memorial day

Freedom Is Not Free
- Kelly Strong

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.


How true this is! We take our freedom for granted so many times. I think about the price that was paid - the lives that were lost and the sacrifices made. I have always been patriotic ~ I cry when I hear the national anthem, I tear up when I see a soldier in uniform, I proudly wave my flag, but I never REALLY thought about it until my brother-in-law was in Iraq. My Daddy, my "step-in-Dad", my father-in-law, my grandfather, my pop, my brother-in-law have all served in our military (and more that I KNOW I am forgetting), but I wasn't around when they were in the military, I wasn't aware of the sacrifice. I remember when my sister called my and told me that her husband, Steve, was going to Iraq. There were no words, just many tears shed. I remember the day he left ~ the uncertainty of his return, the heart ache, the loneliness my sister felt day after day. No, freedom isn't free. The families make sacrifices whether their soldier comes home or not. I THOUGHT I was patriotic. Now, I can't even sing the national anthem, I blubber when I see a soldier in uniform and I take every opportunity to thank our soldiers and their families and I continue to proudly wave my flag, if not flags! Everyone has seen pictures of Arlington cemetery, if not been there. No, freedom is not free ~ there was a high price paid for what I enjoy today.

Thank you, Dad and Pop, for serving in our military. Thank you, Steve, for continuing your service in the Army. Thank you to the families that have lost a soldier. I will never forget the price that has been paid.

facing my fears

When Dylan went into Kindergarten, the hardest thing I had to deal with was putting his life in the hands of someone else. I stood and watched him get onto that bus for the first time and my heart hurt. For the first time in his little life, I was having to trust someone else to watch out for him and protect him. I struggled with this for quite some time. I know that my precious boys belong to my Jesus, but I am human and that part of me wants to protect them forever!

This morning, I had to face this fear. I stood outside and waved to my little 3rd grader as he got on the bus. I don't stand outside every morning, but this morning we were all dressed and ready to start our day! Dylan gets on his bus and he waves at me until he can't see me anymore ~ pricless! I stood there waving and signing "I love you" until his bus was out of sight. Zachary and I were standing there with Dabby when I heard the most awful sound ~ the screeching of tires and the breaking of glass! (My stomach is sick even as I write that!) I ran to the end of the driveway and see the bus sitting there with a huge cloud of smoke billowing up from it! My heart began to race and I went into "protective Mama mode"!! I grabbed Dabby and yelled for Zachary to get in the house. I jumped in the car and drove to the end of the street to see the bus stopped, a red car smashed up, broken glass on the street and my "baby" sitting on that bus!!

I jumped out of the car and it looked like everyone was ok ~ kids on the bus were fine and the lady that was driving the car was out of her car talking to the busdriver. I looked around and thanked the Lord for His protection! It could have been so much worse and yet, nobody was hurt. I guess the lady had lost control of her car and the busdriver slammed on his breaks to avoid hitting her. She ended up hitting the bus and damaging her car, but she wasn't hurt except for the seatbelt pulling across her shoulder. Dylan got off the bus and was very shaken up, as you can imagine! I asked him if he wanted me to take him to school and he took me up on that offer!!

We headed back home to pick Zachary up and get Dylan to school! As we're driving down the street, I see Zachary half way up the road walking towards me!! We stopped the car and little boy had tears in his eyes...he was scared and was coming to see if his "best brother" (his affectionate nickname for his brother) was ok! Dylan was telling me his side of the story. All he knew was that they slammed on the breaks, the busdriver was getting off the bus and yelling to the kids not to get off the bus and he sees this huge cloud of smoke. He didn't realize that it was just a cloud of dust, so he was freakin out that the bus was gonna explode or something and the busdriver told them to stay on the bus!!! By the time we got to school, everyone had calmed down and the heartrates had returned to normal!!

"Thank you, Father, for your hand of protection around that bus and the kids and the lady driving the car. Thank you that nobody was injured in this accident."

dylan

I just need to brag on my "little" boy! I can't believe that it was 9 years ago that he came into this world and changed our lives forever!! He continues to bring more joy into our lives than we know what to do with...most of the time! Those of you who know Dylan, know what a sweet, tender heart he has. When we were driving to Delaware in December, we found out while at a rest stop, that Mom Mom went to Heaven. Dylan looked at me with tears in his eyes and the sweetest look ever, and said, "That was Jesus birthday present this year." He is always concerned for others and their well being. When Zachary broke his arm, he was the one that was doing all the crying ~ kinda reminds me of when my sister fell against the fireplace at my aunt's house ~ I was the one crying and SHE was telling me she was alright...memories!

I love to sit and talk with just Dylan ~ I absolutely love the relationship that has developed between us! His goal is to always make you laugh and that alone just cracks me up. He is a character ~ otherwise known as "Hollywood", most recently! The boy dreams of Hollywood and being in front of the camera. He just had to do a commercial to sell a cereal he made up based on a book he read! He wrote and directed his commercial and was so excited to show it to his class, he begged his teacher to do it a day early! He was very excited to bring home his A+ for his report!!

Before I end this post for tonight, I just had to share this cause it cracked me up. A few months ago, Dylan came out of his room and said that he had something on his nerves and asked if there was something I could do to help get it off! I asked him what was bothering him and he replied, "I have NO idea!"

