About The River

Monday, November 26, 2018

Joy List Monday

Joy List Monday
♥ a weekly ritual ♥

a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties 
and graces that make life magical and to set aside time for 
gratitude each day
 



He is in that group of soldiers.

♥ An amazing trip to Fort Jackson, South Carolina to see our Sam!


 ♥ We rang our cow bell and waved American flags .. cheering all the trainees on after 10 weeks of Basic Training.

We enjoyed watching other families reunite with there loved ones. The best one was a brother and sister hid in the trunk of a car. I do not think the soldier thought they were going to make the trip to Fort Jackson. When the mom said to put his bags in the trunk, he got a BIG surprise. It was so fun watching others reunite as we waited for Sam. The soldiers were let out by Platoon, in 30 minuet waves. Sam was able to call ahead and let us know where to meet him. We met at the main PX.


 ♥ Fort Jackson, South Carolina .. Family Day 11/14/18 
We had the day to spend with Sam. 9 am to 8 pm .. we could not go off Base. Fort Jackson has several fun areas to explore. We went to a park, a museum and a library. We also went shopping at the PX. 


 ♥ Moving Day .. 11/15/18 Sam graduated. I will have a post up soon sharing graduation. He packed up his items from his barracks and off to Fort Gordon, Georgia. We were able to drive him to Fort Gordon, Georgia. 
We were blessed that Sam was granted a weekend pass, so we had more time together in Georgia after he checked in at Fort Gordon. 

♥ Thankful for safe travels, extra time with Sam and all the beauty of each state we traveled.

 ♥ The kindness of strangers. Again, we were far from home. Our Midwest accent gave that away in Augusta, Georgia.  The kindness of our fellow citizens. When watching or listening to the news you sometimes wonder.. but after traveling through 5 different states and meeting many people along the way.. at gas stations for fill ups .. restaurants.. grocery stores and more.. I am so blessed by the kindness of  our fellow citizens.



 

17 comments:

  1. You have a lot to be thankful for and a lot to be proud of too. Congratulations to Sam on his graduation.
    I'm glad that you could spend a good amount of time with him. It must have been a treasured time for him too.

    Hugs, Julia

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  2. I am so thankful that you got a chance to go and spend time with him! What a blessing! And I'm so proud of our young men that train to defend out nature...to defend US! AND...if you could understand the people in Augusta...you could understand me! That's about what my Southern twang sounds like! heehee! Lots of Northern accents here in FL and people that ask me to repeat what I've said. I can't imagine why! lol Enjoy your week! Post more pics!

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  3. I am so glad the visit went even better than hoped for! I love the picture of him smiling and holding all his stuff. I do think I see him in the platoon picture, too!

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  4. I know you were so proud of Sam at graduation. He looks great. That's wonderful that he got a weekend pass and you all got to spend more time together.

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  5. I am so glad you were able to see your son and that others were able to see their family members. Such a blessing for Sam and for you guys! I know you are proud of him and we will continue to remember you all in our prayers! Love and hugs!

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  6. What a special Joy List Monday! I love the photos from graduation weekend and that story about the siblings hiding in the trunk..it got me!!!

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  7. SO GLAD THAT YOU HAD AN AMAZING TIME! I love this - I am so happy Sam is happy and healthy and that you got extra time with him. Special memories indeed! xo

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  8. God bless Sam and all who are serving our great country! What a wonderful time you all had, full of pride and love! Great photos and shared memories!

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  9. Congratulations to Sam and to you! I'm so glad you had a pleasant and safe trip. Yes, each state and part of this great country has its unique charms. :)

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  10. What a wonderful time for you to have this with Sam. How proud you are of him and all his accomplishments so far. As I look at the picture of the soldiers all together I thought how young they all look. What brave young men they all are. What a wonderful time. I love that you found some positive experiences in human kind too on your trip. That does make our heart hopeful when there is so much tragedy and unrest in our country. God Bless Sam as he continues on his journey.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  11. How fantastic that you got to spend time with your son, Carla. I'm happy for you.
    Amalia
    xo

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  12. How lovely to see him and where he was and will be living. There are still a lot of wonderfully kind people out there, unfortunately the news always seems to focus on the events that aren't.

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  13. What a wonderful post.
    You do have so much to be thankful for and so much to be proud of :)
    Many congratulations to Sam on his graduation... and to you all as a family.
    God bless.

    All the best Jan

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  14. Congratulations to you all!! I'm so glad that you were able to drive with him...more time together. I know you must have loved every minute. And I agree, the news is terrible, but on a daily basis we experience so much kindness from others it's wonderful...and I live in NY! ;)

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  15. I am so happy for the time you all spent together! Thankful that travel went well and the kindness of others was memorable.

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  16. You must be so proud! I love all the photos.

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  17. Huge congratulations. Great memories to keep.

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High Fives from Wisconsin!