Happy Memorial Day

I originally posted this back in 2008. It truly bears repeating, as I don't think I could do this day any more justice than I did then.

I truly hope that amidst the barbecues and merriment, that everyone realize the true meaning of the day and take a moment to remember all of those who died to give us the opportunity to have such wonderful festivities with our families, for none of it would be possible without their ultimate sacrifice. As we thank and give tribute to the brave men and women who have died for our freedom here on Earth, let us also remember to thank Jesus. He was the first to sacrifice Himself for our freedom, our eternal freedom.

There is a poem I want to share that means a great deal to me, as a military spouse. I thought it fitting to share it with you today:



I am the wife of an American soldier.


I am a supporter of the United States Army-


an encouragement for the protectors of the greatest nation on earth.


Because I am proud of my husband and the uniform that he wears,


I will always act in ways creditable to him, the military service


and the nation he is sworn to guard.


I am proud of my husband. I will do all that I can to protect


and provide for my family in his absence. I will be loyal to my


husband and to the vows that we made as we entered the


covenant of marriage.


I will do my full part to carry on the values


and goals we have set apart for our family


and I will continue to instruct our children in the same manner.


As a soldier's wife, I realize that I play a vital role


in my husband's decision to become a member of a time-honored


profession-


that I am doing my share to keep alive the principles of freedom


for which my country stands.


No matter what situation I am in, I will never do anything


for pleasure, profit, or personal safety


which will disgrace my husband, his uniform or our country.


I will use every means I have to encourage my husband to be


the best soldier that he can be.


I am proud of my husband, my country, and its flag.


I will fly the flag and will always remember the sacrifices


made by my husband and by generations of men and women


that have served our beloved country.


I will try to make my husband proud of the


manner in which I accept his decision to defend my freedom and


the freedom of all American citizens-


for I am the wife of an American soldier.




May you all have a wonderful Memorial Day.


God bless you and God bless America!

An Email I Received Today....

I find myself guilty of yelling at the kids when all of the "little" things go wrong and we are late in getting wherever we need to go. In fact, it happened this very morning. Then, I read this email. A coincidence? Perhaps. Or just perhaps I need to not sweat the small stuff that I can't control...

The ' L I T T L E ' Things~

As you might remember, the head of a company survived
9/11 because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was
His turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her
Alarm clock didn't go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
Because of an auto accident.

One of them
Missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take
Time to change.

One's
Car wouldn't start.


One couldn't
Get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man
Who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
Took the various means to get to work
But before he got there, he developed
A blister on his foot.

He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.
That is why he is alive today..


Now when I am
Stuck in traffic ,
Miss an elevator,
Turn back to answer a ringing telephone ...

All the little things that annoy me.
I think to myself,
This is exactly where
God wants me to be
At this very moment..

Next time your morning seems to be
Going wrong ,

The children are slow getting dressed,
You can't seem to find the car keys,
You hit every traffic light,
Don't get mad or frustrated;
It May be just that
God is at work watching over you.

May God continue to bless you
With all those annoying little things
And may you remember their possible purpose.


A M E N

A very special Veteran's Day

Many of you know that my husband has fought in 2 wars. On this day that we salute all who have served our great nation, he spent his day off bringing a part of his military life to our school. I asked him to come in the hope that the children will learn the real meaning of the holiday and appreciate the sacrifices that have been made and continue to be made every day so that they can continue to live free.

It was an awesome surprise for the kids to see a huge Army truck pull up into our parking lot. Hubby took the time to lift each and every child into the truck for pictures. They enjoyed trying on the equipment, too. Of course, climbing up on the truck was a big hit. :-) The pics are of our kids enjoying dad's visit.





















I also designed our hallway bulletin board into a "Wall of Fame." A special form was sent home with each student asking for the name of a family member or friend is (or was) in the military. It is a wonderful tribute and a good lesson for the kids to honor those who love liberty more than life. That is what makes a true hero and they are all around us.

Happy Veteran's Day to all who have served and may God bless you abundantly for what you have done and what you continue to do for our country!!! :-)

A fun-filled weekend!

My husband only gets off one Saturday every two months, so when a Saturday off arrives, it is always time for the planning of some fun activity and family time. The original plan for yesterday was to go to the pumpkin patch, get some pumpkins, go for a hayride, you know,the normal fall kind of thing. :-) Well, Mother Nature had other plans. It was terrentially raining on and off all day. So, plan b came into play-- go to Produce Junction to buy pumpkins (saved a lot of money over the cost of them at the pumpkin patch, anyway!)and bring them home for the kids to paint and carve. They did all of the painting themselves, but their dad is assisting with the carving, which will take a few days, I'm sure.

Later on in the evening, we attended Harvest Night at the church where all of the kids attended preschool. What a wonderful time! There was dinner (3 types of pizza and all kinds of snacks and desserts), arts and crafts, pumpkin decorating (yes, more pumpkins!) and there was supposed to be a hayride. The rain won out again, so there was story-time instead. There was also a Halloween parade of all of the kids in their costumes. There was some hymn singing and the Halloween prayer, where the children learned about the special prayers to say when carving their pumpkins. :-)

Well, we weren't about to go undefeated. When we awoke and saw the sun shining today (Sunday), we were determined to get the kids on a hayride. :-) After Church and lunch, we headed to a local farm and went on the hayride. It hasn't changed much in the last 9 years, but the kids enjoyed it. :-) It was packed! What a racket they have there. I think we all should rent tractors and ride kids around our houses this time of year. We'd make a fortune! :-) Anyway, not having to buy pumpkins by the pound, we happily left after fulfilling our promise of getting the kids on a hayride this weekend.

