When I finally opened Facebook on Sunday, I found that I had missed a Facebook message from a sweet friend.  “Hope you are having a great weekend” she wrote.  Instead of replying like a normal person would:

“Thank you, I hope you are too!”

I explained what my weekend had consisted of and added a couple pictures of what I did on Saturday and Sunday.  When I started thinking about this I realized I had stayed too busy and should have been more sociable or spent some time outside with LB (it was a beautiful weekend).

Nevertheless, I did get a lot accomplished.

One such accomplishment included

Decorating a Christmas Tree

I have two Christmas trees this year.

One is purple and decorated with a matching collection of red, white, and green glass balls.  It is Elvis’ favorite.

The second one is in the front room.  It is in this unnamed room that I have a traditional (not purple) Christmas tree which is adorned with the ornaments I’ve collected over the past 30+ years.

I have a little bit of everything.

LB agrees.  He expressed his thoughts with the comment “that’s quite a mixed bag you’ve got there”.

I thought it would be a good idea to capture a few photos of these special ornaments to add to my collection of memories here in this little blog.

My collection includes the original treasures created years ago by Stephanie, Amanda, and Richard:

I’ve always loved Richard’s muddy snowman

There are ornaments from my first-born baby’s first Christmas

A couple of cutie pie ornaments

A turkey ornament that was presented to me with the note…

To Ma From a Turkey.

These ornaments from Mema and Grandpa Reid.  A closer look reveals Mema’s handwriting.

I have this gifted ornament that ‘reminded someone of me’

And a few from that period of time when I obsessed with Victorian.

This beautiful star ornament is from Mama to remember our first Christmas without Daddy

And this little tiny Lydia handprint.

Truly a diverse assortment, each representing a special time.  And each a reminder of how quickly time flies!

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The tree is finally decorated!

It may not be Pinterest worthy, but I like it.

And although I didn’t visit much with friends or family this past weekend, spent a lot of time thinking about them.

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Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Veterans Day

is observed annually on November 11.

It is a day set aside to honor our military veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Unlike Memorial Day, which honors those who died while in service, Veterans Day honors all military veterans, including those still with us.  Veterans Day encourages us to value our veterans for their service and sacrifice.  It is a reminder to all of us to stop and reflect on the value of peace in our country and in our lives.

I can’t help but think about my Grandpa today.  As I’ve mentioned quite a few times in earlier posts, my Grandpa was in the Army and served in WWII.

Grandpa didn’t lose his life while in service, but he returned home and enjoyed a long life that allowed him to raise children and later develop relationships with grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

It hasn’t been a month since he left us to be with Jesus.  At his funeral service there was an American flag draped over his casket, as is customary for a deceased veteran who has served honorably in the military.

It was at his service that I first experienced the

Folding of the American flag

I can’t explain why, but it touched my heart

Typically, the American flag is given to the next-of-kin, as a keepsake after its use during a funeral service.  And in this case, it was presented to Grandpa’s only surviving child, my Aunt Debbie.

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After attending the service and later seeing the photos LB took, I was compelled to do a little research on the flag folding.

“Traditional flag etiquette recommends that before an American flag is stored or presented, its handlers should twice fold it in half lengthwise; then (from the end opposite the blue field) make a triangular fold, continuing to fold it in triangles until the other end is reached. This makes a triangular “pillow” of the flag with only the blue starred field showing on the outside, and it takes thirteen folds to produce: two lengthwise folds and eleven triangular ones.” (source)

I thought there may be meaning behind the way the flag is folded.  While there is no official flag-folding ceremony script (offering the meaning to each of the folds), there are scripts which could be used.

As an example, one ceremony script includes this:

“The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veteran departing our ranks who gave a portion of [his] life for the defense of our country to attain a peace throughout the world.” (source)

Very appropriate for today as an homage to all Veterans who have given “a portion of life for the defense of our country to attain a peace throughout the world”.

Thank you.

~

And thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.