Army brats

We are an Army Family. We have the parts of it that we love, new places, new friends, new stuff, welcome home celebrations, travel. We have the parts that we do not love, packing, leaving, moving, saying good-bye, deployments.

Summer is prime moving time for the military. And it is so good to be on a summer moving pattern because the kids do not have to change schools in the middle. I am already planning like 3 moves in advance to try and help the kids avoid that. Being new is bad enough without adding, in the middle of the year to it!

I digress. In the summer, on a military installation, when you drive through housing you are constantly dodging trucks. Just today, driving from our house to the other side of base, we saw 4 trucks. Today. This summer, we have had 3 houses in our general area pack up and move. We were really sad last Thursday when our next door neighbor, Father Bailey moved. We all loved him - especially the kids. He was their best customer every time they had a lemonade stand! And boy is the turnover on base is quick. He cleared his house last Thursday and yesterday there were new cars there. Wow!

So this morning, Spencer and I were snuggling and watching some cartoons while he was still waking up. He heard a truck outside. He asked, "is it garbage day?" I told him, "no, I bet it is a moving truck next door." And he looked puzzled. "Mom, Father Bailey already moved." And I said, "I know. And now more people are moving in." "Oh," he said. No big deal. He is used to it. He did not even go and look. Army Brat.

Then a few minutes later, Jessa woke up and wandered down stairs. She was still half asleep. She glanced up and out the window, in front of our house, all she could see was this:

She looked out the window. She looked at Spencer and me. She looked out the window. She looked back at Spencer and me. And then my sweet little Army Brat calmly and quietly asked me a question. She was not upset or worried. Just curious. "Hey, Mom. Are we moving somewhere today?" I got so tickled at her. That is my ever adaptable girl. My perfect Army Brat! She was not unhappy, just checking. I took the opportunity to assure her that if we were moving, her first clue would not be a truck pulling up to the house. We would definitely give her some warning!

And then,

they huddled at the window to take part in another

time-honored Army Brat tradition:

checking out the new neighbors to see if they have KIDS!

(or more accurately, kids with better toys then they have. . .)

Happy Flag Day

Today, we celebrate Flag Day AND the birthday of the Army!
To celebrate, I want to post an awesome poem that one of my fellow Army wives shared with me. (Thanks, Tiffany!) It gave me chills, and it is perfect to commemorate this day.

I hope you enjoy it, too.

Old Glory

Adapted from a Poem
by Howard Schnauber

World War II veteran

I am the flag of the United States of America.

My name is Old Glory.
I fly atop the world's tallest buildings.

I stand watch in America's halls of justice.
I fly majestically over great institutions of learning.

I stand guard with the greatest military power in the world.

Look up!
And see me!

I stand for peace - honor - truth and justice.

I stand for freedom.

I am confident - I am not arrogant, but I am proud!

When I am flown with my fellow banners my head is a little higher.

My colors a little truer.

I bow to no one.

I am recognized all over the world.

I am worshiped - I am saluted - I am respected.

I am revered - I am loved, and I am feared.

I have fought in every battle of America's wars for more than 200 years:

Gettysburg, Shiloh, Appomattox, San Juan Hill, the trenches of France, the Argonne Forest, Anzio, Rome, the beaches of Normandy, the deserts of Africa, the cane fields of the Philippines, the rice paddies and jungles of Guam, Okinawa, Korea, Vietnam, Guadalcanal, New Britain, Peleliu, and many more islands.

And a score of places long forgotten by all but those who were with me.

I was there.

I led soldiers - I followed them.
I watched over them.

They loved me.

I was on a small hill on Iwo Jima.

I was dirty, battle-worn and tired, but my soldiers cheered me, and I was proud.

I have been soiled, burned, torn and trampled on the streets of countries I have helped set free.

It does not hurt, for I am invincible.

I have been soiled, burned, torn and trampled on the streets of my own country.

And when it is by those with whom I have served in battle, it hurts.

But I shall overcome - for I am strong!

I have slipped the bonds of earth and stand watch over the uncharted new frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon.

I have been a silent witness to all of America's finest hours.

But my finest hour comes when I am torn into strips to be used for bandages for my wounded comrades on the field of battle, when I fly at half mast to honor my soldiers, and when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving mother at the graveside of her fallen son.

I am proud.

My name is Old Glory.

Dear God, long may I wave.

God Bless the Army!

God Bless America!

Old friends

We are so lucky and blessed to have so many good friends!

And we apparently live in a good location for surprise visits from some of these dear friends!

