A Tour of Service & sacrifice

I have returned home from my two weeks of tour the East Coast. I didn't have time to update the blog like I thought I would. Most of the time I was busy from 7am until 1am. Internet connections were usually non-existent or short and sweet. I wish I could have updated you all while I was out there.

If I could sum up my trip into a few words, I would have to say that this was a journey through our nation's protectors and how they have served and have made sacrifices. Never have I spent so much time on hallowed ground. Never have I been nearly completely surrounded and immersed into the past, present, and future of the lives of those who protect the United States. And never have I been so proud to be a part of this family of servants and a citizen of this great country. I have been deeply touched and completely humbled. I could share many pictures with you of my trip, but these are the ones that mean the most to me.

I started my trip in Emmitsburg, MD which is a short drive to Gettysburg. I had a couple of free days on my hands before my meeting with the National Fallen Firefighter's Foundation. I spent most of that free time exploring the battlefields. I took a horseback ride through those battlefields and got to see the view of the land from the soldier's eyes. What a way to look at the historical impact of the Civil War.



This is a photo of myself with my partner from the Texas State Fire Marshal's Line of Duty Death Task Force. It was pretty neat that we were in Emmitsburg at the same time. He was there for a class and ended up sitting in on the meeting that I was invited to. This photo is taken in front of the National Fallen Firefighter's Memorial. It's a tribute to those who give their lives protecting the homeland and it's citizens.


When I went to Annapolis for my cousin's graduation, my parents and I spent some the day touring The Mall of Washington DC. We hit the Smithsonian and several of the war memorials.

This is a photo of the flag that was flown on the Pentagon shortly after 9/11.


This is a photo of a piece of one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center. It was haunting for me to see this, knowing that this was part of an object that was used to attack this country and killed 13 friends of mine. 9/11 still affects me to this day. I can never get out of my head the faces of not only the dead firefighters of Ladder 3 but of those who survived.


This is the World War II memorial. It's absolutely breath taking. I think I could have spent at least an hour there.


This is the Korean War memorial. It makes me sad that so many people in this country take our freedom for granted. Freedom is not free and I think many have forgotten this.


Memorial Weekend we visited Arlington National Cemetery. What an incredible site to see the many flag-staked tombstones of selfless individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Rows and rows of white stones with a hint of red, white, and blue flapping in the breeze.


My favorite part and the biggest reason I wanted to visit the cemetery was the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. We got there in perfect time. I had the hardest time tearing myself away from that area. I absolutely love honor guards and this is the best of the best. Even after the changing of the guard, just watching the precision and the movements were captivating. I felt both sadness and pride here.



The reason for my trip was to be at my cousin's graduation from the Naval Academy. Many of my family members are currently serving or have served in the military. To watch one more person become prepared to enter into the service was a defining moment. It's a big decision for many of the individuals knowing that they might have to fight in a war that is not popular. I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am to be in a family that is willing to step up and protect the lives of Americans.

This trip was meaningful to me in so many ways. I got to visit with family members who I haven't seen in many years. I got to meet new members and hang out with the ones I see regularly. I feel so grateful that God has blessed me with such incredible people that I can call my heroes. I love each and every one of you!

In Maryland & John is an Official Captain now!

I got into Emmitsburg yesterday afternoon. The flights weren't too bad. I actually slept through part of it. But all is good and I will be here at the National Fire Acadamy for the next few days.

I wanted to post some pictures we took of me putting on John's new captain badge. He went and met with the Chief yesterday and got all of his gear and brass. So now he is offially a captain. I can't use my laptop so I have to come to a computer lab to check email and update the blogger. So no pictures for now. I will get them up as soon as I can.


Emmitsburg is really beautiful. Where the NFA is located is in just an incredible part of Maryland. It's kind of out in the middle of nowhere and I think it's actually an old military base. I figured they would want this place closer to Washington DC or to a major city. It is nice though. I had to park my car on the other side of the campus and had to keep walking back and forth. That was creepy since it was night time. No one was around and you would swear someone was following you.

Happy Mothers Day

To my Mom and John's Mom...A big fat Happy Mother's Day! Thanks for raising us to be the people that we are today.

My friend Lisa gave me a Mother's Day card yesterday. It was a card for mothers to be. I was so excited to get my first mothers day card ever! Wow...how awesome and scary is this? Me a mother? By this time next year we should have a baby wandering around the house.

Live Life

Tonight in my devotions I read this quote by Jim Elliot, 'Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.' And I also read this verse, 'Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens.' 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

I was so touched by these two passages. I try to live my life to the fullest. Yes, I can be quite lazy at times and in the next moment I am speeding off at a zillion miles an hour. My life seems to be full of peaks and valleys but I love it that way. I don't ever, ever want to regret not doing something. If an opportunity opens up, I want to take it.

I have friends (both present and past) who have these fears about differant things. Their fears overwhelm them to the point where they just can't take the steps that they need to take to live a better life. Some of them are very rational fears and other's I just don't quite understand. One certain fear used to control me. I was its puppet until one day I just made a decision that I don't want to live like that anymore. I didn't want fear to steal my joy. I didn't want fear to dictate my life. I didn't want to feel sorry for myself anymore. So, I stepped on that scary airplane one summer's day and cried nearly the whole trip. But I did it. I didn't let fear win. I have been riding airplanes countless times now. I even started flying by myself again. I will totally admit that everytime I step into that plane I am scared out my mind, but I do it with prayer. I refuse to let go of an opportunity that could be a blessing on my life because of a fear that I have.

