My Big Brother, Bruce

Today was a sad day in Virginia Beach, Virginia for a lot of people. The USS Enterprise set sail for at least a 6 month tour. On that ship was my big brother, Bruce!

 These next few pictures are from Bruce's Naval Graduation in Orlando, Florida. Who is that skinny guy?!

Looks are very deceiving here because he is much taller than me (at least a foot!), but he was bare footed and I had on heels. : )

Bruce joined the Navy when he was 18 and will be able to retire nxt summer with already 20 years of service! Crazy, huh. Can you imagine being able to retire at 38 and being able to start over with something completely new? Here is a picture of him in his early years of the Navy. He is the second one from the left and looks like a thug. : )

I don't tell him enough how proud I am of him and how thankful I am for his service to our Country. I have such a deep respect for our service men and women who serve everyday for our freedom.

Please also be in prayer for my niece Kalei while he is gone. I can't imagine as a parent or a child being away from a loved one for 6 months and the only communication you have is email. I can only imagine how hard it is for Bruce to be away from his child and be stuck on a ship with not much to do other than think about her.

Here a couple of pictures of the USS Enterprise as they deployed today:

The Legend of the Enterprise: USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, commemorates a name which has been a continuing symbol of the great struggle to retain American liberty, justice and freedom since the first days of the American Revolutionary War. She is the eighth ship of the Fleet to carry this illustrious name that is literally defined as boldness, energy, and invention in practical affairs.

Please join our family in prayer and support of these service men and women and their families while they are gone. We are so proud of our sailor!