Soldier's Angels Holiday Campaign

This winter, an estimated 180,000 U.S. military personnel will be serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, in combat environments or in support of combat operations. Some will be on their 3rd or 4th deployments--spending yet another Holiday away from the loving arms of family and friends. We want them to know that they are remembered, that we are thinking of them during the winter Holiday Season, and that we are grateful for their service. Since we can't all wrap our arms around them in person to show how much we love and appreciate them, Soldiers' Angels needs your help to make sure each one of America's heroes is Wrapped in Holiday Spirit.

Help the SOLDIER'S ANGELS help our Troops!! Donate some ink, paper and an hour of your time...make and hang flyers!!

HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN FLIER
Start printing them out and handing them out and hanging them everywhere. Pre-cut the website at the bottom for easy tear-off. Here is a copy of the flier.

One of those emails that makes you feel good, even if it's just a "story"

I got this in my email box today and thought I'd share...Thanks Mindy!

The Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. "I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap," I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. "Where are you headed?" I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. "Chicago - to Great Lakes Base. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Iraq"

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached Chicago, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time. As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. "No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to Chicago .

His friend agreed. I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. "Take a lunch to all those soldiers." She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her
eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. "My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him."

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, "Which do you like best - beef or chicken?" "Chicken," I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. "This is your thanks."

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest
room. A man stopped me. "I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this." He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, an said, "I want to shake your hand."
Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, "I was a Soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot." I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed in Chicago I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Soon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. "It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You."

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little...


**************************************
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life wrote a blank
check Made payable to "The United States of America " for an amount of "up to and including my life." That is Honor, and there are way too many people in This country who no longer understand it."
**************************************

Phone call, promotion and graduation info

I got a 5 minute call today! :D

Mike is now PV2!! Hooah!!!!

He also said he's sending details (as soon as he gets them) about the graduation dinner. It's the night before so we'll have to zoom up there a little earlier than expected. Works for me!! I get to see him for more than a few minutes!!! :D

I was expecting to watch his graduation and maybe see him for 20 minutes, a few hours tops, on November 20. But getting to go to a dinner with him too is just awesome! Even if I have to share him with his Dad's family...if Mike is happy then I'm happy.

I also logged into his AIM account and let all his buddies know he wanted them to write to him. After asking him in this phone call, I put his address in the status window. I hope some of them write, he really is boosted by others writing to him. It means a lot when someone sits down and writes out (or even types) a letter and takes the time and makes the effort to send it. In this day of instant messages and instant gratification...most people just don't send letters through the mail anymore.

Ok, gotta fly and get some work done. Going to work on my Army store so I can start promoting stuff.

Oh, and I got approved to sell US Cavalry items through my sites as well!! That store just rocks!! LOL

now...really...going to work.

later!!

:)

tidbits from Family Weekend that I just remembered

As I sit and paint or tear out carpet in the new house, my brain takes it own vacation and thinks about all the things that have been going on lately.

Yesterday some thoughts about our Family Weekend surfaced and I thought I'd share. And I may have briefly mentioned some, but I'm sure not in detail:

---> Mike now knows it's NOT a good idea to drink a dozen Monster Energy drinks in 3 days when you've had no junk food in your system for 10 weeks.

---> Some Soldiers can eat like humans and some can't. LOL Mark (our adopted Soldier) was eating with a knife and fork in a most humanlike manner while Mike was strategically piling items on his plate so he could get the most food on his fork and into his mouth with the least amount of work. I had to keep telling him he had time to eat, no one was going to take it away.

---> We didn't realize the barracks were heated already and that they weren't used to air conditioning...so both boys were walking around looking like Eskimos with bedspreads wrapped around them.

---> NyQuil is NOT something the Army gives out and they will not be used to it so when you see your Ft. Knox Soldier (who will no doubt be infected with Fort Knox cooties just like every other Soldier there) make sure they take the recommended dose and don't take a big swig (that might just be a guy thing). They WILL end up complaining because they slept 4 hours of their precious freedom away (even if they really really did need it).

---> Letting them sit and relax and do nothing is far more interesting to some of them than running all over creation looking at historical sites (Mike is really into history and he didn't even want to consider going to check things out). We did a lot of sitting in the hotel room or at a restaurant, telling his sister and Mark about things he'd done or that his dad or I had done...and I think that helped make the bond with his sisters stronger, since they are so much younger. It also helped him reset his system and not be so busy he was more tired than when he left the base.

Maybe some of these thoughts can help other parents heading to see their Soldiers...or not.

I had a really good memory yesterday but as I was tearing out carpet and forgot my really cool all weather notebook I bought for just such thoughts...I have since lost it. I will see if I can't get it back and will be armed with that notebook for future "really good thoughts"

Gotta go paint and pack...

Later All!!

