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CARDS FOR THE TROOPS THAT I HAVE RECEIVED!!

EMAIL RECEIVED FROM IRAQ RE: FATHER'S DAY CARDS!

I had this email in my inbox when I woke this morning & thought I would share.....hope it makes your day as much as it did mine!

"Thank you, I recieved the box yesterday. It took a grand total of 30 minutes for people to find out I had some, and empty the supply. You seem to have found the right number, because no one was turned away without a card. It worked out especially because for some reason, the exchange's meager supply of cards did not include any Father's day cards, or if it did, they ran out a while back.

Thank you,
Peter"

This is them

I have been stamping & scrapping.......

I did this layout a few days ago......got the idea for it after seeing a layout on 2Peas by Harleyangel about the Patriot Guard Riders. Does it not make you sad that they are a needed organization (keeping demonstrators away from families during a funeral)?

Here are the Father's Day cards that I made to send to Iraq.....Father one idea was borrowed from a Sympathy card made by jdmeeks on Splitcoaststampers (SCS), the golf ball one was inspired by Brownee also on SCS, the 2 Red,White & Blue Happy Father's Day cards were inspired by Marie from a card she had on her blog & the final one with the beer mug I saw a card like it in the Spring issue of Just Cards (beer mug was cut with my Wishblade). I will post pictures that I have received from others tomorrow. Thanks for looking.

GOOD NEWS FOR TODAY......

Security efforts assist market re-openings, electricity supply

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers building 12 new schools

FIFTEEN MONTHS AND COUNTING

From Badger's Forward:
6 Days

For my Canadian Friends:
Soldier's mom urges people to send care packages to Afghanistan

Video from Memorial Day.

I just received this YouTube video......one of our Gold Star Mom's was honored to be invited to Washington, DC for Memorial Day to be in the parade & to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.....here is it.




And I got new flag today......We Support Our Troops....to go on the flag pole.

Weekend Update

Hi all....
Yesterday we spent with the Balsley Family....it was Jim's 60th Birthday party (a surprise) and fun was had by all. Lots & lots of people came.....tons of food.....even a magician who entertained us. We met some great folks throughout the day.......thoroughly enjoyed it. We came home & just chilled the rest of the evening. Did find out that Operation Mom took in approximately $1400 on Monday for the "Wounded Hero's Fund". Of course owners of Chapel of the Chimes will match that so pretty good take for the day I would say.

The last couple days of the week were a bit hectic. On Thursday 'the boy' realized his debit card was missing so he called to get help. Of course he hadn't done a power of attorney for us to handle this so it was a pain but he called & got it cancelled. They sent new card here so now we have to Express Mail it to reach him before he leaves for MO on Wed. I learned how to use Western Union on Friday to send him money to get him thru the weekend & pay for bus ticket to airport if he needs it. Boy that sure isn't a easy task......twenty questions. But I guess it's good they have such security & you can't just use a Visa card to wire funds. Well with all he has gotten stolen from him in the last year I guess it was inevitable someone would get his card....luckily they didnt' get any money.

One more week left for the Soprano's....looks like they are gonna kill everyone off. My guess is AJ is gonna enlist.....not sure which branch tho. We watched the new show "Army Wives" (hey it has same executive producer as Grey's Anatomy....what did you expect?) which started tonite....we liked it. Check it out if you didn't see it.

Hope everyone has a good week.....

Cropping at the Pentagon

This happened awhile ago but it really looked very kewl so I wanted to share it in case you hadn't seen it. Scrapping with Military Families

See how much they give up for you!!

Had to share this photo.......Hey, I didn't say it....

New Scam Targets Military Spouses

I know I'm trying to post good news these days but I saw this yesterday & shared with Butterfly Wife but it was mentioned that this has happened to Military Parents also so I am posting it here too. Unfortunately there are some awful people out there....so sad.

