Freedom's Price

It's Memorial Day. A day we set aside to remember our freedom and those who have given their lives in pursuit of that freedom.

While not a soldier who gave his life in battle, my grandfather, Marion Don DeShon, is at the forefront of my heart and mind today. He made great sacrifices on behalf of our country during war times, and today I'm remembering him and giving thanks for him and countless others who have fought to preserve our freedoms.

In March of this year, my grandfather was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in the course of battle. Those wounds suffered in battle forever changed his life, and that of his wife and children. Their sacrifice has been great, and today I'm grateful for the gift of his life, for his willingness to lay down his life, so that his granddaughter and all those of my generation and generations to come might live in freedom.

This man I knew only as grandfather was gentle, quiet, the glue that held his family together. In his later years he loved to dance (four square, ballroom, country, swing, etc.) and had the most beautiful white hair. I used to think my grandfather was among the most handsome of older men (I guess I still do). Full of shortcomings and mistakes, yet he was honored and respected among those who knew him.  He was also the only person I ever met who could keep my grandmother in line (the DeShon women have wild tongues, as many of you know because you know me, but he could tame hers with a word).  Today I wish to honor his memory by giving thanks for his dedicated service to our country all those years ago.

Thanks, grandpa, for your great sacrifice.

Below is the text of an article that appeared in the Manhattan Mercury about the awarding of his purple heart.

The Manhattan Mercury (KS)
March 26, 2010
U.S. Army awards Purple Heart 66 years later to deceased soldier
Author: Brad Dornes, Contributing Writer
Page: a1

It took almost 66 years but the U.S. Army finally awarded the Purple Heart posthumously to Master Sergeant Marion DeShon Friday. The presentation to surviving members of the recipient's family took place during a ceremony at St. Mary's Chapel on post. During World War II, there was so much going on that information got destroyed by fires and bombings and the Army just [couldn't] keep up with [it], said Lt. Col. Mathew VanWagenen.

The family with the help of Rep. Sam Graves (of Missouri) was really responsible [for] getting the paperwork pushed through so that we could make this ceremony happen.

DeShon, a Missouri native, enlisted in the Army in 1943 and helped the Allied Forces storm Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion in WWII. From 1944-45, he was part of a unit that drove across France and Germany, serving in such storied campaigns as the Hurtgen Forest, Remagen and the Battle of the Bulge. During his time in Europe he was injured four times.

He was awarded the Purple Heart a year and 2 weeks after his death. The Purple Heart, designated as the Badge of Military Merit, is awarded to individuals both for wounds received in action against the enemy and for meritorious performance of duty. "It is a great honor to have been a part of this ceremony," VanWagenen said. "It was a shame it took so long and I want to express my sincere regret to the family about that but in the end he got he got what he deserved."

After returning from Europe in 1946, DeShon was assigned to Fort Riley, where he met and married Shirrel Wilson. "This is a very emotional time," Wilson said. "We were married right here and now I am back here with my entire family to receive this great honor."

Besides the Purple Heart, DeShon's awards and decorations include the French Croix De Guerre.

[DeShon] is survived by his wife, Shirrel DeShon, daughters, Lynn DeShon, Lucinda Sortman, Paula Sue DeShon and Melinda Allen; son [Don] DeShon; as well as eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

All material copyright (c) 2010 Seaton Publishing Co., Inc.
Record Number: 12ECD4F50E935E78

In Farmer Joe's Garden: Sprouts Edition

Farmer Joe has been diligently working in the yard all spring. Some of his hard work is starting to come to fruition. We've got sprouting pumpkins, cucumbers, and squash. You can see the sprouts in this above picture if you look closely at the stakes in the ground. You can also see a ton of neatly stacked firewood in the background. Farmer Joe works as a lumberjack with his chainsaw and axe in the offseason. He has successfully stocked the woodpile for next winter with his blood, sweat, tears and the generosity of Craigslist. It will simply season all summer long while he takes a break to farm.

Our lettuce, spinach, green beans, and lillies (all pictured above) are doing more than just sprouting. Today we harvested some lettuce for dinner salads and shared some of the bounty with one of our neighbors. The lillies will be flowering in the coming days, too, but it will still be sometime before the beans begin producing.

The years have given Farmer Joe some wisdom, so this year he planted a second crop of beans, lettuce, and spinach (first three rows) a few weeks behind the other crop. By staggering the planting, it is our hope to have this delicious produce well into the late summer months.

Farmer Joe and his assistants have also been hard at work pulling weeds and planting pansies, herbs, and tomatoes around the yard. We have noticed some sprouts of thyme, oregano, basil and rosemary already in the herb garden (see below). A promising start. Hopefully, we'll be able to actually have an herb garden this year instead of the traditional neglected weed patch that Farmer Joe's assistant normally manages. In an unusual display of commitment she's promised to upkeep the garden more than once a season this summer.

