Another Letter from the Church, this time it was from Salt Lake City

We received this letter on Monday, August 8th.  This was totally unexpected.  I really feel like the Lord is looking out for my kids, individually.  The whole letter was touching however, I was especially touched by the second paragraph. I am going to make a copy of it and send it to Toni so she has it.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The Seventy

47 E. South Temple St., Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 – 1200

August 3, 2016

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Prows

302 Stoney Hollow Rd.

Canton, GA  30114

Dear Brother and Sister Prows:

             We recently learned that Tonia has joined the military and is attending basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. We are pleased inform you that she has been attending the Church services on base and are grateful for the spirit she brings to the meetings. Kevin Albrecht is the Church leader at Fort Leonard Wood and will do all he can to help strengthen Tonia’s faith and testimony. We appreciate your support I know you join with us and asking that the Lord will guide and protect her during this time of uncertainty and turmoil in the world.

             In these troubled times, it is heartwarming to see sons and daughters courageously step forward to help preserve our freedom and way of life. You can be proud of the part you played in molding Tonia’s character. Courage and patriotism do not come automatically; they are planted in the hearts of children by their parents. We express our gratitude to you for your selfless service in her behalf.

             We have a deep and abiding interest in Tonia’s welfare and want to ensure the blessings of Church membership are available wherever she is stationed. As military members move around, occasionally they are unable to find out where and when the Church meetings are held.  Our Military Relations Division can assist them.   Likewise, we are able to help concerned parents locate the bishop or branch president where their son or daughter is stationed. In addition, many times we can assist in locating the name of a group leader aboard a ship or at a deployed location around the world.

             If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Military Relations Division at (801) 240-2286 or email them at PST–Military@ldschurch.org. We know that the Lord is mindful Tonia and the challenges she will face as she valiantly serves in the military.

                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                Elder Larry R. Lawrence

cc:        Bishop John Stevens

            Canton Ward

Toni Basic Training letter #3 Came with a Picture!

We received this letter last Friday, August 5th along with a letter from church and a picture that was taken at church.  Toni's personal letter made me very teary.  I am just so proud of our girl!

July 24,2016

Dear Mom and Dad,

The first week is finally over! There's only 6 other LDS in my company including me but about 50 overall. Everyone is so friendly here. It makes me super emotional to be in church because it feels so familiar. I miss you guys a lot right now. I can barely see the paper, my eyes are too watery. Most people here are from Utah if you hadn’t already guessed. They gave us a hand held stack of 5 little scripture books. It’s good to know there are at least a few of us here. It can get embarrassing when people ask what LDS is and I have to explain I’m Mormon but I’m excited to be here! There’s even missionaries, cute ones too LOL.  I cried through the entire him Spirit of God. This one hour week is the only thing that feels normal, the only thing that feels like home. I hope Zack goes, it’s worth it. There’s kids here with tattoos and stuff. This is the most emotional I’ve ever been. This wave of happiness just took over me and I can’t stop crying. I love and miss y’all very much. Thank you for raising me this way. It’s very moving to see all the members in uniform here. I really love it. Just in case this comes before my other letters- Happy Birthday Zeke! Aug. 3^rd 

- Love Toni

“PFC Prows”

Toni Basic Training Letter #2 Received August 4, 2016

Dear Mom and Dad,

It's Friday, July 24th and we ship to BCT tomorrow! I'm kind of nervous but mainly because I simply cannot do pushups...uh oh.  But I can do lots of sit ups and run well!  I'm excited to get in shape and I'm determined to push myself very, very hard.  I couldn't really figure out why I was here but now I think it's to better myself physically and mentally.  Reception is boring but the food is good and the people and drill sergeants are really cool.  All we do is stand and sit for hours at a time!  When we first got here we arrived at 12ish Missouri time (so an hour behind) and I didn't get to the barack until 3:30 AM - and wake up call was at 4:00 AM... So we didn't sleep for 48 hours and every time we went somewhere sitting or standing we fell asleep, lol.  So painfully tired.  Good news...they don't give the flu shot in the butt anymore!

