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Elf on a Shelf
Read about the Letter our Elf bringseach yearWe are a family of tradition. Old ones from the days of my forefathers (this is what my mom tells me); ones created in my own childhood (the wife of an airman living thousands of miles from family my mom had creative juices flowing all the time); now traditions that I am creating for my own children. Tomorrow, as is tradition each December 1st, our Elf comes to visit! For a number of years he has been visiting and he moves around the house each night. Who knows where he is going to pop-up next. Each morning my boys get up excited to figure out where…
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Calendars of the Season
Our calendars are there to remind us. Sometimes they say it is time for an appointment, or a vacation or maybe a weekend getaway. For military families they can mean the return of a loved one or the day they depart (hardest one maybe) for a mission or deployment. Today our little family calendar reminded us that 10 years ago today I had picked up a new brand new C-17 from the Boeing Long Beach California plant. It still had that brand new smell to it – like a car but without the leather. We landed to a bit of fanfare at McChord AFB with each new C-17 but tail…
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Your Vote Matters: The Gift of Good
One Army-Strong FamilyOne Wounded WarriorOne Devout, Proud SpouseFive Loving Children A bathroom to assist this warrior with his new physical limitations Kitchen modifications for his family’s needs New windows to keep out those harsh upstate New York winter storms Fencing for the yard to help with privacy needs from the trauma of TBI/PTSD Meet the Ortegas, MilitaryAvenue’s Nomination for The Home Depot Foundation’s Gift of Good: Vote for them. You can help make this military-family’s needs a reality. You can vote once every 24 hours, be sure to join us at Facebook.com/MilitaryAvenue so that we can remind you to vote each day.byLeanne KocsisonTuesday, November 29, 2011Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to PinterestMilitary Life:GiveGood,Home Depot…
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This Army Family deserves the “Give the Gift of Good”
Vote for the Ortega’s (#4) Here“…our nominee has a great opportunity to win the $20,000 home makeover from the Foundation…” We are very excited! We have a specific mission to support our military community at MilitaryAvenue.com. Our efforts have been rewarded with a sense of accomplishment, smiles and appreciation. But today we are just ready to tell the story of one Army family and our effort to identify a military family for a home makeover from the Home Depot Foundation. The Adam and Monica Ortega familyWe have started our mission with the selection of the crew! MilitaryAvenue has reviewed all of our entries for the HD Foundation, “Give the Gift…
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Rustic Christmas Tree
I was browsing Pinterest.com last month looking for an idea to use on Thanksgiving day. Each year, after dinner the Moms and tots let the Christmas spirit enter our thoughts with a homemade project. Simplicity is number one priority, as we are tired, full under the influence of a ton of turkey and boat loads of whipped cream. Those who attend, sail to the table with languid interest, yet each expect to come out with a DaVinci masterpiece. But it is fun. It is time to laugh at ourselves, try something new, pick through beads, choose twigs (that have been pre-drilled) and create a masterpiece… or at least something tangible.…
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Popsicle Sled Simple Christmas Tree Ornament Idea
Popsicle Sleds: simple fun for a young one to put together. Ideas for children to use to create a memory that mark each year on the tree are great to catalog. This sheet of paper was tucked in an ornament bin, ready to share or use with some tree trimming youngsters!Kids and Christmas… they just go together! Because the sheet is old, I typed the words for easier viewing. However the design for the popsicle sticks are easy to replicate. Materials needed: Six inches of gold or silver thread like cord, seven popsicle sticks, paint, paint brush and glue.Cut sticks as outlined on right. #1 is placed on the top,…
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Christmas Traditions Decorating at Home and at Church
As the leftover Thanksgiving turkey is down to turkey salad, Christmas decorations are hauled from the closets. Boxes, cartons and plastic bins hold memories, treasures and herald the coming holiday. The last plastic bin was rifled through hoping to reveal perky Christmas towels. There on the bottom, as if an afterthought was a sheet of typed, well copied paper from Keflavik Naval Air Station’s PWOC about Christmas tree history. A paper reminder of good times, great ladies, strong values: military spouses of all services and NATO nations. Christmas Tree HistorySince the earliest days of the bringing of evergreens indoors at Christmastime has been one of the first ways of giving…
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SaveAndInvest.org’s Military Center
Some Great Resources over atSaveAndInvest.org‘s Military CenterHave you visited the website from FINRA Investor Education Foundation for military families SaveAndInvest.org? It is developed specifically to help us better manage money such an important topic this time of year and progressing into the new year. They have re-launched with new content, action plans, worksheets and videos. Here is a link to the press release. Topic areas include digging out of debt, making ends meet, planning for the future, managing financial products and avoiding fraud. Debt and credit information is particularly important for military families; research by the FINRA Foundation found that more than a quarter have $10,000 or more in credit card debt.…
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A Thanksgiving Message from MilitaryAvenue.com
The entire MilitaryAvenue.com Team extends a happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones!What are some things MilitaryAvenue is thankful for? First and foremost, we are so very thankful for the people that work so tirelessly at keeping us safe. The Marines (OORAH!) , the Soldiers (Hooah!), the Airmen (HUA!), the Coast Guard (Oorah!), the Sailors (Hooyah!). We will say a special prayer at dinner for the families that stand behind the troops; especially the spouses and the children. But we won’t leave out the mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and even grandchildren. Thank you to each of you for standing behind /your/ Service Member, remembering what they need throughout the year, physically…
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“I’ll be Home for Christmas” is the new theme song of troops in Iraq – DoD Blogger Roundtable
The last division in Iraq should be home for Christmas! That is the goal of military leaders. After almost nine years of war in Iraq, the less than 20,000 troops still there are getting on planes and heading home – the 25th Infantry Division based in Hawaii is the last major unit in Iraq and as the New Dawn stage of the war prepares to transition the last 7 bases to Iraq (6) and Department of State (1) control. A new relationship is beginning with the New Year! U.S. Army Brig General Bradley Becker said a plane full of the division’s troops landed in Hawaii last night. The pace has…
