AllMilitary.com

Do you have a fun night of candy hunting planned with your little ones? If so, here are some tips for general safety as well as tips for avoiding flu contamination since this year the numbers are up a little.

The following general safety comes from the CDC:

• Swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be short, soft, and flexible.
• Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.
• Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you.
• Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat.
• Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you.
• Always test make-up in a small area first. Remove it before bedtime to prevent skin and eye irritation.
• Look both ways before crossing the street. Use established crosswalks wherever possible.
• Lower your risk for serious eye injury by not wearing decorative contact lenses.
• Only walk on sidewalks or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay safe.
• Wear well-fitting masks, costumes, and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips, and falls.
• Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats unless you know the cook well.
• Enter homes only if you’re with a trusted adult. Otherwise, stay outside.
• Never walk near lit candles or luminaries. Be sure to wear flame-resistant costumes.

Flu Safety:

I thought this might be a timely post for anyone looking for extra work through the holiday season.

SOURCE LINK

Walmart Joins Army Spouse Employment Partnership

Partnership Aims to Provide Employment and Career Opportunities Nationwide

BENTONVILLE, Ark., October 6, 2009 – Walmart announced it joined the Army Spouse Employment Partnership (ASEP) as part of its ongoing commitment to provide employment and career opportunities to the military community. Walmart made its participation official through an induction and signing ceremony that took place yesterday in Washington, D.C. during the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition. The ceremony featured Walmart Executive Vice President Susan Chambers, Global People Division; U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh; U.S. Army Assistant Secretary Thomas Lamont, Manpower and Reserve Affairs: and U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Reuben Jones, Commander, Army Welfare and Recreation Command.

“From Walmart’s founder, Sam Walton, to many of our current executives and associates, our company has greatly benefited from the experiences our veterans and their families have brought to Walmart from their time in the military,” said Susan Chambers. “Walmart’s relationship with ASEP is a natural extension of our company’s efforts to be an employer of choice for military veterans and other important communities.”

ASEP provides Army spouses with job opportunities, career mobility and enhanced employment options through partnerships with corporate and private partners looking to employ diverse and talented candidates. According to the Army, last year ASEP partners hired more than 8,200 military spouses, bringing the grand total of spouses employed to 42,100 since the program began in late 2003.

“The Army recruits soldiers, but retaining families is part of the commitment ASEP and its partners have made toward helping our spouses establish and maintain careers,” said U.S. Army Secretary McHugh. “It is important to Army leadership, and I thank Walmart and all the ASEP partners for their commitment.”

Besides joining with ASEP, Walmart’s commitment to be an employer of choice for military communities is further demonstrated through the company’s partnership with the U.S. Army Reserve to offer career opportunities to serving Reserve Soldiers. Walmart also launched last year the Junior Military Officer program, an initiative designed to recruit commissioned and non-commissioned officers transitioning into the civilian workforce to store management positions. To date, more than 150 veterans have been selected to the program and will be serving in various store management capacities upon completion of their training.

Walmart’s overall commitment to military communities extends beyond its stores and clubs and into the communities it serves. Through the Walmart Foundation, the company has been able to support programs to honor members of the armed forces and provide assistance to soldiers and their families. Some of these programs include honoring the memory of soldiers through Wreaths Across America, grants to veterans’ assistance programs through the American Council on Education and support for military families through Fisher House.

About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), or “Walmart,” serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,000 retail units under 53 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2009 sales of $401 billion, Walmart employs more than 2.1 million associates worldwide. A leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity, Walmart ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazine’s 2009 Most Admired Companies survey. Online merchandise sales are available at www.walmart.com and www.samsclub.com.

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I got the following write up off of Christian Military Wives website. I was blessed to actually get to interview Shannon on their show. Please feel free to listen to the interview from the link below. I think this is a vital topic for military family survival — especially while we face multiple deployments and a lot of time separated as married couples. Please take a look, read and listen. Let me know your thoughts on the matter.

From Patti:

Many thanks to Shannon Ethridge as she graced us with her presence on our live talk radio program on October 10, 2009.

Shannon is a million-copy best-selling author, speaker, lay counselor, and advocate for healthy sexuality with a master’s degree in counseling/human relations from Liberty University. She has spoken to youth, college students, and adults since 1989 and her passions include: Challenging adults and teens to embrace a life of sexual integrity, encouraging married couples in their pursuit of sexual and emotional fulfillment, counseling women who have looked for love in all the wrong places and equipping parents to instill sexual values in children at an early age.

Her passion for healthy sexuality actually began in mortuary college. Her first career choice, becoming a mortician, led Ethridge to work on dead bodies. Many she embalmed were young people who had died from AIDS or committed suicide as a result an HIV positive diagnosis. Because of her own promiscuous teenage years, she knew it was a miracle that she was standing over the embalming table rather than laying on top of it. These experiences inspired her to begin speaking boldly and bluntly to teen, college-age, and adult audiences about the benefits of sexual integrity. She has taught and counseled thousands of young singles and married couples over the past decade. She is the author of 18 books, including the best-selling Every Woman’s Battle series, the 5-book Completely His series, and her new book for the mainstream market,The Sexually Confident Wife.

Shannon has been featured on the cover of Today’s Christian Woman Magazinee, and is a frequent guest on international radio & television shows such as The 700 Club, Life Today with James & Betty Robison, FamilyLife Today with Dennis Rainey, and New Life Live! with Stephen Arterburn. She has also been published in numerous magazines such as Focus on the Family,Brio, and LifeWay and is the winner of a Gold Medallion Award for Excellence in Publishing.

Although grateful for the opportunities to influence this generation as a writer and speaker, Shannon remains most passionate about her role as a wife and best friend to her husband of 18 years, Greg, and a mother and cheerleader to their two children, Erin (17) and Matthew (14).

Please be sure to check out Shannons Website.

CLICK HERE to listen to our recorded show geared to military wives as we talk to Shannon about Sexual Integrity and Sexual Confidence in marriage.

A friend found this embrodiered on a quilt and shared it with me. I thought it was a good summation of some of my prayers over the years:

Lord’s Prayer For The Military Wife

Lord, Grant me the greatness
of heart to see,
the difference in duty
and his love for me.

Give me the
understanding to know,
that when duty calls
he must go.

Give me a task to do each day
to fill the time
while he is away.
And Lord when duty
is in the field,
Please protect him,
and be his shield.