And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you

To everyone that helped to send the Frito Pie boxes to my son's troop....a big THANK YOU!!! We received a phone call from our son on December 23rd from a very happy soldier and his troop!! They were in the middle of eating all their Frito Pies. Many of them were going on missions on December 25th so they had their Christmas Party early.

Our son's captain was so impressed and couldn't believe what had been done that he wished that he could come down and thank all of us in person. Being that he couldn't do that, he gave our son the next best thing; a Challenge Coin. He said he is going to send that down to us and we will share that honor with all of you who helped us to get all of these boxes to these soldiers so they could have their Christmas Wish.

The first things to go were the Jalapenos! We sent 2 pounds of those and probably should have sent more! Who knew? Although they didn't have an electric can opener and had to open all the chili cans with what looked like a razor blade on a stick, all went well and those that never even knew what a Frito Pie was has now enjoyed this delicious treat!

We can't thank all of you enough for pulling together in truly the matter of a little over 24 hours what ya'll were able to do!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

That's the Way, Uh-Huh, Uh-Huh, I Like It

My son received all the boxes for his troop in Afghanistan! All the fritos, chili, cheese, jalopenos, Ding Dongs, Twinkies, Oatmeal Cookies and we can't forget the 1200 Slim Jims!! We couldn't have done it without a LOT of help. I can't thank everyone enough for helping us to pull this off for them!!

Here is what he sent to me:

We will have an Immense, Scrumptious Christmas Thanks to everyone... Everyone that has never had one of these Delicacy's are anxious to try one.. and All those that Love them cannot wait either... so this will be one of the more historical christmas's in Kandahar, Afghanistan...
ONCE AGAIN THE BROWN FAMILY PULLS THROUGH...
Thanks Again...








Thank all of them for me and The 451st AEW

Brenda and Hank Pfeifer
Shelley and John Troy
Joy and Paul Burwell
Marieann Wise-Miu and George Wise
Jennifer Tough
Molly, Mike and Mackenzie Goode
Angela Kicklighter and Grammy
Sue Dixon
Kim and Greg Kelly and family
Dan Tripper
Charles William
Carolyn and Steve Wong and family
Nick Banfield
Melissa Singleton and family
Amy and George Sowers
Renee Cannon
Katherine Navarra and family
Tom Lockhart
Tania and Charles Johnson and family
Tony Klepper
Oleta Baldridge

--
SrA BROWN

Food! Glorious Food!

Those of you who know me, know that I have three sons in the military. Two are in the Air Force, one is a Marine. I know that there are many other families just like me out there and we are so proud of every single one of them! My Marine is now stateside after serving a tour in Iraq and one of my sons is also stationed here as well. But my second oldest is serving his second tour, this time in Afghanistan, the first one being in Iraq two years ago.

A few weeks before Thanksgiving we spoke to him and during that conversation we found out that their Thanksgiving dinner was going to consist of powdered turkey and canned yams and their Christmas dinner wasn't going to be much better.

Where he is stationed, they don't have microwaves or a decent kitchen that has regular ovens or stoves. They have solar ovens to cook food. So, the food they eat isn't the greatest! But, what him and his troop of 100 soldiers really wanted for their Christmas dinner this year was Frito Pies!

First, we tried contacting Frito Lay. The person we spoke to in customer service wasn't all that welcome to the idea and we got a form letter in return of sorry, we don't do that kind of thing. Now, it was up to us and our deadline was fast approaching to do something to make sure we could get Frito Pies to them in time.

I came up with an idea in that, there were 11 soldiers in my son's unit and if we sent each of those soldiers at least two Priority Flat Rate boxes of Frito Pie fixin's it would only cost around $35 to feed 10 solders. Surely we could find enough people to sponsor two boxes per soldier!

I put out a call to my closest friends, my Soap Team and my daughter's castmates at Stage Right and within 24 hours we had more than enough to not only get them their Frito Pies, but dessert and enough Slim Jims to feed all 100 of them! Plus, one of the cast members brought in enough Beanie Babies to fill two Priority Boxes to send over to Afghanistan to hand out to the children there and will be delivered to the Humanitarian division!




I cannot thank everyone ENOUGH for their help and response in making sure these soldiers get their Frito Pie Christmas Dinner! I will continue to update my blog when they receive their packages and I am sure we will hear from them very soon!

A special thanks goes out to:

Brenda and Hank Pfeifer
Shelley and John Troy
Joy and Paul Burwell
Marieann Wise-Miu and George Wise
Jennifer Tough
Molly, Mike and Mackenzie Goode
Angela Kicklighter and Grammy
Sue Dixon
Kim and Greg Kelly and family
Dan Tripper
Charles William
Carolyn and Steve Wong and family
Nick Banfield
Melissa Singleton and family
Amy and George Sowers
Renee Cannon
Katherine Navarra and family
Tom Lockhart
Tania and Charles Johnson and family
Tony Klepper
Oleta Baldridge

From the bottom of our hearts THANK YOU!

