The Cyber Sisterhood

Oh Oh Oh Arwen...I am laughing so hard right now, that is the cutest story. My husband knows Chris from bootcamp and thought that it was cute. LOL

Colleen, I know tomorrow morning when you leave Charleston it will be hard for you even though you've already said goodbye to him tonight. Try to remember that Christmas really will be here before we know it. Drive safely.

Chris finally knows what's next. He's going to seamanship school to go undes to the fleet. This was his choice, he was offered two schools, yeoman or aviation electronics. A paperwork job would be the end of the world to him, and he doesn't want to work on aircraft, so he chose to go undes so that he has more options later.

He leaves for Great Lakes later this week. I know he'll spend next week in indoc, but does anyone happen to know how long holding is for seamanship school?

Good Monday morning~
Arwen~ What a hoot! I had to read the story to a girlfriend of mine in my office. lol. So glad things are looking up for Chris. I agree with Donna. :)
Pam~ Have a wonderful time with your girls.
Colleen~ Love the flip-flop story. Talked with Ed. He went to the beach on Sat. , and said it was awesome (the rain). I asked him to start taking pictures.
Tricia~I will be looking for that recipe.
I think we all will be looking forward to this Christmas.
Have a great day all.

Wow, it sounds like everyone is doing great and keep busy! I am so glad that it seems like a good bit of the gang has had visits of some sort. Has anyone been to Hershey Pa before?? We are spending the weekend there celebrating our 1 yr anniversary so I hope it's fun. Hope everyones week is going good!

Sarah - I have been there with my little cousins and it wasn't to bad. I drove through it on my way up here and I kept wanting to stop again lol

Sarah are you on facebook?

Janie, of course I have facebook. It's the only way I can remind Shawn of things.

I just got back from Washington state. I was up there interviewing for a job (it went pretty well, I will know if I got the job within a week), and two more papers are interested in me. It looks like we'll be moving - we just don't know where to.

Meanwhile Chris is still in holding at Pensacola. He was told on Monday he would be leaving for Great Lakes Wednesday or Thursday, but those days are past, so we have no clue now. Hurry up and wait...

sarah - haha i used that a lot of that.

Wow so much to catch up on. Sorry to hear about the two Sailors that were lost this week at nuke school. I hope nobody from our group at least. I’ve been real busy this last month and a half and hardly even get to read about everyone. Brian starts his A school Monday, the same day I start my new job. Oh and Sarah we/me could not take it anymore after Brian’s wife, kids and dog moved to Groton so we got a puppy about three weeks ago. I still miss my grandkids and the dog. Got to get me a web cam.

Scott - Webcams are amazing. Ryan and I skype all the time with my family back in KY.

Hershey was sooo much fun, but we did come back early. We figured that it would be nice to sleep in our own bed and be with our kitty. I think tonight we are going to go out somewhere nice to celebrate!!!!

Scott, I told my mom today when she said she wouldn't even entertain the idea of bringing the dog to visit when shes comes up, "She is still my dog, you just get the pleasure of raising her." I then said she could raise our kids for us when we have some.

Janie, I am always reminding people of things because of facebook. Shawn can never remember birthdays, including his sisters. I actually found out today that my sister had to tell my mom when my anniversary was and she only knew because of facebook.

Sarah - Ryan is the same way. He only remembers our important dates (my bday, anniversary) besides that it takes facebook lol

Hi everyone. I read back only one page so I have some catching up to do. I've been busy. Our Army son rented a car and came home for one night to pick up his electric guitar and amp and is enroute back right now. It was a quick visit, but as always a cherished one. I'm now praying for his safety on the highway.

