Category Archives: 4th of July

Free Range Hodgepodge

Time for Wednesday Hodgepodge with thanks to Jo From This Side of the Pond for coming up with the questions.

The internet has been touch and go at our country bungalow so I’m behind on my visits to your blogs. Hopefully things will speed up and I’ll be back soon.

1. July 6th is National Fried Chicken Day…are you a fan? Do you make your own or have a favorite place to buy from? Do you own chickens? If not chicken what’s your favorite fried food?

Chicken is not my favorite fried food but we do enjoy fried chicken and buy it once in a while from Colonel Lickie Quickie Chickie. We do not own chickens but our local kids do. I like Tempura Vegetables and they are probably my favorite fried food.

2.  What’s something you’re too chicken to try?

Sky diving, bungie jumping, backpacking just to name a few.

3. When did you last find yourself running around like a ‘chicken with its head cut off‘?

I’m drawing a blank with this one.

4. Something you’ve done recently that makes you think ‘I’m no spring chicken’? 

Oh boy, here we go. Trying to get up off the floor when I get down to play with the grands. Getting down on the floor isn’t easy either. Weeding is another thing that reminds me of the natural progression of my age and how it affects my body. Trying to get out of cars that sit low to the ground.

5. ‘Winner winner chicken dinner‘…tell us about something good that’s happened in your life lately. 

So many things…

Time spent with loved ones that I hadn’t seen for ages. Visits from our kids and grands. Finding a friend to walk with. My dear husband and his care for me. Speaking of Dear, he’s painting the exterior of our home and it is looking fresh and good. Generally relationally I am blessed with very little conflict, with good relationships and I don’t take that for granted.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The many faces of our grands reacting to their at home Fourth of July fireworks! Thank you to our daughter-in-law for capturing these moments.

4th of July 2022 ~ God Help America!

On this 4th of July 2022 I’ll share this prayer from the first president of the United States.  A prayer from George Washington’s Prayer Journal.

“O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before thy Divine majesty, beseeching thee to accept of my humble and hearty thanks, that it hath pleased thy great goodness to keep and preserve me the night past from all the dangers poor mortals are subject to, and has given me sweet and pleasant sleep, whereby I find my body refreshed and comforted for performing the duties of this day, in which I beseech thee to defend me from all perils of body and soul.

Direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the lamb, and purge my heart by thy Holy Spirit, from the dross of my natural corruption, that I may with more freedom of mind and liberty of will serve thee, the ever lasting God, in righteousness and holiness this day, and all the days of my life.

Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the Gospel. Give me repentance from dead works. Pardon my wanderings, and direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my salvation. Teach me how to live in thy fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the ways of thy commandments. Make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber. But daily frame me more and more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life. Bless my family, friends and kindred unite us all in praising and glorifying thee in all our works begun, continued, and ended, when we shall come to make our last account before thee blessed Saviour, who hath taught us thus to pray, our Father.”

I’m humbled by this prayer from the first president of the United States. I pray along with it as I ready this post.

The stained glass window with the sun streaming through casting it’s light and color onto the statue of George Washington was taken at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. in May of 2011. Dear had a conference in D.C. and I was able to tag along. The National Cathedral is a must see if you ever travel to D.C.

It is folly to say our nation was not founded on Christian principles. Some would like to blot out this part of our history and remove all evidence of our Founding Father’s faith in the one true God.

Have you ever seen or read the third verse of “The Star Spangled Banner”, our National Anthem?

 O thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, “In God is our trust.”
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Praising God this morning for preserving our nation to this point in history.

Give me this day almighty God the Spirit filled mind to serve thee in the righteousness of your dear Son, Jesus my Lord, who’s sacrifice covers my sin repented of and gives me the strength to live in your holiness.  God bless America and keep our land free to worship you in righteousness and truth.

Happy Independence Day, the 4th of July to all my friends and family in the U.S.A.!

My post is late this year since we had a very mighty thunderous storm yesterday knocking out our electricity and internet for a time. The electricity came back on but the internet was still out when I tried to create a post for today. 

Survivors

Many of our plants have survived our epic heat wave and for that I’m grateful.

