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Home for the Holidays #HickoryTradition
Home for the Holidays. It can mean so much to the mobile, military family. Sometimes it means having your spouse beside you as you celebrate a quiet Christmas, just the two of you. It can mean jumping in the car and travelling thousands of miles to be home with Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters. Then there are the holidays when your kids surround you as the anticipation mounts for such a fun day all the while talking with their mom or dad on Skype while they serve over seas and in foreign lands.Pin this image for an additional chance to win a Gift Basketfrom Hickory Farms. Further details belowSo tell us: What does…
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My Inspiration, the Veteran in my life
Veterans Day, a day to honor and thank veterans, has come and gone. However, the opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate a veteran should never be passed. As an Army National Guard wife I swell with pride whenever my husband wears his uniform to serve our country. When I remember deployment and months that I have been without him I shed a tear but then think to myself we did it! When I think about how his very basic need to serve has driven him to do just that, and to do that with honor, I remember the many qualities that attracted me to him so many years ago. But my pride in my husband stems much further back…
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The Gift of Guns & Gratitude
Yesterday I bought a gun. I guess that sentence has more weight then I intend, especially because it is a gift for my husband’s 40th birthday, coming up towards the end of the month. But *I* had to fill out all the paperwork, the gun is registered in my name and the clerk made it very clear it was mine. Yep, it’s mine. But here is my story. The conversation with the clerk started off a little rough, especially because my gun knowledge is about this much > . < Not much at all. I knew what kind he wanted and he had pointed some out in a flier so I brought…
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Girlfriends
Ah vacation … what is meant to be a great time to get away can be so very stressful. Especially those hours leading up to a trip. Packing the van for a family trip is my personal hell. Setting the expectation that my husband will help me when I want him to help me always leaves me… disappointed, frustrated, misunderstood. To say my husband works hard is an understatement. That I get. Let’s put it this way, vacation is scheduled to start today (like at 0800) and he is at work. There was nothing he could do about that fact. I have accepted that because flexibility is the name of the…
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The Gold Star Family & Our American Flag
This past weekend was out of this world. Boating, Bike Riding, Ga-Ga Ball, Campfire & S’mores, and much more, all wrapped in time spent as a family. A huge thank you to Ohio’s Operation Military Kids and the USO for supporting programs like Military Family Camp. This was top-notch support! I desperately want to share more about the weekend but need to take the time to share this solemn moment and give it its due “time in the spotlight”. In our group of about 50 there were three Gold-star families, enjoying the weekend just like the rest of us. On Sunday morning a Gold-Star Dad and his three grandsons, one being a Gold-Star…
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On the Road Again, A Military Journey!
What a journey life has taken me. Right now I’m in the passenger seat, in more ways then one. Learning to be the mom that lets their children make their own choices, loving letting Hubs set the pace for this stretch and taking in the beauty of life as it whizzes by. I am very content in the passenger seat of the family mini van, the toddler fast asleep, Boy 1 intently watching a video on the DVD player and Boy 2 plays with a new stuffed animal and filling his face with goldfish crackers. We are off to see Josh, our oldest. He graduates from Basic at Ft Leonard…
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Our Summer Routine
The Summer Routine has started in Ohio. School is out, the kids’ schedules have relaxed, thoughts of fun and sun have been churning in the minds of my boys. However, this mom has other plans besides lazy days of summer all vacation long. Usually, they are all up by 9am but once in awhile I get the joy of poking, prodding and maybe even some singing making a joyful noise. That rallies the troops right up! We get some breakfast, pour some (more) coffee and pull out summer-workbooks. The (now) 3rd and 5th grader have some workbooks we bought through school (like we have done in years past – learn more) and I also…
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Wrapping up Month Of The Military Child: Brat Town Bugle
Today is the last day of Month of the Military Child; but isn’t it something we should celebrate all year long? We highlighted some great resources throughout April on our Facebook page. We shared Tips on Relocation, YMCA’s Operation Kid Comfort Program, and most importantly a reminder that YOU are the ultimate resource for your military child PLUS so much more. (Scroll through Facebook.com/MilitaryAvenue to see them all.) One more resource I want to share is Operation We Are Here‘s Brat Town Bugle ™. The Brat Town Bugle is a wonderful way for your child, children, whole family to showcase what is happening at home. It could be a monthly project to…
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40 Ways to Find Solace in a Storm
“I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” ― Oscar Wilde Call your dad Sip a hot cup of coffee Take 10 minutes to soak up some sun on a warm, sunny front porch Feet up & a good book Jump on your bike and take a ride Grab the music player, pop in the ear buds, play your favorite upbeat music and ask the vacuum to dance (Bonus you get some clean floors) Give a lingering hug with someone you love Look through old photos, create a collage of someone you love using Picasa or other photo editor…
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Tutor.com for Military Families
My poor blessed children. When I was a child I wanted to be a teacher. The need to teach is somehow still ingrained in my bones. Now the need to teach and the need to see my children succeed are intertwined. We finished up Spring Break last week and much to their groans and moans we did 30 minutes of reading and 30 minutes of education… EVERY DAY of break. “BUT MOM we are on vacation”“BUT MOM we would rather be playing”“BUT MOM …” Didn’t matter. For us education was either time spent on some workbooks I had stored in the closet, time on educational website I had approved, or doing some creative…
