The story is about the Bennett family , a Navy family , going through yet another adventure-filled year . Grace is an awesome military spouse who supports her husband’s career choice , makes many PCS moves,trying t and making new friends while trying to stay in touch with old friends. They have 3 children who are also dealing with regular military brat lifestyle issues – missing their dad, getting used to living without him while he’s on the ship, etc.

I thought the book was just absolutely fantastic and well-written. It really showed what our military lifestyle is like and not something that can be wrapped in a 30 minute television show. It showed the true realities of being a military family that not everything is hunky-dory. There is happiness, tears, worry, etc.  I really loved getting a peak inside of a Navy family and what they endure during their deployments, which  are just as difficult as the ones that us Army families go through yet a bit different.

I recommend everyone- military and civilians alike – pick up this book and read it.

We decided to have dinner to catch up — We mutually agreed on Outback — since we all love it!

Of course the food was awesome as it usually is .. but the amazing thing was that it was like they never even left. I’d usually post a picture but we were so busy talking that I forgot to take any.  (we are so glad that they are here with us … once SGT Daddy is home we are ALL going out to dinner)

I think that is the thing about really good friends — that no matter how long you haven’t seen each other , it seems like it was yesterday. They are always there for you no matter where they are and what they are doing. You can trust them completely and  know that  have your best interests at heart.

SGT Daddy and I are so grateful for all the good friends that we have both here in our military family but also in our large internet family too.  (you know who you are ) As we endure this last phase of this deployment — We couldn’t have gotten through this deployment without you.

Over the next several weeks, as we near the end of this deployment– I’ll be focusing many of the posts on reflections of the last 11 months and of course looking ahead  to redeployment/reintergration.

Date : Friday may 7th , 2010 aka Military Spouse Appreciation Day
Time 8 – 9 pm EST
Location : Twitter  — we will be using the hashtag #milspouseday10

What is this all about ??
A Twitter Party to celebrate military spouses and the sacrifices that they make on a daily basis. We will have lots of cool prizes to give away!

Participating Organizations and Businesses :

Jane Wayne Gear
All Fired Up Candles
Beadwork by Sheree
Scentsy – with Patty Santiago , Scentsy Consultant
Army Wife Network
Soldiers Angels

If you would like to sponsor or donate a prize – email Tammy at tammy@armyhousehold6.com

Like I said , the Scentsy warmers and pods are awesome! They are perfect for any household, especially military households. This is especially true for those PCS moves — just pack up your warmer and scent pods and off you go !!

So here are all the details about the Scentsy Military Spouse Appreciation Contest

Patty will give the one lucky winner (on each of the participating blogs)  with their choice of a Scentsy warmer and three fragrance bars of their choice. This contest will close at 11:59pm Eastern time zone Wednesday, May 5th. The winner will be announced via video post on May 7th – Military Spouse Appreciation Day !

Don’t forget to make sure to join me for the Military Spouse Appreciation Twitter Party that I’ll be hosting from 8pm to 9pm EST

The following are ways to gain entries in the drawing:

1. In comments section of this blog post, tell about your experiences with moving around in the military and what you do to make your new house feel like home. (1 point)

3. Tweet linking back to blog (post Tweet url to comments of this blog post for verification)- if not sure how to do this please don’t hesitate to contact me! (1 point ) The contest hashtag is #milspousescents

4. Post on Facebook – make sure to comment in the Blog comment section with a url to the facebook status update (1 point )

4. Write your own blog post about this giveaway and link back to this blog post . Make sure that you put the blog post URL in the comment section. (2 points )

5. Create your own video and post the video URL in the comments section (5 points)

About the Contest Sponsor – Patty Santiago aka MommyTac0

Patty is an Army wife who recently became a Scentsy independent consultant so that she can share one of her favorite things with her friends: Scentsy wickless warmers. Patty knows that it can be hard to feel at home when the military often requires families to move to new locations every few years. Scentsy helps create a warm, inviting atmosphere that helps make a house feel more like a home. She believes that the sense of smell is the main sense that triggers memories.

With over 80 scents to choose from, Scentsy will not only bring back fond memories but help keep memories created in our new homes smelling familiar and comforting. In  participation of the upcoming Military Spouse Appreciation Day, Patty would like to sponsor a blog give-a-way to three fellow Military Spouses. The contests will be held on three Military Spouse blogs, where each will have one winner.

Disclosure – I am in no way directly affiliated with Scentsy nor is the give-a-way sponsored by Scentsy. This give-a-way is being sponsored fully by Scentsy Independent Consultant Patty Santiago, and I have not been paid to promote Scentsy or their products. I did receive a warmer and 3 scents as compensation for the product review.

Photo credit - Stock Xchange

Yep R&R is over and SGT Daddy is on his way back to “the Stan“. We really had a great time together.. did some shopping, ate out A LOT and just loved all being together.

So now we are officially in the last phase of this deployment … Can I get an AMEN?? It’s hard to believe that 10 months ago

we started this process , not knowing how the process would change us.

It did change us — that’s for sure. We learned a lot about ourselves and what we want in our marriage and our life.  I think even the girls learned a good lesson or too .. mostly not to take things for granted.

To our friends that are just starting this deployment journey (you know who you are ) –
My advice to you is simply take it day by day. Try not to think about how long it will be until you are physically together again. I know its hard but each of you can do it . Set milestones and when you reach them … reward yourself.

Win one for your Valentine!

So yesterday — I talked about the Sony Reader Touch Edition and how awesome and perfect it was for our military community!

