Thoughts on Memorial Day

As we celebrate Memorial Day and honor all those men and women who have defended threats to our American way of life, my thoughts turned to my Dad. He fought in the Korean war. He left college after one semester because he felt he was going to get drafted anyway. He was just a young kid fresh out of High School and a few months later he was in Korea. How about going from a kid with no cares to having to watch out for somebody trying to kill you? Makes you grow up fast!

I'm not sure how the heck they got my Dad to smile like this in a picture. I don't think I have even seen a picture where he was smiling this big except his wedding photo. Did they tell jokes? Did they threaten them? I don't know, but it is a great picture.

I think this is outside the barracks where he went through basic training.

This is Dad next to his "Willys Jeep" on a road near his outfit in Korea. He was stationed in what was called the "Punch Bowl". It was right on the front. From his position, he could see the communist (enemy) territory. He loved driving any kind of vehicle and told me that whenever they asked for volunteers to drive anything he would tell them he knew how to drive it. Then he would figure out how to drive whatever it was "on the fly". He was pretty good at it from his farm upbringing.

Home Sweet Home

How would you like to live in this? If you look closely, you will notice it had about 4' - 5' of sandbags on the roof. The sandbags were in case a mortar shell made a direct hit on their bunker, they would have a better chance of survival.

This is Dad and Pete Bush, his Squad leader at this station. From things he wrote on the back of pictures, I think he thought well of Pete. Dad received the Bronze Star for taking command of his platoon when his commander was killed during an attack. I don't know if Pete was the one killed or not. His station was on a side of a mountain facing a valley and the mountain on the other side was enemy territory. Dad's job was sighting-in the artillery that shot from behind his mountain and over him into enemy territory. The enemy knew what Dad's platoon did and was always sniping at them, firing mortars and generally making life dangerous.

Talk about a "Tough Hombre". Carbine in hand, grenade on the belt.

I know Dad was proud of his service in Korea. He answered the call to serve his country. I would like to think I would do the same if I was needed in the same way, but until it actually happens you really never know how you would react. Dad never said this, but he was a real life hero - taking command of his squad under the conditions he did and serving in a dangerous position on the front lines of the war. Men like my Dad sacrificed so we can enjoy the life we do, in comfort, in safety, with the freedoms we have. I would like to honor our service men and women this Memorial Day and every day that I live in freedom. I am very grateful for all of them, especially Delmer E. Wallace.

Thanks Dad

4 New Additions to the Family

Yes.

Quads have been delivered here in The Duke City!

To be more specific, in the Plum tree in our courtyard. The following picture is from May 10. We noticed a Robin had made a nest in the tree just outside the front door in the courtyard. The first inclination was,"We need to take that down. We don't want birds pooping all over the sidewalk." We then got the ladder out and checked it and found these 4 bright blue robin eggs in the bottom of the nest.

So, I guess we are keeping the nest a while longer eh?

And one REALLY TICKED OFF momma bird. You can see her yellow beak sticking up above the nest after we left.
OK. Fast forward to May 25 and we checked the nest again today. This is what we found.

Looks like Mom might need to add on to the old house. It seems to be getting a little crowded in there. We'll keep you updated on the progress of our newest family members.

It sure is fun watching their progress. Reminds me of our house about 15 years ago! Full of little ones, always wanting to eat and never sitting still.

It wouldn't be spring around the Wallace house if we didn't have the humming bird feeders out. I could sit for an hour, (if I had an hour to spare), just watching them fight over who gets to eat at which feeder. They are hilarious! There is usually one that will sit in the tree just watching the feeders and waiting so he can "ATTACK" when another hummer comes. You can hear them bumping each other and zipping around when they are posturing for position. At other times, they will get along and there will be 2 or 3 feeding at one time. Love it!

And in the begining there was......

Spring is a busy time for Lisa. All the usual stuff inside the house, teenager activities and school, Hannah getting her drivers permit, (OH NO!!!!) and just keeping up with her busy schedule. Well, then there is growing things. Not just children, but every kind of flower imaginable.

Growing things.

It starts in March and goes through October, sometimes November.

The backyard flower beds are just starting to come to life.

The "Snowball" bush is already in full splendor.

And her pride and joy, the front courtyard is just now starting to come to life. For most people, this would be "Fantastic". For Lisa, this is just the begining. In about a month, this same courtyard will be absolutely exploding with color. It looks like something out of Better Homes and Gardens. Everyone who comes to the house comments on how nice it looks and it does. It really makes our house special.

Thanks for working so hard to make our house look so nice. This is just a small part of what you do to make our house a home.

Happy Mothers Day!

You're the BEST.