This was the first page of our latest letter from Chris
Jan 10, 2011
Dear Mom and Dad,
Listen to the Gilligan’s Island Theme then Read this. I take a lot of pride in my latest work so don’t hesitate to share it!
I _____come from a town in Minnesota
Where the folks are pretty chill
But here at MC___RD all we scream is kill, kill, kill
Kill in the morning and kill at noon and kill in the night as well
Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it
But this place might be hell
“come here right now
Be there by then
You do what I tell you____”
This recruit can’t wait for Pendleton and starting up phase two __!
We’ll go on humps and sleep outside
We’ll rough it like it’s cool
But that’s all right cause that’s what
This recruit came here to do !
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
R & R
This is the first day I have had in months that did not have a schedule.
I put a bunch of Christmas cards in the mail this morning. I had about 3/4 of my letters done before my life went out of control but today I finished the majority of them. I have Christmas presents for co-workers that are still sitting in my closet waiting to be wrapped. I am so far behind with those!!
I am supposed to be working on weight loss I made it to the club twice since January 1st. I figure the way things have been going twice is doing good.
We received our 5th and 6th letters from our recruit this week. It is so good to hear from him. He sounds so up beat in his letters. And he is trying hard to keep us informed as much as he can. In one of his first letters he talked about applying and being accepted to being a Catholic Prayer Leader. He goes to classes weekly with a Chaplain and has been learning how to lead prayer for the Catholics in his platoon.
Then in one of his last letters he shared about a gift passed on to him from a recruit in another company that was in the 3rd phase of Boot Camp.
He wrote "Last Tuesday a ___ Co. recruit passed onto me something a 3rd phase recruit had given him before him...... and so on and so forth. It is a crucifix, a St. Christopher medal, 2 shields of strength with Romans 8:37 and 8:38 on them and a dog tag with Joshua 1:9 on it. It was pretty cool. On marine week I will pass it to a phase 1 recruit."
I find it amazing how his faith walk is being strengthened in this time. His love of Mass and Eucharist has always been strong. But I find at a time that things could be more difficult God is working to keep his faith alive and strong for himself and for others. God is so awesome. God is so Good.
We laugh as we read his letters lately food seems to occupy a lot of his time. In this same letter he wrote I still haven't gotten dessert but I've been tempted. Thus, I decree! Mother when you come hither to San Diego I beseech thee to make any and all bars you will bring (especially chocolate chip cookie bars) I can't wait for the sweets.
I had to read it twice to see if he had somehow been zapped to a different era. Who uses words like decree, beseech and hither today? My son in Boot Camp
He makes us laugh even as we miss him <3
I put a bunch of Christmas cards in the mail this morning. I had about 3/4 of my letters done before my life went out of control but today I finished the majority of them. I have Christmas presents for co-workers that are still sitting in my closet waiting to be wrapped. I am so far behind with those!!
I am supposed to be working on weight loss I made it to the club twice since January 1st. I figure the way things have been going twice is doing good.
We received our 5th and 6th letters from our recruit this week. It is so good to hear from him. He sounds so up beat in his letters. And he is trying hard to keep us informed as much as he can. In one of his first letters he talked about applying and being accepted to being a Catholic Prayer Leader. He goes to classes weekly with a Chaplain and has been learning how to lead prayer for the Catholics in his platoon.
Then in one of his last letters he shared about a gift passed on to him from a recruit in another company that was in the 3rd phase of Boot Camp.
He wrote "Last Tuesday a ___ Co. recruit passed onto me something a 3rd phase recruit had given him before him...... and so on and so forth. It is a crucifix, a St. Christopher medal, 2 shields of strength with Romans 8:37 and 8:38 on them and a dog tag with Joshua 1:9 on it. It was pretty cool. On marine week I will pass it to a phase 1 recruit."
I find it amazing how his faith walk is being strengthened in this time. His love of Mass and Eucharist has always been strong. But I find at a time that things could be more difficult God is working to keep his faith alive and strong for himself and for others. God is so awesome. God is so Good.
We laugh as we read his letters lately food seems to occupy a lot of his time. In this same letter he wrote I still haven't gotten dessert but I've been tempted. Thus, I decree! Mother when you come hither to San Diego I beseech thee to make any and all bars you will bring (especially chocolate chip cookie bars) I can't wait for the sweets.
I had to read it twice to see if he had somehow been zapped to a different era. Who uses words like decree, beseech and hither today? My son in Boot Camp
He makes us laugh even as we miss him <3
Thursday, December 30, 2010
We Got Mail !!!
Chris has been at MCRD in San Diego since 12/13
He left on the 12th so it has been 18 days.
We received a Form letter with his address on Monday. We had 6 letters in the mail to him by Tuesday morning. And there have been 3 more since.
Today we received our first REAL mail from him. 2 letters.
They were everything we hoped for - long letters that told us things were going well.
