Sunday, April 30, 2006

Please help a fellow blogger with an email project:)

Am posting this to get the word out for Kat over at Yikes! 
 
I hope y'all will consider sending her an email to print out for this project, I have 'met' the soldier online when he sent a 'thank you' when I got involved in one of Kat's projects at Christmas, and he is a great guy!(And I changed the graphic for her on the other blogs just in case he stopped by.)
 
"Welcome Home, Hero" PROJECT - NEED YOUR HELP!

OK, y'all - I need your help! :) I can't believe I didn't think of this SOONER!!!!!:

As y'all may know, our family has an adopted Georgia 48th BCT soldier coming home EXTREMELY SOON (can't say exact dates, because of OPSEC - operational security - rules). ANYWAY - I was planning on mailing out a welcome home card to his "real" address once I knew they were home, but someone I know gave me a great idea! And I don't know WHY I didn't think of it sooner!

What I would like to do is collect a WHOLE BUNCH of "Welcome Home" emails, to send along with our family's welcome home card. *mumbles to self: "why didn't I think of this sooner?!"* The idea is, when he gets home, instead of having "only" a stack of bills waiting for him (and how depressing would that be, haha!), to have a nice big fat envelope FULL of Welcome Home, Thank You, We're Proud of You type messages. How cool would that be?! And why didn't I think of that sooner?! argh!

Can ya help a Kat out here??? :) I would be ETERNALLY in y'all's debt forever and greatly appreciate it!!!!!

Please email all Welcome Home messages to me at JEFFSKAT@GMAIL.COM as soon as you can. Just put "Welcome Home" or something similar in the subject line. 

VERY IMPORTANT: I MUST HAVE ALL MESSAGES RECEIVED NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2006!!! I plan on mailing them out on Saturday, May 6.

Thanks, y'all!!!!
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Friday, April 28, 2006

Want to hear something"priceless"?

I'm just going to send you over to Mail Call! LOL  
 
Before you go, that's Kyle's new car he got yesterday!
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Thursday, April 27, 2006

Thomas Burnett,Jr.,Update on Kevin Downs, and Another Prayer Request

With the opening of the Flight 93 movie, I thought I would repost this picture, taken in Bloomington,MN in 2004 at Jefferson High School when I was visiting my parents. My brother and one of my sisters both attended high school with Mr.Burnett (graduating in different years) and my brother knew him later in life.

This is the full quote from a speech that Thomas Burnett,Jr. gave before Sept. 11, 2001, which a portion of the quote  has been placed on his memorial at Thomas Jefferson High School in Bloomington,MN.   "What we accomplish in life—our pursuits, our passions—echo in posterity to our children, our neighbors, and ultimately our souls. The struggle to preserve life enriches all of us, and our humanity is fortified in the process. To deem life important and to act, affects all of those who bear witness."
 
Truly, those on Flight 93 on that dreadful day "deemed life important" and they acted. And I think it has affected all of us who bore witness. Hopefully, I will make it to the movie this weekend, but if I don't (we have a track meet and also a former patient of mine died and I need to pay my respects to her family), I DO intend to eventually see the movie, to honor and remember them.
 
Don't know if you have seen the Sept. 11 Digital Archive?   Click here: The September 11 Digital Archive    but my sister told me about it.   Her contribution is here    
 
 
mine is here  
 
and if you want to add yours?   
 
Update on Kevin Downs:   The South Cheathem Advocate has done a wonderful j0b of updating, and there is one posted under 4/22/06   (with pictures) 
 
and I think you will be happy to know that Brooke Army Medical Center is so inundated with mail for Kevin, that there is a new address posted on the site!
                                                                   Sgt. Kevin Downs
                                                                   P. O. Box 118
                                                   Kingston Springs, TN 37082
 
Lastly, a distant relative of mine was hit head on in a car accident last night, and could use some prayers. This is an absolutely wonderful gentleman who is '84 years young', and he has a long road of healing ahead. Thank you all!
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Tuesday, April 25, 2006

My new grandbaby will be.....

a BOY!!!! My oldest and his fiancee found that out today! 