New Scam Targets Military Spouses
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 31, 2007 - The American Red Cross is warning military spouses about a new identity-theft scam that targets family members of deployed troops.
The Red Cross was alerted of the scam earlier this month, said Devorah Goldburg of the Red Cross.
The scam involves a person with an American accent calling a military spouse, identifying herself as a representative of the Red Cross, and telling the spouse that her husband was hurt in Iraq and was medically evacuated to Germany. The caller then says that doctors can't start treatment until paperwork is completed, and that to start the paperwork they need the spouse to verify her husband's social security number and date of birth.
It is hard to determine how many spouses have been targeted by this scam, Goldburg said, as there are many ways for spouses to report problems like this. However, one confirmed report was enough for the Red Cross to act, she said.
"We know that it happened to one person; it was probably going to happen to others, and we wanted to be prudent and alert people," she said.
American Red Cross representatives typically do not contact military members or dependents directly and almost always go through a commander or first sergeant, according to a Red Cross news release. Military family members are urged not to give out any personal information over the phone if contacted by unknown individuals, including confirmation that their spouse is deployed.
In addition, Red Cross representatives contact military members or dependents directly only in response to an emergency message initiated by a family member, the news release said. The Red Cross does not report any type of casualty information to family members; the Defense Department will contact families directly about family members' injuries.
It is a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, for a person to fraudulently pretend to be a member of, or an agent for, the American Red Cross for the purpose of soliciting, collecting, or receiving money or material, according to the news release. Any military family member that receives such a call is urged to report it to their local family readiness group or military personnel flight.

Good news from Iraq

This is a blog I read daily.....too good not to share.

Hearts and Minds
Some of the top commanders and colonels in the area toured Charlie Medical yesterday. RK, our head surgeon and detachment commander, gave them a tour of the OR and our capabilities. While discussing area topics and patient care for the local populous and Iraqi Forces, the colonel had some genuinely positive encouragement regarding the care we are rending in Ramadi. (read more)

And because 'the boy' is supposed to be with Engineers I thought this was something I should share....I found it on Butterfly Wifes blog.

MNF-I. Engineers clear way for new school. Damaged outpost in Baqubah demolished. Army guys do like to blow stuff up. And the author of the article must too cause that's the focus.

I did get the last shipment of cards to MSgt Jason today so hopefully almost 300 Dad's will hear from their kidlets on the special day. I hear I am getting more cards coming so those will get out too! Have a good Friday everyone.

Hello from Iraq 30 May 2007-From Victor

Hello Everyone:

We have been very busy as usual. I am still waiting to see an empty OR board. There are a couple of children in the hospital. I was able to give them a few items. They seemed to be doing good.I've finally found a couple of people willing to get up at 0500 hrs in the morning to go running. The first week is always the roughest ...after that, getting up and running starts to feel more routine. Hopefully, they don't quit on me. I don't mind the heat so much during the day; it is the sun I don't like. You can feel it burning you up when it is unhindered. I'm getting pretty good with the forklift (5K). It is so much easier to drop my own supplies from the truck then having to wait for someone with a license to assist. I have got a descent amount of cookies for the Iraqi Girl scouts. I will drop them off on the 7th. I'll try to get a bunch of pictures on this day and at the clean-up on the following day at the scout site. My children are out of school and are eagerly awaiting the Florida trip at the end of this week. My daughter is going to be able to take a couple of her friends. I'm sure they will have a great time. Well, I have got to get back to work. Thanks again for all the support. May God keep you safe and in good spirits.

Thank You,
Victor

The Cards are in the Mail!

Thanks to all my helpers I was able to send out Father's Day cards to 2 hospitals & MSgt Mike's replacement, MSgt Jason.....it is their first deployment & he emailed me when I sent a card for Armed Forces Day to let me know that our support is making it easier for them to do their job over there. Lets keep it up. I am so honored to have 'met' you all & hope to make a lot more friends along the way in coordinating this project. I want to say again how much this is helping me in dealing with my son's upcoming deployment. Please keep me busy!! I have pictures to post later of some of the cards I have been receiving.

