Eventful Day!

Aside from getting my hair "did," taking a trip out to the house, looking at washers and dryers and grabbing some dinner with the parents, today has been quite eventful!

We were up bright and early (technically not so bright) and on our way up to The Woodlands, which is about 45 minutes north of Houston. The weather cooperated although it was the most humid day we have had in quite some time. The Angelman Syndrome Walk-A-Thon was amazing. We were able to mingle and learn a little bit about what Angelman Syndrome is. Until I met Mark, I had not even heard of it. One of his hosts along his walk made a huge impact on him. We walked for Jonathan today. Houston was one of the 26 cities that held a walk, and our city alone was able to raise over $50,000 to go towards research and resources needed to help those with AS. We saw a lot of Angels today!

After the walk was completed, we sped, and I mean SPED back to Houston to scoop up the boxes we had packed for our boys and girls on the frontlines. The post office closed early today but we just had to get some of these boxes out to make more room for the ones we still had left over. Today's shipment consisted of four large boxes of books, one box of magazines and snacks, as well as one box of some playing cards and blank greeting cards for them to write back home with. They are VERY cute! All of the magazines, cards and books were donated by Half Price Books, and our new friend Kelly.

We got to the post office about 45 minutes before they closed yet were there almost to the end. My one complaint about this visit: the ridiculous people waiting in line. I just can't seem to understand why people are such procrastinators. Why in the world would you wait until you are in line at the post office to sort through your Ebay orders. The woman in front of us had I would say about 10 different orders to ship, yet none were packed or addressed. I would consider it her lucky day because she realized that she wasn't ready, and it was only right to let us move ahead of her. She even said, "well, I saw how long the line was so jumped in even though I knew I wasn't ready." Really? My goodness.

My advice for the day: media mail is awesome. A lot lower of a cost of shipping for books!

After today we still have three boxes of books to ship, a couple of more to pack, and a ton of letters. I am also working on getting a few information materials out to some AAUSS volunteers. Off I go!

Library Anyone?

Last week it was sweets out our behind (of course not literally), and now this week, its books! I received a phone call on Monday from Kelly at Half Price Books. She was wondering if we would be interested in a donation of books to our troops overseas. Heck yes, Kelly! I was actually quite luck to hear from her not only because of the huge donation, but also because she came across my name on luck herself. Although myself and Mark had frequented this location from time to time, they did not have one of our business cards on record. She happened to find my information written down on a file folder somewhere in the back of the store.

Upon our arrival there to pick up the donations, we were welcomed by a super friendly staff and elated at the number of boxes she had full of books. They were all paperback, and she mentioned that she will most likely have even more, but she wasn't sure if we accepted hard back books. She is going to look into possible donations of DVDs, but also inquired about whether or not this location has a VHS player. I need to look into this because, if so, they will also have VHS to send over. The icing on the top of the cake? Comic books. Mark was overly pleased with a huge box of comic books that they are also handing over for us to ship to Kandahar. I was sure to separate Mark from the box, and am also considering counting the comics so that I am sure he doesn't try to sneak away with any. Just kidding...or am I?

This week we sent over a box full of "snacks on the go" for the coffee shop. We went out and purchased granola bars, rice crispy treats, pop tarts, cookies and we even filled in the nooks and crevices with tootsie rolls. We make sure we get our moneys worth of shipping, and our boys and girls get their tummy's worth.

I have been very pleased with the outcome of my recent Etsy listings. The bracelets and bows have been a big hit and recent purchases from my wonderful friends have really helped with our shipping costs. We have now pretty much caught up on all shipping (aside from the books that just came in this week). The books are now going to probably take about 5 boxes or so to complete the shipment.

Exciting news - we are going to have a couple of cool new items listed on Etsy or Ebay in the near future. We are putting together a couple of different things and I am really excited about "releasing" them! :)

Past Excerpts

It may be difficult for some people to understand just how much it means for our soldiers to receive our support. What may be even more difficult, is to remember and distinguish the huge difference in lifestyles. We, here in the states, take a lot for granted. Although their living arrangements and everyday lives may differ from ours greatly, their patriotism and hope shines through. You see this below.

This first excerpt if from a soldier in which I supported in the past. He describes what he see's as he looks out the helicopter, over Afghanistan. His outlook amongst the chaos of war is amazing.

As we flew over the small villages that dot this arid landscape, I was struck again how biblical this country is.  And I don’t mean in a religious sense.  It really does seem like this country is stuck in the 3^rd century.  The houses and huts are all made out of mud bricks, many without roofs.  The smoke from hundreds of cooking fires spiral up like rope into the harsh desert sky, camels and sheep and goats just EVERYWHERE!  Being tended to by old men and young boys wrapped in shepherd robes, prodding the animals with long poles to get from one place to another (though I have no idea why they do that, as “that place over the next hill” looks as barren and desolate as that place they currently are at).   I must have flown over hundreds of square miles and I saw virtually no water.  Just endless wadi after wadi, stretching out to the horizon, mountains stacked upon mountains in the shimmering heat.

