Military Monday - Fort Carson GWOT Fallen Soldiers' Memorial, 2004

Fort Carson GWOT Memorial stone 2004

These photos were taken shortly after Memorial Weekend on Fort Carson. All of the flags, flowers, bottles and various token were left behind by friends and loved ones as a tribute to those they lost. We need to remember ever single one of them!

Roll Call

SSG Billy J. Orton 24 Apr 2004

SSG Stacey C. Brandon 24 Apr 2004

SPC Kenneth A. Melton 25 Apr 2004

SSG Hensley Box 6 May 2004

SFC Troy Miranda 20 May 2004

SGT Justin L. Eyerly 4 Jun 2004

SPC Justin W. Linden 4 Jun 2004

1LT Erik S. McCrae 4 Jun 2004

SPC Eric S. McKinley 13 Jun 2004

SPC Ken W. Leisten 28 Jul 2004

SPC Omead H. Razani 27 Aug 2004

SSG Gary A. Vaillant 5 Sep 2004

PFC Jason L. Sparks 8 Sep 2004

SGT Benjamin Warren Isenberg 13 Sep 2004

SSG David Weisenburg 13 Sep 2004

1LT Tyler H. Brown 14 Sep 2004

SGT David W. Johnson 25 Sep 2004

SPC Robert O. Unruh 25 Sep 2004

CPT Eric L. Allton 26 Sep 2004

PFC Joshua K. Titcomb 28 Sep 2004

SGT Russell L. Collier 3 Oct 2004

SSG Christopher Potts 3 Oct 2004

PV2 Jeungjin Kim 6 Oct 2004

SGT Ronald W. Baker 7 Oct 2004

PFC James E. Prevete 10 Oct 2004

PFC Aaron J. Rusin 11 OCT 2004

SPC Christopher A. Merville 12 Oct 2004

PFC Mark A. Barbret 14 Oct 2004

SPC Bradley S. Beard 14 Oct 2004

SSG Omer T. Hawkins II 14 Oct 2004

SPC Stephen P. Downing II 28 Oct 2004

SGT Maurice K. Fortune 29 OCT 2004

SGT John B. Trotter 9 Nov 2004

PFC Dennis J. Miller Jr. 10 Nov 2004

SSG Sean P. Huey 11 Nov 2004

SSG Marshall H. Caddy 16 Nov 2004

CPT Luke C. Wullenwaber 16 Nov 2004

SGT David Roustum 20 Nov 2004

SPC Sergio R. Diaz-Varela 24 Nov 2004

PV2 Brian K. Grant 26 Nov 2004

PFC Harrison J. Meye 26 Nov 2004

SGT Michael Antonio Smith 26 Nov 2004

PFC Stephen C. Benish 28 Nov 2004

SGT Carl W. Lee 28 Nov 2004

SSG Michael B. Shackelford 28 Nov 2004

SSG Kyle A. Eggers 5 Dec 2004

SPC Edwin W. Roodhouse 5 Dec 2004

SSG Marvin L. Trost III 5 Dec 2004

PFC Andrew M. Ward 5 Dec 2004

SFC Todd C. Gibbs 7 Dec 2004

May all of our Service Members come home for good soon!

Fort Carson GWOT 2003-2004 memorial post.

ACCM - Christmas Television and Movies

I grew up loving all the Christmas TV Shows that kids still love watching today! You know...the typical ones: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas (who could ever forget that tree!), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (love his little doggie!), Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming to Town...the ones that almost every kid my age watched and the ones my kids love watching too.

But here's one that I'd bet most of you never watched. It's certainly not one you'll see in the TV listings today. It's Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey.

Let me tell you that when I introduced Nestor to my boys there were tears. Serious crying was going on in my house. I'll admit it...I still cry during Nestor. It is sad near the beginning, but a truly beautiful story about a donkey no one wanted who ended up being the most important donkey in the world. Yeah...make-believe, but you can say that about all the others too. This isn't a Christmas Children's Classic you'll see on everyone's list, but if you try one new kiddie-classic...try this one!

ACCM - Santa Claus

My first Christmas (1972)

Did you believe in Santa Claus when you were young or did your parents feel that sharing that legend with you was wrong? I know people that don't want their children to believe in Santa Claus. They feel like they're lying to them. It's certainly a point of view worth considering. I considered it briefly...like 2 seconds briefly, because the bottom line was that my sisters and I believed in Santa Claus and we all eventually found out the truth and it didn't do any irreparable damage to any of us. So far with one child "in the know" and the other in blissful belief, they haven't been damaged either.

