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It has been so wonderful receiving letters from my son....6 to be exact.....But todays letter came in the mail and the envelope was in my own writing!!!!!!!!! I was so elated as this let me know that my son had FINALLY received our package and some of our letters!!!!!!!   This is something that I had been very anxious about as the previous 5 letters he had sent to us showed no corelation to anything we had writen to him thus far!!!!!! I will tell you that he was OVERJOYED and said that when his name was called at mail call he had the "cheesiest" look on his face!!!!!!!!!! He was so thankful for the letters and the pen and the razor that we had sent to him!!!! Now I can REALLY breathe and feel so confident that my son will excell and do his absolute best!!!! He said that my letters to him motivated him so much to do his absolute best and to be the best Marine that he could be!!!!!! He told us THANK YOU to everyone that has given him thanks for serving and making this commitment!!! All of his words are so uplifting and warm my heart to no end!!! He ended his letter with " I am praying for you.....YES I pray now"..........that brought me to tears!!!!!!!!! All I can say is thank you to the DI's that are involved in my sons life to help him with this transformation from a young man to a United States Marine!!!!!~ I am one extremely PROUD, BLESSED and HAPPY Mama!!!!!~ Good Luck to all the Recruits in Plt. 2166!!!~ Keep digging and getting the most out of this time!!!!!~ You are at Day 21 Week 4 of 13 Weeks!!!!!!!! 25% done!!!!!!! Until we meet again~ Ooorraaahhh!!!~

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Hey Apryl! My boyfriend is also in PLT 2166 and I just received two more letters from him yesterday! I completely agree that it's the best feeling in the world to have your mailman/woman deliver a letter and the worst when it's just a pile of junk mail. The mail should be coming soon today so I have my fingers crossed another letter will be in the box :]

It's crazy to think we're already 25% of the way through our own little 'boot camp'! Those first couple weeks were the hardest but it's getting easier now that the mail is coming in somewhat regularly, I honestly don't know how people did it back in the day, we've been so spoiled with instant communication that I get very impatient with all this waiting! lol

Hope you continue to get more letters!

Amanda

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Also! There's a website called Recruit Parents which is a cumulation of amazing information and forums with fantastic people!
This link:
http://www.recruitparents.com/forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=840
is specifically for Hotel Co. so I thought I'd send it your way; there's much more traffic on that forum so you won't feel like a 'lone wolf' lol

Hope it helps!

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Amanda, so nice to see another "Boot Camper" (hahaha) respond!!!!!! As I have said in some of my earlier posts....the mailman has become my new BEST FRIEND!!!!!!!! LOL.......and I can't stand it when there is either no mail or junk mail as you stated!!!!! My heart sinks.....  It is hard to believe that we are already a quarter of the way through....I also have to agree with you that the first few weeks were literally HELL......the lack of cimmunication is the hardest thing in the world!!!!! The not knowing, the hoping they arrived safely, the wondering if they are making it!!!!!! I know that no news is good news but geez!!!!! not only are they going through it we are as well!!! LOL....I am very happy that the letters are coming with more regularity now and I am slo glad that he has FINALLY received ours!!!! I have seen and become a memeber of the Recruitparents website!!!! THANK YOU though......Believe me ANYTHING that I can find that helps me see what my son is going through I am on it!!!! I don't post on there but I do look at it frequently!!!!!! So your boyfriend is in the same Plt as my son?? That is awesome!!!!!! What havehis letters ounded like to you??? Does he appear happy, frustrated etc..? I wonder if your boyfriend and myson have become friends??? My sons last name in Boot Camp is Roberson......they call him "little one" Mickey Mouse, and Oompa Lumpa.....the last two I have no freakin clue why??? .......I also hope you continue to get letters!!!!!!

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Please forgive my typos.....I was typing like a speeding bullet!!!!! LOL.....I hear the mailman but he has yet to come to my door to take my letter or deliver my mail....any second now!!!!!!!

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Sorry to keep posting but I forgot to ask you Amanda, Where are you located? I am in California.....

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No worries! I'm from Washington so not too far but far enough :/ lol Steven's letters have been very positive, he's very excited to finally be receiving my letters and in his last letter he said he was working on Marine history, first-aid, combat training, martial arts and drill. So busy! I'm grateful he makes enough time to write me :]] I don't know if you watch The Office at all or know of "That's what she said" jokes but he says it's very popular down there which makes me feel better knowing they are still allowed to show their sense of humor   I'll definitely ask if he knows your son in the letter I write today! Haha those nicknames are pretty funny, I'll have to ask if he's gotten any as well! :]

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Hi Amanda! My son Aaron is also in 2166 with your boyfriend Steven and with Apryl's son. We are from Texas and Aaron is probably the oldest there. He is 24. I'm glad he is sounding positive in his letters....really makes you feel relieved! Aaron has every Season of The Office. I'm happy they get to have some time to joke around. He said the DI's actually crack jokes! I find that hard to believe, but he said they do.

