Sunrise - A little bit of heaven

Love more.   Fret less.   Let it go.

IT WILL ALL WORK OUT.

Share a Smile - A Simple Dimple

Isn't it interesting how life evolves and changes?  Moving to Georgia has been really tough for me. I'm so grateful we have a church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) that is consistent, even when our lives aren't!

I realized that I haven't been posting anything here, because I didn't know what to share... well, starting today, I'm going to change up my blog a bit and share what makes me smile and hopefully you will find a bit of cheer here too!

As I was making a sandwich for lunch, I asked my 3 year old what makes him happy. He tipped his head back, looked up at me, scrunched his nose as he smiled, and said, "God!"  

May God bring you joy today too!

Finding Inner Peace

After moving from one coast to the other, and all the chaos and blessings that come with it, life is starting to calm down again... if that's possible.

      This morning I went for a run and I was amazed at my ability to stay a little more calm amid the chaos of the day. My motivation for running before everyone was up this morning came from an awesome blog www.abundantmama.com. It has some amazing tips for Mommas who want to be their best and are trying to make the right choices, but keep making mistakes.  We are all filled with human weakness and our stumblings frustrate the crazies out of us, yet also bless us as we come back to Heavenly Father saying, "I can't do it alone. I need you. I want to follow you!"

     While reading this blog, I read about some ways to be a more calm parent.   I needed to be reminded of the things that help me be my best self.
These are five things that I know help me make better choices through my day, and give me peace!

1 - Exercise!   If ya told me 13 years ago that I'd enjoy running, I'd have called ya nuts.  I had to learn how to run in a way that relaxed my shoulder muscles so my ear wouldn't hurt (weird, I know).  I had some friends in ND teach me how to run relaxed. Then, in Mississippi, I learned that running is a whole lot more mental than physical.  I just have to decide to go and then listen to my body to know if I can push a litter harder or if I need to slow down. After I ran this morning, I felt calm and ready to begin my day with a smile when the crazies kicked in!

2-Prayer!   Some people meditate, I love to pray! It centers me, fills me with peace, forgiveness, and helps me figure out things that I couldn't figure out before!  It clears out my head.   One of my favorite places to pray is by a window as the sun starts to color the morning sky!

3-God's Word!    God is so amazing! He asks us to feast upon His words. Tells us that He'll answer us if we ask. Gives us prophets and apostles to guide us in the struggles that we face each day. He blessed us with the Bible which teaches us why we're here and about the amazing mercy of our brother Jesus, who loved us enough to suffer for our sins and die so we can live again! Then, He gave us the Book of Mormon which teaches us more about Jesus, His Gospel, and gives us the stepping stones we need to make it back to Heavenly Father!  We are so blessed!

4-Journaling!   I've always kept a journal, in some form or another, yet after we adopted our 3 kids, I started a 'Life Unexpected' journal. It's on the computer, I don't have to worry about punctuation, grammar, or anyone reading it.  I just type as the thoughts come (I can type them faster than writing them) and it's amazing how I can figure out solutions to my problems by... well, I don't know if it's because I am seeing them, thinking them, or reading them, but it helps!  I'm able to express my frustrations, joys and everything in between. If I don't want anyone else in the world to ever read it, I hit the magic 'delete' button!!!   I end up realizing that I am smiling as I'm typing and have just taken a deep, 'the load is off my shoulders' kind of a breath!

5-Soften!    This doesn't mean to be a pushover, it is a way to recenter myself, like counting to 10 when you're mad. First, I take a deep breath and tell my body to soften. Then I slowly relax my muscles, starting with my shoulders, neck, jaw, chest, back... all the way down to my fingers and toes.  Finally, all of my muscles are relaxed — including my jaw and tongue and eye muscles — and I am fully in a softened state.  Ready to think clearly and make a more logical choice!

I'm grateful for seen and unseen angels that God's placed in my path! Last night, my angel was Shawn Fink!  Thanks Girl!     You helped me and my family have a better day!

How do you find inner peace?

Birthday Memories

Another year older... whoopdie doo...   It feels like just another day. 

Here's some of my fun b-day memories!

Eating waffles with strawberries and whipped cream with my brothers family in ND.  I woke up to an awesome sign from my niece that she'd taped across the stairs!

Watching my soldier ride my new bike around the living room in MS!