As promised –  now its YOUR turn to win one! (and comes preloaded with 10 books!!!!) Yes you read that right — one lucky reader will get one for FREE just in time for a Valentine’s Day delivery !!!!! (they retail for $299)

So here are the RULES of the contest:

1. The contest will run from January 18th to January 30th at 1159 pm (or 2399 for you military time people)
2. Any ACTIVE DUTY military family is eligible to enter (sorry to all others.. I’m working on something for you very soon)
3. I will pick the winner (at random)  of the Sony Reader Touch Edition of all the people entered on January 31st.
4. We will be verifying IP addresses (for those trying to be sneaky)
5. We will verify the winner’s servicemember  status  as Active Duty

All you need to do is answer this question — will e books and readers change the way you shop for books?

So how do you enter ?? Well that’s the fun part !  : )

1. Leave a comment on THIS blog post
2. Tweet  about it on Twitter using hashtag #borderscontest (make sure to post the Tweet URL in the comments section here )
3. Share about the contest on YOUR blog (make sure to post your blog url in the comments section here)
4. create a video , post it on You Tube and post the URL in the comments section below .

So what are you waiting for ?? You have your orders — now get to it !!

Remember the more times you enter, the more chances for you to win~ I can’t wait to see all your entries!!  As always, if you have any questions– don’t hestiate to contact me

Good luck!

Tammy aka Household6

*Full Disclosure – the winner of the Sony Reader Touch edition from Borders will be receiving theirs directly from Borders, not Tammy Munson. I will also be receiving a Sony Reader Touch as part of compensation for this contest. For full disclosure policy – click here

Sony Reader Touch

I recently got the chance to review the Sony Reader Touch Edition at Borders and let me just say it is one of the coolest techie gadgets I’ve come across in a long time!

Just ask SGT Daddy – I’m not one big on “reading ” ! (well except blogs and websites of course !) I could definitely see me using this for personal and business ! I can’t wait to get mine!!!*

I really love their open format technology so that you can order books and also open various other documents like PDF’s and even non-copyrighted MP3 files. It also comes in 3 awesome colors – Black, Silver and red)

Here are just SOME of the features from the Borders website -

Elegant 6 inch display with touch screen navigation
Carry thousands of your favorite books³
Freehand highlighting and annotation
Access a wide number of online bookstores
Thin, light, highly portable design
Paper-like display for easy, natural reading
Two full weeks of reading on a single batterycharge
Built-in Oxford American English e-Dictionary
Intuitive eBook Library software for PC and Mac
5 adjustable font sizes to customize your reading experience

There are so many uses for a product like this but it would be perfect for two specific segments of the population: the military as well as the low-vision community.

For the military- this would be perfect. Soldiers and other military service members already carry around so much gear and armor. (for the obvious reasons), they certainly couldn’t pack books in their bags  too.  They don’t have the extra space in their “rooms” for lots of books and there certainly isn’t a local Borders in their area to get said Books.

The E-Reader is perfect for them . They can download 350 of their favorite books to take with them when they do have their “down time”

In case you don’t know – our oldest daughter, Kiersten,  has some low vision issues. The reader is PERFECT for her! She can enlarge the font on a book or document with the touch of her finger. She can also listen to audio files on their too. She tested it out with me and it was super easy for her to use . (She’s 11 by the way )

Congrats to Borders and Sony for coming out with a superior product! It is definitely going to change the way people think about “books” especially military families. Just think of all the extra space in your house if you put your books on this Reader… not to mention less to worry about during those PCS moves!!!

Stay tuned because TOMORROW will be all about how YOU can win one Sony Reader Touch for your military service member!!

*Full disclosure- I will be compensated for my review of this product by Borders by receiving a Sony Reader Touch Edition. This has in no way affected by decision one way or another.

Day 11 - My new Flip Video Camera

I guess you could say that I’m a “Sears brat “! You see , my dad worked for Sears for 30+ years and I spent lots of time in a Sears Store as a kid!  : ) Heck I even worked there myself  in the 90’s and have shopped there a lot over the years as an adult.

A couple of months ago, I signed our family up for the Sears’ Heroes at Home program. It is a program created to give back to military families.

Over the course of 3 months , we received gift cards worth a total of $322.00

It was a much appreciated and welcomed gift.

Since this was all extra $$ that we certainly weren’t expecting to receive, we bought stuff for the house, a Wii Spongebob game for the girls and a Flip video camera (which I’ve wanted for a REALLY long time)

I have to say this camera is the coolest handheld camera I’ve used in a long time. It’s so easy to use Beck can use it with ease. It’s completely plug in pay… there is a USB connector built into the camera.(yes video is coming very soon )

So a BIG heartfelt thank you to Sears (and all those that donated to the program) !! You guys do so much for our military and their families!

Keep up the great work.

Christmas without SGT Daddy was a bit depressing but we did what we always do, make the best of situation. I don’t know what we would have done if we didn’t have technology.

We got to see SGT Daddy in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve opening up his box of goodies. I don’t know if he was more excited about the Left for Dead 2 Xbox game or the HALO Encyclopedia. (yes there is an encyclopedia for a video game)

Also, Daddy got to hear the girls open up their gifts from Santa and us. (our webcam doesn’t work that great on his end) It was almost like he was home with us.

I’m so glad that we can cross one more holiday off the list. You see, Christmas was sort of a personal milestone for me.

I told myself right after SGT Daddy left, that all I need to do is make it until Christmas. I knew if I could make it to Christmas,  I could make it for the year.

So now our next milestone is his upcoming R&R .. which is only a couple of months away. All of us are super excited about it and are looking forward to it.

So to all my blog readers, family and friends… Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I am greatful for Daddy, Uncle Guy, Mama, Kiersten (my sister)

Next is my story of one of them.

What am I thankful for? My uncle, my uncle Guy. He had to go through a lot of stuff and my daddy helped him get through one of them. It was called cancer. Now that is what i am thankful for.

- Rebecca Munson
11/25/09