Slight set back.............................

August 19, 2010

Annie was injured at boot camp and is in the "ward" - (hospital of sorts) on bed rest along with physical therapy for 1 1/2 weeks. The Dr says she will be okay with rest/time. She will be re-phased to graduate with the class right behind her (10/1/10). She seems to be in good spirits and is using the down time to study. She is focused on getting well and joining the new Recruit Company.

We LOVE you, MISS you and BELIEVE in you!

2nd blog for Recruit Company Victor 183

August 18, 2010

Training Center Cape May, N.J.

U.S. Coast Guard

Recruit Journal

Date: August 18, 2010 9

Coast Guard Recruit Company Victor 183 weekly journal posted Aug. 17, 2010

	TRACEN Cape May, N.J. U.S. Coast Guard
Victor 183 weekly journal Graduation 9/17/2010
Hello again to all! We've just begun week 04 here at Training Center, Cape May. Things are definitely a little more on the difficult side right now...we're progressing as a company but day after day more is expected of us and we're having a bit of an issue making ends meet. We've been doing a lot of practical training lately, which will help prepare us for what we're going to face when we leave here and make it out into the fleet. We also have our physical fitness tests coming up this Wednesday so for all you support systems we have back home, wish us luck! The last major task we have coming up this week is our Duty Station Dream Sheet which we fill out listing where we prefer to go after we finish our time here at boot camp...this is a HUGE deal for us, as the location we pick will potentially be the start of our Coast Guard careers. We knew when we each entered out recruiters doors that our journey to becoming a guardian was going to be a rough one, and we're all fighting hard to make it through. We're going to have our bad days just as we're going to have our good days. My only hope is that we find the strength together to dig down deep and put forth the effort needed to make it.

Annie's 2nd letter............

August 12, 2010

We received Annie's 2nd letter today. She is still pretty down - not liking it - but hanging in there! She said her knees are still bothering her but hopefully she will be able to endure the discomfort and get through the 7 1/2 weeks.

We love and miss our baby girl!

1st blog for Recruit Company Victor 183

Recruit Journal

Date: August 11, 2010

Coast Guard Recruit Company Victor 183 weekly journal posted August 11, 2010

	TRACEN Cape May, N.J. U.S. Coast Guard
Victor 183 weekly journal Graduation 09/17/2010
Welcome friends and family of Victor 183! We are currently in week 03 of training, and we're all starting to learn what the meaning of teamwork really is. Take the word team. A team is a group of people coming together for a certain cause. Work is performing duties to meet a certain objective. In order to meet this objective, it requires a team of people; strong people, Coast Guard people. We're finding ourselves changing day by day for the better throughout this boot camp experience. Our physical strength is progressing, as is our confidence. Don't get it wrong though; things have been tough. We are just taking it day by day and giving it our best. Ultimately, that is all we can do. We are all learning to come together and are becoming more like a family, rather than the acquaintances we used to be on the bus ride into Cape May. We're figuring out how to use each of our unique skills for the team and that is what this is all really about. We, the recruits of Victor-183, are a group of diverse people from all over the world with very different backgrounds. There is one thing we do have in common, and that is our dream of a future in the United States Coast Guard.

Annie's first letter......................

August 9, 2010 (Monday)

We received Annie's first letter home today. She wrote it on August 1st, (her 5th day there) however, they did not allow the recruits to mail them until August 6th.

As expected, she was depressed, saying it was much harder than she anticipated - especially being away from home all alone. Annie has never liked yelling, so I'm sure that's tough on her.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her every moment and hope that she will realize that everything is done for a purpose - to make her a stronger individual. I pray that her time at Cape May will become a little easier for her. 5 1/2 weeks to go!

We love and miss our baby girl................. xoxo

Missing my baby girl.......................

August 8, 2010 (Sunday)

I have been lucky. I have heard from Annie as other parents have not been able to. Unfortunately, she was able to call me as she was placed on light duty status for 3 days due to injury to her knees. (But I'm thankful for the call nonetheless!)

The running and fire drills up the stairs have caused her knees to swell and she also suffered a cut on her leg which required medical attention. She has chosen to continue marching with the unit - just not participating in the running exercises. They have placed inserts in her shoes that hopefully will help with the impact on her knees and she goes to see the athletic trainer on Monday to get his advice.

Like all recruits at boot camp, she is depressed not only about the possible ramifications of light duty (if it goes past 3 days) but thinking she is being singled out as they all do. I tried my best to boost her moral and make sure she understands it's nothing personal - it's all a mind game.

I know she will be okay but I worry about her each and every day as any mother would. We have never been apart for this long and I know that is probably making it harder for her. She is no doubt on an emotional roller coaster as I am as well!

My thoughts and prayers are with my baby girl. I KNOW YOU WILL BE OKAY!

Love,

Mommy xoxo

Words of Encouragement....................

August 1. 2010

Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.

.......... William James

Missing my baby girl.................