A Day To Remember

This Monday we will take a day off from work in order to remember and reflect upon those who have given their lives in order that we as Americans can live in a country of freedom.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on May 30, 1868 when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war. It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May, passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays, though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.
Michelia & I recently had the opportunity to visit Washington DC in preparation for our trip this summer. As we visited Arlington National cemetery we were reminded of the great number of people who have died in battle while preserving America's freedom.


We also visited the Vietnam Memorial where we saw names by the ten of thousands. Names of those lost in a single war. I took a picture of my cousin Larry Riley's name on the wall. The wall is a stark reminder of just how far men will go to serve their country and fight for freedom. I hope you'll take moment this weekend and remember those who have served in the armed services and paid the ultimate price for freedom, as well as those men and women who are currently serving in the armed forces.

A sweet lady in my Senior Adult choir gave me a rose bush last year for my birthday. It was one of the first to bloom this season. It is coincidently named "Peace".

Until then,
Buck <><

We all passed

This past week we got our TAKS results and everyone passed! Whew. We were sweatin' it there for a while. Math was a bit of a challenge, but we were able to overcome. So now we can have our summer free from the worries of summer school. Last year we had to change our plans in order to accommodate it. In the end it all work out great but it can cause an undue amount of stress, when it's supposed to be stress free.

My little sister also got word that she passed her teachers entrance exam. She is looking to change directions in her counseling career and the first step is doing that is to pass this exam. There are some other steps necessary to making the change complete and those will come with time and a little $$$. I'm sure she'll excel at all of those as well.

It's been a good week for knowledge at the Moore house.

Until then,
Buck <><

Libb-eracheh!

I never thought I'd be a person that ever put pictures of their dog on a website. But look at me! Libby has a friend named Elvis that is a dachshund and he has his own blogsite! I'll never tell her that. She has really grown. She loves to play ball and will chase it as many times as I will throw it. She gets so excited that sometimes she bites me instead of the ball. The girls get overwhelmed when she starts jumping on them. They are screaming at her and me all at the same time. It can be pretty funny. I'm sure that it's funniest to Libby!

We got our TAKS results today and everyone passed! We were holding our breath with one of the math tests, but the Lord was gracious and everyone passed. Now we can go on Mission/Tour and vacation without the worry of summer school. Shel will have to take some dance at some point to get enough summer hours of training prior to Starlettes camp but we can work around that. The school is very strict on summer school policies and pre-arranged trips and vacations have no bearing on when students are required to attend. I'm sure they've heard every excuse in the proverbial book. I'm glad that they will all have a complete break from school during the summer. It will be a well deserved summer vacation for all of us!

The Senior Adult choir went to The Forum, a senior adult living center, to present their musical "Homeward Bound" this morning. We had a great time. They really enjoy singing and being together. This musical has given them reason to have fun and really enjoy singing for the Lord. It's about a church that goes to the ball game together and one of the men gets saved. It was supposed to be about a fictitious team but naturally we changed it up so we could root for the 'Stros. The residents had a lot of fun too. I really enjoy "my" senior adults!

Until then,
Buck <><

Spring Musical

This past Sunday our Children & Preschool choir's presented their spring musical. The Children's Choir went back and did their favorites from past musicals and Vacation Bible School musicals. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time singing their favorites. Bailey is not one to be in the spotlight so she's content to be a great choir member. Riley on the other hand has higher aspirations in the music world and loves being in the spotlight. I remember when we were at Durant during a Christmas pageant one of our friends little boy shouted "hey, put some more light on me!" That's what I imagine hearing from her one day.

In the midst of all that goes in our lives, Shelby auditioned and was accepted to be a Starlette next year. Starlette's are Spring High School's drill team. They dance/perform at football & basketball games and go to competitions. In the past they have won several awards and are an accomplished organization of mature young ladies. Their coach runs a tight ship and has very high expectations for her team. Shel' is very existed about being on the team and looking forward to high school even more. My baby is growing up right before my eyes. Enjoy the pics, I have some new ones of Libby to post soon.

Until then,

Buck <><