 

Flying over  a Middle Eastern city, everybody so crowded together, hundreds of thousands of mud houses clinging to the sides of the hills.  It was an undulating carpet of drab, mud-colored blocks of houses, like brown waves on an angry ocean.  I could feel the heat and hear the voices of millions of people all jammed together, like the houses they lived in.

The next excerpt is one I received via email, in regards to his birthday. His pride shines through! His words are so beautiful. I also enjoy the last paragraph, where you can see an example of something we may take for granted.

"First off, I thought how “natural” it felt for me, on my birthday, to be screaming over the dunes with the doors open on a Blackhawk, hot and sweaty in my tore-up boots and dusty ACUs.  To have my 9mm pistol on my chest, sunglasses protecting my eyes from the glaring sun, as I casually dangled my foot over the edge.  Being a soldier.  Man, I can’t really picture myself being anything else at this point in my life!  I pictured what it would be like on my birthday if I was “working in an office, with a suit and tie, in a cubicle working on a computer for a company that exists to make money.” 

NO WAY

!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Life is very, very hard here, for all of us, but I can’t picture myself being anything else but a soldier.  I thought about how important it is to me to feel like I am making a difference in the world, how important it is for me to not just work at a “job” but to be serving others in a profession.  So many professions in this world, people making this world a better place…mine just happens to involve heavy machine guns and roaring around in helicopters.  I thought a bit about what it felt like working in the glass palace of US Northern Command…how, while that was very important work, it didn’t feel like soldier work.  Well, I most definitely felt like a soldier yesterday.  Doing my duty on the far side of the globe.  I actually pulled out the small flag that I keep tucked inside my patrol cap and rubbed my fingers over it a bit.".

"...I then walked over to the ************ where I exchanged out my desert boots (ripped down the side) and my ACU top (shredded down the sleeve from some sharp rocks).  AND THEN I WENT TO BURGER KING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah…the Whopper.  There’s a “Burger King” at ***** but it’s not like the nice, sit-down air-conditioned Burger Kings in the states.  It’s basically a metal box that they’ve turned into a Burger King.  You sit outside on benches and dust is everywhere.  You have to eat fast so you don’t get a lot of dirt in your burger but I didn’t care.  I have seen soldiers sitting there in a full-blown sandstorm, happily eating their Whoppers, hunkered down with their burgers inside their Gortex to keep the worst of the sand out of it.

OH MY GOSH THAT BURGER TASTED INCREDIBLE!!!  I had not eaten at Burger King in 9 months and I was practically drooling as I took my Double Whopper with cheese, lettuce, tomato, lettuce, and king size fries over to the table.  I closed my eyes as I took the first bite:  never has a burger tasted so good!..."

A Sticky Situation

You are probably wondering if I am talking about a positive sticky situation, or a negative. I am going to spare you with a sticky situation that brings on a lot of negative thoughts and enlighten you with our very positive one - those sticky sweets! Let me put it this way, I never thought I would say this, but I think I would be okay with not being around any caramel, fudge, cupcakes, you name it, for quite some time. A small sacrifice I made to those making bigger ones ;)
This past weekend, Mark and I were able to represent both Adopt A US Soldier and Patriot Walk at the Home for the Holidays Gift Market. It was a great opportunity to talk with other vendors and spread the word about AAUSS to the shoppers making their rounds. I can not believe that I do not have more pictures, but will be able to share a couple from the packing later in the weekend.

We would like to send a big thank you to a couple of vendors that were able to donate some of their goods to Task Force Eagle Lift. The following three vendors shared some of their sweet treats to show their appreciation of our troops serving overseas. I highly recommend you check out their websites and keep them in mind for any future orders you may need to make.

Tammie's Tasty Treats - Thank you all for your donations of biscotti (will go WONDERFULLY with our troops coffee) and other confections.

Nutty Buddies - Thank you for your donation of cinnamon roasted nuts. These were definitely difficult to part with ;)

Caramel Candy Co - Thank you so much for those huge slabs of caramel candy! We have cut it into cubes, saran wrapped, ziploced and shipped them out. They are currently in route to our heroes.

I would also like to thank JoAnn and Richard Anderson for stopping by and talking with us. Their son, who I grew up with, has just been deployed to Afghanistan. While I know they are both VERY proud of him for his sacrifices and bravery, we were happy to express our thanks and reassure them that we are both praying and thinking of him as well. He has made a sacrifice that most individuals would not even consider. For that, I thank him, as well as the other service members overseas. Although the recent developments concerning the killing of bin Laden are long awaited and great news, we must remember that our troops are still overseas. While we do not have the worries of bin Laden's rule, our troops are still at war.

Please consider adopting a soldier to show your support of them overseas. If you would rather not make that commitment, you have an option of sending a one time care package to the unit we are supporting in Kandahar. Do not have any spare time to organize and ship a package? A third option is to either make a donation directly to Adopt A US Soldier or buy an item that Mark and I are personally selling to help cover the costs of package we have to ship over. There are paracord bracelets, shirts and canteens all available!

