VETERAN'S

Our girls are so blessed to go to such a wonderful school!! I love that their school is very patriotic. They have flag ceremony everyday where they recite the pledge, sing the National Anthem, learn about this day in history & discuss the virtue for the month. By far, my favorite thing their school does is the special Veteran's Day flag ceremony & breakfast. Kids can invite Veteran's to come eat breakfast with them & then attend a special flag ceremony. This year did not disappoint!

Due to Kylie being on Student Council this semester & me over the yearbook we were highly involved this year. Kylie helped decorate Monday after school. All of the student council kids wrote notes to the Veteran's on the paper they placed over the tables. Here's one of Kylie's...
Then, on Tuesday morning we were at the school at 6:00am to help prepare. (They had it a day early since there's no school on actual Veteran's Day.) She helped set up the chairs & then had the job to greet people as they came in to eat.
As the flag ceremony approached she was outside passing out programs. The girls are also very blessed to have their own Veteran! Erik's dad served in the army. We are so lucky he lives close to us & that he was able to attend this event with them. Here they are eating breakfast...

Throughout the entire morning I was on the verge of tears. Seeing all of the Veteran's always makes me emotional. There was one gentleman I couldn't even look at. (He's in one of the smaller pictures in the tall hat & red shirt.) When he first walked in he stood out. He was tall & in a fancy get up. I snapped a picture of him. Then, I watched him sit down with his grandson to start eating. He then proceeded to tell his grandson stories & cried the entire time. I had to walk out of the room. He was SOOO cute & endearing. And he was in tears throughout the whole morning.

During the flag ceremony the kids always sing the different military anthems. (Again, my personal favorite of the event.) As the anthems are sang the Veteran's stand during their song. This is really when the tears start flowing for me. There's something so wonderful about their sacrifice that they made for their country & for me. Here's a couple of shots I got of them standing during their song...

The first gentleman was one of my favorites. I LOVED that he came in a uniform. We only had a couple do this this year. The second is our very own Veteran. We sure do love him & what he went through. We're so blessed he's in our lives.

This last gentleman is another that brought a tear to my eye...

Do you not want to just hug this cute man? A WWII Veteran. I can't imagine how different things were in the military back then & the things he went through. Maybe it's because my Dad's dad served in WWII that I find it more fascinating. I never had the opportunity to meet him - he passed before I was born. I love looking at his pictures from the military & wish I knew all of the stories behind them.

Another military man I can't forget is my Grandpa Julian. He was also a WWII vet. He had great stories of being a fighter pilot. He was truly an amazing man & we miss him dearly!!

The last thing at the ceremony was this darling 2nd grade class that sang "God Bless America" with their teacher. It was beautiful & there wasn't a dry eye their. I love going to things like this and being reminded of what a great country we live in!