Love Always, Charlie Swap 2 Gallery!

[mommabear1963]

Hi Charlie,

I am going to try to respond to your letter without making it too long.  However, I have some great news that I wanted to share with you.  My second grandson was born on Wednesday of this week.  So, Yes I do have children.  I have 5.  The oldest is 21 and he and his wife have two boys now.  The oldest of them will be 1 in May, and the other, 3 days old today. 
The others are 16, 14, 12, and 9.  The baby I am holding in my avatar is my grandson when he was about three weeks old. 

Thank you so much for the CD's.  I love the poptart and the low fat Ritz covers.  I can tell you I absolutely love the John Davis CD.  I have listened to it while crafting several times.  The Jeff Buckley I am listening to right now.  I like it also.  It is not something that I would have bought I don't think but I love all kinds of music and this is something that I do not have in my musical library so I like it a lot.  So is this Indie Rock?  I have heard about that genre but really did not know what it was. 

The goat is not for the business, they are my pets, and very spoiled.  But here in Ok you can make a business out of goats very easily.  Oh and I definately will check out the book that you recommend.  I love to read.  Right now I am reading Mexico by Michner but this will be next on my novel list. 

Back to my kids for a minute because that is my favorite subject.  The oldest two are boys and the younger three are girls.  The two youngest I adopted a year and a half ago although they have lived with us about 4 years now.  They are hard to raise and need a lot of help.  They are emotionally behind and don't have a lot of interests because their birth parents instilled only the wrong interests in them.  It is a struggle for them sometimes just to get through the day and function, let alone focus on a hobby etc.  Well ok, the older of the two is learning to play the guitar, slowly, and the youngest is interested in herself.  Yep, very vain and thinks she is really cute (but she is).  So she like earings and hair thingys and clothes, and she earned the privelege to have a pet this year so she really enjoys her dwarf hamster Max.  They are beautiful little girls and are getting healthier all the time.  The other two (at home) have many interests, music, band, sports, and crafting, animals, church, ministry, friends, cooking, etc.

Oh and thank you for the stories on the artists of the CD's that makes them even more special. 

Yea, I understand the transperancy thing, I am that way too.  Well lest this letter get too long lets just suffice it to say that I appreciate you sharing your life and your feelings with me and I do understand a lot of what you are talking about and a lot of what you have and are going through, oh and especially the fighting with the school thing.  My son tells his friends that is my hobby.  It is not of course I hate it, but it is necessary. 

And your letter was fine.  Don't worry.  Love your friend.

[ashleyw]

i'm soo sad i didn't qualify for this!
(not a month on craftster)
i hope there is a charlie swap 3!!! 

[Tinted]

Thank you Charlie for the awesome letter My charlie made me a little book and wrote her letter inside of it! I love the pictures you choose and I would love to receive mini collages from you Oh, and Charlie, good luck with your thesis

[rainbow_art]

Its been lovely reading the replies people have been writing to the letters theyve been receiving and having fun!    We would appreciate it though if those that we havent heard from about sending or seen posting would PM either bracelet_girl or myself to check in with us and let us know how your letters are coming on!  Thank you! 

[sobe]

Dear Charlie
I was so excited when i got your letter! I have never seen without a trace but I do love Desperate Housewives!
I bet you are a great big sister!! I always wanted a sister. Yours sound adorible!
I guess saltdough is like playdough, if so that is so cool! I used to eat play dough when i was little, and it was salty, so I guess it IS salt dough! 
I dont really wear make up either, in fact my mom just got me some the other day and I have worn it a few times!
I am assuming you are talking about horseback riding. I love riding horses, although I have only done it a few times in my life. I think you should start again if you want to! Im sure you would have a ton of fun!
I hope you had a great time with your grandmother! She sounds really cool!
I am in love with your Nemo stationary! That has to be one of the best movies ever! I can't wait to hear from you again, and I am looking forward to those long letters!
Love your friend

[SonjaBoo]

Dear Chuck,
  I suspect that you sent your letter a little while ago and I just got it yesterday-- in an envelope from the post office that basically said "we're sorry we destroyed your mail."  It looked like it had gotten lost and then wet and then I don't know what-- and both your address and my address were pretty much gone, so I have no idea how they figured out it was for me!  I guess someone was just watching over it and got it to me!  Anyway, I hope you didn't think that I was ignoring you or just not responding-- it was just MIA for a while!  Parts of the letter itself got wet and messed up, but I think I was able to decipher everything.  (And if I get anything wrong, I apologize.)
  It sounds like you have had a rather tough winter-- I'm so sorry about your father in law's death.  And taking in your grandmother-in-law-- well you deserve a pat on the back.  I hope that spring will bring good things for you and your family!  Winters are always hard, especially when you lose people you love. 
  And I would love to hear more about your friend!  She sounds interesting already-- I love "gorey details"-- hehe!  Please feel free to tell any stories you wish-- I am here to listen.  Am sending a big craftster hug to you!

Look forward to hearing from you again-- and will keep my fingers crossed that your next letter doesn't get caught in some sort of Massachusetts monsoon! 

With love,
Sonjaboo

[peachsorbet]

Dear Charlie:

I just got your Easter card with the cute note tucked in. That love-hate mirror thing really does work: trippy! Wish I could know who you are before then because then I could totally drop by the fabric store you're in. Oh well. Thanks for the card.

[bracelet_girl]

Dear Charlie,

Thank you for your letter. You used really pretty paper.  Thank you for telling me some information about yourself. I just wanted to let you know that what you wrote about in your first paragraph, I can relate to what your going through having lost someone in my immediate family too. It's great you have a good relationship with your older brother, and I hope you enjoy being an Aunt soon!
I don't play sports either. And I love animals too, I also have two dogs and I used to have a hamster aswell. Your hamster has alot of cool names! A vet sounds like it would be a good career choice for you seeing as you love animals so much. 
I look forward to receiving your next letter.
Love,
Your friend

[rainbow_art]

Dear Charlie,

You can write whatever you like in these letters, what you have written in this one is great, i think your good at letter writing   

I think being a biochemist would be interesting but i was never very good at sciences so it would never be anything id do!  The lead singer in a lesbian rock band sounds awesome, i like a lot of lesbian singers.  Good luck finding your band members! 

Im sorry the PVA and paper on your face didnt work as a pore strip, i hope you find something one day that works well for you!  Im always interested in hearing how other people have done making/using things theyve found on craftster 

Good luck with all your exams and school work, it sounds like youve picked some incredibly hard subjects with your maths and sciences! Joining a lot of swaps instead of school work sounds like a much better idea   

Enjoy watching Dr Who and Green Wing, ive never seen Dr Who or Never mind the Buzzcocks. Your new computer background sounds great, at the moment mine is just a picture of a landscape but i change them quite often! 

Id love to hear how your knitting of a pair of Mrs Beetons from Knitty goes, good luck with it!

Thank you for your letter and for my tortoise, its sitting next to me as i write this 

Love,
Your friend 

[rainbow_art]

There are a couple of people i know that have received but not posted in the gallery to let their partners know they have got their letter and written a reply.  It is one of the requirements of the swap to do so, so please if you have received a letter make sure to post in here as ive had some people worried their letters havent arrived and PMing me when i have on record that you have received.  Make sure to PM either Bracelet_girl or myself to let us know when you receive or send a letter, its greatly appreciated, thank you. 

Enjoy the swap!