Our Etsy Shop! Several multi colored bracelets

Our Ebay Shop! Solid colored bracelets along with shirts and canteens

Looking Back

Time sure does fly. Looking back at the beginning of my volunteer efforts, it brings joy to see just how much I have put forth to gain as much support for our troops as possible. I have now been supporting my soldiers (several since many have returned home) for about 2 and a half years. I have had the title of Ambassador for nearly 2. I'd like to think that I have made a big difference in our troops lives, whether it be a letter to brighten their day or a collection of goods that helped get them through their deployment.

The great thing about a blog is not only the opportunity to share my experience, but also to have a sort of journal that I can look back on. I wanted to share a couple of links from the beginning of my volunteering. I am still working on finding another, seems the archives do not want to work with me this morning.

This first link is an interview that myself and Ann Johnson took part in. We were so lucky as to have Lieutenant Steve Osterholzer join us live with his thoughts on support from the states. The interview was published on September 7, 2009.
NPR Local Interview

Educating students in the area about the much needed support for our troops was a great accomplishment. I spent the day on campus (where I actually received my associates degree) and talked with many students. They held a letter writing campaign and collected items for care packages. Only later did I find out that they were also donating a XBOX 360 with several games. Really warmed my heart.
November 12, 2009
Cypress Times Article about Cy Fair College Efforts

The following is one of my favorites. A local magazine added our story to their Spring 2010 issue. It was great to know that readers all over the community were picking up that magazine at corner and grocery stores.
Cy Fair Magazine Article

These are just a few examples of how you can spread the word and put forth effort for the appreciation of our troops!

Gearing up for the Weekend

The time has come for another event! This weekend, Mark and I will be manning a booth at two day shopping event in Katy, Texas. The Home for the holidays gift market has been so kind as to offer a booth free of charge since we will be handing out information for Adopt A US Soldier and selling items to help cover the costs of all our shipping. At the event, we will be offering key fobs, bracelets, shirts and a few other miscellaneous items in hopes to gain some more monetary support for our troops in Kandahar. Here is the event information if anyone is interested in stopping by.

Home for the Holidays Spring Gift Market
Merrell Center
6301 S Stadium Ln
Katy Texas 77494
Saturday, April 30   10am-6pm
Sunday, May 1    11am-4pm
By following the link below, you can bring this print out and receive buy 1 get 1 free admission at the door!
http://www.homefortheholidaysgiftmarket.com/show_dates

Closing with the result of a few hours of doodling on Good Friday!

French Fries at the Bottom of the Bag

You know that feeling when you pull out your food from the to go bag and you find five extra french fries at the bottom of the bag, just waiting for you? I had that feeling today...

Stopped by the mail box to see if anything good came in and found a letter from a soldier overseas. I had pulled her name out of a database I have and written a letter thanking her for her service and reminding her that we are thinking of her. She was able to write back! Why is it like finding french fries in the bottom of the bag? After ordering a meal, you expect to get your meal. The extra fries at the bottom is just a little extra awesomeness. When registering or deciding to volunteer for Adopt A US Soldier, you are expecting to support a soldier while they are overseas. Getting letters in return is just a little extra awesomeness. 

I am sharing this with you to help some of you understand that supporting a soldier overseas isn't all about what you receive in return. To support a soldier you have to humble and understanding of the conditions they are in. You register to support them, not begin a relationship in which you are in contact daily, weekly or even monthly. To help some understand it better, let me put it this way. In all the time I have volunteered for AAUSS (approximately 2 years), I have received 2 letters total from soldiers overseas. As a supporter you have to be very understanding of the possible lack of communication. Sure I have received a few emails or Facebook requests on occasions, but only the 2 letters.

After 2 years of volunteering, I would have to say that to see this second letter was quite humbling, and well worth the wait.

Fold, Fold, Seal, Dear Soldier

Well, well, well. I must say that I am a "master kitter" after learning the technique of tri-folding, sealing and addressing "Dear Soldier" on about 500 letters and cards in the past couple of days. I can officially say that I am caught up with all we have collected and will have it all boxed by the end of the day. I am, however, going to hold on to some of the letters and cards and distribute them weekly. This way there is a constant supply coming in to help cheer up our troops!

As for the box I was making to hold the cards and letters, it is done! I was going to hold off on sharing pictures just in case our contact in Kandahar sees it on Facebook, but if he does, hopefully it will just excite him. I'll hold off on adding them to Facebook though (for now!). Here it is!

I pretty much "doodled" it all when I had some down time, colored it, cut them out and then arranged them all around on the box. I then just covered it will clear packing tape. The inside and underneath of the box are lined with that good ol' priority mailing tape. Turned out pretty neat looking. Hopefully this will be a nice addition to their coffee shop. It can be set out and a soldier that is coming through can feel free to take a letter.

Update on the shipment of 17 boxes - they made it in a record 5 days! Was so excited to see an email in my inbox with the following picture. Jean was welcomed back to his office after a long day of flying, to find all of these boxes stacked around his desk. How awesome!

Off I go to finish off a couple of boxes I have to pack - and then to the post office they go tomorrow!

On a last note - if y'all could, please share the link to the blog! I would love to share our efforts to help support the troops, perhaps give some supporters some new ideas and even some inspiration. Thanks in advance!

