My friend Michelle sent this to me in an email. I loved it so much I am putting it here. Thanks to all the military who so willingly go and defend the freedoms we hold so dear. Thank you Russell for having done this for 15 years. You are a veteran and I hope the boys will someday understand why it was such an important part of your life.
The Sack Lunches
I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I willget a short nap,' I thought. Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan .'
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch.
'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to the base.'His friend agreed.I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked,'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?''Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked.She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.'This is your thanks.'After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me.'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.
Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane.When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand. 'Quickly unfastening my seat belt, I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.
Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.When we landed, I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you sometime to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich.. God Bless You.
'Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little...
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to ' United States ofAmerica ' for an amount of 'up to and including mylife.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'
Bovine bathtime. How would you like to wash your baby with your tongue?
At least kisses are somewhat normal. I really enjoy watching the new moms with their babies. Some take to it easier than others. I wonder if the babies wake their mommy cows up in the middle of the night for feedings...
At the dock in Garibaldi. Michael and Nephi just got their life jackets on and are super excited to go in the boat!
Raphael getting his rain gear on. We were glad to have it today. We had lots and lots and lots of misty/rainy/foggy weather today. But then again....we are on the Oregon coast!
Grandpa getting on his gear.
Getting situated in Grandpa's boat amidst all the crab pots. Two boys are super duper excited!
Grandpa. Our boat driver. 
Me. We are leaving the dock and heading out.
Rapheal getting a crab pot ready. He had 9 to take care of.
Grandpa and Raphael getting a crab pot ready to go over. The rope wound up in there is 60 feet long or so. The bay usually isn't deeper than 50 feet so this gives plenty of rope for the buoys to float on the water.
The water was a bit choppy. Not super bad though. We had the tide coming in while we were out. Then the tide turned to go out and when either happens - it creates a channel of sorts and you can see the currents hard at work.
Bringing in crab pot. Not an easy task. Sometimes the rope goes under the boat. Sometimes the rope gets near the motor. Sometimes the rope gets tangled with someone else's rope if they put their pots too close.
The floats for one of the crab pots. Grandpa has 2 usually. They have his name and phone number so if he can't find a crab pot hopefully some honest soul will call and let him know they have his stuff.
By the time this picture was taken we were starting to get cold. Nephi was a real trooper. My hands quit working after a while. Couldn't bend my fingers much less move them at all. Michael thought this was the greatest thing on earth!
And we are off to check the pots! Look at us fly!
Michael helping Raphael pull in a crab pot.
Nephi helping pull in a crab pot. Overall we saw lots and lots of baby ones and female ones. We were only able to keep about 8-9. Sometimes Grandpa comes back with 20-30 crab. This spring break trip isn't one of those times. :(
Donovan, Christopher, Michael and Nephi vegging in the family room.
Cleaning up Grandma's toys before coming home!
Nephi, Michael, Christopher and Donovan. Growing like weeds as usual.
Packing the van for the trip home. I made a WinCo run while I was near one so we had all those groceries to fit in the car as well. A very productive spring break so far!
This particular quilt I made to take camping. Hence the denim. I must add - it is VERY heavy.
I used red calicoes and navy blue for the back. I love, love, love reds and denim colors together. Now that this quilt is officially done -can we go camping this summer Russell? 
I made this one for the boy. The top is a panel so don't think I did ALL that. I just pieced together the sides and binding and tied it.
This is for the oldest girl. The top. Once again panels. I just added the black border.
The back. This was a fun one - picking out colors from the top to create a whole new look!
This is for the other girl. I had fun with this one. I went with calicoes since they are my favorite material. I hope she likes them too.
Can I have a Lightening McQueen car to for my birthday?
Let me clarify - this is the end result so scroll down for the beginning. I set these out in my toy room and will only add water to the trays. I will keep doing this until the plants need to be transplanted again - which might happen depending on the weather. Eventually they will make it outdoors. Just not in the month of March. I have zinnias, marigolds, tomatoes, eggplant and bell peppers here. I am so excited!
I add the seedlings. The ones on the right have had potting soil added. The ones on the left will have potting soil added.
I fill the yogurt cups about 1/3 way full with potting soil.
I have here my little seedlings I started back in February. They needed to be transplanted desperately. I save my little yogurt containers and poke 4 holes in the bottoms so they can soak up water from the trays they will be sitting in.
A couple awesome Boy Scouts and a den leader helping the cars get off to a great start.
The crowd watching the cars race.
Lots of people came!
Vroom! Vroom! The race is on!
You can't see inside very well but there is a pile of gold colored rocks with yarn tied around one of them. The leprechaun tries to "steal" that rock and springs the trap and then Michael has caught a leprechaun!
Michael used all the old sparkly bracelets I had to decorate the outside. I must say.....he is a very creative child. Not that I'm biased or anything like that.
24 loaves of french bread I made for the dinner.
Our wonderful church gym all decorated with an Italian flair.
I also made some super yummy forever tasty Italian Style Bean Soup. I added some of my own additions and everyone that ate it LOVED it! I had actually tagged it for the Aussie/New Zealand swap I am part of and knew we had this dinner coming up. So quadrupled the recipe and now there are mass reviews! I will post the recipe on my Dinner Blog.
I got my hair permed yesterday. Now it's okay for it to be unruly. I don't even have to do much with it. LOVE it! :)
The van we just bought has an illness. It didn't require an ambulance. But it did need the assistance of a tow truck. It kind of just died. We think it might be the transmission or torque converter. We hope it isn't - but are prepared to pay for the worst. So our van is now in the hospital...er - I mean repair shop. Get better soon little van! We miss you!
The cub scout families enjoying their dinners.
Just after we set up. We went with a patriotic theme for decorations. I found the flags online and they are very good quality. I will be hanging on to them for future use.
Our centerpieces.
All the doughnuts I made for the dinner. We didn't bring any home. They are Krispy Kreme copycats.