I believed in Santa. We didn't celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Nicholas, but my husband's family did. Santa was used as a way to (try) to instill good behavior in my sisters and me as the holidays grew closer and we became more impatient. "Remember that Santa is watching!" was heard on more than one occasion throughout the years. Did it work? You bet it did! There was definitely something magical about coming out on Christmas morning to our individual pile of presents near the Christmas tree. We never heard our parents putting them out or putting them together the night before so it truly was magic to us.

As we got older we usually discovered that Santa wasn't quite what we expected by nosing around the house. Perhaps we were just looking for something and came across a wrapped present. Then the inevitable question popped up, "Well, what is it and how did it get here if Santa hasn't come yet?" We figured it out on our own and for a few years after let our parents believe. Eventually, we each broke the news to them that we knew. I think they were more disappointed than we were!

I'll admit that during those years of discovery we did get quite good at partially unwrapping presents to sneak a peak at what we were getting. Now that's a skill worth having!

When my oldest son asked if there was a Santa Claus, my husband and I were fairly certain that he already knew the answer. He was about 10 years old and instead of lie to him at that point just to get a year or two more of innocence from him, we took him aside and told him the truth. We also told him that Santa was real in spirit. That Saint Nicholas did wonderful acts in the name of Christ and that this was why we brought them the legend of Santa. That the gifts were our way of giving them presents to celebrate the Lord's birth. They were birthday presents.

After my oldest knew the truth he enjoyed helping me each Christmas Eve since then putting out the presents and filling the stockings...after his little brother feel asleep, of course! Now he feels like he's a part of the magic. Do I hope that my boys will pass on the legend of Santa to their children in this way? I do, but it will be their choice. All I know is that the memories and joy my husband and I saw in the faces of our little boys at Christmastime is something we will always treasure!

ACCM - Christmas Recipes

I've posted my father-in-law's Beef Tenderloin recipe. This is traditional (and yummy) for each Christmas Eve. Since dad passed away my brothers-in-law have taken up the task on Christmas Eve and make it for the family.

I've also posted my mother's recipe for Pork Wontons without mentioning that they had become a New Years Eve tradition. I don't think there's any real significant reason that they became a tradition other than we loved them and when getting our New Years Eve on we wanted to have all things yummy available for the celebration.

Those are two recipes that always make me think of the Holidays. This ACCM I wanted to share my father-in-law's recipe for stuffing. My husband has kept this recipe going and is usually in charge of making the stuffing whenever we have it. We call it stuffing, but we don't actually stuff it inside the turkey so perhaps I should call it dressing. My in-laws don't do turkey on Christmas. My family always did, so stuffing/dressing is something I think of as Holiday food.

The recipe is actually taken from Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book. We add sausage with sage to it. One year my father-in-law added apples to his stuffing and boy was there an uproar in the Cayemberg house! Fruit was not to be added to the stuffing!!!!! My father-in-law, husband, and I all loved it. The hubby has added it once or twice more since that notorious meal, but more often we leave it out.

Betty Crocker's(-ish) Bread Stuffing*

1 c butter
3/4 c finely minced onion
12 c bread cubes (toasted)
1-1/2 c celery, chopped
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp dried sage
1 lb pork sausage
1/2 tbsp salt

In a large skillet cook the sausage breaking it up with a wooden spoon into small pieces until browned and cooked through. Remove from skillet and drain in a paper towel-lined bowl. Melt butter in the same skillet. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened and translucent. Add the pepper and sage. Remove from heat.

Tear bread into cubes and place in a large bowl or roasting pan. Pour the onion/celery mixture over the bread and add the sausage. Mix with a spoon or your hands until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed (don't worry it's all cooked through so it's safe!).

If the stuffing isn't moist enough add chicken broth and mix until it is as moist as you would like. Transfer to a casserole dish and bake covered until warm through. Remove foil/cover and let bake about 15 to 20 minutes longer to dry out/crisp up the top.

If you're using sausage that already has sage in it, omit the sage and you can, of course, stuff the turkey with the stuffing, but we do it separately.

*The base recipe was taken from Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book (copyright 1961). The method and baking directions are different than the recipe in the book. There is no baking temperature for the stuffing. You can bake it at whatever temperature your cooking your turkey and slide it in a bottom rack or on the side. It just needs to be warmed through since all the ingredients are already cooked. You can even make it the day before and reheat it in the microwave.

The recipe with the sausage omitted the 1 tbsp of salt because sausage is usually fairly salty. I adjusted it to be 1/2 tbsp because without salt it just wasn't right. Taste some stuffing before adding any salt to see if you need it. It will depend on how much salt is already in the sausage.