This clematis hasn’t bloomed the last couple of years but this year we’ve gotten two blooms. This is the second bloom.

The daylilies seem to thrive in the heat.

How does your garden grow?

Today I have a follow-up appointment in Spokane so we’ll leave O-dark-thirty to get to the appointment on time. Need anything from Costco while we are there? That’s a standard question we ask our kids and they ask us depending on who is headed to Spokane.

Fourth of July 2021 ~ A Prayer

Fourth of July lands on a Sunday this year and I’m sharing this post again, A prayer from George Washington’s Prayer Journal.

“O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before thy Divine majesty, beseeching thee to accept of my humble and hearty thanks, that it hath pleased thy great goodness to keep and preserve me the night past from all the dangers poor mortals are subject to, and has given me sweet and pleasant sleep, whereby I find my body refreshed and comforted for performing the duties of this day, in which I beseech thee to defend me from all perils of body and soul.

Direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the lamb, and purge my heart by thy Holy Spirit, from the dross of my natural corruption, that I may with more freedom of mind and liberty of will serve thee, the ever lasting God, in righteousness and holiness this day, and all the days of my life.

Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the Gospel. Give me repentance from dead works. Pardon my wanderings, and direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my salvation. Teach me how to live in thy fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the ways of thy commandments. Make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber. But daily frame me more and more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life. Bless my family, friends and kindred unite us all in praising and glorifying thee in all our works begun, continued, and ended, when we shall come to make our last account before thee blessed Saviour, who hath taught us thus to pray, our Father.”

I’m humbled by this prayer from the first president of the United States. I pray along with it as I ready this post.

The stained glass window with the sun streaming through casting it’s light and color onto the statue of George Washington was taken at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. in May of 2011. Dear had a conference in D.C. and I was able to tag along. The National Cathedral is a must see if you ever travel to D.C.

It is folly to say our nation was not founded on Christian principles. Some would like to blot out this part of our history and remove all evidence of our Founding Father’s faith in the one true God.

Have you ever seen or read the third verse of “The Star Spangled Banner”, our National Anthem?

 O thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, “In God is our trust.”
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Praising God this morning for preserving our nation to this point in history.

Give me this day almighty God the Spirit filled mind to serve thee in the righteousness of your dear Son, Jesus my Lord, who’s sacrifice covers my sin repented of and gives me the strength to live in your holiness.  God bless America and keep our land free to worship you in righteousness and truth.

Happy Independence Day the 4th of July to all my friends and family in the U.S.A.!

The Fourth of July 2021

Looking back at our 4th of July celebrations starting with July of 2020.

2020

2019

Addy 2018 in her 4th of July dress. I think Auntie Katie bought this for her.

2018 (we were out of our Kenmore home and waiting to move to our Colville home)

2017 in Kenmore

2016 below

Next are photos from 2013…

2013 (I’m missing my photos from 2015 on this computer. In 2014 Dear and I were in England on the 4th of July)

On to earlier years…

Above from 2011

Above and the next few below from 2009.

Hopefully in 2022 we’ll be all decked out for another memorable 4th of July celebration.

Stars and Stripes Weekend

How cute are our little grands sporting their 4th of July matching outfits??

On the Fourth this year we gathered at Jamie’s Uncle’s home for a potluck barbecue. I didn’t take a photo of the salad I contributed but it was from our Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog and here’s the link. A refreshing summer Watermelon Cucumber Salad from Bev.

Before we left to the 4th of July gathering I worked on our backyard planters weeding. Our front planters need a lot of work still and I hope to get to them this week.

A walk about the yard taking photos of all the pretty things and weeds that are blooming.

Our day lilies are in their glory right now as is this Clematis.

After a wonderful 5th of July service at church honoring God and country we took a Sunday afternoon drive up Aladdin Road all the way to the Washington US Border with Canada. On the way back we took a side road to check out Deep Lake. I’m not able to upload the photos from this spur of the moment road trip yet.

We are expecting some out of state visitors this week. Looking forward to that. What is up in your corner of the world?

