Soldier Pen Pal

PFC Steven John Christofferson November 2007

Dear PFC Christofferson,

Apparently, there has been a change of the list of soldiers with your company since we were first given somebody to write to. So, now we get you! This letter has some parts from the first letter mailed to Lt. Hardin, since I can only think of so many things to say about us! I hope you don’t mind. I’ve also written a new letter, also in this envelope, so you’ll get it all together. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little about our family.

November 3, 2007


Hey there!

Well, it’s coming up on midnight on the last day of daylight savings time. My oldest daughter’s curfew is predictably, midnight. She called a few minutes ago to point out that since we turn the clocks back, maybe technically, 12:00 AM is really 11 PM so couldn’t she go by the Fall-Back time for curfew tonight? I laughed, and we compromised on her not pulling into the driveway with one minute to spare. She’s at a work get together 10 minutes away, and a friend just arrived, so she got lucky I thought it was funny enough to give some leeway. So, now I’ve got to stay up longer, and figured why not write a letter?

Would You Like a Wreath From the Boy Scouts?
Today, I hoofed it around with Gib to sell Christmas wreaths for the Boy Scout Troop fundraiser. We were fairly successful – he’s sold about 25, for 2 days of door-to-door work and a mom asking around for him. He gets $5 for each wreath sold in his Scout Account. When a scout sells 8 he automatically gets $50 off his Boy Scout Camp fee in addition to the $5 per wreath. He will also sign up to work four 4 hr shifts at the Christmas Tree Lot, conveniently located in Downtown right next to Starbucks (a great location for Hot Cocoa or Apple Cider when it’s cold out!). This helps the Troop to raise the money it uses all year long for operation and providing low cost/high adventures. Working the tree lots also reduces your camp fee. Since I really hate being cold, I put my time in walking miles with Gib to sell wreaths door to door while the weather was still nice! Luckily, Gib LOVES working the Christmas tree lots and even wants to volunteer for the set up and unloading and tagging of the truckload of trees. He and Mike can do that. I’ll stay at home and bake cookies or something!

Halloween Costume Report – The Shoes Make the Outfit:
Did you know shoes are the most important, yet often overlooked-until-the-last-minute part of the costume? Indy handed out candy dressed as Super Girl. She was very cute but white platform boots really completed the look. Taryn and a friend wore matching school type uniforms, with a bit of gothic make-up to spice it up. But flip flops? We thought NOT. Indy had a pair of clunky black heels with silver buckles which were perfect. The girls were actually quite cute and if it wasn’t for the Gothic attitude, it’d be hard to tell they were in costume. Gib dressed as a piece of Hubba Bubba bubblegum. He wore all pink head to toe courtesy of Target’s girl department. On the shirt, we painted the Hubba Bubba logo in yellow & pink puffy paint. Guys don’t get a free pass on the right shoes for the outfit either! Gib borrowed a pair of Indy’s black & pink sneakers which was a way cool effect. He told his friends that it’s macho to wear all pink ‘cause it’s the new black. Mariah went as a punk pink & black pirate girl. She looked adorable with a bandana over her hair and lots of eyeliner just like Capt. Jack Sparrow. She thought her white wheelies would be ok, but the Shoe Police said Nay. Again, a sister’s shoes saved the day at the last minute. This time it was Taryn’s all black indoor soccer runners. Mike and I had a costume party next door earlier in the week. I didn’t feel like coming up with an idea until I felt guilty the night before. So I Googled easy DIY stupid costumes. Came up with Lame Excuses, and we grabbed crutches and a cane from mom, and taped a whole bunch of lame excuses on our shirts. You know, things like, my cell phone battery died, and I have a headache. It was lame (pun intended all the way around) but at least it was funny to have people try to figure out what we were. Have to say it was better than the couple that came as ketchup and mustard. Mike said I didn’t use the best lame excuse of “But it was on sale!” Ha-ha. That’s not an excuse, it’s Pure Reason. The kids pulled in quite a haul of candy as usual. One way to tell they are getting older is the pile of yucky candy is a lot smaller than it used to be. They’re not as picky as they used to be! However, Raisinets and 3 Muskateers are still a NO GO.

Well, Indy made it home and it’s only 11:50 – Whoo-Hoo! 10 minutes to spare on the new midnight. Yay, a whole extra hour of sleep! Of course you feel the full effect better when you go to bed at earlier. Here’s a family photo of us in our Titans shirts taken in September. We hope you are doing okay. You’re in our prayers.

Stay safe.


Mike, Chrissie, Indy, Taryn, Gib, Mariah