Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Story time with Daddy!
There is a project called "United Through Reading" which is sponsored by the USO. The USO has made it possible for soldiers to read stories to their children via DVD and mail it, along with the books that were read, home to their babies. The positive impact that it has on everyone at home is tremendous! Our FRG collected several hundred books for this cause, and Nick was able to put them to use a couple of weeks ago! Emmy just got her package of books in the mail! The very best part was seeing and hearing Daddy, she was absolutely entranced...
Operation Pick-Me-Up Part 1
As I mentioned in a previous post, one of Nick's many challenges with his command is improving and maintaining this soldiers' morale. Considering, as of a month ago, Operation Enduring Freedom is the longest American war, there is no manual on how to do this. The position we find ourselves in is unprecedented. What we do know is that one of the best tools in boosting morale is family support. Understandably, there is a direct correlation between family stress and poor morale.
We have decided to wade through these uncharted waters and Operation Pick-Me-Up was born. The goal with this project is to reach out to our families and encourage them, through various outlets, to step in and cheer their soldiers on. The idea is that in doing so, their families will give them the boost they desperately need to do their jobs successfully and to come home to us safely. Amidst all of the uncertainty and lack of control, these families hold their soldiers' morale in the palm of their hands. That responsibility is both scary and empowering.
The first phase of Operation Pick-Me-Up is a surprise steak dinner! Nick had this very ambitious brainchild a couple of weeks ago. He talked with his friends in the Regiment who graciously agreed to transport a cooler filled with the fixin's for this meal on their next rotator flight to Kandahar! Amazing!! Then, he sent e-mails to a local butcher shop and to the Commissary on post to get price quotes for enough steaks and brauts to feed his company...When word got out what he was willing to do for his soldiers, a couple of anonymous donors stepped forward to provide all of the meat...UNBELIEVABLE!! I shared this wonderful news with our families at our FRG meeting last weekend. At that time, I was able to procure volunteers to bake 16 dozen cookies and to encourage the ladies to break out their stationary to write thank you letters to their soldiers! Families came out of the woodworks to support this effort! People want to help, they've just needed to know how.
On Tuesday morning, at our set time, I dropped off a 150 quart cooler filled with 85 brauts, 85 marinaded steaks, 85 small ears of frozen corn, 16 dozen of our soldiers' favorite homemade cookies, personal letters from home and a special banner painted with their aircraft nose art (that they've recently been ordered to paint over). I was giddy with excitement as I drove away from the compound!
Nick will be waiting, with a truck, to pick up the very best care package of all time as soon as it lands in theatre. It should be there in just a matter of hours...I smile just thinking about the looks on his soldiers' faces when they see what's for dinner. :)
We have decided to wade through these uncharted waters and Operation Pick-Me-Up was born. The goal with this project is to reach out to our families and encourage them, through various outlets, to step in and cheer their soldiers on. The idea is that in doing so, their families will give them the boost they desperately need to do their jobs successfully and to come home to us safely. Amidst all of the uncertainty and lack of control, these families hold their soldiers' morale in the palm of their hands. That responsibility is both scary and empowering.
The first phase of Operation Pick-Me-Up is a surprise steak dinner! Nick had this very ambitious brainchild a couple of weeks ago. He talked with his friends in the Regiment who graciously agreed to transport a cooler filled with the fixin's for this meal on their next rotator flight to Kandahar! Amazing!! Then, he sent e-mails to a local butcher shop and to the Commissary on post to get price quotes for enough steaks and brauts to feed his company...When word got out what he was willing to do for his soldiers, a couple of anonymous donors stepped forward to provide all of the meat...UNBELIEVABLE!! I shared this wonderful news with our families at our FRG meeting last weekend. At that time, I was able to procure volunteers to bake 16 dozen cookies and to encourage the ladies to break out their stationary to write thank you letters to their soldiers! Families came out of the woodworks to support this effort! People want to help, they've just needed to know how.
