Memorial Day - Remember Those Who Have Paid the Ultimate Sacrifice

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As the mother of a soldier who returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, I am so grateful that he suffered no injuries and has had no lingering mental effects. He did however, lose one member of his unit while he was in country, so I dedicate this post and this weekend to SSG Edwin Rivera and all the other members of the Military who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service to our country.

 

God bless them for volunteering to protect the United States of America buy doing whatever was asked of them... and blessings and sympathy to their families for all they have sacrificed.

 

To them I dedicate the following songs.....

 

 

As you have your picnics and family fun at the beach or wherever, please remember those who serve our country now, in the past, and those who lost their lives doing so.

God bless our Military and God bless the USA.

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Friday Flashback Photo: Remembering our Military this Memorial Day Weekend

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Alicia from More Than Words says she started Friday Photo Flashback because "I have so many pictures from my PRE-digital camera days. I thought it would be fun to scan them and share them here with you.. I'm having so much fun doing this, that I would love for you to join me, too! So dig out the photo albums and put your scanner to good use! Don't forget to link up so we can all visit and comment on each others blogs!"

I have been so busy lately, that I haven't done one of these posts in several months, but I wanted to take this opportunity to showcase my Uncle Raymond (my dad's brother) in Korea when he was in the Air Force.

I also want to share a photo of my son when he was in Afghanistan serving in the Army. Today is the 2nd anniversary of the death of one of his brothers-in-arms.

As you celebrate your holiday weekend, please remember those who have served to protect our country and their families. Pray for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice:










Share your flashback photo on your blog and link up with Alicia on her blog.

Wishing you all a fabulous holiday weekend with those you love. Be safe!






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News from Afghanistan.... Guess Who's Coming Home

I got a message on Facebook from my son Nikolaus in Afghanistan... he should be back in the United States in a few days... WooHoo!!

Guess who is doing the happy dance???    

An Update from Afghanistan with Photos

I got a message from Nikolaus on Facebook the other day thanking me for some care packages I sent him along with some photos of him and his buddies in Afghanistan, so I wanted to share them with you all.

This first one is of him and his unit, they are doing pretty well after losing one of their guys, but all the support they receive from home - along with all of you - has kept them strong.  So from them and from me, thank you so much for all your prayers and words of encouragement.

These next two photos I am SO proud of... Nikolaus has been promoted from PFC (Private First Class) to SPC (Specialist) while he has been over there.  WooHoo!!  He is really a great soldier and Bill and I couldn't be more proud of him!  Here he is receiving his promotion from his superior officer.

These next few are of him doing what he is specializing in... mortar combat - in other words, blowing things up, yeah, that's my boy!!  Look at those muscles, when did my little baby become a man?  The first thing I asked him was why he wasn't wearing a helmet doing such a dangerous job - always a mommy, huh?

It is a really LOUD explosion...

...and, it makes a really bright flash.

Here he is on patrol in full gear - good boy, wearing his helmet.

Afghanistan looks like such a sad, dry country to me. He said the dust gets everywhere!!

Thank you again for all your support of me, him and all of the troops stationed in Afghanistan and all over the world protecting our freedoms.  God bless America.

Until next time..... Lorie

Wordless Wednesday: Latest Photos from Afghanistan

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday.

These are the latest photos my son Nikolaus sent me of himself from Afghanistan...

Don't forget to link up to the Wordless Wednesday Hub and visit the other participants.



Until next time..... Lorie

A Little Pink in a World of Camo: I Will Always Be a Marine Wife

{Image From: A Little Pink in a World of Camo}

Please pray for a dear young wife who has just lost her Marine husband in Afghanistan. Cpl Jonathan Daniel Porto died Sunday, March 14, 2010 while on operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan when the vehicle he was in flipped over. He leaves behind his beloved wife, who is only 23 years old, and his beautiful 3 month old daughter Ariana.

A Little Pink in a World of Camo: I Will Always Be a Marine Wife

Please remember... Freedom is never free. "All gave some, some gave all!"

Until next time..... Lorie

Conversations from Afghanistan

Specialist PFC Nikolaus W. Murowsky.....