Colleen, I heard about the one Sailor, but not two. Good Lord, what a tragedy. It serves as a reminder to all of us, that we must be vigil and keep the communication lines as opened as is humanly possible with our sons and daughters who are serving. We must also give them our utmost and strongest support at all times. They don't have to be deployed to need a tremendous amount of support. They need constant encouragement as well as our understanding that their lives are not EVER easy. God bless them. What a tragedy. Every now and then I believe in sending them some snail mail even though we have the cell phone and internet communication because it gives them something tangible to help them to know how much they are loved. If possible, I even believe in TRYING to make a "visit" from time to time to see them, as sometimes it is like giving them a shot in the arm regarding our love and our concern for them. I know that those trips are expensive and that most of us cannot do it at the drop of a hat. I'm working on my husband right now to let him know that my motherly instinct tells me that we need to make a trip to see our son in the Navy soon and since our Army son is only 80 miles away from him....I'm imagining a weekend with us all together. It's not like we have extra money for such a thing, but I'm more than willing to sacrifice in any way necessary in order to accomplish this in the coming weeks.

Oh Lord, I could just go on and on about how much these Sailors and Soldiers, Marines and Airmen need the support of their families.

God bless them and God bless every one of you. Military mom hugs to all of you.

I am the only person in my family who knows everyone's birthdays. Hubby remembers the anniversary, and when pressed can remember our boys' birthdays, but he can't remember our daughter's b-day to save his life.

So we have a calendar that hangs near the kitchen, it has big huge birthday stickers on everyone's birth date. That way anytime someone walks into the kitchen they know someone's birthday is coming up. It sort-of works.

I really don't expect Chris to remember ANY birthdays, anniversaries or anything like that unless we remind him. I gently prod him about his dad and siblings. For myself, I mention in an "offhand manner" what we'll be doing for my day. Just to keep him in the loop, LOL.

Lol, my mom had made a list for everyones birthdays as well. Once night when everyone was looking it my sister realized that my mom had forgotten hers.

So, now they've lost Chris' orders. He was supposed to leave from Pensacola last week, Wednesday or Thursday. His orders were complete, all they needed was to be sent to the travel office. Then they "disappeared" off of the chief's desk. He said they were on his desk, he walked away, came back, and his orders were gone. It's been a week and no sign of them.

Until they straighten this out, he's stuck in Pensacola in Naval Limbo.

I am... almost speechless. Dare I ask, "What were they thinking?"

Two Navy sailors injured in Kitsap County explosion

By The Associated Press

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. (AP) - Two Navy sailors are in serious condition after an explosion involving Navy oxygen equipment near a home in Port Orchard.

The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office says the men, 22 and 28, had obvious nose, throat, face, arm and hand burns. They were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle following the explosion Friday night.

Deputy Scott Wilson told the Kitsap Sun Saturday that witnesses reported the two men were cutting off the ends of oxygen canisters, inhaling the contents and throwing the canisters into the fire.

Wilson said the men are on active duty and assigned to a submarine at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. The oxygen equipment is used in emergencies on Navy vessels.

They finally found Chris' orders. He's going to Sasebo, Japan for the USS Denver! This is a dream come true for Chris, he is a major anime/manga/Japanese culture fan, and to live there for three years is just beyond fabulous. We won't be able to visit (an airline ticket is a month's pay, eek!) , but there's always Skype.

Hey Ladies~ Hope all is well.
Pam~ Go Justin!
Arwen~ Congratulations to Chris. It sounds like things worked out for the better.
Pam(slimsam)~ Have a wonderful time with Sam. It has been a month since Ed had his leave. I miss him. I worry about him, but he keeps telling me,"Mom, I'm good."

On a more somber note, if anyone would like to send a card to the two families that lost their sailors...I do have the addresses. Just message me.

Have a great day ladies.

That's exciting news about Chris! I know you are both very happy to finally know where he is going!!

I'm so sad to hear that we've lost two more Sailors. Rosa, I'll message you for the addresses.

Hey Ladies~ I should have been more clear. These addresses are for the sailors in SC.
Take Care.

Chris will leave Pensacola for Great Lakes tomorrow. I don't know how long he will be in holding before starting seamanship school, but we figure he'll be home on leave by the end of August.

However, he's being an idiot again. He still hasn't shipped his stuff home. He has 3 seabags and 3 boxes of stuff he accumulated - he's only allowed one seabag at Great Lakes. The only thing we can figure out for him to do is to stop at a pack-and-ship on his way to the airport. I hope he has time for that, otherwise he will end up abandoning more than $2,000 worth of electronics and clothes.

