The Fourth and Friends

Happy Fourth of July! Happy Birthday, America! Thanks to all the Service Members, especially my dear hubby and all the Soldiers in the 2-2 Infantry Regiment for defending the freedoms and history we celebrate today. And, with that out of the way, July 4th means another blasted long weekend! We made the best of it and had some fun with friends Saturday and, again, today.

Being in the Army gives us opportunities to meet lots of new friends and develop special bonds with others that will last all our lives. I was fortunate to experience that when we were at Ft. Hood in Texas. Though I don't speak with those friends every day and don't get to see them, they will always hold a special place in my heart. Ft. Knox has proved to be just as great in the friend department. The friends we have made here, I'm certain, will stay in our hearts long past the time the Army takes us our separate ways. In the meantime, we are enjoying the time with them.

Sean, Gabe, Clara, Bella, and Vanessa

I know how much the friendships I have made mean to me, and I truly love watching the relationships between our children. In this picture they were all lined up waiting for bunnies to appear from within the fallen tree stump in our yard. They had set out carrots and were sitting so patiently. The moms didn't have the heart to tell them that there probably were not any bunnies inside. Their imaginations had devised this lovely idea and it was so sweet to observe the camaraderie.

Without our friends these days of deployment would drag painfully slow. It's our friends and the bonds we have forged with them that make the seemingly endless deployment manageable. If I didn't have the ears of my Army Wives to listen to me, their shoulders to cry on and their unwavering support and understanding I don't know what I would do. Family and friends are great and they know how very much they mean to me, but no one gets the life and emotions of an Army Wive except another Army Wife. For that I am forever thankful.