I've said a few of these

Once or twice some of these pearls have crossed my lips. I hope you enjoy Momsense as much as I do. If you do, check Anita's website. She has some great looking books and videos.



H/T Barbara

A line I would have liked to have seen worked into it? "Don't make me get your father involved." Of course, you know if there was a Dad version it would include "I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it."

Posts for 28 May 2007

"Bivouac of the Dead"

Memorial Day

"Bivouac of the Dead"

"Bivouac of the Dead"

Theodore O’Hara


The muffled drum's sad roll has beat
The soldier's last tattoo;
No more on life's parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few.
On Fame's eternal camping-ground
Their silent tents are spread,
And Glory guards, with solemn round,
The bivouac of the dead.

No rumor of the foe's advance
Now swells upon the wind;
Nor troubled thought at midnight haunts
Of loved ones left behind;
No vision of the morrow's strife
The warrior's dream alarms;
No braying horn nor screaming fife
At dawn shall call to arms.

Their shriveled swords are red with rust,
Their plumed heads are bowed,
Their haughty banner, trailed in dust,
Is now their martial shroud.
And plenteous funeral tears have washed
The red stains from each brow,
And the proud forms, by battle gashed
Are free from anguish now.

The neighing troop, the flashing blade,
The bugle's stirring blast,
The charge, the dreadful cannonade,
The din and shout, are past;
Nor war's wild note nor glory's peal
Shall thrill with fierce delight
Those breasts that nevermore may feel
The rapture of the fight.

Like the fierce northern hurricane
That sweeps the great plateau,
Flushed with the triumph yet to gain,
Came down the serried foe,
Who heard the thunder of the fray
Break o'er the field beneath,
Knew well the watchword of that day
Was "Victory or death!"

Long had the doubtful conflict raged
O'er all that stricken plain,
For never fiercer fight had waged
The vengeful blood of Spain;
And still the storm of battle blew,
Still swelled the gory tide;
Not long, our stout old chieftain knew,
Such odds his strength could bide.

Twas in that hour his stern command
Called to a martyr's grave
The flower of his beloved land,
The nation's flag to save.
By rivers of their father's gore
His first-born laurels grew,
And well he deemed the sons would pour
Their lives for glory too.

For many a mother's breath has swept
O'er Angostura's plain --
And long the pitying sky has wept
Above its moldered slain.
The raven's scream, or eagle's flight,
Or shepherd's pensive lay,
Alone awakes each sullen height
That frowned o'er that dread fray.

Sons of the Dark and Bloody Ground
Ye must not slumber there,
Where stranger steps and tongues resound
Along the heedless air.
Your own proud land's heroic soil
Shall be your fitter grave;
She claims from war his richest spoil --
The ashes of her brave.

Thus 'neath their parent turf they rest,
Far from the gory field,
Borne to a Spartan mother's breast
On many a bloody shield;
The sunshine of their native sky
Smiles sadly on them here,
And kindred eyes and hearts watch by
The heroes sepulcher.

Rest on embalmed and sainted dead!
Dear as the blood ye gave;
No impious footstep shall here tread
The herbage of your grave;
Nor shall your glory be forgot
While fame her records keeps,
Or Honor points the hallowed spot
Where Valor proudly sleeps.

Yon marble minstrel's voiceless stone
In deathless song shall tell,
When many a vanquished ago has flown,
The story how ye fell;
Nor wreck, nor change, nor winter's blight,
Nor Time's remorseless doom,
Shall dim one ray of glory's light
That gilds your deathless tomb.

Image

Memorial Day

I wanted to write an insightful post about Memorial Day because -- I think -- it is important. Being a conscientious blogger I decided to google Memorial Day to get a little bit about the history behind the day. Ignoring the News Results section, the fifth hit goes to a page with this as the start of its description:

Memorial Day and Labor Day are bookend holidays, marking the beginning and end of the summer holidays in the United States. These three-day weekends traditionally are times for celebration and family outings.

Instead, I want to give you this quote from a different site: "Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service." And this also:

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps."

Three o'clock is rapidly approaching on the East Coast. Please take a moment to remember and respect those who have died serving our country.

Take a moment to appreciate the wisdom behind this song also which is based on something the songwriter witnessed one Veterans Day in Canada:



A Pittance of Time

Arrow of Light and crossing over

Tonight we went to a cook out. Not just any cook out, mind you; this was the Arrow of Light/crossing over cook out/camping trip for the second year Webelos Scouts. The Tigers were there, too. Some of the Boy Scouts supervised the Webelos in preparing food for their hobo dinners while others manned the grills to cook the food for the family members present.

After everyone had their fill of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, pretzels, potato salad, and fruit salad, the Tigers crossed over to the rank of Wolf Cub Scouts. And then the four second year Webelos were given their patches and awards --especially their Arrow of Light patches -- and then they crossed over to be received into the Boy Scout troop.

Allan was the only first year Webelos and he was recognized and allowed to cross over to the rank of second year Webelos. (We live in a small community so our Pack will have to do a lot of recruiting over the summer.)