A fun, crazy birthday with my friends kids last year in AZ.  The kids made me an awesome bracelet and necklace from glow in the dark beads and neon pipe cleaners that was too cool!

Getting phone calls from dear friends, like Bishop Holden, because my soldier let them know I'd have a hard day with him gone...   That was awesome!

6 cakes on my birthday.   Shrimp was born on my 2nd birthday. One year, Mom made each of us a cake and our 2 Gramas made us each a cake...

Happy Birthday Shrimp!!!   

My Testimony

I'm been reading the book Preach My Gospel and realized that there are some really wonderful blessing we can get from sharing our testimony of Christ.  Not just for others, but for ourselves as well!   

In the Bible, John 15:26 says We are to testify of Christ when the Spirit of truth (the Comforter or Holy Spirit/Ghost) cometh

In the Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 33:1  says that the Holy Ghost carries our testimony to the hearts of others

In the Doctrine and Covenants  D&C 100:5-8 says we should speak the thoughts which God gives you and we won't be confounded. If we declare it in the name of Jesus with the spirit of meekness, the Holy Ghost will bear record of what we're saying.

D&C 62:3 teaches us that our testimonies will be recorded in heaven for angels to see and our sins will be forgiven.

D&C 84:61 says we should bear our testimonies to all the world, pray and remain steadfast and our sins will be forgiven!


*I love when I read the scriptures and feel peace from the Holy Spirit as God tells me that these are his words and they are true.
*I am grateful that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, which ancient prophets wrote in the Americas, so we can have more of God's scriptures to guide our lives back to him.
*I know God has living prophets on the earth today who he speaks to and who can in turn let us know God's will for us today!
*I know that this earthly life isn't the end. Just as Christ rose on the 3rd day, and lives, we will all be able to live again! Christ showed us the way to live as he did the will of God, his father.
*I know Christ's church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) has been restored and we can be blessed by men who hold the priesthood.
*I know that we all have the opportunity to be with our families forever.
*I know that as I pray to my Heavenly Father, I can receive answers to my prayers and you can too!

I am so blessed and wanted to share my testimony with you.   I've heard it said that not sharing my testimony is like going through the desert with a group of people, finding a watering hole, drinking and being refreshed, and not telling the others so they too can drink and be saved.

May God bless all y'all and may my testimony somehow strengthen yours!

31st B-day!!

I woke up to a fun Birthday surprise :)

I got to use Dallin's apron to cook delicious food all day!

I wore the shirt my handsome prince gave me so I'd be wrapped in his love all day even though he's apart

I got some awesome jewelry from some very creative friends!!!!

LOVE IT!

Though it was another B-day away from home and my handsome soldier,

wonderful friends made it full of joy!!!   Thanks guys!

What I've been up to???

I've been slacking with my posts but here's a few things I've done lately...

*Finished building a bed for our future kids... still gotta get the pictures uploaded :)
*Planned a raised bed garden for 2013 using cinder blocks
*Cooked some more crazy, and not so crazy, things :)
*Working on creating a few kids story books with sign language images below the words!
*Sold some chickens (we had 17)
*Designed a scrapbook on Shutterfly.com and got 1-1/2 years done in about 2 weeks... deadlines in order to save 50% are great motivation :)
*Organized things for our Church primary for 2013
*Helping friends who have 7 kids (The mom is on bed rest in the hospital with her 8th)  Her oldest is 12, youngest is three, and only 2 of the kids are in public school.  Nothing like a good 'crash-course' to prep me for Foster Care!  I'm so blessed to be able to help them and learn wisdom from God at the same time!   Oh, and I have no clue how they used to teach all the grades in a one room school house, 5 different ages is more than enough for me to try to teach :)
*Went to a Supercross motorcycle race with my handsome soldier!
*Started doing my own version of Oxycise which I used my Sr. year of High School :)  It's basically focused, deep breathing while stretching for only 15-20 minutes a day!  Totally awesome!!!
*Studying the words of Christ in  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John!  I love reading scriptures and just focusing on one specific thing to study!  God is so amazing and I am so blessed!

Y'all have a beautiful, blessed day!

My next wood working adventure!

I love the idea of creating something from wood.

