Blue Star Stories
From Adversity to Advocate, Get to Know Marla Bautista
Marla Bautista, an Army wife and mother of three, knows firsthand that advocacy can play an important role in building a stronger, more supported community. That’s because she was once food insecure and unhoused. And those challenging experiences have shaped her into who she is today while positively affecting how she can help others. “I…
Read moreThe Challenge of Family Building and How Military Spouses Can Help
When Laci married her Air Force service member, she was informed her family building journey would be difficult and conceiving a child naturally wasn’t likely. Laci’s story, though heartbreaking, is a common one. Research indicates that the natural fertility rate is only 20%, and 1 in 8 couples will have difficulty getting pregnant. For military…
Read moreBlue Star Welcome Week: A Community-Building Event for Military Families
By: Marla Bautista Moving to a new duty station can be an exciting, but sometimes difficult transition for military families, especially those with small children or those who don’t have close friends or family nearby. Blue Star Welcome Week provides an opportunity to meet your community and welcome new members into your neighborhood while also…
Read moreHow Eating Together Improves Nourishment & Connection
Between working late, kids activities, and other obligations, a packed family schedule may mean less time to sit down and have a meal together. For military families, that time to sit down together can be further disrupted by TDYs, deployments, swing shifts, and irregular schedules. It’s no wonder why one of the top issues affecting…
Read morePRIDE in Network: How One Spouse Found His Again
As a successful New Zealand diplomat of 14 years, David was a well-traveled and established professional. He’d been through several overseas tours to places like Indonesia, Chile, and finally, Hawaii, where he met his future spouse, John, an Army Chief Warrant Officer 2. “My career as a diplomat was promising and on an upward trajectory,”…
Read moreMoving with the military? Know this one thing!
It’s a well-known fact that you’re no stranger to moving as a military family. In fact, you could probably consider yourself a moving “expert” thanks to new orders every couple of years. While most of us understand the basics of a move — our stuff gets boxed, moved, we unpack, organize, and more — some…
Read moreGet the Most Out of the School Year: Advice From a Military Teen
As a military family, we often get lost in the sauce when preparing for our kids’ school year. We do the shopping, sign the papers, confirm bus routes, enroll kids at the last minute for reasons that come with our lifestyle, and the list goes on. This year, I took a different approach to keep…
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