Grati-Wednesday 13 March 19

Now that our fearless leader Jan-Maree Ball has had her double knee replacement surgery, I'm sure we're all thinking of her, wishing her well and cheering 

her on as she embarks on her rehab. journey.

She's still very much steering the AHQ ship from her bed 

through the hands of a small group of assistants.

Your comments and well wishes can be passed to her through 
the Aussie Heroes Facebook page.

Enjoy the following Thank You notes, emails or letters from happy Recipients.  

Dear Jan-Maree

Thank you for my quilt and laundry bag. Both are being used as we speak and I love them. Thank you to Pennie for the laundry bag and to Kerry and Cath, the ladies who made my quilt.

Thank you for your support.

 

…..

Hey Pennie,

I am currently in the Royal Australian Regiment. Today I received the laundry bag that you made. I would like to say thank you so much for your kindness and hard work you out into it. 

I am currently conducting joint forces training for the next 3 months. I also read that you’re an emergency nurse. My partner is also working as a nurse. She too says it can be very busy and full on. 

I’ll sign of now but thank you again for the laundry bag and letter.

Kind regards,

…..

Hello Ruth,

I recently received my laundry bag very kindly made by you.

I was absolutely delighted to receive your gift and cannot thank you enough for the time taken to create such a wonderful piece. It’s absolutely perfect!

Thank you for your ongoing support to all of us, our days are much brighter when we receive these items.

Best wishes,

…..

Good Morning Hilary,

I wanted to say a massive thank you for the laundry bag. It is beautifully crafted and I will treasure it for a long time. This deployment has been eye-opening. I am an air traffic controller by trade but I am doing an operations support role which has provided many areas of professional growth. It is certainly hard being away from home but everyone works together to keep spirits up and 'get the job done'.

Jasper sounds gorgeous! My partner and I recently bought a cavoodle – just 16 weeks old and I miss him dearly. I love getting all of the updates on his progress and am so grateful for Skype so that I can see them both in real time. He can already sit, shake, roll over and 'high ten'. He only just got his last vaccination so he is now allowed out to go for walks.

Thank you again for your thoughtful gift,

All the best,

…..

Good Afternoon Norma!

I am writing to say a massive thank you for the quilt and thoughtful gifts. The quilt was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined – I love the cavoodle!!

The reason I asked for a cavoodle is because my partner and I recently welcomed a 16 week old cavoodle into our lives. He is absolutely gorgeous and I miss both of them dearly.

It is lovely to hear about your family's experience in the RAAF. I have now been in 7 years and my partner 9 years. 

I know south-east Queensland well, such a beautiful area! I would not be upset if I too retired in that area.

My deployment has been very eye-opening but also very enjoyable. I have had to learn a new skillset and I am very grateful for the professional development opportunities. Only a few months to go!

Thank you again for your kindness, I am absolutely stoked :)

Cheers!

…..

Good morning Hilary,

I am an Australian Army Officer. I just received the amazing laundry bag that you so kindly made. While I am posted here I will take the bag with me everywhere!

Thanks again for the laundry bag. It’s great to know that the Australian public are thinking about us while we are overseas.

Warm regards,

…..

Good afternoon Ruth

I received your lovely laundry bag you made for me today.

Thank you so very much for my laundry bag. It was amazing. I love the horses and dogs and it was such a pleasure to receive.

I have been on deployment and go home very soon. I'm really looking forward to coming home.

Many thanks again. This bag will be a treasured possession.

Sincerely

…..

Dear Kate,

I hope you are well, I just wanted to say thank you so much for the laundry bag and the goodies inside that I received today.  I really appreciate the kind gesture and effort everyone put in from Aussie Hero Quilts, and know your hard effort is not overlooked.

I hope you and yours are going well and your trip up north is nice and relaxing.

Again, thank you so much. I greatly appreciate your gift.

Kind Regards,

…..

