Twelve-year-old Kyndall's journey as a military child is about to take her to paradise.
In just a few months, she will join her parents -- Staff Sgt. Sherrie Wooten of the Aviation and Missile Command and Sgt. Maj. Alden Wooten of the Army Materiel Command -- in traveling to a new military assignment in Hawaii.
And, on the way there, Kyndall will celebrate her 13th birthday with friends at Bridge Street before school ends for the year and in Florida with her mom's family. As she flies across the Pacific Ocean to her new home this summer, Kyndall will be carrying with her 12 years of childhood memories living in Virginia; Tokyo, Japan; Florida; Texas and Alabama.
"I don't want to leave here," Kyndall said. "It's not that I don't want to make new friends. I like making new friends. I don't like moving. When we came to Huntsville, I decided I wanted to stay here for my whole life."
As a graduating seventh grader, Kyndall is entering a significant transition time in her life. High school is on the horizon. She has made many friendships at school and on Redstone Arsenal, and is the new "mommy" of a Teacup Yorkie puppy called KoKo. She is known at Williams Middle School for excellence both academically and as a basketball, softball and baseball athlete. And, she enjoys the family atmosphere that Redstone Arsenal has to offer both at Redstone's Youth Center and with relatives who live in Huntsville as well as in Florida and Mississippi.
But, Kyndall is also a military child and, as the Army recognizes April as the Month of the Military Child, it is becoming more evident to this preteen that the military lifestyle requires children to make sacrifices alongside their military mom or dad. In Kyndall's case, she has grown up with two Army parents, both of whom serve as chaplain's assistants.
While she likes making new friends and seeing new places, Huntsville has been her favorite place. She also has lots of fond memories of Killeen, Texas, where she lived for five years.
"Killeen was the place where I stayed the longest before moving here," Kendall said. "I still have a lot of friends in Killeen. We still communicate with each other. I have lots of friends here in Huntsville, too, and there's lots to do here."
Her parents understand the struggle Kyndall is going through. Sherrie Wooten was also raised as a military child and, both parents, as chaplain's assistants, have seen the struggles other Army families have gone through during family moves, deployments and other separations.
"This will be the biggest challenge so far for Kyndall because she is coming into her teen years," Sherrie Wooten said.
"It's been enjoyable for me to see Kyndall and her big sister Kenyanna (who lives in Florida) have the same kind of life I had growing up. The military gives them the opportunity to see the world, to make friends everywhere they go and to see the honor of being part of a military family. Military kids learn early what it means to respect the nation's flag and to be thankful for the men and women who sacrifice their lives for our country."
For the Wooten family, Redstone Arsenal was a respite from deployments. While stationed previously at Fort Hood, the family endured three deployments in five years.
In 2010, Alden Wooten was stationed in Germany and Sherrie Wooten deployed to Iraq. Instead of leaving Kyndall and Kenyanna at Fort Hood, the two girls went to live with relatives in Marianna, Florida. Alden Wooten's daughter Kumesha (who now lives in Killeen) stayed with relatives in Mississippi.
"We had never been separated. That was the first time," Sherrie Wooten said. "But Kyndall and her sister went to all my family in my hometown. They were surrounded by lots of family and love, and they had a lot to keep them busy.
"It was especially hard for me those first few months, but Alden and I talked a lot by phone and he helped me through it. Did I hate being away from them? Yes. But, I didn't regret having to deploy because it's part of being in the military. Even in those times when we are separated, God is going to take care of all of us."
Once the Wooten couple returned to Fort Hood, the family came back together briefly until Alden Wooten deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and then again in 2013. Sherrie Wooten and their daughters remained at Fort Hood while Alden Wooten served as a chaplain's assistant overseeing all the Army, Air Force and Navy chaplain assistants in Afghanistan.
"We've told our daughters to always do good in school no matter what. We've encouraged them and they've always known we are a phone call away. A lot of prayer has gotten us through," Sherrie Wooten said.
The family's upcoming move to Hawaii will be different from other moves as the family will follow Sherrie Wooten's next assignment. With 31 years of service, Alden Wooten will retire in June before the family moves.
"No matter what, he'll always outrank my mother," Kyndall said with a smile.
Alden Wooten's military retirement ceremony will be the first for Kyndall, and for the couple's two grandchildren.
"Even when we are out of the Army, I hope Kyndall and our family will continue to be respectful to men and women in uniform. They know the sacrifices our military makes," Sherrie Wooten said.
For Alden Wooten, he hopes Kyndall will be able to look back on her moves -- including the one to Hawaii -- with appreciation for the blessings in her life.
"It is a challenge on military kids. But they also get to experience so much," he said. "I hope she will always be grateful for the diversity of her experiences, and that she will grow up to be a responsible adult who has a unique view of the world because of her military experiences."
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