By Sherri Ackerman / The Tampa Tribune Even with her father in Iraq, 2 1/2-year-old Keirah Nelson wakes to his voice each morning. “Keirah, this is Daddy,” Army Spect. Scott Nelson singsongs from a recording inside a cotton doll adorned with his picture. “I love you very much. Have a good day.” The custom-made Daddy […]

Be Careful What You Tell Yourself… We’ve all heard the saying ‘attitude is everything.’ But sometimes it can be hard to look at a major life change like deployment as anything but negative. Watch Out! It turns out that telling yourself deployment will be a horrible experience could actually make it worse. “The subconcious mind […]

This is a great idea! Pillowcases for kids with pictures of their deployed parents on them. Admittedly, I made Paul a pillowcase with a picture of me sleeping on it when he deployed. (Yes, so we could still sleep together. Sigh.) But I never thought of doing it the other way around! See the original […]

This is a great Op-Ed piece from the New York Times. The original article can be found here. One Husband, Two Kids, Three Deployments by Melissa Seligman Fort Riley, Kan. Five years ago, my new husband, David, swallowed his tears as he tried to find a way to say goodbye. He held our baby girl […]

Deployments are full of ups and downs but one constant is laughter. Nervous laughter, sarcastic laughter, belly aching laughter and even sorrowful laughter are all experienced while deployed. I strongly encourage everyone to embrace humor and share smiles whenever possible. Often, when you get into country you will find yourself with a new group of […]

When I chose Kelly to be my deployment “Battle Buddy,” the appeal was two-fold. One, she knew what I was going through, without me having to explain it. Two, she’s funny. REALLY funny. I can’t tell you how much less stressful that made my life. Kelly helped me laugh through the decision not to take the Xanax […]

I read this post on another Army Wife’s blog…. it made me cry. Seriously, tears streaming down my face. I could not have expressed the way I feel any better – I wish I had written this myself. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Welcome Home Soldier Very soon you’ll be home. And on one […]

I’ve said many, many times that being an Army wife has made me a better person. It has taught me to be patient and independent. It has taught me that there are things that are worth sacrificing for, and that sometimes life isn’t ‘all about me’ – no matter how much I want it to […]

One of the most important things I learned about being deployed is that it’s essential to stay physically fit. It is quite easy nowadays if you use adjustable dumbbells. Check out https://dumbbellsreview.com/bowflex-dumbbells-review/ as this review might save you a lot of time looking for the right dumbbells. War is taxing on the body and you may find yourself in […]

There was an Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post on Veteran’s Day about the sacrifices of military families. It is written by a soldier and a wonderful read. It also has me thinking about whether anyone – including Paul – will ever understand how hard this year was for me. We joke about it sometimes […]