Happy 4th of July!

The holiday is soon to be upon us! Our local newspapers are abounding in details for how to celebrate, where to celebrate, new recipes, favorite recipes, etc. How about knitting up a tiny flag to make into a pin? Vogue Knitting provides such a pattern here: www.vogueknitting.com/patterns/free/2008/flag-pin.pdf

I think that I will make one using embroidery floss as it won't take much and I don't have red and blue yarn and wouldn't want to have more yarn left over in my stash.

We'll be spending our 4th quietly. I work that morning but will be home the rest of the day. On the 5th we'll join many families from our Sunday school class for dinner and fireworks. Its a tradition hosted by one of our families; it makes for a family feel and I love it! I am trying to decide whether I'll bake a dessert or bring a side dish or salad - the options are open. We don't celebrate with our family as my own extended family and my husband's have dwindled and moved on to their own traditions what with only one grandparent between us living. So, with one child married and gone, the other likely to travel with the one grandparent to visit an uncle and aunt out of state. . . . that leaves us with a vacation-for-2. Not a bad thing at all! 

I think we will plant some shrubs in our new shrub beds since our back yard has now been french drained, re-sodded and just awaiting the replacement of a large portion of our fence. We may set up our little blow up "Family Swim Center" pool. (that is what the box calls it, we find it every year and joke about our having a family swim center on the back patio)  Its a large pool that is deep enough and long enough for us to sit in, read, relax, and cool off as we get a bit of the sun. We buy this same pool each year as we usually wear one out. It provides us with a cool dip before sleeping at night - makes for a better night of rest when our weather tops upper 90's or low 100's. 

May you have a pleasant 4th - spend it safely, with family and friends, good American foods in the great outdoors! As we celebrate our freedom as Americans, let us not forget the freedom we have offered to us in Christ, the true, eternal freedom.

Truth For Life

So Christ has truly set us free. 

Now make sure that you stay free, 

and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.

Galatians 5:1