The Brown family

Marshall is HOME!!

Marshall is finally back in the good U.S. of A. after being in Iraq since August! We're lucky in the fact that his tour was short compared to a lot of other soldiers, but we already know that his stay at home is short lived. He will be going back for his 2nd tour in August. :(

When he was in customs in Iraq he phoned to say he was about to get on the plane and kind of hinted if there was going to be anyone greeting him upon his arrival. I told him unfortunately we just didn't have the money for it, especially with his other brother's high school graduation coming up. You could hear the disappointment in his voice, but he understood. Little did he know that we had a surprise for him!

That Thursday my husband flew to meet his plane. He was arriving an hour earlier than Marshall's so that he could meet him at his gate. But, we were in for the surprise! We had been waiting for a phone call from Marshall when they arrived the day before in Baltimore, but we had not heard from him. As my husband was waiting at the gate, I received a phone call from my daughter-in-law saying that Marshall's troop had been delayed in Qatar and their arrival was pushed back a couple of days! Oh NO!! My husband waited around at the airport just in case Marshall's troop made it on the flight, but he did not. So, we scurried around and found him a hotel.

Early, early in the morning Tom received a phone call from Marshall from Ireland! He asked if he was going to work and Tom told him that he was in a hotel waiting for him to get there!! Marshall sounded surprised and happy that someone was there to see him come in! After a few more delays through Chicago and a co-pilot not making it for their connecting flight. Marshall's flight was due to arrive at midnight! At that time Tom was the only one in the airport to greet him and his troop. Everyone else in the airport had gone home. No TSA agents, no gate agents and only one guy in baggage claim.

I called Tom at about 11:55pm to let him know that it looked like Marshall's flight had arrived on time and that he should be walking through at any moment. Tom then said, there was a hubbub going on at the airport! Turns out that the Patriot Guard showed up to welcome the soldiers home! Tom said it was really great! They had flags and cameras and it was a great sight at midnight for Marshall and his guys to have that kind of welcome.

Marshall and his dad made it back to his house and they stayed up until 5am talking! It's been really great for both of them!

What to Do? What to Do?

First of all......HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Can you believe it? Time has flown. First I'm talking about ugly Christmas sweaters and the next thing you know, it's 2008! WHAT???? Man, did I fall asleep or what? Even in just a few days a LOT can happen! And, as it happens at the end of every year something MAJOR happens! I'm not talking about the fireworks, champagne, ringing in something new. I'm talking about Rayne's birthday!!! Yes, the kiddo has turned 10!! Or, so she has informed me, she will no longer be in single digits ever in her life!! LOL!! Although it was a quiet birthday, she will have her birthday party this weekend as a Sock Hop!! As she opened her few family gifts and pondered as to what was going to be a quiet day, she said, but....this is a MAJOR birthday, I'M TEN!!!! I looked at her and said, and next year you will say, but it's a MAJOR birthday, I'm almost a tween!!! The following year, you will say, but mom, it's a MAJOR birthday, I AM a Tween!! The year after that, you will say, but Mom, it's a major birthday, I AM A TEENAGER!!! So, I told her, we have plenty of major birthdays left!! :)


She just looked at me and in perfect Rayne drama style, stomped out of the room!! Yes, it has begun! But what started out as the worst birthday ever ended up being fun! I aquiesced and we went to the dreaded mall and even worse still, went to Build-A-Bear!! Ugh. For dinner, we went to our favorite sushi restuarant where our favorite owner/chef gave us a great gift and took 10% off the meal!! Can't beat that!! Hmmmm....will that go up each year!! Hey, wait, I'm 43, will it work for me? :) Now, we are getting ready for the Sock Hop party tomorrow. Got the poodle skirt ready, got the music (thanks to Dish TV) and scene setters. The house will be decked out and lookin' good!!! Rootbeer floats anyone?




Now, onto the other kids. We heard from Marshall on Christmas Day. That was nice and he was getting ready to see Robin Williams, Lewis Black and Kid Rock perform. That sounded like fun and I hope he had a good time with that. It looks like everything is still set for him to come home around the end of March beginning of April. Crossing my fingers here. We got a letter from Trent and he sounds good too. He says Marine basic training is harder than he thought it would be but he's loving it. He got through the 3 weeks of field training with flying colors and looking forward to everything else. Jaimie is graduating Air Force basic training next week, so we're going to go watch her and it's also our 11th anniversary!!! Can ya'll believe that in itself!! We've been together 14 years and now celebrating our 11th anniversary on January 11th!! Whoo hoo!!