Ahead or Behind You

Today was a very productive and rewarding day for me. After collecting cards from Treemont Retirement Community, and receive a huge batch of letters from Cy-Lakes High School, I was plenty occupied with the inspiring words of those both young and elderly. I like to pair up any that would go well with soldiers on my list. For instance, one may be in partly spanish while another may have a lot of hobbies in common with some in particular.

After arriving at Treemont I was able to talk with Alice, a contact there who coordinates the activities for the entire community. She collected many cards that the residents had written in to express their thanks and thoughts for our soldiers overseas. Alice pulled one of the cards out and was sure that I saw it. I will not give out any names to respect their privacy, but it was a very heartfelt card from a veteran.

This card brought both smiles and tears to my face upon reading it. He joined the Army at the age of 17, in 1946. He spent over 20 years in the military and over 10 of those years, he was overseas. He told a little about his past service and at the end he concluded with what I thought was so funny. He mentioned that he had "received a call in 2004 from the Pentagon. They told me that if there were ever to be a WWIII, I would be called back to duty. If I did not come, I would be court marshalled." Whether he was serious or not, I'll never know!

Now for the most touching part of my day. The Cy-Lakes High School took part in a letter writing project. Their National Honor Society has chosen to write monthly letters to soldiers. They submitted the first batch today and there are over 250. These are not brief letters with a thank you and God bless. These are very elaborate, "give it your all" types of letters. I was a bit sniffly on several occasions. Here are a few excerpts from them, ones that really warmed my heart.

"I hope you are having an amazing day, and if you are not, I hope my happiness, yes the happiness of a stranger who appreciates your efforts, makes you feel better."

""Progress is the activity of today and the assurances of tomorrow." I like this quote because its motivating, its a good way of thinking of all the obstacles that one must overcome today to be able to assure a tomorrow."

"I believe that every human being on Earth deserves to be free, and by you fighting you are giving others a chance to have that."

"I know you don't know me and I certainly don't know you but it is a thing of beauty the connection we really have together. You are the reason why I live in America with a peaceful state of mind and the freedom everyone deserves. You are the reason why we can call ourselves, American. Your heart and soul is in a time of wretched and evil, yet you stilld ecide to defend for what you live for, you hope for, and you would die for. Such heart deserves more letters like these, as you are the reason why I could write such letters in the comfort of my home."

"Whether or not you know it, you have inspired me to choose the path of a military life. Seeing the men and women that serve our country every day gives me such pride in our country. Your service can not be measured by words or money. The amount that you do for this country every day is more than anyone could ever repay. So with this, I salute you."

"You are my hearts reminder that I always have a choice."

"What I fear, is what you embrace, and for that I thank you."

"Beauty varies. In America, beauty is Jennifer Aniston or Leonardo de Caprio. In Asia, doll-like features are beautiful. however, I believe universally, beauty is from the inside. You, are a beautiful human being."

There are so many more, but I would be here for days. After all of my reading today, I have learned one thing. Whether you have many memories and experience ahead of you, or behind you, we all share one thing in common; patriotism. Both the high school students and the residents in retirement were both very passionate about their love for our country, and those that are serving to protect it. The residents are able to share all of their experience and memories with the world, to help us understand what our heroes have gone through. Our youth are able to share their aspirations and how much they long to make a difference, using our soldiers as role models.

Thank you Treemont Retirement Community and Cy-Lakes High School!

Post Office and New Idea

Looking back on a blog post from a few weeks ago, I expressed to you all that I had a horrible post office experience. I can now say that I have had a wonderful experience! On Saturday I was there as they opened the doors for business and was able to ship out 17 large flat rate boxes full of items. I was in the mind set that I would not let any comments bother me and would keep patient and thankful. The odds were unfortunately stacked against me. I was hoping for at least 2 clerks and no line. I was third in line, with about 5 people behind me. The first customer they took, they realized there credit card machine was down. That now leaves 1 clerk with many customers behind me, approaching 10 to 15 or so. I am now at the counter and although I had two boxes in my hand, my handy dandy father started bringing in the remainder. You could tell the people behind me were not very thrilled and during the whole visit, we only had one comment. At the very beginning, a police officer mentioned that we should be paying those behind us in line to wait (couldn't believe this!). My dad mentioned we were shipping every box to our boys and girls in Afghanistan and they remained cordial. The entire time I was at the desk, the other counters remained closed. All of those people waited patiently behind me for 45 minutes when I shipped all these boxes. The clerk was very friendly and thought it was so awesome that we were sending all these. Although it was tempting to tell the person behind me to, "go ahead," those of you who visit the post office often know that this can turn into everyone wanted to skip ahead since they just have one or two packages. I would end up waiting there all day if I was that giving. I kept optimistic and it was a SUCCESS! Hope you receive these packages soon Task Force Eagle Lift!

New small project I am working on. I am putting together a box to send over to our contact in Kandahar. Just a quick re-cap: this is a group of soldiers that built their own coffee shop to help boost morale and serve as a central location where the soldiers can "get away." I am using a little of my spare time to doodle something up. I am taking a regular cardboard box and pasting little sayings and drawings all over. I am then going to use either laminating sheets or a liquid sealer to cover it so that nothing will fall off. What will this serve as? A simple *hug* from home! I am going to send it and ask that they leave it on there in their shop. Every week I will be sending a batch of letters, cards, drawings, etc. collected here in Houston. They can then compile them in the box and if a soldiers is pouring a cup of coffee, he/she can take a letter or card to help brighten their day. Cheesy? Maybe. But I think it will go over real well :)

Here is the start of it!

