Flat Daddy Family #5

We've got another military family in need of my awesome readers' help to get a Flat Daddy.

Quick reminder for my newer readers:

A Flat Daddy is a life-sized image (often a cutout) of a deployed parent from the waist up. Flat Daddies are especially helpful for families with small children, as they ease the pain during a deployment by having a physical representation of their mom or dad with them.

Some families hang the Flat Daddy on the wall, while others tote him around everywhere they go, so Dad is "present" at his daughter's tea party, his son's field trip, at the grocery store, trick-or-treating, or attending a soccer game.

See THIS PAGE of my website to see a Flat Daddy in action and just how cool the program is.

Thanks to my research into the military for Band of Sisters, I've come to appreciate military families in ways I never could have otherwise. So periodically I spotlight military families who could really use a Flat Daddy (creating one yourself is rather cost-prohibitive). Readers can then donate to the current FD Family using the Donate button over in my side bar. When we have enough funds, I order the Flat Daddy, and then the people there make it and ship it directly to the family.

And now, today's Flat Daddy family, in the words of my friend Danyelle Ferguson:

The Bauman Family

Michael and Rachel Bauman have a military love story. The couple first met in Afghanistan in 2005 while Rachel was serving in the Air Force and Michael in the Army.

They were married in February 2006. Together, they have a yours, mine & ours family, which includes four kids between the ages of 1 1/2 and 10 years old.

Michael left for a tour in Iraq in March and will be there for a year. He joined the Army right out of high school in 1996 and has been stationed at Fort Knox, Fort Sill, and Fort Leavenworth. His family is currently at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

The Bauman family enjoys watching movies together, going for family walks, and playing with their two English Mastiffs, Sarge and Carmel. While Dad is serving our country, Mom plans to stay at home with their kids.

So far, the deployment has been met with mixed challenges. Rachel’s mother, who planned to help during the deployment, suddenly fell ill and passed away early in May. Michael was able to come home for two weeks to help with the funeral.

The family was grateful to be together during those first few weeks, but having Dad leave a second time was particularly difficult for the kids. They look at pictures of Dad and sleep with their military Dad dolls each night.

Receiving a big Flat Daddy will add more comfort to their days.

When asked about her husband’s service, Rachel said, “As a former active duty soldier, I am proud of my husband and his willingness to serve our country. I know the next year won't be easy for our family or for him to be away from us, but we are going to do our best to communicate together as often as possible and remind the kids Daddy loves them every day.”

Daddy Bauman

Okay, folks! Let's get the Baumans a Flat Daddy. Ready, go!

(Oh, and so you know: Daddy Bauman? That's Danyelle's brother!)