Night Catch Book Review

What a wonderful book! This book combines two things my sons love...playing ball with dad, and looking at the stars. Our family is currently preparing for my husband's deployment and the hardest thing for me is trying to prepare the boys for something they don't (and won't) understand.

When a Soldier's work takes him half-way around the world, he enlists the help of the North Star for a nightly game of catch with his son. Night Catch is a timeless story that connects families while they are apart and offers comforting hope for their reunion. This synopsis from the Bubblegum Press is exact and fitting!

Brenda definitely captured the emotions a military family goes through and makes a unique tradition out of the situation. It gives a creative idea of something simple your kids can do while remembering dad at bedtime. It also easily illustrates the distance and time difference in a way a yound child can begin to understand.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with small children who are preparing or currently going through a deployment! Brenda wrote what is now one of our favorite books...Thank You, Brenda!
Night Catch is written by Brenda Ehrmantraut and illustrated by Vicki Wehrman.

*I received a free copy of Night Catch to keep and read in order to form an opinion. I was not compensated in any other manner. The opinions expressed above are my own and any claims should be verified on the sponsor’s site. Actual experience may vary. A special THANK YOU to the sponsor for allowing me to review this book!

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A Mom's Take, Queen B,  Dealicious Mom, Mom to Bed by 8 and Guest Host Army Wife and Mom! 

Going Away Party Planning

I recently started planning my husband's going away party and so far I've only picked the date and place. I wanted to have it somewhere other than our house that is relatively easy to find. I decided to have it the Homewood Suites since it's right off a major highway and any out of town guests will be able to find it easily (I hope). 

After talking to them about having a send-off party for my deploying husband they were wonderful enough to waive the rental fee of the meeting room. I can't tell you how much it means to me (and to our family) that people are so understanding and willing to help us out. Complete strangers helping complete strangers! These are the stories you don't hear about on the news or in the newspapers. THANK YOU to the people at the Homewood Suites!! We look forward to our party (as soon as I get the rest of it planned)!

Getting Our Deployment Ducks in a Row (For the Kids)

We attended a Family Prep course this weekend to help us prepare for our upcoming deployment. Some things weren't new, but I did come out with a lot of info. regarding our boys. We haven't mentioned anything about the deployment even though it's just a few months out and after this weekend I think we'll be breaking the news this week. I guess it's never too early to start talking about it. We'll let the boys know that they can always come to us (or myself after he leaves) to ask us any questions. It's nice that they're not old enough to understand what's going on when we watch the news. We received the Elmo dvd along with several books that will help us explain what's going to happen. (Once I go through them I'll let you know which ones I think are better than the others.) We were told we shouldn't use the term "deployment" when we talk to the boys and that we should come up with our own term. Some people said daddy is "helping people" or "playing army." I will be updating the "Fun Ideas" page with other suggestions people shared with us.
Now the question is...what term do we use when we talk about daddy going away?

Social Parade on Friday

It's my lucky day! I've found two new Blog Hops today! I'd like to WELCOME everyone visiting today! Hopefully I'm on my way to 100 followers by March 15th!

Boost My Blog Friday!

This is my first time participating in Boost my Blog Friday by Design It Chic. I'm glad I stumbled upon this fun Blog Hop! Perfect timing actually...I've wanted to set a goal of 100 followers, but wasn't sure how long it would (or should) take me. So here it goes...I'd like to have 100 followers by March 15th! Let's see how I do.
I've been asking companies if they'd be willing to donate an item so I can do a giveaway...wouldn't that be fun? So please "follow" if you like what you read and want to hear more. I can't wait to read other blogs too! Thank you in advance for stopping by!

Good People, Good Deeds

I had this great idea to buy holiday cards for our boys that my husband can bring with when he deploys. The only problem??? I didn't think about it before some of the holidays passed us by. Today I went into a locally owned card/gift shop, explained my situation and asked if I would be able to buy a few Halloween and Christmas cards for kids. The owner was working and she was MORE than happy to help me out. I now have cards for Halloween, Christmas, next Valentine's Day and some thinking about you/miss you cards. She thanked me for my husband's contribution and thanked me for being a military wife. Now I have to pay it forward!