Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

The notice was put out yesterday and means all ships if able prepare to get underway within the next 48 hours.

Thanks. Don't want to talk about ship movement, but wondering if that's what's going to happen. Considering he just got to Norfolk, not sure he's ready to ship out

Depending on the weather track, they very well may have to be at sea. Orders are orders, don't think he'll have a choice to ship out or not.

Concernedad - Capt. Scholl from the Truman posted late yesterday on the public Truman FB page "Truman friends & family, Hurricane Joaquin is expected to move up the East Coast.  As a flagship, for command and control, we are directed along with many other ships to remain at sea.  We will conduct a 4 hour resupply in port and head back out.  Only supplies and Sailors on travel orders will be allowed on the pier - unfortunately, there won't be a chance for liberty.  We will continue to provide updates, so stay connected with the FRG".

Wonderful. My son just bought and picked up his new truck yesterday. With his luck, he'll come back and find it under water.

http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2015/10/01/norfolk-ships-pr...

This is from Navy Times.

New improved South wall of bakery. Display goes in the big opening. Granite counter goes on the little window and the bigger one. 

Conserned.... One of my sailors had PIR, came home on leave, got a call to report to Norfolk early. He got 5 days with us then flew to Norfolk. 4 hours after landing at the airport he was on a moving ship. Got a pic from another mom, he looked like a deer caught in headlights. Did just fine that deployment. 

We have to praise the Lord because He answered prayer and Hurricane Jochiem (sp) went out to sea!  Yay! There has been some flooding in various but nothing really serious. :)

Yvonne and John

For those of you moms and dads who haven't heard about us, my husband and I invite sailors(soldiers and marines too) over to our home on the weekends to have a place to hang out. We feed them and play board games, watch football and movies occasionally and also do some special activities. Like Re-enactments in Yorktown, Williamsburg, etc. If any of you think your sons or daughters would be interested , we can pm you our cell number and they can get in touch with us if they want. We even provide rides if they have no transportation.

Yvonne and John 

Just had to share!  My son and his wife bought their first house in Chesapeake...I am so proud of them!  In the past two years, he has joined the Navy, got married, underway upon arrival in Norfolk, got his OWN cell phone, truck, insurance and now a home!  So much happened in such a short period of time that it makes my head spin!  Where did my little boy go?  Grandchildren next I hope!!!  Thank you Lord for all your blessings!!

Just had to get it out!!  Everyone enjoy your evening...

Joe&NatesMom - Congratulations! It is exciting to watch our kids grow up but definitely bittersweet as well.

Hi all - Happy Tuesday!

Joe&NatesMom - Yes that is exciting!  Nice to see our kids growing up & becoming responsible young adults.  Sounds like you've raised a great son!  Great job momma!  (& I hope you get those grandbabies soon ;-))

Joe&NatesMom, that's wonderful to hear!  You have a LOT to be proud of!

Hi all,  it has been a while since I have posted.  I read all on my I Phone and have to turn on desk top to replay.  My son  has my lap top and will until he deploys on his sub later this year.  He has not earned his dolphins yet (first deployment) and can not have lap top until dolphins are earned).  I will enjoy having my lap top back so that I am not tied to desk top to do any computer work.  So happy all of our prayers were answered and Joaquin went out to sea and did not make landfall.  SC is really having it rough and I can not imagine all the work ahead of them to get back some since of order in their lives.  My prayers are with all effected by the weather last week.  In GA just lots of rain last week.  My husband loves to white water kayak and he is excited that the water levels will be going up again.  They have been very low.  My sailor is underway for the third time in as many months.  They are getting ready for their long deployment.  They went out before the weather got too rough.  Just hoping the car was not left near his barracks.  Time will tell I guess.  Take care and remember to pray for all of our military families.   

Joe&NatesMom,

I hope the chocolate carmel apple makes it there without melting too! I know in the past whenever we have sent care pkgs. to the sailors who have been to our home, it has either melted or clumped together. I would try and package it individually somehow so they have a better chance. :)

Is your son in Spain on the Ross by any chance? A couple of sailors of ours are...just wondering. :)

Have a great day!

Yvonne and John

John and Yvonne

No, my son is not on the Ross.  He is stationed at the hospital in Rota.  He told me that when he got there, he met two Sailors from one of the Ships.  He didn't say which one.  They went sight seeing, and they showed him around the city.  He sent some wonderful pitctures!  Very exciting for him.  I thought my oldest was lucky because when he got to Norfolk, his ship deployed within two weeks of his arrival.  He got to see a part of the world that not many get a chance to see.  Now my youngest is in Spain!  I miss him very much, but when else would he be able to live in such a wonderful place doing something that he didn't even know he wanted to do (Corpsman)?  Anyway...thanks for the Carmel Apple tip...I got two from Gertrude Hawk and they are individually wrapped, so I am going to keep my fingers crossed! 

We have two of our sailors stationed in Spain and they love it! So much to see of Europe.

Yvonne

Happy Birthday to the Navy!  HOOYAH!

