Caught Making a Difference

Today, Mrs. Strong, my gym teacher, showed a lot of trust in my friends and me by telling us that we could use heart rate monitors whenever we are in the gym. I really like using the heart rate monitors, and they are really ixpensive. You have to wear a watch that tells you how many minutes you have been working and how fast your heart is going. One watch by itself costs around $250.00, and she said that if it falls on concrete it will break. I know we are lucky to be able to use them.

Mrs.Strong is a very pretty gym teacher who also coaches a volleyball team. She cares a lot about us and the sports we play. Also, she really trusts my friends and me. Trust means a lot to me. I think that it’s great that she trusts my classmates and me.

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An Update on Supporting my Cause of the Month: Ski4E!

Yesterday, I got an email message from Ethan Glaser’s grandmother. She told me some great things about Ethan! He sounds like an inspiring boy.

As I mentioned yesterday, Ethan needed to have a liver transplant when he was little! That sounds really kind of scary, but it hasn’t slowed him down at all. Ethan likes to ski and ice skate, and his grandma says that he has a really great sense of humor! Ethan calls his grandma “granny”, and I like that. My friends Sam and Kate call their grandma “granny” too. It’s a pretty name.

Today, I have begun collecting change so that I can make a donation to Ski4E at the end of this month! I also plan to return bottles and go on another penny hunt this month too. And don’t forget to PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR DASH’S CASH REGISTER RECEIPTS! These can really help the Children’s Organ Transplant Association.

I really want to say a big THANK YOU to my teacher, Mrs. Nabozny, at Lindbergh Elementary School! She gives me time to talk about my project in class, and she lets me encourage my classmates to participate. My classmates are great!

Please remember to support Ski4E and the Children’s Organ Transplant Association this month! Let me know what you do to make a difference, and you could win a prize from me at the end of this month and the opportunity to be named as a donor at the end of the month, along with me!

I’ve started saving for Ski4E! You can donate here! Let me know if you do!

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A Little Something to Pass Along

Two days ago, I found out that Susan from Toddler Planet awarded my blog with this neat badge:

This is an award that bloggers give to other bloggers for building community online. I am really excited to be receiving this! Thank you, Susan! And everyone should go and congratulate her on her good news. Susan is battling inflammatory breast cancer, and she has been dealing with chemotherapy treatments for a very long time in order to make her tumors “operable” because they weren’t before. And now they are! Which is good news for Susan! I am happy for her and happy that even in the middle of all of this, she thought of me.

Because I won this award, I now get to pass it along to three OTHER bloggers who are building community too! And I had to think hard about who I wanted to give it to. But I have chosen three great people: Roger Carr, Jen Lemen, and Mrs. Lykowski.

Roger Carr’s website, The Everyday Giving Blog, is all about helping others. I know that Mr. Carr has built a HUGE COMMUNITY of charitable people there, because he sends a lot of readers who respect him to my site. I also like what his site is all about. The type of community he is building is something that means a lot to me.

Jen Lemen’s website sends me lots of visitors every single day. I admire Jen because she is an artist and she focuses her art on really positive things. Reading about things like this makes me feel happy inside.

Mrs. Lykowski is a teacher in Michigan. Her students are building community with a group of students from Columbia! They have a Wiki and podcasts that are really interesting to listen to. This is where Columbian students talk about what they think American students and schools are like. Michigan students do the same thing. I love listening to them!

So, thank you Susan for giving me this badge to put on my blog! I hope that the people I have passed it to will do the same. Each of them can also pass the badge along to three other people as well! If you have questions, you can email my mom at twentyfivedays(at)gmail(dot)com.

 

Drumroll, Please! Announcing the Winners!

