Festivities of the 4th.

So the 4th of July is several days past, but since it’s a big holiday, can I be excused if I still post pictures? Especially since they are mostly kiddo pictures, and I want my sisters and mommy to see them. :)

Festivities of the 4th, I said.
Well, to be perfectly honest, that might be stretching it.

It was a stay-at-home, project-working day with Husband.
It was a picnic day for the kiddos.
It was a grilled-burgers kind of supper.
It was a rained-out fireworks kind of night.

But the day goes down as a good family day.
There can never be too many of those, especially when it seems we haven’t had much of them recently.

There were a few minutes at the end of the day for a few pictures.
Little Man got into the patriotic spirit and was waving the flag with all his heart.

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And then paused for a moment of respectful silence.

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Give him a mower, or a mower ride, and he’ll be set for hours.

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Add in a screwdriver and he’s happy as a lark.

I am amazed at the differences between boys and girls.

He’s so little, but already he notices the train a block away, and trucks that pass and just NOISE, whether it’s a piano or an engine.

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And, it keeps him off of fire-ant piles.

Poor little guy got into one and each little foot had scores of bites. :(

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It’s hard work driving a mower, so a snack of hummus and carrots is a perfect snack any day.

Especially when mommy forgets to keep an eye on the snacking.

#hummusbaby

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Meanwhile, Husband and I worked hard on painting the picket fence.
Yep, real all-American we are. White picket fence and all. Ha! :)

My husband was so smart and made the fence in sections that can be pulled up and out for ease of painting.

We had only primed them before, but that was two years ago and the paint was coming off.
Let me tell you, it does not pay to wait to finish something.

We did five such sections and it took us all day to sand and re-prime and paint.
Four more such panels to go.

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Zoe and Olivia packed a little lunch and set it up on the front yard.

“This is just what I wanted to do!!” Zoe purred happily.
So she got to cross ‘have a picnic’ off her bucket list.
I must do that more often, for the simple joy it brings!

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Nothing like a bowl of fresh cold watermelon, everyone armed with their own fork.

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A few more pictures of Little Girls and Flags and New Skirts that I made last week.

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It is a gift to live in this land.
I am so grateful to all those soldiers who gave their lives for the cause of freedom, freedom they could never experience themselves, for the sake of the generations after them.

Freedom wasn’t free for them. It was at a high price, the price of their blood.
May I never take that for granted.

But even more than the freedom of my country, I’m grateful for the freedom that comes from Christ Jesus alone.

No bondage or slavery is too great for my Savior to free, and even when a body may be enslaved, the spirit can be free indeed.

Freedom wasn’t free for Him either. It was at the price of His own blood for the sins of the world.

May I never take His freedom for granted, and may the life I live bring honor to the sacrifice He paid!

Have a blessed weekend, everyone!
Clarita

 

19 Replies to “Festivities of the 4th.”

  1. amen for blessing of Freedom. lovely pics!!
    your front porch is such a gorgeous photographic site for pics of your young’uns! =)

  2. We had a working around the home day on the 4th as well. Is it horrible to say that I can’t even remember what all we did? It was a good day though, even though I have no cute pictures like you do to remember it by!

  3. I love that your family times are wonderful even when a holiday is a work day and fireworks get rained out. And Zoe’s picnic? Gah. Precious. So nice they included Hudson this time. :) I adore the pictures of my patriotic babies. I just think these kids are my favorite in the whole world.

  4. It was a work-at-home holiday for us, too. Actually, it was my husband who did all the work, so I won’t take any credit for all he did :) “…may the life I live bring honor to the sacrifice He paid.” Amen!!

  5. such a fun post. i think Brooklynn and Zoe must be rather alike… Brooklynn was asking me a few weeks ago why we’ve never had a picnic. i told her that we have picnics all the time. every time we go to the park for the day i pack a lunch and we eat it there. that’s a picnic. oh no she informed me. a picnic i when you have a picnic blanket spread out in the yard and you sit on it and eat your food. so… she got to have a “real” picnic the other week and she was delighted!:) it’s the small things in life. hope your week is wonderful!

  6. The skirts are ever so cute, and I love the photo of your little boy cuddling the flag. Our national day of celebration is Jan 26th “Australia Day”. I suspect the history behind it is somewhat different :0) Hope you’re having a wonderful summer!

    1. Thank you, Olivia! The skirts came together well ~ that’s always fun when that happens. :) And yes, I expect our national day is different than yours! It would be so interesting to learn of other countries and the cause of celebration!

  7. Your photos are just too darling. If I didn’t know you “for real” . . . I’d wonder if all this was real. ;) Your last couple of posts and pretty pictures re-inspired me to pull out the dear SLR and snap away instead of relying on my phone for every shot. I love my phone camera because I get more spur of the moment shots that I don’t get with the other one, but the quality is quite inferior!

    I looove the girls skirts!! Can you teach me how?? Point me in a pattern direction?? And it must be super, super easy and low frustration level for my leaving-much-to-be-desired-sewing-skills and patience with said topic.

    Your “4th” day and weekend sounds just about perfect. I love times like that . . . staying home and working on projects and loving simple things.

    Talk to you soon!

    1. You are too funny. :) But you make me smile anyway! I’m glad you know that our real life is messy even in the beautiful! And my days of an old camera-less phone are soon coming to an end… I think I will enjoy the convenience of a camera phone for those little spontaneous moments, rather than lugging my big one everywhere!

      And the skirts are so fun to make! These came together well, I was happy! They are a long piece of fabric, gathered, and sewn onto an wide piece of elastic. I think I’ve seen Thelma make a similar design, and since she’s closer to you than me, maybe she could show you how? Even though I’ve be slightly jealous with that arrangement and wish for time with you for myself. xoxo

  8. I love the little skirts you made. How sweet. You have the most beautiful children! Such pretty faces. and yes, boys are SO much different than girls. I had boys first, and when Allison came along and sat nicer and was more calm, it was funny to me. I was used to noise and tractors and trains and cars…etc. I’m thankful I am able to experience raising both.

    We spent the 4th of July painting cabinets..it was a much bigger job than I anticipated. It’s still not all the way finished, but Jeff has been so busy with work, he just hasn’t had the time.

    I don’t want to take freedom for granted either..not in this country, or my freedom in Christ.
    Happy Saturday.

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