On Tuesday morning, at our set time, I dropped off a 150 quart cooler filled with 85 brauts, 85 marinaded steaks, 85 small ears of frozen corn, 16 dozen of our soldiers' favorite homemade cookies, personal letters from home and a special banner painted with their aircraft nose art (that they've recently been ordered to paint over). I was giddy with excitement as I drove away from the compound!
Nick will be waiting, with a truck, to pick up the very best care package of all time as soon as it lands in theatre. It should be there in just a matter of hours...I smile just thinking about the looks on his soldiers' faces when they see what's for dinner. :)
The biggest cooler I could find!
The explanation for the "Nose Art Banner":
Our company, the Lancers, have a very long history and have had new art carefully painted onto the nose of their aircraft for each deployment since Vietnam. So you can imagine how much of a "morale buster" it was then the higher ups had ordered it to be gone. All of the soldiers in the company will be signing this banner, and it will serve as a reminder of the their company pride each an every time someone walks through their door.
I thought it would be best to create a stencil of the Lancer Head before I broke out the paint :-P. It's a good thing, too, because horse heads are tricky :-P.
My project during the Bachelorette finale. Not to worry, I watched it again the next day.
The former nose art before it was painted over...Yes, that is Toby Keith's autograph...
Drying in the bathroom, I decided to leave OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) X-XI (2010-2011) out of the frame because the toilet was in the way.
Dinner!!!
Thank goodness for these guys, Emmy and I would've had trouble lifting that beast by ourselves.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Just Three Words...
BRAND NEW SMILE
Emmy's first bottom tooth broke through on July 9, 2010,
and it's neighbor showed up a couple days later!
A finger was sacrificed in the taking of this picture. Those puppies are SHARP!
4 months down, 7 months old
July 16th marked yet another major milestone in this crazy year. We celebrated 1/3 of the deployment behind us and Emmy's 7th month of life!
Nick is continuing to work tirelessly to lead his troops in their various mission sets, oversee the constant helicopter maintenance, complete his many administrative responsibilities, as well as tackle the daunting task of boosting morale. His much-needed escape is in the gym doing his Crossfit workouts...The internet is down because many of his troops no longer want to pay for the shaky, at best, connection. (Who could blame them?) For now, he is calling me as often as he can from the MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) phone with a 15 minute time limit. There is no better sound than that of my husband's voice.
Perhaps it is tied with the sound of my daughter's coos. Emmy derives great pleasure by all the wonderful noises that she can now make...Her latest sounds are "babababa", blowing raspberries and smacking her lips. She literally squeals with delight whenever she gets excited. Despite the fact that she is in the throes of her separation anxiety phase, she readily flirts with strangers from the safety of our Ergo pack when we are out and about. It is impossible for me to exist anonymously anymore because she is striking up conversation with whomever should be near us. In fact, while I was chatting with a girlfriend at a promotion party the other night, I turned my head to notice an older gentleman feeding her a Ritz cracker! He was putty in her hand! Little stinker. I told Nick that I am going to make her a t-shirt that reads "Please don't feed the babies."
She has become very proficient at rolling over and began sitting up as soon as we got to California! She can also stand on her own at the side of the couch (with Mommy as her safety net). She loves experiencing the world from her new vertical vantage point. She has become very "grabby," wanting to hold onto whatever happens to be in my hand. She loves any toy that has buttons to press as well as those that can be chewed on. So far, she has handled teething fairly well aside from some minor sleep disturbances.
She is eating "solids" at breakfast and dinner and is still nursing in between. I plan to introduce a lunchtime meal this week! Her list of tolerated foods has grown to: rice, oats and barley cereals, bananas, avocado, apples, pears, carrots, mango, prunes, sweet potatoes, sweet corn and peaches. Next up is cauliflower. She tried Cheerios for the first time just a few days ago and is a huge fan! At first she had trouble transferring the "O" into her mouth from her fist, and, understandably, became very frustrated. By the second day, she was a pro. Molly and Darla are jumping at the opportunity to clean up Emmy's stray Cheerios. :-P
Below are some pictures of my girl in a dress from her Grammy Horn; and also our first look at our Nick since he left four months ago (his grainy silhouette in the Steering Committee Video TeleConference doesn't count!)
