Basic Training Basic's!

I joined an email group of LDS Military Moms. They have been a GREAT support so far!! This was one of my FAVORITE posts! Thought I'd share it with all of you!! 

--Your son's first call will come sometime during or right after the first

two weeks--he will have about 2 minutes to talk.(As a side note, Nick has 

been able to keep his phone during "reception". Once he get to his actual 

unit at Basic, we won't have as much contact with him) DO NOT CRY. 

DO NOT EXPRESS LONGING FOR HIM. Sound very happy and "up", and whatever awful 

things he tells you about, say "this isn't long, son. You are very strong. 

You will learn what you need to know to be a soldier. I have complete confidence you

will get through this beautifully." DO NOT TELL HIM ANYTHING DEPRESSING OR

UPSETTING--if his granddad is real sick, LEAVE OUT THAT INFORMATION.  Be

very optimistic and supportive--but do not make him worry about anything at

home! This may be about the time you begin carrying your cell phone in your

bra--you want it with you every second, in case he calls. It may be a very

crazy time. If he is deployed, you want to have that phone on you 24/7.

--If you send your son letters--and you will, in his first couple months--do

NOT send anything but a plain envelope with his address in plain block

letters on the front. Do not use colored stationary, stickers, things

written on the envelope, kisses, upside down stamps, etc--NOTHING. If he has

a girlfriend, beg her to do the same.

--You will feel you need to send your son boxes of goodies or whatever, but

be warned: they rarely get to him. The drill instructors will open ALL boxes

and make unmerciful fun of whoever's name is on it, call them a mama's baby,

plus they will usually eat all the goodies. Yes, they can do that. They'll

do whatever makes your son the most miserable, so be very careful NOT to add

to that misery! Send boxes at your (and his) own risk. P.S. They feed them

well. He's getting plenty to eat--don't worry.

--There will be "Parents Day" (Family Day) during or after his

training--please, if you possibly can, find a way to go. This is

super-important, and the soldiers are so hungry for a glimpse of their

families. They will eventually let you hug him and sometimes be with him for

a while. Please try to go if you can. If it is the end of training, he may

get to go home with you for a few weeks. This varies from service to

service, so be prepared for anything.

--There will be LDS meetings there on base--he will be allowed to attend the

3-hour block every Sunday. Even though he may desperately want to sleep

instead, encourage him to go to those meetings. When he does, he will find

they give him tremendous strength to face whatever the next week holds. It

will be his only refuge--tell him to go! 

(They also told me about the missionary couples that serve in the branch. They will get my email and phone number and keep in contact with me!!! WOO HOO!!)

--Last, don't worry--even though you will. He is fine and will not be there

long. Things may sound awful (sometimes they want to whine to mom),                                              but he's  OK.

And he's off!

Well, I did it. I drove away from my baby boy, so he can become a man. :'(  It was REALLY hard on the little kids. And Dad and Parker are worried about how to work computer stuff Nick was self appointedly in charge of. :)

Em kept saying, "I don't want you to leave!" So my job, all night, was to convince everyone,  it was fine. He was fine. We would be fine. Four months isn't very long.  Blah blah blah. Who am I kidding? sigh

So we talked to him a couple times today.  That was a real blessing. And we texted a lot. But that will end tonight probably. It was nice while it lasted anyway.

We debated going to the airport to see him off, but in the end,  decided it was better not to. It was mostly his idea. 

Last night,  we just had to check him into the hotel, and then we could leave. So we went to dinner, then over to City Creek mall. It was nice, and a little distracting,  but everyone was still a little bit sad the whole time.

Before we went to the hotel, we stopped to see my mom. While we were there,  Nick gave everyone a set of their own dog tags. The have 2. One with his name. And one with each person's name and their relationship to him. My plan, I hope, is to leave them on until he comes home. :) Jack told me today, he wasn't going to take his off either. :)

So here we go... the greatest adventure our family has been had yet. Maybe tomorrow,  I can get through the day only crying once or twice.  I'm up to 5 times today, and it's only 3:00. :)

Gigantor is leaving the nest

The day has arrived.  This day is so much more than Nick going to boot camp. It's the day our family changes forever. We'll never be the same. It's not a bad thing.  It's what's supposed to happen, but I just never thought this day would come.  I thought I'd always be the Mom of two super cute little boys, who got a baby sister,  then a baby brother.  

But here we are... Gigantor is leaving the nest.  He'll be back before we know it.  And I'm sure he'll live here longer than he should.  ;) But he will definitely be a new man, with my little boy's heart.

Good news!

We got to attend a family briefing today at Camp Williams.  We got to ask lots of questions,  and got some much needed answers, for the anxiety filled Momma. :)

We found out we don't have to just drop him off and run Monday at the hotel. We get to hang out for a few hours!  

We MIGHT be able to see him off at the airport, but that is WAY dependant on many things out of our control,  so it might not happen.  But just to know it's possible... :)

He will be able to text me when he has landed in OK! This one is HUGE for me!  Such a relief! But... we'll only get to talk to him maybe 3 or 4 times during basic-until first of Sept. But during AIT(advanced individual training)-after Sept 9th, he can call and text in the evening as much as he wants! Yay!

And last but not least,  there are about 6 other guys from his current unit, going to Ft. Sill on Monday too. This helps me a lot too. Just to see the faces of the guys who are going with him.  <3

Oh and we found out,  sending treats to boot camp is actually a punishment.  Hahaha,  so I guess if he doesn't write.... muwahaha

So my anxiety is a little lower today.  Yay for small miracles! 

Here's some fun pics we took today too! In the ones facing us,  he's front row, second from the right. Facing away, back row, far left corner. Not the guy in the last row alone. :)

I thought this was fun... it was SO windy... but you can hear them calling cadence for a minute. And then Emma and Jack laughing because the Sergeant lost her cap! :)

This was cool. As they were marching, all of a sudden the start spangled banner came on the loud speaker, so they stopped and stood at attention until it was over. :)

 

One less thing to worry about

There has been so much destruction lately,  where I'm sending my baby boy.  This post did my worried heart some much needed good. :)

That's Me!

Letter Basket

Pick a basket or bowl and every time you think of something you want to remember to put in a letter, write it on a slip of paper and put it in the basket. The next time you write a letter and can’t think of what to write you can pull a slip of paper out of the bowl.