An Evening with Gary Sinise

What an evening! Last night we had our Army Family Team Building Instructor Challenge Dinner. Once a quarter we do an Instructor Challenge where our instructors have to complete a certain of amount of requirements and then they have to be one of the first 8 to sign up to attend these special dinners. We have been so blessed to have Connie McD, who hosts these dinners at her home. We have been all around the world through these dinners. Germany, Mexico, Spain, Italy and even Iraq. Last night had a French theme. One of the great parts of these dinners (besides the always fabulous food) is that we always have a mystery guest. We have met some of Fort Hood's top leadership. Last night we had the III Corps and Fort Hood Commanding General and his sweet wife. They brought along their own special guest. Mr. Gary Sinise. It was sooooooo awesome! He is here doing a free concert for the Soldiers and Families and Fort Hood and the Lynches were kind enough to share their evening with him with us.

He was so awesome! I had the opportunity to chat with him for a great while (sorry for monopolizing his time!!) Really, it was an awesome night. He said some great things to us, we shared with him things about our program and our lives. He was even nice enough to record a special message for Kevin, what a man! We had so much fun...so much fun. There aren't words to describe a great evening with some of my favorite people, my AFTB family and then having the top leadership AND Gary Sinise. A great night indeed!

This pic needs an explanation...Ms. "G" was so cute that she was taking pics of Gary's DNA. They were really playing off of the fact that he is on CSI: New York. This is the very plate and glass he used...no I'm really not that star struck but I thought it was cute, lol.

Flashback: The Trail

I've been thinking about our time on the trail. So many good memories and good laughs. And the hat was smoking hot!!! (It's weird to see BDU's, makes me feel old, LOL).

Excited About Our New Home to Be!

I mentioned a couple months ago that we are currently on orders to Fort Leonard Wood. Stop the looks of disgusts and feel free to close out my blog if you have nothing positive to say. We are excited about going to Fort Leonard Wood for many reasons. The initial reaction when we tell people about our new home to be, we get a lot of negative reaction. It's tiring. The main thing that bothers me is that most people have no real basis for their opinion. Most people only know about Fort Leonard Wood because they or someone they know went to basic training there. Well I can tell you that every installation is very different outside the training environment. We lived at Fort Knox, KY for 3 years and liked it well enough. Ask most people who did training there and they hated it. Well I wouldn't like a place where someone yelled at me constantly, where I had to run and do lots of pushups. Where the only areas I got to see were training areas, places that caused me pain and caused me to be dirty and sweaty.

It can be discouraging when I get negativity about our next adventure. People just don't think. I've snapped at people recently about their reaction. I'm not trying to be mean, but we are excited and it's sad that people have formed an ignorant opinion.

We are happy about moving to Fort Leonard Wood and we look forward to whatever it brings. Life is about perspective and we try to look at everything in a positive way.

Fort Leonard Wood is also known as Fort Lost-in-the-Woods because of it's location and the fact that there isn't much around it. It may not be the most exciting place to be and perhaps it's out in the middle of nowhere but you know...as long as we are lost together, life will be great!!!

Better Cheddars

A couple months ago, out of the blue I starting thinking about Better Cheddars. I love these crackers and decided I needed to go buy some. I looked at Walmart, HEB, the Commissary and I could not find them. I was so sad. I even looked them up online to see if they were taken off the market or if there was some place that I could order them. It appeared that they no longer existed.

Today, I stopped at a shoppette on post and guess what I ran into! BETTER CHEDDARS! I was so excited, I had to buy two boxes. It really is about the little things!

This is Army Life...

Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's not. Sometimes there are happy tears and sometimes there as sad tears. Army life is a passionate life. You can experience a realm of emotions that you may not even be able to identify in mere seconds.

I have been to a few homecomings over the past couple weeks. Kevin will be one of the last to come home and yes, that makes me sad but I'm not angry or bitter about it. I know to some it may seem that way when I'm asked. Sometimes it's hard to get questioned again and again. If you're the fifth or sixth person to ask me, you maybe get a curt response but overall this is life.

The hurry up and wait game is typical of Army life. We wait, and yes I'm discouraged that Kevin may miss another one of Daniel's birthday. Explaining to kids is hard, that may be the hardest part of this journey. Yesterday while we were at the cemetery honoring our Veteran's and our Fallen Heroes, I talked to my boys about why it's so important what our Soldier does. We talked about why they have to sacrifice so many things in their life. We talked about how lucky they were to be the children of such an amazing father who sacrificed not only for them but so many in our country. And while there may be people out there who don't recognize their sacrifice, it's important for them to remember and understand why their daddy does what he does. He does it out of love, not only for them but for mankind as a whole. How many kids can say that about their daddy?

Today I watched as families were reunited with their Soldiers. My heart burst with pride and joy. I shed some tears as I saw them become a family again, whole...together. I am truly happy for them. Just because my husband wasn't one of them to walk across the field does not diminish my happiness for them. I am not disgruntled because it's not my turn yet. I don't walk around hating people because it's their moment and not mine. My time will come soon enough and even if dates keep changing, it's okay because he is coming home and I am blessed by that alone.

Two trash days or 52 trash days...I'm married to a Soldier and that makes everyday special, no matter whether we're together or apart.

This is Army life.

Memorial Day 2009

I've been thinking about today for a few days now. I wanted to write something great, something touching, something that would honor the day. When I think about what this day means, I'm humbled and choked up.

For me personally, what this day represents isn't just a once a year kind of feeling. I carry it with me quite often. I am privileged to be an Army wife. I live on an Army installation and I have the honor of being a part of the largest Army community in the free world. I have the opportunity to feel the pride and be a part of many customs that help to make the pride I feel grow.

I am often reminded of the sacrifice that our servicemen and women make when I drive on post. I pass memorials. I live on a street named after a Soldier who was killed in Iraq. It's amazing to me that on an installation this big the number of people who personally know someone who has been lost in war is very small. I consider it an honor and privilege that I have known some amazing men who have given their all. While I would change the circumstances in a heart beat, that is not a reality. What is a reality is that there are over 4300 families for whom Memorial Day is every day.

What we as Americans need to do is follow their example and remember the sacrifice daily. I took my boys to the Veteran's Cemetery to lay flags at the memorial walls that bear our friend's names. It's important to Kevin and I that we teach our boys the true cost of freedom. We want them to grow up knowing that freedom is a privilege paid for by those who volunteer to protect it.

God Bless Our Fallen Heroes and the sacrifices they made for my freedom.

God Bless my husband who is gone for yet another Memorial Day, giving of his time and service for our freedom.

The Bracelet

Everyday I wear a bracelet. It's simple. Black. White letters.

It means a lot to me. There are others who wear the same bracelet. Everyone wears it for their own reasons. In Memory. Legacy. Honor. Camaraderie. Freedom.

5-25-09 is Memorial Day 2009.

The bracelet makes everyday Memorial Day.

I won't forget, I will remember.

Nita & Nay

My friend Nita moved last week. I'm happy for her and sad for me. God brought us together. The events that brought us together....I wish I could erase, change. I'd be her enemy if it would change the circumstances, I love her that much.

I can't change the course of life that we are on, but I can say how blessed I am to have her in my life. She truly is one of my best friends. Those who know me well know that I don't use that term loosely.

One of the things that I love the most about her is that she just "get's it". If you don't know what "it" is, then you're missing out on so much. She also gets me, she knows why I do the things I do and she appreciates me. It's been a journey, not always easy and not always fun. We've had a lot of fun together these past 3 years. We've laughed, we've cried, we've rocked out. We have had a blast and we've built a strong friendship.

I am so blessed to have Nita in my life, she is truly my family. My whole family loves her. She's taught me so much (and taught my boys a few things too...cremation...thanks for that lesson Nita!).

I have no worries, I'm not writing this entry because our friendship is ending, sadly she is stuck with me for life....mostly because she knows way too much about me!

Thanks for the past 3 years Nita, I look forward to our future of friendship! Thank you for sharing so much about Bryant with me, I feel blessed and honored to help carry his legacy forever.

Just a "few" images of our fun together!

At the Charlie Daniel's concert..front row seats!
Celebrating my anniversary together (since Kevin was gone...again)
NASCAR Qualifying....yes she converted me!
In San Antonio for a wedding, trying not to melt!
One of my favorite pics of us, Freedom Fest
Waiting in line to see Mario the Chef
Us and Texas Bluebonnets
My FAVORITE picture of us!
Are we scary?
Thanksgiving, celebrating the memory of her and Bryant's first date!
Nita and I with the Woodruffs
The 8-10 Ball
Woohoo, NASCAR!
NASCAR again!!!

Yup, NASCAR!!!

My AFTB Family

I am so blessed to be a part of an organization that is so fun. I love my AFTB family. We are a close knit group of friends. I know I can rely on them both within AFTB and also in my personal life. We have fun together, we share tears together and we laugh a lot! Today we graduated a Level III class and had the opportunity to hear Brigadier General McDonald speak one more time to our students. Him and Connie have been such a blessing to our program. There were tears as we got to say what we wanted to him and let him know how much we appreciated him being a part of our program. It's not often you get senior leadership who are sincere when they come in and talk to local programs. There are not enough words to describe how much I respect and love Connie. She is a mentor and I have learned so much from her.

Overall my AFTB family has been such a big part of my life the past few years...all of them Diane, Aundray, Yvette, Lilla, Nancy...so many who I love! I've met so many great people both in the program and the students in our classes.

I don't know what else I can say, I just love my AFTB Family. They have been such a support system while Kevin has been deployed. I just had to write about this great program. If you're an Army spouse, check out your local AFTB program.

Some of my favorite people in the entire world, my fellow AFTB instructors and BG McDonald and Connie.BG McDonald, me and ConnieAnd a random pic of me today....

I wouldn't mess with him....

A Pic of My Love

Random Pics

All of our Chess Players with their participation certificates!

The District Chess Champs in the Elementary DivisionDaniel was a bit wore out from the laundry he didn't fold!

A scene from the Junie B. Jones show (we weren't supposed to take pics but obviously I don't listen well).The star of the show! The boys and her mama gave her flowers!Nita watching the All-Star race...she listens to the scanner on the computer while watching the race, lolAfter two years...Sapper finally goes near her, lol
Our cool water bottles our PTA got for the kids at our school for Field Day!

Slacker

I've been such a slacker, the end of this deployment is taking it's sweet time. We are so ready to be done with this deployment and out of this unit that I think time is now ticking ever so slowly. I can honestly say in the 16 years I have been affiliated with the military, I have never felt this way about a unit. I won't get into all the nonsense involved with it but it's definitely time to move on.

We have about 4 trash days before Kevin gets to come home, lucky him, he will be one of the very last Soldiers to come home from his entire brigade, even after his battalion and brigade commanders. I'm sure it's because they think he's just as important as I do (haha).

Anyway, if you can't tell by the mood of this blog, I'm over this deployment. Stick a fork in me because I am DONE!

On to some fun notes....happy notes, Neil is the District Chess Champ for his division for the second year in a row! Woohoo! I am so proud of him! According to his chess coach there hasn't been a repeat champ ever. Our school is also the District Champ for this school year and the trophy is back where it belongs on our trophy case. Daniel was the only second grader on the team and his stalemate helped to clinch the win. Michael put together a team from his middle school and while they didn't take it all, I am so proud of him for his efforts in putting together a team and taking the time to practice and all that. There are no adults at his school willing to help so I am so very proud of him for taking the initiative to get a team together. From our research so far there aren't Chess or Robotics clubs in the new school district we are moving to, so I am doing some digging to see if I can find private clubs. I would love for Neil to go to state and nationals, we all think he has the talent. Michael and Daniel do as well and with proper training and practice, we could have a championship team right here in our own house! (I should remind everyone that neither Kevin or I play chess at all, not sure where they get the talent.)

I will upload pics soon of our chess champs!

One down....

This morning I performed my last official act as PTA president for my younger boy's school. I have to say it comes with much relief. It wasn't the year that was promised, far from it. I feel good about what we accomplished but sadly some things never change. We ran into so many obstacles (most of it being attitude). Even this morning as we delivered water bottles for the kids to have for Field Day we ran into grumbles about more work and other gripes. I don't like leaving an organization feeling the way I feel this morning but what's done is done. Slowly, over the course of the next few months, I will be stepping down from more of the organizations I volunteer for. Most of it is due to our impending move.

It's always sad when you give your best and it's still not good enough. I hope some of the people who have made the past year difficult will recognize that they may be there reason there was no PTA for 2 years. Good luck to my replacement, you'll need it!

Numbers....

800......

Water bottles we labeled for our school's field day

114.....

beds made in the barracks

44.....

water bottles labeled with unit logo

67....

Spartan soap bottles filled

580....

gifts made during Teacher Appreciation week

7.....

players on the CCE District Champs Chess Team

1....

lonely Army wife praying for this deployment to end.....

Welcome Home Long Knife Advon

Yesterday we went to welcome home our first large group of Soldiers. It was bittersweet since Kevin will pretty much be the last Soldier in his unit to come home. I go to support our Soldiers and my husband but it's so dang hard. I always tell myself I'm going to keep it together but then I fail miserably. I truly am happy to see these Soldiers reunite with their families but it makes me miss my own Soldier that much more. Only 5 more trash days and then I will have my moment! Here's a small glimpse for those who have never had the honor of attending a Welcome Home ceremony. Soldiers saying a prayer (notice the flowers they were given to hand to their wives)This scene made me cry...the little boy wasn't sure if that was his daddy. I just love this pic...look at these young Warriors!

17 seconds of pure pride...check it out!

Freedom Friday, May 8th

*Note* I had this set to post on Friday but somehow messed up the date (so I'm back dating it). This was in honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day that is celebrated on 8 May. Ironically enough, this poem was read at the event I attended. I am proud to be an Army wife. There truly is no definition for the sense of pride I feel being able to say my husband is a Soldier. It's a feeling few understand. While there are many challenges, there are many rewards. I proudly stand among the ranks of those who wear no uniform, but serve this country too.

The Quiet Hero by Kathleen Mills

She wakes very early, he's leaving today, she will stand tall and proud as he's walking away.
He glances back warmly at his children and his wife, knowing they will bravely carry on with their life.
Her strength and her courage only one understands, he is walking away with her heart in his hands.
For he knows that without it he would be lost, but they both know freedom comes at a cost.
She walks away holding her children so close, swallowing tears for the one she loves the most.
This quiet hero does not walk into war, she Soldiers alone behind her front door.
She will move through her life, the wind at her back, determined to keep her family on track.
Her tears fall in silence as she lies in her bed, her fear is right there, but nothing is said.
She will ask that no medals be pinned on her chest, her husband's safe return her only request.
Few understand her commitment, her life; She is the quiet hero, the brave Soldier's wife.

What a Week!

This has been a very long week. It's been a good week, but a long week. I spent rainy Monday hanging out chilling because I knew I had a rather busy week coming up. Tuesday started with Army Family Team Building. We had an Instructor Course and that can be stressful just because we have few instructors who are qualified to teach so we are always on standby to fill in. We had 10 students this go round which is HUGE, we were very excited all week about that fact.

Oh back to Monday real quick...I was chatting with one of Kev's friends online (gotta love facebook) and he was kind enough to share with me a pic of Kevin from high school. I have never seen him with this much hair!

Tuesday also marked 3 years since we lost our friends Bryant and Jose. It was a very emotional day for many reasons but this was certainly one of the top reasons. Their legacy continues on because we will not forget.


Tuesday night, I attended the Volunteer of the Year Ceremony. It was a great event. I was nominated by Army Community Services. There were 39 nominees. I took the boys as my guests and we had a great time. The kids loved the name cards and loved being my "guests".
They also quite enjoyed the food. In the pic below are 15 plates but they polished off 17 total, lol. They had a lot of fun. Daniel was funny because he told me his cupcake smelled weird but it didn't stop him from eating it up.After we ate, all the nominees were called up and given their awards. We got a framed certificate and a really nice watch. After that there was a performance of "One Moment in Time", the song got me emotional thinking about missing Kevin, thinking about Nita and Bryant and Jose's family. Then I let myself look at my boys and they were just so handsome. I was sad thinking about how fast they were growing up. I was getting pretty worked up inside. So after the song when they did the announcement of three top winners, I wasn't really paying attention. I knew one of them and was so happy for her. When they called my name, I couldn't even really hear my name and certainly didn't believe it. I was a bit emotional, it was a shock. The boys joined me on stage to accept my award for Installation Volunteer of the Year and the Yellow Rose of Texas Award. The only thing that could have made that night better was if Kevin had been there. The story they wrote made me sound like a crybaby and had a dramatic flair to it but it was a decent article (you can read it HERE), I did leave active duty 10 years ago but did Reserve time after so I didn't don my uniform for the last time 10 years ago, wanted to clarify that, lol.
Here is a pic of us with CSM Ciotola, he is just the most awesome person...Here's a pic of me with all the stuff I brought home. The basket had a lot of great stuff in it, the boys had a good time checking out the loot.The rest of the week was just busy. On Wednesday, I had more AFTB Instructor Course and then we had our ACS Volunteer Appreciation luncheon where I received ACS Volunteer of the Year and a yummy lunch.

Thursday we graduated 10 new instructors for AFTB, woohoo!!! Thursday night, Nita and I went to the Sugarland concert. It was a FUN concert. I wish I had pics but we never know when they are going to let us take pics or not so we always leave the cameras in the car and when we do, we realize we could have taken them! But it was a great concert minus the bubble happy girl in front of us. They gave out bubbles to blow when their bubble machines went off but the girl liked to just do hers (and someone jacked ours!). But we did get our bubbles and I blew them later when we were on the top level of the parking garage trying to take pics of the capitol.

Friday was a PTA kind of day where we headed to Sam's to get some stuff, sadly we couldn't get the hand sanitizer we needed for one of our Teacher Appreciation week because everyone is freaking out over the swine flu and have bought out the hand sanitizer. We had to change it up but I think it will turn out okay in the end. I'm pretty random and different things strike me funny. It's been a long and tiring year with PTA so when we came across these bags, I chuckled and made some comment about the PTA driving us to using these bags...
Friday night the boys went camping with a friend of ours from church. His wife and I took the opportunity to go to dinner and movie for a girls night out. We had a good time and so did they!

Today, we hit the barracks to make the beds for our Single Soldiers who start returning home in the coming week. Woohoo!


So a busy week indeed but a great week too!