My daughter Cindy knows me so well

I heard a bang at the front door and there was a big box on the porch. When I opened the box it was a Christmas gift from my daughter Cindy to me.  She really knows what I like. :) It all looks so good. Thank you Cindy, and God bless.  Now to start destroying the evidence ( I mean let the eating commence. ) 

Got a call from my daughter Cindy

I just got a call from my daughter Cindy. Her ship USS Abraham Lincoln is on the other side of the world. It's been a good past couple of days. I talked to my son Mike from South Korea and John from his ship. :) It always makes me smile to hear from my kids when they are so far away. :)

My daughter Cindy

My daughter Cindy just emailed me this picture. "Frocking pic w/ capt Alexander and Rear Admiral and CMC" Cindy is second from left. 

Frocking is a United States military term for a commisioned or non-commissioned officer selected for promotion wearing the insignia of the higher grade before the official date of promotion (the "date of rank"). An officer or NCO who has been selected for promotion may be authorized to "frock" to the next grade.

Cindys Frocking Ceremony

My daughter Cindy on the USS Abraham Lincoln sent me this picture from her Frocking Ceremony. She is now a Second Class Petty Officer. Congratulations FC2. 

Congratulations to my daughter Cindy for getting 2nd Class

My daughter Cindy on the USS Abraham Lincoln ( second from right ) holding the US Navy Flag when they were in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Congratulations to my daughter Cindy for getting 2nd Class. We're proud of you FC2 Cindy.  :)

Happy Birthday Cindy

I want to wish my Daughter Cindy a Very Happy 24th Birthday. Cindy is aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln right now. We love you Cindy. Happy Birthday Sweetheart.

I'm pissed

Ok, so Bloglines will officially shut down on October 1, 2010 and I am not happy about it. I loved using Bloglines and I hate Google reader. How is that for a post? LOL

Anyway, thinks are going ok here. The kids are all doing well and our son John is coming to visit us this week and Mike is going to come home on leave in February. Cindys ship got a Starbucks on it. :) She says "I had a Chai Latte last night and it was pretty good." We can't even get a Starbucks here in our city. I think the closest one is probably about 90 miles away. I'm glad they put one on the ship it gives them just a little taste of home when they are out on those long deployments. That's about all for now. Still pissed about Bloglines but such is life. LOL

Another Hot Day

It's another hot day here in south east Kansas, right now it's 104 degrees outside with a heat index of 111 degrees. I am really looking forward to some cooler weather.

Today is Friday the 13th and it started out with a bang. My father-in-law had to go to the ER at 8am this morning. He was having chest pain and has had several heart attacks, a valve replacement, and a pacemaker and defibrillator implanted. We met him and my mother-in-law at our local hospital and after a few hours they transferred him to Topeka Kansas by ambulance to be in the hospital where his Cardiologist is located. It looks like it is his congestive heart failure and they are giving him diuretics to reduce the fluid build up that he is experiencing.

There is really not allot going on here. I did go see two Drs yesterday and had some more blood work done, it's looking more and more like my crohns disease that is causing the elevated white counts that I have had for several months now. I also took my brother-in-law to Alcohol rehab this past Wednesday and he will be there 21-30 days. We are hopeful that he will be able to find some kind of job when he gets out so he can move out of our house and into his own residence.

The kids are all doing well. Cindy is in San Diego, from the USS Abraham Lincolns Facebook page ( USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Moored, shift colors. Lincoln is pierside in San Diego after a three successful, and busy, weeks at sea ). John has been busy with his ship and Mike is busy in South Korea. That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

My son Mike in South Korea, picture from yesterday

Too Damm Hot

Hot Weather

Mike on Skype

That's me yesterday when I was talking to my son Mike online.

Mike on Skype

Cindy ( 7th from the right )

That's right, I'm still here. It's just been so hot lately I haven't felt like doing much of anything. I did mow the yard yesterday and I'm glad I got that done. Right now it's 100 degrees outside with a heat index of 114.4 degrees., It's supposed to be like this all week. YUCK!!!! Ok, enough about that for now. It;s going to be a busy week. I take my brother-in-law to alcohol rehab Wednesday ( he will be gone 28 days ) and then Thursday I have two Dr appointments. Today we moved some furniture around the house, cleaned, and then went grocery shopping.

My kids are all doing well. my son John is at the beach today in Jacksonville, FL, Mike is busy in South Korea ( I talked to him on Skype yesterday ). and Cindy just sent me a picture from her ship. She said "This is a picture taken of me for the United Through Reading group I am part of. its so people can read to their children while we are on deployment and the DVDs get sent back home to the families." :) Ok, as for me I went to the ER a few days ago with double vision with one image on top of the other., it was really interesting to say the least, it lasted several hrs. The PA thinks it was a complex migraine but I will ask my Dr about it when I see him this week. That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great week.