6 minute phone call

Wednesday, Mike called while I was working on the other house. He says they are back in Red Phase. In AIT! Why can't these guys get their shit together? He says he thinks they hold the record for the most time spent in Red Phase. In BCT it wasn't his troop getting them in Red Phase, it was other troops in other platoons and no matter what, the DS made them go back to Red Phase. Now that there are at least 2 platoons mixed together, I'm guessing the troublemakers didn't all leave when the BCT guys graduated.

Mike just accepts it and deals with it but he sounds somewhat discouraged at being surrounded by immature idiots. Hell, I would be too. I'm annoyed and I'm not even the one who is there dealing with them.

Ok, we have to get into a faster pace here, lots of things happening. I'm on my way to fix other house...just some painting left at this point. Still need two rooms and a hall of new carpet but that will have to wait until more funds arrive (anyone want a website built? LOL) We also have gymnastics and the usual lack of time with moving so...I'm off to be SuperMom and I'll be back later.

Soon I will have much more time to sit and contemplate life and offer my opinion to those who care to read. But for now, I will be sporadic, at best.

See you all later!!

:)

35 Minute Sunday Phone Call

Mike just called and he sounds better than his last letter. He said he was really depressed but that he’s ok now. He’s also not as sick. Maybe chugging the Nyquil all weekend actually helped his body get control over the Fort Knox Cooties…who knows?

He’s finding out how different life in AIT as a CavScout is now…it’s not. He still has a DS that he sees when he’s not in training. They march them to their “class” (it’s all field work I think) and leave them wtih their instructor. He says it’s just like BCT with more classes. Not much different, really.

Other troops and MOS’s get their cell phones and other goodies back, but Mike will have to wait until he graduates OSUT to see any of that.

He did say they only have 2 more weeks of training and then…they will be bored out of their minds until November 20. I wonder if they won’t find something more for them to do by then.

He’s interested in moving once he gets back home. He says it’s to be near his buddies and get out on his own completely (now he’s near his dad’s family). I am wondering if it doesn’t have something to do with the fact that his Unit has deployed already and left him behind while his buddies in the southern part of the state haven’t had their Unit deploy yet. I know he really wants to go. I can almost understand why. Of course, I won’t be upset if he never goes anywhere. It’s a mom thing. Sorry. :( Ok, I might be sad that he doesn’t get to do something he really wants to do from his heart.

He says he’s in 1st platoon now, even though he’s still in 2nd platoon. Only in the Army would that make sense. LOL Apparently after the BCT guys left, there were about 70 guys between the 2 platoons so they stuck them together for AIT. I asked if his mailing address changed, but he says no…keep them coming to the old address.

He got to talk to the girls and to Tom, the dog slobbered on the phone so that might count as a conversation to Scout.

I was really starting to miss him and worry since that last letter, his call came at a good time.

Fort Knox Family Weekend - part 3

On the way back to the hotel we passed Barnes & Nobel. I'd been trying to conserve cash on this trip, so I hadn't had any coffee except that in the hotel room and at the Waffle House with breakfast. I decided I needed a distraction. And a trip through Barnes & Noble ending with a big cup of coffee would be a nice way to do it. Anastasia made it to the parking lot before she started having a meltdown. She didn't want anything, she didn't want to get out of the car, she didn't want to eat, she didn't want to go back to the hotel. Normally, my very hormonal 9 year old, Michelle, would be doing this...not Anastasia. I sat down with her and told her she could be as sad as she wanted and cry til she couldn't cry any more. Heck, I'd cry with her. I told her I was so sad I was afraid to start crying again because it might not stop and then she started crying and then I started crying and my mom and Michelle walked off a bit because I think they were afraid to start crying too. Tasia and I cried for a good five minutes and then sniffled through another conversation about missing Mike.

After that she thought it might be ok if we went into Michael's to look at craft things, since it was right next to Barnes & Nobles we could go there next. We went in Michael's and I guess I was looking pretty down because my mom made me pick out some jewelry materials for me to make some jewelry to keep me busy that night. I spent 30 minutes looking for something red, white and blue but I finally decided on some cool blue beads and some wire to make a bracelet. All the patriotic stuff was plastic or too huge for jewelry.

After that we wandered through Barnes & Noble and then got coffee/tea/cookies for later. We went to dinner and then back to the hotel where Michelle passed out right away and Anastasia stayed up playing Webkinz til she fell asleep.

I tried doing something productive online but it was useless. So I busted out the wire and beads. I made a bracelet that's really pretty neat and that will remind me of that awesome weekend forever.

