Keeping Your Soldier With You

As a mother of soldiers, I've learned what it means to "pray without ceasing". It also helps to have those constant, visible reminders of our soldier with us -- a bracelet around our arm, dogtags around our neck, or for the little ones, a soldier doll or bear with daddy's or mommy's voice speaking to them. These fabulous companies are dedicated solely to providing us with those reminders.

HeroBracelets.org : Founded in 2004, HeroBracelets has provided thousands of us with bracelets bearing the names of our heros. Their bracelets are superior quality, and have won the acclaim of family members, soldiers, the media, and have even been given to The President by mothers of fallen soldiers. A portion of each sale goes to support the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

DaddyDolls : Started by two military wives attempting to ease their children's sadness over having deployed dads, DaddyDolls takes a photo of your soldier and prints it onto a microfiber doll, which can also hold a voice recorder, allowing mom or dad to record a message to their little one. Hero Bears are also available!

CreatingMilitaryMemories : provides an absolutely amazing array of scrapbooking materials for every branch of the Armed Forces, including National Guard and Reserves.

Free Blue Star Flag

It seems like we've had our Blue Star Flag hanging on the front door forever, and I'm looking forward to being able to store it. For now though, until our second deployed son returns home, it will hang there to show all who pass by our pride and honor. Grantham University provides these free of charge to all military families who ask.

The Blue Star Flag first appeared in 1917, when an Army captain who had two sons serving on the front line designed it as a tribute to their dedication and service. The flag quickly became the unofficial symbol of a child in the service. Today, families who have a loved one serving in the military display a blue star flag in the inside front window of their homes to show the family's pride in their loved one who is serving and to remind others that preserving America's freedom demands much.