A Letter from Tyler

Last night we received an incredible, unexpected gift. Terri and Brittany came over with a very special delivery after going through a box of Tyler's belongings from Iraq. They brought me some Moto-mail letters I had sent him and a letter in an envelope addressed to the McAnulty Family. It had been sealed and ready to send, dated November 19, so he didn't get to come back and mail it. It made me laugh, it made me cry. I so appreciate Terri giving it to me. I offered it back to her but she said she really wanted me to have it. It is so precious I want to share it with all of you. Here it is, one and a half pages hand-written on a piece of lined notebook paper, typed it just as he wrote it, mis-spellings and all!

"November 19, 05
The McAnulty Family,
Well, first I would like to say sorry for not writting sooner. The time to write is minimal (sorry I can't spell) so I will just use the word small. We don't even get to much time to sleep or just rest. Right now I feel 100 years old. We are always doing something and its hard. Every day my legs feel like there going to give out and my back feels like its going to break. But we all keep going. Other than that I'm doing great.
The people here for the most part are nice, except for the ones that are trying to kill us. There happy to see us and are glad we're here. The way of living here is very different from ours. There is so much they do thats different I can't even write it all down in this letter. I'll tell you when I get home.
The weather here has changed a lot since July. It went from 130 degrees during the day to now a freezing 60-70. At night it gets really cold. I think around 40 or less. All I know is you can see your breath. I never thought it could get that cold here.
Oh yeah. I wanted to thank you for writing. I love getting those newsletters. I like hearing about what goes on back home. Please keep them coming.
Well I have a lot of stories to tell when I get home. I would write them but there isn't enough time. Thank you again for the letters.
I miss you all and can't wait to see you."














My keyboard doesn't do Iraqi so I couldn't type his signature line! Don't we all wish that we could sit down with him and he could tell us his stories?

Merry Christmas to all of you. Sharing this letter is my gift to you. I hope you enjoyed it. Hold your families close, listen to their stories, and keep praying for all the families who are missing loved ones this year.