We spent the day as it should be....honoring those who have died for our country. The Memorial Day ceremony was very well done. Steve was very honored to present colors for Operation Mom with a Marine who had recently returned from Iraq. Operation Mom had a booth to sell product (tshirts, pins, etc) & take donations for "Wounded Hero Fund"...I will post when I hear how much was made. Chapel of the Chimes, which is where this was held, will match funds for this dollar for dollar. We met alot of wonderful people this day....many of them Vets from past & present wars as well as other family members. A very thoughtful day. Here are some of the photo's I took.

New Flag Pole!

Well it's up & looking good. Steve had to do 3 holes to get it right (1st one hit irrigation lines, 2nd one we realized pole would be too close to the house & as with my marrying him the 3rd time was the charm!). Got it up for Memorial Day too. What do you think?

Memorial Day Eve

We just finished watching the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS. It was very moving. If you have had someone you know die go to the website, write a eulogy & share their story. One of our Gold Star Mom's is in Washington D.C. this weekend to be in the National Memorial Day Parade tomorrow. She was so pleased to be asked .....such an honor for her. I checked the Directv guide to see if the parade would be televised so we could tivo it as we wouldn't be home but didn't find a listing. I know she will share her photo's & tell us all about it at the next meeting.

Steve & I went to the Memorial Day service where Spc Michael Balsley's family goes to church this morning. The church put up a plaque in Michael's memory inside the church. It was a very nice service & we feel very honored to be able to participate in it.

Tomorrow we will go to the Memorial Day (different site) ceremony so will be gone most of the day. I have a special letter to post for the day.....written by a RN who works in a military hospital. Please read it all. Copied with her permission........


MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
Name: RN Clara Hart
Posting date: 5/25/07
Stationed in: a military hospital in the U.S.
Email: clarahart2@yahoo.com
It is Memorial Day Weekend and I have suddenly realized a lot of things I never even thought about before. Years ago I was a sheltered Midwest kid whose only contact with the military was an uncle in the Air Force who I saw maybe once every five years. I’m ashamed to say the military never really meant much to me in those days. I simply never gave any thought to the people who fought, were injured and sometimes killed in serving me. As I write that it sounds incredibly harsh, and for that I apologize.
Somewhere along life’s path I started making friends with people “in the military”. Things truly changed for me on September 11, 2001; a day I will remember clearly for the rest of my life. I lost friends that day, and I looked down at the faces of their beautiful children, who would never know their parents, lost to acts of indescribable evil and cowardice.
Soon after, a friend deployed to OEF, then another to OIF, and I gradually became more aware of the struggles and hardships they faced in serving. Cards, letters, toiletries, chocolates, meals in a can, little luxuries of home I packed in boxes and mailed off. Somehow at some point the military folks began to take up residence in my heart. They became, to me, the ones who fought to prevent future acts of terrorism. The ones who preserved my freedoms. And it was and still is my hope that because of what they did and continue to do I will never again have to experience the kinds of things I saw and lived through on September 11, 2001 and in the days that followed.
Tired and burned out from working trauma and flying medevacs I began to look at other nursing opportunities, and one in particular caught my eye. After many long months (we all know government jobs!) I was on my way to being indoctrinated into the military way of healthcare. They tell me I had to “in process” or “check in”, which really involved wandering around like a lost soul at various installations trying to get signatures on a single piece of paper. I learned quickly to bring a book, find a chair and settle in until they called my name. I learned when they ask “Last four?” they mean the final four digits of your social security number. An enlisted person took pity on me and began drawing a diagram of the rank structure so I’d have an idea of who was what. In the end the easiest solution was to call them all "Ma’am" and "Sir". Can’t go wrong there!
Later I would sit, mouth hanging open, bemusement etched across my face, as those around me discussed topics in what sounded like a foreign language. “Remember Janice? She used to be at USHS? Well she’s PCS’ing to BAMC. She finally got O6." "Smith, oh yeah, he’s TDY at MIEMSO." I still have days were I cannot even begin to understand what they are saying; too bad there’s not a dictionary that translates military acronyms into English.
When I began patient care, at least that was something I knew; familiar ground! In doing patient care I looked around and saw that these patients were respectful, they were polite and they actually said “Thank you”. Whoa! What a concept! From an inner city trauma center where I had begun to think my name was “Bitch” to a hospital where I have patients who call me "Ma’am" and say, “Thanks for taking care of me." Awesome!
As Memorial Day is a time of reflection, I sit here and reflect on many things. I reflect and remember:
-- My trip to Arlington National Cemetery, section 64, where my friends, victims of the September 11th attack are buried. A trip to lay flowers at the graves and remember.
-- My wounded triple-amputee who told me I was the first woman (other than his mom and sister) to hug him without hesitation.
-- My OIF, who with his wife brought me small trinkets for my birthday and Christmas. Never, ever, ever had a patient do that before!
-- My wounded special ops guy who hugged me so hard I literally couldn’t breath until he let go. Thank goodness he didn’t hold on long!
-- The angel quilt that sits on my chair, made by the mother of one of my wounded. The box showed up totally unexpected and made me cry so hard the cosmetics ceased to exist. I hate it when the mascara runs!
-- The ones who leave and never say good-bye.
-- The ones we work feverishly on for hours and hours, praying "Please let this work..." but it doesn’t and our hearts are broken.
-- The amputees I ran the Army 10-miler with, all nine of them, and how proud I was to see each and every one of them cross the finish line!
-- The parents I spent hours with educating them on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) helping them to understand their son could not control some of the responses he was having.
-- The ones I watch struggle to stay in the military, but who are no longer able to do what they once did and so they grieve.
-- The courage, perseverance, and fortitude displayed by every single one of wounded.
-- The ones I watched get married.
-- All the ones who I’ve cradled in my arms and allowed to soak the shoulder on my scrub top, and the ones whose hands I’ve simply held. Sometimes looking in the opposite direction.
-- All the ones I laugh with, pray with and for, and some who decide to hang around and become my friends.
-- All the new friends I have made, many still in harm's way, simply by posting my stories.
There are so many things to remember and reflect on this Memorial Day; three years of working as a civilian nurse in a military hospital have provided a plethora. Let me close by saying to all of you who have served, are currently serving, or will serve -- you have my deepest, most sincere gratitude and appreciation. You will always have a special place in my heart and in my prayers, and I will never again forget or take for granted your service and sacrifices.

