Happy Birthday, America!

This was our theme this Fourth of July as we tried to help the girls understand the holiday. We read books about America and made our own little American flags--which I thought would teach the girls the shapes & colors of it, only it turned out to be very open-ended and creative. Both Kardelen and Sofia made their flags in all colors of the rainbow, and Sofia asked us to draw a duck on hers, spurring Jacob to give it the nickname "duck-ocracy." (I preferred "Duck Republic.")

At the fourth of July parade on Sunday, an hour and a half flew by in a procession of vehicles, veterans, candy-throwing rollerskaters, peace activists, and political campaigners. It's the one time a child will be seen wearing stickers from several political parties simultaneously, along with a peace necklace given to her by an activist shouting "Peace is a good thing!"

It was entertaining to see the personalities of our children played out during the parade. Our determined firstborn filled her bucket with four times the candy of her sister, making candy collection her determined focus during the parade. The little sister, on the other hand, could be seen walking into a spray of candy, picking up a single piece, and happily meandering back to the curb to plop it into her little duck bag.

It was a lovely day. We were able to watch the parade from our pastors' home, where our church had a potluck shortly before the parade began. We got sunburned, got to fellowship with new friends from church, got enough sugar for two weeks, went to the wrong address at first, and generally enjoyed ourselves.

too much candy to smile

I am thankful for those who gave their lives for our country, and those who are sacrificing themselves now, so we can live in freedom and fellowship with our fellow Americans, watching our fourth of July parade on a sunny Sunday afternoon.