I May Be Southern but..

These are the only flags for me.

Veterans Day

Hey..and good mornin'  How blessed am I typing on this computer looking out a picture perfect window. GOD has definitely blessed me as well as this wonderful country we live in. I myself am not a veteran and for that  reason I especially want to say Thank you to all of you out there who made that sacrifice for me. I gave a thank you to my Daddy yesterday on the phone it was sorta funny we laughed between ourselves that   I told him I had definitely thought of him although I couldn't really say, "Happy Veterans Day". He sorta laughed and then I told him I was really just saying, "thank you  for what you did."

As a child I was always brought up with a strong appreciation for our country and our military. My Daddy(yes I am 41 and I still call my father, Daddy) is a Vietnam veteran and we were fortunate that he was able to talk about the things he saw and his experiences. He wanted us to understand what it was about and what really was going on. After all he was there. A lot of veterans can't talk about it and rightly so. But this year I really have thought about it deeper because I'm now a mother of a son who has joined the military. My son Louis will graduate from high school this year but he made the commitment to join last year and completed his Basic Training over the summer. 

In my mind, I always knew he would probably join the military in some fashion but as a mother I wished for him to first go to college, you know see to his best interest then maybe pursue the military. Yes, I am a selfish mother. Yes,I also understand the importance. At age 16 my Daddy was in the army and shortly into it he was in the 82nd Airborne and in Vietnam. Wow..16! Sixteen is a kid. Sixteen is still mama's boy. My son is a  little past sixteen and I pray he never has to become a veteran. I could write to you the things I've come to know about so many veterans in my own family; my uncles in Korea or maybe Louis's Great Grandfather and his seven brothers all in WWII, all had been Prisoners of War.

 Basically I want you to respect our service men and women in the service no matter what you believe. Basically I want you to know it was the sacrifice these men and women make that allows you to believe

whatever you desire no matter how wrong or right you may be. 

                                            Oh how many have gave the ultimate sacrifice!

I wish you to remember Veterans Day for what it really stands for not just a cookout or a party or a day out of work. Not just an excuse the decorate. Remember!! Remember what it means to so many.

REMEMBER and NEVER FORGET!

Decorating/Transition

Hi! I've been looking at so many wonderful decorating ideas for the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. So many folks have such really wonderful idea's. I try to incorporate some thing new or fresh each year when I decorate to keep things from looking stale year after year but I also do alot of the same things each year. Many of the ideas I see on line and in the magazines are honestly too much for us. I also do more transitioning with my decorating than just abruptly changing out everything season to season. I prefer sutler changes rather that decorating overhauls. 
                                   Where do you get your most inspiration?
I receive most of my inspiration from nature and outdoors. I always prefer the outdoors and I find myself incorporating it into my home. Bring natural elements inside is my way. I don't do elaborate tablescapes; honestly it just doesn't work well with our family style. I do almost always have a tablecloth and an arrangement of flowers as a centerpiece. I usually have flower bed I can cut from but I like using wildflowers and wild shrubs. It's affordable and it also keeps it unique to me and my surroundings. I think it's a great method of decorating and it's affordable. God gives us so much if we will just open our eyes and look.  
                                     Sometimes things backfire....
I was inspired to start me a blog back in the spring. My yard was looking so promising and I thought I would feel my posts with pictures of flowers from my yard. Then my stepson moved back home with his dog, Oswald. Oswald had lived with us before and as much as I hate to admit brought me alot of grief. I had endured him through the puppy stage, digging, digging, digging. Here he was again but a older matured dog. I thoughts we'd be okay. Then the my son totes home another pup. 
                             You know what followed. More digging...digging...chewing...digging...
What should have been bed of flowers now red dirt and mud. Not even the solar lights survived. 
                                       What to do? What to do?
Decorating for me will be a challenge. Honestly my centerpiece right now is on of Jack's pumpkins he brought home from school. Jonathon has now moved into his place and the dogs went with him. I guess we have next season  to start again. 
                            Does your family get in the way of your decorating wants?

I suppose my decorating could be called transitioning; it also could be called compromising. 

Thanks for letting me ramble on with you...

and

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Operation Christmas

Happy Wednesday to you. I'm a little short on words this morning but I did want to share a post from
One Artsy Mama and also to extend the invitation to join up. What a great cause!

November 6-VOTE