Nothing like a birthday...July 4th!

This is a special celebration~~Happy Birthday America!

As I think back to what this time year meant to me as a child, I remember pool parties with fresh grilled burgers, watermelons, a horse decked out in red, white and blue ribbons (yes, as a wee little one, I participated in the "Wagon Train"), parades, lots of good sing alongs lead by Granny, Pop with his true sense of pride for what this day really was all about and more than anything....Freedom. The days of childhood seem to pass so quickly and so "freely." As I watch my own girls, I remember so clearly what life without responsibility was like...no worries or burdens~just skipping along each new path with smiles and laughter. You girls seem to have lots of it. Awwww, how I miss those days! Now, I can truly appreciate what the men and women go through to give me FREEDOM. Not the kind I had as a child but the kind that lets me lay my head down each night without fear. I am blessed, we all are. What gratitude we owe those who serve this dear land...

Somehow the tiny peanut in this family became a little rotten! My favorite new joy each day is...

When I ask "Whose mommy's precious little peanut?" the sweetest little voice ever answers back with the same face as above~~~"MEeeeee!"