Date Day!

Well,  yesterday we decided to just sleep in and then get up and go to Mount Vernon and LaConner for the day!

We started out at a store that sells old doors and windows ( and anything else you can imagine ). We were
looking for a door to make a couple of things for Lauren and Nik's wedding reception. Trust me, it will look
neat especially since Jeff is going to make it.

We found just the ones we wanted with the doorknobs on them...great deal!

Then we decided to eat our lunch and just check out the town of Mount Vernon. Not a very big town but a lot of fun stores. The first thing we saw as we were walking down a side street was a huge black board painted on the side of a building with this on it...

It had all kinds of answers on it, some very thoughtful, some sad, many happy ones and some just down right weird! Since there was chalk on there also...we decided we should right our own wish on there. You can't read it probably but it was...before I die, I want to finish all my quilts for my family! :) I know you can stop laughing now!

Jeff's wish was of course... something he wanted to do on his motorcycle, ride back to the East Coast!

Then we hit some antique shops...always fun and entertaining!

I even found the perfect gift for my sister in law Shirley! Never been opened :)

Then we headed over to LaConner for dinner and just a stroll around town, fun to see the sights, so many things bring back memories of our childhood. ( Good ones )

Then we tried one last selfie through a store window and a mirror...ok, I am new at this.. I realize that! All in all, it was the perfect Date day.  I have been so sick for so long that we have missed many of our Date Nights, and definitely the chance to go too many places.
 How grateful I am, to be feeling better. I felt blessed to spend the day with my best friend!

Heading to celebrate the 4th with the girls. Have a wonderful 4th. We are so blessed to live in this beautiful and wonderful USA!

Happy 4th of July!

God Bless American! It is late and we just got back from watching Fireworks with our Granddaughters.We were the first ones to leave because Jeff and I both have work tomorrow. So I need to head to bed. Just wanted to wish you a Happy 4th of July. Wish we could have spent it with our grandson Kai, but as you can see from the photo...he is already celebrating! We are so blessed to live in America!!!

 Let's show our children and grandchildren by our example!

20/20 vision

We listened, as probably much of the world did last night as our President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden. As we watched the excitement around the world, we realized how many years we all have been waiting for this day. We also listened to the phone interviews with many of the people who lost family members in the Sept. 11th attack. It was interesting to hear how some were still angry, some excited and some... a mixture of both.

Many of the kids that were celebrating at the White House were young adults, who at the time of Sept. 11th were only probably around 9-10 years old. Still their whole life they have been watching the world look for Osama bin Laden. I liked seeing the ones who were holding up the American Flag and singing songs, much better than the kids that were just screaming and jumping around in front of the camera.

We have a nephew in the service right now, and we were grateful to hear that there were no American soldiers were hurt during this attack. I thought as I listened and watched last night, how different everyone's view on this whole thing was. When you have children or loved ones that are serving in the Military, every day you are concerned and watching the news. And yet to others who aren't as involved, it seems a world away at times.
I do think we need to daily pray and think about all those who defend and protect our country. Each day they are putting their lives at risk ...to save ours! 

I also believe the only way we are going to have 20/20 vision on this subject, is if we never take for granted our freedom and liberty!

I pray we will continue to have more success. God Bless America!

 

"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him."  ~Abraham Lincoln

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."  ~Elmer Davis

"How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy."  ~Paul Sweeney

Sweet Land of Liberty

How grateful I am to live in this sweet land of liberty. In church last Sunday we were singing this hymn and it made me cry. Why? One is because my oldest brother was severely hurt in the service, he was in the hospital for 18 months, that is when I was 10 years old and he was 19 years old. From the time he signed up to go into the Marines, it was always tough for our family to hear this song and not worry about him. That memory is still fresh in my mind. The second reason is because I feel so grateful to be here and have all the blessings of freedom that we do. I hope this 4th of July, we all take time out to say a prayer of gratitude, for being able to call the United States of America... our home!!!

 

My Country 'Tis of Thee ( America )'

My country tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died!
Land of the Pilgrim's pride!
From every mountain side,
Let freedom ring!
My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love.
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture fills
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song.
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.
Our father's God to, Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King!

(written by Samuel Francis Smith; the tune used for this song is "God Save the Queen", the British National Anthem)

"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him."  ~Abraham Lincoln

"The cement of this union is the heart-blood of every American."  ~Thomas Jefferson

Memorial Day

Well even though today was a day off work and we did get to relax and have a BBQ with family and friends but I didn't my post to be about that. I wanted to take time out to remember the men and women who have served in our military through out the years. How grateful I am for their sacrifice and service. Freedom doesn't come free!

I was looking on the news and found this story and photo of one such military family.

Nearly a year ago, as Staff Sgt. Brett Bennethum was preparing to leave the country for Iraq with his Army unit, his family gave him a tearful goodbye. One member of the family—four-year-old Paige—didn’t want him to leave, however. She was so attached to her father that she held his hand until he boarded the plane, even as he stood in formation with his fellow troops. Paige’s mother, Abby, captured a photo of the powerful moment, and within the space of days, it had been broadcast all over the world. The touching image showed the pain of the sacrifices that soldiers and their families must make every day, and resonated with millions who’d faced similar challenges.

http://gimundo.com/news/article/soldiers-daughter-paige-bennethum-welcomes-father-home-from-iraq-for-good/

So thank you from our family, for all you do and have done.

 

"The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage."  ~ Thucydides

"The cost of freedom is always high, but Americas have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission."   ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy