The Calkins Family vs. the AIM Marketplace

As stated in previous posts, the last two months have involved me working towards choosing and securing our next duty station, and it has been busy for me and little stressful on all of us. It involved me staying up late researching and writing emails, spending far too much time on the computer (which the girls did not like), and growing very concerned that we were not going to get an assignment that we wanted. Thankfully, everything worked out in the end, but we are all a little exhausted from the experience.

One of my Small Group Leaders has a Doctorate in Memes… so his work will be featured heavily here.

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Taking Care of Dad

As every parent knows, most of the time it is us taking care of our children. Whether it is cooking meals, drawing them a bath, or getting another Band-Aid for that minor (possibly invisible) scrape, the vast majority of our lives involves taking care of our kids. Every now and then though, they might have to return the favor. This has pretty much been the case for the last month, as I have been either broken or tired, and the girls have stepped up when I needed it most. Here is to the girls taking care of Dad.

Pancakes, Coffee, and March Madness help too, just not as much.

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Night of Extraordinary Lights Holiday Village

There is no shortage of things to do around the holidays. Unfortunately for us, any activity, especially one in Tucson, takes away from preparing for the girls’ grandparents to arrive on Christmas week. Thankfully, Fort Huachuca has plenty of holiday events. And when one of the biggest of the season is literally a block from our house, there is really no excuse not to grab the girls and join in on the fun.

The girls started off the Christmas season by each eating an un-toasted marshmallow from the S’mores station… absolute sacrilege.

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Company Bowling Night

As a single parent, sometimes you just want to talk to other adults outside of work. I mean, I absolutely adore my kids, but the conversations with a six- and four-year old can be somewhat limited. So when we were given the chance to attend my unit’s bowling night, I was more than happy to show up and support the event.

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The Girls Promoting Me to Major

So everyone knows by now that my daughters and I do everything together. Baking involves having my trusty frosting testers available. Hiking means more than just walking in the wilderness, in that one girl is usually on my shoulders and the other is in a carrier backpack. And a nice, quiet trip to the zoo involves me answering endless questions on why animals look and act the way they do. It is the way our family works and I love it. So why would my big promotion be any different?

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