Veteran's Day

Days like today seems to bring out all the patriots we have among us. Those people that respect the military and their families and all that they do for this great nation. There are discounts at restaurants (some even give away free meals) and there are church services and flag ceremonies and an outpouring of gratitude shown to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces.

My husband is one of those brave men. He puts on his combat boots and goes to work every day in honor of the freedoms that were bestowed upon us by the great leaders of yester years. He protects the freedoms we take for granted when he is called to do so. He may not be fighting a war today, tomorrow or any other day but he is still willing to stand there on the front lines for you and everyone else in this country as needed.

There is a saying in the Army that I think reflects what it means to be a soldier, a veteran. "There is strong. Then there is Army strong." You can be strong but that does not make you Army strong. I think this can be applied to anyone in the Armed Forces. These men and women face challenges that the rest of us hope to never have to face. They fight the battles on enemy land rather than putting us in harm's way. They leave their families for weeks on end to train for such instances, and then for months at a time to fight for our freedoms. Sometimes they even pay the ultimate sacrifice... their life. They do this for you... for all of us. There is no I in team, there is no I in Army and there is no I in Freedom.

So today and all days we say thanks to our military for laying their lives on the line in the name of freedom. We are the land of the free because of the brave. Remember...

30 Days of Thankfulness Challenge

Facebook is a source of many things... and this month for me, it is a source of accountability.

I saw quite a few people doing a 30 Days of Thankfulness Challenge for the month of November and embraced the idea. I have been very good about keeping up with it and I know it is because of the people I have on facebook.

Now I don't know if they really want to know what I am thankful for but knowing there are people out there reading my status updates makes me keep up with it. Quite the opposite from this blog. I mean, I know there are people that were reading it but I didn't feel like I was held accountable enough, I guess. No excuse, really, because I should hold myself accountable. Anyway, I digress.

The point of the blog, really, was to tell you of this challenge and challenge YOU to join in... either on facebook, your blog or twitter... or just write it in a journal for reflection at the end of the month. It may be hard but you will be grateful for the daily reminder of all the little things to be thankful for.

Remember Me?

Yah, probably not! So here is a quick intro...

My name is Brianna but most people call me Bri. In fact, it is easier to introduce myself as Bri because half the time I cannot say my own name right. Everyone always asks, "Is it Bri-Ah-Na or Bri-Anne-Uh?" So guess what, it's neither. It's Bri (actually it's Bri-Ah-Na, but I think you get my point).

I have 5 kids. Yup, you read that right. FIVE! I know I am by far not the only mom out there with lots of kids and 5 doesn't seem like a lot anymore when so many people have 3 and 4 kids nowadays. I know moms with 6, 7, 8 and more kids. It is more common now than in past years where 2 kids was the norm and if you had one of each (a girl and a boy) then you were expected to be done since you now had the "perfect" combination. Well, I will tell you... I had a girl, then a boy so I was supposed to be done, right?! HA! I then had another girl, then another boy... done again, right?! NOT! Then came #5, my baby girl. Girl, boy, girl, boy, girl and no plans for another to even it out especially since our luck it would be another girl.

Besides that, we are evened out already. We have a male dog to round things out. His name is Buckeye. Yes we are Ohio State fans... yes we are from Ohio... and yes we HATE Michigan (but still love all our friends and family that chose the wrong path). Anyway, Buckeye is a great dog. A german shepherd/rottweiler mixed beast but the biggest baby you will ever meet. He wishes he could be a lap dog and he loves people, especially my husband.

Speaking of that man of mine... he is my Sugar Daddy. HA! He makes all the money by playing a soldier by day and by night he is a soccer coach and scout master. He is a better man than I ever deserved and his kids are lucky that he is their daddy.

It's a great little family we have here in Iowa. Our home for now since that is where the Army sent us. Next year we will be elsewhere but that destination has yet to be determined. Our ideal location would be Ft Campbell, KY which puts us 8hrs from our hometown of Toledo, Ohio, 8hrs from our besties here in Iowa and 8hrs from our besties in Savannah, GA. We like to stay close to our family and friends while the kids are young. It helps so much, especially when daddy has to go overseas.

Anyway, that is us in a nutshell... the nutty Buckeyes we are. Hope you stick around to see the craziness we get into and I promise to make no promises of being a good blogger. After all, I never finish anything I...