Change of Address

Dear Donors,

I want to thank everyone who has been supporting Operation Marine Corps Kids through their donations. The moms who receive your gifts are absolutely thrilled by them.

While I hope that you'll all continue to send donations for the kids, I'm writing to ask you not to send anything for a week or two. I am moving out of state, and will set up a new address for donations as soon as I'm settled in Indiana.

After this weekend, I'll probably be off-line for about a week; then I'll be back and will post a new address where you all can send donations. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me at delia.mck@gmail.com - don't be discouraged if it takes me a few days to respond - I'm in the midst of moving chaos, but I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks!

Delia

Say Hello to Valdryk

This little cutie is Valdryk. He won't be born until January, but he's a Marine Corps Kid.

The name Valdryk is a Norse name meaning "warrior", and he has earned the name with his struggle to survive through a difficult pregnancy.

Valdryk's mommy sent me this e-mail:

Thank you so much for all you do. I do a lot of volunteer work for the government and am usually on the "giving" end of this all so this is a new unique experience for me. I am so extremely grateful and thankful. Since I have not been able to work my normal job due to my health and preserving Valdryk's it has caused such a strain on our family. I can't wait until he is born and safe in his little bassinet so I can contribute once again wholly and financially to my family.

My husband has been such an angel I am truly blessed. He is a wonderful Marine, I am a former Marine so I guess that makes me qualified to say that, ha ha..

Thank you and every one for your care and concern. It is tough being a military family at times. We have lost so many friends in Iraq leaving behind children lately, it's been a little harder on our family with a new baby coming. I can see the hurt in my husbands eyes whenever any one mentions to my husband about missing the birth. That in itself is an entire different combat battle. The thoughtfulness of yourself and
others is really helping our family pull through this. Just knowing others care means so much to us.

My husband and I are Ordained Ministers and we pray so deeply for every one who opens their hearts to others they do not even know. You
are truly saints in the making. God Bless you and thank you so much for
your email and every thing you do.

Sincerely,
Mandy

Valdryk's parents and his brother and sisters are waiting for his arrival, and when he gets here, Operation Marine Corps Kids will send a special package to welcome him.

Marine Corps Family Foundation

The Marine Corps Family Foundation was selected as the America Supports You Homefront Organization of the Week last week!

The article mentions the great work that Marine Corps Kids is doing, as well as other ongoing Marine Corps Family Foundation projects such as Operation Santa and Operation Never Forgotten.

The Marine Corps Family Foundation sponsors and supports Marine Corps Kids and all of our efforts. For more information, check out the Marine Corps Family Foundation website here. Also check out Marine Corps Kids co-founder Deb's blog site, Marine Corps Moms for great articles, stories and links!

A message from a New Mom

Earlier this week I sent a gift package to a new mom. Her husband is overseas, and could not be here last week for the birth of their daughter.

Today I got this e-mail from her.

I received your gift yesterday. Thank you so much. It was absolutely
wonderful. I know that Baby M. will look beautiful in all the
wonderful blankets and hats. The little pig is also adorable and I am
sure she will love cuddling with it.

This is a great organization you have going here. I often feel like I'm the only one going through this and that no one understands, but after your gift and prayers, I know that we are going to be alright with the help and care of people like you.

Thank you so much. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it.

Thanks again,
J

I wanted to share this note with all of our donors. The families of our service men and women face so many challenges and sacrifices, and even the smallest gift of a hat or blanket really can go a long way in bringing a smile.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Photo Album

As I said in a recent post, I regret that I haven't photographed all of our lovely donated items. I will be making an effort to do so going forward, or to at least get photos of a sampling of the items that everyone sends in.

I have created an online photo album for the images that I do have. If you haven't noticed, there is a link to this album on the menu bar to the right of this blog.

I'll continue to add photographs to the album as we receive more donations.

To all of you who sent donations for which I don't have photos, I am truly sorry. All the work is beautiful, and I do wish I had a record of it. I'll do better going forwards.

Thank you all!!

Delia

Hats from Melanie

These great fleece caps are just a small sample of those made and donated by Melanie in AL.

The hats are soft and fun. This easy sew pattern can be found online here (I've also added the link to our pattern side bar).

Thank you Melanie for the great hats and the beautiful crochet blanket that you sent!!

A new way to support Operation Marine Corps Kids

I am proud to announce the grand opening of the Operation Marine Corps Kids Online Store! This is an easy way to help Operation Marine Corps Kids support our service men and women and their families.

Shop the store for great deals on Marine Corps Kids logo merchandise. You can buy these goods for yourself, for the family of your favorite Marine, or as a donation to Operation Marine Corps Kids efforts.

100% of our proceeds from these sales will help to defer Operation Marine Corps Kids' operating costs.

