Grati-Tuesday 21 Feb 17

Enjoy these messages tonight.  
Grab a cuppa, sit back and have a read.
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Hi.  I would just like to give a huge thank you to Pam who made my quilt.  You guys do an amazing job and put so much love and talent into each and everyone's quilt or laundry bag you make.  Thanks again.

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Hey Sarah-Jane
I just wanted to say thanks for my awesome laundry bag. It will make doing the laundry a lot easier as I won't have to search through all the machines for which one mine is now. I am a vehicle mechanic. I am married and we have 2 kids. Thank you for all the work you have done. 

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Dear Joy,

Thank you so much for your amazing quilt. It has blown me away and 100 times better than I had ever imagined!!! Thank you, you are very clever and thoughtful.

Life for me is pretty simple and surprises like your quilt have just made my week... no… my year!! You may wonder why I requested a theme of camping and mountains etc… I have had multiple deployments to East Timor, Afghanistan and Africa in 26 years of service and for me the deployment memories are etched in my mind. I am located in a hot, flat, dry, windy place but where I want to be is in the mountains, camping with my family and soon I will. So whenever I see your quilt from now on I will remember this place and this deployment, but it will remind me to spend time with my family and take them camping in the mountains.

Thank you again for your amazing work. It is very special!!

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Hi Joan,

             I'd like to sincerely thank you on behalf of the ADF and myself for the great job you are doing supporting us with the quilts and laundry bags.  Your efforts are greatly appreciated and receiving the quilts and bags lifts the morale of everyone.  My bag was great and the cowboys colours and army men material was a nice personalised touch. I'll be forever greatful that you take the time out to do such a wonderful job. 

Once again thank-you and all the best.

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Pennie,

Just received the beautiful quilt after returning from my two-week break.

Thank you SO MUCH, it's absolutely stunning and suits me completely. I don't know how you did it xxx

Hugs and gratitude xxx

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Dear Clarissa,

I recently received my laundry bag in the mail that was made and sent by you.

I wish to convey my humble thanks for the wonderful job you did on the laundry bag, and your generosity in helping support

Australian servicemen and women while they are deployed.

I have no idea how many of these you would make each year, but I am sure that each and every one of them is of the finest quality and received gratefully.

I hope you have received thanks for each and every laundry bag you have made and that has provided you an understanding of what it means to us to receive these precious gifts from Australia when we are so far from it and our families.

I’ve travelled and worked all over the place since I joined up and have spent a lot of my time in remote posting in the NT and WA, although we are currently based in Perth.

My wife was also in the Air Force however she is out now, though works as a reservist and enjoys a bit more flexibility as a result.

Our daughter has just finished year 12 and did pretty well, she is nervously waiting on uni selections now, though with her marks I think she will be fine.

Our son will start year 10 this year and is quite pleased that he is almost as tall as me.

They have enjoyed some fantastic opportunities growing up around air bases and both managed to catch 120cm barramundi by the age of 8.

I had to wait until a few years after they caught theirs to equal them!  Being away from them for so long makes you cherish them all the more.

Again, thank you for your wonderful support.

Kind regards,
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Good Morning Joan and Robin,

Thank you for your laundry bag that I have just received. It was also nice to get your letter with the your story behind this gift.

A bit of my background I have been in the Defence Force for 26 years as a Finance Clerk as a Reservist for the majority (whilst my husband was regular army) and Regular Army for the last nine years. This is my first deployment and I have loved every minute of it although it was a bit harder over the Christmas period being away from my family including husband, children and grand children. They are a very supportive family and thrilled that I have finally been given this opportunity.  I am over half way now and will go on leave in three weeks time

Once again I thank you for your time and effort in providing something from home while we are away and really appreciate all that you both do for our Defence Force.

Kind Regards

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Hi Michelle! 

Just wanted to start off by saying how much I love the quilt you made for me. It probably seems a bit odd for a 26 year old to want a cat quilt (and I promise I'm not a crazy cat lady or anything...sort of :-P), but I have two cats at home who I am missing a lot so I thought the quilt will just have to do until I get back home. I appreciate all the effort you put in and this will be something I will keep forever, so thank you so much :-) It has also come right in time as it has been quite cool lately and it brightens up my room too which is a bonus (even though all the boys laughed at me for my amazing taste in cat decor!).