I was lucky enough to talk via Facebook to my son Nik today over in Afghanistan. He is doing well; lonely, cold, and some lousy creep stateside got a hold of his debit card number and stole $400 from him, but otherwise he is OK. He wants me to send him snacks and books. He laughed when he said books, because as he said it, he mentioned that he had just read his first book (one with over 300 pages he added) since 8th grade.

I sent on all the wonderful wishes that you have all given me for him and he wanted me to thank you all on behalf of himself and his unit. So I'll be sending a care package to him soon and if you'd like me to send any wishes, let me know - I'll print out your messages and send them along to him and his unit. I just want to thank you all for your support of our family, it really does make this time so much easier. Love to you all!

Until next time..... Lorie

Happy Birthday Nikolaus, Be Safe!!

Today is my first born son Nikolaus's 22nd birthday. Here are two photos of him..... the first when he was about a year and a half. Sorry it isn't very clear, it is downloaded from a tiny one on his Facebook page (his dad has the original). The second one is of him over in Afghanistan. I won't get a chance to tell him happy birthday today but I wanted to do it here so that when he does get a chance to look at a computer, he knows how much I am thinking of him and how proud I am of him. He is a remarkable young man and I miss him SO much.

So, Nikolaus, mommy loves you and misses you and prays that you come home safe with all your brothers and sisters in arms. You are and have always been a wonderful son and no mother could ever be prouder than I am of you. Love, hugs, and kisses!!

Until next time..... Lorie

Visit with my Son, Nikolaus

Here are some photos of my son's visit. We hung out around the house just talking - that was actually my favorite thing, just listening to how grown-up he has become and how proud he is to be serving our country.

He and Nano got along so well, they played together every day, and Nik was just like my little boy again, it was so adorable. It was really nice having Nikolaus along with us during our walks, too. Nano kept turning around to make sure all of us were together, he was so excited he was running around our feet and jumping on our legs. I think he was just as happy to see Nik as I was.

We visited the Veterans' Memorial in Celebration on Veterans Day and took a couple of pictures in front of the Army emblem. Nikolaus and I talked again about his deployment... I am so nervous for him. I reminded him {actually LOTS of times during his visit} to be careful and to remember his training. Of course his reply was that he will be fine and for me not to worry about him -- Oh, to be 21 and invincible again...

And... of course we took him to EAT... he is, after all, still a growing boy! Applebee's was very gracious to give all veterans and active duty military a free signature meal on Veterans Day. {Thank you very much Applebee's} He was also craving wings, and we have the best wings around at a great restaurant/pub called the Town Tavern here in Celebration. I also made Nik his favorite cake for him - isn't that what mommy's are for?? I made him a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, he LOVED it!!

Then on Thursday, we had to take him to the airport to head back to Connecticut to get ready for deployment. It was really HARD!!

He leaves Sunday, Nov. 15th, to load up all the equipment for his unit, and they head out to Indiana for a few weeks - they may get a few days off at Christmas to head back to Connecticut. Then they fly over to Afghanistan right after that.

I had a wonderful time with him, I am amazed at the man he has become, and I love him dearly. I am also SO proud of him for the choices he has made.

So, to Nikolaus: Please remember your training, be careful, look out for yourself and your brothers and sisters in arms, come back to me safe and soon, and remember I am SO proud of you and I love you deeply!

Until next time..... Lorie

12 Dead in Fort Hood Shooting Spree

This is the beginning of an article from the Associated Press By APRIL CASTRO and DEVLIN BARRETT regarding the horrible murders in Fort Hood Army base in Texas:

"FORT HOOD, Texas (Nov. 5) - An Army psychiatrist set to be shipped overseas opened fire at the Fort Hood Army post Thursday, authorities said, a rampage that killed 12 people and left 31 wounded in the worst mass shooting ever at a military base in the United States.
The gunman, first said to have been killed, was wounded but alive and in stable condition under military guard, said Lt. Gen. Bob Cone at Fort Hood. "I would say his death is not imminent," Cone said. Col. Ben Danner said the suspect was shot at least four times.
The man was identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39-year-old, eight-year veteran from Virginia." {To read the rest of the article, please click on the link.}

As the mother of a soldier, who is about to be deployed, this really hit home and cause both my son and I a lot of anguish and tears. While he did not know any of the soldiers or civilians who were murdered or injured, they are still his brothers and sisters in arms, so it is something that we feel was done to our "family"! Please take a minute to pray for the families of the 12 people who were killed and the 31 injured, along with all of our brave men and women who are serving our country both here at home and overseas. Thank you.

