Happy Birthday, America

Independence Day
Fourth of July
America's birthday

an excuse for a parade, a cook-out, and some fireworks!!

and a huge dose of gratitude for the country I live in, and those who defend it!!

and because I don't have time to reinvent the wheel... or write new content on this busy day...

Here are three fun patriotic-themed posts from the past.

Red, White, and Blue handmade cards

Flag Wreath (one of my favorites)

Patriotic Toes

Community Conversation: What are you doing special for the Fourth of July? and I'd love it if you were so inclined to leave a comment on one of my old posts... :)

Five Minute Friday: Brave

It's Friday... for one more hour and I'm gonna get Five Minute Friday in before I go to bed and start my Analog Weekend!

Five Minute Friday, where we write for 5 minutes of freedom without worrying about what comes out, without editing and backtracking, without it having to be just perfect.

Wanna join in? Be Brave... We would love to have you!!

Start:

Brave.... I was just going to skip this week, because Brave?!?! I'm not feeling it. And I'm tired of being negative so I wasn't going to write, but then I saw this video in my facebook feed! And while I am not a fan of rock music, this?!?!? Gave ME chills!!



Proud to be an American and so thankful for those who are brave and fight for my freedoms, even if I'm using my freedom to be a scaredy cat.

And someday, I'll stop being a chicken and try my hand at being brave and actually take another step toward my God Sized Dream because...

Joshua 1:9 ... Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.

He is with me... in my parenting, in my marriage, in my writing, in my creating, in my friendships and in my community...

I just need to be BRAVE, because God ... the God of angel armies is always by my side.


Stop:

Community Conversation: What comes to your mind with the word 'Brave'? Do you consider yourself to be brave? Is there a verse you focus on when you need to be brave?

I'd be blessed to have you read some of my past Five Minute Friday posts and leave some comment love...

Patriotic Toe Nails

So, I'm basically midlife... w/o giving away my exact age!  :) and I'm in danger of a midlife crisis...

But my conservative background prevents me from getting a tattoo or any outrageous piercing. Every October, I think of dying a portion of my hair pink, just to be rebellious... and it's for a good cause!

So when I saw this fun idea from Family Fun on Pinterest, I thought maybe that would be a little "dangerous."  I know, I know, I'm pathetic....

And I liked it so much, I couldn't wait for Fourth of July. So I painted my toenails for Memorial Day!!

Here are the supplies you need: red nail polish, blue nail polish, and White French Manicure Pen ... and a top coat to keep it all from chipping.

I know it's pretty self explanatory, but here's what you do... Paint toe nails of one foot blue, and the other foot red... Then use your french manicure pen to add stars to the blue, and stripes to the red, and seal it all with a top coat!!

 AND THEN, your thrill your little girls by painting their nails, too!  :)

So, not exactly midlife crisis crazy... but it made me happy!  So pin this great idea for Flag Day... or Independence Day!!

And it's Patriotic Week at The CSI Project... go check out more great patriotic ideas there!!

I know it's Wednesday

I know it's Wednesday... but I didn't have my computer yesterday, and I am not good at planning ahead, so I don't schedule my posts at all; some day, I would like too! :) so this is my Tuesday post...





I love to participate in Sweet Shot Tuesday, and I really thought that working on Prject365 this year would motivate me to play around with my camera some, but it really hasn't... in fact I need to go take a picture of ... something today!!  I think of Sweet Shot Tuesday as something out of the ordinary, not just my plain jane run of the mill pictures, after all, there are some serious photographers that link up to this. So out of my last week, this is the most interesting photograph I can come up with... what do you think???  This is in the rotunda of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Bldg... looking straight up.

and so there is proof that I played around with my camera a little bit, here is another shot... maybe with the flash?? I don't remember.

Cup Overflowing

Oh, the week I have had... oh, the time I have spent focused on seeing God in the moments; or looking back to see where I missed him... Oh, the finding him in the Ugly Beautiful.  Soo much counting this week and while some of it may bore you, I must type it out, must share it to give my God the praise!

Monday
768. perfect over-easy eggs... made by my husband!!
769. air conditioned vans
770. trains going through towns

771. visiting Hershey Gardens

772. taking lots and lots of pictures

773. seeing things through the eyes of a child (do you see an elephant or Snuffleupagus?)

774. butterfly chairs

775. butterfly garden

776. Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum in rock slippers

777. my 3YO LOVING the hotel pool

778. a most delicious dinner at Chocolate Avenue Grill
779. Chocolate World tour (my kids loved getting cooked)

780. free chocolate samples

781. Preview night at Hershey Park
782. watching my kids have fun over and over again
783. horses that go up and down on carrousels

784. carrousel music

785. Fireworks on July 4th

786. Patriotic marches on the radio
787. Freedom living in America
788. all things Red White and Blue

789. parking lots
790. brake lights (did I mention it took us an hour to get out of the parking lot?)

791. kids falling asleep in the car

Tuesday
792. sunscreen

793. water bottles
794. dressed up chocolate characters

795. the thrill of a roller coaster
796. Merry Derry Dip fun slides

797. short lines

798. kissing tower

799. souvenir penny machines
800. enjoying a kid-sized coaster ... multiple times!

801. grandparents/grandkids holding hands

802. cranky, whiny 3YO, 4YO, 6YO, 8YO ... and adults
803. working on patience
804. kids ability to make new friends
805. sharing food and drinks all day
806. memories made at Hershey Park

Wednesday
807. fresh waffles
808. cocoa in coffee
809. Chapter 7 of One Thousand Gifts
810. working on heavenly focus
811. little kids naming stuffed animals
812. war memorials

 

813. the State Capitol building

814. fountains

815. husband whistling at me from across the Capitol complex :)

816. clean porta pottys
817. history of Pennsylvania

818. history of Civil War

819. fast drying shorts (when my daughter peed on me)
820. souvenir shops (parasols and muskets)

821. crosswalks
822. jewelry
823. kids napping in the car
824. hotel pools
825. Papa John's garlic dipping sauce
826. Wesley buying me a latte before bed

Thursday
827. siblings sweet sharing
828. whipped cream on French Toast
829. tasting jam samples

830. a break in traffic
831. back country roads

832. working on gratitude
833. returning home to familiar roads
834. playing with souvenir toys
835. little girls staying up too late telling each other princess stories
836. memories of my childhood sister time
837. benefits of married life
838. sleeping in my own bed

Friday
839. washing machines to do gobs of laundry
840. peace and quiet
841. time in the Psalms
842. raucous yelling of children
843. hearing of a friend's adoption crossing another hurdle
844. kids doing dishes
845. seeing a hawk? or falcon? close up

Saturday
846. sleeping in
847. enjoying my swing
848. simple lunches
849. the smell of the grill
850. grocery shopping alone
851. replenishing my Dove Dark Chocolate stash!
852. next day's dinner in the crockpot before bed

Sunday
853. voting in a new lead pastor
854. singing worship songs with my kids
855. hearing of God's blessing in Bangladesh
856. a do nothing Sunday afternoon
857. not crying with change of plans

woohoo... almost added 100 gifts to my list of One Thousand this week... getting closer!  If you want to join in with counting your gifts, please do and link up with Ann Voskamp!