hehehe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynDM0lJX92Q

bob seger & the silver bullet band




Take away my inhibitions
Take away my solitude
Fire me up with your resistance
Mmmm put me in the mood

Storm the walls around this prison
Leave the inmates
Free the guards
Deal me up another future
with some brand new deck of cards

Take the chip off of my shoulder
Smooth out all the lines
Take me out among the rustling pines
Til it shines

Ahh till it shines

Like an echo down a canyon
Never coming back as clear
Lately I just judge the distance
Not the words I hear

I’ve been too long on these islands
I’ve been far too long alone
I’ve been too long without summer
In this winter home

Still if we can make the effort
If we take the time
Maybe we can leave this much behind
Til it shines

Mmmm til it shines

See the rich man lost and lonely
Watch him as he dines
Sitting there just testing all the wines
Til it shines

Til it shines

Good morning Nessa, that was beautiful!! Thank you for posting.

Lord be with our many soldiers today as they go about their many different jobs. Amen

Wiccan...I am so glad that you are going home!! God bless you!!

Myriah....Hi there Sweetie...


love and Light & blessings for you


and much love & many hugs for Nicole


splendid blessings on your surrogacy

Much Love, Many Prayers, Blessings & blankets
of Covering & Protection for our Mighty Troops

http://www.military-quotes.com/military-poems.htm



The Soldiers Prayer
"And When He Gets To Heaven,
To Saint Peter He Will Tell;
One More Marine Reporting Sir,
I've Served My Time In Hell"
- Marine Grave inscription on Guadalcanal, 1942

Our God and soldier we alike adore.
Even at the brink of danger; not before;
After deliverance, both alike requited.
Our God's forgotten, and our soldiers slighted.
- Francis Quarles (English poet), 1632

"It's Tommy this, and Tommy that,
And chuck him out the brute,
But it's 'Savior of his Country,'
When the guns begin to shoot!
- Rudyard Kipling

For God and the soldier we adore, In time of danger, not before!
The danger passed, and all things righted, God is forgotten and the soldier slighted."
- Rudyard Kipling






"It's the Soldier"
By: Charles M. Province

A protest raged on a courthouse lawn,
Round a makeshift stage they charged on,
Fifteen hundred or more they say,
Had come to burn a Flag that day.
A boy held up the folded Flag,
Cursed it, and called it a dirty rag.
An OLD MAN pushed through the angry crowd,
With a rusty shotgun shouldered proud.

His uniform jacket was old and tight,
He had polished each button, shiny and bright.
He crossed that stage with a soldier's grace,
Until he and the boy stood face to face.

"FREEDOM OF SPEECH", the OLD MAN said,
"Is worth dying for, good men are dead,
So you can stand on this courthouse lawn,
And talk us down from dusk to dawn,
But before any Flag gets burned today,
This OLD MAN IS GOING TO HAVE HIS SAY!!

My father died on a foreign shore,
In a war they said would end all war.
But Tommy and I wasn't even full grown,
Before we fought in a war of our own.
And Tommy died on Iwo Jima's beach,
In the shadow of a hill he couldn't quite reach
Where five good men raised this Flag so high,
That the WHOLE WORLD COULD SEE IT FLY.

I got this bum leg that I still drag,
Fighting for this same old Flag.
Now there's but one shot in this old gun,
So now it's time to decide which one,
Which one of you will follow our lead,
To stand and die for what you believe?
For as sure as there is a rising sun,
You'll burn before this Flag burns, son.

Now this riot never came to pass.
The crowd got quiet and that can of gas,
Got set aside as they walked away
To talk about what they had heard this day.
And the boy who had called it a "dirty rag",
Handed the OLD SOLDIER the folded Flag.

So the battle of the Flag this day was won
By a tired OLD SOLDIER with a rusty gun,
Who for one last time, had to show to some,
THIS FLAG MAY FADE, YET THESE COLORS DON'T RUN
"It's the Soldier"
By: Charles M. Province










Through a Glass, Darkly
George S. Patton, Jr.

Through the travail of the ages,
Midst the pomp and toil of war,
Have I fought and strove and perished
Countless times upon this star.

In the form of many people
In all panoplies of time
Have I seen the luring vision
Of the Victory Maid, sublime.