My uniform is huge but it feels good to have the PFC ...
(she drew it so I added it)
(sorry the symbol is so big, I tried making it smaller but it didn't work)

... mark on my stuff.  (btw she earned that with her college credits she took in HS)  My hat always leaves a red line on my forehead.  It's funny because before I left Thomas's dad asked me like 20 times about my patrol cap.  I've learned how to group shower...not that bad! I mean I don't prefer it but oh well.  I hear the "F" word every 2 minutes, lol.  I constantly have to pee because I'm always using my Camelbak, lol.  OH YEAH - people are so sneaky ... they steal everything!  Someone stole my sports bra!! $15!  I've made friends with every single female in Bravo 1.  Everyone loves me, naturally.  They call me "eyebrows" because they thought my name tag said "Brows" not "Prows", lol!  This one girl and I got along so well, she's super funny and nice and I was like this girl is my BFF!! and then she put her head on my shoulder, and kept complimenting me and saying she missed me and asked me to hold her hand when she got her eyebrows threaded by this hispanic lady, Mejia.  I said "HELLLLLLLLL NO"! Thought that was funny.  Everyone says I make them laugh which feels good and people listen to me very well.  I like having a leadership role.  I have to tell you about a few of the girls here...
Raydonna: 6ft girl, always got her mouth open.  She is the FUNNIEST person I've ever met in my life.  She makes me laugh more than I ever have in my life!  Every time I even look at her I laugh.

Ladonna: She came from GA with me, 23 yr old girl - super nice, she's super cool, smart, respectful.  I like her a lot.  Degree in Biology.  Specialist.

There are a bunch of girls here from Ohio her and Indiana for some reason.

Saturday 7/23

Shark attack wasn't that bad!  I was the first one off the bus and I had to sit right next to DS(drill sergeant) Burgess.  It was 111 degrees outside so we were only allowed to roll up our sleeves twice on our wrists and ankles.  I sweat so much, OMG.  First day was not that bad!  They woke us up this morning running and screaming, using whistles and flashlights at 3:30 AM and it actually scared me so badly to wake up to that! - Okay so I didn't have enough time to finish that letter but now I've made it to day 3!  On Sunday we weren't allowed to go to church but it's okay.  MY FEET HURT SO BAD!! No blisters but we basically stand still from 4 AM to 9:30 PM with the exception of chow but even then we have to stand in line for 30 minutes and eat as fast as you can without choking - no hands on the table, both hands full and feet still on ground.  I was helping a kid get the silverware together and I said, "put the spoons here" and the drill sergeant made me march around the cafeteria screaming "I will not talk in chow hall!" for like 10 minutes.  So embarrassing, almost cried.  They told me to stop smiling but I wasn't - curse my big cheeks.
These girls are getting on my nerves!  All they do is shush each other and yell and I want to scream.  But I made some cool friends like Natalia from Orlando and Heather from Jersey.  There is also this hispanic lady named Mejia and she's 33, mom of the group, she checked my fever.  First Monday here I started my period and a day long sinus infection and straight up exhaustion.  There's barely any time to write, sorry if it's messy or scattered.  I'm sad I'll be missing Zeke's birthday but I hope it's amazing.  I love him SO much.  A lot of my motivation is if y'all were watching me.   Oh, by the way, the hardest part is mental. 3 guys tried to kill themselves at reception! Not even to basic yet!

We got issued our M4's today.  Someone in our platoon has a phone and it went off in "class" today and they searched everyone, and made us stand for like 4 hours and they didn't find anything!  There have been like 4 guys that quit already but no girls.  The guys are wussies.  The girls here are so bossy!  There is this one girl from Oregon named Powers and she is my ARCH ENEMY...everyones. She has these mental breakdowns where she cries and screams at everyone for something she did.  I can't explain how horrible she is, omg.  Oh!  I ran an 8:43 mile today which sucked and they put me in A-team!  This guy from Kenya was in the Olympics and he runs a mile in 3:53... so I have to run with him... Before we ran we did PT and the guy in front of me didn't tuck in his shirt and I had to stare at his hairy, sweaty butt crack for an hour...
I think my problem with push-ups is I try to resist going down - brain fart.  First week is super mentally hard but I'm doing really good.

