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!)

Cunningham Flat Daddy

We're getting close to having enough to pay for The Lyon's Tale's FOURTH Flat Daddy for a military family going through a deployment. Woohooo!

(Not familiar with the Flat Daddy program? Visit THIS PAGE of my website or go to the Flat Daddy site.)

I'm THRILLED with the response from my readers who have donated. (You know who you are; thank you, thank you, thank you!!!) Every little bit helps.

The fourth Flat Daddy will go to the Cunningham Family. A little about them:

Mom and Dad Cunningham met at a single adult conference in July 1996. They were married five weeks later.

During the early years of their marriage, Daddy C was in college, and even with a growing family (of four boys!), he managed to graduate with honors with (YES!) a Bachelor's in English Literature and Writing.

His final semester, he joined the Army and left for basic training July of 2000. The following February, the family headed for their first duty station: Fort Bliss, TX.

The following years are a blur for them with two deployments, diapers, pre-schools, IEP meetings, OCS, and PCSs. (Acronyms that don't mean much for us civilians!) Daddy felt he was missing the boys growing up, so he decided to end his active duty Army career and find a civilian job. During that time, they got a surprise: their one and only daughter, born six years after their youngest son.

He maintained his military connection, though, and is now attached with the Montana National Guard. He's deploying to Iraq in a matter of weeks. (Hence the need for a Flat Daddy quick!)

This will be Daddy C's third deployment.

In Mommy C's words:

We are so proud of him and his desire to serve! He's such a good example to our kids, and to the kids in his Primary class. Because of his great love for the Gospel and the fine example he has set in our home, even though he will be leaving, we will not be without the priesthood: Our two oldest boys hold the priesthood and love to serve. I see their happiness and willingness to fulfill their responsibilities and know it's because their dad is the same way! :) The younger two boys are anxiously waiting for their time to serve in the priesthood too!

To donate to my Flat Daddy fund (and get the Cunninghams their Flat Daddy by the time Dad leaves!) use the DONATE button on my sidebar. We're getting close, so if we end up with extra funds (I hope!), they'll roll over to the next Flat Daddy Family.

Reminder: Enter my blog-anniversary giveaway for a chance to win prizes! The story entries are due on Wednesday (tick, tock!). The NINE winners from all three ways of entering will be announced Friday.

Ashleigh's Soldier & Flat Daddy

My generous readers got Ashleigh's Flat Daddy paid for before I put up her spotlight.

(That is because first, because I have the best readers EVER, and second, because I spaced telling you all about who she is until now.)

Here is Ashleigh with her sweetheart soldier, who is currently deployed:


Come July, Ashleigh's husband will have been a medic in the Army for six years. He plans to make it a career, as he loves the Army and loves serving his country. They were married in December 2008 and had their first baby, and sweet little boy, just a couple of weeks ago while Daddy was gone.

Ashleigh's husband also has a six-year-old daughter, Taylie, who lives in Washington with her mom.

During the deployment, Ashleigh and their baby boy live with her in-laws, including two nephews. The boys often ask where their uncle is; he's very involved with family when at home, so they miss him terribly. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Flat Daddy will be good for their nephews as well as for their baby.

Ashleigh is going to school as an English major (yay, English majors!) and plans to teach either at the high school or college level.

Speaking of her husband, Ashleigh says, "I think he is one of the kindest people I've ever met. He is a great, supportive and loving husband."

As the progress bars show, Ashleigh's Flat Daddy is already paid for, something I'm exceedingly grateful for, because now their baby will know what Daddy looks like when he gets home.

We already have another Flat Daddy family in the works . . . and $10 already donated to them! I'll let you know about them soon.

Thanks again to everyone who has been so generous!

The Lyman Flat Daddy Family

I swear, I have the best blog readers ever.

TODAY I get to officially place the order for the Patterson Flat Daddy. Booyah!

The next ones to get a Flat Daddy are the Lyman family.

Get this: their Flat Daddy is already paid for. I didn't even get a chance to tell you who they were, and you all donated enough to pay for it!

So here's their (belated) spotlight:

The Lyman Family

Daddy Lyman departed for his first deployment just two weeks ago. In his wife's words, it's already "surprisingly HARDER than we thought it would be."

The Lymans have four children: 8 months, 4 years, 6 years, and 8 years. (My heart is aching just thinking about those little ones.)

Daddy Lyman

The family loves adventure, the outdoors, camping, and animals. Daddy Lyman is a huge kid at heart and loves wrestling with the kids on the floor. They have a menagerie of animals, including a horse and chickens. They enjoy reading together as a family and discovering new, exciting books.

