What a Surprise!
Jul 06, 2008

I have been teasing my husband about Atta Girls for quite a long time. Like many wives, I coveted an Atta Girl of my very own, but to be honest it was just too much money for me to imagine spending on a piece of jewelry for myself.

I wanted one very much, but I didn't need one. My kids needed shoes. We needed to take Ike to the vet. Air Force Guy needed IR flags. It was kind of a family joke anytime something went wrong - I'd tell AFG, "I expect to see the Atta Girl ribbon for this one!" the way the kids and I would say, "Hey, let's go tell those people to move out of our house!" when we would drive past some dreamy picturesque manor we'll never be able to afford.

Apparently, my husband is an awful lot more romantic than I ever would have guessed.

AFG was able to come home from his extended TDY this weekend. Yesterday morning he took us to breakfast at Mimi's Cafe (have I mentioned how much I love Mimi's? It's one of my all time favorite restaurants, topped only by the perfection that is Panera) and pulled out a long black velvet jewelry box.

Then he opened the box and presented it to me with all the tradition and wrappings of a marriage proposal, right there in the restaurant in front of God and Everyone.

Doesn't the boy look perplexed?

And do I have the biggest cheesy grin you've ever seen in your life? I could honestly hardly breathe.

Then AFG took the Atta Girl out of it's box, linked it together, and put it on my wrist himself. An elderly lady at the next table smiled at me and gave me the "You did good, girl!" nod. I wonder if she knew what an Atta Girl was or if she just recognized the excitement of the moment!

AFG then regaled me with the number of hours it took him to pick out the "perfect" bracelet for me. He said he wanted to make sure I knew how much he treasured everything I did for him.

As far as moments go, it ranked right up there with, "Will you marry me?".

My bracelet has:
Military Spouse
Military Sister
Air Force
National Guard
Deployment (with star)
Combat/Hazardous Duty (with star)
Iraq
Afghanistan
12 Years of Service (with star)

A funny side effect of this was that my daughters are now green with jealousy! Especially when they found out that there are Military Daughter ribbons available! Since AFG is currently working on getting his next deployment, he asked me if I thought it would be a good thing to order while he is gone for him to present to the girls as a pendant when he comes back.

I think it would be something they would treasure forever.

Free Welcome Home Signs
Jul 06, 2008

Army Blogger Wife just alerted me to the free 3' x 6' Welcome Home signs. The one I just ordered is normally sold for $57.21, and all I paid was $7.31 for shipping and tax.

The company, BuildaSign.com, has offered to give away 10,000 signs - so get over there and order one while they're still available!

(And Happy Independence Day!)

Happy Birthday, America
Jul 06, 2008

I find the Fourth of July a bittersweet holiday - perhaps I'm the only one. But while I'm reminded on this day how lucky I am to be an American, I'm also thinking about those who have come before me and gave everything so that I could live free. I'm so grateful to be here, but I owe everything to those we remember on Memorial Day.

I had originally planned to embed the videos here, but my techno not-smartness intervened so follow the link:

The National Anthem

Two more amazing videos after the jump.

This is my favorite version of the National Anthem ever. Maybe it is because I grew up listening to Motown with my mother.

My favorite version of the National Anthem ever.

And finally, this song isn't our National Anthem, but I think you'll agree with me that sometimes it might as well be! I've seen people get more teared up hearing this song than any other...

Proud to be an American

Have a happy and blessed Fourth of July. I'm so proud to be "related" to all of you in our military family!