Fabulous Army Life

I honestly cannot remember when I first met my husband.  We were in the same 1st and 4th grade classes at Edison Elementary School in Gainesville, Texas, but attended the same Sunday School classes even before that.  Since we grew up together as children, it's just not possible to remember a first meeting. From the 5th grade through high school, I attended school in a different city, following my teacher mom to where her job led us.  This separation allows me that "first meeting" memory when I met Nate again as a teenager.  I had attended church with my grandmother (at her request; my mom and step-dad took us to a different church at the time).  Little did I know that my grandmother had arranged a meeting between my future husband and me.  My husband entered the Army in June of 1993. I was there at his Commissioning Ceremony at West Point, just after graduation. We had been dating for five years at this point and were married in a beautiful milit...

A wonderful story about the invisible string that connects loved ones. Whenever one thinks about another member of the family, the string gives a tug and you feel it. Our battalion used this book at a recent Family Night event.  We wanted to have some meaningful activities for them to complete during the meeting and came up with a goody bag of things to do.  I'll post about that later, and use this post to talk about this adorable book that I now love.  At the meeting, we had a large room that we divided in half (half for adults, half for kids).  All the kids were together in one corner of the room with volunteers there to help.  One of these (fabulous!) volunteers read this book aloud to them to start the activities.  It's a sweet story; from the  Amazon.com description:  Specifically written to address children's fear of being apart from the ones they love, The Invisible String delivers a particularly compelling message in today's ...

 Hannah and Emma at Wazoo's My twin nieces, five years old, stayed with us for a couple of days so their parents could enjoy a wonderful anniversary trip.  I know, instinctively, that there are many differences between girls and boys, but it is still startling for me to see it in action.  Here are some things I've learned about my nieces over the past couple of days ... They are snuggly.   Anytime another human is sitting, the girls would snuggle in.  They don't mind climbing up and over each other to get closer and love to be cuddled. They like to help in the kitchen.   I was pleasantly surprised to have two very capable little helpers in the kitchen at mealtimes.  Hearing sweet voices asking, "Aunt Traci, what can I do?" was music to my ears. Their voices can reach octaves unattainable by boys.   Squeals are something new to me.  My boys can make plenty of noise, mind you, but these little girl voices can reac...

Two of my nieces are here with me tonight and have encouraged my boys to broaden their culinary horizons. They love Panda Express and talked us into having dinner there. It was a big hit with everyone. The girls especially liked lo mein noodles ("noodles with sauce and crunchy lettuce"), Joshua stuck with plain steamed rice, and all the kids loved the orange chicken and mandarin chicken. We also had a great time reading our fortunes .... Joshua's informed him that he would take journey to a faraway place and Trey's said he would get a wish granted when he least expects it ... so they concluded that we must travel to Europe over Spring Break!  Too bad the fortune cookies didn't also give us our lucky numbers so we could win the lotto and fund a trip to Europe.  =) Emma Hannah Joshua Trey

My super-fabulous friend, Jenn Not only do I feel blessed to be an Army wife and get to meet so many amazing people, but I am doubly grateful for the friends that I have met along this Army path.  One such fabulous friend is Jenn.  Jenn and I met at a brigade Coffee at my house sometime in 2007.  I had just joined this group, had missed my first Coffee with them and was now hosting one.  I was a little nervous to invite all of these ladies to my house, not having met anyone.  Our Soldiers were deployed so I didn't even have my husband's review to find out a little about them.  I felt anxious and on my own. We had a great turnout that night and I met a lot of super gals.  Jenn, though, stood out from the very beginning.  This Jersey girl is sassy and fun and has never met a stranger.  She had been inside my home for all of 30 seconds when I began to feel more at ease and started to enjoy myself, completely forgetting any sense of ne...

Nate and Joshua playing Monopoly  Joshua and his good luck meal  Trey with his good luck lunch Our first day of 2011 was quite, simple, and absolutely perfect.  We enjoyed an all-time favorite, PJ Day, and spent much of the day exploring Christmas treasures and playing games.  Joshua proved to be the next Donald Trump-like real estate mogul, smoking us all in several games of Monopoly.  We also enjoyed the traditional parades and football games of the day. Our traditional lunchtime meal consisted of spiral glazed ham, mashed potatoes (mac & cheese for the boys), black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread.  The boys decided that a single black-eyed pea for each day of 2011 seemed excessive and both hoped a good spoonful brings them all the luck they need in the new year. We are thankful for so much, especially having Nate home for the holiday season.  We're constantly aware of the servicemembers who serve abroad today ... and the ...

Ready for the New Year! Nate enjoys a game of Piranha Panic with the kids. Trey imitates Shrek with his green shirt and New Year's horns. We enjoyed a fun family New Year's Eve at home this year.  Our fabulous neighbors joined us for playing games, creating new 2011 calendars, and celebratory fun at midnight (yes, we celebrated at 11:00 PM when the east coast hit midnight). A new tradition we learned about this year comes from Spain.  It includes eating twelve grapes starting exactly at midnight and eating one grape for each stroke of twelve.  Um, in case you're wondering, that's easier said than done.  We were worried that somebody might choke on a grape, which we decided would not be a sign of good luck.  We did get the grapes consumed though, then enjoyed a toast and lots of noise-making to bring in the new year. Poor Leo wasn't sure what to make of our odd behavior but happily joined in the noise-making with us by howling alo...