A Slice of Smith Life: WVU Armed Forces Salute and a Salute to Students

WVU Armed Forces Salute and a Salute to Students

One of the many cakes I have made for my family. I made this yummy and festive cake for July 4th 2011.

My Dad recently sent a great You Tube video that I wanted to share with the blogging world. The video is "The 2011 West Virginia University (WVU) Marching Band Armed Forces Salute." As stated on the You Tube link: "No celebration of our freedom can be complete without a tribute to the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much to preserve and protect our country. The WVU Band presents our "Armed Forces Salute," which features a medley of the songs from all branches of our great military. This selection will close with a stirring rendition of "America, The Beautiful."

• The United States Army!
• The United States Coast Guard!
• The United States Marines!
• The United States Air Force!
• The United States Navy!

Click on the 5 minute video below to watch this wonderful and creative way that WVU Marching Band salutes our military men and women:

I hope you enjoyed watching the WVU Marching Band video. :) Such creativity and fun! I showed my husband and children (a.k.a. "cupcakes") the video and as a family we all agreed that this was a fun and wonderful way to honor our military and their families for all their sacrifices to keep our freedoms in our country! THANK YOU!

I thought the video tied in so well with our recent celebration of Veterans Day this month and my husband and I were honored to be guests at the 236th United States Marine Corps Birthday Ball.

I would like to salute the WVU students and staff for all their dedication and hours that they must have put in to perform such a wonderful salute to our military men and women. The band performers were students, of course, but maybe some of the performers were also parents attending WVU. For sure, there are many students that are also parents out in the stands cheering for their great band and supporting our military with claps and cheers.

I would like to salute student parents for all their sacrifices and time they dedicate to not only their studies, but also to their children. When I went to college (go NC State Wolfpack!), I was single and felt like my plate was full trying to keep up with my work load and assignments. I have great respect for parents who are attending school also because I can't imagine how challenging it must be to balance school and loads of laundry, dishes, and juggling your children's schedule also. Then some student parents may also hold jobs while they attend school full/part time! If you are a student parent I admire your ability to juggle life from all angles to make a better life for yourself and for those you love. I wish you the best in all you do!

I have been blessed with a recent nomination from eCollege Finder for the Top Parenting Blogs Award!

eCollege Finder is an established online education resource representing over 120 accredited online institutions. In early 2010 eCollege Finder began hosting a series of Top Blogger Awards.

As Brittany from eCollege Finder states, "The winners of the awards are listed on our website to provide students with a pool of resources to help them get through their college years. Our goal in hosting the awards is to enrich students while giving high-quality blogs the recognition they deserve."

What a great honor to be recognized as a nominee and I hope that my blog will inspire all parents, whether they serve in our armed forces or are students in an institution. Thank you!

I will sign off with a few quotes that have inspired me in my schooling and now as a parent in hopes that these words will be a source of inspiration for those that have taken time to read this post and my blog.

"The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral-a dwelling place for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body...Even the angels have not been given such a grace! What is more glorious than this - to be a mother." -Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." Author Unknown

May God bless our military men and women and their families and all those who are parents and students! Thank you for all your sacrifices and hard work!