And why do I have a picture of a beach? Well, the post started out to be more 'surfing', and then I wanted to post the happy newsImage (and also, even after 3 years, I still love the pics from the Hawaii vacation we took in 2003.)

First of all, I posted asking for prayers for some wounded soldiers on the AOL Mail Call! blog 

Click here: MAIL CALL!Supporting the Troops    (I know,y'all are saying she's always sending us over there!)   and then Cindy put up a thoughtful post and it's a situation that sounds like it could also use some prayers    
 
and Missy has an update on her cousin who was injured in Afghanistan.  
 
Then,via Kat over at Yikes!Click here: Yikes!  there's another update on the 48th  Homecoming 
 plus Paulette has pics on her page   
as you know, I 'met' some of these soldiers back at Christmas when I first responded to one of Kat's request for email greetings to send to 'her' guys, and I am SO GLAD they are making their way home!THANKS! guys, for the job you did, and WELCOME HOME!
 
While they return? I came across another blog, by a reporter embedded with a group from Idaho that is just getting over there.      Click here: 1016th
 
And, here's one for all the MN folks    Click here: SGT Dock's Holiday
 
And, in another case of 'here's what I love about the Internet',I clicked on the page of someone in the comments on his blog, and came across this post about today being 'Holocaust Day of Remembrance' which I did not realize. It was a very good post, I am not enough of a geek to send you directly to that postImage, but here's a link to her blog    Click here: PC Free Zone
 
Well, just wanted to share the news, and give y'all some more places to 'surf'. Take care!!!Tomorrow is another track meet for Tony's son, so "I'll see you when I see you"!
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Monday, April 24, 2006

Surfing the Web

Just gonna list some places I've been 'surfing' todayImage

First, any of you who remember the MTV show about Joey Bozik? His wife put up the final post on his site this month    Click here: Joey

Continuing with the wounded soldiers? Don't think I've mentioned this young lady before....she was injured in an accident while serving with the Indiana National Guard in 2005, and subsequently paralyzed. Her mother had not updated in several months, I just happened to check in today and it had been updated      Click here: Aubrey Shea Youngs

Then I went to check on Capt.Jason  Click here: Captain Jason    but I got knocked off the Internet briefly in the middle of that Image and when I got back on, I came across this site while doing a 'search'    Click here: Airline Pilots Security Alliance - IN MEMORIAM: CAPTAIN JASON DAHL   Read all the articles underneath, tissue alert.

Speaking of Memorials, have I mentioned before that Legacy.com has a site listing all those who have died in the war?     Click here: In Remembrance

Continuing with the 'war' theme, I came across a cool site with a documentary in progress from a unit out of Lebanon,Oregon in 2004. There are video clips and pictures on there. 

Click here: About the Film

I stopped by a blogger not listed in my blogroll(imagine thatImage)  

 Click here: Murphy Around The World

And two Soldiers Angels members have a fairly new blog    Click here: The Angel Sistas

I DO go other places besides 'milblogs',LOL.....my sis and her husband are currently waiting to complete an adoption in China, and they are sharing the journey   Click here: A Red Thread to China     and then I always like to stop by Terry's place.....she always has beautiful pictures, and I always feel refreshed Image  Click here: Terry's Timeout

Lastly, from my mom....news about Monopoly  

Happy Surfing! 

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Sunday, April 23, 2006

Army Suicides Hit Highest Level since 1993

This was what I blogged on my Mail Call! blog today.

This article I saw yesterday disturbed me greatly.    

 
When you think of the despair and despondency that people have to be feeling, to decide that ending their own lives is the best option? For me, it just broke my heart.
 
I thought of using this article as a segue into another urging to join Soldiers Angels, or any of the other organizations like America Supports You, etc. listed on the left? To encourage people to actively DO something to let those serving know that they are cared about?
 
And then I decided to check out the Message Boards that AOL always attaches to these articles, where people can post their thoughts about the article. And what I found THERE upset me even MORE.  
 
I invite you to check it out for yourself, but I warn you......there seems,IMHO, a great deal of hatred and anger there.
 
