Sunday, December 14, 2008

Packages for Katie

Sorry! I completely forgot to add that Katie can receive whatever you want to send her. She can have food, electronics, etc. AIT is much more lax than Basic was.

RALPHIE!!

My children and I are sitting here watching "A Christmas Story" and enjoying it. It's one of our family's favorites.

Our wonderful friend agreed (thanks to his amazing and wonderful wife who is also my best friend) to come and take a family picture of us for our Christmas cards. I'm so excited to get them sent out.

Katie will be her in 7 days!!! She is flying in at midnight on the 21st. She flies back on the 2nd. Then she will graduate in March and be home for good. She isn't writing letters anymore because she has phone privileges so we talk to her daily. It's nice.

We have some great pictures of our trip back to see her graduate from Basic Training. I'll add some soon. It was a fantastic opportunity to watch all those soldiers make the commitment to serve our country. We had tears in our eyes and goose bumps littering our skin when they chanted the Soldier's Creed. The last line states firmly that they are American Soldiers. What an experience!

Jeffrey Tanner is taking his ASVAB this week, hopefully. He will ship out to Basic in the summer if all goes well. Then we'll have more letters to post from another soldier. :0)

You hear all the time about the blessings parents and families receive when they have a missionary. I can attest to you all that we are receiving some fantastic blessings from having our daughter serve our country. I truly believe the Lord blesses those who are willing to sacrifice their time, talents and energies.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season! We sure will. Our whole family will be together again. We understand so well how quickly that opportunity is slipping away. The children are growing and leaving and we are blessed to be together. Who knows what the year ahead will bring, so for now, we'll celebrate!