Precious Christmas Time

 

This year we will once again have the blessing of our soldier son’s visit at Christmas. Excitement mounts as I count down the days until his arrival. His one and only Christmas wish was a ticket home. Having been away for a solid year, he is not shy about expressing his excitement to come home for Christmas. And we are excited! Our whole family will be together once again. 

However, his unit is on global readiness alert. Should his unit be needed, he will have to return within 24 hours to his Army base for any emergency assignment that comes up. He is required to keep his cell phone with him at all times and to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. He warned of this months ago, but it wasn’t until we got “test” calls and e mails from the Army to make certain we could also be reached that I was reminded how serious this is. Of course a call like this could ruin our plans for his short visit. We are praying for no calls and an uninterrupted visit.

 One thing I can promise is that I will enjoy every single moment he is here. From the moment we welcome him at the airport to the moment we will have to send him off again, we will fill his reservoirs with love, fun and relaxation. He has served long and hard. He will be well cared for by us as parents, his adoring sisters and his fan club of nieces and nephews along with friends and extended family.

Counting the days until our soldier son arrives to share with use in celebrating this sacred time of year.

 

Death is Part of Our Living

Photos from Photos by MJ

 Death is part of our living. When we lose someone who has played an important role in our lives, we are reminded of the precious gift of life, friendship and how others enhance our own life’s journey. 

We can learn empowering lessons from the good in the lives of others. Such is the case with a friend who just completed his life’s journey and left us with a wealth of lessons that will enhance our lives if we embrace these characteristics.

Let us love a little more, hug a little longer and say more kind things to those in our circle of influence.

ARMY MOM

Imagine my surprise and emotion as I found note on my windshield after coming out of the grocery store last week. The yellow paper was carefully folded and tucked behind my windshield wiper. At first I thought one of my kids must have seen my car in the parking lot and left a note. It is easy to tell my car as the license plate holder reads: PROUD MOM U.S. ARMY.

But as I opened the note, the message was from a complete stranger, written anonymously. It read: “Thank you for raising someone who has the courage to defend our freedoms.” The message touched me deeply. How kind of this person to take time to express their gratitude. When I was able to share this tender experience with our soldier son he told us that it is that sort of gratitude that makes rigorous military life all worthwhile.

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if each of us would take a few minutes every day to express gratitude for the little things we appreciate?

Why should I be surprised?

Okay, okay, I expect you have heard enough soldier stories for a while, but bear with me for one more observation. Why should I be surprised that our son is now a soldier?

View the steps from ages 8, 15 and now 22. It appears that a major “advancement” was taken every 7 years.


Walk with me down memory lane of Jacob in a visual time line........

Age 8

Age 15

 

Age 22

RECIPE FOR 1 ARMY INFANTRYMAN

 The making of a soldier takes many ingredients, most of them bitter and difficult.
Not everyone is cut out to withstand the rigorous training. Many fail. 

We are delighted that our son passed with flying colors and has became a man, stronger than when he enlisted and stronger than he could have been on his own.

 The ingredients for an Infantryman:

Take 1 raw boy from the country or the city who has a desire to serve his country.
Mix with some very harsh drill sergeants.
Make him work almost 24/7, working out, training, doing laundry, cleaning barracks, night guard duty and a myriad of other assignments.
Do not spoil with too many hours of sleep.
Feed him a carefully planned diet with a balance of the right amount of protein and carbs to build muscle and generate energy.
When he is out training in the field, feed him MREs.
Have him sleep outside in the freezing cold during part of the training and work out in pre dawn hours every morning, arising at 4:30 a.m.
Make him march and march and march.
“Smoke” him and his platoon by giving them difficult physical punishments if there is even 1 thing the drill sergeant doesn’t like.
Break them down physically, mentally and emotionally to see who can and who cannot survive.
Mix him with boys from all walks of life and expect them to become battle buddies, helping each other. The group is only as strong as the weakest member.
Mix with other trainings with guns, tear gas, barbed wire, grenades, climbing towers, confidence courses, foxholes, mud, blazing sun and even tornado like weather out in the field at night.
Teach him respect for his superior leaders and instill within him intense discipline.
Honor him with his cross gun pin by literally sticking the pin into the flesh until it draws blood.
 Bake and cool often, preparing this soldier for all kinds of conditions soldiers can encounter.
Award him after he has passed all of the training and testing with a blue rope to wear around his shoulder, signifying the coveted “turning blue” braid.
Send him to his next training or duty post to continue becoming a more qualified soldier who is dedicated to serving his country.
The result: A man. A man with purpose. A man with passion for his country and a man focused on giving his best. A many who is strong. Army strong.