We have never lived anywhere that saw this much traffic. Some places, we have a hard time getting kin to visit! But here, I think we must be centrally located or something. This summer, I got a message on FB from a friend we had not seen since May of 2004. We were stationed in Germany with her now husband. We knew her, too, before they were married. And how funny, she was driving with her two small children to meet her hubby at the end of a long deployment. I love it that she called and agreed to come and stay with us. I am telling you, I get so upset when people say, "I drove right by your exit and thought of you." What!? Why didn't you CALL!? So if you are in the area, for the love of Pete, CALL! Anyway, we had the best time eating and hanging out and having a few beers. And even though they had never met, the kids loved playing together! And we picked right up where we left off. That's the army way!

The next generation of Army Friends!

Then last week, I got a call from an Air Force friend who was also stationed with us in Mannheim, Germany. He was going to be here at Scott overnight and wanted to see if we could catch up. Uh, yeah, of course! So he came over and had supper with us. Awesome! We had the best time remembering our time together. It was somewhat sad because his youngest son was born while we were in Germany. He was the youngest baby I had ever seen before my own were born! I got to take his grandmother and older brother to the hospital to meet him when he was born. Of course, he is now 8! Where does the time go? Anyway. He was our first Air Force friend and it was so good to see him. I always laugh because his oldest son was 3 when we met, and he was a hoot. I used to beg them to let me babysit him. One time I asked him about his Daddy's work. He told me, "Oh, my Daddy doesn't work! He is a pilot!"

His first tea party - like I said, he has 2 BOYS!

Then the very next day, one of our best friends who just got home from Iraq was driving from Kansas to Ohio to see his family. And wouldn't you know it, St. Louis was right on his way! So he popped in for a quick sandwich on his way through. He was at Ft. Stewart when we were there the first time (he was also in Germany when we were AND at Ft. Lee). He and another friend mowed my grass for me when I was pregnant with Jessa and David was deployed. He spent Christmas with us at Mimi's house one year and opened all of Jessa's presents - she was 2 months old. He was even at her Christening. Sadly, David did not get to see him. Our friend was pulling onto base, as David's plane was taking off. But I so enjoyed seeing him and catching up.

Spencer welcoming our friend and our hero home from Iraq!

That is the thing about the Army. Sometimes it may feel like we have no roots and we are always on the move. But the up side of that is you are always making new friends. And as sad as you are to leave people behind, you know that you will see them again. These are forever friends. We share holidays and special occasions and births of babies. We are there to help each other when there is no one else around. We understand each other. We can pick up where we left off like no time has passed. And when you do see them, maybe it is not like you plan or think it will be or even when you think, but these friendships that are born out of our military bond are pretty strong. And pretty amazing.

So, if you are in the area, y'all stop by, ya hear?

Where in the world. . .?

So these days, the globetrotting Matt Lauer and Carmen Sandiego ain't got nothing on my D!

Every morning when the kids wake up they say, where is Daddy? And almost every day my answer is "not here, he is. . ." So I was trying to come up with a way to make this all tangible to them. And I thought of the map idea. We had a big map a while ago with 2 red stars on it, one in GA and one in Iraq. We had it in Jessa's room during David's 2nd deployment. But I wanted something a little more detailed, yet not whole wall size. I went on a hunt.

Bay suggested Office Max. The funniest thing about that was that when we were walking in, Spencer said, "Mommy, where are we?" And I said, "We are at a store called 'Office Max,' Spence." And he looked very puzzled and said, "What about Office Dunken?" Bless his heart! In all the times I thought of Office Max, I never even thought about that it was the same name as our dog! I can't get anything by him!

We found map pins there, but no map. (what's up with that?) So we ended up at a Teacher/School supply store. I did not notice, but the sign also said "TOYS." So we had lots of fun there!! AND I found A MAP! Two maps, actually, a U.S. one and a world one, score! Yay! It is pretty big, but I knew right where I wanted to hang it in the kitchen. When I got home, I measured and it fits.

Now, what to mount it on so that I do not destroy this lovely wall that the government is so graciously allowing me to borrow for a few years? I considered cork board. But I was not sure where to find a big enough piece. Our Bay, always the first one with off-the-wall, but ingenious ideas came up with these foam insulation pieces. He uses them to insulate his storm door in the winter (all because of Queen Abby and the doggie door that must be open for her convenience, even in sub-zero temperatures). So off to Lowe's I go in search of a piece of foam large enough to mount my large world map. How funny was I heading home with a ginormous piece of foam. I could not take a picture, but it was taking up the whole length of my van. It was over the kids' heads AND my head. We were quite a sight!

I glued the map down to the foam with some spray adhesive, and voila, a map board to track David's movements!

