Today is the day!!!

2011 seems so long ago now....so much has happened in that space of time.

This is a picture of where it all began, me and my much smaller Little Trooper at the summit of Snowdon, my friends and family all rallied round to support the trek I wanted to do to distract my Little Trooper from the pain she was feeling from be constantly, repeatedly separated from her soldier daddy. You can read more about the 2011 trek here

Post the trek My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures was born and over the last 4 years its been a rocky but rewarding road to see the charity grow into such a worthwhile community for forces families.

I always like to dream big and there is so much I want to achieve for military families but expanding the charity to include RAF and Royal Navy families was always top of my list.
It has taken a long time to reach where we are today, lots of lessons been learnt, lots of people who have supported the growth and help make it happen but waking up this morning I had the biggest smile on my face...

WE ARE NOW THE FIRST TRI-SERVICE CHILDRENS CHARITY FOR SERVING UK ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL!!!!!!!!!!

Little Troopers is our new charity name and we look forward to welcoming lots of new Royal Navy and Royal Air Force families to the community as well as the British Army families we already support. Regardless of service, children experience repeated separation and we want to be there to support all the Little Troopers of our British Armed Forces.

Visit our new website: www.littletroopers.net



This has been an amazing journey so far and I am so pleased we have reached this milestone, there are so many people supporting this cause and making this happen....I couldn't do this on my own.

I can't wait to meet lots of you in the coming months, we are holding launch events for RAF and Royal Navy families in early 2016, we have our Snowdon weekend event in April and of course Summer Camp in June!

Thank you from me for the continued support, here's to the next chapter!

Louise xxxxx

The challenges are always the same

It has been 3 weeks our soldier has been away and it seems so hard...I'm definitely out of practise! I am remembering very clearly that it doesn't matter where they are the feelings and emotions are exactly the same, ok so this time I am not worried for his safety so much but I still ache at the big void that is left.

Communication is very sporadic, in 3 weeks he has called home twice which many keep giving me shocked looks when I tell them, one lady even said "its not world war one its 2015" but it is a myth that because of the technological world we are in we can all face time or Skype our soldiers every night, often it is just not that easy.

The boiler's broken, I cracked a tooth, the TV cabinet fell forward and is now propped up with a door stop, my Little Trooper has been doing amazingly at her sport, my car service light keeps flashing.....and I can't share these things with him. I know so many of you will relate to this.

Its such a strange existence. When he has called its been very brief and the boiler fades into insignificance.

Our Little Trooper is 12 now and as much as I had hoped the older she got the easier she would find it, to a certain extent that is true she can process it better and understands where he is and what he is doing but I still see the pain in her face when good things happen and she wants to share them....and can't.

We are using the write things down and pop in a jar method so we can share everything with him when he does return home, he will then feel like he's not missed out and our little girl will feel like he was part of these few months of her life still.

A great weekend in the national press (Daily Mail article) for the Me & My Soldier calendar we released the wining images and I am so honoured we have such special images in our 2016 calendar! You can pre order your copy here

Have a positive week. Louise xxx

and then there were two.....

Its a miserable Monday morning after a very long, quiet weekend, we are eight days into a period of separation and I have realised just how much I rely on the charity for support when my soldier is away, the Facebook page is a lovely community of people who are all going through the same thing which is so comforting to me right now.

It has been four years since my husband and I have experienced a separation of longer than a couple of weeks so it has been a real adjustment, I am SO bad at goodbyes even after all the practise I have had! I feel sick and become very quiet the day before knowing what is coming and then saying goodbye it doesn't matter where he is going I feel like my heart breaks a bit every time.

Luckily it was very late at night so our Little Trooper was tucked up and woke the next day really positive, I got up the next day feeling strong and determined to not have a black cloud over my week.

