Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

kikid70  I tried to PM you.  I think you need to accept me first.  Thanks!

Here's a happy Navy news story to start the weekend :)  Navy corpsman Jeremiah Sawyer returned on leave from deployment in Bahrain for the birth of his daughter - and ended up delivering her on the living room floor 90 minutes after arriving home!  News story/interview: Navy corpsman delivers baby daughter  He returns to Bahrain in 11 days...

Fun story, boy in the nick of time.

Praying for all of the sailors as well, and their families.

rayner: I accepted it yesterday. Maybe I need to request you. I am checking.

Lord God,

We ask for Your protection of our Sailors in the Syria situation.  If there is any way for that situation to de-escalate, we ask for that.  Whatever needs to happen for no further loss of life and movement toward a peaceful solution for all, we ask that it be Your Will.  Also, if for Your continued protection of all of our Sailors throughout the world.  Give all the families of our Sailors peace and comfort, and ultimate trust in You.    In Jesus' Name,  Amen~~

How awesome is that-that Jeremiah Sawyer had the privilege of delivering his own daughter! What a gift from God that he will remember for the rest of his life. :)

I know that going is part of the deal, that is what our military is for, but as moms and parents we still will worry about our kids.  I was unhappy to see that Obama ordered to reduce the militaries January raises to 1%. Why don't they reduce pay for the house and Senate. 

The last thing politicians will do is reduce their own pay!!  Yea, the last cost of living raise for our military was pathetic!!  Well, we researched the pay of the Navy before our daughter joined and knew it would not compare to private sector, but it was something guaranteed when she made it through and she would be paid while she was being trained and going to college when she wasn't working, plus the opportunity to see ofher parts of our country and the world!

My Sailor daughter just bought her first car today!!  We sent her links to CarMax and AutoTrader for vehicles.  She chose a used 2013 Hyundai Sonata GLS Sedan.  She took a taxi which costed $45 from the Norfolk base to Virginia Beach.  Her female taxi driver told her the Charles Barker dealership was very reputable, which was very reassuring to our daughter.

The dealership was at Charles Barker Toyota, but she bought the Hyundai used from the Charles Barker Automotive lot right next door at 1877 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23454 (757)437-4000.  It used to be a rental vehicle with 19,000 miles on it.  The CarFax record was clean and you could read it online before even going to the lot.. The price shown on the internet was not negotiable.  It had already been reduced recently by $110. 

JOSH NEITZ  was her salesperson and he was very friendly and informative.  She had us on Skype with her on her cell phone as she test drove the car, inspected the car, and doing all the paperwork and listening to the service people's spiels and the finance lady's explanation of service options.  Rejected the polyurethane coating, and the different service program options.  Could see that paying for "just in case" would be more than paying for something when it came up.

My daughter was pre-approved by NavyFED and had a check from them with her, but ABNB Federal Credit Union beat their 4.74% rate. The dealership allowed her to call NavyFED, USAA on their phone and they also checked GEICO, Wells Fargo, and ABNB Federal Credit Union on their end for insurance and used car financing rates.  She ended up with USAA ($800 for 6 months) and ABNB with a 4.29% interest rate.  Her car was washed, vacuumed and given a full tank of gasoline!!  There was a light on the dash indicating one of the tires had a problem with its pressure, but they gave her a voucher to go to a repair place and they would pay for the repair.

This whole process took 4 hours from start to finish.  I think the fact that we were on Skype asking questions and talking to our daughter, guiding her made this car buying experience comforting for her.  Also, going to an established Toyota dealership primarily selling new cars with a used car area probably made the difference. 

Dad of a sailor  do you know where I can find a listing of what all the ribbons that our sailors can earn that get pinned to their blouse?

CO-Twin,

Sure, here is one place...

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navy/l/blnavawards.htm

I've been looking for some stationery to write my son instead of just plain white-lined paper.  Any suggestions? 

You should check the NEX for stationary if you want Navy. Or if you are crafty make your own, buy lino blocks and carving tools. glue the lino block to wood, thay are made by Speedball. You can also paint with watercolor on a stamp.

(I own an art supply store) 

Ellen, if you have a Mac, open Pages and make your own! You can type your own heading and change the color, drag in photos from the Internet or family photos, etc, print it out on white paper and write your note on it.  This way you can change it whenever you want - seasonal, his ship, family events, whatever :)  Made you a sample, only took a minute :) Ellen%20stationery.pdf  

I picked up some American flag stationary at Office Depot...they usually have a great assortment of stationary pages to write on or run thru your printer...in fact I have a whole draw full of different prints on hand...Bdays, holidays, pretty one and American theme...sometimes Staples will have some theme printer papers too....pretty easy to use...:))

Last night Crystal, Kari, and Christopher from the USS Ross came over for grilled hamburgers, pretzels, and watermelon...then ice cream cones for dessert. Crystal brought over a new game called: "In A Pickle!" We laughed a lot as we tried to figure out what goes "inside" what. Huh?

This morning Christopher and Kari joined us for Sunday school and worship at Azalea Garden Church. Christopher had duty so he had to back to the ship. Crystal, Kari and Cody from the USS Iwo Jima came over for dinner. Cody helped make dessert: Blueberry Crisp. And BOY! was it yummy! :) Dinner consisted of Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and homemade bread.

