~A LETTER FROM KRISTI~

THE LAST PICTURES of my BIG GIRLS before Kristi left for

Army Basic Training Boot Camp From L to R: Me, Kristi, Ashley and Alli
From L to R: Alli, Kristi, Ashley

I cannot believe I forgot to check my mail yesterday....in all the junk mail was a little envelope from Kristi.....SHE FINALLY has an address I can write her back at!!! YIPPY SKIPPY!!!

SHE IS IN:

A CO 2/60th INF REGT

2nd PLT REAPERS

Here is her letter:

HEY ALL!

Wow these last 3 days have been way busy & crazy. This is all moving faster then I thought it would. We got our weapons today M16A2 rifles. We learned how to take them apart & put them together! We take them everywhere with us. Right now I am in red phase it's 3 weeks of HELL! But if our platoon performs we can get better privileges. I am in Alpha Company Platoon 2! (2nd Platoon) We have big shoes to fill b/c I guess 2nd platoon has been the best for a while. We should do good but we do have a few dumbasses (lol) we got smoked for an hour the other day (smoked: pushups & upper arm conditioning) but we learned so I hope there is not to much more of that. We have victory tower Monday which is like a big obstacle course with a 40 foot repel wall! I am excited! But then Friday, (10th) is the gas chamber, way nervous. We have to say the Soldiers Creed (memorized) look that up, it's LONG! But I am going to pray at church on Sunday lol. Anyways, I got to get some sleep. I miss you all very much! I love you all very much! Love, Kristi

PS. When writing back, write a big #2 on the back of the envelope! LOVE YA!

BELOW IS THE SOLDIERS CREED!!!

The current version of the Soldier's Creed is a product of the "Warrior Ethos" program authorized by Army Chief of Staff Eric K. Shinseki in May 2003. It was first presented to senior Army leaders on June 7, 2003.The Soldiers Creed was approved in its current format by the Army Chief of Staff Peter Schoomaker on the 24th of November of 2003. The introduction of the Soldiers Creed kicked off a campaign known as Task Force Soldier. This was a commitment by senior leadership to the soldiers of the Army. Task Force Soldier is a leadership commitment to soldiers ensuring that they are prepared for combat and embody the Warrior Ethos that is contained in the Soldiers Creed. It seems to have been discussed in Congress in a "Hearing on Army Issues" held by Senator John W. Warner on or about November 19, 2003.[It was first published in the magazine Infantry on December 22, 2003.
I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.
Some soldiers shout "hooah" at the conclusion of the Soldier's Creed, but it is not included in the creed itself.
The U.S. Army Warrior Ethos is a set of standards that all U.S. Army soldiers are encouraged to live by. It is meant to be the core embodiment of the soldier's mission. It has been incorporated into the Soldier's Creed.

(thanks to WIKI for that info)

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE for your THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS for My Kristi Girl. Please if you can find it in your heart, continue to pray for her. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

Love and Hugs, Amy

(PS...if ANYONE would like to write to her, please email me and I will be thrilled to give you her address....)

JUST ONE more PS....I am making hand made treasures and they are at ETSY and as always FREE SHIPPING!!!! IT'S GREAT TO BE QUEEN!!!!

~I WON~I WON~I WON~

I WON the "HONEY" of a GIVEAWAY from Judy at Brocante And Etc.

I am soooo excited as you see, I have won a few giveaways on blogs but never heard a word or received the prize after I contacted them and gave them my address and everything. Kind of a down-er. I have NO DOUBT about this one as I got an email today that it has been sent. I am soooo excited and THANK YOU JUDY for such a neat giveaway!!!!

I haven't heard from Kristi....I won't for 3 weeks...it's going to be one of the longest 21 days in my life. I call her cell phone just to hear her voice, even though they took it from her and shut it off. Pretty soon her mailbox will be full....LOL...and I won't be able to leave messages.

I don't even have an address to write to her as they haven't even been assigned a company yet. Fort Jackson has a website and it's a good source for me to see what they are doing on a weekly basis. So that makes me feel a little bit better. And I have been a bad Mom, I thought I would write everyday, even tho I have no place to send the letters, and well, I haven't had time to write at all. I think that once I get an address, it will be a totally different story.

I went to my 1 year since my LAST CHEMO appointment today....I am PROUD to say I have lost another 12 pounds since June....YIPPY SKIPPY for me and I am LESS than I was when I got cancer. Hey, trust me, I am on NO DIET....I think the stress of everything has done a nice job of melting the pounds off....LOL Everything else is looking good and I am just to keep on, keeping on....

All my Love, Amy

(PS.....last Monday night....I got the SHOP all ready for Christmas....I have sold a lot of it last week already and will be restocking it this week and the next....here is just a little sneak of the pictures I took....of course, it will all look different again when I redo it...LOL)