Separation is hard, it doesn't matter where your partner going (war or otherwise), how many months your partner is away for...its difficult, emotional and a real test of your resolve.
So many service personnel are away right now for a long time away from their families, its not in the news and you don't always hear about it but its happening and I want to highlight that.
To all those who tell me not so...The charity is NEEDED all the time because separation of British Armed Forces families is ALWAYS happening.

I posted an image on Facebook the day my soldier went away which many liked and shared and commented on because we all know the feeling...

One comment made me cry, lots of very real tears;

"I said goodbye a month ago yesterday and have to wait until 5th Dec to see him again, so far he has missed our sons first word, standing up, clapping his hands, my 21st birthday and our first wedding anniversary today"

I cried because I got it, I've been there. So many things people take for granted and military families have big gaps in their lives where things have been missed, memories are missing, occasions aren't what they should be and bonds with Little Troopers are affected.

If nothing else take away from this blogpost that so many families are separated right now, so many strong women are surviving and so many Little Troopers continue to need the resources the charity provides.

Have a great week, I am going to really try and be strong and put our Little Trooper separation pack to full use! See pack here

Louise xxx

We're made of stern stuff...thankfully!

What a summer it has been!

I am sure many of you just like us have been packing your lives into boxes and going on the move to new postings, our move went pretty smoothly and after 6 weeks I don't need to use the Sat Nav to get to Tesco's anymore! It always takes me a few weeks to find homes for everything and figure out the space and squidge all our furniture in but once the bunting is up anywhere feels like home!

Unfortunately just a couple of weeks after we moved my Little Trooper got rushed into hospital and after a few days on the children's ward had her appendix out but recovered really well and was determined to start her new school just 6 days after her operation!

Me & My brave Little Trooper post op

I've no doubt over the last week or so lots of Little Troopers have started new schools and I know my little girl makes me so proud how well she deals with it, unfortunately as our postings have worked out and her age it seems its a new school every September for 6 years is on the cards....she's done 4 so 2 more to go!

Last week my husband ventured off on a few months away which we'd all prepared ourselves for but another wave of bad luck he got very poorly and was returned home, he will be off for a long while recovering.

Luckily the situations we find ourselves in as military families means we are strong individuals and can cope with what life throws at us....although I have cried lots of tears! Together we are stronger, together we face what we have too and together we have started our new chapter.

I really hope everyone has had a great Summer and all the Little Troopers are settled back in school, I'm looking forward to the Autumn as there are lots of exciting things coming for Little Troopers everywhere and I really can't wait to share them with you!

Don't forget the Me & My Soldier 2016 Calendar competition is open and the closing date is 20th September so do enter as soon as possible, read more here

Lots of Love,

Louise xxxx

Summer Camp 2015 - the best yet?

18th June and I fall really ill, so ill....the day before the biggest weekend in the calendar for the charity I was absolutely devastated.

Luckily I have the most amazing husband who dosed me up and got me to Pirbright on 19th June ready for the arrival of 300 people who were coming to Summer Camp, the sun was shining down and some of my very good friends came to get us set up and sit on the check in desk welcoming all the families arriving. Summer Camp has begun!

Saturday was a day full of events; Survival, Woodland cookery, Climbing wall, Dance, Craft, Circus skills, Swimming, Football with Chelsea FC Foundation and then rain...the rain came and oh it was a storm! Under cover we were still having fun with Laser Quest, Inflatables, Crazy Golf, Bouldering, Dazzle & Fizz, Cross bow and tin can alley! (which I was particularly bad at!)

I walked back to the site with my husband reflecting on the day so proud to see all the tents pitched, hearing all the Little Troopers talk about their day.

A Little Trooper made my Saturday, Mason came running up to me and he'd made me a loom band bracelet to say thank you for all the fun he'd had, I was so touched....I'm still wearing it now. Those moments make all the hard work worthwhile.

The rain didn't last but the fun did, Sunday was another day of activities with Orienteering and Pop Academy with lots of Little Troopers singing their little hearts out! I always get a little emotional watching the show at the end of a Pop Academy and I did cry a tear or two!

