So Very Proud!

Tomorrow my oldest child, Kate, gets on a plane headed for Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri to begin her National Guard training.

My favorite picture of Kate....

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...radPic2005.jpg

We're so very proud of her and this decision she's come to. As a mom, of course, I'm worried and a bit teary today. This is my first born and my heart is finding it hard to accept that she might be setting a course in her life that will put her in the path of danger. At 20 years old (almost 21) though, she's the strong adult we raised her to be and decided this was what she needed to do. Her step-father, Mike, who did his own army service has given her all his best advice about basic and tells me not to worry so much.

Boy though the years went too fast! It seems only yesterday she was my chubby little smiling baby girl.....

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...firstsmile.jpg

Keep a good thought for my Kate please. :salute:

Sending good wishes:)

You should be very proud! Congrats

All the very best I hope she fullfills all her ambitions.

You are not wrong they grow so fast its crazy.

I'm sending my love to you and Kate, and the rest of your family. :hug:

good luck on yours and her journey.
I went to Leonard Wood myself, hoping the best for her.

I'd be just as proud jo, congrats to raising such a good girl!

They grow up so fast ......... :tears:


You did good Jo!

Wow Jo! :gj:

Nothing but good thoughts for Kate and for the rest of the family. Fortunately she has a parent that has been through the process to help guide and prepare her, as well as another (albeit slightly scared) parent to support her in this VERY adult decision.

Bruce

PS: What is with these over-achieving girls of yours? If I ever have a daughter will you raise her for me? Not forever, just for the first 15-20 years.... :)

Sending warm thoughts to Kate and your family.

Good luck to your daughter Kate :)

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Originally Posted by West Coast Jungle

Sending good wishes:)

You should be very proud! Congrats

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Thanks Raul! :)

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Originally Posted by snakey68

All the very best I hope she fullfills all her ambitions.

You are not wrong they grow so fast its crazy.

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Seems like just yesterday she was off to her first day of school....tomorrow she's off to another very big first day.

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

I'm sending my love to you and Kate, and the rest of your family. :hug:

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Thanks so very much my friend.

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Originally Posted by syclone

good luck on yours and her journey.
I went to Leonard Wood myself, hoping the best for her.

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A very dear friend of ours went to Leonard Wood as well (so close my kids refer to them as Aunt and Uncle). Kate's Uncle Milo says it's not a bad place to do her training at.

Keeping in the proud theme, since my daughter is only 7 this is one of my proudest moments with Jack, Graziani's Albino Gator


http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...9ba306df2a.jpg

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Originally Posted by Holbeird

I'd be just as proud jo, congrats to raising such a good girl!

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Thanks J.R. We had some rough years with her as a young teen but then strong willed kids often do that to you but end up just wonderful adults (if you can survive their teen years with them LOL).

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Originally Posted by Reediculous

They grow up so fast ......... :tears:


You did good Jo!

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Thanks Tyree! :)

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Originally Posted by Loft Lizard

Wow Jo! :gj:

Nothing but good thoughts for Kate and for the rest of the family. Fortunately she has a parent that has been through the process to help guide and prepare her, as well as another (albeit slightly scared) parent to support her in this VERY adult decision.

Bruce

PS: What is with these over-achieving girls of yours? If I ever have a daughter will you raise her for me? Not forever, just for the first 15-20 years.... :)

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Gawd let me get my Beth through her teen years first, Bruce. She's just coming up on 15 this December but doing very fine if I do say so myself. Of course, she's had the benefit of her older sister, Kate, to advise and guide her a bit so I think it's a bit easier. I always tell Kate that I "practised" raising a teen on her LOL.

Thank you for the kind words, Bruce. We're very proud of all 4 of the kids. My two boys tend to be a little less in your face than their two sisters. I think they like to leave that to the girls while they more quietly go about doing their thing. :)

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Originally Posted by Ironhead

Sending warm thoughts to Kate and your family.

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Thank you so much, Carl. It's very, very appreciated.

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Originally Posted by AaronP

Good luck to your daughter Kate :)

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Thanks Aaron. :)

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Thanks J.R. We had some rough years with her as a young teen but then strong willed kids often do that to you but end up just wonderful adults (if you can survive their teen years with them LOL).