 

Merry Christmas everybody! As you all know, today is the day I have been waiting for! I am about to announce the winners of the contests– the GRAND PRIZES, the BETTER LATE THAN NEVER PRIZES, and the CLASSROOM CHALLANGE PRIZE. Some people have been wondering how my mom and I kept track of the people who were participating. Well, that was easy. We kept a spread sheet on Microsoft Excel. Every night, we looked at my comments and secretly looked at your blogs to see what you did to make a difference. Then, my mom showed me how to cut and paste the things you wrote into our spreadsheet. People who didn’t blog e-mailed us everyday, saying what they did.  We have been keeping track all month long. Reading about all the things you’ve done has made my holiday the best one yet! This has been a wonderful learning experience for me, not only learning how to blog better, but learning that doing small things can make the world a very merry place! Reading about all of the good things that you did were great presents for me! So, I want to say thank you to all 60 people and 6 classrooms that took part in this challenge!

And now, drumroll please!!!

Thanks to everyone who matched my donations, we have $825.00 dollars to award tonight! This morning, my teacher, Mrs. Nabozny, gave me a very special Christmas gift by matching my funds. Thank you to everyone! I only ever planned to contribute my allowance for this month. It’s because of everyone else’s pledges that this got so HUGE!

There are two prizes for those who either joined later in the contest or may not have done all twenty five days. I have named these the Better Late Than Never Prizes, and I have picked one adult and one child winner. Each winner will receive a $100.00 donation to the charity that they name.

The adult winner is NEDRA. Some of the things that Nedra did included donating food to a food bank, buying supplies for a local classroom, using Roswell Park Christmas cards this year, buying clothes for needy children, feeding hungry animals, helping someone who experienced a death in her family this year, helping to run a holiday concert, and writing lots of notes of appreciation (among many other things)!  

The child prize is being awarded to the DUVALL FAMILY! Addie stayed late after her Brownie meeting to help clean up, she shoveled and dug a neighbor out of the snow, they donated supplies for soldiers overseas, emptied their piggy banks to contribute to a school fundraiser, gave money to the Salvation Army, and even shared the last of their favorite treats with their siblings rather than keeping them all for themselves!

There are also two Grand Prize Winners (one adult and one child). These winners participated right from the beginning of our contest! Donations in the amount of $250.00 (each) will be made directly to the charities that you name.

Our adult winner was Coco! Coco did so much this season that I can’t write it all here….but some of the highlights included making donations to the Salvation Army, donating clothes and books, starting online gift registries for the Salvation Army, visiting local fireman with homemade treats to thank them for their help all year long, donating food to food banks, donating toys to local hospitals, being kind to drivers by letting them cut in front of her. Supporting the Susan G. Komen foundation and joining Team WhyMommy. There is so much, much more…Coco has been really inspiring this season.

The child Grand Prize is being awarded to Lillian, Duncan, Hunter, and Drew!!! Some of the things that they did included donating books to a youth book exchange, helping their grandparents with a tricky home renovation purchase, creating multimedia holiday cards for troops overseas, donating free mammagrams, paying for a random shopper’s purchase at a Hostess store–because she was short on cash, and babysitting for those who needed it during the holiday season. These kids live in Utah, too–and they have shoveled more snow than any other person involved in this contest has. Again, they did more too, but these are just the highlights.

And finally, we have one winner of the Classroom Challenge. The winning classroom will win a $125.00 donation to the charity that they name as well as this very special prize from Susan and her husband at Toddler Planet:

 A 4 foot x 3 foot photo printout of the Martian landscape taken by the Mars rovers, a packet of solar system lithographs, and a special video conference call (or audio, if the school doesn’t have a webcam) with two NASA scientists.  We’ll give a talk and answer questions from the winning class. 

This winning classroom did quite a lot to make a difference using technology. First of all, the STUDENTS created a classroom WIKI, which will help to keep all of them organized and informed. The ENTIRE SCHOOL also participated in a “Free Rice Marathon.” Students were brought to the computer lab in 15 minute shifts all day long. They worked on over thirty computers and were able to “win” and “donate” 750,000 grains of rice through the United Nations to end world hunger. You can all play free rice (for free!) here. And the winner of the Classroom Challenge was Mr. Jones’s class! Congratulations!!!

