Land Of The Free Because Of The Brave Blog Hop & Giveaway

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to our Land Of The Free Because Of The Brave Blog Hop. Thank you for stopping by today, if you got here from Becky's site then you are in the right spot. If not please start from the beginning at
Karel's site.

Our amazing Blog Candy (2—count ‘em! TWO Chances to win!!) are brought to you through the generosity of Marlo, who created the marvelous Scrap’NTote and Anne, from Paper Patch Crafts.

The rules for entering are the same for both prizes: Hop along our path and leave a comment AND a way to contact you on each and every stop. Please leave contact information in a safe manner ( ie, written out, rather than a direct link). On Friday, November 12, KarelJ will use random.org to first select a blog number (1-20) and then a comment number from that blog for each prize. She will post the winner’s name on her blog and notify the bloggers, so they can also post the winner. KarelJ will contact the winner, using the information left in the comment. If there is no information available, she will choose another winner from the same blog. It is up to the winner to contact KarelJ at ksjennings(at)gmail(dot)com. If she has not been contacted by Monday, November 15, another winner will be chosen.

Now, on to the good stuff! Our first prize is a wonderful Pink Scrap’Ntote to store your Cricut Cartridges in! It comes to us from Marlo, at ContainYaCrafts. You can see the wonderful way this binder system keeps all your carts together, and ready to go in a flash on this link: http://www.cricutcartridgestorage.com/index.htmNeed more than one? Put it on the Christmas Wish List and have the hubs order NOW, as they are simply flying out of stock! We got one of the final donations for the year, and are so grateful to Marlo!

Our second terrific prize is a set of Spellbinders Nesties in the Crown Circle Shape. It comes to us via the generosity of Anne, whose family has an incredibly strong military heritage. You can read more about Anne and her husband on Linda and Gina’s Blogs.

Plus lot of the wonderful ladies participating in the hop will also have great candy on their sites also. So be sure to check all the blogs and leave a comment to be eligible for the candy. Ok lets get on with the show. Today we are doing a blog hop for Veteran's day to honor our veteran's, soldiers and the families who they leave behind to fight for our FREEDOM! Today I have made a FREEDOM card to remember why our troops do what they do, they are fighting for our FREEDOM.

Here is an interview Karel did an with Emily, wife of a Marine.

1. How are you connected to the Military? My husband is a Marine. He was Honorably Discharged in July of 2008 after serving for 5 years and deploying twice to Iraq.



2. How has this connection impacted your life? Being a military wife, I've been able to experience things I never would have imagined and each one has impacted my life. I've had the opportunity to walk on the white beaches of Pensacola, FL, and I have seen the inside of 3 military bases. I've lived through a major hurricane and saw just how much destruction nature can do to a town. I've seen jets fly so close to the ground I could see the pilot, and I've seen the Blue Angels fly. I've stopped my car in the middle of the road or stopped what I was doing to look at the closest American flag and put my hand over my heart when its evening 'colors' because that's what you're supposed to do. AND SHOULD. I survived 2 deployments, both of which helped me become a more independent person and I proved to myself that I CAN be on my own. I've also had the opportunity to work for some AMAZING people, who now consider family and had a job that I couldn't wait to go to work the next day. I've lived in 3 different states, and have been traveled to so many different places, I can't count them on two hands. I don't think I can really express how this has impacted my life--it has completely changed who I was.

3. What’s the hardest part of being a military relative (wife? Child? Friend?) The hardest part is, of course, the deployments. Not having your husband there with you every day, having to worry about what they are doing every second of the day, making sure your phone is attached to your hip for fear that you may miss one of his calls, or having your computer chat open 24 hours a day just in case he can get on the computer to send you a message...I could go on, but I depended heavily on technology. Not to mention, with him being deployed, now I had to deal with every-day problems on my own--leaky faucets, animals living in your attic, (oh boy do I have stories about that) and having to kill those nasty spiders and palmetto bugs myself! Yuck! All that may not seem like a big deal, but when you have moved away from your dearest friends and family and all alone, on your own--it's like a big slap-in-the-face wake up call for someone in their early 20's!

4. What do you do to make it easier? Leaning on the other wives within the unit. They are going through the same exact thing as me, and knowing there are others in the same position helps so much. Having the support of your family and friends is also important. They may not be able to relate exactly, but just having that ear to listen is sometimes a life saver! I also kept a journal from the time he deployed to the time he came home. I would add pictures, e-mails he wrote me, and such in there every day. I'd look back after seven months and think, "Wow, the time has gone by faster than I thought."


5. What kinds of things do you think could be done to better support Veterans and the Military? I think the programs are out there—it’s the outreach that is lacking. I would love more out-reach with respite care for families with wounded soldiers, or for mothers/fathers whose spouse has been deployed. I wish there were more services for families of military members...

6. What do you think artists and crafters could do to support the Military? I LOVE this idea with the blog hop. I love the cards that are sent to our Soldiers/Marines. Keep it up!! You have no idea what it means to them. My husband has saved a bunch of cards he received when he was deployed.

Now on to the GIVEAWAY!!!! For this blog hop I am giving away a Cricut Christmas Village Cartridge. If you would like a chance to win please become a follower and leave a comment about how your life has been affected by our troops. I will draw a winner Friday November 12th from random.org.






Ok your next stop on the hop is Bobbi Jo. 
1. KarelJ at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity

2. Celeste at Touched By a Butterfly
3. Deb at Tidbit’s Place
4. Michelle at Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs
5. Jennifer at Young’s Scrapping
6. Diane at Crafting This Moment
7. Judy at Be Present Be Real
8. Marianne at Life From Marianne’s Table
9. Deb at If It’s Groovy
10. Christel at One Scrappin’ Sista
11. Belinda at Queen Bee’s Musings
12. Colleen at Col’s Creative Corner
13. Summer and Jennifer at Cricut Diaries
14. Rachel at Suburban Crafter
15. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping
16. Becky at Sew in Stitches
17. Rebecca at Creations With Becca    YOU ARE HERE
18. Bobbi Jo at Sweet Sassy Diva          NEXT STOP
19. Angie at Gypsy Paperie
20. Linda at The Tulip Collector