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30 Quick and Easy Kids Costumes What happened to the " good ol' days" when a Halloween costume was your Dad's old shirt and cap, and a burnt cork beard? Kids costumes don't have to complicated to be cute! Each of these quick and easy costumes starts with a few simple materials like ...
Caring For Baby's Clothes New parents are full of concerns about what regular household activities may pose a threat or present problems for their newest family member. At some point the question about the best ways to wash baby clothing will arise. Parents typically ask whether ...
Moms: 7 Tips to Organize Your School Kids Moms: 7 Tips to Organize Your School Kids1. Place near the door a rack for outerwear and a shelf or mat for shoes. Have kids deposit theircoats, hats, gloves, shoes upon entering. Each evening, they replace with tomorrow's shoes and jackets.2. Have kids ...
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The last Monday of May since 1868, has been designated as Memorial Day. Now, during that weekend, beer and picnic supply sales skyrocket. Travelers drive our nation's highways en masse. And don't forget the Indy 500.
And while it's important to have fun and celebrate Memorial Day weekend in your own way, it's also important to remember why that day exists. It was set aside to salute U.S. troops and pay tribute to the awesome sacrifices these brave men and women have made, and are still making, for our freedoms.
In case you've wondered how you could honor those sacrifices, here are 3 inexpensive ways:
1) Donate frequent flyer miles to help our wounded soldiers and their families. You can do this through an organization called Operation First Response. OFR looks after wounded troops from Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to combat support hospitals in Iraq.
They also accept donations, like clothes, socks, underwear, toothbrushes, razors, etc...
You can help out this great organization by simply going to their site and seeing what you can do. http://www.operationfirstresponse.org/
2) Observe the National Moment of Remembrance. The Moment occurs on Memorial Day, 3 PM, local time, for only 1 minute. Participation is easy and completely voluntary.
The White House Commission on Remembrance urges Americans to observe in their own way. Ring a bell. Say a prayer. Salute the flag.
You could even call your favorite radio or TV station ahead of time and request that they play "Taps" at that time.
According to the Commission's website: ‘In May 1996, the idea of the Moment was born when children touring Washington, D.C., were asked what Memorial Day meant. They responded, "That's the day the pools open!" ‘
Since then, the Commission has been dedicated to making Americans aware of observing the Moment.
To read more about it, go to: http://www.remember.gov/moment/about_event.cfm
3) Visit a military cemetary. You can pay tribute with the time honored tradition of placing a small American flag, or flowers, on the graves of our fallen soldiers. In 1952, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetary and carry on the tradition to this day. If you're an arts and crafts type of person, an inexpensive silk flower arrangement or 2, of red, white and blue can be created and laid on a brave service man or woman's grave.
In 1924, the VFW started their famous Buddy Poppy Program by selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. The tradition of selling red poppies to benefit our veterans goes back to the early 1900's and was inspired by Moina Michael, who sold red poppies to honor those who died in our nation's service.
To read more about the Buddy Program, go to: http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa
About the Author Ronnie Kimball grew up in a military family and is a co-publisher of REACH HIGHER, The Good NewsLetter. To get the Good NewsLetter and hear samples of Ronnie's CD, REACH HIGHER, go to: http://www.reachhigher.com
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