Dearest Cath

Words cannot explain how happy I am with my quilt. It truly is amazing. The work you put in for me to have such a fantastic quilt is very much appreciated.  Lovely to hear about your life and what you get up to. Anyone who receives your quilts is very lucky. I will treasure mine for ever.

Again thank you

Take care and keep smiling

…..

Dear Noelene,

I hope this finds you & finds you well.

I’ve attached a photo that I hope you can open & shows me with your wonderful laundry bag, out in front of our HQ (with our recently completed art work on the building trying to make the place look a bit smarter!)

Absolutely blown away with the laundry bag, thank you so much, I really feel like part of the club now that I’m sporting one of the Aussie Hero Quilts Bags.

Great to get your card & learn of your strong military lineage as well.

All the very best to you & your family & thanks again for all that you do for soldiers over here.

…..

Hi Lisa N,

You sent me a fantastic package while I was on deployment in the Middle East. I wanted to say a massive thank you and couldn’t believe what you made me and sent me, it honestly was amazing and I hope my late thanks hasn’t made you lose faith in the people receiving the packages as they are the best. I hope you’re well along with your family and your son is enjoying the army. I bet you’re a proud mum. I know my mum is incredibly proud of our service. I’m about to embark on civilian life so the next chapter is something new as I’ve been in the Defence Force since I was 18. 
        I’m forever grateful for your package as I'm a massive Harry Potter nerd, they do really brighten a long deployment.

Cheers,

…..

Hello Jacqui,

I received my absolutely GORGEOUS blanket and laundry bag today, and just had to email straight away to say thank you. I can only imagine the hours of effort that went into this quilt and I am truly both humbled and in awe, not only of your efforts but your skill.

The colours match PERFECTLY with the pillow covers that I bought to brighten my room *chuckle*. I can't imagine how you did it, but there's obviously a very crafty and talented mind that you have.
When I opened up the box in the office, I actually squealed with delight. You not only fit the brief, you smashed it with awesomeness! Of course I proudly strutted around showing everyone, and every single person was highly impressed by your work. Even a few of the 'blokey' types said that they'd be proud to have something so beautifully made.

It definitely fits me like a glove, and it's something I will be excessively proud of for the rest of my life. The only challenge will be keeping it to myself when I get home, because I'm fairly certain my young daughter will lose her mind when she sees it. She definitely loves purple as much as her mum does. I have another few months here yet, so I've a little while longer before I have to fight that particular battle *chuckle*.

Serving in the RAAF has genuinely been one of the most fulfilling things I've done in my life, and receiving such lovely gifts and appreciation from people like yourself is just absolutely the cherry on the top of a job that I'm lucky to get up every day to do.

I'm honestly one of the luckiest people in the world. I do a job that I love, I get PAID to do what I love, and people even thank me for it? It's hard to think of a way to be any luckier! Yes, there are hard parts like having to be away from my husband and young children for months at a time. But when I consider the opportunities and experiences that I've had, it's extremely hard to complain about anything. I think sometimes people don't believe me when I say that, but I can't imagine a job that I would be happier in.

So thank you Jacqui. Thank you for your dedication, hard work, and kindness. The quilt that you've made for me is definitely going to be a treasured family heirloom, and the laundry bag will live in my kit for the inevitable times away from home again. They're both so beautifully made that I know they will last forever. It's obvious that you do what you do with great love and caring, and it's appreciated far more than you will ever know.

Thank you so much again from the bottom of my heart,

…..

Hi Laura,

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply to you. I wanted to say again how much I love your quilt and it makes me smile every day when I make my bed. I also love my laundry bag and enjoy placing it on top of the washing machine to show that it’s in use and a good way to quickly find my machine (it’s a very common thing over here and we also get to see everyone else’s amazing laundry bags). You’re a superstar! Thank you for your time and hard work.

Thank you very much and kind regards,

.....

Thank you for all your efforts for our Aussie Heroes,
until next time,

Sandy