Author Archives: Debbie Nichols

Youngest granddaughter’s upcoming birthday party

My granddaughter, Bailey will be celebrating her 11th birthday very soon. She asked me if I could come to her birthday party, my answer was.. ” Of course I will be there!” I asked her what will we be doing for your birthday? She said “I am having a rollerskating party. I have invited a some friends”. I tld her” I know how to roller skate”. I then shared with her how her mom(her great grandmother) when her mother was a little girl, our entire family went rollerskating at a roller rink every Sunday.

My dad( her great grandfather) and his brother( my uncle Leo) roller skated when they were young. My Uncle Leo was a floor guard at a roller rink and he took his brother( my dad) to the roller rink every weekend. Needless to say the two of them were incredible roller skaters. My dad could dance on roller skates with my mom, skating in any direction they wanted to. As a kid I loved it. As an adult my dad would skate with me, it was so much fun…Today my uncle has passed away. My dad is in his late 70″s and is fearful of falling and breaking something, which I understand. My granddaughter listed to my story with great interest.

My granddaughter told me I could go skating with her if I wear neon clothing, because that is what all of her friends were going to wear. Well I should have saved those 80’s outfits! Wish me luck in finding something to wear and hopefully I won’t fall!

How to have fun with teenagers- LA Dodgers Baseball training Camp game!

My granddaughter Ivie turned 15 years old and we wanted to celebrate her birthday with her. My husband loves the Los Angeles Dodgers and their spring training camp is in Arizona, not far from our daughter’s home. We have gone to the LA Dodgers Spring training camp for the past 2 years and our granddaughters always enjoyed it. So we thought Ivie could invite a few friends. Ivie loved the idea.

When I purchased the tickets several months ago, my daughter to deploy to Afghanistan, her deployment was cancelled , now she could come also. I was so happy that my daughter could join us at the baseball game. She had never attended Spring Training due to work related events, but not this time. She is a big fan of baseball.

My granddaughter was so excited to be able to bring friends to the game. We all had such a great time.

I think taking teenagers to fun activities like sporting events, brings you together.You also get a chance to meet their friends. My granddaughter’s friends are very nice girls.

I know we will plan this for next year, maybe we will have to buy more tickets!

Coming soon- Want to know how to reconnect with your returning soldier

I will be offering very soon- 7 Steps to Reconnecting You with Your Returning Soldier. I have created this Audio product with workbook to help military families know what to expect when their soldier returns. I found this part of deployment being the most challenging of all. I had very little information when my daughter returned. I was in shock how different my daughter was when she returned even though she saw no tragedy and how challenging it is for our family.

As a family member you are not sure what exactly to say and do when your soldier returns. The soldier has changed. You know they love you, but they act so different, they are cold and disconnected. I have developed this product to help the families better understand the soldier’s mindset and the changes the family must make.

I will keep you posted!