Wednesday - day 4
All we do is stand. For hours.  I love my drill sergeants.  SFC Diaz is our lead DS and he looks like a chocolate teddy graham.  He's been to Iraq, Afghanistan and Haiti so he's super BA.  He gives these speeches every night that are so motivational they make everyone cry.  Especially when I think of how proud I will make my family, representing their name on this uniform.  I'm very worried about Zac.  They are deploying 800 to Afghanistan, not to mention this place is mentally tough.  On a positive note, it's very easy to find the little things that make me happy like, today I saw a dog - MP K9 through a dim window... still counts, and I felt a breeze through a window, and I ate some really good grapes and strawberries for breakfast.
My other drill sergeant DS Burgess is this skinny lady that looks like a piranha with a pixie cut glued to her head.  There's a DS here with no front teeth and one that is the Crimson Chin.  It sticks out like 10 inches.
My platoon is full of retards...like we yell at each other to be quiet and we just get louder and louder, omg, hahaha! Oh yeah, drill sergeant told me to tell you that, "I'm a fxxxing savage"!  Everyone has a crazy story here crazy, messed up lives.  By the way... YOU CAN'T LEAVE!  If you get hurt...you stay, if you quit, you stay way longer than BCT graduation!
I am having a good time.  I've had so many good laughs and been dropped for it! I made a really good friend from Florida named Natalia and we gunna hangooooout after this.  My battle buddy is a 3 ft tall mexican girl with hair so thick it looks like a helmet.  I call her mexican darth vader lol! She's so sweet, her name is Alissa from Texas.  OH YEAH! We got out equipment today, like our ruck sack and helmet and it's funny cuz we got the new OCP's but our equipment is the old digi ACU's lol.  I hope Zac is ready! Fort Leonard Wood is second hardest behind Benning.  It's only hard if you make it hard.  I like getting smoked...it sucks holding am M4 straight out while squatting for 5 minutes lol.  It just makes you stronger.  Oh! Don't forget to post my address on FB and send me address list!
Tell Kristina Laughlin that I remember my spiritual worth.

Day 5 - Thursday
So last night was great.  We got to stay up till 2200 and I laughed so hard I pee'd a little and cried.  My battle buddy got an XL Kevlar helmet and you could put a watermelon in that thing, so we all put it on and pretended to be a bobble heads and darth vader and the insurance general.  It was all great until someone took my laundry out of the wash and "put it in the dryer" and it's all gone!  I was so mad.  And I laid on my bed and cried a little, it just really got to me.  It's like prison here, like stuff gets real.  You gotta fight to survive.  Everyone steals everything. I haven't taken anyone's stuff cuz here it's just messed up, lol.  Someone stole my socks while I was putting my pants on.  I don't know how they do it!  They give us 1 tp roll a week and we have to make it last 2 weeks, but people are always stealing TP too!  We ran our first formation 1 mile and it SUCKED.  You have to keep a pace of 8:30 the whole time, no slow downs, same pace whole time in a line! The drill sergeants are mean but at the end of the day there is a method to their madness.  Oh, my feet hurt SO bad!  But it's getting better.

Friday, July 29th
It's really hard to find time to write.  I usually write on my little notepads during briefings.  It's been very uneventful for the past week, they mostly make us stand in formation for hours.  I found my clothes! A girl took them and "didn't know they weren't hers".  The female drama gets old here, sleeping in a room with 100 other stressed out teenage girls gets intense.  I love not having my phone, and we stay busy all day until we go to bed so I may be bored but I'm occupied.  I'm happy everyday, I walk around the bay singing and laughing when the females are dismissed.  It seems to make other people happy to hang w/me cuz I'm a ball of energy and music.  I miss music!  My drill sergeant Diaz is awesome, he is very motivational and funny.  He really challenges our platoon "3rd platoon devil dogs" to find deficiencies in everything.  Pay attention to detail, look the best, try to find a flaw and fix it.  To be a higher standard of person.  I'm excited to have that military connection with my dad and my brother.  I hope this mail gets to y'all in time.  I have only been logging this week not mailing because it's been hectic.  Today we did our first training event.  We went to the obstacle course and did these stations where we had to work as a team and get wood planks, ammo and our whole group to the other side w/o touching the ground.  It was a lot of fun and made me more excited for the actual training we will do later.  Our group is full of really dumb people and we all lack discipline but we'll get there.  We had to march in formation today to the training and back like 4 miles probably give or take, and it was so hot outside, sweat just pools in your hat and sleeve cuffs and down your back and you can't wipe it.  That's all for tonight,

Love PFC Prows
-Toni

Saturday, July 30th
So I thought I would never eat biscuits and gravy again but they serve it here like everyday!  Today we ran sprints, then the drill sergeants got bored and made us go upstairs, take all of our stuff out of our lockers and coffins, and pack it up and run downstairs and form up.  It was at least 150 lbs of stuff in 3 huge bags.  Then we took our shirts out and ran them up 3 flights of stairs (6) and did that for every item, then they smoked the crap out of us outside and then we had to repack our banks to the military standard in like 5 minutes and we had to be in front leaning rest for like 30 minutes.  So it was a good day lol.  This guy spilled my drink all over my lunch and didn't even apologize or even budge!  What a turd.  We learned how to dissemble our weapons today!
I gotta send my letters before chow so that's all for this letter!  Love ya!
***Write DEVIL DAWGS in blue on back! (of envelope)

I have arrived safely...

