Update on my life....

Hello there! I hope someone is still out there to read this as I've been gone so very long. Guess you could say I have been living life instead of writing about it. Have been very busy.....many events the past few months. We joined the Patriot Guard Riders (hubby more so than I as I was still representing Operation: MOM at funerals & homecomings) and participated in many, many homecomings which of course are absolutely my most favorite things to do. Thankfully I have not been to many funerals which are my least favorite things to do. We visited the Vets at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto for Christmas & Valentines. Celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, St. Patricks Day, Easter & Mother's Day. Steve & I have both had birthdays as have some of our good friends. The biggest event & most life altering was that my husband had a heart attack on March 26th. We were at the airport in San Jose to welcome home a soldier when he collapsed in the flag line. Luckily 2 of the people who were with the welcome group were nurses & took over. EMT's were there in moments & we were 5 min from O'Connor Hospital. He had an angioplasty that evening (by Dr. who is only in ER 2x's a month) .....and all is well now. Our son came home for 2 weeks on emergency leave which was great. We are slowly getting back to business as usual & life is getting busy again tho we are taking it a little slower....at least for awhile....trying to only do 1 event a day.



Major changes happened with Operation: MOM too in that time I was MIA. Back in March both the President & VP resigned due to health/personal reasons so positions were filled by the co-founders of the group. March packing was postponed so I mailed Easter cards out to contacts I had in Iraq & Afghanistan. I packed up Mother's Day cards to a Marine unit, a hospital & other contacts in Iraq & Afghanistan to be distributed. Shortly thereafter I was told that Operation: MOM felt that they needed their focus to be on family support & would not be doing large packings anymore. They would send packages of cards for me tho but it would be bulk mailings. I felt that our cards couldn't take that....so I looked for another way to get the cards overseas & to individual soldiers/marines/airmen/sailors. A couple weeks ago I went to a packing for Operation: Care & Comfort I decided it would be a good fit for this project. They send packages every month so I can send out as I get the cards in....this way I won't have them around my house for 3 months or so. I also will be able to send out special holidays in packages....I have been sending some out myself as there wasn't a packing at the time. I will start sending cards out thru them in July. Father's Day cards will go this week thru Operation: MOM.

I'm sure there will be more I need to tell you as I think of it but for now this will be my 'getting back into the groove' post. Next week I will begin posting for a friend who is heading cross country on his motorcycle to DC on the "Run for The Wall" (RFTW)....he will send me posts daily...not sure if I will have photo's or not yet. I also want to tell ou all about a run we attended in memory of Cpl Michael Anderson, Jr.....photo's too. Hope everyone has a great Mother's Day.