Now his young children will be able to "wrestle" with Flat Daddy on the floor, take him on camping trips, and read books to him. It's not as good as the real thing, but it's a big step up from the alternative.

A BIG thank you to the donors who made the Lyman Family Flat Daddy possible.

This time, they're, well . . . ahem . . .

Anonymous

and

Anonymous

You know who you are . . . especially the first one with your big donation! (I will keep my promise by not linking over to you, but dang, it's SO HARD not to. I want the world to know how awesome you are!)

I guess the best I can do is to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

As a result of your generosity, my personal Flat Daddy fund already has the money, and the Lyman Family will receive their Flat Daddy very soon.

Next week I'll spotlight Ashleigh's Family.

Because my readers are over-the-top generous, Ashleigh's family already has a progress bar, and it's moving up at at steady pace.

IMPORTANT (BUT UNRELATED) NOTE:

Today is the last day for teens to postmark their registrations for THE Teen Writers Conference, to be held Saturday, June 5th at Weber State.

For all attendees, today is ALSO the last day to submit your contest entries! DO ENTER! (Find the details and rules HERE.) It's worth doing just for the judges' feedback even if you don't get one of the fantabulous prizes!

Another reminder: To donate to the general Flat Daddy fund or to a family you know personally, visit the Flat Daddy site directly.

To get a family onto the waiting list for a free Flat Daddy, contact the "Flat Daddy Lady," Elaine Dumbler, via her website: I'm Already Home.

WOW! FLAT DADDY UPDATE

In less than 24 hours, we received enough in donations for the Pattersons' Flat Daddy!

My list of families has four more (so far) for whom I'm hoping to get Flat Daddies.

Special thanks to the awesome people who made the Pattersons' Flat Daddy possible:

KristinaP

KymberleeV

Heidi Ashworth

Lisa and Laura

Emily Milner

Melanie Jacobson

Lyon's Tale Flat Daddy Families!

The longer Band of Sisters is out, the more military families I come across, whether in real life or online. I'm coming to see just how many of them could use a Flat Daddy of their own.

(Not familiar with the Flat Daddy concept? Visit my web site's FD page.)

These families can submit their names to Elaine Dumler (the official Flat Daddy Lady) to get on the list for a free one when the funds are available. But fund raising can take awhile, and the current waiting list has around 120 families.

So I had an idea: What if my awesome readers help get Flat Daddies for specific military families, one at a time?

Right this minute, I know of at least four families by name who could really use a Flat Daddy, and I'm sure I'll find more. If I somehow run out of names, Elaine can always provide me more from the wait list.

I really, really want to support families going through deployment, and if just some of my readers donate a few dollars here and there, we'd be able to buy several Flat Daddies. They cost more than one person usually can donate at once ($49.50).

But consider this: if 10 people each donated $5, that's a whole Flat Daddy.

A little goes a long way toward making a real difference.

I'm so excited about the idea, I'm giddy!

So here's my plan:

I'll start by spotlighting a specific military family. In many cases, I'll need to stay pretty vague on details simply for the safety of their soldiers, but I'll let you know what I can about them.

Then their family will be on my sidebar. Anyone wanting to donate (even a few dollars!) can do so. Follow the progress bar to see how close we are to getting THAT family their very own Flat Daddy.

Every time enough funds are raised, I'll place the order for that family's Flat Daddy. I'll report back here and put up the next family with their progress bar.

So please, please help out, with whatever amount you can! Go without that burger once this week to help a family. If we all pitch in just a little bit, we can make a huge difference all together!

Remember, you can also donate at the Flat Daddy website directly; you just won't know what family you're donating to, and it won't go toward the Flat Daddy Family spotlighted here at The Lyon's Tale.

Our First Flat Daddy Family: The Pattersons

The Patterson family is currently living through Dad's second deployment. They have five children ranging from five to seventeen.

I believe their five-year-old wasn't even born when Dad left the first time. For him, Dad's absence has got to be particularly hard. But even the older kids miss Dad terribly.

(Above: Daddy Patterson)

Let's help get his family a Flat Daddy . . . now.

Donate with a click.

My side bar now has a donate button. Use it to send money directly to my Flat Daddy Families fund. (Can't get much simpler than that!)

If you know of a family who could use a Flat Daddy, drop me a line, and I'll add them to my list. Let's see how many we can get out there!

But first, let's see how fast we can get the Patterson family their Flat Daddy!

Ready, set, CLICK!