Will update when I am finished here in a couple of days! I think it is going to turn out really neat.

I would like to end with a simple request. Do you have a DVD or two in your collection that you know you will most likely never watch again? Would you like to help support our troops? We are looking for DVDs that we can send over to the shop. Someone has donated a TV and DVD player, but they are in need of some movies that they can have available for viewing. I have already gone through my collection and pulled 10 or so out. Comment below or feel free to email me at projectfrontlines@gmail.com if you would like to donate some goods.

Goal for today: making it to Treemont Retirement Community in Houston Texas. All of the residents have filled out cards to send to our troops! They also mentioned that they wanted to cover some of the costs of shipping - huge hooray!

What's in Store for April

After a long absence from blogging...I am back! Have a little free time again, finally! Mark will be out of town for the next couple of weeks (*sniffers*), but I am hoping to not only get things done on the troop support front, but also in the weight loss and home preparation front. I'm going to have my hands full.

For the next few weeks I am buckling down and trying to accomplish a lot in our Adopt A US Soldier efforts. Mark and I have recently began a special project, after being contacted by a military wife. She expressed her concerns about our troops on the frontlines of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Her husband's battalion has built a coffee house which has recently been named "The First Cup." This establishment is a big morale booster for the troops at their location. It is serving as a central location where soldiers can pour a cup of coffee (or tea, hot chocolate, whatever their preference) and take a moment to relax and "get away." The way we see it, this is a great opportunity to help show those troops how much they are appreciated. We are arranging a mass collection of items to ship over to what we are going to consider, a trading post. All packages will be shipped to that specific location and made available to any soldiers in that battalion. While we are focusing on coffee, tea and hot cocoa, we are also welcoming many other items.

To further the success of Project Frontlines, I will continue a collection of items throughout my neighborhood. This consists of me leaving fliers at every door in hopes that they will like to participate by leaving a few items outside their front door. We have collected throughout about half of the neighborhood so far and have accumulated almost 20 boxes full of items. I am also contacting local and national coffee distributors or shops to see if they would be willing to donate some coffee to the cause. I have received two responses here locally and they are talking it over, keep your fingers crossed!

The second focus for the month of April is going to be an upcoming event here in Katy, Texas. The Home for the Holidays Spring Gift Market is a two day shopping event in which hundreds and even thousands of shoppers come out to visit booths full of crafts and other goodies. I will be manning a booth in which we are going to be handing out information on how you can adopt a soldier, as well as offering different military themed items. The types of things we will have available are paracord key chains, paracord bracelets, bows and one or two bra's. We will have an Army and/or Navy inspired bra that resembles their uniforms. These are always big with the military wives and girlfriends. I am hoping to also have a few other things available, perhaps aprons. I have always wanted to learn more about sewing and it would be a great opportunity to get some practice in, and hopefully gain some more funds for shipping.

Aside from the actual items we will have offered, I need to put something together in which we can display these items. From past experience, my advice to anyone manning a booth, keep your items upright and as visible as possible. In the past I have laid items out across the table and it results in a lot of the shoppers missing them. They see our banner and understand we are there to inform them, but unfortunately most people need more than that (which is okay!). I am going to be putting something together that the bracelets and items can hang from. It will also look more presentable!

Hobby Lobby trip is planned for tonight - hopefully I walk away with some really neat stuff, at a really neat price...updates to come!

Military Themed Crafts and Fun Stuff

Aside from supporting soldiers overseas, I have a full time (and lately, VERY stressful) job, I have started the process of having a house built, I am an Ambassador for Adopt A US Soldier and I am always looking for ways to fund the many packages that we send overseas.

I look for local events that welcome us to hand out information and offer items in return for donations. The items usually consist of paracord key fobs and bracelets, and recently I have acquired some very cute military themed bows from another volunteer, Misty. She's awesome!

One of the neat things I have started recently (with the help of my very talented mother), are military themed bras. I know, some may wonder why bra’s?

It all started when we made two bras for a local charity event that raised money for breast cancer awareness. It was only appropriate that the bras be military themed seeing as to how that is our main focus. The two themes were Army and Navy.

I am going to be making more of these bras as well as two more branches, Marine and Air Force. I would like to have one from each branch made in time for a possible benefit for AAUSS in mid to late May. We will be auctioning them off to raise funds for postage costs.

Sat{hurt}day

Saturday was the first day of the Patriot Walk Around Houston. I had the honor (although my body disagrees!) to join Mark for a day. It was about 17 miles, which to me, didn’t seem that catastrophic. I eventually learned that it is quite a bit longer than it “seemed.”

We set out from Clay’s Restaurant a little after 11am. The rain had thankfully passed but boy was that wind something else. We walked north for the better half of the day so were quite wind burnt by the end. It mostly consisted of walking behind neighborhoods and the typical suburb. As the day progressed, the sun began to come out and the puddles drained, so did I. About 2/3 of the way through I finally really started to feel it and tried my best not to drag. I think I did pretty well myself, for no training or experience with walking across America.

