Moran Family Fun

The beginning of the school year is always a busy time and things are just now starting to slow down. Or we're just now getting used to the new faster pace of things? Either way, life at the Moran home has fallen into a pattern and a routine that makes the busy days somehow all work out. I thought I'd just do a quick review of September but instead of going chronologically we'll review life from youngest to oldest.  Natalie was selected as a member of her school chapter of the National Elementary Honor Society. Yes, that is a real thing. Founded in 2008, it's an offshoot of the National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society. This particular chapter is the first one in all of DODEA so that's kind of exciting. Natalie is excited to have been chosen to join her school's chapter and takes her responsibility as a member very seriously. She was kind of freaking out about the induction ceremony, "Mom, there will be media  there. What if I for...

Jared was asked to speak in church today at his deployed location. He sent me a copy of the talk and I loved it so much I wanted to share it. Enjoy! In my line of work, I need to be able to read a map, use it and be able to navigate with it.  Luckily for me, this is something I learned at a young age in Boy Scouts and then as I got older built upon in the military.  Now when someone mentions “Land Nav” or Land Navigation, I actually get pretty excited to use the skills I have developed over my lifetime.  There are a few important things on a Map and I would like to explain a few of them to you. First, a map needs to have the 4 main cardinal directions; North, South, East, and West.  North is the top and South is the bottom.  West is to the left and East is to the right.  Pretty basic stuff really. Second, a map needs a scale.  Something to be able to relate to or measure distance.  It’s kind of important to know how far you need to go o...

We have a big calendar on the wall in our family room where we can see at a glance what the main events are each day. The difference between the days in the first half of August and the second half was significant. The pace of our lives started to speed up in the second half of August; the back to school season is both exciting and busy. We love the lazy days of summer but the new school year is a great time as well. Something about the whole school year ahead of us makes me want to make resolutions and set goals more than January ever does. Emily has been talking about senior photos for a while. She definitely wanted to have photos beyond the ones that are taken at school for the yearbook. One of her school friends recommended a photographer to her, but it was way more money than either of us wanted to spend. Does anyone else feel as if high school events like senior year, prom, and graduation are becoming as big of a deal as a wedding used to be? I mean, we're proud of E...