Daddy's Home!!

When the military says Dad comes in from Afghanistan in the wee hours of the morning, we thank heaven we're very flexible. 

Here is Crash, patiently waiting. It was nearly 1am at this point...

  Once they landed and were brought up to the hangar, we were told to wait on this side of the roping.....  while the returning members were 'in-processed' on the other side.

There's Daddy! He's holding the manilla envelope.

But when you're a little guy, that 'suggestion' doesn't cut it...
and you just run under the rope.


Because when you are 5, the waiting is too hard and you just need to give Daddy a hug...

Especially when you've missed Daddy so much.

It was apparent that Daddy missed you too, because he was not willing to let you go without a good long hug.

Finally!!!  Daddy's HOME!!


 
The typical 'hurry up and wait' routine is all too familiar...

All the waiting, and the praying, and trusting paid off.  
We thank God for His loving protection and for answering our prayers.
He kept Daddy safe, and protected us here at home, too.  

Although we've been through separations like this many times before, it does not get any easier.

We sincerely thank everyone who remembered us during this deployment.  
Words cannot begin to express our gratitude for your prayers, and from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.
May God bless you.


Most people really can't grasp the scope of the daily sacrifices made for this great country by wonderful, ordinary men and women in the US military.
May God bless and protect all our military and their families. 

And, especially as Election Day draws near, May God Bless America!

**Note:  All photos on this post were taken by our oldest daughter Candice.

Labor Day Love

Happy Labor Day, everyone!   

I'm posting the following video for your enjoyment, with loving gratitude to my dear husband, and every member of our Armed Forces.  Even though it is Labor Day here in the States, and many of us are enjoying a long weekend, our military members are hard at work.  My guy is working his usual 12-hour shift in the desert, a mere 7,000+ miles away from his family.

Thank you, Honey, for your hard work and your daily sacrifices you make not only for our family, but for our country.  I love you.  Stay safe and may God continue to bless you!

Wordless Wednesday

The Easiest Thing I've Ever Done...

No truer words have ever been stated.

Love you Babe....

What is Love?

This is absolutely wonderful, and definitely worth your time to watch. 

The courage of this young woman is so inspiring!

                                                       HT: my daughter Candice
That is love.

Wordless Wednesday

The 'Auntie Meem trying to get our math workbook done while babysitting' edition:

Summer Evening

We are fortunate to live waaaayy out in the country.  We enjoy our space.  We enjoy the great outdoors.  One of the kids' favorite summer things to do is to light a fire in the fire ring.  We don't do this terribly frequently, only on the evenings when Dad doesn't have to go to work the next day, cuz Dad is the one who mans the fire. 

Even when the wood is soaked with recent rains and creating way too much smoke, they've got to grab the roasting sticks and get some marshmallows toasted. 

And it almost goes without saying that we have to make s'mores.  The kids are pretty good at it - they get the fixin's all ready first, then they get those marshmallows over the hot coals.

It just makes a guy happy to have all that warm, gooey summetime fun in his hand.  And in his tummy!

He finished this s'more, then had to go inside.  He got a good dunking in the tub before falling fast asleep.

Our Fourth of July 2011

 Do you celebrate the Fourth of July with a BANG!??   Do you prefer to celebrate with a quiet, relaxing day?

 Do you decorate your home for this holiday?  Do you go all out?  You know, like, over the top?

 It has been said that I go all out with decorating for the Fourth of July, more so than for any other time of the year.  And I'll admit it -- I DO!  I just can't help it.  I decorate for almost all holidays, but try to keep the focus in the proper place, you know?

 This is a fun secular holiday, not a religious holiday, so I don't have to keep the focus on Our Lord - although we very well know that the reason this country was founded was strictly for religious freedom.  And we do thank God for that!

My maternal grandfather emigrated to the United States in 1922 at the age of 16.  He came here all alone.  His father had come a few years earlier, leaving all his family in their homeland, sending for the family as he could.  My grandfather spoke no English whatsoever.  How could he manage to get across the ocean, through Ellis Island, across over half of this country and find his family in Northern Minnesota, all by himself, without the ability to communicate with words?  It truly amazes me.

I loved to hear his stories when I was a child.  What I remember more than the words, are the emotions I witnessed when he spoke of this wonderful country.  This man was a true patriot.  He loved this country.  And I mean loved this country.  All of his sons, and both sons-in-law, served our country in various branches of the military.  And my grandpa was so proud of that - of them - for their service.

But this post isn't about my maternal grandfather!   That info was just to help explain my propensity for celebrating this birthday of our country with great gusto!

This post is supposed to be about my paternal grandfather!!   You see, he was born on fourth of July.  He's a Yankee Doodle Dandy!

My Grandpa John - on his 99th birthday - July 4, 2011

And he is 99 years young!!  One would never suspect that this man is 99.  Really.  He easily passes for oh, say, eighties or so.  Until he fell this spring and broke his hip, he motored all over on his own two legs.  (and although it took some serious talking, he was finally convinced to hang up the car keys just a year or so ago!)  Do you remember when I requested prayers for him this spring?   Well, he was determined to celebrate his 99th birthday with all the family, and so he did.

His sister Angie turned 90 just two weeks earlier, and so they shared the joyous celebration.  She lives in Southeastern Wisconsin, so they don't see each other much.  But they do talk on the phone every week.

Grandpa and Great-Auntie Ange

And they prayed grace together before they ate.

(My favorite photo of the day)

They posed with immediate family.

And of course with extended family - and birthday cakes!

We always have a family reunion on the Fourth of July, but some years the reunions are bigger than others. This one was one of those bigger years....  

 

Of course, we just had to have some music!

And for the pièce de résistance:  Balloons!  Red, white, blue, patriotic, helium-filled balloons!!  Only 99 of them!

 Do you see the Birthday Boy there, left of center?  Everyone who wanted to participate took a balloon, and on his release, we all were to release our balloon as well.

Ready?!   Set?!   Release!!

 Grandpa's 'red bouquet' is holding together...

 Fun was had by all!   

 When we were helping Grandpa back to the car, and bidding farewell, I thanked him for having a birthday on such a fine day.  And he looked at me and said, "This was a great day, wasn't it?  I sure enjoyed it.  In fact, I think I'd like to do it all again next year!" 

So, as far as our family is concerned, we've got plans made for next Fourth of July already, its marked on our calendar, and we intend to help Grandpa celebrate his 100th birthday.

We made our way home, had some more outside fun while we waited to run off to see the fireworks.

What a great country we live in... despite all her flaws.  One this is certain, our family  surely does enjoy celebrating America's birthday.

May God Bless America!