Eww boy...there's a lot of news around here!
Slimsam, so glad you've had a good visit with Sam! I wish I could hear you sound like Marge Simpson!! (he-he)

Hi Melissa! You must be having fun and a lot of excitment as a new Navy wife!! I remember so well when Sonny was in Boot Camp and you were so much waiting for all of this to happen!! Enjoy!!

Chris going to Japan sounds so exciting and what an education in itself!!

Janie and Sarah...hi wives!!

Still so sad about the sailors in charleston. My God how we all feel for their families. I will mail the cards this weekend, Rosa.

Where is Beverly??

Hi Donna!

Today is our 22nd Anniversary. We went out for dinner to Red Lobster. There was a family there celebrating their son's birthday so we told them that today was our anniversary....it turns out their son turned 22 today so he was born on the day we got married! So, it was kind of nice, we all enjoyed a little special moment together about that.

Rebecca is on a Girl scout trip to Savannah until Sunday. I'm very happy for her and think she'll have a great time. Bye for now.

Colleen, I so much appreciated and enjoyed our good talk last night. God bless our Sailors. All of our Sailors have an awful lot to cope with and to deal with in their daily lives. They need lots of support and understanding.

I want to get a little care package off. Maybe we could all make a list of some things that we could send to them that they might like. Just to let them know that we love them and are thinking about them. Any ideas?

Navy/Army Mom - One of my other groups the moms have been talking a lot about care packages. One said rice crispy treats ship well and also homemade cookies. she put them in a Pringles can to ship them. I had never even thought about doing that.

Moms and wives, I was just reading over at the Army website about the alarming suicide stats in the military. This is seriously a huge problem and way out of control. I think we must think of a way for us families to assist the military in trying to address and deal with this problem. We can't afford to ignore this anymore or to think that there are no real answers regarding what can be done or how we might be able as a group help bring these statistics down.

We need to think, think, think about how we can organize something in order to address this situation. This is a tough one. I know there are no easy answers, but we're smart moms and wives and we need to think about this and maybe we could come up with some ideas. We might not be able to change the world, but we've seen how the efforts of family members have made a big difference in so many areas for those who are serving, why not in this area too? What do y'all think?

Janie, that's an awesome idea..the pringles container. Thank you!

You're welcome.

No it doesn't. Both of our cars are in our parents names and so is the insurance. All you need to get the decals is proof of insurance and a notarized letter from your parents giving you permission to register and drive the cars on base. They won't care as long as you have permission in written form.

Chris flew out of Pensacola today for Great Lakes for seamanship school. He was supposed to go yesterday, but the traffic was terrible and he missed his flight. Meanwhile he can't call to keep me updated because he accidentally packed his phone charger and sent it home in the mail. Hopefully he gets a new charger quickly.

He managed to pare down to two seabags, a garment bag and a suitcase. He sent home three large boxes and a seabag. Wow do they accumulate stuff!

Hopefully in three weeks he'll be packing again to come home on leave.

That's great news, Arwen.

Very rotten news out of Afghanistan today.

I just read that the two service members missing in Afghanistan are from the Navy. Here's the story. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100724/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan

Moms and wives...PLEASE watch this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvEQwzXaLQY&feature=related

You have to hear the music with it.

Oh I have watched that on youtube. Those type of videos make me cry like a baby!

Chris is in Great Lakes for two weeks of seamanship training before going to Japan.

Meanwhile, the airline lost ALL of his luggage. He presented his claim checks and the airline computer showed no record of the luggage even existing. It was 2 seabags full of uniforms, plus a garment bag with his blues, and a suitcase with a few other things. All he has now is the clothes on his back (his dress whites).

I have a bad feeling about those two sailors. Something isn't right here, and not just a POW situation. From the timeline I read, they were not out on orders, they left without notifying anyone of their purpose or destination.

New information may have come out since I last heard an update, but something is being left out of the story, either intentionally or they simply don't know why the sailors left base like that.