While I have the feeling I may be spitting into the wind? I decided to place my own post on the message board, which I'll include below.  Honestly?I felt kind of scared to do that, because I think I'll be leaving myself open to verbal attacks from the same people who wrote so many of these venomous, angry posts.    I realize I will make no impression whatsoever on any of those people.....their minds are already made up. But, I am a strong believer in the Edmund Burke quote   All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.
 
If I had written nothing at all? there would be nothing out there BUT those venomous, angry, hate-filled posts.
 
So, without further ado....here's my response on the message board....and then there's a link to my post on the board below.
 
   I guess I am naive. I thought that a story about rising suicides among soldiers would generate concern? Compassion for those who were so despondent that they took their own lives?for the families left behind?Possibly even suggestions for ways to support the troops ?
   Instead, I scrolled through 3 pages of comments that seemed to be mainly spewing anger,venom, and hatred.....and had to stop because all the anger and hatred was starting to make me feel sick.
     I'm a member of an organization called "Soldiers Angels" www.soldiersangels.org and I write letters to the troops to let them know that folks back here are keeping them in their thoughts and prayers,or send cards to wounded soldiers to let them know they are being remembered...all total strangers who are ,many of them, the same age as some of my own children. These are young men and women who have chosen to serve our country, and are doing the job they have been sent to do.  Or, there is another organization called Anysoldier  www.anysoldier.com  where you can get addresses to mail packages or letters of support.
    All of you who say you want "peace"?(in what seems very angry and hate-filled ways to me).....could you not direct some of the energy you put into this anger and hatred into writing a letter to A FELLOW HUMAN BEING to say "Thank you for being willing to do this job from a fellow American."?(or "fellow human being", if you dislike being identified as an American)    Or, if you feel even doing THAT might be construed as "supporting the WAR" or "supporting BUSH"?   Could you just send a postcard saying "Thinking of you back here"?
     Judging from so much of what I've read here......probably not. And I think that's kind of sad. A story about people being in despair and despondency who decide to end their lives, instead ofgenerating the thought "How can I reach out to touch even ONE fellowhuman being who might be feeling this way?"just generates more hatred and anger and venom?
 
 
So, that's my post for today.
 
And for an update on Missy's cousin that I asked for prayers for yesterday?   
 
as they asked, please continue the prayers. Thank you, and God bless you!Image
 
And if you want to leave a comment over at Mail Call!  
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Saturday, April 22, 2006

Weekend Roundup

If you want to know more about this picture? I'm going to send you over to my Mail Call! blog to get the scoop  
 
(lol, a shameless bid to drive up the numbers over there:)Seriously, though, I hate to post the same thing on all three of my blogs....all 3 or 4 of my readers will get bored!( I have the Mail Call! blog, and then run essentially the same blog for family and friends both on AOL and on Yahoo, since the Yahoo and AOL people among my family and friends can only access one or the other, and never the twain shall meet!)
 
It's raining here this morning, which is good...we need the moisture, our winter weather sucked as far as providing moisture. I got up all excited because I learned yesterday the Milblog conference was going to have a streaming video feed? 
Click here: Milblog Virtual Conference 2006    only to discover that I needed a webcam and microphone to participate,lol. So much for that! Don't have those!
 
I had an exciting?(that might not be the word!) yesterday...got hit in the car in the parking lot. Only minor damage was done to the car, but it scared the heck out of me!I was backing up, and some guy on the other side of the parking lot decided to back up also, without looking.....it was one of those split second moments where a thousand things run through your brain at once, as I looked to the left and realized he was backing straight into my driver's side door!I had NO time to react, I did manage to say "OH!" and slammed both my hands on the horn to try and get his attention to stop him from hitting me(which did not work.) I couldn't have accelerated forward because I was just in the middle of backing out, and had I done thatI would have hit the car parked next to me.
 
Let me tell you, there is nothing like looking to your left and seeing the back end of a car heading straight for you! Even though he wasn't going that fast.......my hands were shaking for about 10 minutes afterwards! We both got out, and he kept saying"I'm sorry!"and we looked at my door, which just had a small dent.I knew from when Ben got hit a few years back that there's no point calling the police, they won't come since the accident occurred on private property, and there seemed no point in exchanging insurance info because the dent was minimal.......in fact, seemed way too small for causing my heart to be racing 100 miles an hour!
 
