Today is a very bittersweet occasion here at the CbsoP campus.  It marks the end of the most remarkable time that we have had as a family in our new home and the beginning of something greater.  It was a day full of laughter and tears.  It was a time for new traditions and memories. Today is the day that my wife returned to Turkey.

It was about ice cream for breakfast.  Lots of it. With whipped cream. It was about memories of the past two and a half weeks of fun, food and bonding that we did not have the chance to do as a family when we moved in.  For the first time in the history of our family the four men of the Russell household bade farewell to our home’s most important member as she left to do something greater than even she believes she is doing.

Her time here wasn’t wasted.  There was a flurry of cooking, with recipes from the Far East, the Mediterranean, South America and the Deep South.  There were oohs and ahhhs from everyone over one dish or another, and many will be featured here in the next few days.

We laughed.  A lot.  We bonded.  We spent time together and went to events.  We cried.  In short, we relived the last seven months of our lives in a very short time. “Mom” the myth became “Mom, the nurturing mother.”; no longer just a face on a computer screen.

The kids love her.  I love her.  We all miss her to the point of insanity. Suddenly losing a mother does that to kids… Especially when that mother is a very, very good one.  But in the process she has given us a whole new family tradition.

Ice cream for breakfast.

From this point in time forward, if ever there is a time when one family member will be away for a long period of time, there will be ice cream for breakfast.  There will be laughter and stories and good wishes.  Because the alternative is gloomy, and this is not a conducive environment for kids.  It’s bad enough to say goodbye to your mother for 6 months without having to worry about eating a well balanced breakfast.  So why not go all the way and just go for dessert?

It works for us.

Other than that the long wait has begun again.  Until then, we will fly a yellow ribbon and wish for a safe and healthy return.

Peace out Y’All.  I’m done for the day.

Keep our men and women abroad in your thoughts and prayers.  It’s all that they ask.

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(From Military.com)

ERFURT, GERMANY — After earning two gold medals in the hot and cold food competitions, the U.S. Army Culinary Arts Team was presented the silver medal overall Oct. 23 at the World Culinary Olympics award ceremony.

The overall gold medal is calculated by combining the team scores from both the hot and cold food events, according to Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert Sparks, USACAT team manager. While more than one team can achieve gold in the two events of the competition, the team with the highest number of points wins overall.

The USACAT received 92.711 points in the cold food competition and 90.660 in the hot food competition, according to the World Culinary Olympics results.

With a combined score of 183.371, USACAT fell behind Switzerland by six points. USACAT competitors felt both disappointment and excitement.

“We were very fortunate to have great leaders,” said Spc. Valine Vukich, USACAT competitor. “Now we know how to push ourselves that extra mile.”

USACAT learned they had achieved gold in the cold food competition the night before the awards ceremony. That announcement meant the team was on the front burner for the gold medal overall.

“The team made these dishes hot and I wanted to sit down and eat them. There were some small technical things working against them, but overall this is a very nice cold food table,” said Connie Anderson, Culinary Olympics military judge.

The USACAT serves as the U.S. National Military Culinary Team and competes at local, national and international culinary competitions. Team members are selected through military competitions and qualifying events.

“The team is young, energetic and committed,” said Master Sgt. David Turcotte, USACAT advisor. “That’s all you can ask for.”

USACAT trains at the Army Center of Excellence, Subsistence, Fort Lee, Va. The school trains cooks throughout their career. Soldiers attend the school for advanced individual training as well as refresher and advanced culinary training. USACAT represents the finest-trained culinarians and the elite of military chefs.

“My hat goes off to the USACAT for what they bring to the Army,” said Col. Alexander Davis, Quartermaster Center and School assistant commandant.

USACAT will return to international competition in 2010 when they compete in the Culinary World Cup.

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Say hello to Lil’ B. (a.k.a. Mr Seat of his Diaper, though that distinction won’t last much longer.) Lil’ B is Autistic, though you couldn’t tell from the picture of the happy child above. In fact, at most times you’d have problems noticing that there is anything different about him unless you spend time with him.  That’s when you begin to notice that there are a lot of things a two year old should be doing that Lil’ B. simply does not or cannot do.

For one thing, Lil’ B. does not talk, or at least not very much.  In total we think he uses about 8 words.  Of those only Dada, Straw, Momma, Num-Num and Dawg (yes, he has the Texas accent) are clearly spoken.  The others are really just approximations, though we know what he means. He tries to speak fairly regularly, but the frustration of failure leads to some pretty high-tension moments.

Lil’ B. Also does not like to play in the normal sense.  He’d rather be left alone to pursue his favorite pastime, which consists of examining every blade of grass in the yard one-at-a-time to see if it is the same as the last blade of grass.  The fact that they aren’t the same seems to puzzle him and he’s been working on this project since June.

We received the professional Pre-diagnosis of Autism on Wednesday.  Since then our lives have been a whirlwind of activity that, at least for the moment, will end on Monday. There have been staff meetings, meetings with specialists, meetings with Mental health (today) and on Monday we’ll have the first of his therapist meetings.  These are slated for once a week, I believe.

The meeting with the Exceptional Family Members program at Mental Health today will determine our future, at least as far as the location of our home goes.  Their job is to evaluate which Air Force bases best provide the resources to help our son through the issues he will be facing.  There are several bases that provide these services, ranging from California and Washington to Florida and Maryland.  The final choice of destination should be made within two weeks, and I don’t believe that we have any real choice in the matter at this point.  I’ll keep you all updated on that.

Since I made the announcement here that our son was Autistic, we have received a slew of comments, emails and private messages from readers all over the world.  your wishes of good fortune and positive words have helped a lot in a time of very stressful events and I just wanted a moment to express our heartfelt thanks for all that you’ve said and done for us over the past weeks.  Expect to have regular updates posted here as we have more information.

Just in case anyone was wondering, we do not require donations or other monetary help.  For the moment at least our insurance handles these things tidily, with a very minimal co-pay that we are more than capable of meeting.  I am not now, nor do I ever foresee myself asking for help in this venue.  if you feel that something tangible is in order, feel free to email me, and you can send Lil’ B an e card, or if I know you well enough, you can send a card through snail mail.

if you still feel a need to donate something, I do accept advertising, but in this instance I’d prefer that donations be made to the Autism Society of America or one of the other very respectable charities out there.

OK, off to do “normal” things, like clean the kitchen so I can actually post something food related before halloween gets here!

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