Summer Camp is exactly what I wanted to achieve with setting up the charity, families connecting and spending time together, no electronics just a field and fun all together....new friends and old...one big community.

I hugged so many, chatted so much about the future for Little Troopers and came away thinking it was the best Summer Camp yet......I can not wait for next year our 5th annual camp and I came away feeling a new sense of motivation to continue and fight to ensure the charity remains for all the Little Troopers.

Here's to us sticking together!

Louise xxxxxx

Guest Post - Our Married Unaccompanied life

I want to get as many insights into the different ways we live as military families, this post is from a family who live married unaccompanied. If you would be interested in writing a blogpost let me know! Louise xx

The Allen Family:

We live separately not through choice but through circumstances, my husband left the army shortly after we married in 2001 and joined the police force. We moved out of our home town for this and 6 years later and two children he re-joined the Army! This was no easy situation, however we muddled through. I decided to stay in our home town as our first child was about to start primary school and we had only recently arrived back in our home town of Torquay in Devon.  When I met my husband, I had a good career in local authority employment and had bought several properties on my own. Whilst married we had our own property and I did not want to lose a “home” for married quarters. For me, I wanted the same school throughout the early years.
 

His first posting back in was Op Herrick 10! My worst fear but we got through the time with my good friends and family around us and our sons school were an amazing support. On his return, we settled into the commuting at weekend’s lifestyle. He has so far been at four different locations and 2 tours of Afghanistan! Employment for me is excruciatingly difficult being unaccompanied. But that’s another story!
 

It can be a lonely time during the week but I keep busy and the children and I have settled into our little routines, I encourage them to do outside school activities as much as possible to make the week pass quickly. I personally do feel often; very isolated from the Army community and even forget I am an Army wife at times. I do get bogged down with the daily grind of lonely nights, not being able to go out in the week unless I pay an expensive sitter, always attending sports days, parent evening, school plays  etc. alone; but I have accustomed to it.  Military social media groups keep me in the loop too!
 

Our children are now 12 and 8 but our youngest suffers with separation issues, she is my little “cling on” but is also a daddy’s girl, she adores anything military related, camo coloured clothes,  DM boots (preferably green/sand coloured) and every Hero’s day at school, dresses as Dad. She is rather well known for it around her school now! Our eldest struggles with the thought of another tour or gets very emotional if Afghanistan is mentioned or talked about but he tends to hide it and just says, “don’t talk about it, It makes me cry” Thankfully we do visit barracks on occasions but we don’t know anyone on site as we are not there often enough.
 

I ask myself daily why don’t we just move to MQ? I guess many would and do ask the same – My answer is always because although both our children want us to live together, neither want to leave their school and friends either. I don’t think there is a right or wrong way here; but I think I made the right choice.
 

My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures is a site I found when my husband was on his second Op Herrick tour (17) – this was a particularly difficult tour for all of us but the separation packs and support for Little Troopers; as you call them, is just wonderful.  This is our children’s only link with the military world and makes them both feel a little special to be part of it.
 

Thank you for all you do at My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures.

Why do you do it?

As a family we are on the move again this summer...it feels like we have only just unpacked our boxes but 2 years flys by it seems in a flash so I am digging out the parcel tape once again.

We are in the window where you have requested a house on an online system your husband/wife isn't quite sure how to work, you are eagerly waiting to be allocated a house where your furniture won't fit, you will need a whole new set of blinds and your life will just look very different in just 10 weeks.

I was on the phone to a journalist this week doing an interview and she asked me a question which I haven't contemplated before and it really made me think "Why do you do it"

Blimey...erm.....umm.... Why do I do it?

I live this life because...I chose to be a soldier when I left school and it lead me to my husband, I now choose to support my husband and his job choice because it makes him who he is, if I made him leave before he was ready I'm not sure he'd still be the same person?