So, that was my day yesterday(and darn, it would happen right after I cleaned and washed the car,lol)
 
In other news, another blogger that I love to read is hanging up his hat,CJ over at "A Soldiers Perspective" 
 
sad to hear it, but can understand that blogging takes up a lot of time!(even for novice bloggers like me:)
 
And, my friend Missy on Yahoo 360 needs prayers for her cousin
 
and there is also a recovering soldier whose name I received via Soldiers Angels "Wounded TLC" team who needs prayers. I can't post specifics, but his family has requested prayers for him, and I know you good people will respond!and God bless you for it:)
 
Well, that's it for now, hope everyone has a good weekend.
 
 
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Thursday, April 20, 2006

April 20, 2006

Haven't posted for a few days, not anything earthshaking going on, just busy......the job hunt continues,and yesterday went to Dustin's track meet. In a nail biting moment, he 'scratched' or 'fouled'(out of bounds) the first two of three throws in the shotput.......and then on the third and final throw....he throws the farthest and gets a FIRST place! Wow, talk  about operating under pressure,lol.

Unfortunately, he then didn't even place in the discus....I sometimes think he's feeling the pressure of going all the way to state finals last year as a junior and thinking he has to do it again this year because now he's a senior?And his dad keeps telling him to just ENJOY this last year, and quit putting so much pressure on himself.

Speaking of his dad...he brought the house down with laughter on Easter.ImageEmma and Ben brought April a basket, and Emma brought me a copy of 'Chicken Soup for the Grandmother's Soul".....Tony glanced at it, and asked 'are there any other recipes in it besides for Chicken Soup"....we were all rolling laughing, and I explained that it was a series of inspirational books, NOT cookbooks. Sadly, I fear he's spent too much time around all of us nuts:)

SIGNS OF THE TIMES....While I personally think that homosexual families are wrong(and this is largely based on KNOWING one, and the feelings of the woman's children that they HATE the fact that their mother openly lives with her 'partner') I think what disturbed me most about the gay families attending the Easter egg roll at the White House was that they couldn't just ATTEND......even Tony, who is pretty much a poster child for 'conservative redneck':), said "why couldn't they just attend, and NOT wear rainbow colored leis and bracelets to trumpet the fact that they are gay families?did all the 'traditional' families wear matching necklaces and bracelets to trumpet the fact that they are traditional families?"(ARticle about it here)   

 
I think I've have had more respect for them if they had just attended, without trying to make it into a big political statement.
 
In another 'sign of the times', I noticed while in the checkout line atthe dollar store yesterday that they now have those ribbons like you see for troop support in BLUE and instead of red, white and blue and 'support' our troops'....they are simply blue and say only 'Bring our troops safely home'. What do you think about this change?
 
Lastly, I don't think I have mentioned yet the 'Milblogging conference' that takes place in DC this weekend?   Here's a link, if you want to know more about it.
 
 
I think it would've been cool to get by part of it, but on my limited budget, I guess I'll just visit the 'online' coverage,lol. A lot of these bloggers are folks I have been reading for the past two years, and admire greatly.
 
Speaking of bloggers, 'Totum Depeandent' the blog from Djibouti, has disappeared....either shut down, I suppose, by higher ups in the soldiers chain of command, or changed to a private blog. One of the soldiers that I write/IM with, says they were told they were not allowed to have blogs at all while deployed.
 
And I'm looking for some feedback......when I first saw that movie coming out about Flight 93, I didn't think I wanted to go see it. The memories of that day are etched in my brain. But then after I started reading reviews and opinions about it...I'm wondering if I should see it, as a way to honor and remember the folks on that flight? So if you want to give your thoughts in the comments....feel free!:) (all TWO of my readers,lol)
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Saturday, April 15, 2006

Happy Easter!

Have to share a cute story....my daughter saw the Easter basket we had made to send to the Fisher House (a Soldiers Angels project, for more about the Fisher Houses   Click here: Fisher House -- Helping Military Families  )So she immediately asked "is that MINE?" and when we told her 'no, that's for a family of a wounded soldier " she was saying, "Hey! I'm your DAUGHTER! where's mine??????"LOL....of course we have one for her also, but her dad told her "well, you're a TEENAGER now, aren't you a little old to be getting an Easter basket?"So she's not sure if she's getting a basket!