See how this recipe for PFC Stucki turned out after 3 months of training.

God Bless the USA

Our Soldier

I have become something I never once dreamed of or aspired to, but am honestly grateful to be~ and that is an “Army Mom”.  I have discovered an entirely new dimension to life and have gained an intensely deep appreciation for our military and the sacrifices made by thousands that are unknown to most and probably unappreciated by many.  And this comes just from our son’s experience with Basic Training.  There is so much more to come.

Our family has felt connected to the military and World War II through my father in law, our children’s grandfather, who often shared his experiences as a solider serving in the Army during that war. Like you, we are appreciative of those great men and women who have served our country throughout the years. But I really never thought of my son as being a solider…not until last summer when he announced that he was going to enlist.  His strong desire to serve and protect our country surfaced after he had graduated from college and worked full time for a few years in his new profession.  Once he decided to enlist, nothing could change his mind.  He was determined this was part of his life plan. And now I can see him thriving in his rigorous training and watch with awe as this new man emerges from the little boy that I used to rock in my arms.

My husband and I are on our way to his Basic Combat Training for the United States Army.  By the end of this week he will be a full fledged soldier with 4 solid months of training behind him.  And the training certainly won’t end there.  Following graduation he is off to Airborne Training and then to his assigned post, wherever that may be.

Jacob as a baby

As I pack my bags, I shed tears of gratitude for Jacob’s example of strength and persistence.  We have only heard a small portion of details of his intense training and are in awe that so many thousands of soldiers have survived it and land on their two feet.  I cannot imagine the physical, mental and emotional strength that one has to muster to endure the almost round –the- clock training.  It takes courage and guts.  Many don’t make it. They have to restart training or are sent home.  Sadly, one solider in training at the same base must have felt he couldn’t handle the training any more and took his own life on the shooting range a few weeks before Christmas.  Many have tried to quit. And many don’t enjoy the experience.  Thank goodness our son has been determined to accomplish what he went there to accomplish and is making the best of every situation.  When he gives us an insight into an especially difficult facet of training, he ends with “I had fun” or “I liked it”.  I cannot imagine being in the gas chamber for any length of time.  I cannot imagine doing night training, crawling through barbed wire and trenches in the dark while trying to avoid being shot.  But because they train and train hard, we have a strong military that protects our great country and our freedoms.

Jacob Jumping his bike

 We will be joining in the celebration this week as the soldiers will march across soil from every war since the Civil War on their way to their graduation exercise. We will be rejoicing in the accomplishments of every graduating solider on that field along with our son as we participate in his “Turning Blue” ceremony.  We will be celebrating America and our love for our country and our freedoms.  Ft. Benning, here we come!

God bless the U.S.A. 

This is a Joyous Time of Year!

We congratulate the winner of the Celebrate Life autographed book in our recent giveaway and invite you to participate in the upcoming contests. We love to give and we love to share. Claudia will be receiving her book this week. Please invite your family and friends to become followers at See You in the Powder Room, a network of women celebrating life and all the facets of being a woman.






Christmas is especially exciting at our home this year. Our one and only son returned home on Friday evening for a 2 week exodus from his Basic Training in the Army. After two and a half months of intense and rigorous training, it was so exciting to meet him at the airport along with 30 other excited family members and friends. Feeling his strength, hearing of his deep love for our country, listening about his experiences and sharing in his contagious laughter have enhanced the joy of this season for me and all of our family. 


What experience has enhanced your celebration of this joyous time of year?