Toni Basic Training letter to Zac ( I got his permission) July 21, 2016

Dear Zachary, (I love that she calls him Zachary and not Zac)

It's day 3 of reception and I love it already.  Reception is apparently the worst part.  You sit and stand and wait around all day.  Food is actually good and I've already made a lot of friends!  I've kind of taken on a leadership position for the females in Bravo 1 & 2 and like it.  My uniform is huge, DON'T forget mole skin.  I'm very excited for basic training.  The bunks are prison style and everyone showers together.  It's "Yes and No Drill Sargent" and nothing else.  No ma'am or sir, that's for the officers.  I am so tired all the time...I fall asleep doing everything especially briefings.  The hat is really cool.  I prefer the old ACU's (Army Combat Uniform) over the new OCP's (Operational Camouflage Pattern) but that's just me.  Make sure you are working out a lot! (Fort) Leonard Wood is second hardest behind (Fort) Benning and Fort Sill is easiest.
You will eventually see that the drill sergeants are funny in a scary demented way.  Pack very light.  Bring deodorant, NO mouthwash, glasses, you get to buy Asics sneakers when you get here...you honestly buy most things here.  The guys look like skinheads, it's pretty funny.
Honestly, don't be nervous, you're gunna love it.
Also, look up and memorize the soldiers creed, general orders, Army song and Army values before you come!  I've also (come to know) how utterly RETARDED people are.  Following simple instructions doesn't seem to be anyones strong suit not to mention their lack of general common knowledge.  It feels very normal once you complete your first day.  I love you and wish you the best of luck at your AIT and BCT.

Send my love to the family,

Best wishes-

Toni "Private First Class Prows"

p.s. don't return to this address

Toni Basic Training Letter #1 July 18, 2016

July 18, 2016

Arrived at Fort Leonard Wood at past midnight, after briefing we got sent to the barracks to "sleep" but it's 3:30 am and we have to be spat 4/4:30am!  Everything is light tan...my favorite color (a Nacho Libre reference for those of you who don't know) except for the turquoise plastic mattresses and the 2 cm thick blue pillow...also made of plastic.  Latrines smell like fish - no surprise there and my P.T.'s are too big! This is what my barrack look like:

So basically like prison.
I'll send more letters when more interesting things happen!

Love ya'll

- PFC Prows

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

You'll love award-winning Shutterfly photo books. Start your own today.

A day in the Life of a Reserve Flight Attendant

So the company I work for decided to put together a video that they felt accurately depicted "A Day in the Life of a Reserve Flight Attendant". Although it does a great job in softening the true hardships of the job.....it's a flowery view of the job....the most important thing about this video is that I am in it! HA HA. I did show it to my family and they kind of got to see the place that I work in and they thought it was neat. They also thought it was fun to see mom on camera. To watch it go to this link: http://www.vimeo.com/9024464 . Password is airtran (all lower case). See if you can spot me!

I am currently on a 3 day trip. Today is the last day. I arrived in Dayton, Ohio yesterday around noon and don't have to report until 5:45 am this morning. A 17 hour 23 minute layover here is no fun. I watched X-Men while I walked on the treadmill for 2 hours, ate dinner, watched 3 episodes of Law and Order, took a shower and was asleep around 8 pm. You can never sleep when you have an early show because you are paranoid that you will over sleep, so I have been awake since 2:00 this morning hoping that if I just kept my eyes shut that I could go back to sleep until my alarm goes off at 3:30.

No such luck...... So I got up and ate 2 kiwi fruits and then read about them. Did you know that a kiwi fruit has double the Vitamin C than an orange and more potassium than a banana? Food for thought.

Well both my alarms have gone off now so I should probably go get ready for the day. This will my day: 0630 depart Dayton, OH. 0758 arrive in Baltimore. 0850 depart Baltimore. 1115 arrive in Tampa, Fl. Sit in the airport in Tampa for 3 hours and 5 minutes. 1420 (2:20pm) depart Tampa. 1557 (3:57pm) arrive in Atlanta. Day ends at 1612 (4:12 pm). That is if everything goes smooth. Now you have a peek into a real Day in the Life a reserve flight attendant!

How long has it been? The changes that have come...

Let me see, what has changed since I blogged last? Let's see.....everything!