And wanted to give you all an update on the wounded soldier I had earlier posted about needing cards and prayers? 

 
God bless all of you for doing such a great job!What an awesome response,so many cards that they are overwhelmed!(check out the April 15 update)
 
Yesterday at Dustin's track meet, we got to experience the full gamut of weather....I started out shivering in an icy cold rain, with the wind blowing, and ended up getting slightly sunburned in the afternoon. The weather was calling for sunny and 81 degrees, so I put on shorts in the morning and asked Tony, "Do I look like 'Chunky McGunky' in these shorts?" He said "where the heck do you come up with these phrases?" and I said"I think it's from reading too much Dr. Suess!"Image
 
Wishing everyone a Happy Easter
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Thursday, April 13, 2006

Treadmills,Mammograms, and other ETC

Some catching up to do. This past Saturday, April went to a party for the handbell choir. When her dad and I picked her up, she's of course telling us about the party....and then I hear her say that one boy "cut his lip in a treadmill accident".

Well, I start laughing, while her dad asks "how the heck do you cut your LIP in a treadmill accident?! did he forget to walk or what?!"and she says"well, he wouldn't really give us specifics about the accident".   By this point, I am leaning my head against the car window and laughing so hard I have tears in my eyes because A. all the pictures in my head of how this treadmill accident COULD have happened and B.because if I had guessed for a million years about 'things April will tell us after the party' I would definitely NEVER have guessed she's say THAT!Image

Moving on....yesterday Dustin had a track meet. He came in second in the discus...his usual good job,but he didn't place in the shotput. Tomorrow he has an all day track meet.

While we were at the track meet, Tony says to me "oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you that your sister sent Dustin a MAMMOGRAM."  I said "She sent a WHAT??!!" (thinking to myself...why the heck would my sister send THAT?!) and Tony says, "yeah, she sent him a $10 mammogram." and I say 'honey, a mammogram is a test for ....um.....women's breasts"  and Tony said, "OH! I mean she sent a MONEYGRAM!"   So,I wanted to say "thanks,sis" and I'm so glad you sent money and not the first thing he said,ROFLMAO!!

Lastly, I apologize for not updating....Kyle is LOVING his new job! he is in the second week and starting on the 12 hour shift rotations now. Thanks to all who asked after him, I should've posted that sooner, but was distracted by treadmills and mammograms and all the other interesting things that seem to float our way.  Like Kyle, in anticipation of starting 12 hour night shifts in a few weeks, bought a bunch of Red Bull drinks.  So last night he is popping one open about 10 pm, and Tony warned "you'll be up all night!" and Kyle says, no....I'll be fine.   Got up this morning and Kyle said< Geez, I was up till 2 A.M.!!!!!Guess you were right!"

Wishing everyone a happy Easter weekend

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Wednesday, April 12, 2006

The Dark Side of Easter

Sorry, just could not resist!   And there's more...when hopscotch goes wrong....

   Click here: http://home.att.net/~songs2/Jumper.jpg

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Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Local Sexual Predator gets NO jail time!!!

THIS blows my mind!!!   
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Monday, April 10, 2006

This and That,Here and There

Just surfing the 'blogosphere' this morning (think of that,computer geeks,we have our own 'sphere'Image) and I think I'm going to point out a few places I found to be interesting places to go. (the lazy woman's way to write a blog post,lol)

First up, I am a huge fan of Milblogging.com 

 
because JP has put together a site that lists over a thousand military blogs (which includes soldiers blogging, families of soldiers blogging, etc.etc.)Today, he wrote a post asking for the rest of us to list our favorite milblogs in the comments....why not slide over and check him out, and then tell us all who your faves are?
 
Next, I love reading White Rose's blog as a military contractor  
 
while so many folks who stop by here are supporting the troops in various ways,Cindy brings to light a group of people that you might not have thought about...U.S. military contractors. And she does it in a very interesting and informative way.   Today,she posted about a new group that she found for supporting the troops  
 
but I also wanted to point out that via her blog, I found a site to support the contractors.  http://www.americancontractorsiniraq.com/   These folks are as much in harm's way as our troops, and if you wanted to give them a shout out? I'm sure they'd like to know they are being thought of,also.
 
