Operation New Year's Eve

A very cool way to send messages of support to our troops!


From Paul Rieckhoff , of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
comes this


Click here: Operation New Year's Eve


'Operation New Year's Eve' is a campaign that lets Americans send text messages of support to our troops via the tallest billboard in Times Square. Almost one million people will be in Times Square to see the sign, and people worldwide can view the sign by visiting www.operationnewyearseve.org. Visibility is limited during the day, but there will be a clear shot of the billboard all night long.


You can send your own message by sending a text to 94444. Just add the word 'CARE' before your message (for example: "CARE Thank you for everything you do!"). The word 'CARE' will not appear on the sign.


Standard rates apply, and posting a message to the billboard costs $0.99. Due to high volume, there may be a delay, and your message may not appear immediately.
The Durst Organization, Sign Lab Media, which runs the billboard, and Fountainhead.com, a media company, have all generously donated their time to put this project together. It hasn't cost us a cent, and a portion of the proceeds from the $0.99 charge will be donated to IAVA.
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Please spread the word!

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

Last one of 2007...Wow, where did the year Go?!


There were tons of holiday posts by and about Soldiers Angels since Christmas, and I know I'd never be able to include them all.


So, I'd like to feature what I think is a most important post by Sgt. Hook


as it says once again why I continue to support Soldiers Angels, no matter what kind of 'grade' they receive from AIP.



And, because this post combines a story about both veterans, and adoption, two subjects of great interest to me, here's a post by Greta at Soldiers Angels Louisiana


(and,btw, Greta will be facing surgery directly after the New Year rolls in.....please keep her in your thoughts and prayers!)



This was a great post Magi Inspired Gift #9 , that touts two of my faves....
Soldiers Angels AND Anysoldier.com , among several other very worthy troop support groups.



I came across posts by Three 'New-to-me" Angels, nice way to end the year :)
1. Click here: Inside Out - I'm An Angel! An enthusiastic new Angel who 'gets it'.

2. And these are 'two teenage girls dedicating our time in efforts to save the earth" at, appropriately enough Save the Earth.....and they urge others to Adopt A Soldier

3. Support My Troops is a husband and wife team with the wife getting ready to deploy in January, and they are listing support groups for the troops, awesome! and of course I came across them because of their post Soldiers Angels


Lastly, as she does every week...Life in the Northeast posts for us to Remember

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This week's featured Blog of the Week will be Soldiers Angels Medical Support

Thanks! as always, for going on this 'surf' with me. I've enjoyed this the past year, and look forward to 'surfing' with all of you in the coming year! :)

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Year in 2008!

Christmas 2007 in MN

Well, I'm going to do this the 'lazy way' and just send you to the links from my blog post on my Other blog, because I've been spending half the afternoon uploading pictures in various places,LOL, instead of doing laundry!

We had a Wonderful vacation!!

Click here: Christmas 2007 in MN

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Wednesday Hero

This week's hero was suggested by Cindy & Kathi


Each year, around this time, since 1992, the Arlington National Cemetery has something happen to it. It gets covered in vibrant green Christmas wreaths. The wreaths are donated by a man named Merrill Worcester who is the owner of the Worcester Wreath Co. in Maine. From the Worcester Wreath Co.'s website:

Each year Worcester Wreath donates Maine wreaths to adorn the headstones of those who serve and those who sacrificed to preserve our freedoms. In 2007, over 10,000 wreaths are destined for the annual wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington. In addition, 2,500 wreaths will be sent to Togus National Cemetery in Augusta, Maine. Worcester Wreath also donates ceremonial wreaths that will be used as part of the Wreaths Across America events at over 230 State and National veterans cemeteries all across the Country.

Sometimes a hero is one who sacrifices everything in their life to help others. And sometimes a hero is one who sacrifices nothing more than their time.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesday Hero, you can go here.

Merry Christmas!

From Our House to Yours!

Wednesday Hero

SSgt. Mike Mills


This Weeks Hero Was Suggested By Leo


Welcome to this week's installment where all the member bloggers of Wednesday Hero collectively honor many of the real hero's found in this country who's names and bio's have been provided to us for these humble tributes by blogroll creator Indian Chris @ Right Wing and Right Minded.


Many of them are those that have paid the ultimate price for our country protecting it both here and abroad from the many threats we face from our enemies wishing us and them harm, some are not. In either case they are the real American heroes of today and we now both salute and offer our prayers. To join us if you wish to please start by reading the post below.(Introduction courtesy of Chicago Ray )

SSgt. Mike Mills



On June 14, 2005 SSgt. Mike Mills's life was forever changed. The HETT(Heavy Equipment Transport System) he was riding in was hit by an IED.