Email from Victor in Iraq from May 27th

May 27, 2007

Hello Everyone:
Thanks again to everyone for their prayers and support for ustroops here in Iraq/Afghanistan. It has been in the 100's (115-120degrees to be more exact) here in Baghdad. If you send any chocolate,make sure it is candy coated (M&Ms/Reeces Pieces) or they will notsurvive the trip. We got a couple of small water pistols and have beenplaying around with them. Water definitely makes the heat bearable.My Dad and brother are sending me a battery powered drill and saw. I amgoing to use them on a couple of projects. They should be handy when Igo to the scout area clean up in mid June (I don't think they have powerin that area). I should have plenty of cookies to give to the Iraqi GirlScouts for their fundraiser on 7 June. I am going to help with their baseball camp in early June. I don't know what kind of equipment theyhave and am considering June my green entry phase into the organization.They said I can take pictures of the events so by mid June, expect tosee some. I am also going to try to bring some things for these kidstoo. The Iraqi Scouts Green Zone Council has a website with a link with pictures. It is as follows: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GZC_IraqiScouts We still struggle with our minimal staff and we still maintain a busy schedule. I still manage to get the med supplies ordered and picked up.The heat don't help with this effort either. Now that I got my forklift licenses, I won't have to wait for my pallets to get downloaded from thetruck. I will say it is nice to get out of the OR for a couple days eachweek to pick up supplies.They are letting the families stay a few more weeks. This will at leastallow the kids to finish the school year. Many families will also still remain here. They are the families of the Iraqi military members andgovernment officials (the ones in most danger).I thought I would send some pictures of my children today. They are allgetting so big and doing good.We are still hopeful for the safe return of the missing US Soldiers.Please keep them and their families in your prayers.
Thank You,
VICTOR

Email from Victor in Iraq from May 25th

I asked permission to reprint these as I thought other's might like to hear what other things are being done over there.....Hope you enjoy reading them. I will be posting them as received.