Moving on in the blogosphere, there is a post up on My OIF Deployment by a young mother that brings home the sacrifices that our soldiers and their families make 
 
And,lest you think that I only surf military blogs,lol....Motormouth has a post up about something I never thought of....how the current immigration rallies can affect something as simple as test taking at school  
 
So, I hope I've given you a few places to check out while surfing the 'net. Enjoy your surfing, and have a good week!
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Saturday, April 8, 2006

Fred Phelps visit to DC

I don't know if y'all are following this, but White Rose had posted earlier this week that Fred Phelps and his so-called 'church' were going to be protesting at Walter Reed Army Medical Center this past Thursday. 

 
Today, CJ over at A Soldiers Perspective had a post up about the counter protest 
 
and there's a link on his post to pictures at The Free Republic 
Click here: AAR: Phelps' Traveling Freak Show Greeted by DC Chapter at Walter Reed 4/6/06 (Graphics Intensive)      That graphics intensive warning is for real......it was extraordinarily upsetting to watch fellow Americans stomping on the flag.....I've only ever seen other nations that hate our country doing that before.
 
You'll also see that some wounded vets from Walter Reed showed up to counter protest. I can only applaud them....when I think of the fact that they are there RECOVERING, and they were faced with this? Words fail me.
 
But it looks like the veterans and some guys from Rolling Thunder and the Patriot Guard , and the FReepers who have been faithfully going out every Friday night for months to counter Code Pink protests at Walter Reed, all stepped up . God bless them all!
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Thursday, April 6, 2006

Field trip yesterday

Went on a field trip with my daughter's class to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum yesterday. It turned out to be a much COLDER day than any of us expected!

I had long wanted to see the Holocaust museum,and was looking forward to sharing the experience with my daughter. Instead, I shared it with two boys who kept trying to ditch the rest of the group. The museum likes to have a 1:7 ratio of adults to kids...we had so many chaperones that the group I was in had a 3:7 ratio. And there were two boys who had obviously gotten attached to our group just to round the numbers out....so they did the museum tour in under an hour.

Since our guide said that over 10,000 people would be visiting the museum yesterday, I felt one of us chaperones needed to keep tabs on the boys.....way to easy for them to be lost. And I've got that old 'responsibility' thing engrained in my makeup, so I felt like since I had volunteered as a chaperone, I needed to chaperone. It was pretty frustrating though....these boys obviously cared nothing for the whole idea, and were just intent on getting done as soon as possible.And the selfish part of me was a little irked that on what was probably the last field trip with my daughter, I was spending it chasing two complete strangers through a museum I'd always wanted to see , at a pace that meant I was seeing pretty much nothing but a blur.

If you'd like to see more about the museum, here's a link 

 
you may see more than I did yesterday!
 
I did manage to catch the boy's attention a few times and direct it to a few exhibits that they slowed down long enough to look at. One of the things that stands out was a defaced door from an actual synagogue, that was defaced on 'Kristillnacht'......why they went to look at it when I pointed it out, I don't know!lol....but they did at least stop.And since we got done 40 minutes before the rest of the group, I kept directing us into other exhibits....so they did both sit down on the interactive computer stations and seemed actually to be paying attention, while I watched a short film. They were also supposed to be filling out little booklets at the end of each floor, to turn in after the tour to their teachers. I asked them after two floors if they were filling anything out, and they said 'no'....me being a great believer in you need to accept responsibility for your actions, I just thought 'oh,well' and shrugged same as they did.:)
 
My daughter said that she got a little upset at the short films about the medical experiments...another exhibit I saw out of the corner of my eye as we did the 100 yard dash. I'll have to go back some day again....there was none of the feeling of reverence or thoughtfulness that I was expecting to feel while going thru the museum, probably due to our accelerated pace.
After lunch, we spent time at the FDR memorial....a large part of the questions in their booklets needed to be filled out there. Then we walked around to the Korean War memorial, past the Lincoln memorial, and over to the Vietnam memorial.
 