Thank you, again, for making this holiday season so special for everyone!

If you are a winner, please email us by New Year’s Day to name your charity. Mr. Jones! You can let us know as soon as you are able to meet with your class again–no rush!

And if you are someone who has matched my funds, we will let you know via email which charity you can forward your donation to as soon as we have that information from our winners.

I will also be writing a post so that everyone who is reading knows exactly which charities benefitted from this contest and our generous contributors.

Writing this post was kind of sad for me, because I have really enjoyed doing this so much. A lot of people are asking if I will be doing this again next year, and the answer is YES. I will definitely be doing this contest again next year! I am also thinking about how I want to use this blog all year long. My mom and I are going to talk about that this week, while I am off, and I will announce my plans very soon! So, don’t leave just yet!

Congratulations, everybody!!!! And thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How I Made a Difference on December 24th: A Christmas Eve Prayer

 My Grandpa Stockman believed in praying for others and especially for people who he knew others were not thinking of. The way that I am going to make a difference today is by remembering people like this and keeping them close in my heart. I would like everyone who is reading my blog to try to do the same.

One way that you can remember the less fortunate at Christmastime is by lighting a candle in your home. My family is going to put one in our kitchen window today. But did you know that you can also light candles on the web? I would like to invite all of you who are reading to do the same at this page on the Gratefulness website. If you visit this page, you will see that I have lit a candle in memory of the less fortunate, who may be lonely or sad today. The name of our group is TFD for Twenty Five Days. It would be wonderful to see a lot of candles lit here in the next few days.

Although we know that not everyone does this, my family remembers people by praying for them, just like my Grandpa did. So this morning, my daddy and Nina and I worked together to brainstorm and write a Christmas Eve prayer that we will say at dinner tonight. I’ve written it below so that you can see it and say it too, if you would like.

We wish everyone who celebrates a Merry Christmas! Tomorrow, we will be announcing the winners of our contests, so please make sure to stop by again. ALSO!! PLEASE BE SURE TO LEAVE A COMMENT TELLING US ABOUT SOMETHING THAT YOU DID TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON THAT MADE YOU FEEL VERY HAPPY!! You can read my post from yesterday about this, or you can leave a comment here!

Dear Lord, On this Christmas Eve, we are thankful for the many blessings you have given us.  We are especially thankful for our families and friends, and the love and kindness we share with one another. We ask that you help us share that love and kindness with those who are alone, those who lack love in their hearts and lives, those who live in fear and despair, and those who live without faith and charity. We ask that you bless us all with your grace, and fill our hearts with peace and true love toward all your creation, as you showed us when you gave us the gift of your Son, Jesus. Amen.

How I Made a Difference on December 23,2007

Today I made a difference by putting together some old clothes, new toys and boots to donate to the St. Vincet de Paul society. Click here to see the link. My church encourages people to donate to St. Vincent de Paul all year long. They even have a clothing bin box behind the school. Tomorrow, my dad will help me out by taking me there to drop off all of our things! My church works all year long to collect and donate food to their pantry, too. It is a very special organization, and I imagine that at this time of year, they need as many donations as they can get!

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Christmas Eve Commenting!

The best thing about keeping this blog has been reading your messages to see what you have to say and what cool things you’ve been doing to make a difference. It makes me really happy, and I know that it makes others who are reading this happy too. I think it would be really fun if everyone who visits this site–whether you are a new reader or someone who has been participating since the beginning–answers the following question by leaving me a comment!

Out of all of the things that you did to make a difference for someone or something this holiday season, which one made you happiest and why?

I’m really looking forward to reading all of your answers. And remember, you do not have to be participating in my contest to take part. Just click on the comments box right under the title of today’s post to leave a message! I’m excited to see how many we might get! This will make for some fun reading on Christmas Eve!