The attack resulted a cracked clavicle and scapula bones, dislocate shoulder, broken left hip, 4 out of 5 bones broken in his foot and being set on fire. The driver in the truck behind him ran with a cooler of melted ice which he threw on Sgt. Mills to put him out.



He spent three months in the Brooks Army Medical Center at Ft. Sam Houston, TX with the injuries listed above plus 2nd, 3rd and deep tissue burns to 31% of the left side of his body.



The first thing he remembers thinking after the attack was that his soldiers needed him and he needed to get back to them. "Then the guilt set in about what I did to my family. I've totally screwed that up. Look at me, no don't. I look hideous. How can I face my kids looking like this. They'll be embarrassed to be seen with me. What if they won't love me anymore? Speaking of love, my wife, oh my god. How can I expect her to stay with me. I'm not a man anymore. She's not going to want be intimate with a freak. What if I can't work, how do I support myself, my family. I had the nightmares and couldn't sleep. I wasn't eating and was loosing weight. I didn't really care. If I didn't start eating, they where going to put the feeding tube back in. Who cares, I've totally screwed up my life anyways."



But he found out just how much is wife loved him, when she stood by his side throughout the entire ordeal. She was there for every wound dressing and even learned how to change the dressings herself.





SSgt. Mike Mills now runs the site For The Veteran... By A Veteran in which he helps veterans, soldiers and their families find information they may not have been given after their medical discharge or retirement.





Some may say that Mike gave his country more than enough when he was severely maimed by an IED on that fateful day of June 14, 2005, but Mike continues to give to his fellow servicemen, as well as to his nation!





These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.



We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived



This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

"Christmas in Fallujah"

Came across this, thanks to Paul Rieckhoff


Billy Joel wrote this song based on letters he received from troops serving in the combat zones.

Joel gave the song to a virtually unknown 21-year-old singer named Cass Dillon--a guy he chose because he wanted a singer the age of many of the troops in Iraq.
Check out "Christmas in Fallujah" here (with lyrics):





Joel and Dillon have pledged the proceeds of the song to Homes for Our Troops

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Let me know what you think of the song...I've already heard from one currently serving soldier,who Doesn't like it....and I'm still undecided, how I feel about it.

Quote of the Day

(Me on left, with my aunt Lynn)

When I got dressed to go to the Wreaths Across America ceremony in Staunton on Saturday

I came downstairs and asked April how I looked?

Her answer?......"Overtly American"

Wreaths Across America-Staunton National Cemetary 2007

Here's the few pictures I took at the ceremony today (my batteries started going out, one of these days I'm going to figure out this whole camera thing)

It was Cold, and we actually had Less of a turnout than last year, but it was still very moving.

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

My weekly post with a Sampling of what's out there in the blogosphere by,and about,

Soldiers Angels

In the News

Soldiers Angels Network (which is a great place to find out stories in the news about Soldiers Angels) had this story posted earlier this week

JCC students 'adopt' a soldier]Indy Star.com


Across the Ocean

From Soldiers Angels Germany comes two posts Going Home
and Clark-Wells Wedding at BAMC

Willie posts appreciation on A German-American Friendship Bracelet


In the USA

Soldiers Angels Texas told about Pearl Harbor Remembered,66 years later

Tanker Brothers passed on a press release From Nashville,TN


"New-to-me" Angels

Politically Incorrect and Loving It urged folks to Be an Angel..Adopt a Soldier

and Generic Blog has adopted Two soldiers! Hurray!


Utterz for Our Troops

Don't forget this program Utterz for our troops

SoldiersAngels.org and EmailOurMilitary.org have joined with Utterz com
to give everyone a new way to send good wishes and holiday greetingsto our service men and women. To create a good wishes/holiday greeting for our troops, follow
these simple steps.

Utterz will make donations to Soldiers' Angels for each person who does!


Remembrance

And lastly, Life in the Northeast , as she does every Sunday, posted Remember

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That's it for the sampling of this week's past postings. This meme will be on hiatus next week, as we're traveling to the 'Great White North' to celebrate the holidays with family! :)

Utterz for Our Troops

From the Soldiers Angels website comes yet Another way to send messages to the troops this holiday season!
(and Utterz will make donations to Soldiers Angels for each person who does!)
Click here: Utterz - Utter for our Troops


Want to see what some of them look like? Go here http://trooputterz.blogspot.com/


(You Know we're going to do this for Our Soldier....I'll post up a link after we get this done! :)

Wednesday Hero

This Week's Hero Was Suggested By Louie

Bill Juneau 36 years old from Rush City, Minnesota November 27, 2007

Welcome to this week's installment where all the member bloggers of Wednesday Hero collectively honor many of the real hero's found in this country who's names and bio's have been provided to us for these humble tributes by blogroll creator Indian Chris @ Right Wing and Right Minded.

