Sunday, May 25, 2014

THE FIELD 2014

The field of heroes. So glad that our community spends time and effort to put this together. The crosses are for the soliders lost in Afghanistan and Iraq. It's hard for me to think that Faith was only a 11 months when 9-11 happened. So, we honor the heroes, tell stories, and remember.

Someone at work told me that we should go at night, and I have to say that it was truly amazing. I think that we will try to do the same thing again next year.

American Flag

Surrounded by all different flags of the military. I especially liked this one of Desert Storm. I remember specifically the song called Voices that Care. Maybe you remember it as well. Here are the lyrics.


Lonely fear lights up the sky
Can't help but wonder why
You're so far away 

There you had to take a stand
In someone else's land
Life can be so strange 

I wish we never had to choose,
To either win or lose,
That we could find a way
(We could find a way)
But I won't turn my back again,
(Turn my back again)
Your honor I'll defend
So hurry home and till then

Stand tall, stand proud
Voices that care are crying out loud
And when you close your eyes tonight,
Feel in your heart how our love burns bright 

I'm not here to justify the cause
Or to count all the loss
That's all been done before. 

I just can't let you feel alone
When there's so much love at home
We're sending out to you 

All the courage that you've known
The bravery you've shown
Clearly lights the way 

We pray! To make the future bright
To make the wrong things right
Right or wrong, we're all praying you remain strong
That's why we're all here and singing along 

Stand tall, stand proud
Voices that care are crying out loud
And when you close your eyes tonight,
Know in your heart how our love burns bright 

Voices that care are crying out loud
And when you close your eyes tonight,
Feel in your heart how our love burns bright 

You are the voice
You are the light 

Stand tall, stand proud
Voices that care are crying out loud
And when you close your eyes tonight,
Feel in your heart how our love burns bright 


The rows lined up of crosses, each with a name and the service of military. We learned that there are just shy of 7,000 crosses and just Friday, 2 more were added. So sad! Also, it takes over a day and a half

Kate wanted her picture by one of them.

There are also a special row for all of the Idaho soliders that have been lost. They are larger crosses that start from the date that they passed away. The first 2 were at the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001. Many have flowers and sweet sentiments, like this one that brought tears to our eyes.


I took a picture of our shadows. Mainly because it wasn't about us that night. It was about them.

As we were leaving, I was wondering about all of the missing men and women. And that's when we went into the tent and saw the missing man table.

Missing Man Table
Table
Here you see a table set for six. The empty places represent Americans who were or are missing from each of the five services - Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard - and civilians, all with us in spirit.

All Americans should never forget the brave men and women who answered our nation's call and served the cause of freedom in a special way.

This table is round - to show our everlasting concern.

The cloth is white - to symbolize the purity of their motives when answering the call to duty.

Rose
The single red rose reminds us of the lives of these men and women ... and their loved ones and friends who keep the faith, while seeking answers.

Ribbon
The red ribbon symbolizes our continued determination to account for them.

Lemon
A slice of lemon reminds us of the bitter fate of those captured and missing in a foreign land.

Salt
A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears of our missing and their families who long for answers after decades of uncertainty.

Bible
The Bible represents the strength gained through faith in our country, founded as one nation under GOD, to sustain those lost from our midst.

Glass
The glasses are inverted to symbolize their inability to share in celebration toasts.

Chairs
The chairs are empty - they are missing .......................

Silent Moment
Please take a moment of silence for our missing.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

FINISHED #5

Another project is finished. Over 3 years ago, I asked my mom to paint these frames for me. I had painted them an orange originally for stamping clubs and classes. I was thinking at the time that a chocolate brown color would be heavenly.

When I mentioned that I was finishing projects, she asked if I was going to finish the frames. Honestly, I had completely and totally forgotten all about these frames and didn't know what she was talking about until she showed me.

So, here they are in classic black. They are magnetic so that Faith can hang up quotes, reminders, and more up on them and change them out often. We also found these awesome decorations at Bed Bath and Beyond. They were super easy to put up and gives the room more character.


Thursday, May 22, 2014

COOKIE DAY 2014

That last day of school for 2013-2014. Can't believe that it is here already and that these kids are so much more grown up! (Faith refused her picture that day... next year, I'm just going to have to insist on it!)



Dawson is always pulling faces, so we had to give it another try!





Jumping up and down for school being out!

But moments like these are also bitter sweet. Dawson, trying not to cry.

Kate is really going to miss her teacher!

And, of course, I met the kids by the bus stop to tell them congratulations for completing another year of school!!! Yummy!




Friday, May 16, 2014

CHUBBUCK FUN RUN

Every year, I end up working on the fun run day. One of these days, I will get there to see them loop around Cotant Park. This was right after Kate had an incident. (She fainted at my mom's house.) By the time we sent her back to school, she was as good as new!

Good job Kate!

Photo credit to my neighbor - Ann Campbell

She also saw Dawson, but he didn't stop to get his picture taken!!! Good job Dawson!

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

OUTSTANDING ALTO

Like other parents, we found out very last minute that Faith had a choir concert on Tuesday. Lucky for me, I already had coverage for that night!

Faith in her bright shirt!

The back of the shirt made me smile for sure! 
She wasn't as impressed and you can tell from her first smile!

Each of the 3 choirs sang different songs. The Bonnie Choir was awesome!!! Then the Mixed Choir sang: Cripple Creek, Dona Nobis Pacem, Homeward Bound, and Poor Wayfaring Stranger. It sounded pretty good. Fuzzy, but part of the mixed choir when they sang.

Finally the Bella Choir sang. Mr. Leavitt also decided that he would announce the awards. And Faith earned outstanding alto for 7th hour! I was completely shocked and taken back. Faith was more shocked and taken back than I was! SO, so proud of her for always doing her best!!!

We were so grateful to have Kathy and Jerry come to see Faith sing!!!  And grateful that they let me snap this goodie too!

Peace!

Monday, May 12, 2014

TO BE A MOM

Mother's Day is always a fun day! Breakfast in bed (thank you Brandon for the pumpkin french toast.) Being lazy with late church. Unwrapping great gifts from great children. This year I received a peppermint sugar scrub that Faith made, a dish towel and rock by Dawson, and bookmark and beautiful words from Kate.



Dear mom,
I love you because you are the best cook. You make the best cookies in the world. She helps me with school work.
Love
Kate

She has taken over the bookmark, but it says, "Moms are like bookmarks. They always give us a place to come back to and help keep us from getting lost along the way." 



Each year I look forward to receiving the next book in the Walk series. 2011 - Miles to Go. 2012 - The Road to Grace. 2013 - A Step of Faith. And finally 2014 - Walking on Water.

Two of my favorite quotes from this series are:

"Procrastination is the thief of dreams."

"Some people in this world have stopped looking for beauty, then wonder why their lives are so ugly."

And many more quotes have really changed my life and made me decide that I need to really live and do fun, crazy, memorable things every day. If you haven't read this series, don't miss out. It's one of my favorites!

Faith letting me do her hair as part of Mother's Day. I think that she is looking so grown up!!!

We missed out on the big dinner because we had church, but went over later to just so Happy Mother's Day! We also had time to visit Grandma Zoey and Grandma Kathy. It was great to be able to spend a little bit of time with each of our mothers!

I'll agree that being a mom is the hardest, but most rewarding job on earth. Thank you mom for all you did to help me! I'm sure it wasn't easy, or fun sometimes. I love you!

My mom and me together!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

BABIES ARE BORN!

Our puppy was born! Along with the other 4! Such a beautiful litter. We can't wait to take our addition home in the middle of July! Yahoo!

Sunday, May 4, 2014

JOIN HANDS 2014

We always look forward to Join Hands Day, a day where the community gets together to complete a project that will do good! This year, our club decided to join hands and put together kits for kids that have special needs in School District 25 so they have some fun things to do this summer.

It was also the same day as Jadyn's baptism. Jadyn turned 8 the day after Easter and was so looking forward to her baptism day. She is such a beautiful girl and we love her!

We had such a fun time putting the kits together. And then afterwards, I snapped these two keepers on my cell phone.


We love Modern Woodmen and are so proud to be associated with such a great group and great people! Thank you for allowing us to give back!