Fabulous Army Life

April is the Month of the Military Child and I cannot help but reflect on my own children's tour of duty as Army kids.  They are amazing young men and I could not be more proud of who they are ... and I know that having a dad in the military has shaped much of their life experience. From the very beginning, my boys have had both extraordinary and challenging experiences.  Like all kids, they go through the typical rites of passage ... learning to walk and talk, starting school, losing teeth, making friends, growing up.  Unlike all kids, they must endure some of these events not only without their dad, but while being worried to the core of their little beings that Dad might be in danger.  It's a large burden for young hearts to bear. In their young lives, my boys have ... lived in three different states attended nine different schools spent a total of 36+ months without their dad due to combat deployments been separated from their dad for a total of 6+ month...

Our family enjoyed performances by Usher, Katy Perry, and other great artists at the 2013 Kids' Inaugural Concert, honoring military kids from around the country.  It was a great event that we were honored to attend.  I'm crazy-proud of my military kids and love that they get a little recognition occasionally for the sacrifices they make.

We were excited to find out our old neighbors from Fort Hood (circa 2005) would be visiting Virginia and had a few minutes of free time.  We made quite an entrance into a local PF Changs (6 adults and 9 kids!) and had a wonderful time chatting and catching up on life's events. Afterwards, we strolled through the nearby mall and enjoyed watching the kids talk and play as if they'd just seen each other yesterday.  There are so many blessings in the military lifestyle and the friends made a long the way rank high on the list for me. Catty and me Corson and Cook kids Cute Corson Kids My groovy kid The boys hit the Video Game stores

The best part of our trip from Texas to Washington DC was our stopover at Fort Campbell to see our dear Army friends, the Taylors.  Frienship forged in the chaos of deployment stands forever strong, as we demonstrate with this wonderful family time and time again.  Our kids are fabulous friends and we love seeing them grow up together. Paul and Amy were gracious to allow us to stay overnight on our way to our new home and we had an absolutely marvelous time.  The big kids camped out in the backyard while little Ella entertained us all.  These girls are so precious to us and we were so excited to see them again. Amy is the ultimate hostess and a better bed-and-breakfast you would be hard-pressed to find.  The men got to shop-talk and catch up while the ladies shared stories and memories and filled up on girl talk.  We love this family and can't wait to see them again soon. Thank you, Taylors, for a fantastic visit! Absolutely LOVED our Time with th...

Saying goodbye to my husband for months at a time is something that never gets easier for me.  For my kids, it is at least equally as difficult.  They have a fantastic father who is involved in their lives, loves to spend time with them, and is a true role model for the kind of men I hope they grow up to be.  When he is gone, it takes a definite toll on their emotions. One of the ways I like to help them cope with the separation is through children's literature.  A former Reading Teacher, I have always enjoyed a good book and have seen the power of books in children's lives.  Military kids are no different and we have employed a variety of books to make us laugh, help us cry when we need to, and open discussions about this deployment. With each book, I try to find a tangible reminder of the lesson learned there ... a simple craft, a letter to our Soldier, or a small gift.  I have been amazed at how my kids cherish these small tokens and hold on to them ...

Trey receives his first military ID card! One unique rite of passage in the military community is the bestowing of the military ID.  For those of us who are spouses, the ID card gets us onto military installations, into commissaries and PX facilities, and proves that we are a 'dependent' of the servicemember.  (Side note: I've never been crazy about the term 'dependent' but it is what it is, I suppose.)  Children of Army Soldiers are eligible to receive their military ID on their 10th birthday.  Why our oldest is just getting his at the age of 11 & 1/2 is really not a story at all.  I didn't think about it, Nate apparently didn't either, Trey didn't know, and no one has questioned us thus far.  However, in the way that deployments do, all kinds of 'what-will-I-have-to-do-without-you-for-the-next-year' discussions have been generated, and it was decided that getting the ID with dad present was preferred. For me, locating the information...

Because this month is the Month of the Military Child (as well as Volunteer Appreciation Month!), we also wanted to do something for the children of our Red Dragon Soldiers.  They are true heroes for the resilience and courage they show on a daily basis.  It's not easy to say goodbye to your Soldier dad or mom, whether it's for a field training exercise, a month-long training rotation, or an overseas deployment. After brainstorming options, and realizing that our unit schedule is already pretty full, we decided to incorporate our kids into the upcoming "Family Day."  The battalion leadership handed out these water bottles to all the children at Family Day and provided water fill-ups at all the stations.  It was fun to see the kids with their water bottles and I hope they felt a small sense of the appreciation we have for them and their sacrifices as Army kids. These kids are enjoying the afternoon and putting their new water bottles to good use. The bat...

The battalion Family Day is, by far, my favorite event in the unit thus far. Our Soldiers planned an amazing day of learning more about what they do on deployment and we had a great time. We met at the 1st Cavalry Division Museum's gazebo and were greeted by my (very handsome) husband. Each battery then boarded a bus to go to one of four stations. Our battery started at the Iraqi training village where we conducted a dismounted patrol through the village. We were briefed on Iraqi culture and given tips on how to interact with the locals there (and more importantly, how not to offend them). Broken into squads, we were given four different questions to ask and answer. It was such a fun experience and the Soldiers playing the roles of the Iraqis were fabulous. Here's how it went ... Nate welcomes Red Dragon Families and Friends This boy loves his daddy! Brian and Leandra on the bus heading to the Iraqi village. We receive a briefing on our way to the training villag...

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 ...