Many of them are those that have paid the ultimate price for our country protecting it both here and abroad from the many threats we face from our enemies wishing us and them harm, some are not. In either case they are the real American heroes of today and we now both salute and offer our prayers. To join us if you wish to please start by reading the post below.(Introduction courtesy of Chicago Ray )

Bill Juneau 36 years old from Rush City, Minnesota November 27, 2007

If there was one thing Bill Juneau loved as much as his country, it was his dog, Jake.

The accident-prone black Lab, who has been hit by two cars, had a toe amputated on his right paw and survived eating 42 candy bars in one sitting, once fell off a dock and through the ice on a lake while Juneau was hunting withhis best friend, Dan Bock. Bock said Juneau jumped into the icy, chest-deep water to save his dog.

"He threw that wet dog on the deck and sacrificed everything to save him," said Bock. "Bill's just that type of guy."

Juneau, a 10 year veteran of the Chisago County sheriff's deputy, was in Iraq helping to train Iraqi police recruits when his convoy was hit by and IED 50 miles outside Baghdad.

A spokesperson for DynCorp, the private firm Juneau was working for, said Juneau was driving the lead vehicle in the large convoy that included U.S. Army personnel as well as members of the Iraqi National Police Force. The convoy was headed for a scheduled training mission. An Iraqi translator and a U.S. Army soldier sustained injuries in the blast as well.

His twin sister, Bridget Sura, said he wanted to help Iraqis rebuild their country and create better lives.
"He would often sugar-coat the bad stuff, because he wanted us to know about the positive things," she said. "But we still worried every minute of every day."

Another reason he joined was because he loved adventure, she said. While with the Chisago County Sheriff's Department, he started and led the country's SWAT team. Jake, his dog, has been embraced by Juneau's sister's family.

"He has more lives than a cat," Sura said, adding that they recently discovered a chocolate stash he'd hidden in his kennel. "Jake is a part of my brother," she said. "He[Bill] will be missed by a lot of people. This will leave a hole in a lot of people's hearts."

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

Beliefnet’s Winner of the Most Inspiring Person of 2007

Dr. Liviu Lebrescu won

Click here: Beliefnet's Most Inspiring Person of the Year 2007 Award -- Beliefnet.com

and here is the information about him.

Click here: Beliefnet Most Inspiring Person of 2007 - Nominee Heroic V-Tech Prof. Liviu Librescu -- Beliefnet.com

although so many of the nominee's were also very noteworthy people, like

Maj. Scott Southworth


The enduring picture that I carry in my mind from thoughts of the Virginia Tech massacre, is that of the professor who sacrificed himself to save his students.


"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)."

Voices From America-Send a Holiday Message to Our Troops

This is just awesome!
My thanks to CJ over at A Soldiers Perspective for alerting me to this one !




Click here: Voices from America - Support the Troops :: Mozes

Voices from America
Major recording artists are joining forces to support our U.S Troops this holiday season.Call 1-888-312-2612 (toll free) and leave your message of support for the troops.The troops can access your messages through the support of Armed Forces Entertainment.
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Please pass it on!!

Vote for the Most Inspiring Person of 2007-2 Days Left!

Vote for the Most Inspiring Person of 2007

Beliefnet has chosen 10 nominees for the Most Inspiring Person of 2007 Award. We need your help in choosing the final winner. You may vote once each day for your favorite candidate. You can vote again in 24 hours. Voting will end on December 10th. On December 12th we will announce the winner of the People's Choice Award--the nominee who received the most votes--and the Most Inspiring Person of 2007 winner, who will be chosen by Beliefnet editors from the three finalists with the most votes. We will also make a donation to the nonprofit organization of his or her choice.
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I got this email from someone who is trying to see that Prof. Liviu Librescu, the professor and Holocaust survivor who died last April 16 protecting his students from the gunman at VA Tech, wins this contest.

You can vote here:

http://www.beliefnet.com/mipy/2007/vote.html

You can only vote once a day, and remember VOTING ENDS DEC.10. (sorry I didn't receive this sooner,but please spread the word.) Thanks!

