HEROES UNAWARE

I first saw him on a park bench
I've seen him every day
Sitting in a shady grove
Where my children come to play
Sometimes he feeds the birds and squirrels
Or whittles little toys
Sometimes he just sits and smiles
At the laughing girls and boys
And I never paid him any mind
'Till one day just this year
I noticed that he wore a frown And on his cheek ... a tear.

Well I asked him why he seemed so down
He looked up, began to say
I lost half my friends 60 years ago today
He told me of the terror
As he fought to reach dry land
By the time the beachhead was secure
Half his friends lay in the sand

That was just in one long day
He fought on for 4 years more
And the 60 years from then to now
Have not dimmed His sights of war

He said they have reunions
Just to keep in touch and share
And for each comrade who has gone on
They leave an empty chair

Well, His park bench has been empty now
About 6 months or so
And if I'd never took the time
Then I never would've known
That sitting on that simple bench
With bread crumbs and little toys
Was a man who gave his all
To guarantee my daily joys

So give thanks to all the men and women
Who're still here or have gone before
And made the highest sacrifice
In both Peace time and in War
Because they bought our freedom
Paid their own blood, sweat, and tears
Then endured the heartache of those empty chairs
For all these years

So please do not ignore them
Or speed by without a care
'Cause you never know
When you might pass by
A hero, unaware

By Mark A. Wright, HMC(SS)22 June, 2000

NO, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE

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 mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom isn't 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 unmarked graves in Arlington.

No, freedom isn't free.

CDR Kelly Strong, USCG (Ret).

RADIO FLYER

My mom was wondering where these pictures were on the last post - but I wanted to get some cute pictures on our walks outside, but kept forgetting our camera. So here's the awesome Radio Flyer Wagon from Grandma & Grandpa Anderson that Bri got her birthday. She LOVES it!!! Every time we go outside she runs over and tries to get in. SO FUN!!!

"Helping" dad assemble. :)

Pretending she's taking a nap.

Being a goof ball!!! Gotta love the Mr. Potato Head tongue!!!

"Let's GO!!!"

She also loves to give her animals rides!

Every little kid definitely needs a Radio Flyer!!!

LOOK WHO'S 2

That's right my little peanut turned two back on April 24th!!! I really still can't believe it - it's so crazy!!! Well on her actual birthday we were all packed into the truck driving to Seward, so we had her little birthday bash the following week after we'd got home. It was so fun to have Grandma & Grandpa Anderson here to celebrate with us.

We ended up having a Dora themed party. She would have probably liked Diego better (since he's her boyfriend) but I couldn't find any Diego decorations.

But none the less, I think she liked it.
I think we could have just gotten her the balloons and she would have been just as happy.

They were definitely the big hit of the night!

She is so grown up!!!

Playing with Grandpa - or Dale, since that it what she called grandpa for part of their visit. It was so funny.

The Triple Chocolate Birthday cake. (I think I was way more excited about the cake than she was! It was so delicious!!!)

She even blew out the candle all by herself!!!

DIG IN!!! Ha,Ha,Ha!!! She cracks me up!!!

I tried to see if she'd use a spoon...

But of course hands work so much better for this task!!!

YUMMY!!!

Present Time

She got some Dora & Diego books and DVD's. (Which we all watched about a million times on the trip down to Seward. UGH! "Isa turn the wheel - Turn the wheel Isa!" :) This was stuck in all of our heads for most of our trip.) Some match-up books, cup stackers, and a couple of cute cd's.

A cool marble castle.

A ton of cute clothes. She liked these shorts so much she wanted to put the on right away!

College funds from Nana and Grampie Walker!

Some awesome rain/mud boots. Which had to put on immediately.But were soon trumped by these cute little flip-flops.

More clothes - which even included a I Love Softball t-shirt - cuteness! She's set for summer!

Time to play!!! (She was jumping up and down screaming while the balls rolled down)

And well I guess we had a killer party...

Cause both guys were racked out after the presents were opened! What dorks!!!

Thanks to everyone for the gifts - sorry you all couldn't be here with us to celebrate. :( Maybe next year!!! Oh how I love this little girl. She is such a blessing in my life. I always knew that I wanted to be a mother, but I never imagined it would be this rewarding. I truly LOVE my little Bri with all my heart - I know it sounds cheesy - but I always think my heart can't get any bigger, and then the next day comes and it expands just a little more. Brianna is one of the most amazing little wonders and Justin and I are so eternally grateful that she's ours!!!

LOVE YOU BRIANNA!!!

Here she is the next morning. Still in love with the balloons and sporting her rain boots.

She is too funny!!! (One of her quotes about herself)