To start with, I have entered a new life of a "full time out of the home" working mom combined with the full time mom status. I went from working a 6 hour- a- week retail merchandising job with Hallmark to a seasonal cashier at Target, to a pharmacy technician at Target to finally a full time Flight Attendant. What a journey the last 18 months have been. An exhausting journey. I will finally reach my one year mark as a flight attendant on May 8th and it couldn't come fast enough. What is the big deal about the one year mark you ask? It means that I actually get paid for the majority of the work that I do. Right now I put in a lot of time in as what I affectionately refer to as "volunteer time". Dan always tries to tell me that if I break it down to the actual time I put in vs. the the time I get paid for that I would be making..... I always stop him there because I don't want to drop into a deep abyss of depression. I just keep saying to myself, "Just this much longer. I can hang in there for this much longer." I have had my moments of begging Dear 7 lb. 9 oz. Baby Jesus for just a little more patience and a teaspoon more sanity but in the end I absolutely love what I do. I mean if life requires you to have to go into the work force you might as well love what you do.

With this new chapter in my life has come 15 whopping pounds! When I first put on my uniform I had to take it in 1/2 inch on both sides. I think it was approximately 3 months later when I dug out my seam ripper and unpicked the alteration. Now I wear a cardigan sweater over it in hopes that it will hide my new rolls. I have named the rolls individually and they have become my companions while on my lonely 22 hour layovers in Milwaukee or Flint. Why can't I ever get a good layover somewhere sunny and warm...preferably tropical? Even if I did, I would probably hide as to not scar those who might see me in a swimsuit. " Why do I care", I often ask myself, because I really wouldn't know anybody anyway, but I still do. Vanity, I am sure or maybe the rolls are whispering to me, making me feel self conscience because they have grown as attached to me as I have to them. I often entertain the idea of making appropriate health changes in my life, ie: diet and exercise, but I find myself significantly challenged with what I can actually fit in my lunch bag for my up to 6 days trips as well as "how exactly will I cook this on the coffee pot?" dilemma. Then there is that whole time zone and sleep schedule thing. Excuses, excuses I know. I am sure I will work it out. Hopefully sooner than later because I really don't want to buy bigger uniforms....I mean I still have to fit on the jumpseat.....with another person, too!

Dan and the kids have had to make adjustments also. It has been a challenge to be gone for so long. I have come to the conclusion that the only reason why they miss me is because of my cooking. They often rejoice - and I use that word purposely - ...I mean they are literally singing "MOM IS GREAT. GIVES US CHOCOLATE CAKE" like in Bill Cosby himself but their lyrics are usually something like this..."Mom I love your cooking! Thank you SOOO much for not making us eat cereal or quesadillas again for dinner!" Poor Dan, he tries. But nutrition does not seem to be an issue in our family as Zac is now 5'11" at the age of 14 and Toni is 5'4" at the age of 11 and 1/2. Yup, they have both surpassed their mom in height, which I am constantly reminding them that it was not a difficult task to grow taller than 5'3". Except for Zeke. He is all of 4' 3/4" tall. I needed someone to hang with me!

Perks of the jobs are that we have been able to do a little traveling. I took the kids in July to Washington State to see Grandma and Grandpa. Dan took them back there again in October while he ran the Portland Marathon. ( GO, DAN! ) I was able to take an emergency trip back to Portland to see Dad. We had the opportunity to take the kids to Washington, D.C. in November and most recently we went to see Cathy and her family in Southern California. Hopefully the demands of my schedule will subside slightly and we can do even more traveling.

As a whole, life still remains much of the same. I just think I am more grateful for the daily drudgery's, peace and quiet moments and having the opportunity to kiss my family good morning and goodnight. Life is good : )

i got bored

ok so i got bored and made a website check out if u wanna. http://rush-rocks.webs.com/

So schools sux, but whats new? i wish hw would go burn but it wont so whtever. my teachers r ok but one looks like she draws on her eyebrow with gold sharpie and her hair does not move or look any different each day. another looks like she draws on her eyebrows with black sharpie. my other ones are nice thought. recently i got a 112 on a quiz in reading ( aka the retard class-i failed spanish! (: ) so yeah.

Friends are real cool out here. on halloween my friends and i got into a pumkin fight :) so yep. life...

Guitar is goin great and i rlly am like obsessed with playin my bass! ive taught myself alot of new songs! so if u have a song with a good bass line request it to me and ill learn it. so yeah

im not doing wrestling this year...sorry. im doing alot of hunting this year with my dad!

news

well im now teaching myself both bass and 6 string guitar and keyboard. my goal by the end of the year is play the key board bass and 6 string parts to a song called subdivisions. u shouldlisten to it. it is a really good song

New vid

i will be posting a new vid of me playing yyz soon. if u havent heard the song then listen to it

my new geddy lee jazz bass!

i got a new bass today!

here is a vid..Freewill Bass Solo

Here is Show Dont Tell Bass Solo

i also have a blog page called Bass Time http://bass2112.blogspot.com/