Nick is continuing to work tirelessly to lead his troops in their various mission sets, oversee the constant helicopter maintenance, complete his many administrative responsibilities, as well as tackle the daunting task of boosting morale. His much-needed escape is in the gym doing his Crossfit workouts...The internet is down because many of his troops no longer want to pay for the shaky, at best, connection. (Who could blame them?) For now, he is calling me as often as he can from the MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) phone with a 15 minute time limit. There is no better sound than that of my husband's voice.
Perhaps it is tied with the sound of my daughter's coos. Emmy derives great pleasure by all the wonderful noises that she can now make...Her latest sounds are "babababa", blowing raspberries and smacking her lips. She literally squeals with delight whenever she gets excited. Despite the fact that she is in the throes of her separation anxiety phase, she readily flirts with strangers from the safety of our Ergo pack when we are out and about. It is impossible for me to exist anonymously anymore because she is striking up conversation with whomever should be near us. In fact, while I was chatting with a girlfriend at a promotion party the other night, I turned my head to notice an older gentleman feeding her a Ritz cracker! He was putty in her hand! Little stinker. I told Nick that I am going to make her a t-shirt that reads "Please don't feed the babies."
She has become very proficient at rolling over and began sitting up as soon as we got to California! She can also stand on her own at the side of the couch (with Mommy as her safety net). She loves experiencing the world from her new vertical vantage point. She has become very "grabby," wanting to hold onto whatever happens to be in my hand. She loves any toy that has buttons to press as well as those that can be chewed on. So far, she has handled teething fairly well aside from some minor sleep disturbances.
She is eating "solids" at breakfast and dinner and is still nursing in between. I plan to introduce a lunchtime meal this week! Her list of tolerated foods has grown to: rice, oats and barley cereals, bananas, avocado, apples, pears, carrots, mango, prunes, sweet potatoes, sweet corn and peaches. Next up is cauliflower. She tried Cheerios for the first time just a few days ago and is a huge fan! At first she had trouble transferring the "O" into her mouth from her fist, and, understandably, became very frustrated. By the second day, she was a pro. Molly and Darla are jumping at the opportunity to clean up Emmy's stray Cheerios. :-P
Below are some pictures of my girl in a dress from her Grammy Horn; and also our first look at our Nick since he left four months ago (his grainy silhouette in the Steering Committee Video TeleConference doesn't count!)
Proud to Be Americans
It was Grandma's brainchild that we parade around the perimeter of her house playing kazoos in honor of America's birthday. I can't think of a better way to publicly display our patriotism. We were all decked out in red, white and blue, waving American flags, humming (kazooing?) various nationalistic tunes. JP and Andy led the way and Dad brought up the caboose with Jamie's picnic stereo, blaring "Stars and Stripes Forever," resting on his shoulder. I believe that we did both Grandma and America proud.
Getting Loved on by G.G.
The day before we left California we paid Grandma (G.G. to her great grand babies) one last visit. Grandma played cars with Andy, cheered for Clairey's mad walking skills and elicited giggles from Emmy as she nibbled on her toes and raved about her delicious toe jam. She came through with one of her trademark off-the-cuff limericks and reminded us as we were leaving to always vote Republican. Man, I love that woman!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Poppy's Birthday!!
We were so lucky to be in town to celebrate Poppy's birthday this year! We had great fun at a wonderful family cookout!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Christmas Preparations and Winter Fun!
Operation Christmas Child James in the Christmas Musical! Hannah and the fifth graders in the lead roles! Hannah is Frostine :) There'...
-
We were thankfully able to come out of quarantine in time for Thanksgiving! I love going to the same steps at Cull Canyon in Castro Valley ... -
They had so much fun waving to cars as we walked back to ours from the photo spot :-P -
One afternoon when the girls were boycotting quiet time, they stood in our entryway looking at the photos on the wall. Hannah zeroed in on...