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

My weekly 'surf' from the past week in the blogosphere, for news by and about
Soldiers Angels


I missed linking before to Fbl's Fundraising and Thanksgiving post about
Valour IT Worth the read!
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Around the Globe

Soldier's Angels Germany posted about Medical Warriors

And Willie in Germany Visited Outpatients at Landstuhl

Nelly of Soldiers Angels Europe posts a Thank You to Our Donors
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Here in the USA

Greta of Soldiers Angels Louisiana tells about Marines Paying it Forward in LA

I came across this news story from NJ.com
Soldiers await cards from their special angels

Soldiers Angels Texas tells us about American Airlines DFW Donates to Texas VA Hospitals
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From the Deployed
Sgt. Hook lets us know that the 169th Civil Air Patrol is teaming up with Soldiers Angels.
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"New-To-Me" Angel Blogs and Bloggers

Jennifer's Adoption Journey

Jennifer has not only 'adopted' a soldier through Soldiers Angels, but she is also in the process of trying to adopt a child from Kazakhstan !

(and since many of you know my sister and brother-in-law recently finally welcomed their beautiful Charlotte from China , I was doubly excited to come across an Angel with an adoption blog :)
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Somehow, I've missed up till now that there's a blog for
Soldiers Angels- Operation Outreach
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Tennessee Soldiers Angels VA Team is blogging now. (and those VA Teams are a 'blogging bunch' :) Check out the blogroll!
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And this wonderful crafter at Sugar Bear Designs and her husband have recently become Angels
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Lastly, Aimee, who always takes time at the end of each week to Remember our Fallen....for once, had only Happy News to post last Sunday!

And that seems like a good way to end this week's 'surf'! :)

December 7th-Remember

American Ranger has a good post up
Click here: American Ranger: A Date Which Will Live in Infamy

as does Gazing at the Flag
Click here: Gazing at the Flag: Pearl Harbor Day ~ December Seventh


and Instapinch
Click here: instapinch.com » Blog Archive » December 7, 1941

who reminds us that the veterans from WW II are fast disappearing.



God bless the veterans of the 'greatest generation', and please remember them on this day, and always.



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Update: and from lawhawk , a post about a new memorial being dedicated today, to the victims of the USS Oklahoma.

Click here: Official Web Site of the USS Oklahoma Crew Members and Family


( crossposted )

Wednesday Heroes

Marty and Sue Horn

Welcome to this week's installment where all the member bloggers of Wednesday Hero collectively honor many of the real hero's found in this country who's names and bio's have been provided to us for these humble tributes by blogroll creator Indian Chris @ Right Wing and Right Minded.

Many of them are those that have paid the ultimate price for our country protecting it both here and abroad from the many threats we face from our enemies wishing us and them harm, some are not. In either case they are the real American heroes of today and we now both salute and offer our prayers. To join us if you wish to please start by reading the post below.(Introduction courtesy of Chicago Ray )

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This Week's Hero Was Suggested By Mark Bell

Marty and Sue Horn


Born in Philadelphia, Marty Horn spent 20 years in the Army as a Military Policeman, retiring in 1993 and going to work in Internet technologies.


In 2003, his son Brian Horn deployed to Iraq. Trying to support their son’s unit, Marty and his wife Sue, who also served as in the Military Police, put together the concept of Any Soldier


In essence, Any Soldier is an effort to provide support and encouragement to those who are in harm’s way.

Due to overwhelming requests for ready-made care packages on the AnySoldier.com site, Sue Horn started TreatAnySoldier.com

Using his background in Internet technologies, Marty built and maintains the web site. The Any Soldier program slowly expanded to include other Army units. In 2004, the program opened up to include all service branches.. In 2005, the websites for AnyMarine.com., AnySailor.com, AnyAirman.com, and AnyCoastguardsman.com were launched. In the words of the Any Soldier web site: "The success of Any Soldier has far exceeded expectations and continues to grow with the invaluable help and guidance of our supporters, board members and Support Team."

In the words of Marty Horn: "It is the supporters who deserve the credit."

Thanks to the efforts of Marty and Sue, their son Brian, and a dedicated staff, over 950,000 servicemen and women received support and encouragement they would never have been able to get through the Any Soldier program.


These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

(crossposted from Mail Call! Supporting the Troops )

Church Solo 12/2/07

While you're waiting for me to finish setting up this blog? thought I'd share my daughter's church solo on 12/2/07.

Now I'm on Blogger,too :)

I've been blogging for over a year and a half on AOL at Mail Call! Supporting the Troops
and thought it might be time to also blog on Blogger.

You can also find me on MySpace and on Yahoo 360