Sending Our Son to War in the Beginning of the War on Terrorism

history, military life, parenting, war letters
Sending our son to war in the beginning of the war on terrorism #armymom

*****Alan’s mother, Donna, aka Nonna, is here today to share with us a speech she gave at her church in 2004, when Alan returned from his first deployment to Iraq. This is part of the series, The Real Army Wives, appearing every Monday on storiesofourboys.com.***** When Alan accepted the ROTC scholarship after his second year in college, we knew that someday he might have to go to war, but war was not in sight at that time and the next […]

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Good-bye Summer

family, funny stories, parenting

Only 1 more day until school starts back!!!  Yay!!!! Y’all, I might have overdone it this summer. Hmmm, Israel, Washington, D.C., trips back and forth to my parents’ as well as Alan’s parents’ house, camps, and the beach!!??? Who does that? It was wonderful, and yet it was also like eating way too much at an all-you-can-eat donut buffet. I definitely over-packed this summer with fun activities. Lesson learned. Schedule more down time. Of course, next summer is a moving […]

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Shock and Awe, March 22, 2003

Army Wives, family, history, military life

The Last Visit For a few minutes there, people began to joke that the 4th Infantry Division was never actually leaving for Iraq. By the first of March of 2003, the whole division was still waiting, and the other division in town, the 1st Cavalry Division, had orders as well. Some of the 1st Cav guys began to joke that the 1st Cav would beat the 4th ID to the punch after all.

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Why Capernaum was Our Favorite City to Visit in Israel

Israel, travel, vacation

After we left Nazareth, we hopped back on our bus and rode through the ever-so-bumpy streets of Cana. Maybe you have heard of Cana, where Jesus turned the water into wine? We didn’t actually stop in Cana. Another destination was on our minds: Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee!!!! Eeeeeee!!!! So excited!!! That bus ride was so bumpy that my Fitbit credited me with climbing about 200 flights of stairs. Yeah. I earned so many badges. Hahaha! I tried to make […]

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4 Hacks to Help You Save and Pay for Your Child’s Higher Education

being frugal, parenting

Allow me to introduce you to Jacob. Jacob is a finance blogger over at Dollar Diligence, where he writes practical tips like this post on food budgeting. Today I’ve asked him to share with us about college savings accounts. I hope you’ll stop by his blog and say hello! *********** As a fairly recent college graduate — and as someone who just paid off hefty student loans — I know firsthand how expensive getting a college education can be. The […]

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Deployment Prep: Next Week for Sure We’ll Be Flying to Kuwait

Army Wives, family, friends, military life
Iraq War history

*****This post is the 10th in the series The Real Army Wives of 2003, the true story of our young military marriage and the friends we made in the beginning of the War on Terrorism.***** Alan reported to work. We were so nervous and excited to begin his military career. Everything up to this point was training; now it was time for the real action to begin. He found his unit in a fury of battle preparing. Much of the gear […]

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What it’s Like a Year After Moving

Army Wives, family, military life, moving, parenting

One year after moving… A year ago, we were the new kids in town. It’s an exciting place to be, but it’s not a secure feeling at all. Perhaps that why it’s so exciting. You’re all out there without roots, marching out into the unknown, hoping the people will be kind and the environment friendly. Phew! It’s exhausting to be new: always putting your best foot forward…Actually, sometimes it’s an accomplishment just to remember to smile at everyone and keep […]

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Beginning to Meet the Real Army Wives of 2003

military life, moving

***This post is a chapter in the series The Real Army Wives of 2003, appearing each Monday morning on Storiesofourboys.com.*** Moving into a new house always makes me euphorically happy. What could thrill a feminine soul more than a fresh new house full of possibilities? I vividly remember each “not it” home we looked at when we arrived in Texas in January, 2003. But then we found “it.” We found THE ONE.

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22 Inspiring Photos of Ancient Tabgha, Where Jesus Performed Miracles

Israel, Jesus, photography, pictures, travel
22 Inspiring Photos of Tabgha: Where Jesus divided the loaves, healed the leper, and preached the sermon on the Mount

After Nazareth, and before Capernaum, we headed over to Tabgha, to see where Jesus called his first disciples and later performed the miracle of feeding the multitudes with the one basket of bread and fish. This sign below provides a nice overview of what happened here: History and the Bible People often want to compare Christianity with science, which is baffling because Christianity is not science. Those are two different fields. I mean, yes, I believe God created the world because […]

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A Parent Review of ABCmouse: Keeping Our Brains Working Through Summer

parenting, preschool, toddlers
Parent Review of ABCmouse

  Like most moms, I TRY to keep my children from letting all of their knowledge fall out over the summer. Any “book learnin’” my four boys accomplish over the summer is typically solely because I forced them to do it. Maybe your kids aren’t like mine, I don’t know, but my children never ASK me to do workbook pages and catch up on their reading logs. When I was a little girl, I LOVED doing workbooks, but that is […]

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