Today, I talked to my brother, Aaron, on the phone for the last time before he goes to Iraq. I probably won't get to talk to him again for a long, long time, so it was a tough conversation even though I just saw him a week ago and we talked a lot during that trip. I thought that would make it easier. Aaron's group leaves for six weeks of training in California at 4 a.m. Saturday morning. This is a photo of Aaron. The shorter, less muscular person in the lavender scarf is me.

With this entry, I am marking the start of a new category on the blog called "Supporting my troops." A few days after Aaron leaves, my other brother Ryan will leave for Marine Basic Training in Parris Island. I'm planning to post updates here as my family gets letters and phone calls from them. We would all appreciate your prayers.