Yvonne spent time with the girls while Cody and I had another round of chess. He beat me again. However... I won the second game today... (I really hope he didn't just let me win) ...hmmm???

Marcy,

The stationery you designed was really nice, but when I clicked on the link, it didn't work.  Is it because I am not on a Mac?

John and Yvonne,

That sounded like a really nice time.  Hope my daughter can take a peek one of these upcoming weekends!

Catmom, It should open on both PCs and Macs, as it's a pdf...Here it is again, try this - Proud Navy Mom stationery.pdf - and let me know if it works.  I just sent you a friend request, can try it that way too.  And if you (or anyone here) would like me to add your photos, let me know!  :)  

Did this for CO-twinsmom  :)   PNM stationery.pdf

Thanks for all the ideas for stationery everyone! Lots to choose from, I'm guessing I'll probably switch things up as time goes by.  Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom I like the idea of personalizing the stationery and changing it up with different pics, thanks for the design ideas!  The sites have lot to choose from too, I just have to decide what to start with.  I'm thinking I may create a template that I can change the pictures easily and switch and/or mix with some purchased pre-printed.   CO-TwinSalorsMom Ship03Div233, I don't think I have access to the NEX?   I'm not sure I'm ready to make my own as you describe, I'd have to take a lesson or see a demo or something, LOL, I just started my very first scrap book, for my sons Navy Adventures, so I'm pretty new to the whole crafting world... never know where I could venture next though.  :)  Thank you all!

My son seems to be having a difficult time finding out when he can get time to come see us for Christmas this year. I want to get him a plane ticket to fly home, but I can't seem to get a straight answer out of him as to a date when he can get the time off...a little frustrating! He's young still, so I don't know if he is jsut not asking the "right" people or if their schedule is really that unpredictable? Any help would be appreciated!

Mine was told that the he'd have either Christmas or New Years week off but won't know until closer to the holidays...unless they go out on assignment..:)) Does Southwest fly out of Norfolk? SW doesn't charge for changing dates or flights and it can be done easily on the computer in minutes...just a thought....:))

Beware: know your flight prices before you call...several carriers charge more....Yip...found that out last week booking a ticket for my sailor to come home on leave.., government and military rate was $300 more....just double check varies from airline to airline...before you book.

Well Kellie you made me cry with the tears.

I saw on news channel for Capital news. they were debating airline transparency for prices. and airline fees. wanted to put in my two cents on over charging out military. 

Hooray to a Mom getting a hug from her Sailor!! Mine will home next Monday!!! It's exciting isn't it...:)))

Hope you don't mind Kellie but I copied and pasted your airline post and sent it with a note of my own to my senator. That is outrageous. 

Hello all....our sailor had leave last month....cost him $461.00 to fly from Norfolk to Binghamton ny.....ridiculous price!  He was so happy to be home he said it was worth it but cost for military to fly is out  rageous!!!!     Praying for all our sailors!

You don't have to use the military fare, you can buy the cheapest ticket you can find just like we all do. The advantage to the military fare is it often allows you to make changes to the ticket without fees where the cheap tickets don't allow changes or they have heavy fees to make changes.

Southwest Airlines is great - flies into Norfolk, has great rates, doesn't charge for two checked bags, doesn't charge a change fee (though you may have to pay extra if the fare has increased), and 'banks' your money if you have to cancel.  It doesn't show on sites like Orbitz so you have to search their site directly - Southwest.com.  Love them.

But you would think that military would get a "Grateful nation" discount.

Here's my notes: United, Delta, American offer military fares but they are not always at a discount from what anyone else can purchase on their own..active military with orders may have 4-5 bags that are up to 70lbs, 80" for free, for personal travel with military ID  2-3  bags free, depends on the flight and airport(after booking you can call customer service)...also two carry-ons, one 14x9x22 and personal bag(computer, purse, satchel bag or backpack) personal bag has to fit under the seats and watch out for ones with wheel, they maybe checked on a full flight(happened to me many of times even it was small enough).

Southwest love them! I was rated as one of their top 100 flyers for a couple of years (kind a cool my family could fly free with me) just means I flew a lot them. Changes can be made easy online for free..they offer 2 free bags up to 50lbs and 60"(golf clubs go free), not sure but military may get more bags free, haven't checked myself but heard they do. Also the same two carry-on bag policy...

As with any "big" purchase shop around check travel websites, airport sites for specials and check airlines directly.Tuesday seem to be the best day to book, discount day....I booked my sailors flight for coming home, next week, myself online instead of using the "too high" military rate. Added the travel insurance on the ticket for $20 just encase any changes had to be made due to the Navy...:))....saved over $300......:)

Lizb and BeachBunny,

That's right about Christmas leave.  The Sailors, Marines, and Soldiers who have regularly come to our house haven't known which week they get until December, so it's been hard sometimes to arrange a flight ahead of time.  Hopefully, they will give them enough time this year to be able to. :)

More info on airlines, military and checked bags:  http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/103882  

BeachBunny, you must have been flying more than time on the ground! LOL  I too added insurance to my son's last trip from overseas, as we're talking real $$ now ;)  Did it through USAA's travel services.