Hello Everyone! I am so addicted to this site! My heart goes out to all the soldiers and what they do to keep us safe. My husband was stationed at NAS Sigonella 14 years ago. It was a little "remote" at the time, especially since the internet was not available yet. I remember meeting so many young soldiers just off the ships and how lonely they were. I worked as a civilian nurse in the ER. Anyway, I have great respect for these soldiers who are giving their lives for us, just so we can keep living the American Dream here in the States. My husband is a commercial pilot today, so what these guys are doing in Afghan and Iraq, directly impacts us. We are a family of 5 - 2 bio kids and 1 china girl. I am grateful! Sheryl

Welcome, Sheryl ~

You barely jumped in here and helped us all by bringing Eric Donovan to our attention.  Wow, talk about heart strings contacts!  He definitely looked and sounded much more down-trodden this post than the last.  It is such a reminder that even with 16 requests, our contacts can end up without  AnySoldier support or packages in just a matter of weeks.

Your devotion is much needed.  Thanks again!  Kaylynn 

Hi,

Lynn here from North East Oregon !!  I have used this site since November 2007.  I have to admit..I'm a Junkie !! I have sent many packages and keep TONS of things in my stash of AS goodies.  I never looked at the fourm on the AS site but I kinda passed my addiction on to my cousin and she told me take a look.  So here I am!  I am a Mom of 7 and grandmother of 9, with number 10 due the end of the year.  (I'm not as old as I sound.)  I pack a lot of packages with my grand-daughter, Melody (age 3)  When we go "IN THAT ROOM" she knows a package for an "armory guy" (her words) is ready to be made.  She loves to scribble notes and wrap things up with a whole roll of tape!!  I'm as excited about sending packages today as I was the first time I sent one !!   I'm PROUD to be a part of the Any Soldier family.  You are all an awesome bunch !!!

Happiness keeps you sweet, trials keep you strong. Sorrows keep you human, failures keep you humble. Success keeps you glowing, but only God keeps you going. 

 

Hi Lynn ~

I'm so excited that you're in here!!!    What a nice surprise! 

This is my cousin, everybody!  Lynn is the reason I found out about AnySoldier.  She really did pass on her addiction to me - in a very big way!!  She is such an inspiration to me...

I am at a loss for words right now, Lynnie!  I am just SOOOOOOOO EXCITED !!!!!!!!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS AND KISSES}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Love you so so so..................much,

Kaylynn 

 Hi Lynn,

Welcome to the party!  Oops, I mean forum.  Seven kids, how did you do it or are you still doing it?  Aren't 3 yr olds great?  My granddaughter helped me with my card swap and drew pictures on some of the cards!

Vicki 

 Welcome Lynn!!

 

CandyGirl of St. Louis 

Vicki,  4 are his, 3 are mine, grand kids are ours.    My oldest grand child is 7 and youngest is 5 months.  Never had more than 4 kids in the house at one time ! Whew!!    Thanks for the welcome and look forward to being part of the party, oops, I mean forum ! 

Hi everybody,

My name is Amber I am from a small town in West Virginia, I joined this site because I realize there are alot of men over seas that don't have the support from anyone, no one to talk to from back in the states telling them they pray for them. The united states armed forces work hard for our country and I wanted to give something back to them.

Welcome Amber!  Go West Virginia!!!  Hooray!!!

 

Debbie

Hi to all, My name is Veronica,

I live in Southern California, and im proud of each and everyone of our soldiers.  Im married with three boys and want to teach them that we need to care each and everyone when we can. Times are tough but I think its when we as individuals dig deep inside to become stronger and really see the beauty in everyone and pull together to help. I know that I financially cant afford too much but I am a huge optimist and I think I have that ability to listen and be patient and offer people my most unconditional friendship and I am here because I want to help. I really dont know what else to say other than I hope I dont mess this up and I address everything properly. hahahaha im a first timer so i may need some of you fabulous people to help me figure this out. Thanks from the bottom of my heart for making it possible for me to help in anyway that I can.

 

Love,

Veronica and her boys

Welcome Veronica & Boys!!

We are very happy to have you on board!  There is little you can do wrong if you follow the suggestions and mostly write notes and letters from the heart!  Send lots of pictures the boys draw and maybe photos of your family.  The troops will love it!  There are others from So CA and they were even talking about getting together and pehaps even touring a base.  Let me know if one doesn't get in touch with you about it and I'll try to track it down for you.  Wishing you all the best.  Have fun, and be prepared to get back 10 times more than you give!  It's a wonderful place to be!

Debbie (No CA)

Hello from California!

I'm 34 and have been giving my mom stuff for the last few years to send over with whatever she has.  It finally seemed a bit clunky to do it that way so I figured I'd sign up and try doing a few myself.  I just got a bunch of board games to send over so I'll find a day to do it and try to write a note to go along with.  I'm a intermittent pen pal as I recall from my childhood so hopefully no one will be expecting too much.

My major hobbies are martial arts (aikido, judo, and brazilian jiu jitsu), and dancing (ballroom, salsa, and argentine tango).  Plus board games whenever I can get a group together to do them.

Sara

I just found this site last night. I am half way to my divorce and I have been feeling lonely. I had a penpal when I was in school and decided to find a new penpal. I decided on a soldier because several of my family members have been in the service. I have 3 cats at home and that is where my user name comes from. When I have a treat I call "kitterbabes" and they all come running. Tipper, my baby is 9 weeks and he's black & white. Alex is a torbie and he's 2 and Sassy is a calico and she's 5.

 The biggest reason I decided I wanted a soldier as a penpal is I have a recently found older brother and he was in the AF as a mechanic for helicopters. He mentioned once how lonely the troops get when overseas, even when they have family and friends writing. So I decided I wanted to brighten the day for a service member as a regular penpal, to give them something to look forward to.

I do have 3 kids, boys 16 & 15 and a girl 9. Because of my soon to be EX, they are all in foster care and I am trying to get them back home with me.

Hi Kitterbabes,

Writing letters to help brighten someone's day is a fabulous idea; however, (I'm sure you'll hear this from other folks) the idea is not a formal penpal relationship.  You might end up with one if that is what suits the needs of the particular service member(s) who read your letter.  From our end, it's more like sending a message in a bottle.  There may or may not be a response, but you can be sure that someone will read what you wrote and possibly many someones.

Sara

Hi all!  I'm Samantha from Raleigh.  About me (the short version): I'm originally from WV, joined the Army at 17, lived in SC, CA, TX, AZ, GA, deployed to Kuwait, and got out after 4 years due to health problems.  Once I got out, I got my Bachelor's and Master's degrees while working full time and doing wedding photography on the weekends.  Now I work in a bank and am a part-time photographer (mostly vacation-time!).  I am married and have two dachshunds who serve as my surrogate kids. 

All of my closest friends are people I served with in the Army, and I miss the Army terribly.  You don't find a family like that in a civilian job.  My dad and two of my best friends are currently deployed and two more are on alert to go in early 2009.  I have adopted a med unit and sent several boxes, but I'm not great with the letters.  I'm not an outwardly emotional person and have trouble putting onto paper all the pride and gratitude I feel toward the military, but I'm working on it.  I'm also organizing a Care Package Drive at work this month.

I check the site every day and would adopt every single contact if I could afford it.  Nothing like this existed when I was deployed in the late '90s, and I know how lonely and boring it can get over there, so I have to thank all of you who send love to our troops.  It's easy to see how much you all care.