ACCM - Christmas Music

I've posted in previous years about my favorite Christmas songs. This year I thought I'd do something different and share the albums that I grew up with. These were the staples every year in my house (and, yes, it was during actual vinyl album days). When I grew up, joined the Army, moved out, and got married, I went and purchased CDs of each of these albums. It just wasn't Christmas without them.

First there was Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas. My hubby isn't a Christmas Carol person, but even he likes a little Christmas Elvis. If I'm going to play something with him around it's this one.

My favorites from this album are "Winter Wonderland," "On a Snowy Christmas Night," "Silver Bells," and "Blue Christmas." No one does "Blue Christmas" like Elvis!

Another of my childhood Christmas albums was Jingle Bell Rock by Brenda Lee. I don't know what it is about Brenda Lee's Christmas album, but I thoroughly enjoy every song. There isn't a single one that comes on and I forward to the next. I know she's more of a country artist, but that isn't it. There's so much emotion in her songs and they remind me of beautiful Christmas nights. This one gets busted out shortly after Halloween (but I only play it when the hubby and kids are at school...no reason to make them all bah-humbug by playing holiday music too early).

As I mentioned, I love all of these songs. If I had to pick a favorite it would be "The Angel and the Little Blue Bell." This song always makes me cry if I listen too carefully. You can listen to the song here.

What is Christmas without Bing Crosby? He is the king of "White Christmas!" Sure plenty of others sing "White Christmas" and do a pretty good job, but no one beats Bing! White Christmas is one of my all-time favorite movies too. Watching it is a Christmas tradition in my house. I watch it and everyone else leaves the room. I still hold out hopes that one day someone will stick around and watch it with me!

Favorite songs include "White Christmas (of course!)," "Jingle Bells (sung with the Andrew Sisters)," "Christmas in Killarney (that's the Irish in me)," and "Mele Kalikimaka (loved Christmas in Hawaii!)."

Finally, the last of the old albums for my traditional Christmas is We Wish You a Merry Christmas by Ray Conniff and the Ray Conniff Singers. Each "song" is wonderful. Of course most songs are actually medleys. It's really a nice twist on the traditional Christmas tunes.

There aren't many titles on this album. With most songs being medleys they last longer than a regular song, but you can sample this album with the medley "Let it Snow! Let is Snow! Let it Snow!/Count Your Blessings/We Wish You a Merry Christmas" here.

Maybe my husband and kids go running for the hills when I put on my favorite Christmas movies, but I can safely say that I've gotten my children to love the Christmas songs I grew up with. They don't get quite as bah-humbug as the ol' man does. I hope that these albums will bring them the happy feelings and memories that they bring me and I look forward to them playing them for their families someday and continuing the tradition!

ACCM - The Tree

Me (in my Brownie sweater) and my sisters with our dog, Scottie #2

We had an artificial tree when I was growing up. It sat on a platform my father built. He would put up the platform and then nail train tracks to it. There were little houses, trees, and fake snow in the little village on the platform too. After the platform and train set were up the tree was next.

The tree had individual branches the fit into the "trunk" and it was incredibly painful to put together. It took what seemed like forever to get up. Of course, "forever" was most likely only a few hours, but to a kid it was an eternity!

We put colored lights on the tree as well as garland and "icicles" made of tinsel. Our ornaments were old-fashioned glass balls with bright colors and white glitter. We also had some non-traditional ornaments that were given to us. My "Nana," Hazel Blum had made us each an egg-shaped ornament that she decoupaged little magazine clippings of things that we liked. Various toys, dolls, and Christmas-y items.

When I went to live with my mother she had a real tree. It was a novelty for me. A real live tree in the house! And after years of having fake the only thing I could think was that it didn't look "perfect" like a Christmas tree should! There were holes and gaps in the branches for goodness sake! Oh, but my mom could work wonders with the tree! The ornaments were hung and baby's breath was put on the branches to look like snow. It was gorgeous! The ornaments filled in those gaps and the tree looked perfect...and smelled wonderful! The ornaments were a mixture of balls and shaped items. It was eclectic...just the way I think it should be!

My tree-top angel. Just taken out of
storage for a photo for this post!

I know many people get obsessed about making sure their trees are perfect. They color coordinate the ribbon and the ornaments and everything is put in its proper place. These trees are quite beautiful, but they aren't me. The Christmas tree represents the family and is filled with things the family likes. We've got a great Grinch ornament for my hubby (it made a nice joke-present). We've got ceramic ornaments that I painted when I was first off on my own. We've got Disney ornaments too. Our tree is filled with everything from beautiful ornaments to cute ornaments that represent where we've been or what we like. Each year I buy my boys an ornament. It's become something of a tradition. I mark the ornament in an inconspicuous place with their name or initial. When they grow up and move out, they'll get to keep the ornaments they collected as the grew up.

