Remembrance...

As a military brat, our nation and the concept of freedom has been taught to me since an early age. At age 2 I was extremely proud to wear the Navy sailor hat! In fact, it was the only hat I would wear. My first "What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up" assignment in kindergarten returned with a little picture of a military girl, with pigtails of course, and on it I had "Engineer in the SeaBees!" I'm sure I had no idea what an engineer did, but I knew my dad was the Chaplain of the SeaBees at the time and I knew they built things to protect America. So I wanted to be part of it! As I grew older, dress up didn't consist of wearing "princesses dresses" or playing house, rather my brother and I would get in our "uniforms," and play military warfare, with strategic plans. By middle school, I was able to confidently beat my brother and his best friend at Axes and Allies, note rank of enlisted/officer in most military branches, and would walk up to military Vets and thank them for their service. I could talk wars, military branches, ships, I knew my "stuff."

Although my childhood consisted of much knowledge and adventures related to the military, I didn't truly understand sacrifice until I was a little older. I remember being ten years old and attending Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) over Memorial Day and meeting families of loved ones who had died. Seeing children and adults grieving for their military hero was a new experience for me... I wasn't sure what to think about it.

September 11th, 2001 I was asleep, when I awoke to the phone ringing. I heard my dad answer it and knew by the sound of his voice that it was one of my aunts. Then I heard his feet on the stairs...he was running. It was still early in San Diego and I wasn't fully awake when I heard him say, "Emmy...Deej... Wake up and come here!" We came and as I entered the room I saw on our little TV the Twin Towers. I remember every detail of my thoughts as I sat at the television. My thoughts were like a running commentary on what I was watching, "Is this real? What is happening? What are the Twin Towers? Will the Tower stand....then, oh my goodness, another plane! I can't imagine what the people are feeling?" My thoughts continued on... but then I started to remember TAPS and realized just how many people would be effected by this. As the Towers fell, my heart broke...even still hearing or watching anything from that day gives me chills. I had to interpret something about September 11th this past week. It's so real for those of us who remember...

The next time I attended TAPS we were at war. I was a young 15-year-old. My best friends and I were excited to be in Washington DC during such a patriotic time! My "Grandmother" had made some blankets and we were handing them out to loved ones. My favorite blanket was a pink and blue. We had prayed over the blankets asking God to give these blankets to just the right people. Laurel and I were helping in the office with attendance for the children, some of whom were orphaned from 9/11 or the war. As we were returning to meet up with everyone else in the group, I saw my favorite blanket made by my Grandmother in the hands of a couple. They were stroking the blanket as they walked. Laurel and I went up to them and introduced ourselves and we complimented them on the blanket, and they began sharing with us about Cody.

Cody Wentz was a 21 year old soldier in the Army National Guard from Williston, North Dakota. He died in Iraq when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his military vehicle during a patrol. He died November 4th, 2004. Their pain was so fresh and they both cried as they shared about their son. Then Kenny, Cody's dad smiled at me and said the blanket was perfect. We asked why the blanket was so perfect... they both looked at each other and smiled, then Joyce, Cody's mom pointed to the pink and said, "Cody's favorite color is pink. When we saw the blankets, we saw so many patriotic blankets...but then I saw this one and instantly saw Cody in it." Hearing that, I knew the blanket had gone to just the right family.

As the weekend went on, I spent much time with the Wentz family. Finally one night after a rather emotional day, Laurel, Paige, and I burst into tears...it was like we finally understood the price of freedom and just the sacrifice many have made or our freedom. Even though I grew up in the military, I think this was the first time it really struck home... I wore a blue band around my wrist for the next two years that said "Honor the Fallen," until I gave it to Kenny the last time I saw them at TAPS... but it reminded me to be thankful for my freedom and to never forget the sacrifice.... it really put my life into perspective. Now on Memorial Day, September 11th, and November 4th I wear the picture button of Cody Wentz. On other days, I have his picture in my room, where I see it daily. He died for my freedom...his sacrifice and the sacrifice of many others should be remembered I don't think I'll ever forget Cody or the Wentz family. Cody's my forever hero.