May 25, 2007

Hello Everyone:

The scouts meeting was pretty good. I did not realize how bigthe organization has gotten here. There are several councils throughoutIraq and they are going to try to send some of the scouts to the ScoutJamborie in the UK. Unless anybody minds, I was planning to give theIraqi girl scouts some of the cookies that have been sent to us. Theyare doing a cookie sale on the 7/8th of June. The proceeds go to thescouts. I am going to try to go to the clean-up detail at the scoutgrounds next month to see what the area looks like. They also have acouple of activity weeks lined up...of course they are during my workschedule. I have attached some more pictures from last week. Thanks againeveryone for sending things. 4th of July is coming up and the OR intends to win thedecorating contest. We have won every other contest and now everyone isgunning for us...especially after we took the commanders cup in lastmonths organizational day. I know its early, but if you see 4th Julydecorations or have excess, there is a place here for them. I hope everyone has a great summer. With the little extra moneyI'm making here, my wife and kids are going to Florida next month.Should be a great time for them and they deserve it. God Bless you all and take care.

Thank You,

VICTOR

Sorry I've been gone so long.......

Hi all. Sorry I haven't been keeping up but it has been a busy week. First of all the Operation Mom Garage Sale was great....we made over $1000!! We had a very nice time Saturday nite at the Homecoming Party of LCPL Tom & his lovely bride ........we stayed til the end eating & gambling. Learned how to play Roulette........did I tell you they had a Casino Night party? Lots of fun.

'The boy' called on Wednesday to let us know he finally got his orders...he will be leaving in less than 2 weeks. Will be going to Fort Leonard Wood or "Fort Lost in the Woods" as it is called. He will be with a Combat Engineer Battalion. Looks like he will deploy to Iraq in July. I did do some searches on this Unit & could only find 3 casualties in the 4 years of war.....1 of those was a heart attack.....so that makes me feel a lot better. They do the stuff we don't read about in the paper or see on the evening news. They worked on Baghdad Zoo, playgrounds & police stations as well as demoing buildings that pose security issues. Please keep him in your prayers. (US too!)

Got alot of cards done......will be working on them until Tues & then will send off all that I have. Still have not gone thru everything I have received yet......will pull out everything that is masculine looking to use for Father's Day too. Thanks to all that have sent cards. I really appreciate all the participation. I have some boxes I haven't had time to open as I want to post photo's so will get that done hopefully tomorrow.

Friday The City of Hayward planted a tree in memory of Spc. Michael Balsley who was killed in Iraq in January.......4 months to the day of the planting. Steve & I attended the cermony...I will post photo as I get it uploaded. Tomorrow the church were his memorial service was held is putting up a plaque in his memory....we will be attending that also. Then on Monday we will go to Chapel of the Chimes for their annual Memorial Day Ceremony. Operation Mom will be there as the cemetary has given us office space plus we will have a booth to see tshirts, pins & such to raise money for the Wounded Soldiers Fund. Steve will be presenting the colors which will be very kewl. I offered to lay a wreath if we can not get a servicemember to do so. Will be an all day event with a BBQ at the end.

I am going to close this with some news links I have found.....am going to try to do this more often. Have a good Sunday everyone.

Puppy helps tie family to slain soldier

Wounded warrior leads formation run to Ground Zero

ARMED FORCES DAY!!

We are off for the day....Operation Mom Garage Sale (this will be Sunday too) first to earn postage money to send packages off to troops.... it is on Victory Ave in Hayward if you are in the area. Then we have a welcome home party later for Marine kiddo of one of the members.

Today is also Recruiter Appreciation Day.......thank a service member &/or Recruiter today for sure. Also please remember all our service men & women in your prayers especially those 3 missing soldiers & their families......pray they are found soon.

Have a good day.