Update on ME!

Thanks Lys, & don't worry...I'm still taking care of me.  Thank God I have my son, Matt, to help me with all this.  I get to be the brains of this mission & he gets to be the brawn ...lol.

We've been invited to a church in Stephens City tonight by a lady that stopped by the fundraiser.  She has a youth group that meets on the 1st Thursday of each month.  She wants her kids to sign one of the banners, write letters, draw pictures, & have their photos taken with the poster messages.  So this evening should prove to be a lot of fun.  With that said, I got a ton of stuff to get done before tonight.  Thanks for your support.

You are doing excellent work. I wish I had something to donate. Once I go back to work full time I will be happy to help how I can.

I do have one tool. I am the room mom for my sons 1st grade class. I could see if the teacher would be willing to allow to write letters to the soliders. Let me know if you are interested in that.

good luck with everything

Oh Brooke...letters from the kids would be awesome!!  Pictures too.  They really look forward to mail.  They carry letters around in their pockets, share with each other, & they decorate their huts with the pictures that kids send them.  I would be honored to include whatever they come up with in the boxes I send. 

Ok, you have your marching orders...lol.  Make it so!!  And thanks.

I will. I am going to go to a field trip today. If the teacher is not too busy I will talk to her today and if not I will send a letter explaining what we would like. I am more than happy to help how I can!

It occurred to me that maybe some of you would like to help but just don't know how.  So how about I list a few items I could use some help with & ya'll decide if it's within your ability?  Can't hurt to ask, right?

1.  Each box costs $11 to mail, so if you'd like to make a cash donation, $11 would certainly help a lot.

2.  Letters, cards, pictures...they carry the letters around in their pockets to read over & over & they share them with each other.  The cards & pictures they use to decorate their huts with.  Something to take away the gloomies.  Also letter writing materials...paper, envelopes, pens.

3.  Baby wipes.  This is a hot ticket item since their ability to maintain personal cleanliness is limited.

4.  Books, magazines (anything "manly" but not nudie...DoD wants us to comply with the country's religious beliefs), & newspapers.

5.  Assortment of greeting cards for birthdays, anniversaries, thinking-of-you, etc.  They don't have access to buy such things but it would be nice for them to be able to send cards home. They can be mushie, funny, sentimental.  They also have kids so maybe some with a kid theme too.

6.  SOCKS!!  All sizes, boot length, dark colors, warm ones since it's winter.  They go through socks in about 2 weeks.

7.  toiletries such as bath soap, shampoo, tooth paste, shaving gel, etc.

8. Board games of any kind.  The only entertainment Restrepo has is a couple of decks of playing cards.  The don't have a tv, dvd player, gaming station...nothing.

Well, that's just a few things off the top of my head.  I can't guarantee that we'll get personal thank yous from them...they are pretty busy, but they do try to send thank yous in a general sense.  We get emails from them sporadically since the outposts don't have internet access.  The only time they do is when they hike down to the main post & then they only get a few precious minutes to make contact with their families.

If you do send me items, try to keep in mind that my box size is limited...12 inches square by 6 inches deep.  I've become quite skillfull at  packing...lol.  It takes anywhere from 10 days to 6 weeks for a box to arrive.  Also, if you would like to make a cash donation other than for mailing boxes, I have a checking account set up just for them.  It would help me out when I go shopping.  I sneak stuff into my grocery cart but I am limited as to how much I can keep buying for them.

Sooooo, if you've wondered what you could do to help the cause, there's a few ideas.  I would love for you to jump on the band wagon with me & my boys would be deeply appreciative.

Of course the biggest thing you could all do for them...& it doesn't cost a dime...is to pray for their safe return home.  Losing 7 is 7 too many so they could use some extra protection from The Big Guy!  Thanks!!

So good to see you are sleeping better and getting so much done with your soldier project.  Your efforts and generosity are an inspiration to us all.  LOVE YOU ANN!

Thank you, Little One.  YOU & Nate helped out  alot too with your generous donation.  That how come I have 20 new boxes to send...lol!!

Umm...how about emailing me your phone number?  I wanted to call you the other day & was surprised to discover I don't have it yet!

Love you too, Lauren!