As for me...As you already know I am 26 and joined the Air Force as an Aircraft Life Support Fitter -the worlds longest job title- in 2007. I had always wanted to be military ever since I was young and it has been the best decision I have ever made. This is currently my third deployment and my second Christmas/New Year one. It definitely isn't easy being away, especially over the holiday period, but things like the quilt you made for me give us something to look forward to. It's the little things that count and they make a huge difference, so once again I can't thank you enough! 
This year is flying by already! And keep up the awesome work you are doing with Aussie Hero. It's such a beautiful concept and like I said, it honestly makes someones day when they receive these in the mail. It's a wonderful thing you are doing for a stranger and we appreciate it more than you know :-) 

Kind regards,

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Hi Jean,

                                                       

I’m writing to you to personally thank you for the laundry bag you hand crafted for me.

The reason our country is as good as it is, is because of people like you and the organisation you work tirelessly for as a volunteer.

People like you Jean are the reason why we serve.    

You are a credit to the country and your efforts do not go unnoticed to me or the rest of the boys out here with me.

The receipt of something from home with so much thought and effort put into it can change the whole dynamics of a trip for the

individual soldier and make us feel that little bit closer to home.

I’m a section commander responsible for 8 infantry soldiers in my unit from Darwin,

I have a beautiful partner whose resilience out-weighs mine, and I have 2 little boys.

I also have a fur baby who is quite naughty because I’m away again and I didn’t bring him with me.

He usually ignores me for 2 days when I first get home, then he gets over it.

He is a 38kg pitbull that would cuddle you to death.

Thanks again Jean.

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Dear Penny and family,

Hoping that you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic start to the new year.

Thank you so much for the quilt, to say I loved it is an understatement!

It has always been a goal of mine to salsa.  When I found out I was deploying I did three months of group and private lessons.

I’ve picked it up quite quickly and have managed to get some salsa in over here on deployment.

I used to dance as a child, so learning those basic building skills as a kid definitely helped!

Your care package was very thoughtful – I was starting to feel under the weather so those tea bags were well received.

Thank you for your kindness this time of the year.  I have had a smooth deployment, it is my first one.

I have five weeks left now and then its back to Sydney.

We’re very lucky to have supportive people like you at home.

The quilt truly was wonderful, so thank you once again for your time and effort.

It looks great on my bed!!

Many regards,

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Hi Sue, 

I would like to thank you for the quilt (and the little extras) you made me, it's hard to describe how happy I was when I opened the box it literally made my day. 

Thank you so much for your time and effort and making my time here a little easier 😇

I really appreciate it... 

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Dear Susan,

Thank you so much for the wonderful laundry bag and your kind wishes.  I have worked around engines for much of my career, but had never made the connection with ‘After Burner’, it did make me laugh though.

All the best to you and Lindsay – it is wonderful that you both volunteer such valuable roles in the community.  Thanks again for the laundry bag, it has had much use over here and will get lots of use at home too!

Best wishes

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Jenny,

Today I received on of your laundry bags, which you kindly sent here to Iraq.

Thank you so much for doing this, and I know that  your efforts are appreciated and spoken of in glowing terms!

I hope that someday your kind efforts are reciprocated.

Thank you!!

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Dear Joan

Thanks so much for the laundry bag in the colours of the Irish flag. You mentioned in your letter that you were born and raised in Dublin, so was I. I left Ireland in 1992 and have lived in the US and a few other places before coming to Australia.

Thanks again for the laundry bag it has been put to immediate and continual use. Many of my colleagues have bags and love them and the quilts.

Your generous work is much valued out here.

Bye for now

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Hi Sue,

Thank you for my lovely quilt, it is just what I was hoping for. I'm a female army Health officer and I love my job. The deployment is going well and I am staying safe and happy. Thanks again for thinking of me,

Caroline.

PS. My quilt was the one with flowers, puppies and chocolate on it. I love it!!!

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Thanks so much to AHQ and my chief quilt maker Arthur!  I love the "wonky block construction" and can certainly tell there was a lot of love and effort that went into this.  Everybody did there bit and I also want to thank Jan-Maree. Clarissa, Bridget and Bev U and, of course, your lovely wife Lynn.  I also want to thank AHQ for my laundry bag.  You all do an incredible job 

Till next time...... keep spreading the word and happy stitching!

Jan-Maree xxxx

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