hhmm, Mini rant sounds good...

So seeing the earthquake in Haiti happen and watching all the tv clips about it, seeing the pictures, it breaks your heart. But on the same hand..look closer..do you see those buildings or houses, or cars, in the background? Take a closer look if you havent..we are very lucky to live in America, this is a GREAT (not even a strong enough word for it) country, we are amazingly lucky to be here, to have the freedom, to have our houses that are built with multiple different materials, they are safe, warm, cold if you prefer. Either way its your choice, you are able to take care of your kids with government assistance if you are in a bad situation. You are not forced to walk to the orphanage and drop them off because you litterally will have them die in your arms. This is something that people need to realize is not FREE!!! I personally have paid for this country to be protected, Nino Livaudais my brother in law was sent to Iraq in 2003..left my sister Jackie with Destre 5, and Carson 2, and she was pregnant with their third Grant. He never made it home, she recieved his last letter he had written before he went out and it was delivered to her being between 3-4 months pregnant by men in suits..only one reason they would be at the door. Horrible horrible situation, she has been through so much, her boys miss their dad everyday. We went to DC in May 07 with them to see his Grave at Arlington. The most humble feeling to know all those soldiers are there because they were protecting this country from being invaded and making our lives miserable. (and not to mention that is just a small fraction who decided to go to Arlington, some are in their hometowns) There is no words for the feeling you get, you see pictures, videos, and such on Arlington, but until you are there looking at the endless amounts of perfectly aligned stones its amazing! We sat down and just looked at his Grave, it was the first time, and only time so far, JD and I had seen it. I sat down with Jackies boys and they just teared up, it was his birthday, they brought little cards to put on his grave and wrote him a little note. Carson wrote "I want you to come back daddy, I miss you so much and Love you". To see that was heartbreaking. Here is a brave man with the attitude of making this a better place for his kids, and generations to come and this is what his kid gets to say to him on his birthday. My sister has done a great job on making sure her boys understand that their Dad was a Hero, and they are very proud of him. They have pictures all over of him, she does a great job at keeping his memory alive. Grant was never lucky enough to learn who his Dad was, but he hears great stories, and he does know Nino. He grabs his pictures and stares at them, she has the most precious picture of him sleeping with the picture on the floor next to him, he fell asleep with it in the middle of the day. Destre was a little older, he was very sad about the whole situation, but he is a very strong guy and stepped right up and was ready to be the man of the house right away, he is a great cousin, my boys love him, he is a very amazing kid that has been through alot. So next time there is a moment that your complaining about a cold shower, remember there is a soldier out there who hasnt showered for days and would take a cold one at any chance given. And the next time we complain about being stressed out about a kid driving us nuts and wont calm down or be good, there is a soldier out there who see's a picture of his newborn and doesnt even know if he will meet them, or hold them. Or the next time you are mad at having to do hard labor for a while and break your back, there is a soldier out there who has been out for months on end with an extra 100+ lbs on their back and are too scared to take off their helmet to wipe their sweat. Please pray for them, they are out in a very dangerous area, and nobody can get them out but our government, and sometimes that is not an option so they fight, they fight their ass' til the end knowing if they dont, they may not make it back. I thank god daily for all the brave ones out there who can have military be part of their family and they wait for a spouse/sibling/parent to come home, I thank god daily that my sister had the strength to keep things so alive and real for the kids. (thanks Nino for what you sacraficed, we will see you again...)