Thankfully Mark was there to motivate me, and even held my back pack for a while when I recuperated. Yep, he had two back packs on at once! Pros of walking behind Mark: he definitely kept me going. I had no choice but to keep up, plus I could watch where he was stepping. Cons: he is fast! With his experience, and obviously longer legs than me, I had my work cut out.

Any complications? One. Construction! For a good while there was construction on both sides of one of the streets. This meant that there was no shoulder and the space to each side of the road consisted of orange barrels and mud. This definitely caused a little pain in my butt (which is nothing in comparison to the actual pain I feel in my butt today!).

To sum it up; a goldmine of dog poo (don’t ask!), gang vandalism, a few mud scares, a duck feeding, kolache stop, brief VFW visit, neighborhood tour, creek crossing and a huge interstate later…we arrived at our final destination.

Lesson for the day: don’t lay down immediately following this feat.

John's Story

Part of the importance of this blog is to share my experience with adopting soldiers, and their stories. They are each near and dear to me. I will be sharing a story about each from time to time. I will of course use fictional names. Here is John's story.

After adopting John, I sent a quick email as usual, as well as a soldier survey that helps guide me as to what his needs or wants are. Luckily he had a private email and was able to respond within a couple of days. He told me a bit about himself and after filling out the survey I was surprised to see his requests. He listed a few snacks here and there but it all summed up to be about things he NEEDED, rather than wanted. He requested a pillow because he did not have his own. He also requested a twin sheet set as well as a few toiletries that they had not had available on hand lately.

I went to the store and started collecting the items he requested. About an hour and $50 later I was packing up his two boxes. $24 for shipping costs and then his two boxes were in the mail and on their way. He received them very quickly, only 6 days later. I received an email upon his receiving. This is what it contained:


"I would very much so like to thank you for the well appreciated packages. They
both made my day they were the first packages I recieved so that was one thing.
The sheets with the fabric softner was so nice I haven't smelled anyting that
smelled that good in about three months. My soldiers were begging me for the
brownies but I told them I would share. The pillow was so thoughtful I really
needed that the store was out of them and toothpaste. Again I thank you from the
bottom of my heart the package made me feel like a kid again at christmas.
Please keep in touch PLEASE."


It nearly brought tears to my eyes after reading it. These are things that we take for granted on a daily basis. Can you imagine not having your own pillow? How about running out of toothpaste and not having the access to buy more?

I love how he pointed out the fabric softeners. I washed all of his stuff before packaging it and was sure to add extra dryer sheets so that when he opened the bags it would smell wonderful!

Two days after he had received the packages I had another email in my inbox:

"i am sorry inform you that all the things you sent along with all my stuff were in a fire in my room i lost everything ...i am borrowing things from fellow ssoldiers until i find out what the army is going to do again sorry to be sending you bad news but i needed to talk to someone because it could have been my life instead of material things or both" I am so THANKFUL that John is doing okay. The most important thing is that he was not there when this fire took place. I am also very happy that he knows that I am here for him if he needs anyone to talk to. That is what this organization is about. Being here to support someone when they may need a *hug from home*. We need to help these soldiers understand that they are not forgotten while they are overseas.

Approaching the Walk

I left off last with my horrible post office experience. That evening we began to go over every detail of the Patriot Walk Around Houston. The appropriate setting? $1.59 margaritas and .99 cent drafts at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Los Cucos. A few drinks and a page of notes later…we were ready to get back to work!

Yesterday we met with a sweet, sweet lady by the name of Alice. Alice is an activities coordinator at Treemont Retirement Community. After contacting her about our cause, she welcomed us over to talk a little about how their community could help. We left a few hundred blank greeting cards with her so that they could be distributed to all residents interested in dropping a few lines to our troops. She explained that this is a very elderly community and she was sure that they would be very interested in participating. She is going to set out a few examples of what they could include in their cards, but she did look forward to them speaking about their own service in the military. There are many veterans residing there and I hope to not only include them in this opportunity, but I would love to hear their own stories and memories they have from serving.

Now for something way cool! I received a call from the elementary school that I attended as a child. They are excited to participate and would like to meet with me to go over ideas. They want to get all of their art classes working on a neat project! It was humbling to talk with her and I may even meet with a few teachers that are STILL teaching there. Think they’ll remember me? GO Wilson Wranglers!

Today = press release. I was able to put together a press release about the upcoming walk so that the local newspapers and media are able to learn a little bit about what we are doing (and hopefully add an awesome article or story!). I have sent it out to about twenty different community newspapers in the surrounding Houston area. I knew Houston was big, but WOW, I am being reminded of just how big as I go through these steps.

We also released some information about possible sponsorships and donations. We are looking for companies or individuals that would be interested in making a small donation to Adopt A US Soldier and in return, Mark will be wearing their company shirt or logo for a day of his walk. The funds will be used to cover some shipping costs of some package we have ready to go. So far, there are 19 boxes! If you know of a company that would be interested, contact us at patriotwalkhouston@gmail.com.