Also, if you haven’t had a chance, please vist Lillian, Duncan, Hunter, and Drew’s blog! They did my meme! Thank you!!!! Also, you can do the Meme too… and I’ll link to your blog if you let me know (and your site is appropriate, my mom reminds me). Here are Duncan, Hunter, and Drew’s responses!

1. In your opinion, what does it mean to make a difference?

Drew: Making a difference could be something small like going and shoveling your neighbors drive way or it could be something big like donating $500 dollars to charity.
Lillian: Making a difference often starts out small and grows from there. One little thing done by just one person can have a snowball effect – or not. Sometimes it stays small but meaningful.

2. What is an example of a unique way to make a difference?

Drew: I think that a fun and unique way to make a difference is to do something as small as getting a little gift for an elderly neighbor cause even if it’s small it could make all the difference.
Lillian: I think every opportunity to do something for a specific person is a unique opportunity. There are many ways to be one person among many, but those are the general opportunities. It’s those little things that become not only unique but extra special.

3. Who has made a difference in YOUR life this week?

Drew: My grandma is making a difference in my life every day by giving and helping me with so many things that I do on a daily basis.
Lillian: SO MANY people make a difference to me every day! As we’ve been doing this I’ve noticed that I could make a list each day of what other people do for me. It is very humbling. Sometimes it’s also frustrating because I want to say, “Stop! Stop helping me and let me help you!”

4. If I didn’t have a blog, would you still be making a difference

Drew: I might but I don’t think it would be anywhere near to as big as it is with the blog.
Lillian: Probably, but we wouldn’t think about it nearly as much, and we would likely be much less diligent at looking for opportunities. This has been a fun and enlightening experience!

5. What is your favorite thing about the internet?

Drew: It lets me learn things and do stuff that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to do. Plus I can talk to my friends on MSN.
Lillian: Two things: 1. Information. When I don’t know something I know I can find it online! It drives me nuts when our internet service is down and I can’t take a few minutes to look something up. How did we ever survive without it? 2. Relationships. I have made some of my best friendships online, and continued or renewed others that would otherwise have been lost. Email, blogs, online gaming, IM, Twitter, and Web 2.0 sites like Facebook have given me vast opportunities to build and support relationships. I think it’s wonderful.

How Miss Steinhauser Made a Difference on December 22, 2007

Miss Steinhauser is my favorite instructor at Master Khechen School of Tae Kwon-Do because she is very kind to me and is a very good role model for myself and others. Miss Steinhauser is the only woman instructor that I have at Tae Kwon-Do. When I first started Tae Kwon- Do, Miss Steinhauser had just tested for her black belt, and I was in her first class. Now I am a first bar child black belt. So I have known Miss Steinhauser for a really long time. She works really hard as an instructor at Tae Kwon-Do, every single day! I have had Miss Steinhauser for an instructor for almost six years now, and she has never lost her patience or raised her voice even once! And I take classes three days a week all year round usually! Miss Steinhauser teaches us to have good character and she practices what she preaches. I really like that.

Today Miss Steinhauser really surprised me. She gave me a gift for Christmas! It is called a bo. A bo is a weapon in Tae Kwon-Do that looks like a stick. It is sort of heavy, and it is a really special weapon. I’ve been waiting to learn how to use a bo for a really long time, but my parents said I had to wait until after Christmas for me to get one. I was really surprised by this and really, really happy!

I know that this whole blog is supposed to be about how I am making a difference. And I have done some good deeds today. For example, I cleaned our oven! And I washed down the baseboards in our house too to get ready for our party tonight. But what I really wanted to write about today was how Miss Steinhauser made a difference for ME and how grateful I am for that. It really means a lot to me, Miss Steinhauser!!!!

Thank you so much!!!!

How I Made a Difference on December 21,2007

Today I made a difference by giving Mrs. Nabozny (my teacher) a present where ten percent of the money used to purchase the gift goes to buying textbooks and supplies for schools that can’t afford them. It said Teacher’s Rule 2007 on it. I really liked it. There were different ones like some that support the troops in Iraq. Others said they supported breast cancer. But, I really liked the one that I gave my teacher. I think that one was cool.