I have battled for fresh mammoth,
I have warred for pastures new,
I have listed to the whispers
When the race trek instinct grew.

I have known the call to battle
In each changeless changing shape
From the high souled voice of conscience
To the beastly lust for rape.

I have sinned and I have suffered,
Played the hero and the knave;
Fought for belly, shame, or country,
And for each have found a grave.

I cannot name my battles
For the visions are not clear,
Yet, I see the twisted faces
And I feel the rending spear.

Perhaps I stabbed our Savior
In His sacred helpless side.
Yet, I've called His name in blessing
When after times I died.

In the dimness of the shadows
Where we hairy heathens warred,
I can taste in thought the lifeblood;
We used teeth before the sword.

While in later clearer vision
I can sense the coppery sweat,
Feel the pikes grow wet and slippery
When our Phalanx, Cyrus met.

Hear the rattle of the harness
Where the Persian darts bounced clear,
See their chariots wheel in panic
From the Hoplite's leveled spear.

See the goal grow monthly longer,
Reaching for the walls of Tyre.
Hear the crash of tons of granite,
Smell the quenchless eastern fire.

Still more clearly as a Roman,
Can I see the Legion close,
As our third rank moved in forward
And the short sword found our foes.

Once again I feel the anguish
Of that blistering treeless plain
When the Parthian showered death bolts,
And our discipline was in vain.

I remember all the suffering
Of those arrows in my neck.
Yet, I stabbed a grinning savage
As I died upon my back.

Once again I smell the heat sparks
When my Flemish plate gave way
And the lance ripped through my entrails
As on Crecy's field I lay.

In the windless, blinding stillness
Of the glittering tropic sea
I can see the bubbles rising
Where we set the captives free.

Midst the spume of half a tempest
I have heard the bulwarks go
When the crashing, point blank round shot
Sent destruction to our foe.

I have fought with gun and cutlass
On the red and slippery deck
With all Hell aflame within me
And a rope around my neck.

And still later as a General
Have I galloped with Murat
When we laughed at death and numbers
Trusting in the Emperor's Star.

Till at last our star faded,
And we shouted to our doom
Where the sunken road of Ohein
Closed us in it's quivering gloom.

So but now with Tanks a'clatter
Have I waddled on the foe
Belching death at twenty paces,
By the star shell's ghastly glow.

So as through a glass, and darkly
The age long strife I see
Where I fought in many guises,
Many names, but always me.

And I see not in my blindness
What the objects were I wrought,
But as God rules o'er our bickerings
It was through His will I fought.

So forever in the future,
Shall I battle as of yore,
Dying to be born a fighter,
But to die again, once more.







Sniper's Serenity-

A green phantom stalks these lands,
Thirty Ought Six in a Master's hands.
Chamber a matched, perfect round,
Slide home the bolt, forward and down.

Stay detached, loose and cool,
Time your breathing, remember the rule.
Get them now, kill them clean,
before they can hurt another Marine.

The first dies quick, the second has looked,
that one dies fast, a third has booked.
Number Three goes down, sight on Number Four,
this one's for my Brothers, Brothers of the Corps.

Even now at home, I remember that scene,
the four of them and a young Marine,
I would do it again, once more with pride,
to protect my Marines, the enemy has died.

By Robert W. Baird, U.S.M.C. Sniper









A Tribute To Veterans
Jerry Calow

In Vietnam, Korea and World Wars Past
Our Men Fought Bravely so Freedom Would Last
Conditions Where Not Always Best They Could Be
Fighting a Foe You Could Not Always See:

From Mountain Highs to Valley Lows
From Jungle Drops to Desert Patrols

Our Sinewy Sons Were Sent Over Seas
Far From Their Families And Far From Their Dreams
They Never Wrote Letters Of Hardships Despair
Only Of Love, Yearning That One Day Soon:

They Would Come Home, They Would Resume
And Carry On With The Rest of Their Lives

The P.O.W.'S Stood Steadfast
Against the Indignities And Cruelties Of War
They Could Not Have Lasted as Long as They Did
If They Had Relinquished Their Hope That Some Day:

They Would Come Home, They Would Resume
And Carry On the Rest Of Their Lives

Medics, Nurses, and Chaplains Alike
Did What They Needed To Bring Back Life
They Served Our Forces From Day Into Night
Not Questioning If They Would Survive:

They Mended Bones And Bodies Too,
They Soothed the Spirits of Dying Souls

And for Those M.I.A¹S, Who Were Left Behind
We Echo This Message Across the Seas
We Will search For as Long As It Takes
You¹re Not Forgotten And Will Always Be:

In Our Hearts, In Our Prayers,
In Our Minds For All Time

A Moment of Silence, a Moment of Summons
Is Their Deliverance of Body And Soul
To a Sacred Place That We All Know
Deep In the Shrines of Our Soul:

In Our Hearts, In Our Prayers
In Our Minds For All Time

INTERLUDE:
GOLD STAR MOTHERS GRIEVE: ENDLESSLY,
ENDLESSLY, ENDLESSLY.......

These Immortalized Soldiers Whose Bravery Abounds
They¹re Our Husbands, Fathers, and Sons
They Enlisted For the Duty at Hand
To Serve the Cause of Country and Land:

They Had Honor, They Had Valor,
They Found Glory That Change Them Forever

Men Standing Tall and Proud They be
A Country Behind Them in a Solemn Sea
So Let the Flags of Freedom Fly
Unfurled in Their Majesty High:

In the Sun, In the Rain
In the Winds Across This Land

Years of Tears Has Brought Us Here
Gathering Around to Hear This Sound
So Let the Flags of Freedom Fly
Unfurled in Their Majesty High:

In the Sun, In the Rain,
In the Winds Across This Land

REPEAT:

In the Sun, In the Rain,
In the Winds For All Time

Nicole lives in Israel with her father. I miss her so much!

After 9 months of absolutely nothing, I left the surrogacy and am going with a new one.

And I am always praying for our troops and making new friends with soldiers overseas and right here at home! God bless them all!

thanks for the update, Myriah Dear...

I love you & Nicole

& even though we don't communicate all the time ,

remember I am only a phone call or a prayer away ...


Love & hugs


Mama Nessa

Success



http://achieveezine.com/quotes/#achieve



Always remember that 'striving' and 'struggle'


precede 'success', even in the dictionary.

- Sarah Ban Breathnach


The first step toward success is taken
when you refuse to be a captive
of the environment
in which you first find yourself.

- Mark Caine


Success is not measured by money or fame
but by how you feel about your own goals
and accomplishments
and the time and effort
you put into them.

- Willie Stargell



If one advances confidently
in the direction of his dreams,
and endeavors to live
the life he has imagined,
he will meet with a success
unexpected in common hours.

- Henry David Thoreau





It's usually the last ounce of effort
that tips the scales of success.

- Rick Beneteau



There is more to success than reaching goals.
People have accumulated vast fortunes
only to live their final years
unfulfilled and spiritually poor.

Success must also include
a joyful appreciation of living
— an authentic joy that pulls us
toward the next episode
of our life's purpose.

- Steve Brunkhorst


Success is waking up in the morning,
whoever you are,
wherever you are,
however old or young,
and bounding out of bed
because there's something out there you love to do,
that you believe in, that you're good at —
something that's bigger than you are,
and you can hardly wait to get at it again today.

- Whit Hobbs

i'm sitting here, kicking back

and just chillin , drinking tea , making jewelry

& listening to this very excellent

very soothing Van Morrison tune


so i thought i'd share it with all of you...


this is a real real treat...

and so rare to get any video footage

of Van the Man himself


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjmO7jJaOvk


Have a really great day, \\\





When The Leaves Come Falling Down


by Van Morrison


" I saw you standing with the wind and the rain in your face
And you were thinking 'bout the wisdom of the leaves and their grace
When the leaves come falling down
In September when the leaves, come falling down

And at night the moon is shining on a clear, cloudless sky
And when the evening shadows fall I'll be there by your side
When the leaves come falling down
In September when the leaves, come falling down

Follow me down, follow me down, follow me down
To the place beside the garden and the wall
Follow me down, follow me down
To the space before the twilight and the dawn

Oh, the last time I saw Paris in the streets, in the rain
And as I walk along the boulevards with you, once again
And the leaves come falling down
In September, when the leaves come falling down

Follow me down, follow me down, follow me down
To the place between the garden and the wall
Follow me down, follow me down
To the space between the twilight and the dawn

