Soldiers

I'm a little late in posting this but... I have something exciting to tell you but needed to play catch up a bit before spilling the beans, lol. A few months ago, I took the kids to a Naval Air show. It was beyond hot!! We had an absolute ball the first day that we went back out and saw the entire show again the second day. The kids were in aw of all the military personnel and all the jets they were seeing. It has literally been months since we've gone and they still talk about it daily!

Here are the boys saluting in front of the 'bombs that could go off any minute' haha!!

They were able to get an autograph of the captain of the blue angels!

The amazing jet (that somehow I cannot seem to remember the name of, lol) that actually broke the sound barrier going 1/2 speed while we were there!

We met this man named Tony who is a Military Police. He was so full of useful information and even talked to the kids and answered the many questions they had. He works with a drug sniffing dog and he brought him out of the car so we could take a picture with him. He answered many questions I had about our troops overseas and I'll tell you more about what I've found out later in this post. It is exciting!!

The Blue Angels

Our WWII fighter planes

The kids and Landon sitting in a bomber plane.

An wing walker.

The opening act was the Navy's Leapfrogs. They were so good!! Above you see them spiraling down with their legs hooked together.

The first Leapfrog out of the plane carried our flag. It still gives me goosebumps to see this picture. What an AMAZING thing to see!

While I was picking Tony's brain, I asked if he had ever been deployed and what it was like. He didn't give me this horrific story that I had expected. He told me a few details and then I started asking questions like, do you remember receiving packages from strangers and were they helpful or encouraging? Did you appreciate the letters from children or just adults and he responded with this; imagine this, you are surrounded by everything that is the same color as the sand you are walking on. You live this life day in and day out without complaint. It is hotter than hot. You are surrounded by men and fighting daily. When mail comes, it makes your day. He said that you expect mail from family and friends to help encourage you but when a stranger or a child reaches out that is what makes his job more bearable on those rough days. I decided that I was going to be one to help. I wanted to make a difference and I wanted those soldiers out there fighting for my freedom to know that I remember daily what they are doing. That they have not been forgotten and that we are praying for them. I asked him how to get in contact with someone overseas and he guided me to a company called anysoldier.com.

From that site you can read over hundreds of men and women in combat zones asking for encouragement and/or supplies. Those hundreds of men and women represent thousands of men and women living in conditions we, here in the states couldn't even imagine living in. And you know... not one of them complain about it. We, as a family, started putting together boxes to send. We signed 282 Christmas cards and sent them to 5 separate units. 3 were from the Navy, 1 from the Marines and 1 from an Army unit. I know that each service feels that they are the best (hence the reason they chose that service) and often supporters stick with one unit but I feel that all our Armed Forces are important and they are all people, needing support. I simply chose troops that touched my heart when I read their request. I didn't look for anything specific, I simply read until I knew that I wanted to support that group. I encourage you all to go check out that site. Read through the front page, read the rules and see what's allowed to ship through customs and then read through the requests. I literally had tears running down my check as I read through some requests. Some men were asking for anything that could help bring them comfort, anything like a pillow or some sheets. They request items that I'm sure you already have in our house right now. Body wash, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, candy, snacks, healthy food to put in their backpacks so when they are out on missions they have something to eat but most of all they appreciate the letters. The encouragement, the reminder of what they are fighting for. These men and women are willing to give their lives up for us and I'm no longer willing to sit back and just watch. I want to make a difference in their lives. I want them to know that we as American's care about them!!

Since I sent out our 5 boxes I've received an email from one soldier. He is the most humble man I have ever 'met'. He has nothing but positive and encouraging things to say. He isn't very forthcoming on needed/appreciated items (which I hear is very very typical of our Military personnel) so the boxes I'm sending full of goodies, I only hope are being used and appreciated. I'm hoping to stay in contact with him until well after his year long deployment but only time will tell. I have also heard from another unit. They sent me a Happy Thanksgiving card and a thank you card for the letter and Christmas cards I sent with a picture of his unit. I'm not doing this expecting everyone to make contact back to me but I must say receiving the emails I have literally makes my day! The cards are also so exciting. Just to know that the little I was able to give was received, makes me happy!

So... I know this is a long post but I encourage you to write a letter. Don't expect a reply back, they have a lot more important things going on (like staying alive) but if you are lucky enough to receive a thank you back and see how exciting it is, just think about how encouraging it is for them to receive something from you. I'll gladly help you with any of the customs forms or any questions you may have. If you don't want to deal with the hassles of sending a letter but still want to help out, I'll do all the leg work for you. To all those teachers out there, this makes a great lesson! Have your students write a letter or color a picture and send them to a troop or to me and I'll send them to mine. I have one platoon that receives very very little and I'm sure they'd appreciate something from the innocence of a child.

Lets support our Military and let them know that they are not forgotten! Many of you are not supporters of this war but can you honestly say you are not supporters of our troops fighting for your freedom, for your safety?

I'll proudly stand and say that I am proud to be an AMERICAN!