I agree. Why would they have left base like that? It sounded like an unusal thing to do and a very unsafe way to move about the area. Hopefully we will hear some positive news in some way. Praying for them and their families. It's so very heartbreaking and disturbing. I'm so glad that we have each other in these times.

I don't mean to get "political" in our group as I know we're not about that. But did y'all hear about the missing documents regarding the war in Afghanistan? I don't yet totally understand the details surrounding it but I found this news disturbing. My question is do y'all think we should stay over there or get out of A'stan? I'm kind of curious regarding how us military moms feel about it. I'm not one who believes in giving up, but even before my sons joined the military I was leaning towards thinking that we've been over there for too long. Generally, I just keep my thoughts to myself on that, but lately I'm becoming more and more curious about what people are thinking regarding this. I hope I'm not out of line to bring it up here. I was looking around to see if there is a group at N4M's where they discuss this issue. Maybe I'm just discouraged with the recent news.

Moms and Wives, I spoke to our sweet and precious friend, Beverly. She has so much going on right now between being a school teacher and preparing for the new year, she is the wife of a police officer, a busy and loving mother and of course on top it she also has her son that is in the military. It's a lot!! She'll be back with us as soon as she can. In the meantime let's keep her in our prayers as she is so busy with all of these important aspects of her life. I know that she is very important and very special to all of us and that we look forward to when she might be able to have more time to chat with us again. God bless her! Prayers going for her as she tries to be and is so much to so many!

Let's pray that she gives herself a break and remembers to take care of herself
too! We moms can forget that we're only human too sometimes!!

Navy/Army Mom, I suggest this would be a good topic to take to the group discussion forum. That way those who don't want to deal with political discussion don't have to. I will post my reply as a discussion above.

Thanks, Arwen!

Slimsam, it's wonderful to hear that you and your son are together and enjoying so much fun!!

I didn't even know that Chelsea Clinton was getting married this weekend. I read more about the war not celebtrities. However, I saw a headline saying that her wedding was going to cost 3.2 million dollars. I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

Yep she Chelsea Clinton is getting married this weekend in NY. I am in CT now with the hubby and the news has been nothing but about the wedding. The little town that it is going to be held in is so excited though. It's kinda cute to hear all of the locals and the things they have done to prepare for the events.

The body of the second U.S. Sailor has been found. Here is a link to the news about this.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66S3FJ20100729

Slimsam, so glad you had such a nice time with your son at home. Those goodbyes are so difficult. I'm sure he'll be fine at his new base. It's great that he already has some friends there. I know you'll be anxious to hear how he is doing in the coming days. And I think that we all know what you want for Christmas this year.....SAM! : )

The cost of freedom is painful to read. They knew what the cost may be for them, but they stepped up anyway. I am also aware of those that are in harms way. I am grateful to those that serve , those that have served and those that paid the price for our freedom. I do not know these brave souls, but am indebted to them for my freedom. May the peace of the lord be with them.

Pam, yes it is still heartbreaking to hear. Just like when my brother called to tell me his stepson was hit by an IED, Fortunately he survived. And more importantly when my wife called to tell me that my son's best friend had been killed by an ESP (more deadly IED) just two weeks before he was to come home. So yes it's painful each time there is a loss and now we all have a friend or loved one serving. We have to support and Honor those that have volunteered to serve their country.

One thing's for sure...Ari and Sam have very sweet mothers who love their sons with all of their heart. I'm sure that they know this and I'm sure that they appreciate this very, very much!! It's very important that they know how important they are to us...and to their country. God bless them. Where would our country be without them? I hate to think where. ..they really are our country's treasure.... our protectors and our defenders by choice. No one can tell me that this doesn't take a HUGE amount of courage and bravery, among other especially good qualities......particularly the fact that they've volunteered at a time of war. They deserve nothing but the best from their country, and of course I know that all of us try our very best to show them how much we love them and how important they are to us..and what they mean to us. God bless them and please watch over them.

Something very important put out by the Navy but intended for all branches:

http://www.slideshare.net/USNavySocialMedia/opsec-snapshot?%AE%3B%D...