And as I'm looking at the colour of the leaves, in your hand
As we're listening to Chet Baker on the beach, in the sand
When the leaves come falling down,
Woe in September, when the leaves come falling down
Oh when the leaves come falling down
Yeah in September when the leaves come falling down

When the leaves come falling down
In September, when the leaves come falling down

When the leaves come falling down in September, in the rain
When the leaves come falling down

When the leaves come falting down in September, in the rain
When the leaves come falling down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zvxuHOv6D8&feature=related

rough god goes riding


Oh the mud splattered victims
Have to pay out all along the ancient highway
Torn between half truth and victimisation
Fighting back with counter attacks

It's when that rough god goes riding
When the rough god goes gliding
And then rough god goes riding
Riding on in

I was flabbergasted by the headlines
People in glasshouses throwing stones
Gaping wounds that will never heal
Now they're moaning like a dog in a manger

It's when that rough god goes riding
And then the rough god goes gliding
There'll be nobody hiding
When that rough god comes riding on in

And it's a matter of survival
When you're born with your back against the wall
Won't somebody hand me a bible
Won't you give me that number to call

When that rough god goes riding
And then that rough god goes gliding
They'll be nobody hiding
When that rough god goes riding on in
Riding on in

When that rough god goes riding
When that rough god goes gliding
There'll be nobody hiding
When that rough god goes riding on in
Riding on in

There'll be no more heroes
They'll be reduced to zero
When that rough god goes riding
Riding on in
Riding on in
Riding on in
Riding on in

here's another real nice one


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLJcnre6QF8&feature=related



Van Morrison \\\ Wavelength


This is a song about your wavelength
And my wavelength, baby
You turn me on
When you get me on your wavelength
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
With your wavelength
Oh, with your wavelength
With your wavelength
With your wavelength
Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama,
oh mama oh mama, oh mama

Wavelength
Wavelength
You never let me down? no
You never let me down? no

When I'm down you always comfort me
When I'm lonely you see about me
You are ev'ry where you're 'sposed to be
And I can get your station
When I need rejuvenation

Wavelength
Wavelength
You never let me down? no
You never let me down? no

I heard the voice of America
Callin' on my wavelength
Tellin' me to tune in on my radio
I heard the voice of America
Callin' on my wavelength
Singin' "Come back, baby
Come back
Come back, baby
Come back"

Do do do dou-dit do do doudit do do do do do
Do do do doudit do do doudit do do do do do

Won't you play that song again for me
About my lover, my lover in the grass, yeah, alright
You have told me 'bout my destiny
Singin' "Come back, baby
Come back
Come back, baby
Come back"

On my wavelength
Wavelength
You never let me down?no
You never let me down?no
When you get me on
When you get me on your wavelength
When you get me
Oh, yeah, Lord
You get me on your wavelength

You got yourself a boy
When you get me on
Get me on your wavelength
Ya radio, ya radio, ya radio
Ya radio, ya radio, ya radio

Fade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqRF0efmV3c&NR=1
madame george < live >


the studio version of this is very excellent

on his album or CD called Astral Weeks




Down on Cyprus Avenue
With a childlike vision leaping into view
Clicking, clacking of the high heeled shoe
Ford & Fitzroy, Madame George
Marching with the soldier boy behind
He's much older with hat on drinking wine
And that smell of sweet perfume comes drifting through
The cool night air like Shalimar
And outside they're making all the stops
The kids out in the street collecting bottle-tops
Gone for cigarettes and matches in the shops
Happy taken Madame George
That's when you fall
Whoa, that's when you fall
Yeah, that's when you fall
When you fall into a trance
A sitting on a sofa playing games of chance
With your folded arms and history books you glance
Into the eyes of Madame George
And you think you found the bag
You're getting weaker and your knees begin to sag
In the corner playing dominoes in drag
The one and only Madame George
And then from outside the frosty window raps
She jumps up and says Lord have mercy I think it's the cops
And immediately drops everything she gots
Down into the street below
And you know you gotta go
On that train from Dublin up to Sandy Row
Throwing pennies at the bridges down below
And the rain, hail, sleet, and snow
Say goodbye to Madame George
Dry your eye for Madame George
Wonder why for Madame George
And as you leave, the room is filled with music, laughing, music,
dancing, music all around the room
And all the little boys come around, walking away from it all
So cold
And as you're about to leave
She jumps up and says Hey love, you forgot your gloves
And the gloves to love to love the gloves...
To say goodbye to Madame George
Dry your eye for Madame George
Wonder why for Madame George
Dry your eyes for Madame George
Say goodbye in the wind and the rain on the back street
In the backstreet, in the back street
Say goodbye to Madame George
In the backstreet, in the back street, in the back street
Down home, down home in the back street
Gotta go
Say goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Dry your eye your eye your eye your eye your eye...
Say goodbye to Madame George
And the loves to love to love the love
Say goodbye
Oooooo
Mmmmmmm
Say goodbye goodbye goodbye
goodbye to Madame George
Dry your eye for Madame George
Wonder why for Madame George
The love's to love the love's
to love the love's to love...
Say goodbye, goodbye
Get on the train
Get on the train, the train, the train...
This is the train, this is the train...
Whoa, say goodbye, goodbye....
Get on the train, get on the train...