Tomorrow we are having a big family party at my house. When I came home from school today, I did some housework to help my family. I’m going to spend tonight baking a lot of cookies too!

I’ve also decided to be a secret Santa for someone….but it’s secret! And I’m glad they don’t read my blog!

How I Made a Difference on December 20,2007

Today I made a difference by joining BookCrossing.com. It is a website where you can register books you have read that you are willing to share. When you register your book there, you are given an ID number for the book, which you write inside of it. Then, you can leave your books anywhere in your community. People can go to BookCrossing to see where books have been left in their neighborhood. And if someone finds the books you’ve “released into the wild” they can follow the instructions left inside each book to let you know they’ve “caught” them. This way, you can track your books and see wherever they go! Some books end up in other countries!

My third grade teacher, Mrs. Morath gave me some books to donate to Roswell’s booksale earlier this month (thank you Mrs. Morath!!!!) but it was too late because we had already delivered our books and the sale was over. My mom and I thought this was a good way to share them with others. We can register other books and release them into the wild whenever we want because we registered ourselves.

So where are our books hiding?

Tonight, we are going to leave our books at Panera Bread Company on the corner of Delaware and Sheridan. My mom is taking them there after dinner! Anyone who wants to read them can head over there, pick them up, take them home, read them, and pass them along! Just make sure you follow the instructions inside the cover of each one. I hope these books travel far!

Also! Go check out BookCrossing.com because it’s very cool!

The Classroom Challenge: Important Information

If your classroom would like to be considered for the classroom challenge giveaway on Christmas night, please be sure to email us a full explanation of how your students have used technology to make a difference. If possible, include links to websites/wikis/blogs and please let us know the name of your school, your state, and your country.

So far, we have heard from Mrs. Costello’s fifth grade class and Mr. Jones’s class…..if you are in the running, please be sure to touch base with us by December 24th! We can be contacted at twentyfivedays(at)gmail(dot)com. We are excited to hear from you!

Thank you!! Good luck to everyone!!

How I Made a Difference on December 19,2007

 Frank is like another  Grandfather to me. He is kind, generous, loving and caring. He always makes me feel special. Whenever Frank comes to our house for dinner, he always makes a big deal out of seeing Nina and me. He always calls me “Laura dear,” and then he gives me a big hug. Frank gave me my fish bowl for Sushi (my fish) and he always brings me little gifts and tells me funny stories. Frank is Polish, and he is very proud of that. He was also a sailor with the Merchant Marine and he was a private detective too for a long time. He has lots of great stories.

Today is Frank’s birthday, and every year, we bring him cookies. Now that I am a little older though, I wanted to do something special for him because I love him so much!

Today I made a difference by making Frank dinner. He is out celebrating his birthday right now, but when he gets home we will take it to him so he can snack on it tonight and tomorrow. I made him a chicken pot pie……and all my mom did was thicken the broth up toward the end. I did everything else myself (we bought the crust). I also made him a plate of Christmas cookies. Frank always says ” Oh I am too skinny!” and I hope I can fatten him up! 

I’m lucky to have Frank in my life and world! I also love his cats. He has one named Stanley and one named Boris. They are very fortunate to have Frank as an owner because he keeps them nice and plump!

How I Made a Difference on December 18,2007

Emily has been here encouraging me every day. She is an American mom living in London. I really like Emily! She leaves very nice comments here almost every day. Today I found out that a little girl in Emily’s son’s class is very sick. I don’t read Emily’s blog, but YOU can read about this little girl there. So…

Today I made a difference by making a card for this little girl. Her name is Julie. I also wrote her a very long letter. Emily said she would like to hear from someone who lives so far away who is close to her age. I wrote about how it is for me to be an American student and young girl, my favorites- foods, hobbies and colors, and the sports I enjoy (like Tae Kwon- Do). Today, my mom and I emailed Emily my letter so she could take it to Julie fast. We will mail the card tomorrow!