  I've kinda just learned as I went, but yesterday I found an awesome, totally awesome, manual from Popularwoodworking.com that gives you the basics of woodworking and tools.  Check it out, I learned a lot and now get to purchase a few more toys to make wood working a little more simple :)

My next project is to create a guide for my skill saw and then use it to make a twin size bed frame.

I'm combining a few patterns from www.ana-white.com! 

Here's what it'll look like (I think I'll paint it white)!
 

But, I'll be using this pattern as a guide to make the boxes deeper.
 


The head board will be similar to this from Ikea (without the top shelf.)

Thanks Bud and Aaron for your advice and help!!!

Wish me luck :)

OK, so I'm finally getting the pictures on here!!!
I love how it turned out!

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What's in your journal?

Every person should keep a journal and every person can keep a journal.
—President Spencer W. Kimball

There are so many types of Journals. 

I use a weekly journal with 7 rectangles on the front and back each page and I have enough space to write down the basics of each day through my week.  I have a simple, journal that's been a blessing when we needed to remember a certain date or time something happened. It also helps me remember the important dates in our family as I've written them in by each day.

My mom has a drawing journal.  There's a  small space for writing at the bottom of a blank page. She can draw something and then tell about the significance of it

My sister had a bound journal book with pages full of lines.  Some days there would only be one line of information written and other days would take up a full page. Sometimes it'd be a week or so between entries.

Some people type an electronic journal on the computer or Blog.

Oh, my soldier suggested I keep a dream journal because I have such weird dreams!!

When I was a kid we had our own notebook that we would take out every Sunday during family time and draw or write a little bit, whatever we wanted.

My Great grandpa recorded stories of his life with a tape recorder / an audio journal.. now it would be done with an mp3 player, I-pod, or computer :)

I almost forgot, a garden journal :) What did you grow this year?  What will you do different next year?

A girl at Church Young Women's camp shared that she keeps a prayer journal because she finds that it's hard for her to 'say' what she wants in her verbal prayers. In her journal, she can write her feelings and prayers to Heavenly Father the way she wants it said!

I have a scripture journal, just a steno pad that I can write scripture referemces or spiritual thoughts as I study each day. I circle the main word in what I've written to help me reference that thought another day. I also write down advice that I like and words of our modern prophets and church leaders.

I know of people keeping a food journal.. I guess I'm doing that this year.  I've kept track of how much food we've purchased and what we eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.   I was curious to see  how much we really use.  You'd be surprised!!   I know for food storage, they tell us that we need "blank pounds" of this and that but, now I'll know how much we really use!  I'll share that info the end of this year!   So far this year we've eaten... 56 lb of bananas and  32 lb of white flour.

I also have a small jar full of journal prompts. Just a thought for you to write about and expound on that will help others come to know you better... and maybe I'll learn more about myself too. I got it a lot of years ago and it's still unopened... oops
    

Here's some cool Journal/writing Prompts!!

119 Journal pompts

 All about me - journal prompts

Recipe for my life history

Writing Prompts / Journal Topics

Journal Writing - Elementary level

Happy Journaling :)

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Our Front Porch

I've been trying to find some cool ways to decorate our front porch.  The walls are tan and our new furniture is... yep... tan.

I took our old oscillating fan apart and spray painted it blue! I discovered that it can hang on the wall so.. I hung it up!

I just found these cool blue pots on a website. 
Anyone know a cool way to recreate them or know where I can buy one that's not too expensive?



I want to fill a pot or two with cool engraved or painted stones like these




I'm wanna modge podge a sign that will look like this!  Wouldn't it be fun to have it say that but be themed for the different holidays or seasons?   Time to play!!!  Let me know if ya have any ideas!

I would like to hang up a bamboo windchime.

I think some pinwheels would be awesome in the flower bed too!

I tried my 72-hour emergency kit food...

I usually have my 72-hour emergency kit in my carry on suitcase. Since my soldier was going to be using it, I decided to lay it all out and take a picture of the contents...most of it's food.

I have all the basics from a '72-hour kit' list
Each day's food equals 2000 calories with good levels of salt and fats. It was a pain to make it all 'balanced'. I figured it all out last year but  I've never really tried to 'live on' the food that is in my kit and my Soldier isn't up for testing it out :) ha ha!!! So, I figured I'd give it a go for a couple days while he's gone.  :)   I did not actually open the water bottles but allowed myself 2-1/2 bottles (40 oz) each day.

...

