{ I love America!! Part1}

...Just in time for the fourth....and due to the fact that I have very little to do right now I thought it would be fun to post some facts and thoughts on our country and all things America over the next few days. So,

Day 1....The National Anthem

Are you familiar with the other verses of the Star Spangled Banner? They are rarely sung in comparison to the number of times that the first verse is sung. As a teenager I decided to memorize all four, so that whenever it was sung I would be able to participate. I love almost more than anything to sit in Church on the Sunday nearest the fourth and stand and sing the national anthem with the entire congregation. Sadly, this year I will not be able to do that, but surely it will still be a part of me on this day.

(The original newspaper printing of the national anthem, now on display at the Library of Congress.)

The Star Spangled Banner

In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote the poem, Defense of Fort McHenry. The poem was later put to the tune of (John Stafford Smith's song) The Anacreontic Song, modified somewhat, and retitled The Star Spangled Banner. Congress proclaimed The Star Spangled Banner the U.S. National Anthem in 1931.

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion A home and a country should leave us no more?Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

{Singing}

I can't sing. Never could....probably never will be able to. I think that I'm monotone. Tonight Kyler didn't want to go to sleep. He called me into his room and wanted to visit, so we had a good chat. Then, he wanted me to sing "Tinkle Tinkle Little Star." I hesitated then thought, "What the Heck...He's three." So I sang the song and when I was finished he said, "Again, Again." I love that little boy. He doesn't care that I can't sing. He loved every minute of it.....and so did I.

{Free Fishing Day}

We packed up the kids and headed to Hagerman for a last family outing before my surgery. The Idaho Fish and Game sponsors a Free Fishing day event each year. Wow.....talk about a lot of people. It was a fun day for the kids though. There was food fish painting and raffle prizes. Not to mention a nice fish and game officer to clean your fish. Kelsie caught the bigger fish weighing in at 4.43 pounds, Kam's weighed in at 1.13 pounds. They were both happy that they caught something and can't wait until we eat the fish for dinner.

Josh keeping track of Kyler

Kelsie's Catch

Kamrin's Catch

We had a great day and will probably make it a yearly event at our house!

{Awesome Giveaway}

I love, love, love, these super cute new flowers! We attach them to our clothes like a broach, pin them to a scarf, or put them in our hair at our house....This website is offering a giveaway and you could get one of these super cute flowers for yourself!

Here is the link for the giveaway.... HIL's BLOG

and the link for the site that makes these supeer cute flowers!

{Last day of school!}

The last day of school at Xavier was no uniform day...Kelsie had a pretty hard time deciding what to wear. She wanted her last day picture with her siblings, who hadn't gotten their hair even combed yet.

{Kamrin's Last Day of Pre-School}

I can't believe that she will be in Kindergarten next year! She is such a good helper and helps take good care of Kyler. They had a lot of fun at the end of the year picnic at the park.

{Rough Week}

This week has stunk! Being the last week of school I really thought that it would be exciting and the start of a much needed break. Well, that is not how it turned out! First, at the beginning of the week we found out that a co-worker had died over the memorial day holiday. He was such a kind, loving individual that was really friendly to all of us. He was one of those individuals that really did his job well. The unfortunate thing about his death is that know one really knows what happened, no one was given very much information. It really has most of us confused and really in denial of the whole situation. We are just all trying to move on together. He was not from around here and was single, his service was held in Spokane where is family is and none of us could attend. I will always remember how Nate would, in ever so subtle way, make fun of BSU when most of us would be excited for their games...He was a Vandal.

Then we all spent extra hours working this week to get everything ready for our summer program which is a lot of work I have learned. This was actually a really fun experience, as I was able to get to know some of my co-workers better.

Then, on Thursday I had a doctors appointment. I found out that some of the problems that I have had throughout my life now require that I have surgery. He thought it would be best to get it done and over with as soon as possible in order to prevent any other problems. So I have to go in and have a hysterectomy as soon as possible. I was surprised at how difficult this was for me, I know that we don't want more kids. It's been way to hard of a roller coaster ride for us. However, just the fact that I know it is no longer a possibility for me has been hard. Having the surgery means organizing my family for the next 6 to 8 weeks. That also means no work or pretty much anything else for quite awhile and more medical bills! If any of you know me well you know that 6-8 weeks of nothing is close to impossible. So, if any of you have some good reading recommendations I'd love to hear about them.....and I'm sure you'll hear a lot more from me. I think that I'll have some extra time!!

{Super Easy and Cute Gift Idea}

Kamrin had a friends birthday party to go to and so we decided to try and make something new for a gift. So we made cute ribbon flip flops.

1.First you take a pair of plain flip flops. Old Navy's are perfect and you can pick them up for cheap!

2. Next, gather lots of ribbon.....
3. Cut ribbon in to 6 inch strips. I made 32 strips. 16 for each shoe. 4. Knot each piece of ribbon in the pattern of your choice. I trimmed the ends neatly after I had tied all of the ribbon onto the flip flops.

They turned out pretty cute, don't you think?

{Expunged}

Kelsie has learned some pretty large words for a second grader. Each week her class learned a new word and then had to write sentences using that word each week. She really comes up with some pretty crazy sentences sometimes. For journaling purposes I thought that I should record some of them.

1. Expunged: to wipe out or erase.

* I wish that my sister was expunged.

2. cantankerous

* My sister is cantankerous, my mom and dad are not.

3. fledling: an inexperienced person

* My sister is a fledling at the things she does.


Do you see the pattern here?

.
4. jeopardy: danger of harm

* A deer is in jeopardy if my dad is there.

5. Mellifluous: sweet voice

* My mom's voice is not mellifluous.