Honoring our Military

This weekend is set aside in the USA to celebrate our military - Memorial Day - for those who lost their lives in battle to keep us free, for those who served and came home to become husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles and grandparents.  My Dad is honored in our family for serving in the US Marines - he went in on the first wave at Iwo Jima, an island in the South Pacific, where he fought during World War II.  My husband Dayle flew a helicopter in the Vietnam war and was shot while flying, in the thigh and barely kept his leg.  Had my Dad not come home, I would not be here and had my husband not come home our three children would not be here.  Gives you pause to think, doesn't it?  We go each year to clean Dad's marker and talk to him.  I fill Dad in all how the family is doing and Dayle talks to him too.

This is what the marker looks like when we arrive.  ::sigh::

And this is what it looks like after Dayle sweeps, scrubs clean and puts a special polish on it made for bronze markers like this.  Do you visit your family graves?  Many of the ones here don't look like anyone visits them.  But all in all, this cemetery is full of flowers and people visiting their long lost loved ones.

This is the military section and each year the Boy Scouts put flags at each grave.

While Dayle cleans, I arrange flowers in the bronze vase that Dayle and I had installed.  We always bring them from the farm as I think Dad would like having them from our home.  All set for visitors.

This was a special moment for me.  After Dayle finished spiffing up Dad's marker - he felt sorry for "William" next to Dad as it looks like no one ever EVER visits him.. so Dayle cleaned and shined his marker too.  That's the kind of man I married.  Love him!

Then we met my sister Roberta and her husband Ted for lunch - and then came back with them to the cemetery.  We are the two that are in the Daughters of the American Revolution together and are extremely patriotic.

Sis snapped a photo of me and my hero.

Dayle loves cannons so we took a photo of the one they have on display in the military section.

Today Travis and Kristi and the boys are enjoying the warm weather on the deck - they've painted a birdhouse that they hammered together and now they're working on putting together something with a LOT of nuts and bolts and metal parts.  :-)

The boys are showing grandma their handiwork.  :-)  See the pile of weeds on the left?  Kristi weeded the pond garden area while we were at the cemetery.. woohoo!

Caleb just brought in his tractor that daddy and he put together to show grandma! 

See how pretty the garden is looking?  The pot on the left is one of two that we planted jasmine in and both are leafing out well.  Dayle wintered over his pots of geranium and begonias and we're both astounded at how well they are doing!

And my moss roses are coming along.  The color on this one blows me away and this is why I adore moss roses.

My yellow and white million bell petunias are growing, but I need to hang them lower so I can enjoy them.  These baskets are reallllly heavy.. I'm thinking I might need to use some rope to lower them some.

I do hope you pause today and think about those in the military who dedicate their lives to make sure you can live free and are protected.  And have a super great weekend!
((hugs)), Teresa :-)