Independence Day

A few months ago, my husband said he thought it was interesting that as a country, we've kind of stopped calling the 4th of July by its proper name—Independence Day. And that got me thinking. Sure, it's fun to light fireworks and eat mass quantities of grilled meat, but the real importance of this holiday lies in the name. Independence Day. This is the day we're supposed to celebrate our independence... our freedom to live where we want, express our beliefs, and succeed and fail in whatever job we want to have. I've become very grateful over the last little while for the extreme sacrifices that the founders of this great nation made to ensure our freedom. They were men and women—white and black, rich and poor—who worked and fought and often died because they believed that America was a special land set aside by God.

And I'm very grateful for the people today, both here at home and abroad, who work every day to make sure we don't lose those freedoms. May God bless the USA!

"I love this nation. It is my firm belief that the God of Heaven raised up the founding fathers and inspired them to establish the Constitution of this land. This is part of my religious faith. To me this is not just another nation. It is a great and glorious nation with a divine mission to perform for liberty-loving people everywhere."
Ezra Taft Benson

Dad and the kids in the tent for a backyard campout

A few neighborhood kids joined us for fireworks.

A2's new haircut

Silly N

Sorry about the full mouths. I take what I can get for pics of these kids.