A Feast Fit for Anyone

This is how our Thanksgiving is starting out:

 

 

And the bluebirds even came by for a visit:

 

 

 And the food is all ready to be cooked and then the "pigs" will gather around the table to enjoy:

Turkey

 

Twice Baked Potatoes



Stuffing Balls

Green Bean Casserole

 

Happy Thanksgiving

We have many things to be thankful for and one of those things is that my family is almost here (probably be here before the end of this post).  They drove in the rain, sleet and snow tonight on about a 8 and a half hour drive which is normally a 5-6 hour drive just to spend Thanksgiving with my husband, boys and I.  We are all grateful that they will be here soon.

Also, we are thankful for the beauty of nature.  Here are some pics from this morning that I took.

By the way, the mascot is going crazy so that means that my family must be pulling in.

They are now in our house after barley making it up our driveway.  Tom was burning tires to make the last half of the driveway, but he made it up!!!

Newspaper Article

There was an article about myself and my work with Operation Write Home in our local newspaper today.  You can also read the article online at http://www.quaboagcurrent.com/, November 21 edition pages 3 & 5.  What a great way to try and get more awareness for Operation Write Home. 

Here is the text of the article:

Imagine being half a

world away from a

husband, a mother,

or brother, and having

nothing more than

a few post-it notes

and maybe an envelope

and a half-inch

length of pencil to

write with that you

sharpened with your

pocket knife. Diane

Loughrey, a Warren

woman, has

not known this

type of trial but

she knows that it

exists because she works tirelessly to make a difference

for those living this reality.

“The soldiers that receive the cards I make are

the most grateful people,” she said. “Sometimes they

write back to me and tell me how they have had no

way to get cards or even paper to write letters on and

how much they appreciate the program.”

The program that Loughrey is referring to is Operation

Write Home, a non-profit organization that

was founded in 2007 by Sandy Allnock in Federal

Way, Washington. The group of crafters is nationwide,

with hand-crafted cards being created on a

revolving basis and care packages of cards being

sent to contacts every month or so who see that deployed

soldiers have a way to write home. The cards,

Loughrey said, are varied in theme ranging from

birthday and anniversary cards to holiday cards and

“just because.”

“This last year alone I have made 238 cards,”

Loughrey said. “Combined with last year, I have

made nearly 400 and Operation Write Home has

passed the two and a one-half million mark. I also

write Hero Letters, and think that those are as important,

if not more, than the write home cards

we send.” Hero Letters are letters that are mailed

to deployed soldiers that simply say hello to a hero.

Loughrey said that the parameters for writing are

wide, with the only real rules being that the tone is

upbeat and positive and cannot have a political undercurrent.

“People write about their families and their pets,”

she said. “Nothing negative. No one living in war

wants to talk about war so the point is to tell them

about positive things and give them a person to correspond

to.”

Interestingly, as committed to the cause as

Loughrey is she has no direct experience with deployment.

She said that she originally became involved

after seeing an advertisement for the organization

on a blog that she frequented and she felt that

it was a calling to use her crafting talents as a way

to help others.

“I consider this my job, even though it’s not

paid,” she said. “I have had people who have wanted

to support me and sent me materials to use and that

sort of thing. My family threw me a party for my

birthday back in August and as part of my gift they

had people write letters to the troops that I could

send.”

Loughrey said that she has been crafting since she

was a little girl and her love, and talent, has gradually

grown to its current level. Most recently, she was

awarded a presidential citation by President Barack

Obama for her efforts and dedication to Operation

Write Home.\

“I wrote to the president and the objective was to

get him to honor the woman who started this whole

program,” she said. “A short time later I received a

presidential citation thanking me for my dedication.

It was pretty exciting.” Loughrey said that what she

would really like is to see more people become involved

in the project.

“Every time even one more person becomes involved,

it makes a huge difference,” she said. Loughrey

said that people who are interested can find out more

about the organization at operationwritehome.org or

on her own blog, which can be found at allfromtheheartcrafts.

com.

My 10th Letter

So the other day I was asked how many cards and letters I have made this year for OWH.  I had thought it was only 120 and the person was impressed, but I went and checked my latest receipt from Operation Write Home and found that I have sent in a total of 238 cards and letters this year!  Some letters, approximately 30, are thanks to others who helped me and wrote Any Hero mail which is always appreciated.  My all time total is 390. 

And this letter marks the 10th one that I have received by good ol' snail mail and I have also gotten a few letters through emails.  Pretty cool that she has a beagle at home!!!

Two Cards

Wow!!!!  Seems like this year is just flying by.  Here are two cards that we put in the mail this week which are a little late getting to the recipients, but not that big of a deal.  I've been working on my Christmas cards this week and have a lot more to go.  I am usually about 3/4 done by now and I'm not even half way done yet.  The squeeze will be on soon enough, but I have faith all will get done. 

Enjoy the cards:

Today

So today I went out and searched for some Veterans to say thanks and gave them a little note.  I found one at the food court in the mall and then went and sat in the waiting area of Red Robin where I met 4 more.  The last Vet I found served in the Korean war and his wife was bought to tears for my kindness.  Most people who know me probably can't believe that I just walked up to strangers and handed out cards, but it was a gratifying feeling to see the smiles I put on all their faces.

How Will You Thank A Vet

 

 

This photo reminds me of my little guy, Skippy, since he does a salute and says "Yes Sir."

 

Anyway, I have out 9 cards to pass out to any vets that I see tomorrow.  I am going to go shopping and if  see any Veterans in the stores I will make sure I thank them and give them a card.  I will make sure that I find 9 vets to thank either at the mall or in a restaurant.

 

How will you say thank you for your freedom this Veteran's Day?