Anniversaries Worth Remembering in 2026

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.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Hodgepodge

Our current views are smoke filled and our air is very unhealthy. When I was at the library yesterday they were handing out smoke rated masks.

Continuing with Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce From This Side of the Pond this historic week for our family and nation.

1. What gives you energy?

Planning for a trip or an event gives me energy.

What takes it away?

Confrontation

2. How often do you shop for clothes?

Not often. If I’m going to shop for clothes it would be for a wedding or another special event.

What accessory do you always wear?

My wedding ring and my watch.

3. What’s something free that you feel grateful for?

The air we breathe. This is what came to mind because of the smoke filled skies and ash in the air. My throat is scratchy and my eyes are sore. Looking forward to our fires being put out and our skies clearing.

There are 5 fires burning in our area, maybe more. The two largest in our tri-county part of the state are within 15 miles from us. Agencies from across the state are camping in our little town as they help with the fires. I’ll have to get a photo of the camp sites to share.

4. Breakfast, lunch, dinner…which meal of the day do you enjoy most? What’s your go-to comfort food?

Any one of them is enjoyed when the food is tasty and good. I find soup to be very comforting. Russian foods that our mom made are high on the list for comfort, pirishky, lopsha, apricot filled pastry, Vareniki, Roolyet, blintzes.

5. This week the world remembers the tragic events of 9/11. Do you mark the day in any way?

A day we’ll never forget.

This was taken in 2001. In reaction to sitting and watching all the horror unfold on our television, the attacks on our country, I found the flag that was presented to Greg’s mom at his father, Rex’s, funeral. I slipped it out our daughter’s window on the street side of our home in support of our country.

On the 20 year anniversary we put out all the flags!

There is a 9/11 ride here in our town every year and when we can we go out and wave our flags somewhere along the route.

How do historical events shape your perspective on your personal challenges?

In our travels in Oxford and in Scotland and interest in reading books about the reformation and reformers and all the history surrounding those who stood for truth and were martyred for their faith makes my personal challenges seem trivial in comparison.

Having a son-in-law who was deployed twice to Afghanistan and friends and a brother-in-law who served in Viet Nam and knowing all the challenges that they faced during and after their military service also gives me a different perspective on my aches and pains.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

In 2026 we will celebrate the 250th Anniversary of our Country and the 25th Anniversary of 2011. We’ll have to pull out all the stops with all of our red, white, and blue!

Don’t Forget Hodgepodge

It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge where Jo asks the questions for us to answer. Thank you Jo.

1. Something you’ve done recently that required you giving 110% ?

Supervising these two. They spent a couple hours at our house and they went on a marble hunt outside and then released them inside. The marbles went rolling everywhere and under everything. JJ was intent on filling his pockets with them. Addy moved too fast for me to get a clear photo of her while she chased the marbles.

2. What task-sport-chore-hobby-activity have you participated in or completed, that if judged, would land you a perfect 10?

The Russian Sacred Singers of Los Angeles are a group of California young people of Russian background. They sing in English and Russian under the inspiring leadership of director Leonard Wozniuk. The unique bi-lingual choir responded to our challenge to record their selections for radio use. Today, their joyful singing is heard world-wide over several short-wave radio stations and over local broadcasts in North and South America.

Hymns of Praise was recorded in stereo in the Lorin Whitney Studios with the creative accompaniment of organist Bill Fasig and pianist John Innes of the Billy Graham Association. Tom Keene on guitar and Paul Stilwell on bass add their distinctive sound to several selections. ~ Andrew Semenchuk, Producer.

One of my sisters, a few cousins, and my best friend were part of this Russian Youth Choir and in the world of Russian Sacred Hymns during the 70’s this was a 10. The recording was used to spread the gospel behind the Iron Curtain. Through the recording of this album and the exposure to the other professional musicians in the studio I eventually met Dear. One of the musicians, a director of a Christian singing group recruited my best friend to sing in his group. I tagged along with her to the concerts. Dear was in this group. I ended up auditioning for the group and was selected. This Christian music group would sing at different churches in the Southern California area on Sunday evenings and toured England in the summers. Dear and I started dating while in this group and later got married. One 10 led to another 10!

3. What are ten of your favorite things right now?

Our children and their spouses.
Our two grandchildren
Our Church
Sermons by John MacArthur while I mow. I have a 2 sermon lawn.
Podcasts by Costi Hinn, The Sword and The Trowel, Justin Peters.
Fall like mornings. It’s coming y’all. I love Fall!
The Bible
Writings by Charles Spurgeon
Coffee in the morning
My hard working husband (he’s painting our bedroom right now), he makes my coffee in the morning, tomorrow is his birthday.

4. Nine times out of ten I _________________________.

Nine times out of ten I choose joy!

5. Where were you when the world stopped turning, twenty years ago this week?

I will never forget this day. Where I was, what I did, who I talked to. My TV was still in my living room in Kenmore, Washington in 2001. I sat on the edge of an ottoman in shock. I started dialing, first my husband, then my married son and his wife, (they were married 2 weeks before 9/11). I woke up Dan and Katie who were still at home. That day seemed like it would never end. Called my SIL to find out if she’d heard anything from our niece who was working in Manhattan. Our niece was in route to Manhattan on that day, 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. Small price to pay compared to so many…

This flag that I unfurled out the window of our daughter’s room in 2001 is the flag that was presented to my mother-in-law, Verna, at Dear’s father Rex’s funeral in 1985. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII. This window is on the street side of this home. Things have changed on this side of the house but the memories are the same. This flag is folded and in a special flag case now.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Thank you to all who serve and protect including our Military, Border Patrol, Police, Firemen, and Coast Guard!

9-11-2001

A day we’ll never forget.

This flag that I unfurled out the window of our daughter’s room in 2001 is the flag that was presented to my mother-in-law, Verna, at Dear’s father Rex’s funeral in 1985. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII. This window is on the street side of our home. Things have changed on this side of the house but the memories are the same. This flag is folded and in a special flag case in our living room.

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. 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)

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.

The Barn Collective

These are the final allotment of my farm scenes and barns from Northeastern Washington that I took in August.

I’m linking up to The Barn Collective hosted by Tom the Backroads Traveler.

I’m posting this next photo on all my posts that go up on 9-11, remembering.

14 Years Later…

…still remembering.

Fourteen years since that day that I will never forget. On that day I found the flag my mother-in-law was presented with at my father-in-law’s funeral at the Riverside National Cemetery in 1985. It was the only thing I could think of doing on that day where we all sat glued to the television. At the first attack I was awake alone watching T.V. in unbelief and horror. Dear was at work. Josh and Laura were at their apartment having just been married at the end of August. Dan and Katie were still at home and I woke them up to watch the news. My niece was working in Manhattan and we were all very concerned for her safety.

Where were you on that day?

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: 9-11-2001