We are in full swing and ready to hit the road! Mark will be walking this Saturday, March 5 through next Saturday, March 12. I am looking forward to being a part of it all. I will be walking three of the days with him. Wish me luck!

The Good, the Bad and the Worse

The good is what keeps everyone going. The good in supporting soldiers is the letter you receive in the mail, the smiles you see on their faces in pictures sent or even the quick one line email. That quick one line email may seem insignificant coming from a co-worker, friend or even family member, but when you receive it from one of your adopted soldiers it is completely different. Knowing that they sat aside a few minutes from their everyday hectic-ness (yeah I just made up my own word) to drop a line, shows just how wonderful they are.

The bad are those moments that get you down. Maybe it’s the fact that WalMart doesn’t have his favorite deodorant on clearance anymore. Perhaps it is the fact that you learned that your neatly packaged box was opened and sorted through by customs (or who knows who) along the way. Although these are setbacks, your soldier still received his second favorite deodorant. The box that had been opened while in route still made it to your soldier, even if it was missing a toothbrush or bag of chips (due to curiosity).

The even worse comes when others attempt to interfere with your support. These are the times when you feel like the odds are stacked against you. These are one of the days I have been having today.

After spending 45 minutes of my lunch break waiting in line at the post office, I was finally welcomed to the clerks counter with what I thought would be an accomplishing visit. I had one flat rate envelope, two medium flat rate boxes and I requested a book of stamps. He began by explaining to me that flat rate envelopes do not need any forms whatsoever since they are domestic. He angrily ripped up my customs form I provided and began to ring up a confirmation notice as well (which I had not requested). Although at this point I was already frustrated, I withheld and continued to be patient and courteous. He proceeded with my first medium box and was apparently not too happy with how I made out my customs form. He began scratching out items and re-writing them somewhere else. I couldn’t believe it! In my experience, I have personally had two boxes returned due to the fact that information was scribbled out on the forms. I learned my lesson and now NEVER cross anything out. Here is a play by play, give or take a word or two.

Kylie: Could you please not scribble those items out? Boxes have been returned to me due to the fact that things are scribbled out.

Clerk: Its okay, I am doing it so it will be fine.

Kylie: Please, let me re-do the form. I would hate to have it returned.

Clerk: No, really, it’s okay.

Kylie: I am not paying for both of these boxes to be shipped, knowing that there is a very good chance that they will be returned. It is a waste of money and I don’t appreciate the fact that you expect me to be okay with this.

Clerk: Well, you have done it all wrong, they will not make it there if you leave the forms like this.

Kylie: Really, so I have been filling out custom forms incorrectly for the past two years the clerks just haven’t informed me? I have filled them out the same ever since I remember and you are now telling me that I have been wrong all along…?

Clerk: Yes.

Kylie: Please give me my two boxes back, I would like to visit another post office.

Clerk: I am processing them now, they will make it fine.

Kylie: If you do not return my boxes to me right now I will need to speak to a manager or supervisor. I now have to re-do both of my customs forms due to your actions and I will no longer be mailing these today.

The cherry on top? The debit machine wasn’t working, and when he finally charged my credit card once, he realized he did not charge me the correct amount.

My advice: Hold on to that good. Take note of it more often, and show appreciation. The worse only rears its ugly face here and there but don’t let it get you down. By supporting our heroes overseas you are doing your own duty. It really shows your dedication and kindness to those who are making sacrifices that most people wouldn’t make. The truth is, most other people will not even set aside time to shop for a care package, write a letter or stand in line at the post office. You are going above and beyond to show someone else that they matter. It is our way of reassuring them that they are remembered.

Who {we} Are

Although I only have two blog posts so far, I feel it is very necessary to give the explanation of whom {we} are.

{Kylie} I grew up here in the Lone Star State. Houston has been my home since birth and I do not see that changing in the future. Throughout childhood I tried to find what “fit” me best. I went through tumbling, karate, gymnastics and eventually dance/drill team in high school. I must admit that I didn’t care much to hear about our troops or affairs overseas until far after high school graduation. My support for the troops really began when I overheard a co-worker mention Adopt A US Soldier about two years ago. On a whim, I registered to adopt my first. I had no family or friends in the military so didn’t fully understand how much support meant to them.  Let me just say this, I found my “fit.”

{Mark} He grew up in the Buffalo, New York area, far from here. While he spent his spare time swimming and being the usual mischievous teenage boy, he already knew what it was like to have family in the military. Both of his brothers enlisted in the Army and have served a couple of tours each, in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Mark saw an opportunity to make a difference and really bring some issues to light. He decided to embark on a walk across America, where not only did he gain more support for our deployed troops and returned veteran’s, but also became a very large part of my life.

{We} are a team. This team was not planned or sought out, it just happened. I met Mark here in Houston, while he was on his Patriot Walk Across America. After hosting him and showing him around town, I found that we were drawn to each other and decided to continue my support for his cause. After taking several road trips and a few flights to different parts of the country, his walk ended three months later aboard the USS Midway. I was excited to learn that he would be coming to Houston for the holidays, and would be moving here permanently after his walk up the California coast.