So now, on this 10-year anniversary of September 11th, there is so much to remember. It's not just another day, it's not just a typical weekend to go out and party, it's a day to remember and honor the fallen. Remember the fallen - the first responders, the victims in the Towers, on the planes, and in the Pentagon, the soldiers who sacrificed their lives, the surviving families and friends who remember their loved one, the children who were orphaned, and the military men and women who continue to sacrifice today for our freedom.

Michigan Vacation

Summer 2011 my family and I went on a vacation to Michigan. We had not had a family reunion in 14 years. We saw sights and family from my mom's and dad's family. It was a great blessing We drove up to Michigan.

The drive was scenic, we went through West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

The vistas were beautiful.

The Flight 93 Crash sight in Pennsylvania is the above photo. The concrete wall is the flight path as Flight 93 came down in to the field. The crater in the ground was 30 feet down

Uncle Doug gave us new hats- one size fits all. It was great to see everyone.

Our Uncle Doug met us as we arrived at the hotel in Michigan. Any resemblance to my mom?

30+ years ago my parents were married in Troy Seventh-day Adventist Church.


Tim Hortons has come south :) from Canada.

My Mom's childhood home in Grosse Pointe, north of Detroit. There was a tree there that was planted about 40 years ago.

What is a trip to Michigan without seeing old cars, like this 1956? Thunderbird. They were cool! That is my mom sitting in the driver's seat.

The house in which my grand parents were married in 1936.

My mom and her family's old
vacation house on the St Clair River. It was neat to hear the stories again but even nicer to see the places. This is the kitchen to the huge old farm house.

My mom's dormitory at the Harper Hospital School of Nursing during 1970-1972. She lived on the sixth floor.
Family photo on the Detroit River with Windsor Ontario in the background.

My mom and dad's first house in Troy. They bought it in 1977 before my dad went to the Seminary at Andrews. It is sure built up around there. Hardly any open land anymore.

Mrs. Hass, a family friend from muscular dystrophy camp and a colleague of my mom's doctoral program invited us to her Lake house for the day. We enjoyed good fellowship, memories, and fun in the Lake.

We also took a trip to Berrien Springs, Michigan to see Andrews University. My favorite building was the college church Pioneer memorial which resembled a Gothic cathedral. We attended a beautiful worship service dedicating the new students for their studies and service ahead of them.

While we were at Andrews University we stopped by my mom's favorite department, the nursing department where she use to work. She was an associate professor here 1980 to 1983.



My mom lead the efforts to start a Sigma Theta Tau Chapter at Andrews, Department of Nursing.

The land around Andrews University grows a lot of grapes for Welchs grape jelly. The land around the university was beautiful, open and very fertile.

The Mattingly Family from Andrews. My dad used to be TA for Dr. Mattingly when my dad was an undergrad. The female Dr. Mattingly is the chairperson of the physics department.


After we saw the University, we went to see Lake Michigan and the awesome sand dunes.



We hunted down and cleaned the graves of our grandparents and great grandparents. This is Cadillac Gardens where my mom's parents and grandparents rest.

This is the stone for my dad's dad - David L.

This is my mom's parents- Walter and Virginia's stone

This is the house where my dad grew up in the Westside of Detroit.

My dad's old house where he was a little boy.

My dad's elementary school where he was taught

My grandpa's church, it is the oldest Church in Detroit- Saint Anne's. You can see the steeple from Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Saint Anne's church

My dad's high school - Cody, an inner city high school now.

Much of Detroit has boarded up or burned out houses. This is my dad's grandparents' house. My mom lived here with my dad's grandmum during her doctoral studies at Wayne State.

Where my dad and my grandpa would go to fishing. This pier is right near Fort Wayne on the

My dad and mum's friend from Harper Hospital - Jerry Skell

We went out to have a big family reunion with all our cousins at Aunt Jane and Uncle Ray's beautiful home. We had a great banquet and wonderful fellowship. Even my Aunt Diane from Gaylord came down to celebrate the reunion. Donna- you were missed, but thanks for sending your precious little girl.


This is my dad's cousin, Andrew and his two sisters Jane and Diane and him.

This is an old milk truck that was getting ready for the antique car show. My parents remember milk delivery when they were children.

The Detroit sky line from Canada and the Boblo boat.

The Ambassador Bridge between Canada and Detroit.