Well, it's a marvelous night for a Moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
'Neath the cover of October skies
And all the leaves on the trees are falling
To the sound of the breezes that blow
And I'm trying to please to the calling
Of your heart-strings that play soft and low
And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush

Chorus:
Can I just have one a' more Moondance with you, my love
Can I just make some more romance with a-you, my love

Well, I wanna make love to you tonight
I can't wait 'til the morning has come
And I know that the time is just right
And straight into my arms you will run
And when you come my heart will be waiting
To make sure that you're never alone
There and then all my dreams will come true, dear
There and then I will make you my own
And every time I touch you, you just tremble inside
And I know how much you want me that you can't hide

Chorus

Repeat 1st Verse

One more Moondance with you in the moonlight
On a magic night
La, la, la, la in the moonlight
On a magic night
Can't I just have one more dance with you my love

http://www.military.com/warfighters

Peter Gabriel...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMwn_hnoS5Y


"Solsbury Hill"

Climbing up on Solsbury hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night

He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
I had to listen had no choice

I did not believe the information
Just had to trust imagination
My heart was going boom boom, boom
Son, he said, grab your things,
Ive come to take you home.

To keeping silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut

So I went from day to day
Tho my life was in a rut
till I thought of what Id say
Which connection I should cut

I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart was going boom boom boom
Hey, he said, grab your things,
Ive come to take you home.
Yeah
back home

When illusion spin her net
Im never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free

Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes, but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me

Today I dont need a replacement
Ill tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart was going boom boom boom
Hey, I said, you can keep my things,
theyve come to take me home








thinking of All of Our Beloved Troops out there



and



Wishing You could come Home to our Tender Love & Care

I know that this is long but it is well worth the read and the listen. Please follow the link provided and go to the video section. The song will just touch your heart




"Thank You!" - A Military Tribute

With television cameras and microphones in place, the House and Senate chambers packed, and all of America standing at attention, President George W. Bush stepped to the podium to deliver his 2004 State of the Union Address to a nation at war. Far away from Washington on that cold winter night, a young Minnesota girl watched from the living room of her family's home.

During the course of his speech, President Bush presented a challenge that made a deep impression upon then, thirteen year-old Emily Custer of East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Speaking to young people in regards to what they can do for their country, he said, "When you or your friends see a man or woman in uniform, say, ‘Thank you.'" During the days that followed, the impression made by those words turned to inspiration for the young teenage girl.

Emily states it this way: "I have always been patriotic. I was raised to be grateful for what I've been given. When I heard the President's Address, I decided to use my gift for composing music to come up with a song that would honor military personnel- past, present, and future- from all branches of the service. I wanted to show my appreciation to those who risk their lives to protect the privileges and freedoms I enjoy everyday!" It wasn't long before the lyrics for "Thank You!" were written, and then began Emily's quest to compose music that would touch the heart. Coming from an accomplished musical family (Besides everyone being singers, among her three older brothers, the Custer clan is blessed with a violinist, a trumpet player, a saxophonist, two composers/arrangers, as well as three pianists.) it seemed quite natural for her to take on a project of this sort.