Why do I run the charity? I dedicate all my spare time outside my job to the charity because I so believe in all the Little Troopers, I so believe the little things count....I can not single handily make every service child happy and I can't take away the unique challenges they face but I know this charity can make a difference , even if just a small one, its a worthwhile difference.

We will all have different reasons for 'doing this' but we are all in this together and stronger people because of this life, it is only speaking to people with no experience of the military it highlights how alien it is to many.

Have a watch of this video...it reiterates why 'I'm doing this' for my soldier and for all the Little Troopers.

Here's to another successful summer for all of us who are onto new chapters and for My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures with some VERY exciting times ahead!

Louise xxx

Why aren't they important enough?

I often only blog when I feel I have a swell of emotion for something, passionate posts always seem so much easier to write and this one has been brewing for a while!

Why is it that children of servicemen or women who aren't in 'crisis' but face unique challenges every day aren't seen as a worthy cause to support? Why aren't Little Troopers important enough?

I created the charity due to my own daughter really struggling with what comes with being the child of a soldier and not being able to find support for her, over the last four years is has become apparent that many other children need support too.
These children are the majority with over 100,000 Little Troopers and yes many of them are not in 'crisis' but they DO still need support to deal with separation from a soldier parent, they DO need to feel like they belong to something due to constant moving and they DO deserve recognition.

I have applied to every forces charity, I have applied numerous times for LIBOR funding, I have applied over and over again for grants, I even met the Prime Minister and wrote to him and the Defence Secretary (without response) but NO ONE sees this cause as one they want to help. We have hardly any pennies in the bank to sustain and grow our support for so many who rely on it yet I know it is needed so volunteer all the spare time I have to continue, but I consistently ask myself why don't various parties see our Little Troopers as important enough?

I write this post today as a further £75m is pledged from LIBOR fines to military charities, this is great news and some really deserving causes in the list...not one that will solely benefit military children and their unique challenges read about todays LIBOR announcement in total a reported £450m LIBOR funds has gone to military charities read more here...every tranche we have applied and every time turned down but why? nothing in the list that is available suggests it is going to an initiative to support specifically the needs of 174,000 service children with no 'crisis' no additional problems just the factor that they are a child of a person who has chosen a unique career demanding total commitment that can affect their everyday life.

It makes me so sad.

I wont give up on these children or My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures, I want this support to be tri service  to support Army, Navy & RAF families and I know as a community we can make it happen and prove this support is important, it is making a difference and it is most definitely a cause worth supporting.

Together we are Stronger.

Louise xxx

The emotional fuel tank

In late February I had a great day filming a short piece about the charity and how it came about, Julie Hesmondhalgh came to the base where I live and learnt a little about what being a military family meant and how it affects Little Troopers.

On Tuesday 10th March I went onto ITV This Morning, the film was played out, then I went on the sofa with Philip Schofield and Amanda Holden to chat about my experiences.

At the This Morning studio

Personally I have had periods over the last 15 years where I haven't coped great with being married to a soldier and I spoke on the programme about my 'emotional fuel tank' which I really believe in, we as humans have limits and sometimes I feel I have reached mine.
The last tour of Afghanistan my husband went on was 7 and a bit months directly followed by 18 months married unaccompanied definitely emptied my tank! I felt drained, 18 months on from that period I have refuelled to a certain extent. I feel emotionally ready to face to word again and for us as a family to return to the regiment this summer.

A lady saw me on This Morning and emailed in, I cant lie I did cry a tear....emails like this make all the hard work worthwhile, she said;

"Just wanted to say thank you for appearing on This Morning today. I have a two children and my partner is away from home most of the time. I don't know any other military families and never sure if what I'm going through is right. You've made me feel normal again I guess you could say. No one else in my family understands why I feel like I need him here and that I should be used to it by now. But your appearance and what you said was spot on"

We are all in this together and if sharing how I feel gives others strength then all the hours volunteering to create and sustain the charity are valuable. It isn't easy and there are unique challenges being an Army family; for soldiers, spouses and Little Troopers.