We have the U.S. side for all of his stateside trips:

I went ahead and glued the world map on the other side, as we are anticipating some big international trips coming up soon. And for me, the time zones are on the map, so I can keep up with when I can expect a phone call from our traveling man.

J and S take turns putting the pins in:

Notice 2 pins on Washington - twice in 2 and a half weeks.

Imagine that spot in a year. . .

The kiddos are loving keeping up with Daddy as he zooms across the country. And Jessa loves his trips to D.C. because she keeps reminding me, "Mommy, that is where the president lives!"

What is a Miltary Wife?

Today is the Army's Birthday, so I am posting this in honor of all the Military Wives out there! I got this in an e-mail and I LOVED it. I know there are lots of similar things circulating, but I wanted to share this one. I have no idea who wrote it, so I cannot give them proper credit.
I hope you enjoy!


What is a MILITARY Wife?
They may look different and each is wonderfully unique, but this what they have in common.

Lots of moving---
Moving.
Moving.
Moving far from home.
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog----all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house.
Moving curtains that won't fit.
Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends, moving toward new friends.
Moving her most important luggage; her trunkful of memories.

Often waiting-


Waiting, waiting,
waiting for housing; waiting for orders; waiting for deployment; waiting for reunion; waiting for phones calls; Waiting for the new curtains to arrive; waiting for him to come home for dinner----AGAIN!

They call her 'military dependent', but she knows better.
She can balance a checkbook.
Handle the yard work.
Fix a noisy toilet.
She is intimately familiar with drywall, anchors, and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, or set up a move, -- all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
Reinvents her career with every PCS; locates a house in the desert, the arctic, or the deep south and learns to call them all 'home'.
SHE makes them all home.
She is fiercely IN-dependent.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty.
They leap into decorating, leadership, volunteering, career alternatives, churches and friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other. They connect over coffee, rely on the spouse-network and accept offers of friendship and favors and record addresses in pencil.

Military Wives have a common bond. The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands, his commitment is unique. He doesn't have a job, he has a 'mission' he can't just decide to quit. He's on-call for his country 24/7 but for you, he's the most unreliable guy in town!

His language is foreign: TDY, PCS, MOS, FOB, ACU, and so,
a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long-distance link to keep them informed the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments----
She wants to wring his neck, dye his uniform pink, and refuse to move to Siberia...

But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days, a travel brochure, a long hot bath, a pledge to the flag, and a wedding picture.

And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.

Why?

What for?

How come?

You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.

It was stolen from her by a man...
Who puts duty first.
Who longs to deploy.
Who salutes the flag.
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that
as long as he is her Military husband,

She will remain his Military wife.

Happy 234th Birthday U.S. Army!
Thanks to all the soldiers AND all the families!
For more info visit:
http://www.army.mil/birthday/234/

11 YEARS - An Anniversary Post

On June 7, 1998, I married David Paul Key, and we began our adventure together. I do not use the word adventure lightly. David graduated on June 6, we were married on June 7, and we were at Ft. Eustis, VA with a Ryder truck full of our worldly possessions on June 9. And we haven't slowed down yet!!

Since this is the first anniversary I have had since I started blogging, I must do a special post. . .

The first time I met David was right before R.C. (aka Rose Carnation - the Phi Mu Spring Formal). I was not dating anyone and had no clue who to take. My roomie Heather said she might know of someone. . . Bless his heart, he agreed to take me to this formal without ever even seeing a picture of me! And he says he knew that night at the formal that he would marry me. I was a little harder to convince. . . But luckily for me, he was patient and persistent.

Our wedding day was PERFECT! Here are some random memories. . .