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Remember if you are tagged for my Making a Difference Meme you may tag others! Also, I am going to start visiting your memes TONIGHT!!!! Thank you so much  for doing this! I can’t wait to see your answers. That was fun!

Making Our List, Checking it Twice

Christmas is exactly ONE WEEK AWAY! Do you know what this means? It means that in seven short days, I will be announcing 2 Grand Prize Winners, 2 Better Late Than Never Winners, and 1 Winner of the Classroom Challenge!

My mom and I have been visiting your blogs and receiving your email messages every single day. We have put all of your good deeds into an excel spreadsheet! If you would like us to double check and make sure we have you on our list and that your deeds are updated, please just email us at twentyfivedays(at)gmail(dot)com to let us know.

Right now, we have all of the people below listed on our spreadsheet, and all of the classrooms are listed on the NASA Classroom Challenge page above. If you belong on one of these lists, but your name is missing, please email us right away and let us know!

I think it is kind of strange that so many of you are saying I am inspiring. That is really nice, but it is really ALL OF THESE PEOPLE who are inspiring me! We should all do good things all year long. It has been really special to blog about it with all of you. It fills me with a lot of spirit!

Lillian, Duncan, Hunter, and Drew

Mean Girls Need Not Apply

Branden McKee

Elaine

Coco

Stephen Phillips

Julianne Cairnes

Grace Aroune

Kirtana

Kelly Genet

Lynne Anne

Mary and her children

Eoin C.

Kristin

Corey N.

Tracy D.

Cindy H.

Jamie

Tracey

Melissa

llexus

Addi and Nisi

The Taylors

T.J.

Mrs. Aroune

Kate Ellis

Sheila Cason

Kate Saltfleet

Orange Soda 2000

Alyssa

Roger Carr

Dr. Mani

Nedra

Mrs. Toney

Carla

Kristen and Carmen

Patty J.

Kim Arthur

Mrs. Nabozny

Nolan and Evan W.

Mrs. Waggoner

Mrs. Mitchell

Mrs. Morath

Emily

Chris and Marcus

Kelly

Anne M.

Dana F.

Kelly

An Exciting Day

This morning, I received a phone call from a reporter at WGRZ Channel 2 News. Matt Pearl explained that he was interested in interviewing Laura, and he was eager to know what today’s “good deed” was going to be. This posed a bit of a problem for me……..since I had no idea what she had on her agenda for today. And so, for the first time since December 1st, I found myself having to put a bit of pressure on her, since we now had a reporter, complete with a camera, showing up at my house within the space of a few hours.

“Can I use a Coinstar machine?” Laura asked when she hopped in the car, and we headed toward home. I’ve been waiting on this request actually. It is a common known fact that Laura loves playing with the Coinstar machine almost as much as she loves blogging. And so, today’s idea was born.

We need to thank Mr. Pearl for the time he took interviewing Laura today. As a personal aside, I must tell you that this is a man who is true to his word. He promised that he wouldn’t shoot footage of my floors, which haven’t been washed in two weeks and are currently covered in the remnants of this weekend’s adventures in baking. And I notice that not a single floor board made it onto tonight’s news. Thank you!!!!!

Laura did hit up her Coinstar machine tonight, and she did donate her money to the bellringer who is probably still manning her post at the Tops on Delaware and Sheridan. If she had her way, she would be blogging about all of this until midnight, but because her dad and I are very very mean, we made her go to bed at a reasonable hour tonight.

I promised I would post her pictures of this evening’s good work….including a special photo for Hallie and CJ! Your package is on its way!

 Thank you, every single one of you, for your generous spirit and your incredible encouragement. I know that there is now one child in this world who will always be eager to do for others, due in large measure to the rewards that she has received in response to her tiny acts of kindness. It has been a very special season in our home. We can’t thank you enough.

