Letters from Ft. Knox

We received another set of letters from Christopher yesterday. These were dated Sept 2 and he still had not received any mail, hopefully by now he has gotten some.
He was actually at the Dentist when he wrote my letter and said that they were doing the gas chamber the next day. His spirits seemed to be better and he has been made a Squad Leader. I will not pretend to know what this means but it sounds like something that might be good.
Because he still has not received any mail he has no idea that we are going to be there for Family Day next month and keeps reassuring us that he understands if we can not make it. It absolutely breaks my heart that he thinks that he will be alone that day.
Because of the lack of phone calls and not being able to get answers to questions that I ask in letters, I am lost on his time line and have no idea where he is in his training or what phase he is in. He keeps telling us that they will be graduating in Dec and originally that was the date on his orders and on the Ft. Knox website but now the web site says they are graduating in Jan. The only thing I can figure out is that maybe they will get time off for Thanksgiving and Christmas and the extra few weeks would make up for that time. Hell I dont know, this is frustrating!!!

Oh well I will continue to be ARMY MOM STRONG

God Bless,
Tami

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

Any weekend plans?

So anyone have big plans this weekend?

We have a full schedule starting tonight. Kyle is on the drum line for his high school band and they have their opening game tonight against their biggest rival. We will be there to cheer them on. Once upon a time we had a band member and a football player to cheer for at this game each year. Now that football player is a Soldier. We still cheer for him but not from the endzone.

Saturday, Devin has catcher's training and then a birthday party to attend. He has a friend spending the weekend so I doubt there will be much rest. And Sunday, my husband Mo and I have volunteered to help with the Freedom Walk that Operation Home Front is sponsoring. You can click on the link and see if there is a walk in your area.

I am also proud to announce that I am now a member of Blue Star Mothers of America. I am so honored to be a part of this organization. If you do not know the history of this group, go to their site and check it out.



I have been a bit frustrated (to put it mildly) today because we received a letter from Christopher and he said he had not gotten any mail. Excuse me? I write to him every day and I know that other's have written to him also. I was furious, I just knew that the mean ol Drill Sergeants were withholding his mail. I threatened to go to Ft. Knox and have a talk with these DS's. But thanks to some wonderful parents at GAP, I have been talked down off the ledge and now that I have calmed down I realized that we just got his address last Wednesday. I mailed his first letters on Thursday and Monday was a holiday. He wrote this letter on Sunday so there is no way that he could have received letters by then. I guess it just seems like he has been gone forever. He seemed a little down and swears he is starving. Way to put mom at ease there Christopher. LOL

GAP has been a lifesaver for me. Once you become a member there you become family. There is always someone that has been where you are at that moment and they are quick to answer your questions and there to let you know that they and their children survived this part and so will you and yours.

I hope everyone remembered to wear their red today. I will have mine on.



God Bless,

Tami

Look what I got.

Michelle was so sweet to pass her blogging with a Purpose award on to me. I have enjoyed meeting so many people since I started blogging about 2 years ago and the people that I have met since I started this blog have been extra special.

When you are a parent, spouse or loved one of a Service Member there are times when your pride and love build up to the point that you feel like you will explode if you do not let it out, personally that is one of the reasons that I started this blog. I also wanted to document the time while Christopher was away so that he could read everything when he gets the chance to spend a little time on line.

Also, Law wrote a article over at parents zone about my two younger boys blog that they are keeping for Christopher. They do not update it as often as I wish but it is their blog and they are busy boys. LOL . Thanks Law. They will love it.

I would like to pass this on to all the other Military Mom's out there that are supporting their sons and daughters.

God Bless,

Tami

Wednesday's Hero

Lance Cpl. Ryan T. McCaughn19 years old from Manchester, New Hampshire1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force

November 7, 2006

"I just can't believe it," said Nicole Cote, mother of L/Cpl. McCoughn. "It's not supposed to happen this way. Your kids aren't supposed to leave you." McCoughn joined the USMC during his Senior year of High School. "He said he needed to do this. He said if he could keep one dad from going to Iraq and he could take his place instead, then he'll feel like he's accomplished something."Lance Cpl. Ryan T. McCaughn was killed on November 7, 2006 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. He leaves behind his mother, father, step-father and two brothers.These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People LivedThis post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

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

Another week down

And the next one has begun. And today I am not a happy Army mom. I am struggling with the Army Mom Strong thing and I am down right pouting about it.
I had hoped that since it was a long weekend maybe, we would get a phone call, but even though I stayed home most of the weekend and when I did venture out of the house I transfered all my calls from the home phone to the cell phone the phone call never came.
And of course since it is a long weekend there is no mail today so not even a letter to look forward to.
So I have spent my holiday cleaning and trying to keep my mind busy. I am sure tomorrow I will be right back to my good ol Army mom strong self.
I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday and for those in the Storm paths, please stay safe.

God Bless,
Tami