THANK YOU!

On this Memorial Day weekend I want to, 1st and foremost, thank all of our men and women in uniform, past, present and future. I also want to thank their spouses. ALL of you are TRUE American Hero's. Your service to this beautiful country that we call home is extraordinary and so very appreciated. Thank God for you. And I thank God for my personal friends in uniform: SFC Crupper; SFC Lenton; Capt. Peters; Capt McDaniel; TSGT. Ramirez; TSGT. Barela and, the countless other people that I have the pleasure of working with. All of you are always in my thoughts and prayers. Next, I wanna thank my Daddy for his service. He proudly served in the U.S.A.F. for 20 years, so that makes me a proud military brat! I can remember Daddy coming home after work and the 1st thing he did was whistle that special tune that belonged to only him. I'd come tearing out of my room, or out the kitchen to jump into his arms and give him a kiss! How handsome he looked in his uniform!!! Thats him at the top of the page too, which I believe was when he was in the Nat'l Guard.

His military career started rather early, here is w/his brothers at Mount Sacred Heart Catholic Military School. I'm sorry, but that just sounds like a nightmare....a Catholic AND a military school????? I had a feeling nun's wore combat boots!...(I'm going to hell for that one, I'm SURE!)That's him 3rd from the left, along w/his brothers, from left to right: Uncle Joe, Uncle Mike, (Daddy), and Uncle Frank. They look none too happy, and who could blame them for crying out loud! THEY WERE AT A CATHOLIC/MILITARY SCHOOL!!!! I cant get past that.....there's a joke there somewhere......

Here he is w/Uncle Frank: (dad is on the right)

Dad looks like scared crapless and Uncle Frank looks like he's in for the time of his life!

The memories I have of being a military brat are very special to me. I was fortunate enough to have my dad always close by, except when he was stationed at Goose Bay Labrador.

And the only thing I remember about that remote tour was him coming home. I think I was about 3? I'll never forget the day I remember actually seeing him. We were at my grandmothers flower shop in Texas and there was this strange man peeking at me from around the cash register....I wasn't scared, I knew deep down this man wouldn't hurt me. God I love him!

So Dad, thank you. Thank you for your service, thank you for making such wonderful memories for me and thanks for the continued memories that we make. I love you so much and I'm proud to say that you served in the United States Air Force. You served your country well, and you're my hero.

Next, but not least, by any means, I want to thank my brother Louie for his time that he served in the United States Air Force! He was as equally handsome in his uniform:

And I want to thank him for protecting the streets of ABQ while in law enforcement. You helped keep my kids safe. And now you get to retire with pride, and MUCH respect. You're a true hero in my eyes.

He isn't in uniform in this picture, but you get the idea:

handsome devil!

I have lots of memories growing up w/him too....but I wont get into that on this blog, we'll save that for another blog that's dedicated to a trip down memory lane. (Here's a bit of a spoiler: HE WAS GOD AWFUL MEAN TO ME!!!!) I love you too Louie!

To all of our men and women in uniform, please keep safe! You're always in my thoughts and prayers, and again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!