Dylan ~ I love you more than words can describe! My prayer for you is that no matter what you do, you will allow Jesus to have a special place in your heart and life!

you're still the one

Marriage is the union of husband and wife in heart, body and mind. It is intended for mutual joy ~ and for the help and comfort given to another in prosperity and adversity. But more importantly ~ it is a means through which a stable and loving environment may be attained. I have committed, to the love of my life, to face our disappointments, embrace our dreams, realize our hopes and accept our failures ~ TOGETHER! Our relationship stands for love, loyalty, honesty and trust, but most of all for friendship. Marriage requires daily attention and is backed with the will to make it last a lifetime.

I am truly honored to be Mrs. Jason Counts. I thank the Lord daily for the man that he has blessed me with. I am so thankful for the time that we have to enjoy each other's company. It gets harder and harder to be husband and wife with the boys ~ sometimes I forget what it was like before the kids came along, but then we have a night to ourselves, and it all comes back! I still get butterflies in my stomach when he comes home from work, or when I hear his voice or see his face! I love that! I love that we never leave each other without giving each other kisses and telling the other that we love them...NEVER!! I love that, after 12 years, he is still my best friend in the world! I love that we like each other! I love that we want to spend time together! I count it a privilege to be walking through this journey we call life, next to my best friend. I wouldn't want it any other way! Love isn't just something that we're in, it's something that we do!

my fashion statement

Ok...I'm not saying that I look good, but I have rediscovered the hat!! Ya know on those days where you just don't feel like doing your hair? We are planning on working outside in the garden and mowing and planting flowers and I didn't feel like making a fashion statement to go outside and do all that!! I'm wearing a hat and I'm ok with it!!

stop and smell the roses!

I was outside late last night, waiting for Dabby to do her business, and I just stood there in awe ~ not in awe of Dabby and her business, but of the sky! Black as black could be, sprinkled with a massive amount of stars, as far as the eye could see! I just stood there, couldn't take my eyes off the twinkling stars above! Then I was out early this morning, enjoying the beauty of the morning ~ listening to the birds chirp, feeling the gentle breeze on my face, all while looking at the bluest sky! What a world we live in! Psalm 19:1 comes to mind: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands"

Have you taken the time to just stop and "smell the roses"? Taken the time to really look at the beauty that is around us?

I beg you to stop today ~ take in your surroundings! Thank the Lord above that you have your sight and that you can see His beautiful creation! Let me know what you took the time to see today!

Have a good one!

off to the ER

It was a week ago today ~ our little boy decided to jump off his foot board and broke his arm. We found out that he apparently does this often but sometimes he only gets hurt a little; this time he got hurt big!

The weather in Ashland had been crazy! We were used to tornado watches/warnings when we lived in Missouri ~ we lived through a tornado! When we moved to Ohio we thought we would be rid of the scare...WRONG!! We spent quite a bit of time in our basement with blankets spread out on the floor! It was turning out to be a long week!

Jason had off on Wednesday, so we just enjoyed being together the WHOLE day! The boys were in Zachary's room messing around and things were starting to get out of control. I just voiced to Jason that someone was gonna get hurt. I heard this screaming, but couldn't tell if it was laughing or crying. Jason was coming out of the kitchen as I was heading to the room. As we got closer, I could hear Dylan screaming, "He broke his arm! He broke his arm!". I was trying to figure out how he knew that Zachary broke his arm...until Zachary came to the door and I saw his precious, little arm just hanging, disfigured. Jason scooped him up and they headed to the ER. I was left with a hysterical Dylan ~ he was crying more than Zachary was! I tried to get him calmed down and then I went into "CLEAN" mode! Whenever I'm faced with a crisis or sick child, my first instinct is to go around and straighten up. I know this is crazy, but this is me! I called a very sweet friend and she rushed over to pick Dylan up so that I could be at the hospital with Zachary and Jason.

I got to the hospital and saw that little boy laying in that huge bed and my heart sunk...again! They were just getting ready to take him back to xray his, obviously, broken arm and he looked at me and started crying, "I'm sorry I broke my arm, Mommie!" I was doing everything in my power to keep the tears contained in front of my boy! It was only 2 months and 6 days before this that he broke his collarbone and he was apologizing for breaking that bone!! I was afraid that childrens services was going to be giving us a call about our care of Zachary!

Needless to say, they haven't called and Zachary is doing amazingly well! Swelling is completely gone and he has complained of nothing but the fact that he is frustrated having to do everything with his left hand!! Things have returned to normal...the boys are fighting again, the laundry still piles up and the dog still has to go out!!

Life with boys ~ I wouldn't want it any other way! Man I love them...all three of them!

and this is where it begins!

I'm not really sure why I am doing this, but I have decided to start a blog! I was never the girl that kept a diary and journaling as an adult has never happened either. I have notebooks for each of the kids that I write in for them and even that hasn't happened in awhile! I don't know...I guess I have just felt like having a place to pencil my thoughts. If you want to offer encouragement, feel free. If you want to get some encouragement, I hope you find it here. If you want a laugh, most likely you will find that here, too! I'm doing this for myself, but I'm inviting you to walk this journey with me!