Good afternoon

Good afternoon everyone and hi Cindy. :) I have been busy with Dr appts lately. When I was in the hospital for the heart cath my white count was really high. I had it tested again last week and it's still high but it did go down a little. I see the Dr again Monday afternoon. To my son John, we made you favorite dinner last night, the Mac and cheese with tomatoes, extra sharp cheese, salsa, and ground beef. Man it was good. :) Today I made egg salad.

It's still hot here with the current heat index of 107 degrees and we are supposed to get hotter this week. Right now I'm lobbying to do away with winter and summer. I just want spring and fall weather from now on. Last night we got to see several meteors from the Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower. If your out tonight look up. Maximum currently occurs on July 29/30 but it will be around for several more days.

http://meteorshowersonline.com/showers/delta_aquarids.html

I talked to my son John yesterday and my son Mike today. It's always great to talk to my kids. Mike is going on leave to Seoul this week. Hope you have a good time Mike. Cindy is out to sea on The USS Abraham Lincoln and John's ship the USS Doyle just got back to port. I miss all three of you.

That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Good morning

Sunrise this morning

Good morning. It looks like it's going to be another hot day here in South East Kansas. I woke up this morning and the first thing I read was "HEAT INDICES.BETWEEN 105 & 110 DEGREES WILL AFFECT THE ENTIRE AREA FOR THIS AFTERNOON & EARLY EVENING." I know I was complaining this past winter and said that I was looking forward to summer but this is not what I meant. :) Oh well, be careful what you ask for right? LOL

Yesterday I cleaned the house and gave myself a haircut. I am going to do some work this afternoon and then try to get our lawn mowed. I'm trying to get everything done before I go to the hospital Monday. Right now I'm still on my first cup of coffee and am craving a cigarette. I think I'll go outside and have a smoke.

To my daughter Cindy on the USS Abraham Lincoln, hope your doing well and hope you have a great day. Love you, Dad

Another Day

My son Mike with his police vehicle in South Korea

Cindy with her gun the CIWS

Cindy with her gun the CIWS

Good morning, it's going to be another hot day here in Kansas. It's 10:15am and the heat index is 93.7 °F, it will be in the low 100s by this afternoon. Today I plan on cleaning the house and tomorrow I will mow the lawn. Trying to get things done before I go to the hospital Monday. :) My son Mike called me from South Korea today. Mike is doing well but he is exhausted, Mike is an MP in the Army. My other kids ( Cindy and John ) are in the Navy and both are out at sea right now. John will be back soon but Cindy will be gone for a long while. I love and miss you both. I'll write more this weekend. I know Cindy will read this so a big hi to my daughter on the USS Abraham Lincoln. We're proud of you.

Hi, for my daughter Cindy. I will start using this blog again. :)

Hi, for my daughter Cindy. I will start using this blog again. :)

Just a short post today. I have been having chest pains for a while now. I had a cardiac stress test several years ago and it was fine. I finally saw a Cardiologist yesterday and he wanted to see what was going on. He ordered an Echocardiogram, & Cardiac Cath for me Monday the 16th. I'm glad this is getting done, I figure that no matter what I will be better off than what I am now. He will either find no problems and that would be great or he will find a problem and fix it and thats great too. I'll type more later or tomorrow. I promise Cindy. Love, Dad

Congratulations Cindy

My daughter FC3 Cindy called tonight, she was nominated for Junior Sailor of the quarter for Combat Systems on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Congratulations Cindy and great job on the nomination. I'm so proud of you. :)

Talked to my daughter Cindy

Cindy with one of Josh's dogs

Cindy with dog

Cindy with a 150lb pound dog on her lap.

Cindy feeding a goat

Josh with one of his dogs on his lap

My daughter Cindy called me today. Cindy is in the Navy on the USS Abraham Lincoln. She spent Christmas with her friend Josh in Missouri. Cindy also just moved off base to her own appartment that she is sharing with another girl in the Navy. She sent me some pictures today. :)

Cindy says, Dad the small dog on my lap and Joshs' is Keoki. The large dog is 150Lbs lol and his name is Buddy and the goat is Billy =) My roomie is Bridget (ABE3).

And Cindy is an (FC3)., I am very proud of her. :)

Good morning and Update

Good morning everyone, It's Saturday the 7th of November and I have not written to a month and a half. I have been using facebook and kinda got away from the blog for a while. I plan to start back with the blog now. First off I will talk about my kids.

