My Granddaughter Abby had to get her 1st shots today!

My new baby granddaughter, Abbygail is 2 months old and today she had to go to the doctor to get her first shots. Her big brother, my grandson, AJ who is almost 3 years old was right there to comfort her. He is such a great big brother and he says Abbygail is his best friend. Abby weighed 12 pounds today, she is growing so fast. Their Mommy and Daddy, my daughter, Ashley and son-n-law, Alan are doing great with them. I love them so much and am so proud of all of them!

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

THE WALL

More than 25 years after its dedication, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial remains one of the most visited memorials in the nation's capital. Millions come each year to pause and reflect in front of the black granite of The Wall, find the names of loved ones, make rubbings of those names and leave behind tributes to those they lost.

Memorial Statistics

Each of the walls is 246-feet, 8-inches long. They meet at an angle of 125 degrees, 12 minutes, pointing exactly to the northeast corners of the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. The walls are supported along their entire length by 140 concrete pilings driven approximately 35 feet to bedrock.

At their vertex, the walls are 10-feet and 1 ^1/2-inches in height. The stone for the walls, safety curbs and walkways is black granite quarried near Bangalore, India. All cutting and fabrication was done in Barre, Vermont. The variations in color and texture are a result of different finishing techniques, i.e., polishing, honing, and flame treating.

The inscription on Panel 1 East of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial reads:

IN HONOR OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES WHO SERVED IN THE VIETNAM WAR. THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES AND OF THOSE WHO REMAIN MISSING ARE INSCRIBED IN THE ORDER THEY WERE TAKEN FROM US.

The inscription on Panel 1 West of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial reads:

OUR NATION HONORS THE COURAGE, SACRIFICE, AND DEVOTION TO DUTY AND COUNTRY OF ITS VIETNAM VETERANS. THIS MEMORIAL WAS BUILT WITH PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. NOVEMBER 11, 1982.

RSVP TO ATTEND THE 2011 MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE!

Please complete the form below to reserve seats at the annual Memorial Day Observance at The Wall in Washington, D.C. Deadline for reservations is May 25, 2011. If you have questions or need to cancel, please email us at rsvp@vvmf.org or call this number - 202-393-0090. rsvp@vvmf.org or call this number - 202-393-0090. Click on the link below to fill out the RSVP form.

http://www.vvmf.org/contactus/c=rsvp

Video of my Grandson feeding the ducks, so cute!

I had a great time taking this video of my 2 year old grandson AJ feeding ducks and geese for the first time at a pond near our home. My daughter Ashley who was pregnant with my granddaughter Abby and I were planning her baby shower in Feb. 2011 at the park while AJ fed the ducks. I just got this video uploaded today, I just couldn't quite figure out how until today so it's there and it's great. If you want a good laugh and see how life looks through the eyes of a sweet 2 year old watch this video. So AJ is a big brother, Ashley & Alan have a daughter now,  Abbygail Lyla born in March, they are all doing great and I have two grandchildren now! Enjoy the video!

The History of Mother's Day!

It started in Rome and became a United States national holiday less than 100 years ago.

You may think it was all started by Hallmark in an effort to sell cards, but that's not the case at all.  Mother's Day dates back to the ancient Romans and made its way to the United States in the early 1900's and finally became a national holiday in 1914.

The earliest tributes to Mother's Day date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele. Christians celebrated a Mother's Day of sorts during a festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England the holiday was expanded to include all mothers. It was then called Mothering Sunday.

In the United States it started with one woman named Anna Jarvis. Jarvis was an Appalachian homemaker and she organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions of her community. She thought the day would be best advocated by mothers and called the day "Mother's Work Day".

When Anna Jarvis died in 1905 her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. Anna remembered that her mother said there were many days dedicated to men but not for mothers.  Anna then began to lobby the politicians of the time to support a day dedicated to mothers. Anna Jarvis talked to many politicians including Presidents Taft and Roosevelt hoping they would support her campaign.

Jarvis organized a church service to celebrate her mother in 1908 and Anna handed out white carnations to those in attendance because the white carnation was her mother's favorite flower. Anna Jarvis' hard work began to pay off five years after that service in 1913. The House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling for officials of the federal government to wear white carnations on the day many began calling Mother's Day, the second Sunday in May. Finally on May 8, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

"Now, Therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the said Joint Resolution, do hereby direct the government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings and do invite the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country."

That was the first official Mother's Day and the tradition carries on to this day. In fact, Mother's Day has flourished in the United States. The second Sunday in May has become the most popular day of the year to dine out, and telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take advantage of this day to honor and to express appreciation of their mothers.

http://www.everythingmothersday.com/traditions/history.asp

So there you have it, how Mother's Day came about and we keep it going in honor of all our Mothers, Grandmothers & Great Grandmothers, as well as our daughters who are becoming Mothers that will be Grandmothers some day and the wonders of life keep going. That in itself is enough reason to keep these traditions going. Happy Mother's Day to all!