Memorial Day 2011

Every Memorial Day we try and do something special.  We don't want to forget the sacrifice millions of Americans have made so we could be free.  Forgetting is so easy, which is why we should work hard to keep it from happening!  

This year we went to Quantico National Cemetery.  We drove up to Quantico, VA after a quick breakfast and arrived just on time (11 A.M.)!  Grandma and Grandpa arrived before us and saved us a parking spot (which we were grateful for because it was packed!).  We then piled out and went up the hill to where the ceremony was to take place.  It was so hot outside!!  (Mama warned us before we got out of the van not to come complaining to her about it being hot. ;)  We knew it was going to be hot but not this hot!  If I remember correctly it was about 98 degrees (possibly a record!)!!

Anyways, Quantico Cemetery was absolutely beautiful...American flags were flying everywhere, veterans were walking around, young soldiers crisply stood at attention. Absolutely beautiful.  Whenever I see scenes like that I can't help but be proud I'm an American.  Patriotism just bubbles out of me and I want to hug every soldier I see!  (Well, maybe not that extreme but close! ;)

As we waited for the ceremony to start, Daddy told me to come with him and we went and took some pictures.

Daddy asked this band if I could take a picture of them.  I was a little bit nervous taking a photo of people I'd never met (if you know me, you understand :) but they were all so kind and smiled as best they could in the direct sunlight! 

Side note: I felt so sorry for all the people in suits and full military uniform...they had to be soaking with sweat!  (Kind of a gross detail but it was that hot!)

Standing ever so patiently, groups of soldiers and veterans held many different flags as they waited for the ceremony to begin.

Yeah, lots of flags.

A majority of the flags were just American flags, but I also saw a VA state flag and a P.O.W. flag.

Soon the ceremony began!

Can you spot some of my family? 

(It was so hot, we used anything we could to get some shade.  An umbrella worked perfectly!)

During the ceremony the flags were presented...

...songs were played...

...the Pledge of Allegiance was said and a keynote address was given (along with many other things).  

I don't know about you, but whenever I sing the National Anthem or say the Pledge of Allegiance with my hand over my heart, I get to the crying point.  It's all so beautiful and wonderful!  Just thinking of our Founding Fathers, the sacrifices men and women made during the Revolution and today...I can't help but be that thankful.  Remembering, though, is a poignant reminder of how far we've come from where we once were.  :(  

Towards the end of the ceremony, the Memorial Day wreath was presented:

After that, Taps was played:

Taps is such an eerie song but I love it so much.  I've only heard it two or three times and the more I hear it the more I love it.

This group of soldiers then fired a 21-gun salute.   It was amazing!  The guy in control (not sure what his rank was...he's the guy in front of everyone else) said something and then "Fire" and the soldiers sharply fired their guns in unison.  It happened in a blink and once one salute was over, you hardly knew it happened.  Absolutely amazing!

(On a humorous note, if you look at the above photo, the men were arranged from tallest to shortest.  ;)

The Memorial Day wreath.  

The salute ended the ceremony at Quantico National Cemetery and we then drove the 30 minutes or so to Grandma's house.

Before I go on and tell you about the rest of the day's activities, I must thank those who have served in the military.  Thank you so much!!  Though we never can repay you, we can at least thank you.  :)

Once at Grandma's house, Grandpa cooked up some yummy burgers and hot dogs for us!  Uncle Greg and his family showed up a little before lunch and then we sat down to eat our wonderful meal! :)

After lunch, we went down to the den and Grandpa passed out a bag (or box) to everyone.  Everyone received a souveneir (or two) from Grandpa and Grandma's recent cruise. :)

Grandma bought all the girls in our family matching aprons from Portugal! 

Some of us girls also received a fan! :)


The presents the adults got provided lots of amusement:

A head massager! :)

Uncle Greg going at it! :)

We keep the head massagers near at hand here at our house and all of our visitors get to have a
head massage if they'd like! :)

Grandpa. :)

The den after presents were opened.

After everyone opened their cruise souveniers, Hannah and Amanda (my cousin) got to open their birthday presents!  [We celebrated Hannah and Amanda's birthday together even though Hannah's b-day wasn't for a few weeks and Amanda's was the week before. :)]

Hannah received a book with the music to Phantom of the Opera.  The music is so pretty! :)

 

'Manda got some things for her pug and something to clean her car with. :)

After presents were opened, the birthday girls took a nap on the couch:

Opening presents takes a lot out of you! ;)

Grandma and Judah.

After the birthday beauties woke up, and we all ate dinner, we relaxed some more before singing "Happy Birthday."

The birthday girls! :)

They both turned (are turning) 17!!!

"Happy birthday to you..."

 Blow!!

After the singing was over, and the candles were blown out, we all got a huge piece of Carvel ice cream cake.  It was so yummy!!! :) :)Sorry Pastor Rick, no leftovers :)

We left Grandpa and Grandma's house earlier than usual and returned home safely, ending our memorable (and hot!) Memorial Day!

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I know I said last week that I would be posting "soon."  Well, I was going to but my Great-Grandma (a.k.a. G.G.) was hospitalized and we've tried to go visit her at least every day.  So, I haven't had time to post, but that's okay with me, since G.G. is much more important! :)

G.G. is moving back to her apartment at Covenant Woods today but we're not sure how long she's going to be on this earth.  She's fading fairly quickly but she's still so kind and tells you she loves you every time you visit.  She's a great great-grandma! :)

I'll try and post about our more recent exploits as time makes itself available! :)  [I'm excited about one thing, but I'll leave out what it is until another post! :)]

Kimber :)

Hannah's Memorial Day Report

"It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt.'"

Exodus 13:9

Here is the report that Hannah gave on Memorial Day:

Memorials

Definition of memorial:

“That which preserves the memory of something…the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of the death and sufferings of Christ.” Webster’s 1928 Dictionary

“A monument, statue, holiday, or ritual that serves as a reminder or remembrance of a person or an event.” Bible Dictionary

There are two different kinds of memorials; there are physical memorials and spiritual memorials.

A physical memorial would be like when Joshua and the children of Israel crossed the Jordon River and set up a pile of 12 stones to remember what the Lord had done. It was so that when their children’s children saw the stones they would ask why they were there then the parents would be able to tell their children the marvelous work of the Lord God of Israel.

A spiritual memorial would be like the day you accepted Christ as Savior or the time you prayed to God and He heard you and answered you. An example would be when Cornelius cried out to God to show Him more of Himself and then the Lord sent Peter to him who then shared the Gospel of Christ with him and household and they all accepted Jesus as Savior.

Memorials in the Bible:

Spritual Memorials

1. The Passover- this was a time that the Jews remembered their divine deliverance from Egypt which is found in Exodus 12:11,14

2. Feast of Purim- this feast was a time for the Jews to remember another miraculous deliverance from total annihilation while in the country of Persia, now the country of Iran, during the reign of King Ahasuerus and the noble queen, Queen Esther. This “memorial” is found in Esther 9:26-28

3. The Sabbath-this was a time for the Jews to remember that they were a chosen pople, holy unto the lord. Also it was a time to rest and remember that the “earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” See Exodus 20:8-11.

4. Resurrection Sunday- this is a day that Christians remember that their Savior, Jesus Christ, arose from the dead and is alive forevermore. See Mark 16:6.

5. Judgment Day- the Day when all flesh will stand before God and will be judged and if their name is not written in the Book of Life they will be cast into the Lake of Fire. See Revelation 20:11-15


Physical Memorials:

1. Korah’s Rebellion: When Korah rebelled against Moses and Aaron the Lord told Korah and his company to take a censor, put incense in it, than, whosever incense the Lord regarded would be the chosen. Well, as the story goes, Korah, his family, and some others, died and the censor’s where taken, at the command of the Lord, and hammered into a sheet that was then put on the altar “to be a memorial to the children of Israel that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord.” Numbers 16:40

2. Aarons Rod: The Lord told Moses to take the rods of the 12 leaders of Israel and put them in the tabernacle and “it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom;” Numbers 17:5a. Aaron’s rod was the one that blossomed and proved the Lord had chosen him and his house for the royal priesthood. “Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die.” Numbers 17:10

3. The Fiery Serpents: The Children of Israel were complaining again and the Lord sent fiery serpents among them to poison them so they would die. In order to save the people they had to look up at a bronze serpent that Moses had made at the Lord’s command. See Numbers 21:9.

I’m sure there are plenty more that I did not record, but you’ll have to search the Scriptures themselves to find them.

A memorial in the Bible was to be a time of solemn remembrance of what either the Lord had done or to remember what they had done and the consequences thereof. A memorial is to be long lasting. In Proverbs it repeatedly states not to remove the ancient landmarks, which are a type of memorial.

If memorials are special in God’s heart, shouldn’t they be in ours?

Memorial Day 2009

"‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance."