Hooyah indeed!  This has some interesting did-you-know Navy birthday info, from the Norfolk TV station WTKR-Ch 3 http://wtkr.com/2015/10/13/u-s-navy-celebrates-its-240th-birthday/  such as... How many acres and buildings does the Navy own in Hampton Roads?  How many ships and aircraft at Naval Station Norfolk?  How many active duty and reserve sailors in the Navy right now?  Impress your sailor!  LOL

So THAT's where I left my car!  LOL  Norfolk airport to hold auction for left-behind items and abandoned...  I admit I would love to check out one of these sales someday  :)  

Hi all - Happy Wednesday!

I don't know for sure Brooke but I can say I wouldn't give up the original to them - it would be horrible if it got lost!  I would just send them a copy (maybe call them 1st & let them know a copy is coming).  Then you can show them the original when you arrive....

Thanks for the trivia Marcy - some interesting tidbits there. I'll impress my sailor with a few new facts!

B'sNukeMom is right, don't send the original, just send an email or copy of the notarized POA.  This page has contact info for the Relocation Assistance Office for Naval Station... if you have other questions (phone is 757-444-2102) along with a list of other PCS-related links.  And there's also Military OneSource; this page also has links to more info about moving.  Best of luck with everything!

Check these out!  Cake and cupcakes from http://www.yumyumeatemupcakes.com in Virginia Beach :) 

Hello All,

     My husband and I will be greeting our son when his ship comes into Norfolk in Dec. This will be the first time for all of us. I would appreciate any information that would make it special for my son and hopefully lots of buddies.

Anneerrn4,

Make sure you have a big sign with his name on it and also welcome home. I know you can actually purchase them, but not sure where. I would suggest to look on line. In the meantime I will get in touch with another mother who ordered her sign. 

Yvonne

My son is on the TR and will be back to Norfolk on the GW in January.  We are preparing for his homecoming to SD. The site for banners the Mom's site is using is http://www.buildasign.com/Troops

They did a great job and it came pretty quick.

Anneerrn4, there are probably more creative homemade signs than purchased ones at homecomings, so if you're good with markers, glitter and glue, a piece of posterboard works great!    BuildaSign.com (http://www.buildasign.com/Troops) offers a free one, but you pay postage and the cost gets pretty prohibitive if you wait to order till just before homecoming.  

You could get a suite with kitchen at Navy Lodge and offer to cook a meal for his buddies while you're there (turkey for the Thanksgiving home-cooked meal they missed?), bet they'd love it!  links to Norfolk Navy Lodge and area info  

We stayed at the Navy Lodge there. It was nice and priced well.

Oh ya, they also have a small kitchen in the room so you can reheat take out or cook there if you want,

I recommend the Navy Lodge as well. Safe, clean, and friendly staff. I booked my room online but when I got there to check in, they asked who my sponsor was and I had to give my Sailor's name and she was with me and had to show her military ID.

Hi all - Happy RED shirt Friday and Happy Halloween!

So glad the weekend is here!

Don't forget we change the clocks this weekend - Fall Back!  And remember to change the batteries in your smoke alarms too ;-)

Hello Kelly.

I just looked for you and I didn't find a group for the Ford, but there is a group 'Nuke Moms'. You might want to join that group as well. :)

Welcome to this group! 

I want to let you and other moms who have sons or daughters stationed here in Norfolk, that if any of them cannot get home for Thanksgiving, we would be happy to invite them over to our home to enjoy Thanksgiving with us and our family. 

If you go to our page on this sight you can see what we do for the sailors, soldiers and marines in this area. We have been here for 15 years inviting them over on the weekends and also for holidays.

Happy Fall and Thanksgiving!

Yvonne and John

Kelly,

There is also a Sub Moms group for you to become part of. :)

Yvonne

Kelly,

Is he on a ship or sub? Newport News is just a tunnel away from us. We have a sailor who is on the Lincoln which is in Newport News who comes over on the weekends.

I got the impression that the Ford was a sub. I could be wrong though. :)

Yvonne

Okay Kelly,

I finally got the information about the Ford. It's an aircraft carrier still in the building stage. So, anyway, when you talk to your son, let him know about us. He is welcome to come over on the weekends and the holidays. :)

Yvonne

You guys are making me glad my son does not drive!!

Just asked my son, who drives and doesn't drink, often is the designated driver and no bad experiences during four years there - he says police there don't have any agenda against Navy as far as he's seen, but it's true that there are plenty of sailors who drink create problems for everyone.  And not saying ANYTHING against your son, Michelle, but it's possible your son made some maneuver that caused the police to stop him.  I once got stopped because I went around a pothole.  My car was a two seat convertible that made going over a twig seem like a log, but the cop thought it was a suspicious move. Go figure.  Hopefully your son's experiences from now on are nothing but positive.

Michelle, I'm sorry for your son's experience. I have also heard that the police around here don't like military - for what reason I don't know. Yes, there are plenty of Sailors and other military personnel who make bad decisions and get themselves into trouble here but there are even more locals who do so, so I really don't know where the animosity comes from. As far as my husband and myself we have lived here for over a year and fortunately neither of us have had a run-in in with the police so I can't say for sure. But from what I witness, they pull people over for very random, minute offenses and will disregard blatant traffic offenses. Blows my mind.

Michelle,

I hope all of this pans out for your son A. and he can take it in stride. When he came over to the house the beginning of this year we enjoyed having him. We hope he enjoys his time here.

Yvonne and John