Always Remember - Never Forget - Keep them in your Prayers!

Your cell phone is in your pocket...

He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.  He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.

You walk down the beach, through stores, and into church...

He patrols the streets, searching
for insurgents and terrorists.
He's told he will be held over an

extra 2 months.

You see or speak with your family

in person, by phone, or via email...
He waits for the mail to see if there
 is a letter from home.

You can hug and kiss your spouse/ boyfriend

or girlfriend...
He holds his letter close and smells
 his love's perfume.

You roll your eyes as a baby cries...
He gets a letter with pictures of his
new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet.

You criticize your government, and
say that war never solves anything...
He sees the innocent tortured and
killed by their own people and
remembers why he is fighting.

You hear the jokes about the war - Jokes that  make fun of men like him...
He hears the gunfire, bombs and
screams of the wounded.

You see only what the media wants
you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying
around him.

You are asked to do some thing by
your husband, wife, parents, or friends,

but you just can't find the time, or don't want to follow through...
He does exactly what he is told even
 if it puts his life in danger.

You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given
to call, write home, sleep, and eat.

You crawl into your soft bed, with
down pillows, and get comfortable...
He tries to sleep but gets woken by mortars and helicopters all night long.



Please REMEMBER our Service Men

AND Women...

in your thoughts and prayers.







And never forget how blessed you are...

May God Bless and Protect those who have, and are serving,

to protect your rights, and the well being of others.

Lord please Watch Over theses Brave and Honorable Men and Women:

The US Soldiers

The British Soldiers

The Canadian Soldiers

The Australian Soldiers
 

This Year's Christmas Cards - Via Shutterfly

I just ordered my Christmas Cards from shutterfly.

What do you think?

Starry Snowflakes Crimson Christmas 5x7 folded card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

I was going to take another photo of the dogs in all their 

Christmas finery, but when I came across this picture from

several years ago, I decided that I had to use it!

This is our oldest daughter (on left), and her best friend.

We had a big Christmas Eve dinner to celebrate our next

to the youngest son's, birthday - yep - I have a Christmas Eve baby.  

It's always his birthday until he cuts his cake...then it

becomes Christmas Eve for us all.

I think that we had about 40 people that night - and I believe

that our next to the oldest son, cooked fajita's for everyone.

After we eat dinner, and sing Happy Birthday.  I get to pass out 

all the presents.  It's fun to watch (especially all the little ones), 

unwrap their gifts...but it's sad that it goes all too quickly. 

Oh the hours and hours and hours spent wrapping - undone in just a 

few short minutes!  Along their "regular" gifts - each child and grandchild,

got a goody bag, filled with  Billy Bob Teeth, Toothbrushes, and lots and

lots of candy.  Later in the evening, I found the two girls going through

their bags, and making silly faces. 

I'm so glad I managed to capture the moment!

If you have a treasured photo that you would like to

make into a card, I highly recommend using shutterfly.

Let's see how creative you can be!

*

I've sent a link to this post, in hopes of winning a

$25 GC towards another purchase.

Wish the ACLU a Very Merry Christmas

What a clever idea!

Yes, Christmas cards. This is coming early so that you can get ready to include an important 

address to your list.

Want to have some fun this CHRISTMAS? Send the ACLU a CHRISTMAS CARD this year.As they are working so very hard to get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of this holiday, we should all send them a nice, card to brighten up their dark, sad, little world.  Make sure it says "Merry Christmas" on it.

Here's the address, just don't be rude or crude:

ACLU

125 Broad Street, 18th Floor

New York, NY 10004

Two tons of Christmas cards would freeze their operations because they wouldn't know if any were regular mail containing contributions.So spend 44 cents and tell the ACLU to leave Christmas alone. Also tell them that there is no such thing as a

"Holiday Tree."  
It's always been called a 

 CHRISTMAS TREE!

For those of you who aren't aware of them, the ACLU, (the American Civil Liberties Union) is the one suing the US Government to take God, Christmas or anything religious away from us. They represent the atheists and others in this war. Help put Christ back in Christmas!

Now mind you - I think that the ACLU can do wonderful

things for people and their causes...

WHEN it's appropriate.

I would never campaign to take the rights

away from those who believe differently than me.

I believe that all holidays should be given respect.

I would never want Hanukkah Menorahs banned.

I would never want to force atheists to

attend worship services.

But I don't believe that my rights should be

taken away!

Tell a Gal Pal about domestic violence. Let’s face it together.

On my way home from my trip to get Gabe,

I sat in the airplane, next to a very special woman.

She specifically asked to sit next to me, because of Gabe.

She knew that he she wasn't supposed to pet him,

but I could tell that she really wanted

to get her hands on him.

Once  we had reached cruising altitude, I  asked her

if she would like to love on my special boy,

and she jumped at the chance.

