if you follow me on twitter or we are facebook friends, you saw my post above. greyumbrella adopted two families who have a parent/spouse serving our country this christmas, away from home. we are far more powerful in numbers; so greyumbrella readers, will you serve?
project :: serve. two families. two weeks. our challenge: to give these families a christmas they will remember. to serve them in a tangible way as they serve our country.
it won't take much; less than $20 and perhaps an extra 15 minutes. but isn't this what the thanksgiving/christmas/hanukah seasons are all about? giving to others. loving others.
will you please join me in project :: serve?
here's how it works.
below, meet the two families. read about them. read their wish lists and needs.
decide how you can help {because you know you can, we all can}. leave me a comment with your valid email address - shout it loud "i will serve!" in turn, i will email you my mailing address where you can send the item(s). all items must be received by friday, december 11. on saturday, december 12, i will wrap, package and mail boxes of goodies to these families. they will receive their boxes by december 20. just in time for christmas.
you do not have to wrap your item, however if you do wrap your item, please please please label the item with the person's name so i know which family it goes to. easy peasy, right? for less than $20 and a quick stop at the post office, you can help make christmas for these families.
how will you serve? meet the families. read about their needs. visit this, this and this website for a list of items soldiers need {packages will also be sent to each solider individually with the referenced and approved items}.
meet the families
family 1: stephanie, phil and dylan
stephanie and phil have been married for almost 5 years and are originally from lubbock, texas {go red raiders!}. phil served in the marine corps in operation iraqi freedom - 1 (OIF-1) and joined the army in november 2007. he is currently serving our country in a tour in afghanastan. when baby dylan was born in june 2009, stephanie left her job in accounts receivable for a pharmacy corporation to be a stay-at-home mom. something that struck me about stephanie and phil is how close their family is. stephanie opened up several personal photograph websites for me to pull some photos off. love, patience and a strong bond is evident in every single photo. they are a very close family. i cannot imagine spending the holidays away from my best friend, my husband. stephanie is doing this which allows phil to serve us. to serve our country. this is also baby dylan's first christmas. phil will miss dylan's first christmas.
for baby dylan (5 months old)
- appropriate baby toys
- appropriate baby clothes (they live in georgia) sizes 6-9 months, 12 months and 18 months
for phil
- walmart or bass pro shops gift cards {these will be sent directly to stephanie for safe keeping till he returns home}
- for his iraq package: pringles chips, snickers candy, baby wipes, hand sanitizer and any items mentioned in the above sites
for stephanie {gift ideas were hard for her; she has the desires and needs of a typical woman with a 5 month old baby}
- coco cola collectible/decorative items {her kitchen is coca cola themed}
- mickey mouse decorative items {she has an entire mickey mouse themed room}
- typical "girl" stuff: lotions, target/walmart/jcpenny/old navy gift cards, household stuff
- comforter for her king size bed
family 2: felicia, luis, luis, jr. and manuel
felicia, luis, luis jr. and manuel are stationed in germany; luis is in the united states air force. their families are all in kansas. felicia and luis have not seen their siblings in over three years because of deployment and travel costs. in september 2009, luis was deployed for 6 months; he was also gone thanksgiving and christmas 2008. this year he’s missing their 13th wedding anniversary, their son’s birthday, thanksgiving , christmas, new years and his wife's birthday. i cannot imagine. {for the record, felicia is not one for a pitty party. in fact neither of these women are. i asked for raw, emotional details and wants/needs because, frankly, we all have them and hearing them out, supporting them is the absolute least we can do.} felicia takes her role as a mother, wife and full-time supporter of the military seriously. she works diligently to bring home extra money, make a happy, healthy and warm home for her family and to keep the spirits up of her two sons. felicia is a woman like you and me. luis is a man like my husband. both are dedicated to their families. to their church. to their country. how can we serve them while they serve our country every single day?
luis, jr. (13) {steps up to the plate on his own when dad is deployed; an honor roll student}
- raiders hat size 7 ½
remote control helicopter- gift cards: levi store, old navy, pac sun {they do nearly all their shopping online because of the dollar}
- zune music card
manuel (6) {struggling with missing this dad a lot right now}
- santa claus toy {like a plush toy}
- NASCAR items
magic tree house chapter books- hotwheels
- left handed pair of scissors {can’t find any in germany}
luis & felicia
- starbucks coffee mug
- razors, foot spray, body spray (tag), deodorants, typical male things {for luis' package}
- home decorating things: candle holders & candles
- papercraft supplies {some of her favorite online stores are Papertreyink.com and Tayloredexpressions.com}
- Edible ink pens
- these towels from target
- felicia love's products mom's make: crafts, quilts, sewing, signs, etc - anything home decorating!
- gift cards for stores they shop: amazon, jcpenny, kohls, target, old navy, children’s place, american eagle
i urge you to look how you can serve. it doesn't take much for us to make a big impact on these families. if you have any questions, please email me or leave a comment. serve today. post this on your blog. link it on your twitter. update your status on facebook. we can all serve. i challenge you.
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