They are out there:

Chris telling the story of the two mystery women.

Mystery woman #1:

We do not know who this lady is or where she was headed but we do know that she sat next to Chris on the airplane when he was flying home for Nana's funeral. She struck up a conversation with Chris and kept him company throughout the flight and when the plane landed in Memphis, Chris had to collect his Class A's from the overhead. This lady turned to Chris and said Thank you for what you do, shook his hand and placed $20.00 in it and said make sure you get something to eat, with that she turned around and walked away.

Mystery woman #2:

During Chris' layover in Memphis and away from DS' that tell them what to do and when to do it for the first time in 10 weeks, Chris decided to do just what the first lady had instructed and find some kind of food that didn't look anything like what he had been eating in the mess hall at Ft. Knox. He walked up to a pizza stand and ordered a slice of his favorite pepperoni pizza. When the person behind the counter brought it to him and told him how much he owed, Chris reached in his pocket to get the $20.00 and out of nowhere another lady swept in, laid money on the counter, told Chris thank you and walked away.

Yes, they are out there and they do support our Troops. And even though I have no idea who these ladies are, they are in my prayers every night.

God Bless both of the mystery ladies that took care of my boy.

aam

Weekend Wrap Up

Well our busy weekend has come to a close. Our football team kicked butt 32-18 on Friday night so we were celebrating. This is our big rival game that kicks off our season every year and after losing to them the last two years, we were ready for the win.

Today, Mo and I participated in Operation Homefront's Freedom Walk. If you have never taken part in something like this, I give it two thumbs up. I was slightly disappointed in the turn out but what we lacked in size we made up for in enthusiasm.

Jacksonville Air Force Base Color Guard started us off during opening ceremonies with the presentation of Colors. I must admit that I do get teary eyed when The National Anthem is played.
These were the T-shirts that each participant received.
This is Lincoln, he was so adorable during the 1 1/2 mile walk. He actually made it half the walk before he had to hitch a ride on his dad's shoulders. His parent's told us that they did not have anyone in their family that is in the Military nor do they know anyone that is active duty. They have participated for the last 2 years because Service members do what they do so that we can do what we do and they just wanted to say Thank you.

I do not know this precious lil one's name but had to include this picture. She was so happy the whole day and considering that her family was one of the first ones to arrive around 7:00 a.m. that is saying a lot.

The guest speaker today was Deena Burnett, the widow of Tom Burnett .

The Following excerpt was taken from the Tom Burnett Family Foundation website:

On September 11, 2001, Thomas E. Burnett Jr. became an American hero. On the same morning of the terror attacks on New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the plane on which Burnett was a passenger was hijacked. He called his wife Deena from the plane several times, telling her, “We have to do something. I’m putting a plan together.” Later he said, “We’re waiting until we get over a rural area. We’re going to take back the airplane.”
Tom and a handful of fellow passengers accosted the hijackers, causing United Flight 93 to crash into a Pennsylvania field, rather than into another American landmark. All on board were killed, but no one on land perished. Tom died a hero and will be remembered the way he lived his life each day – with character, faith, courage, leadership, spirit, and integrity.

I do not have to tell you what an honor it was to hear this lady speak.

Well that about wraps up our weekend.

God Bless,

Tami

Proud of my Soldier

I don't think anyone can doubt just how proud I am of Christopher. I wake up proud of him and I go to bed proud of him. But recently I had the oppurtunity to really experience pride in my son.

I am the worlds worse person when it comes to putting gas in my Blazer. As far as I am concerned E means evacuate and I always tell my husband I need gas knowing that he will go fill it up for me.

But the other day I realized that I had pushed it to far and would never make it home if I didn't stop and get gas when I got off of work. So I stopped at a gas station around the corner from my office. I wear a set of dog tags everyday with Christophers name and date of birth on them and the gentleman behind the counter saw them and asked if I was a Soldier. (believe me when I say I am in no way in shape to be a Soldier LOL), I explained to him that my son was the Soldier. He asked me if he was in Iraq and I told him no that he was just beginning his Army career. The man said no matter Iraq is my home, please tell your Soldier son that I say Thank you. I thought I was going to start crying right there. I told him that I would pass on the message and turned to walk out, there were three gentlemen behind me in line and each of them shook my hand and said tell your son Thank you from us to and tell him to stay safe. By the time I got out to the gas pumps I was in tears and one of the gentlemen walked over and took the pump out of my hand and pumped my gas for me. I thought I would bust with pride for Christopher. God Bless America.

Now when ever I walk into this gas station to grab a Mt. Dew (my idea of coffee) the clerk always says How is your Soldier Son? Tell him hello from me. I always stop and have a conversation with him and let him know that I will pass the message on in my next letter.



Now when I hear people say that we should not be in Iraq, I think of this man and I smile because I know he is grateful that we are there.



God Bless,

Tami