They made us laugh out loud.
Oh how I LOVE my son!!
He even wrote us a poem
Hello mudda, Hello fadda
Here I am in
San Diego
It ain't nice though
It's pretty rainy
Sometimes all this training
gets a little draining
His sense of humor shines through.
Oh do I MISS my son!!
But I believe he is right where God wants him right now.
Oh how PROUD I am of my son!!
Mail days are HAPPY DAYS - here's to many more Happy Days!!
He left on the 12th so it has been 18 days.
We received a Form letter with his address on Monday. We had 6 letters in the mail to him by Tuesday morning. And there have been 3 more since.
Today we received our first REAL mail from him. 2 letters.
They were everything we hoped for - long letters that told us things were going well.
They made us laugh out loud.
Oh how I LOVE my son!!
He even wrote us a poem
Hello mudda, Hello fadda
Here I am in
San Diego
It ain't nice though
It's pretty rainy
Sometimes all this training
gets a little draining
His sense of humor shines through.
Oh do I MISS my son!!
But I believe he is right where God wants him right now.
Oh how PROUD I am of my son!!
Mail days are HAPPY DAYS - here's to many more Happy Days!!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Goodbye and Hello
Chris and Dad
Chris and His godparents
With Grandpa and Grandma
Chris and Megan
with Nick and Jackie
with C & D
A new Grampa and Gramma were also born!!
Our first grandsons
The family
How can we end up with this many unmatched socks in just 4 days?
Chris and His godparents
With Grandpa and Grandma
Chris and Megan
with Nick and Jackie
with C & D
A new Grampa and Gramma were also born!!
Our first grandsons
The family
How can we end up with this many unmatched socks in just 4 days?
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Rollercoaster ride
The past few days have had it's ups and down. Saturday we were in a snowstorm. We had 17 people at our house for a soup supper to wish Chris goodbye. He asked his grandparents, his godparents, C and D a couple from church -(if you have read here before they are Sr. Mary's parent's), his girlfriend and a cousin and his family including their 4 kids. It was a nice send off.
On Sunday we went to our usual 10:30 mass and sat in our usual pew in the front. Poor Father Matthew we had asked him to meet with us after church to bless Chris. So he knew when he looked at us why there were tears in our eyes. Father could not look at us for most of mass. DH and I cried for most of mass each time we heard Chris sing, we love to hear Chris sing at mass. We along with our friends C and D cried during the communion hymn which I think was the same one used the last weekend Sr. Mary left. We had planned to go for breakfast but instead realized time was short with the roads so bad so we headed to Caribou for our usual after mass coffee time. Too soon it was time to go to his girlfriends house to pick her up. Then off to the recruiting office. A few quick hugs and it was time to say good bye.
I have not seen my husband cry like that for a long time.
Monday morning Chris called us from Mpls and in the evening from Dallas letting us know where he was and checking for updates on his nephews.
We left for Wisconsin at 7:30 Monday morning a trip that normally takes 4 hours took 7 1/2 after the weekend snowstorm. We spent a little time with Brittany and Ken and then headed to the hotel to wait for their phone call. The call came at 12:30 in the morning waking us up with the news that our grandsons had arrived safely at 11:30 and 11:53 on 12/13/10. They are named Elijah Peter and Michael Todd. They are both little peanuts and named after the grandpas. Peter is Ken's dad and Todd is Brittany's dad.
As far as we can tell Christopher would have been getting off the bus in MCRD at about the time Elijah and Michael were entering the world.
Tuesday morning we met our grandsons at 8:30 AM - the trip home was thankfully uneventful.
Our emotions from Saturday through Tuesday reached highs and lows - we are exhausted.
Last night we missed the call Chris is allowed to make home to let us know he was there. He left us a message on answering machine at home.
As I write this I am sitting in Brittany and Ken's living room watching them care for their babies.
Hopefully this roller coaster ride will end soon and I will be able to get some sleep.
Dear Lord we thank you for the blessing of these 2 little boys and we ask you keep Chris safe and healthy.
On Sunday we went to our usual 10:30 mass and sat in our usual pew in the front. Poor Father Matthew we had asked him to meet with us after church to bless Chris. So he knew when he looked at us why there were tears in our eyes. Father could not look at us for most of mass. DH and I cried for most of mass each time we heard Chris sing, we love to hear Chris sing at mass. We along with our friends C and D cried during the communion hymn which I think was the same one used the last weekend Sr. Mary left. We had planned to go for breakfast but instead realized time was short with the roads so bad so we headed to Caribou for our usual after mass coffee time. Too soon it was time to go to his girlfriends house to pick her up. Then off to the recruiting office. A few quick hugs and it was time to say good bye.
I have not seen my husband cry like that for a long time.
Monday morning Chris called us from Mpls and in the evening from Dallas letting us know where he was and checking for updates on his nephews.
