All Gave Some. Some Gave All.

This is the case with Sgt. Wade Wilson, U.S.M.C.

We feel cheated when we loose people we care about.

We're sad and we hurt.

The loss leaves a hole in our hearts and in our world.

Even though my family and I have only known Wade for a few years, it seems he left a big impression.

Marine Ball

I think he'd be pleasantly surprised to find out how many lives he's actually touched.

Andy and Wade at the Cabin - 2009

We met Wade through my niece, Misha, and her husband, Andy.

Misha and Andy

Andy and Wade were stationed together at Camp Pendleton.

~Halloween ~
Leland (Wade), Beth (Misha) and Dog (Andy)

According to one of his friends, "Wade was very Patriotic".

April 2011

I think that might be an understatement.

Here's the pumpkin he carved for Halloween one year.

He had a infectious smile and bright, blue eyes that could light up a room.

Wade with my great-niece, Layla

He could be very quiet at times and it took me sitting in the emergency room with him in Springerville, AZ during Thanksgiving weekend one year to get to know him (You'll have to ask Misha and Andy why we were in the ER that night!).

Thanksgiving 2009

The conversation went something like this:

"So, how you like the Marines, Wilson?"

"I like it, Ma'am." (Ma'am?!!)

"How about California vs. Texas? Are you enjoying California?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I really like it up here in the mountains (AZ) though. It's nice."

"So, you're from the same town in Texas as Fisher, huh Wilson?"

"Yes, Ma'am. That's funny how he's Misha's family friend and you guys all know him. I'm pretty sure I know right where his property is back home, too."

"Dude, you gotta stop with the Ma'am stuff! I'll tell you what. I'll stop calling you Wilson and you stop calling me Ma'am,...okay Wade?!"

"Okay, Ma'am" (with a very big grin!)

My son really liked Wade and looked up to him; just as he does all the young Marines he's met through Andy and Misha.

Cody, Andy, Logan and Wade

It's going to be hard to let Logan join the Marines when he graduates here in a few years like he plans to.

But, what's a mother to do? Be proud.

Wade, Derek, Tom and Andy

The Marine's lost a good soldier last week when they lost Wilson.

The world lost a wonderful young man.

Happy Mother's Day

I think my Mom would have liked these,....

Enjoy Your Day!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Celebrating Moms Everywhere!

Cheers,

~Shel~

They just don't make 'em like they used to,...

My hubby came home with this the other day.

$7.99

I know! That's what I said!!

I had to snap some pics before he could even clean it up. I love rust and dust macro shots!

It's 114 years old. Cobwebs and all.

They just don't make 'em like they used to anymore.

It had been 'upgraded' with a little motor and a light for working long hours, well into the night.

Yep. Motor still works.

So's everything else on it.

Needs a bit of WD40 here and there.

I finally let him wipe some of the dust and dirt away so he could check things out.

It's such a novelty because the parts actually, well,...they come apart, so you can replace them with out having to throw the whole thing away, melt it down or recycle it.

Today's world seems mostly about

quantity vs. quality.

Faster and cheaper vs. tried and true.

Nope, they just don't make them like this anymore.

I think we're going to learn to sew on it.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Timeless Quality!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Wind

If you're looking for the One Crayon Color Challenge from Yesterday ~

Click Here!

I told you that last weekend we got out of the desert and headed to the mountains, right?

Well, these little fella's were just begging for attention - but the wind made it rather hard to snap a pic of them.

Here's the best ones I could get before they all just blew away!

Hope you're having a wonderful Sunday!

I'm linking up with I Heart Macro over at Studio Waterstone today - won't you join me?

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Tiny Treasures!

Cheers,

~Shel~

One Crayon Color- What Am I?

Welcome to the

One Crayon Color Challenge

and Blog Hop!

Sally over at The Studio Sublime
came up with a challenge for us.

Create in a monochromatic color scheme
using the Crayon Color of our choice.

So,....

What Color Am I?

I'm the depths of the Sea,

where the dolphins roam free.
I'm the bright, beautiful sky

where the birdies all fly.

I'm the ranges of mountains as you look to the west,

I'm the soft, pretty sweater that you love best.

I'm the color of your eyes, so sweet and true,

Why yes, I am the color BLUE!

Yep ~ I chose BLUE.
(Duh! Like that's surprising!)

We could use any and all shades / hues of our chosen color,
but we had to try and create with just that color.

I had lots of ideas but I couldn't decide
what color/shade/hue of Blue to create in.

So, I chose one of my favorite photos as my inspiration
while creating in my absolute, all-time favorite color!

San Clemente State Beach Park ~ San Clemente, California

There's quite a few different colors of BLUE in this photo.

So I created a few things in many shades of Blue,...

just for YOU!

~ As always, click on photos to see enlarged view ~

I had a ton of fun, can you tell?!!

Blue is the color associated with the Throat Chakra.
Some of the positive aspects of this color are: Loyalty, Trust-worthiness,
Tactfulness and Calmness.

Too much blue/green (turquoise) can cause you to become
over analytical, egocentric or to even shove your heart aside and allow
logic to make all of your decisions. (ouch!)

Blue is believed to symbolize youth, spirituality, truth and peace.

Turquoise promotes intuition and is the color of communication.

Blue gives us a feeling of distance and allows us to "look beyond"
and increase our perspective outward.
It is said that this is why artist use it to show perspective.

Thanks so much to Sally Russick

of The Studio Sublime for

coming up with and hosting this

wonderful challenge and blog hop!

It's really stretched my imagination!

Really?! You actually thought that I
was going to let you out of here with out giving you
some gorgeous, BLUE, freshwater cultured pearls
to drool over?

Hahahahahahahahaha!

Right!

Please be sure to visit all the participants and colors

listed below!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Shades of BLUE!

Cheers,

~Shel~

One Crayon Color Challenge and Blog Hop