Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! We hope that each of you enjoyed the holidays and we want to wish you a happy, healthy new year! Now that I know that these photos arrived to Brian safe and sound, I thought it was time to share our newest glimpses of Aidan with each of you! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving!

While we were sad that Brian was unable to spend the holiday with us, I enjoyed a wonderful visit with my Aunt Karen and Uncle Wayne Barnes over Thanksgiving. They drove in from Santa Fe, NM on Wednesday afternoon just in time to meet me for an ultrasound (more on this with pictures in the next post!), then we headed out and had a catfish dinner at Texas Roadhouse. On Thanksgiving, we enjoyed a great meal at The Range Restaurant in Salado, TX. The Range is a quaint restaurant with excellent food (family owned restuarant run by a husband and wife team trained at the culinary institute of America - a rarity in Central Texas!!) housed in a restored historical physician's home and office from the 1800's. We did end up eating in the basement (or as we termed it, the "dungeon") but we were eventually joined by another party and enjoyed our meal. Aunt Karen and I hit up the Black Friday sales for a little bit Friday morning and managed to pick up a small Christmas Tree and fresh wreath for the front door. I suppose it is time to change out the fall decorations for the Holiday ones. We also got a chance to explore Austin on Saturday and checked out the eclectic shops on South Congress, toured the flagship Whole Foods Store and watched some live music while eating appetizers at Eddie V's. The BEST thing we discovered was a cupcake vendor selling their wares out of a "silver bullet" trailer in a vacant lot on South Congress. They were the most delicious cupcakes I can remember eating - my favorite was the one that was like a hostess cupcake (with cream filling!) but REAL. We also got a chance to drive through the Annual "Holiday in Lights" display that the post puts on. It took quite a while to get out to Belton Lake, but the displays were great. I think my favorite was the whale, however I think Aunt Karen and Uncle Wayne enjoyed the tunnel of lights. I hope you enjoy some photos from Thanksgiving that Aunt Karen was kind enough to email me to share with all of you, and I hope that you were all able to enjoy as wonderful a Thanksgiving Holiday as I was.




Uncle Wayne and I in front of our House



Aunt Karen and I in front of our House



The "Belly Shot" (for all of you who have been asking!)



Aunt Karen and I at the Range in Salado



The three of us following Thanksgiving dinner

Aidans's Room

Aidan's new room, and me with the crib!

Slideshow # 2

Follow the link to see slideshow #2 of Brian's unit in Iraq....

http://www1.jp.dk/flash/Irak/

Chicago!

I realize that I owe updates on recent events. Bear with me as I attempt to separate the last few weeks into a few posts! I traveled to Chicago two weeks ago for work ( To attend the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Annual Meeting and Conference), but got to spend some wonderful hours each day with some of my best friends, Caroline and Colleen. It was great to see and spend time with them both! They also got Aidan some pretty neat stuff, which I'm sure he's going to love wearing! I have included a few pictures from my recent trip, I hope you enjoy!



The bean, reflecting the Chicago skyline



A close up...



Colleen, Caroline and I at the bean sculpture!

Link to 2-7 media slideshow

Hi everyone! We hope that you all are doing well. Below please find a link to a slideshow/ commentary that highlights the work of Brian's Battallion, 2-7 Cavalry. No footage of Brian, but you can see the Forward Operating Base (Fob) in the initial sequence of photos and learn a little more about the day to day life and work of the soldiers. Enjoy!


http://www1.jp.dk/flash/Hougaard_irak/

Time keeps ticking along...

Hi everyone! We haven't posted in a few weeks, so I thought I would share what has been going on for us. Brian reports that he has received lots of packages lately, and is very appreciative! I just mailed out his Christmas tree, and for those of you that are planning on sending packages in time for the holidays the cutoff they have set for Brian's FOB is NOV 21st, just a little over a week and a half away! The post office says priority mail can still be sent up through Dec 4th, but as Brian's FOB doesn't get mail as often as some of the others they have suggested the more conservative estimate of Nov 21. The big news where Brian is includes the addition of more electricity generators - which mean a minimum of 1 hot meal a day, and an ice cream cooler! (This is apparently BIG news :) )

Here in Texas, things have been going well. I enjoyed a wonderful visit with my Mom, and we put together a crib for Aidan (I'll post pictures soon). Thanks to Mom and Dad Kasarjian for purchasing this much needed item! I ended my 90 day tasking working for the Warrior Transition Brigade, and am now back at the Department of Social Work providing post-deployment support as a member of the Care Manager Program.

I am looking forward to my upcoming trip to Chicago for a conference, and the opportunity to spend time with some of my best friends from college, Caroline and Colleen! I must admit I am also looking forward to the opportunity to eat good food and do some holiday shopping as well.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and with it my visit from Aunt Karen and Uncle Wayne! They will be driving in from Santa Fe, New Mexico and I am excited to share my home and the eclectic vibe of Austin with them! They will also be accompanying me as I prepare a special surprise for Brian (which will also be shared with each of you!)

We have enjoyed seeing photos of everyone's Halloween festivities - the costumes have been wonderful! We miss and love you all, Katie and Brian