Memorial Day - Hero in the Family

As many Americans enjoy a day off today in observance of Memorial Day, I'd like to reflect upon what this holiday is all about. As America moves further and further away from the truth of our existence as a nation, the foundation on which we were built crumbles. As our nation morally deteriorates, I am saddened by thoughts of the many lives sacrificed throughout our history to make us the greatest nation on earth. I sometimes feel, as though, our nation has forsaken them.

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I would like to pay my respects to all of the men and women that gave their lives so that we could have our freedoms and comfortable lifestyles. Their selfless acts of courage and hope for the future of our nation rest upon each of our shoulders. We must never forget the love, pride, and devotion that these brave Americans had for our country as she grew from infancy. May God bless us all with that type of strength and loyalty once again so that we can pull our nation from its slow and steady decline.

My father and his two oldest brothers served during WWII. My father was sent to the Pacific Theater to engage the Japanese and his brothers were sent to Europe to engage the Germans. For my Memorial Day post, I would personally like to honor the one that didn't get to come home. PFC Paul C. Cottrill, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, died shortly after the invasion of Normandy(D-Day) and is buried at the Brittany American Cemetery in St. James, France(top picture) at Plot H Row 3 Grave 1. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Our history is painted from the blood of these great heroes. They are the thread from which our Flag is sewn and the mast from which our Flag is flown. They are true Americans.

All Gave Some - Some Gave All.

Mixed Shadows

Monday is a Memorial Day so let me share this shadow of the flag in fron of the Municipal Building of Weirton. Can you see it?

Shadow of my wife standing at the edge of our retaining wall in front of the garage.

Our newly fenced backyard with my daughter's favorite ride.

And here is the shadow of the cemented dog statue at the entrance door of our dogs' Vet office.

Wishing you all a happy weekend and a great Memorial Day celebration on Monday.

Drain Pipe

Rose took this shot when we were exploring my Aunt Shirley's huge yard in West Union, WV.

The kids had so much running around playing ball and chasing each other at my Aunt's huge yard. They also love the experience they had at the creek. They saw living creatures that we don't see in the city like the crayfish and stuff.

Chilly but pretty day!

Here are some of the sky shots that my wife took when we went to Raccoon Park last Mother's day.

It was a little chilly that day but we had so much fun!

Steel Mill

Here are some shots of the old Steel Mill here in Weirton that my wife took while we were on our way to Tomlinson Run last Friday.

Our town used to be a very busy one when the mill was still going but when the union started to demand certain things, most of it were closed. Now just some part of the mill are operating while most parts were not anymore.

My dad worked in this mill for years and so are my two brothers.

Now, they are just old buildings.

The river separating West Virginia from Ohio.

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The Vet

Rylie was pretending to be a veterinarian doctor last Saturday and was checking Chelsea for any health problems. She find it awesome that Chelsea was letting her check her body using her stethoscope without any resistant.

You are a good patient Chelsea, good job job Doctor Rylie!

Okay, you passed your examination!

Have a good night everyone!

Fence Project - Day 3 & 4

Our fence Project is coming along well. I am glad that we lived in a very nice neighborhood where neighbors care for each other. Two of our neighbors volunteered to help me put up the panels of the fence. Thanks a lot men, you guys rock!

Lowe's delivered our panels last Tuesday afternoon.

Then my wife and I tried to put one up to see how hard it is do it but our neighbor Don saw us so he came over and helped me.

We got done with one side of the fence pretty quick because of him. He is a builder/carpenter so he has a lot of tools and experience in doing stuff like this. He was so kind to help us and use his tools.

The next day, he came over again and the other neighbor also helped us. Dad also came to help and my sister Chris. Right now, we are done with all the panels, me and my father built one of the gates already. All I need to do tomorrow is to make the other gate and we are done. This DIY project saved us almost 5 grand compared to the expenses if we hire a contractor.

A Trip to Remember

We were not able to attend church last Sunday because went down hoopie (that's how my father calls the place where he grew up). It wasn't planned and I just wish that we could have leave earlier than 12 noon. I thought that convincing my Dad to go with us was impossible, but with my wife's convincing power, he did went with us. The kids were pretty good even though the drive was a bit long, they just entertain themselves by playing and eating their snacks.

This place here is a very old one that we used to stop by whenever my Dad and I and some friends would go hunting then. I was surprised that it's still operating till now.

It's been a long while since my father visited his old place so maybe that's why he went with us. We stopped by his parent's grave on the way to see his youngest sister.

He introduced the kids to their great grandparents. Now when EJ is getting bored, he would say "I want to go down hoopie" lol. We got to see some big far with animals like horses, goats, chicken, and cows. You might have seen some of the photos already at my wife's blog.

I'll post some more photos next time as we took tons of them. Have a great Sunday everyone. I'm off to bed since it's almost 12.