I love my life because of the risks I am willing to take. Those risks could be: making a new friend, getting my backside off the couch and going and spending time with an old friend, making the decision to adopt a child, joining another fire department, and the list goes on and on. Opportunities, both small and large, come up all of the time and there is probably some sort of risk to it but what kind of joy or blessing will you get out of it in the end? I am glad I had a chance to be a firefighter despite what happened. I am glad I got to become friends with some really cool FDNY firefighters only to have their friendships ripped away on 9/11. I am glad I spent a whole summer visiting burn camps across the country, even though that meant I had to be without John for that time. I am glad that I get on an airplane scared *&^$less because at least I am on it. I am glad that I have met so many awesome friends because I was willing to attend some sort of event alone. All of these things have made me a better person, a more fullfilled person.

Wow, God has been so good to me! I am eager for so many more opportunities to come my way. I am excited about experiencing life, the simple and the complex, the good and the bad, I want them all. I refuse to give into fear. I refuse to let anything or anyone steal my joy. I refuse to be lazy and miss out on an opportunity. I refuse to give into my self-doubt that might cause me to be too embarrassed to grab hold of an opportunity.

God has given me this awesome life and dang it, I am going to live the heck out of it!

Adoption Agency Picnic

Yesterday our agency hosted their annual picnic. It was held at a park that was pretty close to our house. We met lots of new people and visited with friends we already knew. It was so much fun to see all of the children that have been adopted from all over the world.









John looking at ladybugs in flight.



Our friends Julie, Russ and their daughter Sara. They had bought a bag of live ladybugs to release. They symbolize good luck in the China adoption community.



After the picnic we went to eat dinner. Our small group friends Scott and Elisa joined us. They aren't in the picture though.


Sara is such a character. She is a busybody who loves to play with everything.

What Not to Watch Before One Flies

Okay, so if you are a nervous, freaked out flyer like I am, these are a couple of things you don't want to watch before your flight:

Anything that has to do with United 93, that include commercial trailers, the website or the whole movie. I FULLY support this movie and I think America's memory is fading but not a good thing to see.


Don't watch any type of current distressed airplane on the news. Yesterday for two and half hours, we watched on the local news a plane that was trying to land at Houston Intercontinental Airport (where John works). It had blown out it's tires as it was taking off. It had to burn off fuel before it landed so it just circled Houston for a couple of hours. Everything was being played out on all of our news channels. John wasn't working so of course I had to get a play by play of what was happening. About a zillion emergency crews were out there. Comforting but then again not really so much... I told John if I was on that plane he would need to have an ambulance on standby because I would take my whole bottle of valium. Of course I prayed hard and the plane landed perfectly. I still panicked and am now dreading my plane ride in two weeks. Note to self, don't watch a possible plane disaster in the making before flying.



On a much more positive note. I wanted to share what John did for me on my flight out to Indi. He was working that day. His station is centered on the taxi-way where the planes take off. He dropped me off at the gate and hurried back to the station. As we were throttling down the runway, I saw his station. He had pulled his truck out onto the driveway and had the boom up in the air with the light on. He was going to squirt the water but a smaller plane was taking off too and he didn't want to knock them out. It was so cool and I got a little teary eyed. It's an honor when a fire truck positions like that. They usually do that for pilots who are retiring. This was better than getting roses (although conffetti roses are still good once in a while ;OD) Here is what it looked like. Thanks babe!!

Beautiful Girl

I missed my dogs and cats while I was gone. Chief followed me around for about 2 days. I took this picture because she was just being too cute. Isn't she a beautiful dog?

More Pictures From Indi.

Hanging out in our booth.


Chaplain Jeff and his dogs. The dogs are used for fire prevention classes as well as search and rescue.



Our Basic Fire Chaplaincy class.


Train the trainer class. The dogs joined us for the class. They were so good!

America, It's Time to Call a May-Day

In the firefighting industry when a firefighter is in trouble while fighting a fire, they call a may-day. It means they are in trouble and in need of help/rescue. I think that America is in trouble and needs to call a may-day.

This illegal immigration issue has gotten completely out of hand. How is it that a country has become so dependent on individuals who break our laws? How do American citizens become brainwashed to the point that they think it's okay for those who break our laws be rewarded? It makes me so angry that I have to pay a pretty hefty sum of money and fill out a mountain of paperwork and go through a background check just to get permission to bring my not-yet-adopted daughter over from China. How come I can't just plop her down into a plane seat and bring her to this country without all of the governmental red-tape and fees? What makes an illegal immigrant better than me or my daughter? What gives them the right to buck the system and yet we have to wade through the waters of legal immigration? I don't understand this concept of rewarding someone who commits a crime. This is something that needs to stop now or we will be a nation that panders to those who break our laws.

America- get on the radio and call for a may-day. This country is in trouble.