Fabulous Army Life

I recently received a message from author Kristin Ayyar about reviewing her book, Countdown 'Til Daddy Comes Home .  I was instantly interested, of course.  I love children's books and have a special affection for books that help military kids.  I quickly received her book in the mail and immediately loved the look of it. The illustrations are just precious and perfect for your youngest kids.  Kudos to illustrator Melissa Bailey for creating such a sweet portrait of family and togetherness. The story itself is both realistic for kids whose parents must travel for extended periods of time and positive in how those challenges are portrayed.  It focuses on encouragement and solutions, which I absolutely love.  It contains a variety of concrete ideas for families to implement to make separations a little easier. "During our countdown, Nana visits more and we plan cool things to make the time go by faster." One huge plus for this book is that it re...

Every month, the 1st Cavalry Division honors volunteers from all the battalions within the division. It is a nice time to say 'thank you' to those who give so much of themselves for our Soldiers and their Families. Our battalion always has a fabulous volunteer recognized at these ceremonies and I'm so happy to be among such amazing good-hearted people. This month, the volunteers for our battalion were the "Ladies of Legacy" ... a group of ladies who travel from Legacy Church (in Round Rock, Texas) to Fort Hood once a month to help out with children's activities during battalion-wide FRG Meetings.  They were absolutely phenomenal and I was thrilled they could make it for this appreciation ceremony. Our FRSA with Rachel, Sandra, Elizabeth, Cristy, and Nate and me. Wonderful volunteers with COL Peeler and CSM Maunakea The ladies got to know our Rear Detachment Commander pretty well over the course of the deployment and came with a gift for him to c...

Okay, okay, so it wasn't really a party ... but we did have a good time! Our volunteers gathered at the battalion headquarters to load gift baskets and transport them to the temporary barracks where our Soldiers will be returning. In each room, we did a little minor cleaning, made beds, placed gift baskets, and prepared the rooms for the Soldiers' return. It was freezing cold and we were traipsing up three flights of stairs in two different buildings to make it happen, but our volunteers were fabulous. We finished in record time and are so happy to have prepared these rooms for our heroes.  Welcome Home, Red Dragons! Fabulous volunteers ready to make up single Soldier rooms! My adorable nieces came to help the Soldiers.  Here, they look out over the Motor Pools and say, "That's a lot of Army stuff."  =)  Love them! Our note to the Soldiers ... Welcome Home, Heroes! Beds made and gift basket prepared. Hand towels, wash cloths, hand soap are in p...

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 ...

Phase III of our Single Soldier project consisted of taking all the goodies that have been donated and purchased and organizing them into gift baskets. We had a great group of volunteers throughout the day helping with this gargantuan task. BIG thanks to Elena, Christine, Annmarie, Kimberly, Valencia, Georgia, Beverly, Katie, Lani, Victoria, Nina, Leslie, and Debbie for all the amazing progress today! Some super ladies worked hard today to prepare for this redeployment.  I'm SO very appreciative of everyone who came out to help today! We started an assembly line for creating the single Soldier 'welcome home' baskets.  It was a fine-tuned machine by the end of the day ... and we ended up with 181 assembled baskets! The assembly line starts with a laundry basket, welcome home poster, and a Ziploc with a few paper goods -- paper plates, cups, and plastic ware. Next, they get a bath towel and a package of Wet Ones wet wipes. Adding hand towels, wash cloths...

I am always so proud and usually a little emotional on Veteran's Day.  I am continuously amazed by the courage and sacrifice displayed by our Nation's heroes and Veteran's Day gives me a special day to reflect on just that.  Each generation of Americans has grown its own heroes and each battle, war, and conflict has produced unbelievable tales of heroism and bravery. My generation is no different.  In our 17+ years in the Army, I have met some of the most selfless heroes of our time.  Our Soldiers are strong, disciplined, smart warriors that have kept our nation safe and our people protected through some of the most turbulent times in recent years. On this Veteran's Day, I was greeted with some of the most wonderful news I could have hoped for.  Our battalion, who has served in Iraq for the past six months, has crossed the border into Kuwait!  They will be returning six months earlier than originally expected and getting safely into Kuwait is step one o...

Our brigade has the unique leadership team of a COL who is our brigade commander and his wife, who is a MAJ in a sister brigade in our division.  They were deployed at the same time, but were off-set by several months, with Trish leaving first and subsequently, returning first!  We were happy to welcome home our brigade senior spouse from her deployment to Iraq!  Welcome home, Trish! Trish greets her welcome home fans! Hugs for Trish! Marne and Trish The Black Jack Babes welcome back their Senior Spouse!