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Im prime example of this!

Awww Jeremy that's a wonderful picture! I'll tell you don't blink cause if you do, she'll be grown on you. It's that fast.

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Originally Posted by FIREball

Im prime example of this!

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I hate to admit it but so am I. :oops: Though to be honest, being raised by my grandparents I got a lot by them - Kate wasn't so lucky that way but she's been a huge blessing helping to guide her 17 year old brother, Luke, and 14 year old Beth.

Thankfully young Michael is only 7 so we're a few years away from the terrible teens with him.

I just about lost it when he spoke to his big sister (he calls her Sissy Kate). He understands where she's going and what being a soldier is all about. He said to her, while he was blinking back tears and his little voice was choking up a bit - "you be careful Sissy Kate, be safe". I'll tell you I had to slip out of the room for a moment to compose myself. Katelyn attended his birth and they are closer than most siblings. We'll all miss Kate while she's in Missouri but I think it's hardest on the little guy.

Then of course, in that lightning mood change young kids are prone to, he wanted to know if she got to fire machine guns and told her to watch out cause he's pretty sure they get hot and overheat. Geesh kids! LOL

Cant go wrong in Missouri, I was born and raised in Kansas City, MO and am flying up there Friday to visit my parents for the weekend...and of course to see my Jayhawks play in their season opener.

Well Hon our little girl is off to join the army.I'm very proud of her and you, she is a very good girl she will do fine.It seems the family tradition has continued too 4 generations in America 4 generations in the army.I am shure she will make us both very proud of her.

wat a brave lady you have raised!(pretty too)
butters420 will be sure to send good thoughts to both you and your wonderful girly.

Best wishes to your daughter. She will find her training an adventure although for her first month or so she will probably be concentrating on surviving the physical conditioning if things are still like the days of old.

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Originally Posted by McAdry

Well Hon our little girl is off to join the army.I'm very proud of her and you, she is a very good girl she will do fine.It seems the family tradition has continued too 4 generations in America 4 generations in the army.I am shure she will make us both very proud of her.

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Awww thanks sweetheart. You've always been a wonderful step-dad to her and I know how proud you are of her for following the tradition of armed forces service.

I'm still wondering though how the teenager we couldn't haul out of bed before noon without a fight is going to deal with 5 a.m. PT. :rofl:

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Originally Posted by Butters420

wat a brave lady you have raised!(pretty too)
butters420 will be sure to send good thoughts to both you and your wonderful girly.

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Thanks Butters. :)

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Originally Posted by dsirkle

Best wishes to your daughter. She will find her training an adventure although for her first month or so she will probably be concentrating on surviving the physical conditioning if things are still like the days of old.

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Thanks so much for your kind thoughts. Kate, though not a physically big girl, has always enjoyed challenging herself physically through sports so hopefully she'll find that stuff not too hard on her. I know she said the tests she has to complete so far were very easy and she passed them without any problems. She is considering the Military Police training and apparently has to pass some more special physical testing to go that route so we'll see how that goes.

Best wishes for your daughter and be tough yourself.

I come from a long line of military service.

My Brother (Army, Motor pool and Bravo), Sister (Navy "Spook" Chinese Linguist), wife (Navy "Spook" Russian Linguist), and myself (Air Force, Civil Engineering) all served during Desert Storm. My brother is still serving!

Father (Army radar Hawk missile system specialist) and Uncle (Marine, Bravo then Air force, AWAX specialist) both served in Vietnam

One of my other uncles served in Korea (Marine, Bravo)

Grandfather WWII (Army Signal Corp., Pacific Theater)

Great Grand Father WWI (Horse drawn artillery in France)

I'll be proud (and a little scared) when my little one does her part. I'm just hoping she is a little smarter and we finally get an officer in the family! :salute:

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Originally Posted by McAdry

Well Hon our little girl is off to join the army.I'm very proud of her and you, she is a very good girl she will do fine.It seems the family tradition has continued too 4 generations in America 4 generations in the army.I am shure she will make us both very proud of her.

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Sounds like she already has *beaming* (((hugs))) to you all!

