Bar-b-Ques & Memories

Over the past weekend on Saturday we planned our first & last lake day with my whole family of the summer. In Washington summer doesn't really start until July when it finally warms up. But being as I am from the south it officially started this weekend for me & my family. We planned awhile back to combine my second son's birthday with a cookout for my husband. Both had me invite their close friends to enjoy a delicious day of food cooked by a good friend & fishing on our lake. The weather on Friday had me more then a little worried that we where going to be soaking wet all day Saturday. Thank goodness for answered prayers! It was a little overcast & cool but no rain in sight!

 We kicked off around noon & before the after noon was over had about thirty people kids including running around having fun. It was a great time to relax after a long stressful week. We ate smoked ribeye & hamburgers . The kids took turns going out on the boat & fishing from the shore. A few fish where caught ,cooked & deemed not very tasty. I know it is a day that Paul can look back on in a few months when he is deployed & remember with happiness. A day that my boys can remember as a fun time spent with their dad before he deploys for a year. It was all about family, friends, & creating new memories for him to take with him on his deployment. I couldn't think of a better way to spend our Saturday.

 

My husband getting some of the boys out in the boat

 

Jacob with his first Trout of summer

 

Our chef Jerry did an amazing job

Sunday we headed out to Jerry & his wife Tiffany's home for another cookout. We had some amazing pulled pork sandwiches to eat while sitting at a bon-fire . It was another great evening spent with good friends filled with laughter. Jerry had worked really hard on a special shadow box filled with two Flies he tyed for Paul. They both have some significant meaning but for the life of me I can't remember all the details they both told me. I just know Paul loved his gift!

 

Monday we woke up relaxed & ready to honor our fallen in remembrance.I talked with the boys all about Memorial Day again & why we have it off from school or work. We watched a few shows on the History Channel that went along with Memorial Day. Then as I drove to the airport to pick up a friend I made a stop on Fort Lewis at the 4th Brigade "Raiders" memorial garden. The wall holds names that are dear & near to my heart. I wanted to stop & take a moment to remember our Fallen friends. I snapped a quick picture as a few flowers had been laid out for the day. It was the best choice I made all day to stop & remember.

 

Each name of the 16 Heroes that we lost during our deployment from 2007/08 is engraved on the marble wall. It brought a lump to my throat as I walked up & the first name I noticed was Coop's. I remembered how he made me laugh everytime I was lucky enough to be around him. I touched his engraved name & remembered. I think that is all he & their families ask of us each day, to not forget the sacrifice. I truly hope that my sons will always know the true meaning of Memorial day & choose to Honor our Fallen on their special day.

 

 

 

Always Honor & Remember

 My Memorial Day post is scheduled ahead of time as I take a day of silence from blogging to Honor & Remember all our fallen friends. Soldiers who sacrificed so much for our freedom. Thanks to their sacrifice I can live in a land with to many freedoms to list on one blog. For that I will ever be in their debt. Thank you seems hardly enough to say in return for that freedom.

        TOMAHAWK Deployment 2007/08 We lost 16 Heroes 

 

 

 RIP SFC CLiff Beattie May 22, 2011

The History Behind Memorial Day

As I sit here awake way to early on a Saturday morning I am reflecting & reading through little tid-bits on the internet about the history behind Memorial Day. It hasn't always been a huge deal in my life & for that I realize I should be ashamed.When we where young it was never fully explained to me as we didn't live in or around a military town. It was all about the beginning of summer & school being out! I wish I had someone who told me that one day I would marry a soldier & learn the true meaning of Memorial Day. How by walking up to anyone and saying "Happy Memorial Day" is so inappropriate. For a lot of our own friends there is nothing happy about this day. It is just another yearly reminder that their loved one isn't here with them anymore walking on earth. That in order for them to have a conversation with their fallen hero, they must go talk to a gravestone or look a little crazy by talking to thin air.

 Even today a lot of the young newly married spouses & soldiers don't get what the meaning of this day holds for so many of us who have lost dear friends or loved ones. Unfortunately I know the harsh reality of a war that has gone on for ten years now. I also know that those same young soldiers will most likely feel the pain of losing a buddy in this war. That they too will have the veil of youth erased from their eyes & begin to try to find ways to honor those who have fallen in the line of duty for our great nation.

As we are going about our weekend enjoying a four day holiday with my husband one of the few we have left before another deployment. I hope I can keep reminding my children what Memorial Day means. For what cause & reason those brave men or women gave the ultimate sacrifice.I see nothing wrong with enjoying this gift of time that God has given me with my husband enjoying friendships & good food. I do however think it is our job ,responsibility to help the next generation better understand it's not a "happy" day for many. It's a day to show respect for the soldiers who gave all & the families who continue to give so much in order that we never forget their loved ones. Please take the time out of your weekend to honor our fallen heroes & teach another young soul the meaning behind Memorial Day.