My youngest son Mike is still at Fort Leonard Wood, MO going through MP training, he should be in Blue Phase now ( they went through Red and White already ). He is loving the Army, he says that his Drill Sergent's are great. Mike said "I never thought I would say this but basic training is fun". I'm glad he is doing well. :)

( Mike at Army Basic Training )

My oldest child FC3 Cindy is doing well in the Navy and is still in Washington State. The IA assignment didn't work out for her so she will be staying with her ship, the USS Abraham Lincoln. They are currently in the yard so Cindys work is kinda mundane right now with the exception of testing the CIWS on occasion and scaring the crap out of yard workers. Have fun with that Cindy. :)

( Cindy on her Ship )

My son OS3 John is in Mayport Florida and has the most news. John got back from a 6 month deployment with his ship ( the USS Doyle ) in October. He went to visit my parents in Daytona and bought his first car. John bought a 2009 Kia Rio and loves it. John also sent me a picture of a letter of commendation that he got a few days ago. John is doing well and has a birthday coming up next week, Nov 15th. John will be 22 years old. :)

( John new Navy Working Uniform )

( Johns letter of Commendation )

( Johns new Kia Rio )



Free Meals for Veterans

Restaurant chains are offering free meals to U.S. military personnel in conjunction with Veterans Day.

Origins: In recent years, some national restaurant chains have begun the practice of demonstrating appreciation for U.S. military personnel (both veterans and those on active duty) by offering them free meals in observance of Veterans Day (November 11). Here are a few of the chains that will be participating in such programs in 2009:

Applebee's is offering a free entree on Wednesday [November 11 to veterans and all active-duty military from 11 a.m. to midnight at all 1,900 locations. Although Applebee's requests some kind of military ID, "We're not going to argue with folks who might forget to bring it," says Sam Rothschild, senior vice president of operations. http://www.applebees.com/vetsday/

For the 11th year in a row, 87 McCormick & Schmick's locations in 25 states are offering free entrees to veterans on Sunday November 8. The chain also requests military ID and highly recommends reservations. The promotion is on Sunday instead of Veterans Day, "because it allows vets to bring their families who might not be available during the week," CEO Bill Freeman says.
http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/featured-promotion/Veterans-Appreciation-Day.aspx

The 485-unit Golden Corral chain is offering free buffet meals including beverage and dessert to current military and vets on Monday, November 16, from 5 to 9 p.m. No military ID is required for its ninth annual Military Appreciation Monday, says Dolly Mercer, national events manager. The event is held on this date, she says, "so we don't interfere with Veterans Day activities." http://www.goldencorral.com/military/

The Outback Steakhouse restaurant chain will also be offering a free Bloomin' Onion appetizer and beverage to all veterans and active duty military on Veterans Day, and outlets of the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation will be giving away free doughnuts to all veterans and active military personnel that day as well.

Arby's invites active duty & veterans to receive a FREE reg roast beef sandwich this Veterans Day. As a Thank-You to all our veterans and active servicemen and women, Arby's invites you to a Free Regular Roast Beef Sandwich during regular business hours this Wed, Nov. 11, 2009 on your day, Veterans Day. Proof of US Military service is required. Limit one per ID.

My daughter Cindy also tells me that "Dad, Also Famous Daves BBQ is offering free meals to military on 11Nov and they also offer a 10% military discount daily".

Thursday morning

My wife Vicki fell yesterday ( she will be just fine ) She was standing on the railing for the daybed trying to open the curtain and fell down and got stuck between the daybed, wall, and under the rocking chair. When she fell she broke our son Mikes fan that was in there and also broke the mini blind on the front window. I was not home when it happened and she laid there screaming for help for about 30 minutes. Her voice was almost gone by the time I got home. I was able to get her fingers out of the mini blind mechanism where they got stuck and get her up. I made her Promise to not climb on anything unless I am home and she ask me first from now on. She is all bruised up now but nothing that won't heal with time. :) Just to let you know that Vicki has MS so she has balance problems even when her feet are on the ground.

Our son Mike called last night from Army basic training ( he called from his cell phone ). Mike said it's hard but that he will make it through. He said that I should get his address within the next two weeks. He wants me to keep him up to date on the Ravens football games. He said that he loved us and sounded very good. He also said that they can get care packages but that they can be no bigger that an shoe box. That's interesting that in Army basic they can get stuff. When his brother and sister went through Navy boot camp in 2007 all they could get were letters and no way would they have had a cell phone after the first few hrs.

Our daughter FC3 Cindy is checked out of the USS Abe Lincoln. Cindy has been doing NKO ( Navy Knowledge Online ) courses for her IA. She flies out to San Diego on Sunday for the start of IA training. She calls just about every day on her way to and from work on the ship and is doing just fine. We are so proud of her.

Our son OS3 John e-mailed several times from his ship the USS Doyle. He is doing well and will probably be going to GCCS-M school sometime after they get back from deployment. John said "There isn’t a lot going on here right now, I watched a really funny movie last night called “How to lose friends and alienate people”. It has the same main actor as Hot Fuzz."

As for me, I will be 45 years old tomorrow. I have no plans for my birthday, just hang around. It's been getting colder here, this morning it was 43 degrees when I woke up. We have been turning on the heat at night. That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Friday Morning

Good morning, it's a rainy Friday morning here in SE Kansas. I finished painting the body of our house this week and it looks nice. I will put some pictures up as soon as the rain clears. I still have to finish painting the soffits but I need a longer ladder to do that and my knees are really messed up and swollen right now.

My Navy daughter Cindy has been busy getting ready for her IA training. Cindy will go to Camp Victory in Iraq the beginning of Feb. Untill then she is doing medical, putting stuff in storage, and allot of training with the Army. Cindy is fighting a cold right now and working allot. Hope she starts to feel better soon. Cindy's birthday is comeing up on the 19th of this month. Cindy will be 23yo. Sure make me feel old to have kids that age. :)

My Navy son John has sent several e-mails from his deployment. They are on a 6 month deployment around South America. This is from one of Johns emails, I put initials for the names to protect the other sailors identities. "The last port was really nice. I think it was by far the best port. We were able to get some time off to relax and have fun. The new OS "U", a new ET "D", "R", and I went to look at the stores, ate, and watched Final Destination 4 on our last day in port. It was a lot of fun." John also said that they went to the beach allot. Aside from that they have been busy with training and work.

Johns ship in the Trinidad news


My youngest son Mike is getting ready to go to Army basic training Sept 15th. Mike has been going to the gym several days a week and hanging out with some friends that he met while here in Kansas.

That's about all for now, hope everyone has a great weekend.

Sunday Morning

Good morning all. Things have been a little busy here in Kansas the last week or so.

First of all my daughter Cindy said "Well got the final word. Iraq in late Sept for sure. Dont have anymore info on it right now." Cindy is a CIWS-FC 3 in the Navy and is currently with the USS Abraham Lincoln. Cindy volunteered to go to Iraq as an IA "Individual Augmentee" . Cindy is on leave right now with her boyfriend in Washington state.

My son Mike joined the ARMY last week and will go to basic training and then train to be an MP Sept 15th at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Mike has been working out almost every day trying to get ready for the long months of training ahead. In the meantime Mike got a temp job working at Russell Stover Candies in Iola, KS for the next two weeks.

My son John took a few days off from his Ship the USS Doyle now that they are back in port in Florida for a few weeks and went to Orlando with some other friends from the ship. John is doing well and has been studing for his 2nd class Petty officer test and his Enlisted Surface Warfare pin.

That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great week.

I'm Back

My son Mike with his car

Good morning all, I am still alive here in Kansas and have been a little busy.

My youngest son Mike graduated high school this year and moved in with us, he was living with his Mom in Maryland. Mike is joining the Army. He thought about joining the Navy like his brother and sister but the Navy said that it could take 6-15months for him to get in because of budget cuts and that they are overmanned right now so he called the Army and is going with them. The Army recruiter was here for 4hrs Wednesday evening doing paperwork with Mike and he is coming back today at 4pm to do more and then Mike goes to Kansas City next Thursday and Friday to MEPS ( Military Entrance Processing Station ) to sign his contract and get the physical and so on.

My daughter Cindy in a dress getting ready to go see "RENT"

Cindy

My daughter in the Navy Cindy called and told me that she is going to Iraq the end of September to work with the Army as an IA. An IA is an Individual Augmentee you can read more about that here http://www.ia.navy.mil/ Cindy is currently a CIWS-FC Petty Officer Third Class on the USS Abraham Lincoln in Everett, Washington. Cindy has been in the Navy since March of 2007. I am very proud of her and what she is doing. God bless you Cindy.

My son John on his ship

My son John was doing well the last time I talked to him. John is currently on Deployment with the USS Doyle. John is also a Petty Officer Third Class in the Navy but he is an OS. This is from the US Southern Command website. USS Doyle is on a six-month deployment to Latin America and the Carribean as part of Southern Seas 2009 in support of U.S. Southern Command´s Partnership of the Americas strategy.

In other news we got a new dog, this one is nuts. His name is Scruffy and he weighs about 30lbs. I will write more about him another time, as for now I need to go and get more coffee. Hope everyone has a great day.

My son Mike with our new Dog Scruffy