The next morning we got up, packed up and got on the road. We went to US Cavalry right after breakfast. I got a US Army Mom sticker and a Cavalry sticker for my van. I also bought an all weather notebook. (I'm a notebook junkie, I couldn't help it!!) I wanted some stuff we saw on Saturday but I was obviously not remembering there were a thousand other parents there for graduations/family days so I missed out...everything I wanted was gone. The girls wanted hats, but they couldn't find hats that fit. Then one of the people there suggested dog tags and oh boy! That is the greatest thing we could have bought. They wear them every single day, and they show them off to anyone who stops moving long enough to see them. Tasia got a few stickers, a big "ARMY" and "Humvee" sticker that she wants to put on everything she can....her window, her notebook, my window, no wait...the fridge, no! the TV! They are still sitting on the book case until she can think of an appropriate place to put them. Michelle also got a camo (digital/desert) tshirt.

After US Cavalry we headed for Lincoln's birthplace. The boys didn't want to do that stuff so we did it on our way out of town. I somehow missed a road and ended up making a 16 mile trip take an hour. It was all good though, we got to see some backroads in the Kentucky mountains. For two little girls who have lived on the very flat Gulf Coast of Florida most their lives, that was very exciting.

We saw the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln and that was pretty neat. We also saw the house he lived in next (actually, that was first on the road trip as I was getting unlost). The girls liked the whole Lincoln sightseeing thing. I thought it was great too. We'll have to go back when I'm not lost and wasting time driving around looking at distilleries and goat farms in who knows where, Kentucky. LOL Getting lost got us there about 15 minutes before they closed the gates to Lincoln's birthplace. :P

After that, we were Florida bound. At 5:30pm instead of 12:00pm like I planned. I wasn't too worried about it though. I only had a 16 hour drive ahead of me. What was a few hours that ended up being spent laughing and being silly (and lost, I did mention that, right?) with my kids and mom? It was worth getting home later than planned.

I think we got home around 10am Tuesday. The next two days was spent sleeping and medicating the kids who now have the Ft. Knox Cooties. Now Mom has it bad and the girls are almost better. I'm not going to tell Mike that though, he doesn't need to know that we took his cold home with us. :)

Ft. Knox Family Weekend part 2

Once we left the base we went to the hotel to drop off their bags and let Mike meet his new laptop. They played around a bit and then we went to dinner at the Cracker Barrel next door. While there we saw the Chaplain that had spoken at the ceremony and a Drill Sergeant. This is like 20 miles from the base so it seemed like we were surrounded all the way to their cutoff (they could only go 25 miles away from base).

Then we went to Walmart for Nyquil and cough drops (oh yeah, Fort Knox cooties are BAD!) then back to the hotel and hung out til we passed out. Mike and Mark played video games, slept off and on, talked and watched YouTube videos of muscle cars. Mike also dug up some music that I used to listen to when he was born (Queensryche was the biggest topic and source of motivation that night, but we also watched some guy playing two guitars at once and Yngwie Malmsteen only because Mark had never heard of him).

Saturday morning we slowly got our butts in gear, went to eat and then to U.S. Cavalry. Did I mention that the U.S. Cavalry store is there?? OH MY GOD!! It's amazing!! I thought Anastasia was going to have a stroke when she walked in and saw all that camouflage. She's been a camo junkie for the last few years. Having a big brother in the Army to buy her really cool camo stuff is like being related to Santa Clause as far as she's concerned. We spent quite a bit of time there. **If you plan on buying something like decals or shirts...get it when you see it. I wanted to go back after we dropped Mike off so I wouldn't embarrass him by buying up every Army Mom thing I could find...and all the things I wanted were gone when we went back on Monday.

After US Cavalry we went to Best Buy so Mike could find some game he wanted. We played with the iPhone for a while and then went to the hotel so they could play with their game. We left the two of them for three hours so they could have some peace and then go to the hot tub. We found a cool cemetery in Elizabethtown with some history to it. Actually, everything in that area has history. It's very cool. We went back to the hotel and found two Soldiers sleeping in exactly the same spot we left them in. It seems the Nyquil kicked their butts. Then we went to dinner and came back to hang out and did the same as the night before. I also read the book Mark is in the process of writing. He's a good writer, now I gotta pester him until he finishes it because I want to know how it ends!!!!

Sunday we got going pretty slow, I guess no one wanted to go back later so they were dragging big time. We did breakfast and went back to the hotel for a while. When it was time to go, Mike looked all dazed and not at all ready to go. We stopped for lunch but Mike had drank so many Monster energy drinks (did I mention he bought $30 worth of them for the weekend???) that he was sick to his stomach and all jumpy. He couldn't eat and I wasn't exactly hungry either but I ordered something that ended up in the garbage.

We got to the base and dropped them off. I tried really really hard not to cry. I bit my lip a few times trying to stop it but...I lost it. I let him know I was really really proud of the person he had become and I loved him more than anything. Then he and Mark took off really quick before they lost it too. The girls were really good and didn't run after him screaming for him. I wasn't sure they'd be able to control themselves for a while there. But they did good.