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Originally Posted by Gloryhound

Best wishes for your daughter and be tough yourself.

I come from a long line of military service.

My Brother (Army, Motor pool and Bravo), Sister (Navy "Spook" Chinese Linguist), wife (Navy "Spook" Russian Linguist), and myself (Air Force, Civil Engineering) all served during Desert Storm. My brother is still serving!

Father (Army radar Hawk missile system specialist) and Uncle (Marine, Bravo then Air force, AWAX specialist) both served in Vietnam

One of my other uncles served in Korea (Marine, Bravo)

Grandfather WWII (Army Signal Corp., Pacific Theater)

Great Grand Father WWI (Horse drawn artillery in France)

I'll be proud (and a little scared) when my little one does her part. I'm just hoping she is a little smarter and we finally get an officer in the family! :salute:

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Wow that's a family to be very proud of! :salute:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

Sounds like she already has *beaming* (((hugs))) to you all!

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Aww thanks Aleesha *hugs back*

I wish you and your daughter good luck, I was in the Army for 8years (C.co 2/187th Infantry 101st Airborne Div.)

My mom did not want me to go either but it was one of the best experiences of my life, I got to go to the Middle east, see all parts of this country and meet some of the best friends I will ever have.

Heard from Kate! She's missing home, basic is a bit tougher than she thought and guess what folks....now I know this may come as a terrible shock to some of you so try not to faint at Kate's comment....

"OMG THE FOOD HERE SUCKS!"

:rofl:

Did my daughter reach the age of almost 21 without ever seeing an army movie? An episode of M*A*S*H*? Army food is supposed to suck!

Her step-dad and her uncle who are both ex-Army had a good chuckle over her observation about the fine dining experience the National Guard is providing her. :)

I wonder if they still serve the ever popular SOS breakfast.

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Originally Posted by dsirkle

I wonder if they still serve the ever popular SOS breakfast.

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Gawd Dale, I'm afraid to ask what that is?

The correct nomenclature is "chipped beef" more commonly known as **** on a shingle

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Too funny!

I would have asked my husband but we agreed, early on in our marriage that we'd pretty much not discuss his army days (he's was free and single back then, I met him just a month after he got home from Saudi). We've found it makes for a better marriage if I don't ask any questions about him and the army days. :rofl:

Here's wishing her good luck and safety. You should be very proud.

Yea, Army food sucks. I was on an Army base and had to eat their chow for a week or two. On the other hand Air Force chow was pretty good. On some occasions we even got lobster.

Man I thougth the food during basic was good.. LOL I went to basic at Ft Benning. I might have been just hella hungry... OSUT was hard on me.. plus I was the old man lol.. I went in at 26...

Alan

:salute::salute::salute::salute::salute::salute::salute:

YOU SHOULD BE PROUD!

I wish her well!

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

We've found it makes for a better marriage if I don't ask any questions about him and the army days. :rofl:

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Dont ask, dont tell....RIGHT?

Thank you all so very much for your interest and support for our oldest whose still away of course at her National Guard training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

New things Kate has learned recently....

- they do not provide comfy pillows
- the blankets aren't much better
- they could care less about your opinion of the above two LOL
- you can die of boredom watching a straight week of power point presentations about sexual harrassment and something she referred to as "EO"????

All in all though her letters home sound like she's having a very challenging but amazing experience! :salute:

Oh and apparently WILD DAWGS ARE #1 (I have no idea why she puts this on her envelopes home but apparently it's important to her LOL)

Just an update on my oldest daughter Kate who went away last fall for Basic/AIT with the Texas National Guard.

Kate really enjoyed the experience even though at first it was hard to adjust. About 3 weeks into it though she suddenly did a complete 360 and began to love the army way of life. Funny as a mom I could even hear the change in her voice during her phone calls back home. My little princess became a soldier with a real sense of purpose and committment in her voice and a new level of maturity and confidence.

Kate was given the honor of being a Platoon Guide, earned the Army Achievement Medal and was a Commanding General's Honoree at graduation. She's 88Mike and loved getting to drive the trucks even the really huge ones. For a young woman that didn't grow up around guns scoring 38 out of 40 with the M16 was a surprise for me (but a huge point of pride for her step-father Mike who is ex-Army himself). Mike says she's not a girl to tick off any longer - she'll either shoot you or run you over with her big truck if she happens to miss you! LMAO

Kate graduated and returned to her home in Texas in January. I've missed her so very much. The day before yesterday there was a knock on the door and there stood my Katie girl! All decked out in her uniform! She surprised me completely with a visit back home here in Toledo, Ohio. She's got a lot of friends and family to visit while she's here but oh how wonderful it's been to have this precious time with my oldest.

glad to hear that she is doing well. I had a cousin that grew up fast in the army. He left a cocky high school jock, and came back a soldier. It's kinde of cool to see the change, and the level of appreciation and pride being in the military gives them.

What a great surprise for Mom!

So happy for you Jo, you must have been just missing her terribly.

So? Is she this grown up soldier in person as well? I can imagine you must see some changes, but hopefully that wee baby on the blanket (as per your picture of her) is still in there. :)

Bruce

Congrats to you and your new Soldier!!! My thanks to her for stepping up to the plate and carrying on a proud tradition, and my thanks to you for supporting her decision.

Jo - what a wonderful Valentine's Day surprise! I know you're so happy to be able to hold her! Enjoy her while she's there! :hug:

Awesome!! Did she get to help out with ike relief? I am sure she wasn't to far if she did. What base is she at in texas? It is a awesome accomplishment, and I would be very proud too jo! glad you got to see her.

I'm glad that your daughter was able to come and surprise you with a visit. :salute:

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Originally Posted by cuda

glad to hear that she is doing well. I had a cousin that grew up fast in the army. He left a cocky high school jock, and came back a soldier. It's kinde of cool to see the change, and the level of appreciation and pride being in the military gives them.

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It surely is.

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Originally Posted by Bruce Whitehead

What a great surprise for Mom!

So happy for you Jo, you must have been just missing her terribly.

So? Is she this grown up soldier in person as well? I can imagine you must see some changes, but hopefully that wee baby on the blanket (as per your picture of her) is still in there. :)

Bruce

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I think it's a mom thing, Bruce, but no matter what they grow to become somewhere in my heart they are still my little babies. It is funny though that the teenager Kate once was, who HATED to get up early, HATED people bossing her around and fought us every step of the way when it came to following rules ended up making this choice for herself and doing so well at it. I would have never thought, back when she was a hard to handle teenager, that she would enjoy and grow within a military framework.

Didn't take long though, once that uniform was off and she was in her comfy pj's to start with the "what's for dinner Mom?" thing LOL.

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Originally Posted by Slim

Congrats to you and your new Soldier!!! My thanks to her for stepping up to the plate and carrying on a proud tradition, and my thanks to you for supporting her decision.

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Thanks Slim. With how the world is right now it wasn't an easy thing to hear that my oldest wanted this in her life I can tell you. Now her younger brother, my 17 year old son is speaking with an Army recruiter about his plans when he graduates high school later this year (though he's thinking regular Army rather than National Guard like his older sister). As proud of them as I am, I worry but I've always told my 4 kids whatever they choose in life, as long as it's an honorable choice, I'll support it fully.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Jo - what a wonderful Valentine's Day surprise! I know you're so happy to be able to hold her! Enjoy her while she's there! :hug:

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Oh I will Robin! I'm not ashamed to say once I got her in my doorway I bawled my heart out all over that proud uniform of hers. What else can a mom do. It'll be hard when she leaves next week to head back to Texas but I think that's always hard on parents when your fledglings leave the nest fully.

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Originally Posted by stangs13

Awesome!! Did she get to help out with ike relief? I am sure she wasn't to far if she did. What base is she at in texas? It is a awesome accomplishment, and I would be very proud too jo! glad you got to see her.

