I received my first contact from a soldier today! I have sent about 8 or 9 packages and received a letter from one of them today! It's so great to hear that they did receive the package and hearing a little about them!

 Congrats. I love receiving mail, whether it's snail mail or email.  I look forward to going out to the mail box everyday "just in case" there's a letter or a returned postcard that I've sent in the box.  There's a certain "high" one gets from receiving mail.  I guess that's one of the reasons why we're called junkies.   There are many units that I never heard from however  the packages never returned home (until this Christmas) so I knew someone was using the things that I had sent. Mail really makes a persons day....week. Even after  4 1/2 years.  When it's snail mail I put it up on my cork board and read it over and over again.

 Knowing that they received the packages is also a great feeling.  Have a great day.

 Isn't it great to get free mail!

We just received a free mail letter today that made me a little sad.  It was from an officer in the Army, whose unit we had sent some packages to, and he asked if there was any chance of getting some good ole grandma cookies.  Knowing that we aren't supposed to send homemade cookies made me feel a little bad.  Anyone know what kind of cookies are good substitutes for the homemade ones?

Gran

Thanks for all your replies. I just checked my email and I have received an email from a different contact! She said she will write a letter also, but wanted to email and let me know that she had received the package. She called me a "soldier angel"!! Imagine that!---they are the heroes!! Of course, we don't do this for the "thank yous", but it is nice to know that a package was received and enjoyed!!

 Gran.....are Archway cookies close to "homemade".....  it seems to me that I have heard that before.....

Hi Gran,

If you want to order cookies, Cheryl and Company offers some nice selections and they ship free to military.  I have not shipped them to troops but did to a sick friend and she loved them.  They are certainly pricier than store bought but are tastier.  Here's a link to the military shipping page and you can review their selections from there.

http://www.cherylandco.com/catalogue.asp?action=subcat&id=158&loc=upper

Good luck.  Know what you mean....it does kind of break your heart not to be able to send homemade, but we all know safety comes first.  By the way, thanks for all your posts through the years...lots of great advice and wisdom.

Kathy

There is a brand of cookies called "Grandma's Cookies" or "Grandmothers Cookies" that come boxed and are individually wrapped.  I get mine at my local food warehouse call "Sam's Wholesale" and they are GREAT.

I also am quite fond of Grandma's Cookies.  I always have to buy quite a few more than I plan to ship because I know that not all of them will make it into the box.  They have the two-packs at the register at the Evil-Wally-World here.  Do check the expiration dates carefully on these though.  I have often seen them on the shelves soon-to-be or already expired

Thanks for the suggestions on the cookies.  I know I have seen Grandma's cookies, but haven't bought them.  I know about buying extras - for a while we bought *lots* of Mrs. Fields in the single packs by the carton, but those are hard to find, and the ones in the sack-like boxes just don't taste the same - don't understand why.  We just had to sample each carton we bought to make sure they were good enough for the troops

Gran