Memorial Day

As we all enjoy a long weekend with our loved ones, the official start to summer we all need to realize and appreciate the reason for Memorial Day. I've never been a person of great words so I turn to someone else to get across my feelings of today. This poem has circulated through social media and email but thought it needed to be acknowledged as more than a status update or mass forward. The men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom deserve more.

Freedom is Not Free

by Kelly Strong

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze

A young Marine saluted it, and then

he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform

So young, so tall, so proud

With hair cut square and eyes alert

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought, how many men like him

Had fallen through the years?

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mother's tears?

How many pilot's planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom is not free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,

when everything was still.

I listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That "Taps" had meant Amen

When a flag had draped a coffin

of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons, and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

at the bottom of the sea

of the unmarked graves in Arlington.

No, freedom is not free!!

For those who gave all so that we may live in freedom, your sacrifice was not in vain. For those who have served, are serving, and will serve, thank you for your bravery and willingness to give yourself so that we all can be free!

Annabelle's Baptism

When Sean deployed back in 2009 I started going to church regularly and was very lucky to finally, after many years finding a church home for the first time since my grandparents church when I was in middle school. Tierrasanta Lutheran Church is that home. When I got pregnant with Belle I was very excited to have a church, MY church to baptize her in.

Pastor Bohdan is one of my favorite ministers I have ever met. Probably because he's around our age and he can easily relate to younger couples. I'm not sure how many times he said he was happy to share this day with us, and I can't express how happy I was to have him baptize our baby.

We have been stationed on the west coast for almost 4 years now and life away from our family has been hard but the unique thing about the military life is that over time you develop a "military family". My mom flew out from Atlanta for the baptism but the rest of our guests in church were our military family. Each and everyone of them mean more to Sean and me that we could ever express.

Belle's godparents, Bill & Ko Sumption have been a large part of our lives for the past 2 years. Bill & Sean deployed together and Ko loves our kids as much as we do. I can't put into words the special role they have played in our lives and are very honored that they agreed to be Belle's godparents. Their faith inspires us. God truly blessed us by putting them in our lives.

Welcome to your life in Christ Annabelle. We all love you more than you will ever know!

It's almost been a year!

Well obviously it's been awhile since I've been on here. Life has been crazy busy! Since my last blog we found out we were expecting baby # 3, moved to a new house to accommodate our growing family, both kids started (and are about to finish) their first year of preschool, and we were blessed with our beautiful daughter, Annabelle Brynn, just to name a few things! I'm hoping to blog more but keeping up with three kids is time consuming to say the least!

Our newest angel

Annabelle Brynn