I just finshed raking up leaves in my front yard & used a metal dust pan to gather them up with that son Trevor made in his Jr. High metal shop class. There were alot of leaves! Its a beautiful fall day & since "trash pickup" is today I knew I'd better hustle & get some in there. I filled up 2 cans worth but still have many more leaves to rake for another day.
As I raked and looked at all the leaves, I thought "Its Veteran's Day....how many of these leaves could represent a fallen soldier or a living Veteran today"? I know there probably weren't enough leaves on the ground & yet there were SO many!! These leaves once filled my trees with their soft colorful beauty but now their colors had faded and they were becoming so brittle that I could crumble them into pieces in my hand. So many of our Veteran's were once young & strong but now they are old & fagile and their service to our country forgotten & unappreciated.
There were also some very dingy dark brown leaves underneath the newly fallen ones...probably ones that had been there for quite awhile...having fallen first or had fallen last year but were never raked up & left where they lay. How many of our soldiers have been forgotten even from long ago? How many of our soldiers never got the chance to live out a normal life like you & I did because they were maimed or cut down so young?
I raked and thought of the verse in Ecclesiastes that says "For everything there is a season...." and the leaves became that verse visually for me.
My father-in-law (Hugh Hawkins) passed away in September at the age of 86. He served in World War II. I thought of him as I raked a once vibrant beautiful leaf into the growing pile.
Please remember our Veteran's today & every day. Our country has depended on their service & sacrifice for over 200 years!
What a beautiful entry. It makes me teary eyed. We have thousands of leaves that have fallen in our driveway and I will probably always remember this blog and make a connection of our Brave Soldiers to the fallen leaves that often time are trampled upon.
Yeah....3 months till the February 7th wedding and the days are surely flying by super fast!!! Its all exciting & wonderful!!
Someone told me that planning a wedding begins with a spurt of activity @ the beginning of the engagement, then a lull midway, with another frantic activity spurt right before the wedding itself.
Well, I don't know about that being true for everyone b/c I've been busy non-stop no matter what....tho not all was wedding stuff b/c I worked the election polls for the last 2 weeks. This is a different type of involvement than being a "Mother of the Groom" which I was last year.
Anyway, I bought my "Mother of the Bride" dress on Ebay a few days earlier but I don't know if it will even fit me (I just haven't had time to go shopping here) so I'm crossing my fingers that it will fit since I can't return it.
Laura LEE's wedding dress was ordered in Sept w/ a fitting in Dec, the bridesmaid dresses will be in Nov 15th (and then the alterations begin), the wedding invitations have been printed & I will start addressing them later this month (to be mailed out early next month), I worked on & finished some wedding decorations & favors (Mickey/Minnie mouse theme styles), am planning an Open House Wedding Shower Reception for Laura LEE & Ross here in December, am working on a wedding video and a scrapbook, trying to get some Christmas shopping done on the side (all within a budget), need to decorate the house for the holidays earlier than normal this year, and am looking forward to family coming in next month (starting Dec 9th). Family includes husband Hawk's newly widowed mother who hasn't been to Colorado since 2001!
ALL WONDERFUL EXCITING THINGS AHEAD!!!
PS: A wonderful thing happened just last week on October 30th. I became a "Great Aunt" for the 3rd time!! My neice Kayleen Dawn (Stevens) had a baby girl named Tessa Dawn. She joins older brother Ryder LEE. My 72 yr old mother Neva LEE (the Great Grandma) & sister Vicki LEE (the Grandma) both were there for the delivery....its a tradition in our fam to name the firstborn daughter or child with the middle name of "LEE". Kayleen's older sister is Becky LEE and her daughter is named Clara LEE.
I ordered my "Mother of the Bride" dress from ebay. I had found one in the store and gotten the info. I looked on ebay and found a NEW one in a color I like better. It was ALOT cheaper. In store it was $270.00. On ebay it was $26.00! I had to have it slightly altered in length but it was worth it!
As far as family name traditions, my moms name is Valla REE, I am Cindy REE, my daughter is Emily REE. I am not sure how far that will go. LOL
We have Sherman Allen (my dad), Kerry Allen (my older brother), Christopher Allen (nephew), Matthew Allen (nephew), and Coulter Allen (son). So far no Allens in the next generation, but most have been girls anyway. We'll see if there are more Allens to come.
Good luck with all the wedding!! I'm happy for all of you. Not much tradition, Our names: Anita Carol, James Carroll, and Amanda Carole! Also, William has a big presence in the Castleman family, Chad William named after Dad. Neat things to continue!
Thanks so much!!!!! Oh yes..I heard the wonderful new. Chris called me the morning she went into labor and then after Tessa was born. I have been trying to reach Kayleen, but I know she is super busy with two now:) I can't believe it is 3 months away. We got a save the date e-mail and Brad and I are thinking about going. I think it is around lecture time right? We are so excited for the whole Hawkins family!
FUN TIMES ahead with the holidays AND a wedding coming up. OH YES grandbabies are everything they are cracked up to be...We are having so much fun and Mikey's baby brother is due to arrive in Jan. Not really a family tradition but one of my sons name is Keith and my mothers maiden name was Keith and my fathers middle name is Keith...so we thought that was kinda neat..