 

 

 

Page of Remembrance 

 

New Uniform,New Unit, New Deployment

Yesterday we kept all the boys home from school which made them extremely happy. It was time for Paul's unit to have their Deployment Ceremony & Case the colors. Like I mentioned before it was the first time we ever took our younger two with us to watch. They really sat nice & quiet the whole hour. They enjoyed the band , the flags, & the firing of the cannons the best! I was very pleased that they asked questions & seemed to understand the significance of it all. After the Casing of the Colors we had about an hour to waste until it was time for the family bar-b-que. That portion of the day was a lot of fun! They all enjoyed the bouncy houses, mobile video games, climbing wall, & Famous Dave's bar-b-que. I was thankful that the rain held off & we all enjoyed some much needed family time. This Memorial Day weekend will most likely be our last that we can spend together with out  my husband working. I hope you enjoy the pictures from yesterday's fun & everyone has a very safe,happy weekend.

 

 

It was a great day for the whole gang & I am so thankful we had that time together to create some new memories. Hopefully all the fun will help carry us threw the next year while our soldier is away.


Here is a video link up to the Deployment Ceremony:ICorps Deployment Ceremony 2011

Thursday's Tune Time

I have had so much going on this week since Sunday that I wasn't sure I would have time today to get this post up so I scheduled it on Tuesday night.My whole week my emotions have been all over the place. At times I am laughing, then crying, then exhausted & in need of sleep. I honestly wonder if this is a test of some sort- I sure hope not. If you read my earlier post on Monday Unimaginable Heartache  then you know why I am all over the emotional spectrum this week.

When you watch a loved one suffer & loose someone that is so important in their life it really shakes you to the core. I chose my song after listening to it on the radio Tuesday afternoon. I was waiting on my son to get out of school & Pearl Jam's Just Breathe came on the radio. Tears immediately sprang into my eyes as my mind went straight to Sam & the kids.I had just read her Facebook status as just meeting the other young 19 year old soldier who died along side Cliff on Sunday. I knew she & the kids where doing their best, but hurting so much. The song really hit me hard. So I share it with you all today in hope it makes you hug those you love a little tighter today. If they are deployed then email them a love note. It never hurts to say I love you over & over again to the ones that mean the most in your life.

                                RIP SFC Cliff Beatties May 22, 2011


Now I hope you head over to see Amber at Goodnight Moon link up your favorite Song of the week.

Like it or Not

Tomorrow is the day that my soldier switches his uniform to a strange new color & starts a crazy training period at work to head into deployment. The boys & I knew it was coming, but with the emotional roller coaster we've been on this week tears come when I think about it every-time. I am glad we get to go watch the Casing ceremony & enjoy the afternoon of family time with other Army families. It is so familiar now to me it's almost a relief to know what lays ahead,almost. 

My youngest two boys have never been to the Deployment ceremony as they are such wiggle worms we chose not to make them sit through the long ceremony in the past. Tomorrow we feel they are old enough to attend & watch the whole ceremony. With it being so close to Memorial Day & all the meaning that the day holds it's time they understand a little better exactly what happens when their dad deploys. He doesn't just hug them one day ,camera snaps a few times & drives away only to return twelve long months later. It's time they witness the pomp & circumstance, the ritual of the flags being cased until they arrive in their new area of operations.The fact that there are other boys & girls who have parents leaving as well for a year. They aren't alone in their jumbled mixed up emotions.

 I wonder how it will affect them, if they can truly understand the sacrifice that all those men on the parade field are about to endure for a year? Or will it simply be anxiousness on their part to get to that amazing climbing wall & free food that the MWR is providing the families? I know my oldest boys are happy to get out of school & spend some time with their dad. But at the same time they are quiet & had tears form as well in their eyes this morning as we discussed the game plan for tomorrow. There is no hiding it anymore for them. They know what a deployment means. It means, separation from their dad. It means long periods with no phone calls,no SKYPE, or bed time hugs. It may mean injury or even death . This week has shown them the grim reality of deployments, there is no escape anymore. Gone are the carefree days of youth during deployments for my oldest.

So as my family & so many others head into a long deployment period I ask that  everyone continue to pray for all the military families serving around the world. The wars aren't over even though they don't appear on your evening news daily. There are families like mine that are struggling while one or maybe both parents are deployed. There are families that are being reunited who need prayers that it goes smoothly. This military life is hard but I wouldn't change it or give it up at all. It has made my family closer, stronger,& so appreciative of everything our great country GIVES us in the way of freedom. But at the same time we know that freedom isn't free sacrifices are made for that freedom. So if you do nothing else patriotic  in your daily life, take the time to pray for our troops & their families. Because God listens & answers our prayers in his time. It gives me great comfort to know that others remember the sacrifice my husband & so many others make everyday. So like it or not here we go into another crazy year.