Here's how it went... 

Mock emergency food rationing began at 4pm on Wednesday

Wed - dinner 7 triscuits (crackers), chili, 8 oz. water ... I'm thirsty, gotta save my h20 for tomorrow.

Full DAY 1 menu

Th- breakfast     pears, granola bar, 8 oz.  water
Th- Lunch       ... Visited friends for a prearranged Visiting Teaching Lunch, 8 oz water.
Th- dinner        14 triscuits, can of chicken, 8 oz. water    
Th- snack          granola bar, 6 oz. trail mix & choco chip cookies,  16 oz. water
       Holy Cow... I'm so grateful I tried this out. I ate the pears just fine and then thought I'd try the juice.. made me wanna puke. I thought maybe the granola bar would help... nope, I took one small bite and discovered that it's way too sugary. I still wanted to puke so I ate a few triscuits and my tummy finally calmed down! Gonna try a homemade oatmeal packet tomorrow.
... Visited a friend and she fixed me a couple eggs for brunch.. I was so hungry!!!! Thanks Malisa
     That was one of the best tasting Carls Jr. hamburgers ever.. I must have been really hungry :)
     The Swanson's canned chicken was better than I expected and the flavor blended well with the salty triscuits. I did dump out the juice. I'm gonna take this when I go hiking for girls camp in a couple weeks :) Oh, I had it in the truck while I was in town so it was warm :)
       I don't even like chocolate.. why did I pack those cookies? Oh yeah, thought my Soldier would enjoy mine too)

       I ate a couple handfuls of trail mix after dinner. The sweet of the dried fruit balances out the salty food nicely!  I was sooo thirsty today and I did allow myself an extra cup of water which totaled my day at 6 cups or 3 bottles.   I researched water purification pumps.  I need more water.

Day 2 menu

Fri- breakfast     3/4 c. oatmeal, 2 T. raisins, 1/2 T. brown sugar, 2 T. pecans, 8 oz water

Fri - lunch          7 triscuits, pork n beans, 8 oz water

Fri - dinner        14 triscuits, lasagna, chicken and rice soup, 8 oz water

Fri - Snack         more of yesterday's 6 oz trail mix & fresh peas from the garden, 24 oz water

     This was soooo much better than yesterday but the oatmeal was still a little sweet, gotta try 1 t. brown sugar or 1/2 t. cinnamon and sugar or vanilla sugar for tomorrow. I mixed about 1/3 c. of my breakfast water with the oatmeal mix, stirred it up and let it sit for a couple minutes before eating it.

    The Triscuits tasted good dipped in the pork n bean liquid!

    For dinner, I tried the lasagna and after 2 bites, wouldn't eat more, it was sooooo salty. I threw it out. I then opened the Chicken & rice soup which was flavorless - how do people eat this prepackaged food... gag me. I dumped out the broth and realized that there was only 1/3 c. of rice/carrots/celery left... wow, what a meal!!! Good thing I have my mighty triscuits.  The rice and lasagna kinda upset my tummy too.   I would have been one sick girl if I really had to eat just this food that I'd packed in an emergency situation.

     I allowed myself 8 oz of water every 3 hours today. Much better with 6 cups but still would need more if it was a real emergency.

Day 3 menu

Sat- breakfast     3/4 c. oatmeal, 1 t. vanilla sugar, 2 T. pecans, peaches, 8 oz water

Sat -lunch           14 triscuits, can of chicken, 8 oz water

Sat - Snack         trail mix, 16 oz. water

     The oatmeal tasted better this morning but I got a little queezy after eating the peaches.. I think I'm going crazy.  Guess I'll just pack Aunt Pam's dried plums!!!! They're heavenly!
     I think I'm ruined on triscuits for a while.... that or gotta have some cheeze wiz !!!   Behold, the power of CHEEEEEZ :)  

I'm finally saved from this mock emergency food ration!!!!

*All in all, I think the food will be ok, but I need more water, my lips were starting to get chapped. 
          I'll need extra water to brush my teeth, clean a wound, etc.
*I'm gonna pack graham crackers instead of the granola bars! I had 2 bags of trail mix left over -
         mostly cause I wanted to save them for a real emergency, but I didn't really need them.
*Maybe I'll throw in a MRE for 1 day...
*I also forgot about my chewing gum. That would've helped when I was thirsty. Oh well, it's still
         ready for a real emergency!   

