In Honor

Never forget those lives that were taken on 9-11, as well as those that enlist in our military to defend our country...knowing that we are at war...and knowing the risk. They honor those that have died while defending our country, both on our own soil and on enemy soil...and especially those heroes and innocent lives lost on September 11, 2001.

Never Forget

I've mentioned my boyfriend's son before and explained what this month is.  Well, today is THE day. 

Three years ago today, Brent started living the nightmare of being a Gold Star father. 

Three years ago today, four American heroes lost their lives in an ambush in the Ganjgal Valley in Afghanistan.  We do our best to keep their memory, and especially the memory of James "Doc" Layton, alive by sharing whenever the opportunity presents itself. 

This tribute video to the heroes of ETT 2-8 can be viewed here.   James, Aaron, Michael and Edwin will NEVER be forgotten as long as I'm able to talk, write or even just draw pictures (if it comes to that).

September is not the greatest month around here

I'm not sure if I shared this here, but my boyfriend's son was a Corpsman killed in Ganjgal, Afghanistan on September 8, 2009.  This was a very controversial battle.  James was part of an ETT, and Embedded Training Team, that was comprised of Army, Marines, and Afghan National Army.  The ETT was ambushed, the Army refused to send in air support that had been promised prior to the mission and 5 men died.  Dakota Meyer was one of James' good friends and the one that went in, against orders, to find him and the 3 other Marines he was missing with.  He found them all, dead and stripped of gear...and then proceeded to get their bodies back to where they could be flown out of there.  Dakota kept the Taliban from getting them and doing God only knows what to desecrate their bodies, and he allowed the families to bury their loved ones with the dignity and honor they deserved.

Part of the actions of those involved were outlined in Bing West's book "The Wrong War", published in 2010.  And now Dakota and Bing West have written a book detailing Dakota's life and that controversial battle.  It will be out September 25.

The next month is going to be a very stressful time in our world.  September 8 will be the 3rd anniversary of James' death.  That's always hard for his family.  And Dakota's book coming out adds an extra bit of stress, since certain people involved in this battle have been trying to make their own buck at Dakota's expense.  I'll be sharing some of that, as I've been actively debunking their lies as they publish them.

I'll also be sharing links to Dakota's book.  Everything Dakota does is to honor those that he feels he didn't do enough to save.  He keeps their memories alive and shares them with everyone he can.  I want to help him do that.  James was an amazing American hero.  He was honored with a Bronze Star with a V for Valor, posthumously, for his actions in that battle.  Sharing him with the world is the least I can do for him.

Another deployment over with.

Mike is back from his last deployment.  It happened way faster than I expected.  He actually came home a week earlier than I expected so I never even got to get into a real "final countdown" mode.  I don't care.  I'm just glad he's back in the United States.

He told me it was a vacation and he was right.  All the pics he showed me looked like he was working (ok, some playing too) but they didn't have that same stress factor in their faces.  Not like the Iraq pics where they were tired and worn out and just waiting for something to happen.  

And...now he is talking about the next deployment already.  This is the big one.  The one I will be terrified of the entire time he's gone.  Having to look at my living room wall, our memorial to James, will make this really hard to bear.  But, someone has to do it, right?  Someone has to stand up and do what's right. 

Before I get myself distracted from work, I'll let this go for now.  I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about it later.

Deployment Lite

My kid is leaving for another country!  He's not heading to Afghanistan but he's still deploying to do his job for the Army.  The fact that he keeps saying it's a vacation funded by Uncle Sam doesn't really make it better.

Afghanistan happens soon enough, so I guess this is kind of a practice for stressing over a long deployment to a hostile land.  *sigh*

that didn't really help either.

I just realized he's going to be able to see this too.  :-D  He'll be totally embarrassed when he realizes I blogged about him while he was in Iraq.  I think I told him but he wasn't able to see the blog then.  So, Mike...when you see this...sorry, but I'm gonna blog, you're gonna deploy.  We both have to do what we have to do.     


So now the blog is officially dusted off and back in business.  I'll see you all tomorrow.  Consider yourself warned!! lol

the Marine Corps Ball was awesome!

We attended the Marine Corps ball with our great friends from Bravo Company, 4th Landing Support Battalion last weekend.  Lake Tahoe's Harvey Resort and Casino was fun and awesome as always! 

Happy Birthday to the United States Marine Corps!!!  And thank you for all you do for us!

Wedding Dress Essay Contest

Due to a donation from a lovely bridal boutique, Soldiers' Angels has on hand sixteen gorgeous wedding dresses that will be awarded to sixteen lucky military brides! Dresses will be awarded by contest, with the brides who write the best essay about their own love story receiving their choice of dress.

Dress sizes range from 6 to 14, with a size 24 and a size 42 as well. Some are brand new, others have been rented, but all are clean and in superb condition. Most are very detailed, with additions of lace, cutouts or sequins, and styles vary greatly.


Originally offered to a high school drama department who refused them for lack of room, the dresses came to Soldiers' Angels thanks to Patreece, whose husband heard about them through his civilian job on a military base and alerted her. She took home all 16 dresses, cataloged and photographed them, and shipped them to San Antonio for dry cleaning and distribution.

For contest eligibility, procedures and more information, click here.

Contest ends April 21, 2011.

Half Staff American Flag Widget

Do you ever wonder why the flag is at half staff? 
Do you want to properly display your flag?

This half staff American flag widget will automatically display the American Flag at half staff on the days that it is appropriate to fly the flag at half staff. It will also give the reason why the flag is at half staff.

Click here to read the rest of what is on the website for the Half Staff American Flag Widget and download the widget.  Not sure you want it?  You can see it in action in the side bar of my blog.

Author Supports Soldiers' Angels

From the Soldiers' Angels website:

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Elementary school principal and author Megan Egerton-Graham is donating 5% of her individual book sales to Soldiersí Angels!
Egerton-Graham is fast becoming widely-known among military families in both Canada and the United States as a great resource for tips, insight and information that helps children and parents cope. Her "While You Were Away" series of books and journals are designed to support families experiencing periods of prolonged absence or deployment, moving, re-integration or just life as a military family
All of the proceeds from Egerton-Graham's books are donated to military support organizations such as Family Readiness Groups. She approached Soldiersí Angels after she was tapped as a keynote speaker at this summer's Blue Star Mothers (BSM) conference and the president of BSM suggested she reach out to support Soldiersí Angels and assist military families that way as well.
Besides school principal, Egerton-Graham has been a teacher and guidance counsellor for 15 years, teaching every grade from Kindergarten to 12. In addition, she brings to the table her experience teaching on military base schools and life as a Canadian military wife and mother of two.
For more information, see the While You Were Away webpage or purchase her books on Amazon.

Shop for a Cause!

Before you make your purchases (whether it be for something personal, or for filling those care packages to your adopted Hero), you might check out this list of vendors that support the troops and Soldiers' Angels through your purchases (either because you follow the link, or you tell them you are part of Soldiers' Angels) by donating a portion of the sales to Soldiers' Angels, or offering discounts to Soldiers' Angels shoppers. There's all kinds of things to choose from: cooling gear (the weather's changing over there!), coffees (multiple vendors), flowers, jewelry, books, clothes, food, the list goes on! So, if you're shopping anyway, maybe help Soldiers' Angels out while you're at it!