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She's just finished her Basic and AIT training so hasn't been sent to do anything yet. She did her first weekend thing a couple of weeks back and apparently goes to Lovett, Texas for that (hope I spelled that right), which is a couple of hours from where she lives in Texas. I don't come from a military background myself so I'm having all sorts of trouble with understanding some of the wording she uses. I think I need to join the online parents groups so I'm not so stupid about all this military terminology. My gawd the Army likes to use letters for EVERYTHING. AIT, MOS, 88Mike, blah, blah, blah - I haven't a clue half of what she and her step-dad babble on about. LOL

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Originally Posted by dsirkle

I'm glad that your daughter was able to come and surprise you with a visit. :salute:

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Thanks Dale! She really made my day. :)

Before she leaves I need to get her to stand still a moment and get some pictures of her in her (some sort of uniform thingy with even more letters to describe it???? geesh!) so I can post them in this thread.

Wow, that gave me chills just reading it. I'm so happy that she was able to come home like that. What a wonderful gift from a wonderful daughter. :happycry:

Awwwww geez, now I'm all weepy! What an amazing surprise!! Seems to me like you done real good with this one, Joanna! What a beautiful woman she has grown into! :salute:

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

Wow, that gave me chills just reading it. I'm so happy that she was able to come home like that. What a wonderful gift from a wonderful daughter. :happycry:

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Thanks Christie. It was a wonderful gift to open that door and see her standing there in her army gear. For a second I truly didn't recognize her or my brain didn't immediately accept that this was Kate and she was at the door like that. She and Nicole said the look on my face was priceless LOL.

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Originally Posted by JLC

Awwwww geez, now I'm all weepy! What an amazing surprise!! Seems to me like you done real good with this one, Joanna! What a beautiful woman she has grown into! :salute:

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Awww thank you Jude, I'm still a bit weepy myself over it. I can't wait for her to get back to our home so I can get some new pictures of her to share with you all. She's visiting her dad right now but will be back tomorrow. She's planning to squeeze in a quick visit to little Michael's classroom as he wants to show off his big sister a bit before she goes back to Texas.

Well my daughter's off back to Texas as of yesterday. It was hard to see her go but I'm hoping to go visit during the spring break when her littlest brother is out of school for 10 days. Also Kate will be back up here later in the year when Luke (my oldest son) graduates from high school so it won't be so very long until I see her again. Here's some pictures I shot during her visit.

Kate in her uniform.....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...iformFeb09.jpg

Kate and me.....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...teMomFeb09.jpg

Kate and my husband, Mike (her step-dad and it's soooo cute how they bond over the whole army thing, though my husband will complain that I used "cute" and "army" in the same sentence here LOL)....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...eMikeFeb09.jpg

Our family - me, Mike, Beth (age 15), Michael (age 7), Kate (age 21), and Luke (age 17).....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...amilyFeb09.jpg

Such a beautiful family, Jo!! :sunny: Can't believe how fast your kids are growing up! I swear, it's just as fast as mine are! :O :P (Mine are growing at the speed of light these days!) I've still got a couple more years before my first one leaves the nest...but just reading about "visiting her at spring break" and "trips home for a sibling's graduation"...it makes me all misty-eyed thinking about that sort of future for me and Petra. :tears:

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Originally Posted by JLC

Such a beautiful family, Jo!! :sunny: Can't believe how fast your kids are growing up! I swear, it's just as fast as mine are! :O :P (Mine are growing at the speed of light these days!) I've still got a couple more years before my first one leaves the nest...but just reading about "visiting her at spring break" and "trips home for a sibling's graduation"...it makes me all misty-eyed thinking about that sort of future for me and Petra. :tears:

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Jude, it's so funny really. I can look at Kate (or Luke or Beth for that matter) and I see this lovely adult woman, living her life her own way, willing to serve her country, all that adult stuff I hoped she would grow into and yet in my mother's heart I will always see this.....

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...firstsmile.jpg

I think somewhere in us, they just never grow up. They were all laughing their goofy butts off this weekend though since only young Michael is currently shorter than me (and he's 7 years old!). It is a very strange feeling to be surrounded by the babies you birthed and you have to bloody well look up at them LOL.

Thanks for your lovely post Judy. Made me misty eyed too. Hugs!

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...firstsmile.jpg

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BAM!!! I know what next month's POTM theme is gonna be! BABIES!! We can submit pictures of our own children...or our own baby pictures if we don't have kids yet. :D

Sorry for the off topic tangent! I now return you to your regularly scheduled moments of nostalgia and parental pride! :salute: