April is the Month of the Military Child. I think it's important to recognize the sacrifices that military children make each day. I know that it's tough on my kids and they aren't really old enough yet to understand what Daddy does or why. But someday, I hope that they will look back and be proud of what Daddy did for our country and for what we went through as a family. I imagine it will only makes us stronger and more resilient.
Take a moment and check out some other websites and blogs of military wives around the country. These are some of my favorites:
The Daily News
Military Avenue
Operation Military Kids
Household 6 Diva
Julie the Army Wife
Green Enough for Me
Hellcat Betty
Faith Deployed
I am sure I've left somebody out. If you know of some other great military family blogs, please leave a comment and share a link!
In honor of my own half dozen "brats," here are some memories from the last 15 months. (Fifteen months!? Can you believe it's been 15 months since that first good-bye?)
Any Army wife knows what it means when you see the bag by the door. Looking back, I'm sure my kids had no idea what this meant for them. For us.
There was a teary good-bye kiss for the sweet baby boys who had just turned 4 months old. Jason said good-bye knowing that Nathan and Ryan would be walking, talking toddlers when he returned home again. They'll be two when he gets back later this year.
For the older kids, saying good-bye meant much more. I know they understood some of what was happening but they certainly didn't grasp the concept of a lengthy TDY assignment followed by an immediate deployment. How could they understand? All they knew was that Daddy was gone. 
With military life has come many moves. Matthew is 7 years old. He's lived in 6 states. He's visited 38 states. He may be little, but he's been through a lot. 
Most recently, we've moved back to Georgia. Back to the only home my 3-year old twin girls and 1-year old twin boys have ever known. It's been strange being here without Jason. Although Flat Daddy was riding shotgun as we made the 11.5 hour trip from VA back to GA. It's not quite the same though.
And here we sit, in our old home, without our household goods. That means no furniture. No games. None of the familiar things from home. Thanks to the generosity of friends, we've got two mattresses so we are not all sleeping on the floor anymore. And we've got a few toys and books. And of course, I have my computer! We'll live like this for the spring and summer... and maybe the fall too. It depends on when our house here sells and once that happens, we hit the road to Washington state!
Sure, we may eat meals on the floor sometimes. And we may long for some of the things that are in storage, thousands of miles away where we'll soon begin another chapter of our military life. But most of all, we want Daddy home. And that keeps us going, day by day.
While Jason is gone there are big boots to fill. That's for sure. But I'm stepping up and I've got 6 little helpers who are doing their part. I've been most impressed with my children and their ability to make the best of any situation. I am learning that from them. They are teaching me daily.
Here's to all the military children! Thank you all for your sacrifices and for all that you do to make each day a little brighter. You make us proud! I'm keeping each of you in my prayers.
