Sweet Memorial Day Message - Repost

This is reposted from Memorial Day 2008. I just ran across it again, and thought it, and the comments were sweet enough to repost.

I found this little note, tucked under my windshield wiper, when I came out of the store. I thought, "well this is random". Then I realized, no, it's not. It's Memorial Day.

I have an "Army Wife - My Heart Belongs to a Soldier" license plate holder. Had the person looked in my car, they would have seen an almost life size head shot of Dirk, in his ACU's and beret, sitting in Hayden's car seat waiting for us to come back. Had they seen me get out of my car, they would have noticed the Army shirt I'm wearing, because it's laundry day. Had they followed me through the store, they would have heard my conversation with Hayden, about how we were buying the big Rubbermaid container to store all of Daddy's green Army junk.

So I guess the note wasn't random at all. It was very much appreciated. It's nice to know someone took the time to stop and say thank you on their way into the store.

I got home and realized my flag wasn't out. I promptly set everything down, went to the closet, got the American Flag, and proudly hung it outside my house.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day, and remember those soldiers who fought and died for your freedom. Remember those families who loaned their spouse or son or daughter or Daddy or Mommy to America.

Remember When...

Looking at all the photos in PW's photo contest, made me want to go back and pull out some old favorites. They're nothing special, but the moments and memories make me tear up every time I see these. I thought with Memorial Day weekend coming up, it was fitting to share.

After not seeing each other in over 2 months, at Basic Training graduation


This photo is nothing spectacular to the regular viewer. To me, I love it! These are the "Mormon Boys" during Basic Training. They were lucky enough to go to church with some missionaries (the sister pictured here) who loved breaking all the rules. They'd mail me special things from Dirk that he couldn't normally send, and I'd mail him special items back. They even let him sneak in a few phone calls on their cell phone, instead of going to Sunday School. They always wrote wonderful messages to me. They truly were a blessing to us during this difficult separation!


If we look a little tired here, it's because we were! This was 2 nights before our one year wedding anniversary. It was the day of his Basic Training graduation. He was exhausted. I was running on 2 months of lack of sleep and a long flight and drive. We celebrated our First anniversary in a cheap and crappy motel room in the middle of nowhere, Missouri. It was our best anniversary to date. I remember being so nervous to see him. I'm not sure why. We'd been mailing letters back and forth and it had only been a little over 2 months, but to actually see him, smell him, touch him again made me so nervous! It was like our honeymoon all over again ;)


September 11, 2006 --Freedom March-- San Antonio, TX


Hayden would always get so excited when Daddy would come home. He wouldn't want to leave his side for hours each day. I love this moment I caught of the two of them napping.


Daddy called home from his TDY to talk to Hayden.


Promotion Day! So happy!


I LOVE this photo.


We finally meet again! This photo is bitter-sweet. Dirk came home from GTMO much earlier than he was supposed to (long story, if you're really curious, ask me some day). Hayden and I were in MT, but he had to fly home to TX. We couldn't get our flights changed, so Dirk bought a ticket a flew up to MT to meet us!


I am so happy for the experience we had, serving our country. We were very lucky to not have to deal with any deployments to the middle east, though, I am just now learning how difficult and unsafe his deployments were. I am grateful for the protection we had. I am so proud of all our troops and the dedication and service they give this country.

Date Night

Yum

Daddy's Girl

Sunny Day

It's been chilly and overcast non stop for the last few weeks, so today when it warmed up and the sun came out, we decided to take advantage of it and soak up some vitamin D.

Ginny just played in the grass and looked cute in her little sundress.

Dirk tried to teach Hayden how to properly do a push up...



Hayden practiced kicking the 'soccer ball' (actually a volleyball) in to the goal. Every time he made it in, he'd throw his hands up and say "home run!" It took a few tries before he learned the correct terminology of "goal!"

Hayden got stuck in the net...a lot! It was pretty funny.

Then Dirk joined in and a game of soccer started up.

No hands! No hands!...

Hayden hasn't quite figured out the "no hands" thing.

Then Hayden stole Dirk's sandal and created a new game called "shoe fight". It consists of using the shoes as both weapons and shields and trying to knock each other over. It was pretty funny to watch.

At one point, Hayden got both shoes and taunts, "haha... Look who's got two shoes now!"

Dirk thinks he won...

Then Hayden showed him who's boss.

The end.

Ginny and the Kitty

My parents have a big fat lazy cat, Ed, who has been very curious of Ginny when she comes around. Ginny always thinks Ed is fascinating. Here they are, finally meeting up close. Ginny really liked to feel his soft fur.

Ginny Lynn

I'll love you forever

I love this story, and every time I hear it I think of my mom. It is one of her favorite children's books. I heard this story today in church, then talked about it with my mom and sister this afternoon and about how much we love it. It's just very sweet, so here it is, in case you haven't read it.

Love You Forever

by Robert Munsch

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!"

But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!

But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!

But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town. If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always...

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Mother Dear I Love You So...

I love Mother's Day. It is such a simple holiday filled with love and remembrance of all the wonderful mother's who have raised us and influenced us in life. I'm so happy I have the chance to experience the importance of motherhood.

Happy Anniversary

Six years ago today, I married my best friend, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Love you Dirk!

Walt Disney World - Here We Come!

Okay, so I have to get this out there, because I can not contain myself any longer!
We're going to Disney World!!
The closest thing to anything Disney I've done, is watching the movies, and I've always wanted to go to one of the parks, so naturally, it is currently the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think about before falling asleep!

So, how are we possibly going to be able to do this, being poor college students?!
Dirk just happens to have an amazingly awesome brother, Evan, and his wife, Paula, who scored an amazingly awesome deal for a week at Disney World, and they needed to invite one other family to go with them.
Enter... US! ( YAY!!! )
All we have to do is pay for plane tickets (ahem...student loans...cough..).
We get an entire week at Disney World, hotel and more than we can eat food for FREE!


So, we are ecstatic! I'm a bit nervous about a few things, but thankfully we have almost 4 months to work those little things out.

Hayden is currently in his "scared of almost everything" stage that most kids go through around this age. For example- He went on the carousel in Spokane last week and bawled and screamed and panicked. Yet, a year ago- heck, even 6 months ago, he LOVED stuff like that and was fearless. I want him to LOVE this... So I plan on trying to get him accustomed to busy, noisy, scary rides.
So, any tips or ideas on things to do, places to go, where we could maybe brave him up before we go?


If you have ANY advice on going to Disney with young children, I would love to hear it!
I don't need traveling/flying advice- Done that a ton... just what I need to know on how to survive a week at a theme park with two little ones!
I want this to be a fun VACATION, not HELL with a few fun things thrown in.

I'm already compiling a list of things I need before we go:

1. The tandem sit/stand stroller I've been wanting... debated whether or not to get it b/f Ginny was born. After Spokane last weekend, I decided we need it. I'm looking at the Joovy Caboose Ultralight. If you have one that you just LOVE let me know and I'll take a look...
   
2. Comfortable tennishoes for Dirk that look good with shorts.
3. My birthday present needs to come early: My telephoto camera lens
   
4. Hayden NEEDS to be potty trained (Hopefully this will happen in about 2 weeks after our Potty Training Boot Camp.

Oh yeah- So Paula should just get paid to plan people's trips to Disney. Check out this blog she's made, so we can plan our trip exactly how we want it! Feel free to comment on our choices we're making if you've experienced it. http://neillwdw.blogspot.com/

Time Out

This weekend I was able to go to Time Out for Women in Spokane, WA. Time Out is a day and a half women's conference for LDS women to inspire them, give them a break from everyday tasks, and just help them learn how to be a better woman.
It was fabulously inspiring and fun. I love what they said at the very beginning, "This is NOT church"... not that there is anything wrong with church, but this was MUCH more fun! For those LDS friends of mine, I'd say it was more like EFY for women. Fun!

The theme of Time Out was "Hope". It was perfect. There were about 8 or so speakers and 2 different musical performers, my favorite of which was Mercy River. I'd heard of them, but never really listened to them. They were so good and fun! I don't know that I could pick a favorite speaker, but the two that really stick out to me right now were Virginia Hinckley Pierce (Pres. Hinkley's daughter), and Mariama Kallon.
Mariama's story was the reason for this year's theme of "Hope" and she is such an amazing person. They said we'd want her to be our best friend after hearing her speak, and they were right! This is what Mariama's bio says about her:
Raised in war-torn Sierra Leone, Mariama Kallon saw many things as a young girl that might fill a person with fear and hatred. Soon after witnessing the violent murders of parents and siblings and spending her youth fleeing from rebels, she was introduced to the gospel of Jesus Christ and found hope in God and peace in a knowledge of eternal families. She was given a humanitarian kit by the Church, which became a treasured symbol of hope that she used to bless the lives of many as they again fled for their lives. After returning to her town, she was called on a mission to the Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission, and wept in gratitude to the Lord as she visited the place where her precious humanitarian kit was made. Today Mariama stands as an example of the divine purposes of humanitarian work and tells her story to numerous audiences, urging them to participate in this work.

I laughed, I cried, I felt the spirit, and I was inspired. If you ever have a chance to go to one near you, I highly suggest to go. Even if you don't have a group of friends going, just go.

The "rules" are, you are supposed to leave your family and kids at home and go with a bunch of your girlfriends. Well, I cheated and brought my whole family along so they could play in downtown Spokane while I was there, and so Dirk could take Ginny from me half the time so I could take good notes.

The weather wasn't too fabulous, so they spent most of the time inside. They found a children's museum in the basement of the mall called Mobius Kids Science center, and spent hours there. They tried to show me how cool it was after I finished my conference, but we got there about 5 minutes after they closed. Both Dirk and Hayden were seriously disappointed we couldn't go back. Looks like another trip to Spokane is in store!

I have to say, I never realized Spokane was such a cool city! I guess I've never really ventured in to downtown much. I absolutely loved it! Riverfront Park is so awesome and beautiful. The buildings downtown are gorgeous. I love all the old buildings mixed with new. Very pretty.

We stayed in a hotel right smack in the middle of all the hustle and bustle, and there was a lot of it! It was the weekend of the Bloomsday race. Do you know what that is? I didn't until last week. Not sure how I'd never heard about it, because it is a HUGE deal. Like 55,000 people racing HUGE! Like some of the fastest runners in the world from Kenya, Ethiopia, the Olympics HUGE! They were all over our hotel and we could see the main part of the convention center from our window, so we had fun doing a LOT of people watching!

It was a fun weekend until Dirk puked the whole way home.