We enjoyed our trip to Michigan. The Tshirts are from my Uncles. My mom and her brothers all graduated from Grosse Pointe South High School.

Emily's Spring Break and 21st birthday in Florida!

Hi, this is Emily. :) I know this typically is my brother's blog, but I thought I would post on it and share at David's request about my Spring Break '11 and my 21st birthday! So here it goes:

Above is a picture of the back of my shirt (Dad has one too) that we got after ziplining. :) It was kind of the line for this trip!

On the 14th of April, I flew down to Pensacola, Florida to spend some quality time with my Dad who is currently stationed down there. I was so excited, this was my first time down there and had heard from my mother and brother about how beautiful it was! Also, I was really looking forward to spending time with Dad, I've really missed him being home... so the adventure begins.


We spent most of our free time on the beach, which was almost every day. The beach is right across the street from Dad's house. So you simply walk across the street and some nice, warm, white Florida sand can be between your toes... yes, I miss it already!!



The coloring is a little off in this picture, but this is my feet and the view from my spot. It's gorgeous! The water was warm too, but rather wavy....but that's another story!


Wave lines... Dad and I thought they were beautiful. Also, we collected some shells while we were together. Our goal was to find shells that had one tiny hole in them. It's so easy to find a perfect shell, but it's more challenging to find one when you put a requirement on it. I came home with about sixty something shells and some sand dollars too!
Walking the beach...

Dad and I one of my first evenings there.... got to love self timed cameras.

Dad's photography. :)
Emily's photography :D

The beautiful sunset!


One of the other events we did while I was in Florida - other than the beach - was attend the Pensacola Symphony. It was amazing and they had a special violin piece that gave me chills - absolutely lovely! Although a couple times I nodded off (sleepy eyes in the picture :P), but perhaps because it was so peaceful...or perhaps because I had limited sleep in the last 3 days. But all and all it was really special. :)

Dad and I went to a Greek restaurant and the camel was on the wall... our family kind of has a thing with camels! :)

Another one of our adventures was searching for pelicans. In the city of Pensacola, there are so many man-made pelicans. Each city has something that represents them - Norfolk, VA has mermaids, Chicago has bulls, Erie, PA has frogs and so on. Dad and I wanted to find as many pelicans as we could in the week I was there. One day we found maaaaaannnnnnnnyy pelicans all in different colors, designs, and places! We took many pictures (to see them all, check them out on facebook), but some of our favorites are below:

Paradise found.... haha, no kidding!

Workouts in the mornings were fun.... one of the times we exercised we came to the top of a bridge that overlooked a part of Pensacola...of course we took a picture!


Another of our days we went to the Pensacola Naval Base and looked at one of their beautiful lighthouses. And yes, we climbed all the stairs to the top!


The few from the top was breathtaking! Below is a picture of some of the blue angels and Fat Albert :)


So my second to last day in Florida, Dad and I awoke at 5am and drove to a place to experience ziplining. Ziplining is when a pully is suspended on a cable mounted on a high (~60 feet in the air) mount at an incline. It is designed to enable a user to be propelled by gravity to traveel from the top of one mount to the other (usually the size of a football field). In essence, it's a blast and you have to try it if you haven't already!

Driving up from Pensacola.... I had some funny comments on facebook about the braids, yes, yes, it's been a while. :P

All suited up and ready to zip!

We climbed to the top of the mount...It was actually rather interesting when we first climbed to the top of the first mount - it was about 70 feet in the air and consisted of a wooden plank that was about 4ft by 4ft and somehow, we managed to fit eight people on there... they told us they had fit up to 12... crazy!

The feeling you got of feeling weightless as you fly through the trees was amazing! There's nothing like it! I absolutely loved every minute of it!

Dad zipping like an expert! :)

After 3 hours we were feeling sooooo good! I can't wait until the whole family experiences ziplining. The saying is really true, "if your life is not an adventure, you're wasting oxygen." Trust me, we didn't waste any that day! :P It was a perfect way to celebrate my 21st birthday Emily style and spend time with Dad over Spring Break!

Goodbye Florida, thank-you for the wonderful time and celebration of my birthday!!


Bye Dad, I love you and see you in about six weeks. :)