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Earth Day, Everyday at MilitaryAvenue
My husband is the budget guy, I am the environmentally conscious one. I love hanging the laundry on an outdoor rack/line. I am using less electricity (“non-renewable resource”) and letting the sun and the wind do its job. My husband loves it because it helps keep our gas bill down during the summer. I love open windows in the spring, summer and autumn! For me, it’s all about the fresh air in the house using renewable resources. For my husband, it’s all about the lack of air conditioning to drive up the electric bill. There are other simple things we do to live in harmony. I make homemade yogurt. Not only is…
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A Dedication to my 6 year old
Happy Birthday to my *C*! He turned six on Saturday. It was a day filled with fun befitting our six-year old prince. A 9:30am birthday party with 15 of his kindergarten friends; a 3:00pm soccer game in the rain and major-mud (see picture for the after-soccer game look); a favorite dinner of pasta, meatballs and bread, which after all the earlier fun in the day I had to wake him up off of the couch for. Then to top it all off sundae-desserts at our kitchen counter. It was just a great day! This little boy is a light in my life. He has the strength of a military-child. The heart of…
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Volunteer Appreciation Week – DoD Roundtable
The American spirit! We see it all around us! Did you know this week was Volunteer Appreciation Week? Who do you think are America’s best volunteers? I give a vote for our all volunteer armed forces involved in three wars that began 10 years ago and yet we still have a force that makes its recruitment and re-enlistment goals each year! How about the American military family? They sacrifice so much and work so hard to take care of themselves and still find time to volunteer and support their communities! During my times as a military leader and even now I realize that many of the on the installation organizations…
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Seems Comfort Is Not Immediate and Abuse is Prevalent
Music plays in my life like breezes in an open field, sometimes noticeable, often relaxing and at times bone chilling. I hear songs in the background without recognizing the words. I might know them; I did when I first added an album to a playlist, but now, they fit in. Robert’s desk was front row, front seat. Robert was Robert, not Robbie, Bob or Bobby: Robert. He would cringe when an unfamiliar person would call him Bobby. I saw it as I was the substitute teacher who was coming in February to finish the school year: 6th grade math and home room. Robert could not sit still. He would squirm;…
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Building Resiliency in Military Children
/ Resilient /: Able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed.There are SO many words that can describe a Military-Child. Resilient is the word that pops in to my head, first and foremost. Other great descriptions: Loyal – Adaptable – Strong – Supportive – Compassionate – Empowered These are important words for a military-child! Sometimes they come naturally, sometimes they may need to be reinforced. This week Star Henderson and Tara Crooks of Army Wife Network took the time to talk with Ingrid Torres-McCullough of the American Red Cross on the topic of building resiliency in military children. What are symptoms of childhood-stress? How do…
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Sermon Notes: We are Equipped
Many years ago (back in high school) I read a book This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti. I was never a big reader but this book captivated me, scared me, reminded me of the Protection that surrounds me. I can distinctly remember going into my family room while in the midst of this book one late night, turning on my parents’ new CD player, finding my dad’s good head-set and blasting the song, “Ashton” by Michael W. Smith…. (ok, maybe there is a reason I’m a little deaf. But I digress.) Ashton is also the name of the town that This Present Darkness takes place in. A town where…
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A Recipe for Summer: Sun Tea
Sun Tea! My favorite drink. It is sunny skies, warm weather and the sounds of summer wrapped up and packaged in a glass jar. A few years ago I perfected my family’s favorite version of sun-tea and I thought I’d share it with you. 6 tea-bags. (I use Lipton Tea, found in an economy box of 100.)2 quarts of cold water1 two-quart glass jar. Nothing expensive required! Using your glass jar combine the ingredients and let it sit in a nice sunny-warm spot for two or three hours. My deck table is ideal. The longer you let it sit, the stronger your tea will be. So you can play with the time to see…
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You Are Dismissed!
“You are Dismissed!” Some of the sweetest words spoken to a hot sweaty classroom of 5th or 6th graders at the end of the year. Should you ever be brought to traffic court for a ticket… and then that ticket is dismissed… ahhhhh… exhilarating! However, when bringing the car in for a check up, under what I thought was warranty… not a good dismissal. We purchased the car not quite 2 years ago, about 30 from our home. LOVE the car, hate the gas prices, but I digress. We drive cross country, zipping in and out of States like some folks drive in and out of their driveway.A slight noise…
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Win a Gift from Wire-A-Cake for your Military-Child
Doesn’t it feel good to receive a gift?Children find a lot of joy in the act of giving. I have homemade necklaces, paintings, and home decor from my boys as proof-positive! They light up as I marvel at the beauty of my newest gift; beaded necklaces, hand-drawn art for the frig, even painted rocks from the garden. Those gifts are a tangible expression of their love for me. With this in mind we, MilitaryAvenue, have partnered with Wire-A-Cake, a great military-support company, to help celebrate the Month of the Military Child! We want to send a military-child a cake as a thank you for their sacrifices! What do you have to do to win a cake for…
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Traumatic Brain Injury and Month of the Military Child
What is DoD doing about Traumatic Brain Injury’s Impact on Our Service Members and Their Families? In March, I read a book about a neurosurgeon’s life, “The Gray Matter” which delved into the intricacies of the brain and how the author, Dr David Levy, had helped save and improve lives through surgery on the brain. We have all been following Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords recovery from a penetrating brain injury in the news and the long road to recovery she is facing. With thousands of service member also having brain injuries from mild to severe the military community has a need for care and support as well. The subject of brain…