Our tree is a pre-lit artificial one (the hubby is allergic to real ones), but it's nice to see that the fake trees look more realistic than they did when I was little. It gets put up each year on Thanksgiving weekend. It's the earliest my husband will permit it. I love sitting in one of my living room chairs with the tree lit, the fireplace on, and a cup of hot cocoa in my hand. We top our tree with an angel just like I did when I was younger. My first angel had lights in her hands. My current one has no lights. They're always the first thing to go and I'm tired of replacing my angel if the lights can't be fixed!

What about you? Do you put up a tree? Is it real or artificial? Multi-colored lights or one color? Angel or star?

Happy Black Friday (Cut Out the Humbug!)

(This is a repost. There's lots of grumbling about Black Friday, but people still partake. Just remember what the season is about. Perhaps this post will help!)

Is saying "Happy Black Friday" a contradiction?  I don't think so.  I hear so many people grumpy about Christmas music and items being in stores before Thanksgiving.  I'm an early shopper.  I like to get it all done preferably before Thanksgiving. Once Thanksgiving hits you've got a month to get everything done, and I'd prefer to spend that time decorating the house and baking cookies.  I want my children to have the wonderful holiday experiences that I did when I was younger.  Far too many people rush into the over-crowded stores to do holiday shopping and are in anything but a holiday spirit.  It makes me wonder how it was for my parents.  For their parents...and so on.  I'll have to talk to my mother and mother-in-law about that one.  What was it like?

I like to think of snowy, peaceful streets and shoppers strolling through stores.  Parents baking cookies for excited children.  I do tend to romanticize things though.  I know my mother and her siblings have long commented on how exact "A Christmas Story" was to their reality!

Today, for most people, marks the beginning of the Christmas season.  I know that my sisters-in-law and mother-in-law will most likely be heading out to Bath and Body Works (and various stores throughout the Green Bay area) in search of some great bargains.  I have fond memories of going with them (venturing out on Black Friday was something I never would have considered before becoming a part of the Cayemberg family!).  There are enough grumpy people out there today, but my Green Bay family are simply shining lights on a knock-down, drag-out shopping day.

I clearly recall sharking through the parking lot for a space at the mall and my SIL Lori rolls down the window in the bitter Wisconsin winter.  Hanging half out the passenger window she shouts with an enormous smile and a cheer that I hadn't felt on a Black Friday...ever, "Are you heading back to your car?"  The lady smiles back and points to a spot directly in front of us and near the front doors to the department store.  Who says the Irish are lucky!  Luck of the Belgian/Germans here!  On the way out of the department store, Lori flags down the nearest person and tells them where we're pulling out. My in-laws bring smiles to people's faces wherever they go.

My father-in-law was always up early and would head out at 3:30 or 4:00am on Black Friday over some deal he saw in the newspaper on Thanksgiving day.  He seldom got the item, but he loved the adventure of it.  He had the excitement of the holidays.

Whether deals were found or missed, a nice breakfast was had and stories were told.  Truthfully I've only been in Green Bay a handful of times on Black Friday, but every time I've been there (well, and any time I'm with my in-laws) shopping is involved.  I don't think I've ever caught a truly great deal when I've gone out on Black Friday, but I'm definitely in the Christmas spirit after being out!  Could you imagine if everyone could be so kind and cheerful at the beginning of what's supposed to mark such a season?

For those who think Christmas has become too commercialized.  You need to remember that Christmas and the holidays aren't what retailers make it.  It's what you make it.  And frankly, there is usually something to be purchased because we do something special for the season.  Whether it's extra baked goods, a fresh pine tree or presents.  What you purchase is up to you.  You decide.  Not the retailers.  

This is a very traditional time of year.  Whether you "believe" in Santa visiting all the good boys and girls in a celebration of the birth of Jesus, or whether you prefer to leave Santa out of it.  If you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice or any other winter holiday, it's a time steeped in tradition.  Have you started your own traditions or are you doing something you learned from your parents?  And if you learned it from your parents were they passing it on?  Find out.  Find out before you can no longer ask.

Maybe people need to look at the Holiday merchandise in the stores in October and the seasonal music playing early as a ramp up for their good attitudes?  Get in the Christmas spirit early.  After all shouldn't we keep Christmas throughout the year?...before we are visited by three spirits reminding us to ditch the Humbug!