Wedding preparation time is busy but wonderful. I'm thankful that, come wedding day, Greg and I were both able to relax and just enjoy the big reunion. Both of our daughters' wedding days were thrilling to us!
My Mom's mom (my dear, dear grandmother!) was Mama Ree. My Mom wanted to be called Mama B (for Brooksie) and I have declared myself Mama P (for Picogna--thus my pleo name)... It has confused some people who thought it said May-map... ;)
Related subject: I think it's grand for new parents-in-law to tell their new son or daughter-in-law what they would like for them to call them. This eliminates awkwardness for the newly acquired in-law. So, I told my sons-in-law to call me Mama P which is what I hope for any future grandchildren to call me...
We also have a tradition on Jonathan's side as well. His Grandfather was William Webster, His Dad is William Alan, and my hubby is William Jonathan....so if we have a son we will have to continue that tradition and name him William ???
Happy November everyone!!!
October was absolutely beautiful here in Colorado. This is the first October after 18+ years that it hasn't snowed (at least that I can remember)and I LOVED it. I don't mind the snow as long as it stays within its winter borders...but please don't mess with my Autumn!
The kids were out in full force last night in their costumes trick/treating. The weather was awesome for that! We gave out some candy and then headed down to Colorado Springs for a Halloween Party at Derek & Aimee Phipps house. They have a cute home (bought a new townhouse/condo). I made up my face to look like the "Dark Knight Joker/Beetlejuice" character and hubby Jim wore a Dilbert shirt & a Disney Goofy hat so we were definitely an "odd couple". We played games, took pics, ate goodies and had a great time. Friends from Washington were there too (Rob & Kathy Phipps...Derek's folks) and Derek's brother Ryan & wife Ali. They are all planning to move to Colorado Springs in the next year.
I worked the early voting for the last 2 weeks. The hours were grueling so I'm glad that part is over but I have one more day to go....yep, its the biggie...November 4th's Election Day!! I need to be there at 6AM since polls open at 7AM. Polls close at 7PM but I have no idea when I will finish since everyone is allowed to vote if they are in line by 7PM....no matter how late or how long the line is. Then afterwards is the count/recount/balance of everything for accuracy & security. It will def be a late nighter for me!
Soooo...hubby & I are heading up to Estes Park today for the wkend. We have a 2 night stay at the Boulder Brook (its wonderful...we stayed there last yr & again in April) for a sweet "get away" for ourselves & for my Nov 4th B'day since I'll be working all that day. There is a congregation we can worship with there, lovely shops, good places to eat, and the glorious views & vistas. We will stay Sunday eve & drive down early Monday so Jim can get to work (with the time changed back an hour it will be easy). Last yr Jim took me there for my Big 50th B'day. He had everything ready in advance...flowers, sparkling apple cider w/ 2 glasses, chocolates, and an in-room jacuzzi w/ fluffy white robes ready & waiting for me. It was such a lovely wkend!!
Well, I must go....the Rocky Mountains are calling my name and I'm definitely listening!!
Happy Birthday!!! BTW, did you have any Black Panthers playing "Security Guards" at your Polling location?? Pretty scary and INCREDIBLE!!!! I know Colorado is an important state.
Well, we've done it!! Jim & I voted (used our mail-in ballots) and took them to the DMV yesterday so its done for us.
I personally had to vote early because I will be working as an Election Judge for the 10 early voting days (Oct 20th-30th) as a "ballot judge" and then on the actual Election day (Nov. 4th) as a "Poll book Judge". Today I go to a 4 hour class to re-educate myself in my judgey duties. Plus new things are always being attempted or used (computers and the voting machines...we need to know how to fix them).
The voting days ahead will be long 8+ hour ones...after we take our oaths we are not able to leave our posts even for any meals. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner must be brought from home. I've done this for several Presidential elections in the past (including the notorious Bill Clinton) and the primaries too. I remember working the day of Clinton's bid for President and people in line (waiting to vote) were hearing on their radios or via others that it was a victory for Clinton and that it was being called. They began complaining & getting angry at us saying "What, you mean my vote doesn't count? Why should I vote then?" Yep, it was a long day!!!
We election judges can't discuss anything political with the voters. We can't even read/have newspapers around us as that would be considered "campaigning".
***I watched Larry King & CNN last night. The jury is out regarding this election I'm afraid and it hasn't even started. It was found that 98% of blacks & at least 50% of whites will vote for Obama because he is black. McCain will only get about 2% of the black vote so they were talking that if nothing else McCain will lose if only because of race. The panalists said that the Presidential election shouldn't be about "race" ....but they all admitted that it really was. Sad!!!
***I read today that "Joe Plummer" owes $1200 in back taxes and doesn't even have his plummer's license!!
PLEASE GET OUT AND VOTE!!! Do yourself a favor and vote early too! On the last Presidential Election Day my hubby Jim stood in line for 4 hours after work! That year was a voting fiasco for Colorado...but at least we didn't have the problems that Florida had.
I hope I get to vote...FL is saying I'm not registered but I have been for years!..so I need to Absentee vote for FL ..since I know they need my vote more than TX does!
How did you vote on Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Wells? Did you vote to retain him in his office? I have no idea about where he stands on Roe vs. Wade.
We are going to vote! This is the first time we didn't get our voter cards through the mail. Strange! I guess I better check that out so our votes count.
