A Veterans Day Tribute (and the Time I Met Pope Francis)

In my current state of complete forgetfulness (seriously, it's a good day if I can remember my own name), I forgot to pay tribute to America's finest!

Happy (Belated) Veterans Day to all active and retired military who so selflessly sacrifice their lives to fight for our freedom. Whenever I think of Veterans Day and our troops, a quote from John F. Kennedy comes to mind: 

"As we express our gratitude, 

we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, 

but to live by them."

With that being said, please continue to pray for and help our troops in anyway you can--we must live out our words and gratitude.

Here are a few of my family members who proudly served this great nation: (L to R) My Grandpa, Julius Wernsman (World War II), my hunk of a husband, Brandon (Operation Enduring Freedom; Afghanistan), and my Great-Grandfather, Edward Koepsel (World War I).

Brandon had the day off from work yesterday (which is a first for him on Veterans Day!) so we decided to go to Golden Corral for an early supper--it was a really enjoyable experience! Since veterans ate for free, the place was packed and it was so humbling to be sitting there with so many veterans. We sat next to a table of WWII vets and I really enjoyed listening to them talk and laugh. I just love this great country of ours!
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As I mentioned in yesterdays bumpdate, this last week was a very busy but pleasant one. Here are a few picture highlights!

My blogging bestie, Breenah, surprised me with this sweet little care package for Jr.! Seriously, how great is all of this?! Brandon was thrilled by the KU onesie (of course) and I can't wait to give the baby his little toys to play with and to dress him in his sweet little hat and bib (my favorite ever)! Thank you again, Breenah--can't wait to eventually meet in person and get to hang out :D

So my brother and I met the Pope.. no big deal.. :) our local Catholic store just got this awesome 3D cutout of Pope Francis and we just had to get a picture! Viva il Papa!

Great picture, I know, but I am the proud new aunt of a fiddler crab and miniature shark (whose names are Steve and Al, but Joey hadn't decided which was which when I last talked to him)! Brandon was out of town this weekend so I took my brother to breakfast at iHop on Saturday morning and then we walked around Wal-Mart for a little bit and found these two critters.. they now happily reside in Joey's apartment.

My lovely friends Nicole and Yanira had me over for dinner on Saturday night and it was wonderful! They made some really delicious and spicy Mexican food and virgin margaritas and we had such a good time sitting around eating and gabbing. Thanks again, girls! Brandon, Baby, and I will have you two over soon :D

Miss Sassafrass laid in bed and watched the Broncos game with me on Sunday--she enjoys using the baby as a pillow (which is cute now but will pose a problem if she continues to do so after he's born).

I hope that everyone is having a fabulous week so far--only 42 days until Christmas!!