On Veteran's Day - Remembering Gary Johnston

I want thank the brave men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces.  Some have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe and defend our freedom.  One was my cousin and here are all of the websites and memorials that I have found on the web.

Gary S. Johnston
May 24, 1985 - Jan. 23, 2007
Parents:  J.B. 'Nubbin' and Angela Johnston
Member of St. Mary's Catholic Church Windthorst, TX
Graduated from Windthorst High School in 2003
US Marine Corp Sergeant in Iraq
Enlisted: May 2004
Radio operator to 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary out of Okinawa, Japan
Killed in the line of duty as a result of a bomb blast while serving in Iraq in the early hours on January 23, 2007 in Al Anbar province, Iraq
Purple Heart

In memory of:

Honoring, Remembering Sgt Gary S. Johnston, USMC

Force Recon

Windthorst has lost a beloved son, a brave soldier.

Conservative Propaganda
Freedom Remembered
Dod Identifies Marine Casualties
Find a grave

News articles:
Corps Stories
The Washington Post

Windthorst High honors fallen Marine with street name

Windthorst mourns the loss of one of their own

Windthorst Community Honors Three Fallen Hometown Heroes

America’s Fight For Freedom

Grieving US families talk of unwavering support for Iraq war

Small town America's war dead

An American family's grief

The hero who casts a long shadow

Tributes on message boards:

USMC Parents.com

Legacy.com Guestbook

Songs:

Prayer for the military Song by A.W. Love

Lyrics: I went to a funeral in a small country town, a lonely bell was ringing and there were lots of flags around. a local paper told of how a hometown hero fell, people came from everywhere to bid the young Marine farewell. tears started flowing as the taps began to play, I closed my eyes, held my wife, bowed my head and prayed. Father up in heaven I come to you in prayer, I beg for peace in the middle east and for our soldiers over there. Father please bless today our daughters and our sons, give them strength and courage for their work left to be done. Lord guide them thru the danger that they're in, keep them safe until you bring them home again. Thank you for our daily bread and the shelter we live in, most of all for Jesus Christ who came to set us free from sin. thank you for our freedom and the old red, white, and blue, I know so many people have got it worse off than we do. Lord be with all our soldiers overseas, and please God bless America and always keep her free. Father up in Heaven, I hope you hear my prayer, I beg for peace in the middle east and for our soldiers over there.

Info: This song pretty much wrote itself. Ever since 9/11 and the "war on terror" started, I have always tried to keep our soldiers in my thoughts and prayers. However, sometimes almost everyone gets caught up in a whirlwind of worries and troubles of building a future for ourselves, and we tend to forget the brave men and women who are "over there" defending our freedom. For me Jan. 23rd 2007 was a wake up call. Sgt. Gary Scott Johnston, a 22yr. old Marine was killed by an I.E.D. while leading a door to door search of buildings in Iraq. Gary was an ornery kid from Windthorst Texas. a small close knit Catholic community in the heart of farm and ranch country in the north central part of the state. IF, there is such a thing as an awesome funeral, Gary had one. One of Gary's comrades escorted his body from Iraq back to his hometown, every time they changed planes the young man never left Gary's side until he brought him home and turned him over to his parents. The Patriot Guard, a motorcycle club that pays respects to fallen heroes, lined the steps up the hill to the church. each stood silently dressed in black, holding an American flag, they also escorted the funeral procession from the church to the cemetary. Gary was named after his uncle who was killed in the Vietnam War, they are now buried beside each other in Archer County, Texas. Gary's mom Angela, is my wife's cousin, she made my wife's wedding dress 20 yrs. ago when Gary was just a kid. I am honored to be related to this wonderful family. The young Marines that laid Gary's body to rest were nothing short of impressive, anyone who has a doubt about the courage, and valor of America's men and women in the military, need only to attend a funeral for one of these Heroes, and we all should thank God that we live in the United States of America.

Cooper's 3

Cooper is such a joyful addition to our family. It's amazing how different and unique each one of our children are and Cooper is such a loving, gentle little boy. He loves his brothers and sister, but especially loves snuggling with Reed. He loves trains but all that he wanted for his birthday was a yo-yo. After searching at Walmart and Target, we finally found one at Dollar General.

3 years

2 years

1 year

6 months

On his birthday!

Update on Goals

I have been doing ok with staying on top of my goals for the new year. We have had a few set backs with the kids being sick, Reed not sleeping well, and sleep deprivation. But that's why they are goals and not resolutions.

1. Blog once a week: I was doing good but the illnesses set me back. But will keep working on this one.
2. Less time on FB: Doing much better with this one. :)
3. Re-organizing: I have been successful with this one. My latest big project was re-organizing the kitchen cabinets for better storage.
4. Working out: Failing at this one. But we are taking a trip to Las Vegas in June and I am officially motivated.
5. Cokes: Doing good with this one. I think I have lost 5 pounds just by doing this. But do need to drink more water.
6. Being on time: Getting much better at this one. Now I am only about 5 minutes late instead of 20 minutes. And I am sometimes even on time!!!!!!

A House With Sick Kids is .......Can we say challenging!

After our wonderful wedding fun this past weekend we arrived home to a snow covered house and yard. But that wasn't all. We had two very sick kids, one with a temp of 103. We debated as to what we should do since it was Sunday but I knew exactly what they had....croup. Reed wasn't too severe but Cooper was really sick. I was worried about his breathing and after talking to the on-call nurse I decided we needed to see someone. We took them both to an after hours pediatric doctor and to our surprise only waited about 10 minutes. Our total time there was about 45 minutes. That beats the 4-5 hour ER visit. While waiting for their medication we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed back home to pick up the older two kids from a friends house.

Monday was a pretty tough day. Both boys were up all night and Matthew and I were walking zombies. I was able to squeeze in a 45 minute nap, thank God, that enabled me to make it through the day without losing my mind. Another VERY rough night followed and last night was much better. The boys are still VERY fussy and coughing all day but we are slowly getting better.

The house, not so much. It's bad enough to come home from our trip and have to unpack, but coming home with 2 sick kids.....well, lets just say it looks like a bomb went off in my house and I can't see the carpet. There are clothes everywhere, dishes piled high, mail from weeks ago, and the bags are still packed. I did manage to get a little bit of laundry done today and I paid the bills. I am very proud of my accomplishments. We are definitely in survival mode but God has taught me to slow down, embrace the hugs, and just snuggle with my sick babies. I have the rest of my life to do chores, right, LOL!

Wedding Weekend Fun

Sarah and Brandon got married this past weekend and we had a blast celebrating their beautiful day. Abi and her cousin Annie were the flower girls and look absolutely beautiful. It was a great weekend of family, fellowship, friends, and fun. And boy do those Simmons' know how to throw a party.

New Year's Goals, Not Resolutions

I have decided to set goals this year for 2011 instead of resolutions. I think setting small goals that are achievable and manageable will make me more likely to accomplish them then to set large resolutions and fail at them.

Goals for 2011
1. Blog at least once a week.
2. Spend less time on Facebook. (Blog instead)
3. Re-organize my entire home (this is a BIG one but will be broken down into smaller goals each month.) I will focus on one small area of my home each week to clean out and re-organize. Everything in my home will earn a spot, or be gone forever. I am tired of the clutter.
4. Work out 2 times a week. This is a big one. I must start small or I will quit.
5. Drink only 1 Dr. Pepper a day. I tried to give this one up all together but with sleep deprivation I NEED it.


These are just a few. I have more but will add them another time.