Going Back in Time--Memorial Day

Memorial Day. It was just me and the kids for yet another 3 day weekend together. And I, loving these extra days to just play with the kids, took them to see Shrek 4 (Aubrey's friend Kaala came with us too), went to Red Robin for lunch (where we met up with the Mattssons), and broke out the waterslide in the backyard. The movie was fantastic (great moral to the story for parents to watch), the lunch was yummy, and the waterslide was refreshing after a long, hot day.
But alongside the fun, whenever there is a holiday like this one, I try to make sure the kids understand why we celebrate it in the first place. So we discussed what Memorial Day meant. It was nice to remind the kids that we are able to do all of these things ie. go to the movies when we want, eat wherever we want, and play in the comforts of a free country because there are men and women who have served and sacrificed their own lives in our militaries for the freedom of our country. I needed the reminder myself.
Admittedly I sometimes forget that we live in the most amazing country, free to choose, free to live, free to be. I admit, I sometimes take it for granted. If we lived in a country like China, we wouldn't have been able to have any more children after Aubrey and Walker. What would life be like without Maverick, Ainsley, and Bode? Tough one to think about. But alas, I'm here, born in this wonderful country to a wonderful family and feel blessed way beyond anything I've done to deserve it...