I spoke sharply to two other boys in the group there, who just would not quiet down. If you've ever been to the Vietnam memorial, you start down a slope past all the names on the Wall, and there is usually a corresponding 'hush' as you begin viewing the names. I realize these were middle school boys....but after twice nicely asking them to be quiet, I leaned over and said to them (in 'that voice' as my daughter puts it, which I believe is my 'you need to cut the crap out right now' voice,lol)"if you can not show any respect for this memorial to all these people who gave their lives, and to the other people who are trying to view it....you need to turn around right NOW and walk back up and go AROUND the walkway on the OUTSIDE so that you are not disturbing others ."My daughter says that voice pretty much scares her and her friends  Imageand it shut those boys up after that. (in fact, the rest of the day whenever they saw me, I heard them saying 'oh,no, there's that lady again'!)One of the teachers later thanked me, they said some of the chaperones are afraid to speak up and I just laughed and said 'well, I have no problem insisting that they have some respect!"
 
The last place we went was the old U.S.Postal building, to eat dinner before leaving. We had Chinese, and then rode the glass indoor elevator up to view the tower, which was cool....but I also discovered I had never been on a glass elevator before and it's scary as heck! Here's a link about that.  
 
All in all, it was a gorgeous day, although chilly, and the sun was shining and the cherry trees looked beautiful. Although my tour at the Holocaust museum didn't go like I planned, I enjoyed the day overall and enjoyed the time spent with these kids and my daughter. I also have the highest respect for middle school teachers!Image
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Sunday, April 2, 2006

Quote of the Week:)

So, Dustin calls last night, and I answer the phone...and he says,"I just wanted to ask...does the clock go up or down?!"  

I told him 'up' and then hung up the phone and was rolling on the floor laughing. Image

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Saturday, April 1, 2006

My son Ready for work on Monday!

I am so proud of him(lol,can you tell?)Image
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The War Tapes

This film looks like it will be a 'must see'.  
 
and there's a blog
 
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Just finished a good book

Contrary to what my family thinks,lol, I do actually spend time AWAY from the computer. Just finished reading a good book this morning, "While They're at War...The True Story of American Families on the Homefront" by Kristin Henderson.  A very good read.

Update:  As one of my friends pointed out, I'm not the best book reviewer,lol. I should have said that this was written by the wife of a military chaplain, and her own husband had also been deployed twice when she wrote this book. In response to my friend, it was "real stories about real people", and did NOT have a pro or anti war stance as far as I could tell. One of the things I liked best about it was that it gave me a greater understanding of what military families go through, and a greater respect for the sacrifices they make and what deployment is like for them. God bless our military families!

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Prayers and Cards needed for a Wounded Soldier

Saw this on Snopes.com:

Dear Friends: 3/21/06

There is a young soldier (a 23 year old Tennessee National Guardsman) named Sgt. Kevin Downs.

He was blown out of his tank in Baghdad a year ago and left with no feet, mangled arms, and burns over 60% of his body. He is a Tennessee boy. Everyone else in the tank was killed. His condition is not good. A surgery to improve the use of fingers on one hand inadvertently caused previous skin grafts to break down, and the grafts on his legs are cracking as well and may require beginning over at square one.

Kevin is tired and low in spirits. He needs our prayers and support through cards. Would you please send him a note or card to let him know you are thinking about him? Remember him in your prayers as well.

Now I am going to ask a special favor from me. Would you please send this to as many people that you can in your e-mail addresses? Hit FORWARD and let my e-mail introduce Kevin to your e-mail buddies. I would love to see him get cards from everywhere and hopefully he will know that people all over the country appreciate him leaving the safety of his home and country and fighting for our freedoms. I personally have never met Kevin or his family but when my minister let us know that Kevin needed a lift, I couldn't keep quiet.

I love America and know that it could very well be one of my family members. Thank you for all that you will do.

His address is:

Sgt. Kevin Downs
Brooke Army Medical Center
3851 Roger Brooke Drive
Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234

Thanks again! Every little card and prayer will help!
The link to a site maintained about Kevin is here
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