After the crossover ceremony, there were s’mores and skits. Finally around 10 o’clock I loaded the girls and William into the van to come home -- but the Scouts were still going strong! The enthusiasm of the Boy Scouts was a wonderful thing to see. They were polite to the parents and siblings of the Cub Scouts. These young men seem to represent all that is still good in our world.

By the way, the crossing over bridge at the top of the post -- it was made this week by my ever talented husband! I am so proud of him for his hard work!

Where I am from

Earlier this year I followed a comment on another blog and found this post by Heth. I followed the link she provided to the format for the poem and have been working on my own since then. Some parts were hard to come up with and others were much easier. I hope you enjoy learning...

Where I'm From

I am from aprons,
from Ajax and chewable aspirin.
I am from a rented old farmhouse,
later razed and rebuilt to rise Phoenix-like from the damage of another tenant.
I am from the pear tree near two old barns,
the dogwood by the drive whose inviting branches I climbed regularly.

I am from spaghetti for supper on church nights
and chili on Halloween;
from Wendell and Lettie and Bessie.
I am from reading everything you can get your hands on and
reading late into the night.
From see you in the funny papers
and you’ll catch your death of cold.
I am from Amazing Grace (oh, how sweet that has always sounded),
from a Bible all my own earned by memory verses
learned over a hot, hazy summer.

I’m from Highland Springs and good, hardy stock –
some Irish, some German –
from vinegar pie and fried green tomatoes.
From Great Uncle Ira who was gassed in World War One,
from Uncle Cotton’s fruit stand,
and a cold Brownie soda with Uncle Jack.
I am from a Sears & Roebuck boot box of faded

black and white photos
of some whose names are not recorded and of others
loved and lost to Oakwood Cemetery,
whose undulating grounds were explored Sundays after dinner,
keeping fresh the memory of our own and others’ family and friends.

Bandages, bandages everywhere

The more I stop by 5 Minutes for Mom, the more I enjoy it.

The give away now? Forty-five -- 45!!!! -- boxes of Nexcare bandages! With four kids -- and the youngest two making up injuries when someone else in the family needs a bandage -- I could really, REALLY use 45 boxes of bandages.

Even if you don't have four children or a blog, but you could use bandages at your house, drop over there for a look and sign up. And while you're there for that, check the other features -- including the new 5 Minutes for Books.

Posts for 14 May 2007

Mother's Day in others words

Mother's Day mayhem

Mother's Day in other's words

While I didn't have a chance to post anything thoughtful or insightful, I did want to share with you some of the words of wisdom and love I found in celebration of mothers.

Danielle posted a lovely tribute to her mother.

Suzanne shares five things she loves about motherhood -- besides her five wonderful boys. She also shared the way she spent Mother's Day.

Rachel shared her perspective of Mother's Day during the third trimester of her fifth pregnancy. While she is moving a little slowly physically, her writing is as enjoyable as ever.

This year Barbara posted a letter from a friend on her reflections on her daughter with Down syndrome.

Ma Beck shares her thoughts on her first Mother's Day. May she enjoy many more!

Shannon shares a tribute to Helen. Everyone who feels incompetent and incapable as a mother needs to read and reflect on this.

Margaret in Minnesota provides wonderful words and prayers for mothers.

Rosemary remembers her mom.
Angela remembers hers also.

And Carolina Cannonball, who did not have a good day, reflects on not being able to live up to the model of motherhood.

Mother's Day mayhem

Was your weekend as busy as mine? I'm sure you have already seen these two videos, but if you haven't yet, please enjoy them a day late:



A Mother's Day Moment

and



Mother's Day

For all the moms who drop by

A Mother's Day card for your enjoyment.

H/T Christine.

Learning something new

Thanks to Suzanne, I found Moms Who Blog. I haven't had time to read a lot of the posts, but I did learn about putting a signature on posts.

I am looking forward to seeing what else Amy has to share!

Autumn leaf fabric

This is a swatch of fabric from 1968. My oldest sister had picked it out and someone my mother knew made a dress for her. Someone else (I'm thinking my sister) made a dress for my Tippee Toes doll out of this. I haven't been able to find the doll dress; I'm afraid it was in storage and became a mouse nest with the rest of the doll things I had been saving to pass on to my daughters.

Somehow I fell heir to the last piece of the fabric. There is enough to make a pillow for the couch in my family room. I wish I could find some more of this -- at least enough to make a second pillow. Don't get me wrong though -- I am glad I have as much of it as I do. It brings back memories of my childhood and the sister who loved me enough to share her special fabric.

More from 5 Minutes For Mom

5 Minutes For Mom has a great Mother's Day Giveaway going on for the next several days. So far the contests are for an iPod Nano and Chocolate gift set from Best Buy and a Mei Tai baby carrier from All Natural Mommies. Additional contests will be added over the next several days so check the Mother's Day Give Away often.

Conversation with a three year old

Ten minutes after I freaked out about a writhing mass of caterpillars on top of the stroller which was brought to me as I worked at my desk:

William: Mommy, the cadder pillars won't move anymore.
Me: They won't?
William: No. They're dead.
Me: They are?
William: Yea-yuh.
Me: How did that happen?
William: I didn't died them.
Me: You didn't?
William: Nope. I killed them with this boot.