I was so emotional and so excited. I cried happy tears for days! Every time I saw someone, I would burst into tears! So many of our family and dear friends came to share in our day - I was overwhelmed! It was SO special. The church was packed! They even had to bring in folding chairs. And some people watched from the sound booth! My Daddy avoided me all day because he did not want to cry - I thought he was mad at me. When the doors opened and I saw David standing there, I practically ran down the aisle with tears flowing. Seriously, the organist did not even get through the first part of the song!! Daddy and I stopped and "picked up" Momma so they could BOTH give me away. David was wearing the same Dress Blue Uniform that my Daddy wore when he married Momma. I was wearing the veil that my Momma wore when she married Daddy. I was carrying the prayer book that Mimi and Momma both carried at their weddings. The preacher was the same preacher who married Momma and Daddy. (He also Christened Jessa and Spencer!) Can you tell I LOVE tradition????? My bridesmaids were beautiful and so precious. My sweet brother read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. My Phi Mu Little sang "I will be here." While she was singing, David had tears in his eyes that I wiped away - thanks to Rebecca with the tissues! When we were saying our vows, he stumbled because the minister said to say "I David, take you Dana." He NEVER calls me Dana unless I am in trouble, so he said "I David, take you, D, uh Dana!" My roomie and oldest friend bribed the ring bearer down the aisle with a handful of gummy bears, thanks Heather! David learned never to trust "friends" to polish your shoes - Jason Pletsch wrote "I love men" on the bottoms that showed when we knelt. (it never came off and he had to buy new ones!) We had the best reception! We danced, we laughed, we had fun with all of our awesome guests. We cut the cake with Daddy's military saber. My feet hurt so bad, and I asked Daddy why he did not work at a sneaker company like Steve Martin in "Father of the Bride!" We sure know how to throw a party!! We never ate anything more than one bite of cake. Momma gave us $20 before we left in the limo, and we ordered a pizza from room service at the hotel. No one decorated our car because Mimi and Poppy helped him hide it at the hotel before the ceremony. What an awesome day! What a great way to start our life together.

A few days before the wedding, someone asked me if I was worried or stressed or nervous. I hardly thought about it before I replied, "A little, I guess, about some details. But there is one thing I am totally sure of and that is David." And it was true then and it is still true 11 whole years later! He may not be perfect, but he is PERFECT FOR ME! I am so lucky and so blessed that he never gave up on me. I am so grateful for our life together and our beautiful children. I am so looking forward to the rest of our lives. . .

For the record, an anniversary tally:
First: He was in Albania; I was in Georgia.
Second: Together in Germany
Third: Together in Germany
Fourth: Together in Germany
Fifth: Together at Ft. Stewart, pregnant with Jessa
Sixth: Together at Ft. Stewart
Seventh: He was in Iraq; I was in Georgia, pregnant with Spencer
Eighth: Together in a hotel room, moving to Louisiana
Ninth: He was in Louisiana in the field; I was in Georgia - the day before Lucas's transplant
Tenth: He was in Iraq; I was in Georgia
Eleventh: Together in Illinois!

I guess in an Army marriage, 7 out of 11 ain't bad!

Happy Anniversary, D!

The Clampetts move to Illinois

There was no black gold, aka Texas Tea. And we are far from millionaires. And frankly, the kin folk did not say move away and are mostly sad about our move to somewhere very different than Bever-lee. BUT we did move (1/2 is done, at least), and boy was it interesting. . .

The packers were the best we have had (at first) - they were very careful not to pack something they thought you might need. Jessa loved them and drew pictures of them. Spencer spent the first day (Monday) being shy and hiding under a blanket. The second day did not go quite as well. They just got tired and sort of petered out. At 9:30 PM, they were finally finished. Notice I did not say everything was packed, but they were finished. David was so glad to have them leave that we did not notice until the next day how many "things" were around.

I did the math, and at this house, we spent as much time living with boxes as without

The kids are I went to the hotel on the second day (Tuesday) to escape the battles. The TVs were packed, the DVD players were packed, the internet was off meaning no computer games, the toys were in the process of being packed or already packed, and all the outside toys had been pressure washed for the trip. So the only thing the kids had to do was pick fights with each other. Fun. OR they would ask me 27 times, "Can I ride my bike?" And I would reply, "No, it is already clean to be packed." Super fun. At the wonderful hotel, we had toys, books, TV, and NO boxes. Woo-hoo!


Unfortunately, we also had drama. They were all tucked into their bed for a much needed rest. They were watching PBS kids on the tube. They decided they wanted popcorn. Now, I had microwave popcorn in the room, but that is not what they wanted. They wanted freshly popped popcorn from the machine in the lobby. So I weighed my options. No one had on shoes (and in some cases, pants), and they were finally all situated and calm and happy. So I decided to walk down the stairs to retrieve the popcorn. Now, before you call DFACS yourself, the distance from the room to the popcorn machine was no farther apart than we would have been at home. Both of them were instructed to stay put, and they both agreed. I made the decision to not leave the little door thingy so that it was cracked for their safety. I pulled the door closed to lock it. Considering what happened next, not the best plan. . .


In the couple of minutes I was downstairs, Spencer got up, opened the door, walked out into the hall, and the door swiftly closed behind him. This should not be a huge big deal because Jessa was in there and could here him knocking, right? Wrong. She was a little booger and stayed right where she was, all tucked into bed watching Cyberchase. He panicked and started to cry. I am unclear if he knocked on another door OR if someone heard him, but when I walked up the stairs and took the left to our room, I saw a crowd of people all around some hysterical child. I thought, bless his heart, that kid has a crappy mother! Oh wait, that's MY KID! He ran toward me, still clutching a chips ahoy bag in his hands. I was so embarrassed! I could not look any of the people in the eye. I apologized, thanked them, and muttered something about me thinking they were asleep as I hurried back into the room.