Exodus 12:14

If you've read my previous post on Memorial Day ("May We Never Forget...") than you will know that we went to the Virginia War Memorial on Memorial Day this year. Most of the time we've just had a cookout (we still did after the service) at someone's house but we wanted to try and do things a little different this year. Mama had us research different events that would be going on on Memorial Day and I (Kimber) looked up a couple sites and the war memorial was the best option. They had a service from 10:00 A.M - 12:00 if I remember correctly. We arrived there about 15 minutes early and I went around and took pictures until they started. Paw-paw and Na-naw came too.

Some flowers that were on a wreath (they had a wreath-laying ceremony).

The statute on the far right they called "The Shrine of Memory." The clear walls on the far left have the names of all the soldiers who died in various wars and their virginia counties they were from. All together there are 11,634 names on the marble and glass walls; all of which are Virginian's who died to keep us free.


A close-up of the Shrine of Memory and a rose.

We live in King William County, and that is why I took this picture.

Caleb during the ceremony.

(He doesn't like me taking pictures of him, hence the hand over his face)

A veteran in the audience.

We were surprised to see so many people there to honor those who have and are serving our country. There were people standing everywhere.

This lady sung a song.

This was the main announcer.

The service went very well. They had about 4-5 different people talk or sing and the mention of God was everywhere in their speeches and how we need to take accountability of our sins, repent, etc. It was very inspiring with the exception that Jesus' name was never mentioned - only God. Not that God is bad (not at all!) but people would probably get instantly offended (Matthew 11:6) if "Jesus" was mentioned, so the speakers stayed "political."

After the ceremony, they had the wreath-laying ceremony at which they positioned the wreaths all around the "Shrine of Memory." Someone was pronouncing each wreath, what it represented, etc. and the carrier.

I just thought this veteran's facial-expression was funny! :)

Carrying a wreath.

I just had to put this one up here! :)

A smiley veteran!

Ah - a Marine! :) (The one in the red suit)

(Inside joke - ask my family if you want to know!)

They (there were 2) were carrying the wreath down the walkway and they did one of their marine grunts (which sounded like "oo-rah" to me) about half-way down. It was really neat - they were my favorites!

They had the most beautiful music done by bagpipe-players, drummers, etc. there in full attire. The leader of the "band" (the one in the middle of the picture) we had seen at Mrs. Heather's wedding. They played T.A.P.S and Amazing Grace.

I took a video of them but it's cut a little short because I was running out of memory space (and a couple other reasons), but at least you get the point! Please forgive my horrendous video skills, I was enjoying their music, so I wasn't paying a lot of attention - just listen to the music and all will be well! :)

Here's the video (it may not have uploaded, so it may not be here):

After the ceremony, we (our family and Paw-paw and Na-naw) went to my great-grandparents gravesite (Forest Lawn Cemetery). My 2 Great-Grandpa's are buried there along with one of my Great-Grandma's (a.k.a Great), all of which are my grandparents (Paw-paw and Na-naw's) parents.

This is Paw-paw's parents gravestone.

I have no memories whatsoever of Na-naw's or Paw-paw's dad but I remember lots about his mother, whom we called Great. She's the one who started the entire "Nash Luncheon" thing. Every Sunday she'd prepare a meal for all the Nash's (by herself) and clean it up. She always gave us a couple of jellybeans before we left and a card at Christmas.

Alexis, Daddy, and Seth walking around the cemetery.

While we were there, we went ahead and read our Memorial Day Papers starting from youngest to oldest. We (those who were eligible enough to participate) each had a project that we had to complete by Memorial Day and everyone's project was different.

Seth's project was to draw a picture of something that had to do with Memorial Day. And he drew a picture of the scene where we get the National Anthem from.

Caleb had the job of writing up something about a national cemetery. He picked Arlington National Cemetery.

Alexis' project was to write up the history of Memorial Day.

The intent listeners.

Me (I really don't like this picture...).

My job was to pick a hero to recognize on Memorial Day. I picked Michael Fleming Foland. Please click on the link and read his story (the citation is the best). He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor (highest military award) posthumously. I cried on the last 2 sentences of my report (I think most everyone else did too). It's just amazing what others do to protect us and their fellow brothers in their unit, even at the sacrifice of their life. No one will ever be able to repay them.

Hannah's letter was on the history of Memorials in the Bible.

Everyone's report was very interesting, and I'll try and get them all up here, Lord willing.

After our reports were read we went to Paw-paw's house and had a small cookout (that was very yummy!) and some strawberry angel food cake. Yum!

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Striving to be like Jesus,

Kimber :)