Together we are Stronger

Here is a link to the This Morning piece which I hope raises awareness of how Little Troopers think, feel and how vital our support is to them; Watch This Morning clip here

 

I was also given a surprise live on the show which was amazing and deserves another blogpost!

As always I TRULY am so thankful for all the support and hope in 2015 with the media coverage recently people see this charity as a worthy cause and enable it to grow and continue.

Louise xxxxx 

Me...Mum of the Year?!

On Sunday 1st March 2015 I stood on a stage at The Savoy in London and accepted an award for Tesco Supportive Mum of the Year 2015.

I was in a room of people celebrating women who have achieved great things, causes they are truly passionate about and it was a great place for me to be reiterating that children of soldiers don't always have it easy and there must be a support community for them.

I felt so honored to have people listen to the story of how My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures came  about and to see my Little Trooper, Madison on a big screen telling everyone how it has helped her made everything worth it.

"Children are so resilient though"

So many say this to me, they are little people with feelings and emotions and sometimes we need to be their holding hand and help them process those feelings when they are scared, frightened, worried or just missing their soldier and if I can be that holding hand and can ease that separation period with My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures then we are achieving what I want.

A visit to 10 Downing Street the day after the awards was also a fantastic opportunity, we met Nicky Morgan Secretary of State for Education. I wanted to speak with her about the Service pupil premium that schools receive as I feel passionately that schools need guidance on that...will keep you posted!

Tesco Mum of the Year has been amazing, new friends met and so many memories made but as always this isn't about me it is about raising awareness of the challenges British Army families face on a daily basis and highlighting why this support is needed.

Many tears were shed on Sunday at the awards ceremony and so many mummy's in one place all proving that women with a passion can achieve anything.

Thanks Tesco, its been a blast!

Louise xxx

p.s Blue was a bit of a highlight too!!

Tesco Mum of the Year 2015

"Hi Louise, you've been nominated for Tesco Mum of the Year"

 

A bizarre phone call I took on a dark winter afternoon, what a lovely thing to be nominated for I thought. I did some research and saw that in its 10th year Tesco Mum of the Year was a great initiative celebrating women who are mum's but also doing some amazing things.

 

Being a mummy is something I truly love, my Little Trooper who is now 11 is something I am very proud to have created! to think someone out there thought I was worthy of Tesco Mum of the Year was overwhelming but there were thousands of entries and 28 shortlisted so I was sure I wouldn't win.

 

Just before Christmas I got a call to say I had won! I was Supportive Mum of the Year,  I was one of a lucky 7 women to have been chosen as winners for 2015 Tesco Mum of the Year! Blimey.....

 

I went up to London in early January for a photo shoot for Tesco Living magazine and met all the other winners, I was in great company, inspiring stories from women across the country all fulfilling their passion for various reasons often related to personal circumstance.



Enjoying some bubbles with some other winners after the photo shoot

 

When we experience things in life we often as humans want to stop others from experiencing the same hurt, discomfort, pain and it makes us try to create a barrier for others, this is definitely where My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures was born from.

 

Read all about the other winners and their stories here; 2015 Tesco Mum of the Year Winners

 

The 2015 winners

I'm humbled to be a part of something so special it really is a lovely team and its like a huge, warm hug of encouragement for what you are trying to achieve, I feel really lucky and definitely can't wait for the awards on 1st March at The Savoy in London!

 

Most of all I am so pleased the cause My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures and the Little Troopers is being talked about and raised as something important and worthy, children of British Army soldiers need support, they need a network and resources that enable them to deal with the unique daily challenges a military family can face and as lovely as it is to win awards such as this my main objective as always is to make sure the Little Troopers are continually supported.

 

Will update post the awards! Louise xxxx