Princess Jessa owned up to her part in it all. Yes, she knew he got out of bed. Yes, she knew he opened the door. No, she did not try to stop him. Yes, she knew he was locked out. Yes, she heard him knocking. No, she did not let him in. Yes, she heard him crying and upset. No, she did not remove her diva bottom from the comfort of her bed to check on him, help him, or let him in. I am not sure when I have been more mad at her! She has since apologized, but I may never get the image of me walking into that hotel room, holding my sobbing son to find her chillin' in the bed. And social services never called, so I guess the nice people at the hotel did not think I was as terrible as I felt like I was. Oh, and I did not let Jessa have any popcorn, darn it.


The truck showed up first thing Wednesday to load us up. They already had 25% of the truck full, and we were slated to take up the remaining 75%. I said early in the day to David, "They are not going to make it." He told me they would. As the day wore on, David began to doubt, too. But the truck driver and his crew were confident. At about 5:30 PM, they were almost out of truck. I was starting to sweat a little. The truck drivers wife told me not to worry that they had a tailgate that they could load the outdoor stuff on. I relaxed a little. And they did make it, but it was in a way I never heard nor could I have predicted.


At 6:3o PM, David signed all the paperwork, and they were finished. They had a bunch of our stuff on a plywood shelf on the back of the truck. David said that they had a tent-ish, tarp-ish dome thing that could go over our belongings. They did not use this. Instead, they used plastic wrap. It was basically a huge roll on Saran Wrap. They did the best they could to cover everything. It was mostly all outside stuff, so I guess it will be OK. They also placed some book boxes IN THE CAB with them! They even slid some things under the truck where they store their hand trucks and ladders. He assured me that they would make it work, and by golly, they did.

So I drove away from our 7th home, with this image in my head. The only thing missing is granny on the top of the truck in a rocker. . .

Home is where the Army sends us. . .

And "home" is about to change again. The crazy Keys are moving . . .
While we LOVE Ft. Stewart and LOVE LOVE the 3d ID and LOVE LOVE LOVE being close to Atlanta, David was offered an opportunity that he could not pass up. So we are moving to Scott AFB, Illinois, home of the United States Transportation Command. He will be the aide-de-camp to the USTRANSCOM Commander. This will be a great chance for him to do lots of cool things. He is super excited and overwhelmed! He is buying new uniforms that he has never needed and getting his passport renewed. I am excited for him, except that we will not see much of him. His new boss will be out of town all but 4 days next month, so it will resemble a deployment. Just not as scary for me AND we will get surprise visits from time to time!

The coolest thing is that my Daddy is there. Many people assume that Daddy had something to do with his getting this job. He, in fact, did not. BUT, David is used to people assuming that Daddy does him favors, so I guess that is OK. One time when he was at an army school, he got his next assignment changed. He walked into the bathroom and overheard someone saying, "I am sure his father-in-law had something to do with it." He laughed. Then another Major General came to speak to their class. David had worked for him before, so he spoke to David by name in the class. He then overheard someone say that this MG must have pulled some strings on David's behalf. He laughed harder. People are going to think what they want to think, I guess.

Truthfully, Daddy was even on leave when he interviewed and was selected. If anything, Daddy's being already there almost hurt him because no one wanted the appearance of impropriety. The comments from people have already started, and it really bothers David. It is as if to say that he did not earn this shot on his own. I told him the next time someone says something he should say, "I'll be sure to tell the General that you are of the opinion that he cannot think for himself." Maybe that will shut their mouths!! The bottom line is that I may be sad to spend less time with David over the next year, but I am happy to spend more time with Daddy!!

AND the kiddos are THRILLED that we will live somewhere with snow! Although, I am having some trouble convincing them that it is not snowing there right now. They do not understand that it is summer everywhere at the same time!!

I am not terribly happy to be going through the process of moving again so soon. On paper, we have been at Ft. Stewart for almost a year, but we have only lived here full time since January 1. We have the fence up, the fans up, the doggie door installed, the pictures hung, the shed built, the flowers planted, and everything just like we want it. Oh well! No one ever said that the army life was easy, right? And from what we can tell the on base housing is somewhat bigger there. That is a good thing, wouldn't you agree?

All the time I spent researching the kindergarten options here was wasted. . . BUT at least it looks like we will be situated for one whole school year, just not at all where I thought we would be. That's what I get for thinking. . .