Celebrating 250 Years of America

 I hope you all had a fun and eventful Independence Day but more importantly, I hope you were able to take some time to reflect on how amazing this country is and how lucky we are to have so much freedom.  I thank God for allowing me to be an American every single day.  To be an American is not a right, but a privilege - and a privilege I will never take for granted.  

Sure, she's not perfect and it's easy to get wrapped up in all of the things we hear surrounding us that feel as though we are quickly being divided but it's also easy to focus on the fact that, even in those moments, we are still the best nation around.  We have the freedom to live as we do.  We have the freedom to feel as we do.  This country is what it is because of the men who believed the importance of being one nation under God.  I am grateful.  

Our Independence Day started with the kids doing a 5-mile run.  I'm not sure how they did it but they did.  My son, along with my husband and I, have been fighting a bad cold for over a week now.  Yet, he still insisted on running.  With the sickness and the heat he did not do as well as he knew he could but he still made the top 10.  I'm proud of them both.    

We opted out of having family over for a barbecue this year because, well, three of us have been sick.  But Brianna made us these yummy cookies to celebrate.  

Then she went next door to celebrate with her best friend and family at their party.  We heard the fireworks until 11pm.  I stole this picture from her friend's Instagram because it's too cute.  I'm glad she had a good time.  

While she was next door I suggested we take a drive to Gettysburg to give Matthew something to do.  It was just the three of us and right before making it to the battlefield it started to pour so we took the auto tour.  The storm moved in quickly, causing a lot of down trees and power outages in the area but thankfully, the rain broke the terrible heatwave.  

Then we stopped for some ice cream.  

On Sunday we headed to church to hear our pastor give an awesome patriotic sermon.  Ever year our church puts a lot of emphasis on celebrating our country for Independence Day.  Then we were back for the evening service and a firework show after.  The church's firework display is the best I've ever seen.  Unfortunately, it was raining and storming so we had to wait a bit before they started the show.  The pastor was determined to make it happen, despite the weather.  So we stood in the rain and watched the fireworks.  It was still beautiful.  Grateful to be part of a church that refuses to let the enemy win ... but we do think of the rain as a blessing because we were drying out to the point of a burn ban.  

I wish we could have done more celebrating for the big 250th year but it was enough.  With the three of us fighting something terrible there really wasn't much that could be done.  

Now we are back to Monday and a week ahead that may be filled with more rain.  At least it's a break from the excruciating triple digit heat.  I've always been a summer girl but the older I get the harder it is to be in this heat for a long period of time.  That makes me sad because it was always my favorite time of the year.  

Hello Heatwave

 Happy July!  We are starting it with a triple digit heatwave here in south-central Pennsylvania.   How about where you live?  I'll be staying in the air conditioning fighting what I hope is the end of what has been a terrible cold.  

I forgot to share the strawberry moon from the end of June.  Did you see it?  My hubby captured it with our new Cannon camera.  I love anything that involves space.  

Yesterday, at the start of the heatwave we took a trip to Baltimore.   The Orioles were playing my husband's team, the Chicago White Sox.  It was miserably hot and there were moments I thought about passing out but we survived.  

The Orioles won, though.  

Then we headed to the Towson Mall to walk around.  None of us bought anything except for Auntie Annes, which we've established is a requirement for any and all trips to the mall.  Yummy pretzels and lemonade. 

I'm not sure where my kids get their quirky weirdness from.  

In the Macy's is a small section of Toys R Us.  That store was a huge part of my childhood and my childrens.  It was sad when they closed but also a relief because it caused my dad to stop spoiling them with more toys than we had room for.

And that was our first adventure for July.  The next few days we'll be keeping cool indoors.  Hoping the rain holds off for the weekend of celebration for America's 250th.  

I would also like to ask for prayers for my new friend Tiara.  She's a homeless girl in Baltimore who asked if we could buy her lunch.  She said she had nothing to eat in 4 days.  It's not for me to judge or question her sincerity, especially on a day that was so hot.  She's been in my heart and prayers since.  

Moments From June

 My son ran into the house to tell me there was a toad in the backyard that our dog was trying to catch.  so I moved this little guy to the front flower bed where he went on to live a life safe from the husky (or it's a she, I can't tell).  

My kids enjoyed a week of teen camp with the other teens from our church.  They grew closer to those teens while making friends from different churches.  They heard sermons, sang songs, ate food that my daughter said was gross, played games and went swimming.  Some kids were saved.  I screenshot this picture from a video my church posted.  It was supposed to be something silly Bri was doing with friends.  She took her hair straightener and interviewed some of the teens and asked them what their favorite part about camp was.  These are my two.  I'm glad they had that experience and I'm glad, as much as I missed them, to have a week of quietness in the home.  

Rob wanted to get rid of a bunch of old paperwork so we decided to have a fire one night.  It was a pretty impressive fire until an unexpected rainfall came down.  

While the kids were away at camp I was chicken sitting for a friend while they were at the beach.  For the first few days I could not find any eggs until discovering the little nesting box tucked away in the corner.  I forgot she mentioned about that.  So, I had plenty of eggs to take home.  

And that's about it.  Seriously.  The month of June has been relaxing, peaceful and boring as my kids would say.  My daughter started cross-country practice so that's been taking up a few hours/three times a week.  They went to a friend's graduation party.  My husband has been working.  I've been hanging out at home.  The month ended with my daughter getting sick, then my husband, then me, and now Matthew.  Ugh!  It's been a terrible cold.  

Tomorrow starts July and the calendar is filling up.  My kids like doing things and I feel bad when we don't make that happen.  By the end of next month I should have several, more entertaining, pictures to share.  

Goodbye June!  

Breaking Generational Curses

 

I look at these two little ones with a heart that pangs with feelings of missing them just like this.  When they were sweet and innocent, unaware that the big world around them was filled with heartbreaks and challenges.  Before they experienced bullies who took away their joy and before worrying about knowing all the information to pass the next test.  When imagination ran wild while playing with either dolls and trucks.  When our days were spent borrowing books from the library and playing at the park.  When the hugs and "I love you, Mommy" were constant.  

The lady behind the camera was someone who promised she'd be the kind of mother who brought unconditional love and peace in her home instead of the chaos she grew up in.  She wanted nothing more than to create an environment in the home where they experienced kindness and felt comfort.  She did okay with it but also made plenty of mistakes and finds herself currently consumed with thoughts of all those mistakes with wishes of being able to go back and have another try.  

Unfortunately, I can't go back.  God did not design life to be that way.  I hope one day these two can look back on their lives and know that their mother tried, really, really tried.  And I hope they succeed at doing so much better than I ever could in their own lives and with their children.