Thinking of our military on New Years

I hope everyone in the blogosphere is having a safe and happy day, counting down to the New Year. I got a letter from my marine yesterday that made my day. She is coming home to her two year old son in February, just in time for his birthday. She wrote me to thank me for the letters and care packages, and tell me how much they meant to her over the last 6 months or so. Now that Jessica is coming home, I'm going to adopt another soldier. In the mean time, I'll keep writing letters to a new soldier each week. This week, the soldier's story really touched my heart and made it hurt for him and his family. This is his second deployment. Five days after he was deployed, he found out that his daughter has cancer. His wife and daughter are currently at the hospital while his daughter undergoes treatment, and his son is several hundred miles away from them (and he is several thousand miles away!). I wanted to do a little extra something for him, rather than just writing a letter. Well, for several of them, I include a blank card that they can use to send a note to family. In his case, I'm going to include a donation towards a phone card or internet service (they have to pay $70/month for it, where he is stationed), as well as a card each for his wife, son, and daughter. Here are the cards I've made. I used some images that I had already colored.

This is the card for his wife. The "I'm Yours" is actually a pin that she can later remove and wear, if she so chooses. Image is Edwin from Magnolia. Papers are Prima.

And these are the cards for his kids. The little monkey card is for his son, and the House Mouse card is for his daughter. Many thanks to my awesome friend Tracy for making the sentiment for me!

In each card, I added a folding piece of paper so he can write a lengthy note to each one of them. This New Year's, stay safe, stay warm, be happy and please...remember those courageous men and women who sacrifice for us each and every day!