Happy Veteran's Day!!!
Sorry for being late with this.....







These photos were taken at a local Veteran's Memorial Day Service.
A most warm Thanks & our Utmost Appreciation
goes out to our Veterans
and to all the brave men & women serving our
country at this very moment. In harms way for
our freedom!! Thank you!

A Texas Funeral

What follows is a message from Vicki Pierce about her nephew James' funeral
(he was serving our country in Iraq);

"I'm back, it was certainly a quick trip, but I have to also say it was one of the most
amazing experiences of my life. There is a lot to be said for growing up in a small town
in Texas. The service itself was impressive with wonderful flowers and sparays, a portrait
of James, his uniform and boots, his awards and ribbons. There was lots of military brass
and an eloquent (though inappropriately longwinded) Baptist preacher. There were easily
1,000 people at the service, filling the church sanctuary as well as the fellowship hall and
spilling out into the parking lot.

However, the most incredible thing was what happened following the service on the way
to the cemetery. We went to our cars and drove to the cemetery escorted by at least 10
police cars with lights flashing and some other emergency vehicles, with Texas Rangers
handling traffic. Everyone on the road who was not in the procession, pulled over, got out
of their cars, and stood silently and respectfully, some put their hands over their hearts.

When we turned off the highway suddenly there were teenage boys along both sides of the
street about every 20 feet or so, all holding large American flags on long flag poles, and again
with their hands on their hearts. We thought at first it was the Boy Scouts or 4H club or something,
but it continued...for two and a half miles. Hundreds of your people, standing silently on the side
of the road with flags. At one point we passed an elementary school, and all the children were
outside, shoulder to shoulder holding flags. Kindergartners, handicapped, teachers, staff, everyone.
Some held signs of love and support. Then came teenage girls and younger boys, all holding flags.
Then adults. Then families. All standing silently on the side of the road. No one spoke, not even the
very young children.

The military presence...at least two generals, a fist full of colonels, and representatives from every
branch of the service, plus color guard which attended James, and some who served with him......
was very impressive and respectful, but the love and pride from this community who had lost one
of their own was the most amazing thing I've ever been privileged to witness.

I've attached some pictures, some are blurry (we were moving), but you can get a small idea of
what this was like. Thanks so much for all the prayers and support."




This is a photo of an Army soldier in Iraq with his "tiny plot of grass" in front of his tent. It's heartwarming! He is stationed in a big sand box. He asked his wife to send him dirt (U.S. soil), fertalizer and some grass seed. When the men of the squadron have a mission they are going on, they take turns walking through the grass and the American soil to bring them good luck.



If you notice, he is even cutting the grass with a pair of scissors.
Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we don't stop and think about the little things that we take for granted.

People all over the world are saying prayers for our soldiers that give and give (and give up) so unselfishly for us.
I say a prayer for them too!!

This is a photo of Tony Esposito's son, Mike, who was
deployed to Kuwait on November 1st, 2006. He is a Lieutenant and is the
Personnel Officer for his battalion. The battalion will be managing Port
Operations in the port at the City of Kuwait.
Mike graduated from Purdue and is 23 years old.
May God bless him, keep him safe
and bring him back safely!!!


It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,
who has given us the right to vote.


It is the VETERAN,
who salutes the flag.


It is the VETERAN,
who serves under the flag.


ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM, O LORD,
AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT
SHINE UPON THEM.

A letter from a Marines wife.....

(This was written by my husband, Aaron, who is currently deployed to Iraq,
in defense of a recent comment made by Senator John Kerry. Maybe this will
inspire someone else to speak up! ~ Michelle)

Yesterday John Kerry said, "You know education, if you make the most of it, you
study hard, do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do
well, and if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

So I wrote him a letter:
I am a Seargeant in the United States Marine Corps. I am currently on my second
tour in Iraq, a tour in which I volunteered for. I speak Arabic and Spanish and I plan
to tackle Persian Farsi soon. I have a Bachelors and an Associates Degree and between
deployments I am pursuing an M.B.A. In college I was a member of several academic
honor societies, including the Golden Key Honor Society. I am not unique among the
enlisted troops.

Many of my elisted collegues include lawyers, teachers, mechanics, engineers, musicians
and artists just to name a few. You say that your comments were directed towards the
President and not us. If we were stupid Senator Kerry, we might have believed you.

I am not a victim of President Bush. I proudly serve him because he is my Commander
and Chief. If it was you who were President, I would serve you just as faithrully. I serve
America Senator Kerry, and I am also providing a service to the good people of Iraq. I
have not terrorized them in the middle of the night, raped them or murdered them as you
have accused me of before. I am doing my part to help them rebuild. My role is a simple
one, but important. You see Senator Kerry, like it or not, we came here and removed a
tyrant (who terrorized Iraquis in the middle of the night, and raped them and murdered
them). And we have a responsibility to see to it that another one doesn't take his place.
The people of Iraq are recovering from a abusive relationship with a terrible government
and it's going to take some time to hlep them recover from that. We can't treat this conflict
like a microwave dinner and throw a temper tantrum because we feel like it's taking too long.

Senator Kerry, you don't have to agre with this war. You don't have to say nice things about
those of us who choose to make sacrifices for the rights of every American rather than sit
back and simply feel entitled to it.

But please Senator Kerry, if you're going to call me a stupid murdering rapist, stick by
what you say. Don't tell me that I misunderstood or that you would never insult a veteran
because you're one too. Having been there and done that does not give you a free pass
to insult me.

My suggestion for you, Senator Kerry, is to remember that your speeches are recorded, and
broadcast to us simpletons over here. You may want to write down what you want to say
before you say it, maybe have somebody look at it before you say it and tell you what
others might hear. Remember that we can't read your mind, if there are any misinterpretations
in what you say, it's because you didn't communicate clearly.

Good luck to you Senator Kerry, if nothing else it's always entertaining to watch you try
and climb out of the holes that you constantly dig for yourself.

Sincerely,

Someone who is watching his daughter grow up in photographs
so that you can have the right to say whatever you want about him.
I have since lost the e-mail that goes along with these next photos. But I do remember that a young man painted this rock, out of respect for our troops.
What a thoughtful and generous thing!!!



As the 5th Anniversary of the tragedy that happened on September 11th approaches.....
We still remember.....and will never forget...





Red Skelton remembers the Pledge.....
(will finish this as soon as I can :)