And, unfortunately, with all of our merry-making,the weekend has come to another very quick ending and the work and school week looms ahead..... :-) The World Series starts on hump day this week. Go Phillies!

The Phillies win the Pennant AGAIN! :-)

With most of Philadelphia, we celebrated the Phillies win in only 5 games against the Dodgers. This team is young, passionate and incredibly decent. Every member of this team is humble and when interviewed always are first to credit the "team" instead of basking in any personal glory. That impresses me and I have no problem with my kids looking up to men of such caliber, especially in the world today when there aren't many role models. In addition, most members of this team do incredible philanthropic work, have foundations and help those who are less fortunate. There are many who have money who do no such things.

So, my family is proud to cheer for these guys! They have brought an amazing pride to our city. Last year when they won the World Series, it was incredible. The kids and I attended the parade and in the midst of a horrible economy and 2 wars, there was a genuine camraderie amongst strangers, a joy that hasn't been seen in a long time and it was just plain fun!

So, we are all enjoying this ride again. It wasn't a fluke that we got there the first time. This team has more than talent, it has heart and you need both to succeed! Go Phillies!
P.S. Yes, I went out and bought the shirts minutes after the win so we could all wear them with pride the next day! :-)))

Off to the Zoo today

My husband took Kiddos 1 and 2 to Dover, Delaware for the weekend. They are going to the NASCAR race tomorrow. From what I have heard, they are having a great time. Spent some time at the Air Force Base today, toured their museum, climbed in and out of planes and went to Mass in the base chapel. I think it is awesome that they have their time with their dad. It is so important at their ages. Their uncle (my cousin's husband and godfather to kiddos 3 and 4) is meeting up with them tomorrow at the race.

Wanting to spend some quality time with the younger two kiddos, I headed out with them to the Zoo. It was a beautiful cool and sunny day, perfect for animal watching and outdoor fun.

I renewed our membership (a must for a family my size. It just doesn't pay to fork out regular admission everytime we go somewhere) and was happy to find out that the "extras" were included with our level of membership. These include draft horse rides, camel rides, carousel rides, swan paddle boats and a train ride. It would have also included a ride in their giant hot air balloon, but it was grounded today due to some wind. So, I made sure they got on every one of them (in addition to seeing all of the favorite animals, of course). :-)


We were lucky that the animals were very active today and we were able to get extremely close to most of them. The big cats exhibit is made so that you walk right through it, so you are always getting a great view. This is in comparison to the "look over at that speck. That's the lion." that we got when we were kids. :-)















Kiddo #4 finished up her day with a painted face and both of them got treated to a couple of souvenirs in the gift shop. (certainly can't make that a habit!)

It was a great day! :-)

Summer just flying by.....

Wow, I can't believe it's August already. The summer is just flying by. I always thought it was a cliche when the adults would tell us that the older you get, the faster time seems to go, but I have found that it is an unfortunate reality. Like the fact that our baby is set to start kindergarten this year. Wow.... When she was born, Mike was in Iraq. In some ways, it seems like yesterday. In other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago.

Work is going well. I don't think many people know how much it takes to run a school. It is crazy busy. I have been giving tours almost every day and signed up 4 new students this past week alone and 10 more in the last couple of weeks. I should have my enrollment at 100 soon. I haven't hired an assistant yet, so I am doing everything myself. It's hard enough to do one job, let alone two. :-) But, to be honest, I was doing that for sometime since my predecessor was pretty inept and didn't last more than a few months. In that time, she managed to mess up more than I could possibly describe in a blog post. Every day, I am trying to "fix" more of her mistakes. Just keep in your thoughts or prayers in the next couple of weeks as I prepare for our state inspection.

I am looking forward to our annual trip to the New Jersey shore. This year, my parents rented the place for 2 weeks instead of one. I am grateful that Mike was able to get both weeks off. In the past, they didn't even give him one week and he had to do a lot of commuting. The post office is a horrible employer, abuses their employees (without the union doing a darn thing about it) and pays them wages that are a disgrace (we qualified for WIC throughout all of our childrens' early years because of his measily salary!) Now that I have a job, though, I am worried about being away for that long. I am trying to get everything together and am training someone on how to process the tuition payments that are going to come in while I'm gone, etc., but I have a feeling that my cell phone is going to be ringing! :-) At least, the 2nd week, the school is closed. It is the "prep" week for teachers and they will be transferring everything over from "camp" mode to "school" mode. But, I am looking forward to 2 weeks of sun, surf and fun (well, maybe more pool than surf since I just finished watching "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel, lol! :-)

Well, I just wanted to post a quick update. Back to getting the basement "kitchen" ready for "Tomato Day" tomorrow. Mom, Dad and Mike are going to be canning/jarring the 10 bushels of tomatoes. It is a day-long ordeal, but we get a year's worth of homemade gravy (sauce for the Italian-impaired, lol) as a result!

Love to all!