Follow the link above or to the right of this page to enter our store and view our great selections.

Thank you for your continued support, and please keep those blankets, hats, sweaters and booties coming!

9-11-07

Six years later and I still don't know what to feel.

A friend posted the other day that this year we should try to mark the day by doing something good. I think that's the best way to manage any emotions I may be feeling. Memories are still fresh.

I woke up sort of forgetting the date, until I turned on my PC. Then I had a wierd feeling. I think it's a day to remember, but a day to really LIVE too, and it's still early to know how to balance all that.

Then I got an e-mail. Last week Deb copied me on an e-mail from an expecting mom who's husband is in Iraq. She had read about Operation Marine Corps Kids and was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Deb and I both wrote back. This morning I got an e-mail from her. Her little girl arrived on Sunday! Daddy hasn't seen her yet, but they did get to speak on the phone.

So today I will be packing up a box from the donations we received and sending it to her. I know that the mom is appreciative, but timing is everything. On 9-11 I get to send her a package, and I get to remember all the brave people who died 6 years ago and our troops who are overseas, while also focusing on moving forward, the next generation, and hope for the future.

Some of our Donations

Every time I receive donations for Operation Marine Corps Kids, I am overwhelmed by the generosity and the incredible talent of our donors! Sometimes I receive so many items that its impossible to photograph everything, but I am going to start to photograph as many items as I can and share pictures of some of the beautiful donations that we receive!

The items pictured here are just a sampling of the beautiful work donated by Judy in Pennsylvania. Thank you, Judy! All of these lovely items will be sent to the babies soon!

To the rest of you who have sent in donations, I'm sorry that I didn't get to photograph everything. All the work is fabulous! I will make an effort to show more pictures to the group and to save photographs in an on-line album that I can share with all of you.

Special Notice

Operation Marine Corps Kids will soon be moving and will have a new mailing address. Anyone sending things this week is fine - the move may not take place for several weeks. Please send me an e-mail at delia.mck@gmail.com when you are planning to send donations, and I will confirm where to send your packages. When our new address if finalized, I'll post it here on the blog for everyone to see.

Also, I wanted to point out our patterns section on the right side of our blog page. I have links there to several of my own designs as well as to some pages where you can find other free patterns on-line. If any of you have original patterns that you would like to share with our group, I would be delighted to post links to them - just let me know.

Thanks again to everyone for their continued support!!!

A Special Request

Operation Marine Corps Kids is dedicated to supporting the families or all our service men and women.

While we continue with our regular collections, I am posting today about a special collection that we are organizing for a soldier who is deployed with the Army in Afghanistan. He and his wife are expecting – not just one, but five children!!!

The couple is adopting five children from Ethiopia. The new mom is currently en route to the US with the kids to get their US citizenship, then they will be going to Germany where her husband is based. We would like to create a special gift package to welcome them into their new family.

Overnight this family will grow from a couple to a family of seven including six year-old twin girls, 4 year-old boy and girl twins, and a one year-old baby girl. Mom will be on her own with the kids until dad completes his tour of duty.

We will be collecting hand-crafted blankets, toys, hats, scarves, mittens, and sweaters – anything that these kids might need to help them feel welcomed and to help them deal with a climate that is a bit cooler than what they may be used to.

If you are interested in making something for these children, please feel free to e-mail me at delia.mck@gmail.com. While we appreciate all donations, we want to organize this one to ensure that all the kids receive an appropriate number of gifts.

The Few. The Proud. The Marines.

Yesterday I received the following e-mail:

The United States Marine Corps and JWT are honored to announce that "The
Few. The Proud. The Marines." has been nominated BEST SLOGAN for the
Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame. More than just a slogan, these
three sentences represent what Marines are all about, epitomizing the
challenge of becoming (The Few), and the reward of being (The Proud), one
of the elite (The Marines). Suffice it to say, Few slogans convey such a
Proud tradition.

With your help, we now have the opportunity to immortalize these words as
an American cultural icon. The Marine Corps will compete with 26 others for
entry into the hall of fame based upon total number of votes received
online.

The winning slogan will be etched on a plaque, and set alongside other
time-honored brands on Madison Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets.

We ask that you vote for "The Few. The Proud. The Marines." by going to
this website and voting.

Be sure to pass this email along to your co workers, family members and
friends so that they may also vote. We are confident a concentrated effort
will deliver "The Few. The Proud. The Marines." into the hall of fame, in
its rightful place among elite American slogans. Thank you for your
support.

I placed my vote, and am sharing the link in hopes that you'll vote too! It's another easy way to support our brave Marines!

Of course your hand-crafted donations for Marine Corps Kids are still being accepted and distributed. It's a wonderful way to show our support for the families!