Until next time..... Lorie

Mommy's Doing the Happy Dance Again!!

I am so excited to report that my son, Nikolaus, who is being deployed to Afghanistan on November 15th, WILL be able to visit me before he leaves!! YIPPEE!! {Jumps around the house screaming} He is coming down to Florida to stay with me from Nov. 9th through the 12th... I know it is only 3 days, but I'll take it. I am SO happy that I will get to see him before he goes overseas. So I will try to get some posts up before then, but I'll probably be a little absent at the beginning of next week as I spend as much time as I can with my little boy... OK - I know - he's a man now, but to me, he will always be my baby.

So, I am doing The Happy Dance again, as I wait for my other baby to visit. This one will be very emotional and bittersweet and it will be REALLY hard to say goodbye when he leaves. Don't worry, I will have LOTS of pictures to post after the visit.

Until next time..... Lorie

Back to School - Not for Me this Year

(L-Alexander; R-Nikolaus)

With everyone talking about back to school this time of year, with all its anxiety and shopping and excitement... it got me thinking. This is the first year since 1993 that I haven't had to do any of that with my children {sniff, sniff} since my youngest, Alex, graduated this past June. He finished high school in Connecticut (where his father lives) so he could graduate with his class ~ he has been staying with the family of a friend. I was unable to attend the graduation {BIG sniff, sniff} because I was still recuperating from my spinal surgery. I was really upset not to be able to be there, but a really good friend, Naomi, who lives next door to my ex-husband, sent me a couple pictures. She has always been there for my boys and her son, Andy, is a really good friend of theirs.

(Alex is in the middle, Nik is on his left in sunglasses and Andy is the tall one in back)

(Photo courtesy: Naomi Allen)

I really miss taking the boys to the store to pick out new clothes, shoes, and backpacks. Plus the new pencil cases, folders, pens, pencils, notebooks, paper, and all the other little things that they loved. They would meticulously pick out their clothes for the first day of school and I would lay them out so the boys could find them easily the next day. There was one year they were so excited to go back, they got dressed the night before after their baths (shoes included) and slept on the floor together in their new clothes. They were definitely on time the next day - a little wrinkled, but on time.




Alex has always been my little bookworm and artist... he is working now and playing in a rock band, trying to save money to go to college... or make it big and become famous. He's already someone big and famous in my mind... but I guess I'm a little partial! His band is really good, and they play lots of local gigs and they even played several last summer on his trip down here to visit me.... They made enough money to pay for the gas in the van for the trip.





Nik has always been really athletic and artistic, also. He was the one in school who would try any sport that he felt like trying. He tried football as a freshman ~ boy was I nervous ~ he did pretty good, too. Then he decided to try DIVING... something he had never done before. I have no idea what possessed him to try this, and it scared me to death every time I went to a meet and watched him jump off the board and flip and twist and turn, but he was AMAZING!!! His school even made it to the state finals that year..... WooHoo. Then he discovered GIRLS ~ no more sports, why get hurt, when you can play the guitar and have girls swoon over you??? Of course, he was really good at that, too. Now, he is in the Army National Guard, and he graduated top of his class from Basic Training, as Outstanding Soldier of the Cycle. He was the soldier picked to recite the soldiers creed to the whole graduating class, as we were sitting on the bandstand in the front row (we got special seats, and pins, and got to meet his superior officers and their wives - it was very exciting as they said wonderful things about Nik). When Nik began speaking to the crowd, I turned to Bill and said, "Who is that man?", to which Bill replied, "That MAN is your son!" Talk about being proud.



So, no school shopping, no getting ready for the first day, no picking out backpacks and pencils. Instead, Alex is picking out clothes for Rock n' Roll gigs and working hard to buy his girlfriend gifts, and put gas in his car. Nik is getting ready to be deployed to Afghanistan in November ~ talk about anxiety for a mommy. They will both be visiting, hopefully, in October, and I will be taking LOTS of pictures to pass on. All and all I can say, I miss the things I did with them as little boys, but I so very proud of the men they have become!



Until next time..... Lorie