Official Ball Photos

Last week we got our little postcard in the mail telling us our Ball Pics were ready to be picked up. Can't say I'm happy with them (not happy with myself most likely). Not the best pic of us but watching the photographer pose other people in weird positions, I would have to consider us lucky to get away with what we got.
Kev's pic of him alone came out great...I had to play with it though, lol
The one of Kev will probably go in a frame and the one of the two of us will probably end up in an envelope in a photo box somewhere, lol

PTA President...

Yup, that's me.

I've heard that keeping busy makes deployments go faster..thought I'd try it out...

This is why I am proud to be a SAHM

Today I got to go on a field trip with Neil. We went to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. I got to chaperone Neil and 3 of his buddies. They were an energetic lot but we had a good time. The best part was in the IMAX theater and I would not tell them what was so special about this particular type of movie. I wish I had a video camera when the thunder and lightening struck or when the kids screamed when the "snake" crawled under their legs, lol. It was classic.

We had a good time and I love being able to go on these types of things with our children and not having to ask anyone permission to do so. All the boys keep track of how many events mom goes to with them so it wouldn't be fair to have done for one and not for all.

I'm hoping we won't still be in Texas when Daniel hits 4th grade and I might get a chance to visit a different museum but if by chance and Army luck we are still here, I'll gladly go with his class too.

Academic Dinner

On Tuesday night, we had the opportunity to attend the academic dinner for Michael's middle school. He was awarded for starting his middle school years off on a good note. He was given a medal, plaque and cool t-shirt. They also had the National Junior Honor Society inductions and Michael has decided to make it his personal goal to be part of that ceremony next year.

This wasn't the most organized event but I appreciate that they took the time to honor the hard work that these kids have done. It's a true testament of how strong our military children are. This is a school that is on post meaning that almost all students that attend have parents in the Army and most have at least one of them deployed at any given time. The fact that they honored so many students let's us know that they continue to endure despite the trials thrown in their path.

We are very proud of Michael and the example he sets for our entire family.

In Recognition

In recognition of our heroes who have fought and died for us on foreign soil.
To those of World War I, which has only been a history lesson for me, you fought to make the world a safer place.
Soldiers of World War II,
I salute.
You fought in other countries,
for a free world.
Korean Veterans, thank you. for fighting in a war that is largely forgotten, unless a loved one fell there.
Men and Women, who served in Vietnam,
I respect and honor your contribution.
You stayed the course,
even knowing you would be spit on,
and called ‘baby killer'
when you returned home.
Thank you for doing the job
you were asked to do.
To those who are serving,
and dying in the Middle East,
I send you my prayers.
You are volunteers who have
largely left homes, families
and jobs to be in the midst
of a "Storm."
You are doing the right thing,
despite what the media say.
Serve with honor and dignity,
as did the ones that went before you.
Thank you to all veterans and our current military men and women who are serving with pride, all over the world.

~Sherri Smith

Memorial Day 2008

Memorial Day has taken on a whole new meaning for me over the past few years. While I've always been patriotic I will admit that I didn't always appreciate Memorial Day as I do now. Perhaps, it's because while I have known people who served who were no longer with us, they didn't die in war. They served, got out and lived their lives, often to a relatively old age.
I have always appreciated those who have served and sacrificed but since Kevin's last deployment where we lost people we knew...it has a whole new meaning. For me, everyday is Memorial Day, as it is I'm sure for the 4,080 families of our fallen.
I know for many, Memorial Day weekend is a chance to "escape", get out of town, eat to gluttony, drink in excess and be out in the sun until you look like a lobster. I don't admonish anyone for that, but I do hope they take a moment to realize what this day is all about. I hope they remember why it was deemed so important that a day was set aside just to observe it.
I belong to many MSN groups online and I was really upset on a thread that was started for Memorial Day. It started off with a beautiful comment on remembering what Memorial Day was all about and the responses following were much of the same. Then one person had to ruin it by posting about gas prices and other crap. I know for many people..ok maybe the majority (since the military makes up 1% of our great nation), the war and it's affects are not an everyday thing, so concerns like gas prices and other economical issues are their priority. I just wish it wasn't like that. If you can't remember the sacrifice of the many troops who have laid their lives down for the many freedoms we enjoy on a daily basis, can you just stop for the one day that was set aside to do so?
Today I will be attending a Memorial service in which our friend Bryant will be honored. Also being honored is the Soldier for whom the street we live on is named after. Everyday looking at our address, we are reminded of sacrifice.This past week while doing some geneology work, I came across the death index of what I thought could be my Uncle. We have been wondering for over 17 years what happened to him. I know my dad has needed closure as to where he might be...dead or alive. About a year ago he found out when he might have died, but there was nothing as far as location of his grave or where he died. I found his record and found out that he is buried in a VA Cemetary in Ohio. I can't even begin to explain the relief for myself, I can't imagine how my dad felt. So why do I write this? What does it have to do with Memorial Day? It made me think of the families who have not had that closure from this war and the wars that have passed. We still have thousands of servicemembers unaccounted for. We have 3 Soldiers from this war who are still listed as missing. A few months ago the remains of Matt Maupin were found and in news stories, his family said, they were just happy for the closure. So I ask all of you to stop for a moment, remember what this day is really about and think of all those who have lost and sacrificed for your freedom.
I hope that as you wake up tomorrow, you take a moment to remember all who have paid the price of freedom with their lives. I hope when you see the American Flag, you will smile and appreciate the families who have also sacrificed with their fallen hero.

We truly do live in the land of the free, because of the brave.

Army Family Team Building

*I promised a few people that I would explain what Army Family Team Building (AFTB) is all about...so here it is.
Straight from the AFTB curriculum!

AFTB is a volunteer-led organization with a central tenet: provide training and knowledge to spouses and family members to support the total Army effort. Strong families are the pillar of support behind strong Soldiers. It is AFTB's mission to educate and train all of the Army in knowledge, skills, and behaviors designed to prepare our Army families to move successfully into the future.
AFTB Contributes:AFTB contributes to the Army mission by educating and training the Army family to be self-sufficient leaders within their communities. AFTB Level I focuses on the basic skills and knowledge needed to live the military life. Level II allows the participant to grow into a community leader. Finally, Level III goes into inspiring and mentoring others into leadership positions.
AFTB Operations: AFTB is organized along the command line of the US Army Installation Management Agency (for installation based programs) and by Major Command (MACOM) lines for all others. There are currently 221 active programs world-wide with more than 20,000 volunteers and paid staff all with one commitment at heart: Connecting Families to the Army ….One Class at a Time!

Why do I love teaching AFTB? What better way to serve our families then by empowering them? This is a spouse founded program...it was started by an Army wife who saw the need to help our families survive when the Soldier was away at war. There was no such program back in Desert Storm and it hit our readiness hard. The Army saw a need, listened to what the spouses were saying and did something about it!

Our program continues to grow. It's a volunteer driven program and one of the most successful programs in the military. We currently have ONE paid staff member in our AFTB program, all the instructors are volunteers. It's a pretty awesome program. Check it out if you have a chance!

Tick Tock...

That's the clock clicking our time away..just a couple more weeks before we bid our Hero goodbye..

In the News

Our pics in the newspaper today...pretty cool.

Blood for the Troops

Blood Warrior

Yesterday the boys came home with a letter talking about a Blood Drive at their school. I haven't been able to donate blood for a long time because I'm always fighting anemia. My last blood tests have shown me to be doing good in that department so I mentioned to Kevin that we should go participate today. Nita came in to attend a class I was teaching and she was sifting through her pile of newspaper clippings and showed me one mentioning a Blood Drive that was going to happen on the 29th of May and she asked if I wanted to participate. I asked her if she wanted to do it today and if so, we could go to the boy's school. So off the three of went.

I admit that I am a scaredy cat when it comes to needles (I know there's no rationale in that as I have tattoos and I had piercings, but I always get nervous). Going through the triage process, I started to get nervous but it really helped to have Kevin and Nita there with me. By the way, the finger prick for the iron check hurt worse then the needle to start the blood draw! The Soldiers and civilians doing the blood drive were fantastic. I'm sure the people in there thought we were crazy because of course we were just being our normal, silly selves.

As Nita and I were going through the blood draw process, the phlebotomist and a teacher were talking about where our blood was headed. Within 36 hours our blood will be helping our Soldiers in Iraq. I cannot even begin to express the humbling yet honorable feeling I had hearing that. While I don't like to think about why our blood is needed, it's good to know that I'm helping in some small way. There are so many people who want to help our Soldiers and their families, well I can't think of a better way than to help preserve life. And while the task of donating blood can be daunting, it's truly an honorable act of charity. To help those who help us, well, what better way of saying Thank You for our Freedom?

I am grateful for the opportunity. I plan on making this a routine act of service and I encourage everyone who reads my blog to do their part in helping your communities and your country.

To find out if you're eligible and also, to find our where you can donate blood CLICK HERE

The glass says My Pint Gives Troops a Fighting Chance

Oh and a bit of Red Cross Trivia today courtesy of Nita.

On this day in 1881, Clara Barton and others organized the American Red Cross!

We ♥ Books!

For as long as I can remember, I have always had a passion for reading. I would read everything and anything. I would read anywhere and everywhere. My mom loves to tell my boys how I would rollerskate around the neighborhood while reading a book. I had all the crack and bumps in the sidewalks memorized so I knew just when to step or slow down so I wouldn't fall.

I have since becoming a mother, hoped and prayed that my boys would have the same love for books that I do. Well, they do. I always enjoy seeing my boys with their noses in books. I have had so much fun sharing some of my favorite books with them. I love when they come home and tell me with excitement the plot from one of the books that they have read.

We probably spend way more money on books that anything else in this house. It's dangerous for us to walk into book stores or book fairs.

We have a rule with our boys...while we can enjoy a "fun" book, we try to keep them far away from the movie books or those that are based on cartoons or TV shows. We do own a few but for the most part I want to encourage them to read the classics.

Michael loves the Narnia series. Daniel's favorite book of all time is Green Eggs and Ham. Neil enjoys the Fudge series by Judy Blume. These are all books I read as a child.

We have so many books in our house, everytime we get rid of any, I feel like I'm abandoning a good friend. But we must sacrifice some books to make room for more (you know the military DOES have a weight limit, lol).

Even Kevin who has never really enjoyed reading, has started to pick up books and is reading quicker than ever before. I'm happy for our boys that they get to see their parents enjoying in a worthwhile hobby.

Some books that we have read recently that we'd like to recommend.

Kevin - The Last Lecture
Nadine - Anything written by Jodi Picoult
Michael - The Narnia Series
Neil - Goosebumps books
Daniel - The Teacher from the Black Lagoon

Now get off our blog and go read a book!

Our Trip to Ikea

Yesterday we ventured off to Round Rock to go to Ikea. Kevin had never been there before so it was quite an adventure. Just a few pics from our visit. Yup, this is a good bed to nap in
Hmmmmm, I think I could like this chair
What is this thing hanging down?
Ahhh yes, flashbacks to basic training...lol
Excuse me, I'm relaxing...come back for me in about 20 minutes
Yeah..I don't get this chair..how do I sit on it?
Like this! Doesn't it look comfy? Nintendo, anyone?
I can work on uhm somewhat nice posture and drink my hot cocoa in the morning!
This is an interesting table!

Chaperone

I think we're old...the term chaperone used to make me think of "old" people, lol. Yesterday Kevin and I chaperoned the beginning band from Michael's school. It was in interesting journey. Getting on the bus itself was an adventure. The seat backs were outrageously high..if anyone knows the reasoning behind this please let me know, I quite enjoy being able to see the road ahead of us.

What really got my brain going though was the conversations between these mostly 6th graders. They are all about 12-13 years old. The racial slurs they used..they kept calling one little Mexican boy Diego (and they weren't being nice to him). The two little boys behind us kept chanting this little rap song about being gangsta and doing lines of cocaine. One little boy was fascinated with the word ejaculate and said it about three times before stopping (even though Kevin told him to stop saying it after the first time).

Their attitudes were bad too, they really made me angry because they were so disrespectful. They were disrespectful to the faculty that were on the bus and to me and Kevin. Of course, anyone who knows Kevin and I know that we didn't tolerate it. The other teachers weren't taken so seriously, it could have been that they weren't very forceful in their requests to sit down and be quiet.

I told Michael, that he'd be in serious trouble if he ever acted the way some of these kids were acting. I don't know what's worse that the kids acted this way or that the teachers gave up and just didn't bother with trying to correct the attitude.

Now I do feel old because I want to shake my head and say "kids these days".

What a Week!

I am sooooooooooo glad to see this week come to an end. It was a crazy busy week. Somehow all sorts of things fell onto my calendar. Each day I had at least three things to do. Luckily all the things on the calendar were activities I enjoy participating in (well for the most part, anyway). I taught AFTB classes (I will be blogging about AFTB sometime in the near future to answer some questions I've been asked recently), had Parent Advisory stuff at school, pre-deployment briefing, instructor meetings, deployment club, luncheons, teas, a comedy act (Achmed the Dead Terrorist...HILARIOUS!). Today we had our Scout show.

Kevin signed out on leave today and so did I. We are in our final weeks before Kevin deploys for his 15 month rotation to the sandbox. I have cut my schedule way down so we can focus on our family and just be together. The calendar is pretty empty and I think I might leave it like that for a while...(maybe 15 months, lol)

Scout Show 2008

Today we had the opportunity to participate in our district's Scout Show. We had a great time. Both our Boy Scout Troop and our Cub Scout Pack did Knots. They set up a booth that helped boys in both areas complete requirements according to their ranks. I was so proud of Neil. Watching him step up and help other kids. He just looked so comfortable, he just shined. There weren't as many Boy Scouts who came through so Michael took the opportunity to work on and complete his Fire Safety Merit Badge.

Our boys took 2nd in the booth judging. We are very proud of them and the hard work of the leaders and the Scouts.

One of my favorite parts was the Flag Retirement ceremony. I always enjoy watching it. We are an extremely patriotic family and so to be able to participate in such an honorable task..well it's humbling.

All three boys had a great time participating and I was so proud they were able to describe the ceremony and tell me the meaning behind it.

Sadly, my camera just did a weird thing and deleted all the pics from my memory card..grrrrr, I need to see if I can retrieve some of them pics. So I'll edit this post later..

My last note about today is a pic...there was a photographer there and we were told that we should have a family pic taken since we were all in Scout uniform so we did...

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

Friday, May 9, 2008 was Military Spouse Appreciation Day. It's a day that is recognized by the President of the United States. It's nice to be recognized, it's not needed, military spouses will continue on with their mission, but it's nice nonetheless. I participated in a Military Spouse Appreciation Day Luncheon. I was part of "The Basic Black Dress" skit. It's quite funny if you ever get a chance to see it. I filled in as a replacement of the pregnant girl. It was fun, we had some great actors participating, I think the audience enjoyed it. We had some great speakers, their talks touched my heart and may have helped spring a few tears in my eyes. One of the speakers was a retired Command Sergeant Major's wife and she shared with us a wonderful video. Check it out if you have a chance "Life on the Train".

I am proud to be a Military Spouse. I am so proud of my Soldier. I try hard to support him and his Soldiers. I want to teach my children to be proud of the legacy that my husband is building for us. It's amazing to think that our military family makes up only 2% of our nation's population, what an awesome responsibility we bear, yet one we serve in proudly.

One day is set aside for recognition, but I want all my fellow military spouses to know, I appreciate you always..we serve in a capacity that few have the honor of living..be proud.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION
Military spouses embody the courage, nobility of duty, and love of country that inspire every American. On Military Spouse Day, we pay tribute to the husbands and wives who support their spouses in America's Armed Forces during times of war and peace. The legacy of military spouses began when colonial Americans were fighting for independence. Martha Washington boosted the morale of her husband's troops by visiting battlefields and tending to the wounded. Since then, members of our Armed Forces have served our Nation accompanied by the steadfast love and support of their spouses and families. While our men and women in uniform are protecting our country's founding ideals of liberty, democracy, and justice, their spouses live with uncommon challenges, endure sleepless nights, and spend long periods raising children alone. Many military spouses are also committed volunteers, serving other military families and local communities. Our Nation benefits from the sacrifices of our military families, and we are inspired by their courage, strength, and leadership. On Military Spouse Day and throughout the year, we honor the commitment spouses have made to freedom's cause. To learn about ways to support our troops and their spouses and families, I encourage all Americans to visit www.americasupportsyou.mil. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 9, 2008, as Military Spouse Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities and by expressing their gratitude to the husbands and wives of those serving in the United States Armed Forces. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.
GEORGE W. BUSH

The Ball

Well tonight was our Spring Formal. It's 10:24 p.m., so obviously we are not bringing down the house. People may still be partying, we don't really know, we left over an hour ago. I didn't really have a lot of expectations for this formal, so I can't say that I'm completely disappointed. It's not the best "ball" I've attended. I didn't like our seating at all. I think it's safe to say that everyone at our table felt that we were being admonished into the corner. Our table was in the furthest corner close to the doors to the kitchen. We couldn't see anything. Kind of sad when a lot of the focus of the evening has to do with slideshows and people talking, facing a totally different direction. I will say that we were invited to get up and move to a place where we could see the slideshow. I don't know about you but I didn't pay $50 to have to stand and see anything, I'd like to think that our money paid for a little bit of comfort.

I don't want to sound ungrateful to those who put in a lot of work into this event. LT C and her crew did a decent job. We were in a pretty small place for the amount of people that attended and perhaps that contributed to the seating arrangements and the bad viewing opportunities for a few of the tables. Overall we had an ok time. I admit that there isn't quite the history as our last ball so my heart may not have been completely in it. We sat with some great people, people I like a lot. We shared some good laughs and the ladies got a bit emotional as the Guest Speaker gave his talk. Our Battalion Commander gave a good talk. We would have stayed and danced for a bit but there were a few too many drunk people stumbling about, bumping into me and stepping on my dress. I get pretty cranky easily so I figured it would be a good time for us to go.



Overall the night wasn't spectactular but my husband and I got a chance to dress up and make it about us for a couple hours. Sister H did an amazing job on my hair and I was happy with my dress. Thanks to Bro & Sis C for watching the boys.

It was soooooooooo hot in that room!

My boys think I'm the most beautiful mommy in the world!

In a funk...

Yesterday a friend commented that I seemed mellow. For those who know me, mellow is not usually a word that describes me. I came home and pondered that for a while. I guess sometimes when I am dealing with a lot of things all at once I do slow down and become introverted (no, I didn't say I become an introvert, lol..I don't believe that is possible for me) but I do internalize a lot of things. I wouldn't say that I'm overly stressed (though I did put that as my status on MySpace today). I just have a lot of things I'm dealing with. Upcoming deployment is like Winnie the Pooh's black cloud. The actual deployment is not bothering me like it probably should. While I'm not looking forward to Kevin leaving, this is the reality of our lifestyle. It's a lifestyle we chose, therefore we take whatever comes with it. Things that are bothering me are comments about the area being "safe". It's Iraq people...safe and Iraq do not go hand in hand. The statement itself bothered me. I know that it was probably said with the intent to comfort but it did quite the opposite. I attended a briefing and the first slide showed the last casualty incident...it included a few KIA and a couple WIA. Uhm, this is their definition of safe? While I'm not completely focused on that particular half truth, it does weigh in on my mind.

I'm not falling apart with worry but I'm not ready to say goodbye. The calendar has become my enemy. We are trying to make the most of these last few weeks. I keep going back to December 6, 2005. I tell a lot of people that I wished I still had that bubble that I lived in that day. The one where you THINK you know what could happen and you THINK you are prepared to handle it. The mentality that you know what the reality is, but you are naive enough to think it will never happen to you or even close to you. All those news stories, those memorial services you pass on post are for someone else, a name you don't know.

For the past few months I told myself and even others that I was envious of those going through the first time and still living in that bubble. But I realize now that is not true. I don't envy them. I learned a lot through the experience of having my bubble burst. While my heart aches for the circumstances in which it was deflated, I have grown as a person. I have become a better wife, I have strengthened my marriage, I have learned to appreciate today. I try to focus on the things that matter instead of wasting energy on things that really don't count in the big scheme of life.

So I'm in a funk right now...I could just be tired...it could be the rain..I don't know..but I hope it doesn't last cuz frankly I don't have time for it, lol

Board 1

This past weekend Michael and Neil participated in the District Chess Tournament. We are very proud of both our boys. Michael rounded up a few kids from him middle school and only 4 showed up but they still held their own. He is determined to get a team at his school, so we'll see how that goes next year. Neil took Board 1, basically meaning that he won overall for his division. Go Neil and go Clear Creek Kings...all the kids did great!

Iron Chef Mario Batali

Yesterday, Iron Chef Mario Batali came to Fort Hood to sign his new book. A couple years ago, Emeril Lagasse came and I stood in line hours to see him. Sadly, I had to leave for a meeting and Kevin finished waiting in life for me to get his autograph. I like Mario well enough, but he's not my favorite chef (sorry Mario). He is however, one of Kevin's favorites, so being the nice wife that I am, I went and stood in line to get a book signed for him. He was a nice man (at least he seemed so in the 45 seconds I was next to him to get this pic taken and have him sign my book!

Going Natural

Yesterday I went and got my hair done. Decided to go back to my natural hair color. Yes, believe it or not I do remember what it is. My goal is to let my hair grow out and then donate it to Locks of Love. I've done it a few times in the past. The last few times I've attempted to grow out my hair, I've gotten bored and cut it so we'll see if I can do it this time.

Class of 2014

Yesterday morning about 10 minutes before heading out to the bus stop, Michael started an interesting dialogue.

Michael - "Mom, today is going to be our field day, we are going to be outside ALL day!"
Mom - "Cool, make sure you drink water."
Michael - "Our t-shirts are really cool, they say twenty fourteen on them and they are the school's colors."
Mom - "That's neat, what's with the 14?"
Michael - "Because that's when I graduate."
Mom - thinking to herself, what?!?!?! but says "Oh, so do you get these shirts for participating in field day?"
Michael - "No, they are $8, but you get a free lunch if you buy a t-shirt."
Mom - still reeling from the fact that her son put a date on his transition to adulthood and not handling it well in her brain says, "So you're asking me for $8?"
Michael - "Yes, I would like a t-shirt, please."

I hand him the money and send him out the door. For anyone who knows me, knows that I am in denial over the fact that my children will grow up someday and leave me and start life on their own. Every major milestone is hard for me to accept. I had a hard time sending Michael off to 6th grade and now someone has decided to throw in my face an actual year of his graduation! How dare they do this to me!!! *Sigh* I'm just not ready for him to grow up.

It is a pretty cool shirt. He was psyched over the fact that he got a "free" lunch with his purchase.

Kevin didn't help matters any when I relayed the conversation to him..instead he went on to inform me that it meant that Neil graduates in 2016 and Daniel in 2019 (I should hold him back and make him graduate in 2020, wouldn't that be cool??) oh and he would retire one year after Michael graduates...I swear he's trying to kill me!!!

Transitioning Army Wife

Sometime a couple months ago, I came to the realization that I had made a transition. I didn't do so willingly and I wish someone had asked my permission before sending me over the line, but they didn't and it wouldn't matter if they did anyway, the reality is that I now fall in the category of the "older" Army wife. As someone told me yesterday, it's not "older" but wiser. I'll go with that.


I really enjoyed being a young, somewhat hip Army wife. I liked that a lot of the wives were a bit older, a bit more experienced than I was. I loved being the "new, fresh of breath air". Ok, now I'm sounding cocky (I've been accused of that a lot lately, I may start to believe it's true if it continues!) But anyway, I realize now that I'm the other wife now. It's not a bad thing, mind you...just different.


Age to me is a just a number, I've never focused on it, I've never stressed about it. I probably don't act my age half the time and sometimes I don't look my age (that is a blessing). But I realize as I meet more new Army spouses, I have noticed that I have indeed crossed that line. It's not about the age either, it's about the experience. I've been married to my Army husband for 12 years. I was a Soldier before I met him. I've been "in" the Army for almost half my life and all of my adult life. That's kind of crazy if you think about it.


What's the point of this blog? I guess it's to acknowledge that I know I've crossed over. I've had the blessing of great examples of Army spouses. I've also had the blessing of not so great examples that I could learn from as well. I remember MSG Baldwin's wife at Fort Campbell who would have chili and fresh cornbread waiting for us anytime we came back from the field. I remember MAJ Dupps' wife and the lovely spread she put out for the Soldiers who attended a casual BBQ in their backyard, and her down to earth attitude and sincere concern for all of us who came. Those are just a couple examples of people who touched my heart and taught me that the little things matter. I hope that I can follow in their footsteps and do justice as I support my husband and his Soldiers. I also hope that I can be a worthy example to those new spouses who might be watching my service, I hope that I can be the "good" example and not the, "don't EVER do that", example.