Freedom...

These past few days I have had some time to reflect on how blessed we are in here in America. I was doing nothing (like always) minding my own busy watching TV when this show comes on called "Suprise Homecomings" and I thought what they heck I will sit and watch it. Well was that a bad idea! This show is about people serving our country coming home and suprising their families. The first story was about a young father that came home to his wife, but he wanted to suprise his two children. They were from Flordia and so he wanted to suprise them at Disneyworld. It was the so cute!!!! I was crying my eyes out! Right before the children see their dad the little girl tell Cinderella that she had the wish that her dad would be able to come home! Ah man talk about SAD!! It was so cute and sad at the same time.

Well after that I head to my ward service project, and I knew that we were going to one of my friends house to help out because his dad had just been deployed to Iraq for about 12 months. I didn't expect this service project to hit me as hard as it did. I went inside to help make a card for Jim and it was so sad to see the pictures of their family around the house and to know he wasn't there, but then I notice there is a stack of about 4 or 5 newspapers and there is a big picture on the front of a solider and another boy. I start to read the caption and realize that it is my friend Brance and his dad!!! It was so sad! Brance's grandma realized I was looking at it and said if you look really close you can see a tear running down Brance's face. This was really hard for me to see. I could only imagine what the feeling was being there!! I talked to Brance's sister and she told about all the little children that were having to be taken from their dad's arms and they were just crying and saying "No dad, don't go." Just thinking about that makes me want to crying until I have no more water in me!

I think that we, as Americans, don't truely appreciate what those men and women do for us. It isn't just them either their families make a great sacrafice by not having them with them for the time frame that they are called out for. I can't even imagine the feeling of having to say goodbye and in the back of your mind thinking they may never come back...

I will be forever greatful for what they do for us. I have never realized how much they REALLY do for us and for keeping us free. Jim and all those others out there you are in my prayers...



This is the picture of Brance and his dad right before he left



Sad picture of a small boy and his dad

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!!!

GOD BLESS