Today September 11, 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of 9-11.
On 9-11-2001 We were living in Kenmore, Washington. We lived in this house until 2018.
Some thoughts and prayers from posts on 9-11 over these past 25 years.
At the first attack I was awake alone watching the morning news on our T.V. It took a while for the reality to sink in. Initially I was in unbelief and horror. Greg was at work. I called him at work with the news. I called Josh and Laura who were at their apartment having just been married at the end of August. They were still home but hadn’t heard the news. Dan and Katie were still living at home so they ended up watching the news with me. Katie was in 10th grade and had a late start day and ended up walking to school dazed. We were all dazed and in unbelief. They still had the full day of school. Our niece was working in Manhattan and we were all very concerned for her safety.
I wanted to do something on this day so I pulled out the flag above and unfurled it out the window of our daughter’s room in 2001. It is the flag that was presented to my mother-in-law, Verna, at Greg’s father Rex’s funeral in 1985 at the Riverside National Cemetery. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII. This window is on the street side of our home. Things have changed on that side of the house but the memories are the same. This flag is folded and in a special flag case now.
I Called my SIL to find out if she’d heard anything from our niece who works in Manhattan. Our niece was in route to Manhattan at the time of the attack. No one at work had seen her yet. She wasn’t a casualty that day. She made it. She had to turn around and try to get home again. It took her over 6 hours to get home. What a sigh of relief when she could finally get the message to her parents that she was alive. I was going to say okay instead of alive, but that was not a word for this day. No one was okay.
It was also a day that we wanted to reach out to family and friends and it was good to hear their voices on this day.
Psalm 20:7 ~ “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
The Patriot’s Prayer
God of our sires that joyful sang,
While forest shades triumphant rang,
When on the wild New England shore,
Their sails were furled, their voyage o’er.
O Lord, defend Thy children yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget;
O Lord, defend Thy children yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget.
God of the brave that sought Thy aid,
And in Thy robe of strength arrayed,
They won for us beneath Thy care,
The flag we prize, the peace we share,
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget;
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget.
And when the call to arms again
Was heard afar o’er hill and plain,
Thy mighty hand upheld the right,
Thy love restored Thy banner bright,
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget;
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget.
God of our land, Thy gift so free,
O hear the prayer we breathe to Thee;
Let union’s bond our souls entwine,
And guard alike the palm and pine.
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget;
O Lord, defend our nation yet,
Nor let our hearts Thy name forget.
Words: Fanny Crosby, 1905
Psalm 27:3-4 (ESV)
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.
This photo was taken 9-11-11. Whoever was alive that day in 2001 will never forget that day and all the evil that unfolded. The collage below was also from the 10 year anniversary. All the little flags in the collage came from the Sounders game we attended during the 10 year anniversary. A flag had been placed at every seat in the stadium. Josh and I gathered up 100 little flags that were left behind when the game ended. I displayed many of them on our chain link fence at the 10 year anniversary.
We’ll also never forget the people aboard flight 93 that defended us and after reciting this Psalm stopped that plane’s flight and lost their lives rallying around the cry, “Let’s Roll”.
A Psalm of David. Psalm 23 (ESV)
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
September 11th of 2018 on the 17th anniversary of 9-11 we closed on our country bungalow in Colville.
We recorded on September 11, 2018 and received our keys at 6pm. It was getting dark when we headed over to take a quick walk-thru to drop off a small load of stuff. We (myself, son, DIL and grandgirlie). Dear remained on the west side of the mountains with responsibilities to wrap up.
On the 20th Anniversary, Alistair Begg has a blog post he called The Day That Changed the Modern World. Here’s his blog post. I included a paragraph from the post below.
“Twenty years ago, the smoke and ash eventually began to clear. Blue skies prevailed again. But a heaviness went with us. Today, we may face different causes, but we see the same effects and ought to learn the same lesson: we needed God then, and we need Him now. Instead of turning away from Him in grief, walking further into hopelessness, may we come to the only one who offers refuge from every kind of turmoil.”
We can never take for granted the freedoms we are afforded here in our country and we can never forget that there are those who would love to destroy those freedoms. So thankful to God for his protection over us and that no matter what, we have a hope in our future that cannot be taken away!
Never Forget!
I’m adding links to my previous 9-11 posts over the years for my benefit along with the post from Riverside National Cemetery.
2008 while living in Camarillo.
2020 9-11 Memorial in Cashmere
Riverside National Cemetery
The city of Colville does not have any permanent markers/memorials for 9-11 that I know of but the annual memorial motorcycle ride in remembrance starts in Colville and goes down Main street where folk can gather and acknowledge this day in history.
Since our little condo in Camarillo was the closest to Montecito (Santa Barbara) we offered up a little stopover for all to celebrate after the Graduation ceremonies before the attendees had to travel further for home.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 