We sure do take a lot for granted! No wonder my Soldier didn't want to try this, He lived through it in the army every time he was deployed or had training exercises and had to eat MRE's... poor guy.

I gotta go restock my kit.. Hope nothing bad happens next week. I'd be hungry!

*Don't forget to rotate your food to keep it fresh and rotate your clothing as sizes change.

    Who wants an emergency with rotten food and a change of clothes/ diapers that don't fit?

*My aunt changes hers out everytime our church has it's General Conference during the first weekends of April and October.  You can decide what things you'll need to add or takeout for winter/summer emergencies then too.  Just keep your packing list in your kit!

* I need to throw in some duct tape which I just learned can work if you don't have mole skin and you're starting to get blisters. You can wrap it around a pencil instead of taking the whole roll :).

Please share your wisdom .....

 I'm gonna get a water filter/purifier that will filter more water for me... which one should I get?.. What's the best filter/purifier bottle or pump? 
Have you tried the Lifestraw Personal Water Filter  or MRS Miniworks EX

What's in your kit?

Please share if  you ever had to use your 72-hour kit in a real emergency situation?  
Any tips/tricks would be greatly appreciated!
This blog has a few ideas!

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My Triathlon Sprint Training

You know how you plan to workout but don't have anyone that's working out with you so you decide to sleep in or 'workout tomorrow'...   Well,  Now I'm telling all y'all so I'm accountable!   Please drop me a note now and then to help me keep going!  I'll keep updating this post as I go along!

I started swimming laps 1 1/2 years ago with my sister-in-law.(Thanks Bree) & we were training for a Triathlon Sprint.   My Soldier got me a bike for my b-day last year! :)   I found this awesome website that helps plan out your training. I do tweak it up (see below) as I take Sunday off.
For starters....I'm not a fan of running (My soldier will tell you that I almost never workout) but I did a 5k when I was in Alabama  and realized that running is mainly mental ... yep crazy.  You have to just decide to do it. Some days will be better than others but just keep going and push yourself a little harder when you're feeling up to it.   If you go at the same time every day that helps too!  I prefer first thing in the morning.

I won't be swimming yet but starting tonight... yep, not waiting for tomorrow.... I'm going for a walk!
Wish me luck and let me know if you want to join me on my journey... who knows where we'll end up!

Surgery postponed my training... bummer :(  but, I'm still gonna try :)

Glorious Morning

I was up by 5:30 this morning and was able to enjoy a beautiful sunrise with all the colors changing on the clouds, a slice of the moon, a cool breeze, and the peace and serenity of knowing that God created it all and has a plan for each of us!  We are all valued and important to him.  He never stops loving us or reaching out to us, even when we're stubborn, feeling lost, or trying our best.   How blessed am I?   Totally blessed!  I pray you are able to see God's hand in your life today and everyday!  

   I get the wonderful opportunity to help with this year's Church Girl's Camp!   The girl's I get to work with are the Aqua-Girls.  I've been studying the scriptures and noting the references to water.  So amazing! I have set a goal to finish the Book of Mormon the day before we leave. This means I get to ready 9 pages a day!  It's been such a blessing to me.  The spirit is such a wondeful tool to send me little tidbits that will make the camp experience so wonderful for the girls!    I sure have wondeful memories of Girls Camp when I was a teenager and the wonderful leaders that made it all possible!

Here's a cool Aqua-Girl spiritual tidbit!!

A rainbow is caused by light going though a drop of water... 

    We are like the drop of water

The light going through us is the light of Christ via the Holy Spirit.

A rainbow appears, reflecting Christ's light, as we serve, do good works, love others

and are associated with anything that is good and positive !

We are all commanded to be a 'light' unto the nations and be a representative of God!!

Isaiah 60:1,  D&C 115:5

 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

John 7:38 

...

*The picture is from http://advanced.worth1000.com/contests/24009/round-3-colorful-macros

Oh the joys of home ownership :)

Oh the joys of home ownership :)

As I began mowing yesterday, I noticed an odd noise. I shut off the mower and started looking/ feeling for anything loose, then reached under to see if the blade was loose...NOPE, it was gone.  I walked around our property and found the blade but not the bolt and washer.  I took one of the other blades so I could buy a matching bolt then I dialed my Dad and double checked what I needed at the store.  I got a new bolt, washer and lock nut then called it a day.

 Today, I went to tighten on the blades and called Dad again cause I couldn't torque it tight cause the blade kept spinning and I forgot how he used to do it.  He told me how to do it... "Make sure you put the blade on with the star hole fitting on the star and then tighten it on the rest of the way."..  STAR?.. oops.  I fixed it without any problems, using the board to block the blade so I could tighten it as Dad suggested.  I then went to put on the second blade and noticed the center blade was looking like it wasn't ON the star. We'd cinched it and squished the star points.  I then talked to Dad... 

"YOU CAN DO IT and you can call back if you need." is what Dad told me when I told him I was feeling a little intimidated.

With his guidance and the manual, I removed the deck, ground and filed the star until the blade fit again.

     I put it all back together and then mowed the lawn for 2 hours!!   

Thanks Dad!!!  

...

Old or New Camera?

I have two Kodak cameras. 

The first one (Kodak EasyShare CX7530) I got in 2004 for Christmas!!

The second one (Kodak EasyShare M340) I got a couple years ago so my Soldier could take the old camera with him to Iraq.

We had an awesome sunset the other night and I held one camera in each hand and 

took a picture at the same time... below are the results.   

    NEW Camera                       OLD Camera        

 The old camera's colors were more true to what I saw with my own eyes!

Roadtrip

Cost to drive my truck 591 miles to Mom and Dad's... $175.00
Cost to drive my parent's Geo Metro 2,430 miles... to my Brother's & back to my parent's ... $140.00
Time spent with my family... PRICELESS

Winter Mornings

This morning as I walked up the driveway after taking down the trash, I saw a beautiful moon, scattered clouds with stars peeking through them and I marveled at the beauty of the early morning!  There's something refreshing about a brisk winter morning with fresh air and the silence!  Being outside early on a cold morning reminds me of doing chores.  It wakes you up and envigorates you for the day! I thought of Rick and Colleen feeding baby lambs, Mom and I feeding baby pigs, Barney and I feeding baby cows for the neighbors and Jim moving handlines.
I'm blessed to have been raised in the country!

Take a minute to ponder and even write down the gifts (blessings) you've been given by our loving Father in Heaven!

Me plus Mentos equals....

A HUGE HEADACHE.

At 12-noon, I ate one (1) teeny-tiny mentos...   I got a slight headache within a minute but had a few more errands to run.
... By 1:00 I was debating if I REALLY needed milk, and bread and if David REALLY needed oil for his chainsaw... Since I was already in town, I sucked it up and finished some of my shopping. Then drove the 40 minutes to home. I unloaded the car and put a few groceries in the fridge.
....at 2:52pm, I went to bed... shoes and all.
...at 3:50, I woke up as David got ready for work. I took an Ibuprofin and went back to bed.. no shoes this time. 
...at 7:30 I woke up and still had a tiny headache.   :(   I finished putting away the groceries, ate a bowl of cereal and was falling asleep again in the recliner.
I was back in bed at 8:20 and woke up at 2:00am when David got home from work. 

I'm officially off my sleep schedule since I'm still awake :)

So what did I do all EARLY morning?   Studdied my Sunday School lesson, ate scrambled eggs on toast, checked facebook, and blogged :)  Now I'm ready for a nap!

Veteran's Day Fun!

Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Veteran's Day this year was a memorable one!!

 I have some awesome neighbors who invited us to go for a ride with them on their 1941 fire truck.

They have a tradition that started 7 years ago. Each Veteran's Day at precisely 11:00 they leave their driveway and drive about an 8 mile loop on their own parade route :)...  The local residents come out and wave, take pictures, and join in the simple festivities!

 My soldier and I both felt the giddy excitement that you get as a kid over simple happiness!  It was like a  kid's dream to ride in a parade, especially in a cool old fire truck!  

We were amazed at all the things we were able to see along the way as we drove slowly.  It was a simple, peaceful, beautiful fall day!!!

Now you may wonder, as I did...  "Why 11:oo?" Well, here's a quick history lesson!

It commemorates the armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918

        For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”  World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. 

 Thanks to all those present and past who've sacrificed so we can enjoy the freedoms and comforts that we enjoy and so often take for granted!!! 
May God continue to bless us all as we strive to do our best every day!