Maxwell said bye to Shawn when he was 11 days-old, and on my last post, I talked about one of my biggest fears, father and son not knowing each other (Maxwell was not supposed to come home until October). But UNFORTUNATEY and FORTUNATELY he came home earlier, Maxwell was brought home on emergency leave through the Red Cross. My mother was dying of cancer with only neighbors and a Doctor at her bedside. Maxwell came to take care of the kids while I went to Mexico to take care of my Mother on her last days.

On my return from Mexico, I was very surprised of the way Maxwell took care of the kids, (he knew Shawn's routine better than I did) and the house. Now, I love and admire him even more because as much as he didn't want to leave us alone, he was ready to go back and continue to serve our country.

We got to spend a few days together before returning to Iraq, this trip also had consequences...

I AM PREGNANT and we are hoping for a girl...

Maxwell said, life has weird and mysterious ways, when he was deployed I was 5 months pregnant with his first child, and when he returns I will be 5 months pregnant with his second child...

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the RED CROSS, for their time, efficiency in delivering messages, compassion, kindness, guidence, and most of, support to military families.

Natalia, my condolences at your loss, and please let me know if there's anything I can do for you.

And congratulations! Our best wishes for a happy, healthy baby.

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Need to catch up on Natalia's Corner?
Deployment, Part I
Deployment, Part II
Deployment, Part III
Deployment, Part IV
Deployment, Part V

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Additional NOTES from Pam:
* Certain details will be edited to protect security concerns or family privacy. My edits appear in brackets [ ]. Any personal details that appear in these posts have been approved by Natalia and/or Maxwell.

* Maxwell's status as the blog's "adopted" Hero, and Natalia's posts about her experiences, should NOT be construed as their endorsement of any opinion I post on this blog, or representative of any policy or position of the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, or any other government entity. This is merely a way to allow readers to learn more about what military families experience, and to offer an opportunity to support a deployed Hero and his family.

* To learn what you can do to help, click on Maxwell's picture over on the left, or go here.
To adopt "your own" Hero, visit Soldiers' Angels.