Category Archives: army

Busting My Buttons!

February 13, 2010 By in army, army mom, pam carriker 14 Comments


I don’t do a lot of family posting because this is primarily my art site, but I just had to share a few pics from my oldest sons NCO graduation!

As a mom you worry, hope, dream, and countless other emotions for your children to become happy adults pursuing their dreams. Things aren’t always smooth sailing and your heart aches for them when things don’t go as planned.

When my son entered the military a little over a year ago, he wanted to be in the Infantry, but due to a hip fracture during Basic Training his dream had to be put on hold and he was lead down a different path than the one he originally set out on. While the mom in me was relieved that he had a ‘safe’ job, it was hard to see him settle for something less than he signed on for.

But, my son did not give up his dream. He’s worked hard and now has found a different path that will hopefully lead him to his original goal. He just finished his leadership training as one more step towards that goal.

I was so proud to see him standing tall, happy with himself, taking charge of his destiny, and planning his life. He could have just settled, but he fought back and I’ve watched him turn into a man right before my vary eyes.

Seeing him with his peers and all that they sacrifice and the pride with which they do it, should make us all proud as Americans. These young men and women give up much to serve our country and I’ve yet to meet one who doesn’t think the honors all theirs.

So go hug soldier, I hugged mine:-)

Spring is Here, It is!

March 13, 2009 By in army, art journal, birthday, cake, moleskine, pitt pens 21 Comments
It really is! I saw little lavender blooms on my creeping phlox, my clemantis has new shoots, and it’s my oldest sons birthday tomorrow. These things all tell me that spring is here.
My excitement runs high today as I bake a yummy chocolate cake in honor of his special day, because my boy is coming home to celebrate and bringing my new daughter in law! So mom has been cleaning, cooking, and wrapping presents. Last year he signed up to join the army on his birthday, and I really did not dare to hope that he would be home to celebrate it this year, so this is a true blessing. Enjoy the sun, while I enjoy my son:-)
This page was done in my moleskine with my new BIG Pitt Brush Pens. They are fabulous!!! And absolutely do not bleed through, amazing.

What I did on Christmas Vacation…

December 27, 2008 By in airplane, army, art journal, art journaling, exhibition 36, mixed media, snow, Susan Tuttle, travel, wedding, zne 11 Comments

It’s hard to believe Christmas is over. It went by so fast, with a rush of travel, my son’s wedding, visiting with family and SNOW. Lots of SNOW. I went to Seattle and was there for one of the worst snowstorms in the last decade. It snowed almost everyday that we were there. We learned that for the whole Seattle area they have a total of 27 snow plows. We actually only saw two the whole time we were there and we were on the road a good portion of that time. It was so pretty though. Sadly, it did keep us from getting to see much of our family. Which meant that family members were missing from the wedding. Everyone pulled together though and it came off nicely despite the weather and rush to get things done. It was a very small affair, with only close family and friends. They are off for a short honeymoon and then Christopher will be back to finish his training for a few more weeks. We still don’t know where he will be stationed, but are comforted that he will have his lovely new bride to bring comfort to him. He has officially left the nest to build one of his own. I am happy for him, but also sad that it went by so quickly. Everyone tells you it will, from the time they are little babies and it is true. Between waiting endlessly at the airport with all of the other desperate passengers, waiting to get to their Christmas destinations, I spent many hours buried in my journal. I also bought Susan Tuttle’s new book, ‘Exhibition 36’. It is amazing! I highly recommend it. I mostly used my new Pitt Pens on this trip, but I did finish a couple of pages in celebration of my feature in Somerset’s ‘Art Journaling’, loading those up with color. I actually used bits and pieces from the pdf proof, layering them with paint and doodles. Taking your journal with you turns travel nightmares into cherished creative time. You don’t even feel guilty because there is literally NOTHING else you need to do!
So don’t forget to take it with you everywhere. you just never know when you will need it.

Green Pepper Press Street Team Challenge

December 13, 2008 By in army, art, art challenge, art journal, green pepper press, michelle ward, zne 10 Comments

I am trying to squeeze in all of the fun art challenges that I love to take part in, during this slightly hectic time of year. This months GPP STREET TEAM challenge is to add the sense of ‘smell’ to your journal pages. How yummy is that? While pondering this challenge in the back of my mind, in the midst of baking cookies like a mad woman, and wishing I could capture the smell of the roasting, candied pecans, I opened my personal journal and realized that I had already added a scent to the pages that marks some exciting happenings in this holiday season. These pages were done while on the way to visit my son during his Basic Training. Only having limited supplies on hand, and being stuck in the airport, waiting for a flight, forced me to get creative. Isn’t that a GREAT thing?! I decided I would only use things found in the airport. As you can see, there are ticket stubs, some old Jeps (pilot talk for maps, as DH was doing revisions to his charts while we waited)I sketched DH’s aviator glasses, ripped off old tags on our luggage, and wondered how to add some background color to the page. I took a sip of my Starbucks and the light bulb went off! So much to my families dismay (they never know what I might use in my journal and always ask before throwing anything out-lol) I started dripping my coffee right onto the page and smooshing it around with my fingers.

Now when I open my journal, the scent of coffee wafts out and reminds me of early mornings, travel, and warmth. This Christmas, said son is coming home on leave and getting married to his sweetheart. We will again be traveling, this time to Washington, to take part in the wedding and welcoming a daughter to our family. She called me the other day and asked if I wanted to go and get my hair done with her for the wedding, now that is something I have waited for my whole life, Mother-daughter time! I love my boys dearly, but it will be so wonderful to have a daughter in our family.
A little Shout Out to Michelle, ‘Somerset Art Journals’ is featuring an article of mine and some journal pages, due out January 1. 2009, and one of the pages uses some stamps from Michelle Ward, and another page was done using handcarved stamps from one of her earlier challenges. This page talks about GPP Street team and Michelle! So very cool that these are some of the pages that they chose to use!

Angel In Disguise

November 14, 2008 By in angel, army, art, etsy, mixed media, soldier 8 Comments

Wow, it’s Friday already! Where did this week go? I have been furiously busy working to complete several projects before we leave. I also added a new project to my list, that I am very excited about. I will share more about that later:-)
My care package for my soldier son is ready to go to the post office. Yesterday I made 8, yes EIGHT, loaves of pumpkin bread, and then got a wild hair to make rolls from scratch! What was I thinking? But I am enjoying a piece of that pumpkin bread right now while I write, and it’s nice to know that the extra rolls are in the freezer, ready to be pulled out for a future dinner.
My latest piece is called ‘Angel In Disguise’. So many times angels come to us disguised as friends or family or even strangers. So keep your eyes open and be on the lookout for them! You wouldn’t want to miss seeing them:-)
TGIF