Good luck CJ!!

How I Made a Difference on December 16,2007

                                                         Discs for the SPCA

Today I made a difference by going through our cd’s and donating the ones we don’t want anymore to Discs for Dogs. This benefits my local SPCA. Instead of the discs ending up in a land fill they are sold for a dollar and the money goes to the SPCA. This was Mrs.Toney’s idea ( Thank you  Mrs. Toney) and it’s a great one!

My mom and I put a call in with my local SPCA saying that I’d like to voulenteer there long term after the holidays! We have a dog named Biscuit and a cat named Oliver. Oliver came from the SPCA. We got him last year at Christmastime! He likes to tear our curtains down and race up the Christmas tree this year. My mom and dad are really happy about this (NOT).

I love my pets. And when I grow up I want to be a veterinarian. I think I would enjoy this! We just learned about a cool new site thanks to me having to spell that word correctly! It is called dictionary.com. I learned how to spell veterinarian correctly because we looked it up on that site. My mom was an English teacher for a long time, and even she messes up spelling that one.

Tonight, we are going to be doing a MEME. I hope that some of you will play along! I am going to invent some questions about making a difference, and I will answer them in a new post. Then, I am going to tag some of you who have been playing along and ask that you answer these questions in YOUR blogs or in my comments section! When you respond, you can tag other people you know too! I think that getting everyone thinking and talking about what it means to make a difference is a great thing to do during this time of year.

How I Made a Difference on December 15,2007

This week, my mom and I have become acquainted with a mom named Hallie. Hallie’s son, CJ, is going to be a soldier in Iraq soon. He is leaving right after Christmas. He is only 18 years old too. My mom asked Hallie to tell us about what CJ will be doing as a soldier, and she sent us a great email message. Here is a part of it:

CJ is trained to be an AIRBORNE BATTLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS SPECIALIST. What that means is that he is part of a flight crew and will be flying in support of the war.  We thought CJ would be stationed in Japan and would then be sent on “missions” (deployments) that would have him in a plane flying at 33,000 feet.  This plane acts a moving satellite – it intercepts transmissions from ground.  Even though he would have been in war zones, he would have been high enough above the action that he would be hopefully safe.
 
CJ did so well in Tech School – graduated first in class – that he was recruited to join an elite flight crew based out of Hurlburt Field in Florida.  He was so honored to be chosen.  We are so proud of him but terrified.
 
What this new job means is that CJ will now be on a plane (a gunship) that has large guns on it.  He will be sent to do his job but will not be able to let us know where or when he leaves. Sigh…this plane flies a lot lower and goes in at night.  CJ tells me that none of these planes have ever been shot down but I still worry.
 
Becasue CJ will be in a plane in a dangerous situation, he is now required to complete SERE – survival school.  He will be trained to survive, evade capture, resist and escape.  This all happens right after Xmas – he will spend 17 days in WA and will be treated as a POW for part of this time.  The intent of this training is to prepare him in case (God forbid) he gets captured by the enemy.  

CJ is nervous but ready to do what it takes to defend our country.  We are so proud of him.  Can’t believe this is my 18 year old son – what a wonderful man he is becoming.

My Grandpa Al was a Korean War veteran. He never fought in the war, but he was in the 82nd Airborne and he jumped out of airplanes. He loved to do this! My Uncle Mike was a Marine, in the Army, and he is now in the Air Force Reserves. My Uncle Paul and my Uncle John were also in the Marines. I am very proud to have uncles who served our country.

The war is something that makes me very sad. I don’t think we should have a war because people are suffering. I wish that George Bush would end the war. I wish that people like CJ didn’t have to go to war. But I am really grateful for people like CJ and my uncles because they risk their lives to protect our country.

My package will be sent out for CJ on Monday! Right now, we are waiting to get socked with a big snowstorm! Keep your fingers crossed that school is closed on Monday!!!