 

While chatting, she told me that she was a therapist,

and that she was seriously considering getting a therapy dog, 

to use with some of her patients.

She gave me a startling statistic...

about 47% of women who have suffer from domestic violence, 

don't leave their abusive relationships

becuase they are not willing to leave their pets behind. 

 

This made me physically ill...

because I can truly understand thier reluctance.  

I know that I could never leave my precious animals behind.

Thank goodness, I've not ever been in a victim of violence, 

nor have I had to go to a shelter because of hurricanes,

flooding, or any other reason.

This is a concern that should be taken into serious consideration,

by those in authority.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As a Twitter Mom

I'm passing along the following information

straight from the Twitter Mom site.

Tell a Gal Pal about domestic violence. Let’s face it together.

Break the taboo. Educate Others. Support Survivors.

Domestic violence touches millions – more than seven out of 10 Americans know someone who is or has been a victim – but somehow it still remains a taboo subject. 

The Allstate Foundation is asking everyone to Tell a Gal Pal about domestic violence so we can face the issue together during October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month – and beyond. 

For our latest blogging program, The Allstate Foundation and TwitterMoms have teamed up to raise awareness of domestic violence, and we need your help. By participating in this blogging program, you’re joining the Tell a Gal Pal movement, which calls on everyone to talk openly about domestic violence and support those in need.

Why Get Involved? The Startling Facts

• Each day in the U.S., 3 women die as a result of domestic violence. (1)
• More than 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. (2)
• Nearly 3 out of 4 Americans know someone who is or has been a victim. 
• Only 54 percent of Americans have talked to a friend about domestic violence, and only 56 percent would know what to do to help a victim of domestic violence. (3)

Let’s face domestic violence together – Tell a Gal Pal to: 

• Talk openly about domestic violence. Tell your Gal Pals – whether it’s your best friend, sister, mother, daughter, niece, cousin or neighbor – to face domestic violence, share their opinions and experiences and show support for survivors.
• Speak out against domestic violence when you see it. Call the police or National Domestic Violence Hotline to report domestic violence in your community – you could help save a life.
• Visit ClickToEmpower.org for easy ways start the conversation, check out resources for survivors or read inspirational survivor stories.
• You can also show your support for domestic violence survivors by volunteering at or donating items to your local domestic violence shelter. Contact your state domestic violence coalition for more information. Click here for a complete list of state coalitions.

My Trip

Gabe and I flew home together, after spending a glorious

5 days in the MidWest.

Here are Gabe and Ace, riding along together.

The photo above, is of Drake.
He lets the kittens rub all over him,
and he went for walks with us.

Leah getting feed for the goats, and a  few of the Guinea Hens.

Below is Mondo - He is a riot!
He sits under the chairs like this, all the time.
Here Ye Here Ye, Court is now in session.
The Honorable Judge Mondo, presiding! 

Gabe taking his CGC Testing.
We did two sessions, one with Leah, and then one with me:-)

Out in the pasture.

Can you see Lucy in the photo above?

I had such a wonderful time.
I learned how to milk a goat (and it ain't all the easy - believe me)
and collected fresh eggs from The Girls.
I'll try to get the photo's from my phone uploaded soon,
and I'll post more about the trip.

Pepsi Refresh Project

 Host a Retreat for Veterans 

with PTSD and their Service Dogs. 

Psychiatric Service Dog Society.

Go HERE to vote.

You can vote once each day, 

with each email address that you register.

Thank You!

d799cd0e-5b37-4111-82ce-866c8e62f72c

1.03.01

As most of us know all too well, there are lots of fun things to do on Facebook! From Farmville to catching up with old friends, it's easy to get caught up in a virtual frenzy. However, whenever we learn of a Facebook app that lets us inspire others and contribute to a worthy cause, 

we can't help but spread the word far and wide!

That's why we're so excited to tell you about the "Hello My Name is Hope" campaign, presented by Quill.com, a leading business-to-business online and direct marketer of office products. To boost breast cancer awareness, Quill.com is inviting all Facebook users to post and personalize virtual "Hello My Name is Hope" stickers on their profiles to honor both survivors and victims of the disease. The familiar "Hello My Name Is" stickers take on new meaning with personalized messages of hope and support shared across the Facebook community.  For every sticker shared, Quill.com will donate $1 - up to $20,000 - to City of Hope, a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center dedicated to research, treatment and education.

Throughout October, every sticker created will be displayed in a community gallery on the Quill.com Facebook page, creating a virtual wall of breast cancer messages and images.

Visit the Quill.com Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/Quill to create a sticker and share a message of hope!For a complete selection of pink products and an overview of Quill.com's breast cancer campaign, check out www.quill.com/thinkpink.