Now that we are here together I can only imagine what we will accomplish. We fell in love with each on his walk across America, and I can’t imagine how different things would be right now if I hadn’t learned about this crazy guy! I can personally vouch for the fact that Facebook is definitely a great networking tool (perhaps secret matchmaker), and that very good people can “walk” into your life at any given moment, changing them for the better.

The Scoop

Not enough time in a day, just not enough time. I always find myself running into the same problem. So many ideas and goals but I feel like just when I get them all gathered it is time to clock back in on Monday. I can only imagine how much more I could get accomplished if I could simply spend all my time volunteering rather than having to go into work. One day, maybe, one day.

This weekend brought on a lot of accomplishments as well as some progress in Patriot Walk Around Houston. For those of you that may not be familiar with it, I will try my best to sum it up...here's the scoop!

Patriot Walk Around Houston is taking place on March 5-12. Mark will be walking approximately 150 miles, completely circling Houston. He is doing this to rally up support for Adopt A US Soldier and our currently deployed troops. This is an effort in which we are turning into a city-wide show of support. We are looking for organizations and clubs to get involved by collecting care package items as well as schools collecting homemade cards.

We started our Friday by picking up some care package items at WalMart. Our trip included typical items such as Q-Tips, shampoos and toothbrushes/paste. A few things here and there really add up and we want to chip in some, just as others are.

Hearthstone Country Club has stepped forward and expressed a lot of interest in a benefit for AAUSS. We met with a representative on Saturday to discuss our options. It is something that we really look forward to. After the walk, we may have hundred of care packages ready to go yet we still have to cover the shipping expenses. A benefit would allow us to get the community more involved as well as raise the funds needed to get any care packages overseas. It is somewhat hard to tell whether we will have 100 care packages, or as much as 1,000. Next step in this benefit, start lining up sponsors!

We took a drive on Saturday, about 30 miles northeast of where we are located, to meet with Jennifer Kirkham. Jennifer is an AAUSS supporter that saw our information on Facebook and stepped forward to collect cards from her elementary school students. The cards were amazing! Some of them brought me to tears! These kiddo's precious words will bring joy to our troops. Here is one of my personal favorites...

Sunday came with our usual neighborhood pick up. Throughout the week we distribute our information throughout the neighborhood and offer a two hour window for pick up on that Sunday. We had a wonderful turnout this morning and now have a total of 17 full care packages ready to go out. Looks like its going to be a busy week at the post office. Here's what it finally came down to when it was all done. All purdy and ready to go!

I am concluding today with how you can help!

• Are you a teacher or district employee? You can help by collecting cards or letters at your school. These can be homemade cards or we can provide blank ones to be filled out.

• Would you like to sponsor a table at an AAUSS benefit? We are looking for $250 sponsors that will have a half table (5 seats) reserved with your individual or company information shown. We are also looking for $500 sponsors that will receive a full table (10 seats) reserved up front, with your company information shown. As the event gets closer, we will be selling individual tickets.

• Do you have a product that you would like to donate for an auction? We are looking for items that can auctioned off at the benefit. This could be a service that you provide, or a material that you sell at your store. The skies the limit!

Contact us at patriotwalkhouston@gmail.com if you are interested, or comment below.

Team America

So, I caved. Decided that a blog might be a good idea for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I tend to have some down time here and there and would really like to have a ''journal'' type collection of cool (or not so cool stuff) that will be going on. Secondly, this blog is a way to help share my experience, feelings and motivation behind my volunteerism with Adopt A US Soldier. This motivation was recently boosted (even more!) due to Mark's spark for troop and veteran support.

Team America? The combination of Kylie and Mark. Cheesy, yes, but the truth. Between the two of us we have spent a good amount of our time trying to rally up support for several different military support organizations. I have been a volunteer for Adopt A US Soldier for a couple of years and he has now joined in on the force. How we met? That is going to take up more than this one introduction blog but I can tell you one thing...he "walked" into my life unexpectedly.

Soldiers and Folgers; the two things that "keep us going." We strive to support the troops as best we can, and the coffee is a little extra to keep us fueled. Well, to be honest, to keep Mark fueled. I am not a coffee fan myself. He is easing me into iced mochas. The majority of every day has the fresh aroma of coffee, whether it be actual Folgers or whatever chicory he can get his hands on.

The soldiers are definitely the large driving force. Our armed forces deserve so much support and there are never enough thanks given. Our troops are making the ultimate sacrifice and stepping forward to serve while we are back home with our family and friends. The least we can do is recognize and express our appreciation for their service.

On Facebook today and yesterday, there was conversation about the post office and the somewhat frustrating environment it may be. There have been numerous occasion's when I am standing at the counter with ten care packages. I hear huffing and puffing behind me, as if I am inconveniencing everyone by shipping ten care packages. I ignore every time, but think the same thing over and over again. Can they really not sacrifice twenty minutes of their time to wait? Our soldiers sacrifice much more than just twenty minutes of their time. Sometimes I want to just be overly nice (possibly sarcastic) and turn to them to say, "Thank you for your support of our troops. While our soldiers are overseas serving our country, you are serving a small duty by waiting patiently as we send big *hugs* from home, in the forms of care packages."