Homefront Heroes

Today we headed to Hickam for a Homefront Hero ceremony. Makaela has been taking Matt's absence pretty badly, so when I got an email about kids being nominated for a medal, Matt and I nominated her for it. When I told her she was going to get a medal for being a hero, she started crying and said that heroes were for boys (guess she thought heroes were only Superman, Batman, etc). I then explained she was getting a medal for being a brave girl and for sharing her daddy with the country. She told me, "my daddy is in the mini-terry".

She was great the entire time and was chatting up with all the military and ceremony staff. When people thanked her for her "service to the country", she would tell people "You're welcome" and thanked everyone who complimented her on her dress. When they first called her

name, she got all bashful, but got up and marched right up there for her medal. I tried to get video, but they called Mia's name right after- I didn't know she was getting one, so I ran up there with Mia as well. Mia was smiley and the girls were so cute. All of the dedications that were read about the kids were so touching and as I looked around, I thought about how strong these kids are. It's so hard for me to watch Makaela go through this, but some families had 5 kids and I can't even imagine what it's like for them. Kids really are amazing.

To celebrate (and to wait out the crazy H1 traffic) I told Makaela we could go to the McDonald's near the base because it has a big play area. As we were getting out of the car to walk into McD

's, I noticed that the girls' awards came with an envelope. I was thought it was just a nice letter, and it was, but there was also McDonald's gift certificates! So I told Makaela dinner was on her and she felt like a big girl paying with her McD bucks.