Having begun piano lessons at four, and adding violin and voice instruction over the next few years, she soon discovered her ‘bent' toward composing. "By five years old, Emily was singing harmonies with any song, always switching from part to part," Grace Custer, Emily's mother relates. "As an adult, it was rather humbling for me to play a simple little song on the piano and have my, then six year old daughter proceed to add an intricate obbligato part, totally ‘on the fly'! Young Emily did not begin writing down the tunes she composed until she was in third grade."

It was at that time that one of her brothers enrolled in a series of music composition workshops for junior high and high school students, sponsored by their local symphony. When Emily heard about the classes, she begged to tag along. She soon became a very enthusiastic, productive member of the group, signaling the point at which she also began entering and winning composition contests sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) over the next few years.

"When I set out to compose the music for ‘Thank You!', I knew it had to be different from anything I had done up to that point." Emily states. "While the words demanded a bigger more dynamic sound, it needed a certain sensitivity to it, too. It began as a choral piece, but with advice from a composer/mentor friend of mine, I changed it to a vocal solo accompanied by string orchestra, piano and several wind instruments."

Over the summer months, while peers were playing outside or "hanging out with friends" Emily, 13, spent long hours at home in front of her keyboard and computer program writing music that challenged her abilities more than anything she had ever before composed. "I prayed a lot about this piece and sometimes I even shed a few tears." Emily admits.

With the decision to enter the song in an upcoming contest, came the realization that a recording was one of the requirements. Emily's brothers and several of her friends, all excellent musicians in their own right, were happy to offer their services. However, as the January deadline approached, her mother began a phone campaign, of sorts, asking for more volunteers willing to assemble on a Saturday morning for a recording session.

"I am grateful to this day for the unselfish spirit so many people extended to us," Emily's mother relates. "As members of our city's symphony, they were all accomplished players, several of whom we had never even met before that day. Everyone was just excited to encourage a budding young musician! Particularly, I will never forget the kindness of the oboist who drove 75 miles, one way, in near blizzard conditions, because she ‘remembered composing a piece as a young teenager and knew the importance of support.'"



‘Thank You!' has won contest awards at the state, regional, and national levels. In his critique of her work, Dr. David A. Karp, Professor of Music at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, wrote, "It is a beautiful expression of Emily's gratefulness and demonstrates imagination and creativity as well as extraordinary musical expertise for a young student."

While she appreciates the recognition, the greatest sense of satisfaction Emily Custer receives comes from singing her song for those for whom it was written. In addition to performing in many local and regional venues, she has sent many copies of her recording around the world to deployed servicemen and women. Some of her live performances have included the following: Veterans Day celebrations; the "Day of the Deployed" commemoration, sponsored by Soldiers' Angels; "Talking with Heroes"; Welcome Home/Purple Heart ceremonies for returning soldiers; the North Dakota National Guard's 1-188th Memorial March honoring ND National Guardsmen killed in action; and most recently, 9/11 events honoring Military Personnel at the International Peace Garden in Dunseith, North Dakota. A special highlight for the teen was receiving her first standing ovation after her performance at the Grand Forks Air Force Base Military Ball in September of 2005.

The impact of the words and music to ‘Thank You!' has been multiplied by the efforts of a family friend who put it into DVD format, complete with patriotic images and photos representing all branches of the service. The entire video presentation can be viewed on YouTube, and on her website: http://www.emilycuster.com/

The chorus of Emily's song (copyrighted and reprinted here with permission) goes like this:

"Thank you, I just want to say thank you/ You sacrificed, you paid the price,

‘cause freedom is not free. / For the pain and tears across the years of our nation's

history, / From my heart I say thank you for the gift of liberty."

The song touches people. After her performance at the "Day of the Deployed" commemoration in October of 2006, the local newspaper reported: "Some individuals were wiping tears away or were sniffling as they exited the auditorium. The angelic voice of Emily Custer ... concluded the two-hour event with a video montage to the song "Thank You!" which she wrote."

Emily, now 18, sums it up best: "I believe freedom is a very precious, though fragile commodity. Whenever I read newspaper accounts about veterans who have been wounded or hear of servicemen or women who have died in action, I am reminded that someone paid a dear price for the way of life I enjoy. Even though I am still a teenager, I do not ever want to take this privilege for granted. The least I can do is say, ‘Thank You!'"

ohhhhhh! Thank you for that story Whisper


It is good to see young people putting their energy


into ways of expressing love & gratitude


towards those worthy Soldiers


who give so very generously for all of us