jason having to be at formation, at 07:30, and then putting on a training session. His topic, ethics.... Apparently, from what I observed, he did a very good job, even with the challenges of incompatible software (you just got'a love Micro$oft). Jason is one of those die-hard XP users, and his entire presentation was done on XP, primarily power point slides with animation. The files were sent over to the systems at Balboa, now running on Windows 7, and things didn't seem to work as they were supposed to. It was okay though, as he was very familiar with the material and like I said, I heard others talking about it and it was all positive. After I dropped Jason off, I took the girls to their respective day cares and then I went back to the house. My original plan was to go for a bike ride, but that didn't happen. I grabbed a quick bowl of cereal and then a call from Jason letting me know he was done and heading over to his P...

Today started off pretty much like most Sundays, when we have the girls. Jackie comes up the stairs and does her best to wake me up, asking "Where'd Grandma go?" And, it was at 06:15 this morning, so I just decided to get up, instead of laying in the bed a little longer. I went down stairs and talked with Jason and we decided to go to the early service, instead of the late morning service. I got breakfast ready for them and we enjoyed the different crowd of people, yet a few of them still knew us - I guess we're starting to look more like regulars... ;-) After service, even though the girls both had "too much to eat" for breakfast, they still went looking for the treat table, and the ladies there loved seeing them. We spent the rest of the day taking care of a few odds and ends at the house. I did a couple loads of laundry and even changed the bedding for the girls. The girls went down for their naps really easy and when they got up decided to stay in thei...

The morning began with me, still in bed, and Jackie stomping up the stairs (my room is on the second floor), so I decided to just lay there. She came walking around to my head and said, "Where's Grandma?" I simply replied that she wasn't here today but would be back pretty soon. Then I said, "Good morning." Stacy followed closely behind Jackie and soon they were both in the bed, bouncing around and having all kinds of fun. I decided I guess its time to get up, since obviously I'm not getting any more sleep. It was almost 06:30, and I got up. The original plan, or at least my thought, was that I was going to be able to sleep until nearly 07:00, since I usually am up at 06:00. We all went down stairs and I made sure everything was okay, both with the girls and with Jason, who was also awake now, and then I went back up stairs to get ready for the day. Breakfast was oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins for Jackie and me (Stacy and Jason don't want...

Other than being the 38th anniversary of Linda and me getting married, today was pretty much a laid back kind of day. Yep, 38 years ago, today, we got married in the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Clara, and have traveled so many roads together. The funny thing is, that First Presbyterian Church of Santa Clara no longer exists. I believe it is now the Korean Presbyterian Church. Anyway, I hope we don't have many more anniversaries apart, this really is not the way it should be done. Jason had a formation to go to this morning, and then a couple of appointments, with PT and with the general medicine folks who give him a shot every couple of weeks, of testosterone. The day went pretty smoothly, and as far as I can tell, there were no hick-ups. About the only thing that didn't happen today, that we thought was going to happen, was that the van we have been using is still being used by us. We were supposed to be turning it back in, since we've effectively had it for over ...

Sorry, no new pictures today, I kind of did a photo dump yesterday, and I don't have any news ones to share today. We had a nice relaxing day, with just a couple of appointments, and the taking it easy at the house. Joselyn came to the house to once again take on the duties of the home health aid, she really does do a lot around the house, and that is good for Jason, and great for me. Tomorrow Jason has a couple of things to do at the base and then I will be working to get the garage in order. Linda is shipping down some of my stuff, and it is all going to be going in to the garage. There is plenty of room, but I also need to be sure that it is organized, and accessible. I guess that's about all for now - I still need to put away some laundry before I get to sleep, so I'll be signing off. Thank you, for all your continued support and prayers. Take care and stay positive.

Okay, we've had a day to unwind a bit and to reflect on the Salute To The Troops break we were honored with. There is so much to share and yet so little vocabulary to be able to express what took place, as well as the gratitude we feel for allowing us to be a part of the wonderful celebration. I would have liked to have seen The Gary Sinise Foundation receive a little more recognition, but I will have to be satisfied with what they did receive. Gary did get to be up on stage and had the opportunity to speak with the crowd, as well as his Fremont Street performance (It was awesome, by the way). The USO, American Airlines and MGM Grand Properties (in this case we stayed at the Mirage) all know how to put things together, and we were all treated well, and with respect. Everything was paid for, except for the couple of souvenirs we bought for the girls, from the Terry Fador show (we bought them turtle puppets). The accommodations were very good, except for the shower in Jason's roo...