The Fourth of July

God Bless America

“While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free.
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer:

God bless America, land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home sweet home.”

Hope you all have a safe and sane fourth of July!

Hide and Seek

Who knew Gramps and Baba’s hallway would afford so much fun. Addy is hiding here for hide and seek.

You know if you cover your eyes no one can see you.

I bought 3 beanies from Walmart for clearance at 50 cents each and they were donned all weekend with the tags still on them.

Baba has a basket of slippers for guests and Addy chose these hedgehog slippers to wear. Just a bit too big.

A sweet sleeping grandson while the rest of the gang played cards. Baba got to sit close by and guard him.

Auntie Katie and Addy running “super fast” at the park.

Beside our human visitors we had a Doe, a deer, a female deer, pop in for a visit.

The Greenhouse has been dismantled and our kids in Colville are going to add it to their garden. So happy to find a good home for it where we know it will be well used. Our daughter in law is a fabulous gardener.

We captured this sunset as we left our kids home on Saturday night. We later learned that the dramatic layers were because of a wildfire on the Colville Reservation. Smoke has a way of adding drama to a sunset.

We’ve had an interesting summer so far with thunder storms and cooler temps. We are not complaining. I was able to mow the lawns today before the thunder storms rolled through. We are talking about doing some day trips into the part of Canada just North of us and investigating our area of Northeastern Washington before Dear receives the materials to build his new shop. Once the shop project starts it will be hard for me to divert him. No big trips planned for this summer.

Do you have summer plans that involve travels?

Grand Sparklers

A first and a third Fourth of July for these two.

At a certain point in trying to get the perfect shot Addy says, “I’m done”.

We had a small and quiet gathering giving our travelers who were on the road for 6 hours time to recuperate from the drive over the mountains and up the river. We enjoyed ribs, pulled pork, beans and broccoli salad for our meal. Addy played with Auntie Katie and with Gramps and Baba and it was fun to hear her giggles of delight. It doesn’t get dark here in the northeast end of Washington until 10:00pm. Shortly after 8 the group headed out back to light some sparklers. Baba held JJ and watched from inside.

Things got a bit smoky.

Concentration is important so you don’t get burned.

Addy shared her sparklers with Auntie Katie.

It was a safe and sane 4th of July.

We all hit the sack early and soon heard the fun that other revilers were having in the area. Because we live in very close proximity to Reservations it’s easy to buy illegal fireworks that have blasts that will shake the ground.

Today we are starting off slow and planning on enjoying Gramps’ Swedish Pancakes for brunch and then see what the day holds.

Hope your celebrations were good.

Independence Day 2019

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July celebrating our country and all we can enjoy in freedom. Our celebration will be small and quiet this year. No fireworks since we are in a high fire danger time right now. I’m sharing my greetings for the fourth early. We’ll be all caught up in getting ready for Katie and Andrew to arrive tomorrow for a few days and we will be preparing our barbecue meal for them and Dan, Jamie, Addy and JJ. As usual with all the fun happening I’ll be behind in visiting and posting.

Oh dear, I’m really behind these days. 🙂

I’ll leave you with some fun photos gathered this past week. “Fearless” granddaughter jumping in a rain puddle. Her mommy captured her in mid-air.

And this was the wind-up! She’s generally fearless in physical activity but there are “noises” that concern her.

They live on their own mountain and traffic noises are few and far between. When she visits Baba and Gramps on their very busy road we’ve had to reassure her and point out the big trucks that are making those noises. “What’s that?” is a common question when she’s at our house.

Addy came to play yesterday at Baba and Gramps’. We were outside at her water toy when thunder clapped in the distance. She ran to me in a panic and said “what’s that?” I told her it was thunder and she started walking to the door into the house and said, “let’s play inside Baba.”

We are happy to report our little JJ is finally getting more regular and we are most thankful to God for that.

Baba is so thankful she lives close to Addy and JJ.

God Bless America

“While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free.
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer:

God bless America, land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home sweet home.”

We have much to be thankful for…starting with our troops, veterans, law enforcement officers and emergency first responders. God bless America and all who do so much to keep our country safe and free.

From years past our celebrations on the 4th!