Vacation

Headed home to Portland, OR today for a few days, then driving over to Sumpter, OR for the 4th of July weekend. Gonna be a blast!
Check it out here: http://www.historicsumpter.com/index.html
The whole town (population 350) is 1 ginormous flea market with vendors coming in from all over the US.

The Pledge Of Allegiance

McCain's remarks on the Pledge Of Allegiance and the Flag:
(Copied an Pasted from an Email)

In light of the recent appeals court ruling in California , with respect to the Pledge of Allegiance, the following recollection from Senator John McCain is very appropriate:

‘The Pledge of Allegiance’ - by Senator John McCain

‘As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room.

This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.

One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian. Mike came from a small town near Selma , Alabama . He didn’t wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country and our military provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.

As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing.
Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt.

Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike’s shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance.

I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can as sure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike’s shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it.

That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.

The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.

As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag.

He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and Country.

So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor, and our Country.’

‘I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisable, with liberty and justice for all.’

oh……and then you have this clown, who refuses to place his hand on his heart and say the pledge……

Let’s all remember this on election day…if you have family serving in the military, make sure you send it along. I had heard about this but a picture is definitely worth 1000 words! God save us!!!

She stands!

Carmen can stand! Not bad for her 2nd day of practice. Her legs are still a bit wobbley and needs support in the front (notice the big block table toy shes holding onto?). She is 9 1/2 mos old but still can't crawl. Obviously she will skip crawling and go right to walking.

Pool Time

Carmens 1st time in the pool and she loved it! She is sporting her brand new white w/pink polka dot swimmy suit and inflatable turtle with sun shade.

Thrift Store Goodies

I love thrift stores! This past weekend I hit 3 all next door to each other. 1st and 2nd ones left me empty handed. 3rd one was where I found these 2 cute items. The chenille bear with chenille hat and overalls is completely handmade. Cost me $1.50. I was digging thru some old toys in the back of the store and this cute little guy was on the bottom of the pile - literally. Got him home, removed his clothes and tossed everything into the washer... didnt he turn out great?The 2nd find is the cute wooden turtle stool I got for 99 cents. I plan on removing the plastic googley eyes and stripping the paint. Not sure if I will repaint it or just leave it unfinished... depends on the shape of the wood underneath. He also needs his legs tightened up - nothing a screwdriver and a hubby cant fix.