Oh, and the foster puppy that we have has found a home. Yup, you guessed it. Ours!! It wasn't even me who suggested it either!!! I was talking to my wonderful hubby letting him know that the puppy needed to go back to the shelter to get his second round of shots and he said, well, while he's down there, do you think they'll cut him too? I said, well they only nueter when he's been adopted. He said, well, we're only going to have the Dane a few more years (she's 8) and this one seems like he's a pretty good dog and if you were going to get another anyway after her, you might as well have a good one instead of taking a chance and not get one you'd like!!! LOL!!! He's so funny!! I said, you like this dog don't you? He wouldn't admit at first, but then he said, he kind of liked the little guy!! Too funny!! So, now I guess we're going to adopt our foster puppy. I swear he looks like a webkins. Introducing Kipper!!




















Here's wishing everyone of ya'll a Safe, Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2008!!!

Another Marshall Update

We finally heard from Marshall again!! It's been awhile since we heard from Marshall. It was only a brief phone call, but we'll take it. His 21st birthday was October 24th and he's been pretty busy with his job in Iraq and also studying for his CDC's.

Marshall said he has gotten a lot more letters and packages and he is so appreciative of all the well wishes for his birthday and support. He said some of the most unusual items he has received were a gelled eye mask to help him sleep during the day and that he was also sent a box of tampons!! He said he didn't have any girls in his troop to give those to, but maybe they can use them to absorb something!!! LOL!!

I'll continue to post on my blog updates on Marshall when we get them. He said he did send a package back to us and I'm hoping he put the cameras in that. If so, I will post the pictures we get back.

Again, thank you to everyone in helping to make his 21st birthday a memorable one!

Marshall in Iraq!

October is a busy birthday month! Not only is it my birthday, but it's also one of my son's birthday too!! Marshall will be turning 21 on October 24th! Not only is this one of those special birthdays, but he is in the Air Force and is currently in Iraq. When we found out he was going to Iraq, it was a bit upsetting, but being in the Armed Forces it was to be expected. When I realized he was going to be spending this momentous occasion there, I got really upset. As I've said in my previous posts, birthdays are very important to me and it just really got to me that he was going to be celebrating a rather poignant birthday without family or close friends.

Before he left we threw him a surprise 21st birthday party with friends and family. He enjoyed that, but it was more like a going away party as it was two months before his actual birthday. We did have a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday. And even though we tried to get the feel for that moment, it's just not the same when you are doing it two months in advance.



Then, I thought of a great idea!! If he can't be here for the party, we'll just bring the party to him. I am fortunate to be on a LOT of group lists, so I called out to the members of those lists to help participate in a mail in type surprise party for my son!!! It entailed sending a birthday card or note to wish Marshall a Happy 21st Birthday!! The response was overwhelming!! People from all over the world emailed me to let me know that they were going to send a card or letter or even a package to let Marshall know that they were thinking of him on his birthday!

I cannot thank everyone enough of how I appreciate each and everyone one of you and how heartfelt it is that all of you would do that to make my son's birthday so special.

One woman even emailed to let me know that her husband was there in the same area as my son and is the Seargant Major of his unit! She said that she was going to email him and ask him to do something special for my son for his birthday! How awesome was that!

Even though I wanted this as a surprise to Marshall, I knew I was going to have to let him in on the secret just a little. I sent him an email to say I had something cooking for him and he was going to have to make sure and check his mail!

This is what he wrote back:

Hey I got your Birthday gift From The Master Seargent lol in front of Guardmount ( which is the flight i work with and guardmount is we get briefings before we go work so we know whats going on and what to be aware of) He came in and said "Brown where are you", i stood up and he said "Get to the front." so i was like uhhh i have roll call training but then he said" your mom emailed my wife in a soap forum and she told me to give you this gift," willingly i said "okay"..... he said "CLOSE YOUR EYES" ummmm whats going on ....... i closed my eyes and he gave me a hug with everyone watching i looked up in surprise and said " uhhhhhhhh wow, thanks i guess" so uhhh thank you lol ha ya that was weird but cool its a small world i guess you got to talk to the flight chiefs wife in a soap forum awesome!!!!! anyways ya i have been checkin the mail every day and hope it gets here okay!!!!
He also went into further detail about what happened with the Seargant Major when we were on the phone. Marshall is in Unit B and the Seargant is in Unit A of their troop, so seeing the Seargan Major was completely unexpected which made it even more special!

I talked to him last week around October 12, and since then he said he has received 75 letters and two packages! The mail person told him he is loved! He said they couldn't all be for him as he didn't know that many people! He said, once he started reading the letters and realized that they were all from people who knew his mom, and that they were all wishing him a Happy Birthday, he thought it was really cool. I sent him a box with disposable cameras in it and he said he put all the cards and letters on his bed and took pictures of them.

As soon as I get those, I will develop them and post them here for everyone to see. I will also continue to update my blog when I hear from Marshall. Again, thank you to everyone for making this happen!