Today is Thursday. And on Thursdays I want to find and blog about at least one thing that I'm thankful for...

Today I am thankful for the freedoms I have. I know it seems cliche, but it's so true. I see stories on the news and hear stories at church about the happenings in other countries. I hear about things in our own town and neighboring towns. Horror stories. Things I cannot imagine having to live with each and every day. It makes me want to do something, but even at age 34, I am still at a loss as to what to do. Our family does sponsor a few little kids through World Help, World Vision, and our church. But I would like to eventually do something more... as a family. And I would like to do it locally... here, in our neighborhood. What are some things you do, alone or as a family, to help make the world a better place? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Speaking of freedoms, we were able to celebrate our freedoms over the holiday weekend. Oh what fun we had! Because the holiday fell on a Sunday, we started off our day at the One service at church. Normally, our church has a total of five different services, but this weekend was our 2nd annual One service, where everyone gathers "on the hill" at the same time. It's a great time, very casual, and pretty cool to see everyone in one place. Then, we went to my parents, as we do every 1st Sunday of the month, for lunch. We went home, took naps, and headed back to my hometown for the Annual 4th of July parade.




Now I don't know if you've ever been to a small-town parade, but the "good" parade usually only lasts about ten minutes. You've got your parade marshall... a few thousand fire trucks... the Boy Scouts of America... a couple of locals who are running for some political office... the war veterans... and usually the marching band, but I just realized they weren't in the parade this year. Hmmm. Odd.

As I said before, the 4th of July parade is the GOOD parade. What makes it good? It's longer than the Memorial Day parade by about five minutes. And they throw more candy.


Each kid runs up to the curb, even if they don't like the noise, and waits for the candy to be thrown. Sometimes people are obvious by it. Other times they surprise you, throwing the candy out at the last second. It's fun to watch the kids scramble around, trying to gather the most candy.


Luke was so sweet this year, though. He went around sharing his candy with anyone who wanted any... not caring what kind of candy they took, even if it was his favorite kind. My kid's heart is amazing. I want to be like him when I grow up. So sensitive to everyone and quick to try to put out fires, even if he doesn't start them.

After the parade, we went in and ate from a dessert bar. Oh. My. Blood sugar level. It was so delicious. (No pictures of that... I was too busy stuffing my face.) Then, we headed off to my parents to watch the fireworks in their backyard, or actually, I think we were sitting on the golf course. While we were waiting for the fireworks to start at 10:30 p.m. (gotta love Daylight Savings Time... or not...), my dad brought out his telescope. He and Joel had a great time finding different planets. Using the Google Sky (I think?) app Joel had on his phone, they could easily identify the stars and planets they found. (And grandpa sat in his chair in disbelief that technology is this advance... hee hee.) One of the coolest things they found was Saturn and I actually went and looked at it... you could see the rings around the planet!!! It was AMAZING!


So yeah. That's what it is... I'm thankful for my freedoms. I'm thankful for parades. I'm thankful for my family. I'm thankful for telescopes that let us see Saturn's rings. I'm thankful that we have ample opportunity to help others. I'm thankful to have a husband who is on the same page as I am.

Happy belated freedoms day.