Rooted in Community: The Mowery Family of Embrey Mill
Photo by Karen Presecan
Some families put down roots. Others grow an entire garden. For Lamyaa Awad-Mowery, her husband Nathan, and their two spirited boys — Nooh, 7, and Zakirayah, 2 — life in Stafford's Embrey Mill neighborhood is less about settling in and more about showing up, giving back, and making the most of every moment.
Lamyaa and Nathan's story began the way the best ones often do: unexpectedly. Mutual friends orchestrated a blind date at a group dinner, and the connection was immediate. "Sparks flew instantly," Lamyaa recalls, "and just four months later, we were married." This spring, they will celebrate a decade together: "My dream vacation spot was to go to Greece," says Lamyaa, "so Nathan and I just booked a week-long trip for our upcoming 10-year anniversary!"
The couple first lived in Prince William County before relocating to Stafford about five years ago. Lamyaa’s family actually moved to Stafford in 2004; her parents and three of her four siblings (and Colonial Forge alum) still live in the area. Military families know that it is a rare opportunity to be able to live close to family, so they capitalized on the opportunity.
Their move also provided more space: "We moved to Stafford so we could be closer to my family and settle into a nice house with a yard," Lamyaa explains. It's a decision they haven't regretted for a second. "We live in Embrey Mill, and we love how well the neighborhood fits our family — there are so many young families like ours in the neighborhood." Though Nathan's commute to the office is longer, both agree the tradeoff is well worth it.
Nathan has channeled that community spirit into direct civic involvement. As a board member of the Embrey Mill HOA and a volunteer on multiple Stafford County Boards and Committees, he's made meaningful contributions to the area he and his family call home. His career reflects a similar dedication to service. Without a traditional college degree, he built an impressive military career before transitioning to the civilian sector, where he now serves as Director of National Programs for CADRE Consulting, supporting critical national security and defense intelligence efforts. "Nathan stood out in his early military career and transitioned seamlessly into a professional civilian career," Lamyaa says. "We're proud of what we've built together through determination and hands-on experience."
While Nathan navigates the world of national security, Lamyaa has been equally busy: raising two boys, building community, and wielding a woodworking tool with impressive skill. Her hobby, born out of volunteerism, has grown into a meaningful craft. In 2017, she volunteered with Islamic Relief USA, helping rebuild homes in North Carolina devastated by Hurricane Matthew and later in Texas after Hurricane Harvey. "It was rewarding work that honed my amateur skills while making a difference," she says. Back home, those skills have translated into accent walls in the boys' bedrooms, decorative breadboards and dessert displays, a military coin display, and even the stool Nooh and Zakirayah use to reach the bathroom sink.
Lamyaa's advocacy work runs equally deep. She served on the steering committee for the Alliance for an Indivisible America (AIA), a nonprofit focused on showcasing the contributions of American Muslims to society, and sat on the board of the Women's Alliance for Humanity (WAH). She also helped lead a congressional advocacy campaign through the Burma Task Force in support of humanitarian causes. For Lamyaa, these roles are extensions of the same impulse that drives her to her neighborhood workout class and book club: showing up for people.
Closer to home, Lamyaa attends workout classes with S.L.A.M. (Sweat Like a Mother) Quantico and participates in MomCo, a mother's community group through Ebenezer Church. She also belongs to a ladies-only book club that, by her own admission, rarely stays on topic. "It typically involves staying up until 1:00 AM chatting," she laughs, "and rarely about the book."
Their boys — named with intentionality, honoring both their biblical and Islamic roots through Arabic spellings — bring constant energy and joy to the household. Nooh plays soccer with Garrisonville Grassroots and recently scored in the top 1% nationally for quantitative mathematical reasoning among his peers. He's also the budding entrepreneur behind an occasional lemonade stand. Zakirayah, the younger of the two, is all adventure; after all, who doesn’t love planes, trains, and automobiles? Like many toddlers, he’s also equipped with a fearless streak that has earned him (so far) one emergency room visit.
Their three cats — Bonnie (known as Nunu), Guiliana (JuJu), and Felix, a talkative flame-point Balinese — round out the household. Felix has a habit of sitting in the bathroom and singing to himself. JuJu, a rescue, once faced an unexpected outdoor exile courtesy of Nathan, before Lamyaa stepped in to bring her back inside after a couple of hours. All three remain firmly part of the family.
When the family isn't at home or volunteering, they're likely at Monster Mini Golf on Route 610, a favorite outing for the boys (rain or shine). "We've got so many prize tickets stashed from there," Lamyaa jokes, "I think we should be considered company investors." They also enjoy biking over to The Grounds Bistro, right in the Embrey Mill neighborhood, for lunch or a cup of coffee.
For Lamyaa, the life they've built — in Stafford, in Embrey Mill, and beyond — is a reflection of what happens when two people commit not just to each other, but to something larger. "These roles have been fulfilling ways to give back to our community close at home here in Stafford and abroad," she says. From the woodworking shop to the halls of Congress, from the soccer sidelines to the HOA boardroom, the Mowery family is doing what they do best: showing up for their community.
