Remember them...

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN30th Naval Construction RegimentOIC, Logistics Cell OneAl Taqqadum , Iraq.


The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,Transforming the yard to a winter delight.The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,And I crept to the door just to see who was near.Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..To the window that danced with a warm fire's lightThen he sighed and he said "Its really all right, I'm out here bychoice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,That separates you from the darkest of times.No one had to ask or beg or implore me, I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',And now it is my turn and so, here I am.I've not seen my own son in more than a while,But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,The red, white, and blue... an American flag.I can live through the cold and the being alone,Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.I can carry the weight of killing another,Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.""So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?It seems all too little for all that you've done,For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,To know you remember we fought and we bled.Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

The Valley of the Shadow of Death

On December 19th, late in the evening, Elijah Liam Magee went Home to Heaven. He was only 5 weeks old. Please lift up his parents, Larry and Dori, and older siblings, Josiah, Caleb, and Emily as they go through this time of mourning.

*Sigh*

There is so much to say.

Everyone is doing well. Lee went to a friends cabin in PA for 3 days of paintball, snowboarding and *ahem* "manly things". Summer had her 1st concert with the Asbury Orchestra on the 16th. She did really well! Summer, Sophie and I have been going to a friends house and taking care of their 2 horses Taylor and Dale. Sophie the you-cannot-wake-her-up-for-anything type of person actually got-up at 7:10am so she could go with Summer and I! David and Jonathan are enjoying the cowboy stage of life ( I know we all have gone through it!) and are eagerly waiting for the January Rodeo in Salisbury. Really, I think we all are! And as you know Ruby enjoyed her 1st birthday! I will be posting pictures... someday. Time is going by too quickly. Maybe it has something to do with working 3 jobs? Well anyway, that's all for now folks!

Happy Birthday Ruby!

Happy 1st Birthday little sister! You are such a joy and we love you so much!

It did it again!

Yes, it really did snow this time! A whole inch or 2!!
(Pictures to follow eventually!)

Also, tonight we are going to Texas Road House to celebrate Lee's Birthday! 17! Well, actually he won't be 17 until Saturday but since that weekend is going to be really busy we decided to celebrate tonight.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow.....

It snowed today! Though only flurries it was snow!!!
The kids were so excited and disappointed. Excited that it was snowing and disappointed that it didn't stick at all!
It was a great day!

A walk

We went for a walk a few days ago and Jonathan was picking dandelions. He said "look there's one.. and another.. wait there's another food lion!" That was funny. Even funnier was when we noticed Ruby was real quiet over by the pantry. When we walked-up we found out she had bit a hole through a package of dipping chocolate and was enjoying herself immensely. What a Kodak moment!