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OH BOY!!!!!! Well I will just say to both of you ladies....Brenda and Amanda that OUR three GUYS oughta to be BEST BUDS .......As they all watch The Office!!!! We are actually DVRing the new season for Marquis!!!! That to me is soooooo funny....and YES Amanda I do know the "thats what she said"......we actually say that all the time here at home or at least we did...... Oh wow, this has just made my day right here!!! I am so glad that our guys are all in the same platoon!!!!! Makes me happy to know that he is in such good company!!!!!   Washington isn't too far but as you say it is far enough...Im in the same state as my son and feel like Im a million miles away!!!!!! I know that sounds so sad, but I guess we all feel that way!!!!!!! I hope you both have a GREAT night and look forward to more chats with you both!!!!

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This has also completely made my day! I hope they've gotten to know each other, I'm sure bonding over The Office would be very entertaining for them :] I've been keeping Steven as up to date on The Office as I can without giving too much away as I know he wants to watch it for himself when he gets back. Brenda! I will also ask if Steven knows Aaron in the letter I write tonight, which I should probably go do considering I have to get up for class in the morning, a consistent sleep schedule in college is impossible! Hope you ladies have a good day tomorrow and get more letters!

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I still find it very heartwarming that all of our guys watch The Office!!!! It actually makes me laugh.......Can you imagine a bunch of Marine Recruits sitting around cracking jokes to one another over this show??!! LOL....And the thought of them carrying the "Thats what she said" through their 13 weeks is hysterical!!!!! Comedy relief for the recruits!!!! LOL The only thing I am really keeping Marquis, or "BRANDON" (at Boot Camp) up to date on is American Idol.......He LOVES Hailey and wants to know how "his girl" is doing.......also The Ultimate Fighter.....as we all love the UFC in this house!!!!! I had to send him a letter on Saturday night only pertaining to the UFC 129 Fights and wether or not GSP kept his title..... He specifically asked for that info.....Amanda a sleep schedule of any sort right now seems near impossible!!! HAHA.....I don't think that I have "slept" a full and good nights sleep since before my son left for Boot Camp.....maybe one of these days I will learn what it means to sleep again!!! HAHA.......I hope that you have a good day in class and will talk to you both later!!!!! Oorraaahhh to Plt. 2166!!!~

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That's too funny, I absolutely love Hailey as well! I'd like to see her win :] Although, everyone this season seemed to be exceptionally good compared to past seasons. That's really great your family has bonded over UFC! Steven wrestled all throughout high school so I assume our guys are absolutely LOVING all the martial arts and combat training they get to do!
I completely understand not getting any sleep lol I just can't seem to shut my brain off! Steven wrote me a piece on the piano so I usually put that on when I go to bed which helps me relax and focus on sleep rather than thinking about my day, the things I still need to do or how much I miss him. I keep a countdown on my phone so everyday when I wake up I take off a day which starts my day off with a smile :]
I still have a couple hours before the mailman comes, I need to go find something to do! Talk to you both later!

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The mailman delivered!!!!!!!!! WOOOHOOOOOO He gets a raise today!!!!! .......I got 2 amazing letters and I am in HEAVEN!!!!!!!!!!    Will write more in a bit as I have to reread them....I swear my son could be a Doctor with the way that his handwriting is!!!!!!!! Looks just like chicken scratch!!!! LOL

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Aw yay! That's fantastic news :] I did not get anything today but I'm crossing my fingers for tomorrow!

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He sounds so good Amanda... I'm going to ask Marquis if he knows Steven in todays letter Amanda........If you ask Steven about Marquis you might have to refer to him as Brandon in your letter as he had to go by that name for Boot Camp......long story.....He again seems very well adjusted but very preoccupied as well....they are starting to do a ton of stuff he says and they don't have a lot of "down time"....he says the platoon is doing pretty good....they scored the highest in their "Dummy Drill" run the other day and will do the real deal this Saturday and he hopes that they score the highest again because if they do he said they get a surprise.....LOL Now in normal circumstances that might be exciting but in Boot Camp a surprise can mean so many things and maybe not what they would expect!!!!!! .......I certainly hope that you get a letter or two or three tomorrow in the mail!!!! I am keeping my fingers crossed for you as well!!!!