Culinary Chaos

Two weeks ago, three friends, Naomi, Julie, and Lauren, joined me for a freezer cooking marathon.

We spent five hours one evening prepping, cooking, chopping, and assembling meals for our families. We made chicken fingers, enchiladas, manicotti, stromboli, fajitas, breakfast burritos, ravioli lasgana, and sloppy joes.

Julie & I work on stuffing the manicotti.

Lauren assembled and wrapped approximately 80 breakfast burritos.

Naomi's mom was in town, and she joined us, too. She helped out with cooking and baby care. She was a BIG help. Thanks, Beth!

Despite all that cooking, a few meat mixups, and a few miscommunications over cheese, we're all still friends. Well, at least I still like all of them.

The finished product was 32 meals (8/family), wrapped and ready for our freezers.

The other finished product was four very tired mammas, one tired Grandma, and one sleepy Anna!

So far the Pulls have tried the fajitas, manicotti, breakfast burritos and stromboli. We give a thumbs up to all of them! I'm also giving a big thumbs up to the lack of dinnertime chaos at our house every since cooking night. After much skepticism, I have to admit I may be a freezer cooking convert.

Thanks, ladies, for a fun night and for some delicious food!

A Few Good Friends

While Joe and I were galavanting across the country, our girls stayed behind in Maryland with friends. Aliyah stayed with friends Ava and Andrew for the weekend. I think she enjoyed herself. Here are some of the pictures their mom, Julie, sent me on my phone from their weekend together.

Xandra and Theia stayed with friends Madeline and Oliver. Naomi, their mom, has made a full recording of their adventures for the weekend on her blog, but I pirated some of the pictures for our archives as well. It looks as though they had a great time at the park.

That's Madeline and Oliver's dad, Andrew.

I think bathtime was also a big hit!

We came home to a sick Theia. Upon taking her to the doctor the following day, we found she had croup, a sinus infection, and an ear infection. Just as I thought she was out of the woods, she spiked a fever again yesterday and when we took her back to the doctor, they determined she needed new antibiotics to fight bronchitis.

Our parting gift to our kind and generous friends was for everyone in the house (except Andrew) to get Theia's virus. They've all been sick since last week, but we're hoping everyone in both houses will be back to normal soon! Thankfully, they've been good sports and any grudges they're holding are silent ones, as they're still talking to us.

Thanks, Glenns and Lockards for your kindness, generosity, and adventurous spirit. We appreciate you!

A Weekend for Getting Away

On the weekend of May 15, Joe and I travelled to Chicago, IL for his brother's (Andy) graduation from Trinity Theological Seminary. It was a fun getaway weekend for Joe and I. After a morning of smooth, kid-free, easy travel from Maryland to Chicago, we arrived at Andy & Lisa's apartment about 1 and 1/2 hours before the start of graduation. We enjoyed lunch and a bit of visiting before it was time to head off to commencement.

Despite their better judgment, Trinity awarded Andy with a nice red hood and a Masters in Divinity.

It was a good ceremony (not too long) and there were lots of congratulations and pictures afterward.

Andy & Lisa

Andy, Lisa, Tim, Mary

Andy, Lisa, and Nancy and Maynard Halland

The two brothers took an opportunity to ham it up a bit (all that picture taking gets boring).

The sisters: Laura (due in July), Trisha (due in September), Lisa (due in December (yay! we just found out!), Bethany (has an 8 month old, due for a break).

After graduation we changed clothes and headed to a nearby park for a chilly picnic. Lisa and her mom had prepared lots of yummy food that we happily feasted upon. After gorging themselves, the boys headed out to try out the frisbee golf course at the park. The girls enjoyed lots of chatting time.

After our picnic we headed back to Andy and Lisa's place to hang out and play cards. Joe and I beat the old folks (that would be Tim & Mary) quite soundly the first game. Not satisfied with their crushing defeat the first game, they challenged us to a second game and lost again. Amidst the game Tim tried to make as many messes as possible. He started by throwing water on me, splashing water on Mainard with his famous "dancing hair trick," and ended the messy episode by getting mud and dirt all over the kitchen floor. I promise, he was on his best behavior.

What's a wife to do?

Sunday dawned sunny and beautiful, so we shared another outdoor picnic at Andy & Lisa's apartment.

Mary's birthday was Monday, so we celebrated with cake and singing.

For dinner, we enjoyed some traditional Chicago-style pizza at Gino's Pizza.

Ryan & Laura

Tim, bored at the table, taking self-portraits with our camera.

After dinner, it was a few more rounds of cards back at the Pull ranch.

Then, it was off to bed, for a 3:30AM wake-up to catch a 6:00AM flight. It might have been early, but you sure do breeze through check-in and security when you're not weighed down!

Congrats Andy & Lisa and thanks for a WONDERFUL weekend!