We left for Wisconsin at 7:30 Monday morning a trip that normally takes 4 hours took 7 1/2 after the weekend snowstorm. We spent a little time with Brittany and Ken and then headed to the hotel to wait for their phone call. The call came at 12:30 in the morning waking us up with the news that our grandsons had arrived safely at 11:30 and 11:53 on 12/13/10. They are named Elijah Peter and Michael Todd. They are both little peanuts and named after the grandpas. Peter is Ken's dad and Todd is Brittany's dad.
As far as we can tell Christopher would have been getting off the bus in MCRD at about the time Elijah and Michael were entering the world.
Tuesday morning we met our grandsons at 8:30 AM - the trip home was thankfully uneventful.
Our emotions from Saturday through Tuesday reached highs and lows - we are exhausted.
Last night we missed the call Chris is allowed to make home to let us know he was there. He left us a message on answering machine at home.
As I write this I am sitting in Brittany and Ken's living room watching them care for their babies.
Hopefully this roller coaster ride will end soon and I will be able to get some sleep.
Dear Lord we thank you for the blessing of these 2 little boys and we ask you keep Chris safe and healthy.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
He's on his way.......
We dropped Chris off at the recruiters office at 3PM. He had a wallet with $20, his ID, his SS#, an address book. In his pocket he had a change of underwear. We also sent a book for him to finish reading and 2 magazines which we were told he would need to throw in the garbage at the hotel in the morning. We had planned that he would throw them away in the airport. We thought he could read on the plane.
We cried.
We are still crying.
We cried.
We are still crying.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
5 days or Our Own Toy Story 3
It seems like yesterday I wrote 35 days......
Today there are 5 days until Chris leaves. Wednesday he will spend in the cities with the recruiters running and working out at the Metrodome. Thursday. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. We will go to mass and have coffee. Should we go out to eat? Should we make breakfast /brunch? We have to have him at the recruiters office at 3 PM.
It is coming too fast.
But this evening we laughed.
I had been given a bunch of grandma and grandpa toys since we have few things left. There were some trucks and other things definitely for when these grand babies are a bit older. Yesterday afternoon Chris helped me take this stuff down to the furnace room for storage. Some went in the closet where legos and a few other toys are stored that survived our kids childhood and our need for storage. While we were finding places for the trucks and toys Chris found the soldiers he played with growing up. The little green army men and the 13 inch pose-able soldiers - boy barbies if you will (just don't tell him I said that)!!!
He became so excited and grabbed the box of soldiers carrying it upstairs to check them out for his nephews. Yeah right - the nephews aren't even born yet. Last night he went on line to try to find army figures for his nephews. Today he checked out Toys R Us and Target. They do not carry any real soldier type figures.
Chris was really bummed and started to look on line the first one he found cost $115. Then while he was sorting through the box and sorting out gear he found them stamped with the model/ maker. he looked the maker up on line and found the original ones that he has on Amazon for $35 to $50 and up. He bookmarked the page and then he finished sorting and dressing them.... I think one of them was used in a racy bachelorette party a couple years ago..... He also broke a leg of one of them trying to put a boot on. -hope that doesn't happen in REAL life!!
And now the soldiers are sitting on the dresser in his room waiting for the day his nephews can play with them.
Today there are 5 days until Chris leaves. Wednesday he will spend in the cities with the recruiters running and working out at the Metrodome. Thursday. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. We will go to mass and have coffee. Should we go out to eat? Should we make breakfast /brunch? We have to have him at the recruiters office at 3 PM.
It is coming too fast.
But this evening we laughed.
I had been given a bunch of grandma and grandpa toys since we have few things left. There were some trucks and other things definitely for when these grand babies are a bit older. Yesterday afternoon Chris helped me take this stuff down to the furnace room for storage. Some went in the closet where legos and a few other toys are stored that survived our kids childhood and our need for storage. While we were finding places for the trucks and toys Chris found the soldiers he played with growing up. The little green army men and the 13 inch pose-able soldiers - boy barbies if you will (just don't tell him I said that)!!!
He became so excited and grabbed the box of soldiers carrying it upstairs to check them out for his nephews. Yeah right - the nephews aren't even born yet. Last night he went on line to try to find army figures for his nephews. Today he checked out Toys R Us and Target. They do not carry any real soldier type figures.
Chris was really bummed and started to look on line the first one he found cost $115. Then while he was sorting through the box and sorting out gear he found them stamped with the model/ maker. he looked the maker up on line and found the original ones that he has on Amazon for $35 to $50 and up. He bookmarked the page and then he finished sorting and dressing them.... I think one of them was used in a racy bachelorette party a couple years ago..... He also broke a leg of one of them trying to put a boot on. -hope that doesn't happen in REAL life!!
And now the soldiers are sitting on the dresser in his room waiting for the day his nephews can play with them.
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