I wanted to keep circling the barracks in case he could come back or wanted to come back or whatever. I left anyway. And the entire weekend of not being an emotional wreck was over, it all came crashing back in and I totally lost it. I had to pull over in the US Cavalry parking lot because I couldn't see anymore. I told the girls I was looking to see when they opened on Monday morning so we could go back. They bought it. :)

more after I go check on dinner...brb

Family Weekend - part 1

Mike's family weekend was 10-3 through 10-5. We arrived early thinking he had a 2 hour leave on 10-2 but that didn't turn out to be the case. We did get to circle his barracks for 1.5 hours, til the DS's noticed me and asked if I needed help. I told them what I was there for, and reluctantly, who I was there for...JUST in case he was waiting somewhere for me. He wasn't. According to him, when he told me the next day, he was in the large group of what Anastasia called "dirt bags" (they were Soldiers sitting on the ground - to her they looked like bags of dirt. Hey, she's 7!) And he watched us drive by all 903 times.

We left and went through a drive through, brought food back to the hotel in Elizabethtown and proceeded to pass out without eating any of it. At this point I'd been up for 37 hours, 16 of it spent driving on the highway. I was totally wiped out.

We were all up early the next morning and went to breakfast and then headed back to the base. His ceremony was due to begin at 13:00 but I wasn't taking any chances. The night before the DS said the doors would open by 12:30...so we were there by 11:45. They had some tanks and a Humvee out for people to get their picture taken with. The girls had a blast on/in them.

We wandered around the front of the Olive Theater for a while, met up with one of the other Mom's I'd talked to on GAP and eventually got to go inside and get a seat. There was a group of bald men in camo sitting up near the front and I was afraid if I took one look at them I'd start crying so I sent my mom and the girls up to take a picture of them, hoping we could figure out which was Mike by looking at the pic on my camera. No chance. I can see it enlarged now and I still don't know which was him.

They are all bald, wearing camouflage and can't make eye contact with you. It's a semi-hopeless endeavor. Then a woman announced that if your Soldier was graduating, he would not be seated in the theater yet. Ok. um. Mike wasn't technically graduating so...damn. He was in that group of bald men. This wasn't going to be easy.

The ceremony started and it was great. Lots of emotion and tears going on in the dimmed theater lights. I think most people were just so on the edge of exploding from the happiness of being so close to their Soldier. I know I was.

Ceremony ended and I passed the mom I saw earlier as she was going after her Mike who had gone back in the theater and I was going towards the barracks to see if I could find Mike.

Did I ever mention how many Mike's there were in this Platoon? Lots!

As we were standing there waiting for either him to find us or for everyone else to leave and he be the only one left...he ran past us. And all of a sudden I couldn't understand how I couldn't have found him before. He looks like...Mike. He's been bald before. He's even had a mohawk or 5. So I've seen him bald. For some reason I couldn't find him but now...here he was. He got back in with his Troop and we waited til they did what they had to do and he happened to see us waiting and nodded.

I have never been so happy as when I got to walk over and hug him and I tried really hard to not cry. Really. I did. I just started leaking a bit but I got it under control. He introduced me to others, who had leaking moms and dads, so it was obviously not embarrassing him. We met the Soldier we were adopting for the weekend and then I signed them both out and we were on our way.

Gotta go get some food on the stove...part 2 to follow momentarily...

I can't seem to catch up

We got back Tuesday morning and I'm just totally exhausted still. I'm starting to think there could be some depression creeping in. Going to have to squash that real quick, no time for that!

I got a letter from Mike already. It's probably the only letter we got where he is saying he's sad at all. It hurt my heart to read that he was so sad. I think that I expected (but hoped I was wrong) that he'd have some bad days when he got back. And his letter was written 2 hours after we dropped him off. I just hope he's back on track and working towards learning what he needs to do his job.

I have to write out our weekend adventure...but I need to finish one more thing. I'll be back later.

I just wanted to get something out of my head because I feel like I'm going to burst.

:)

It's FAMILY DAY!

We are leaving the hotel in a few minutes and I'm so excited I am about to get sick. I'm also nervous that he won't be able to go out for the weekend. I'm just nervous about everything right now.

Gotta go chug a Red Bull and get out of here. (I'm also exhausted while my nerves play ping pong in my stomach).

I'll try to write later, but this is Mike's computer and I expect he'll be on it tonight.

Thanks for sticking with me so far..I'll see you all later!!

I'm so excited I can barely type!

We were preparing to leave at 4am tomorrow and on the way home from buying travel supplies, Mike called me asking if I could be there by 5pm tomorrow!!! He gets to leave for 2 hours for dinner.

So, I'm leaving. NOw!

See you all next week!

:D