4th of July 2014

I think the 4th of July might be one my favorite holidays. Honestly, I just really enjoy holidays period, but I am so proud and thankful to live in America and love when our country bans together to show our patriotism. When I played softball in college, they played the Star-Spangled Banner before every game and it gave me chills every.single.time. Still does. Love me some Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” too….little redneck coming out in me. (Legit- I used to play it on the jukebox growing up. We heard him live when we went to Orange Beach, AL for the 4th a few years ago- pre-blogging era- and that was totally the BEST 4th ever!)

A huge, genuine, heartfelt thank you to all of the veterans and current military (and families) for your sacrifices that allow us our freedoms. When we see military in the airport, I almost have to restrain from shaking their hand and thanking them. (Maybe I should just do it…but I don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. What are y’alls thoughts on that? Too much?) I pray daily for our nation and especially for our leaders…hoping God will intervene & help us restore back to the values our founding fathers established this nation upon. I try not to get too political on the blog, but I am we are EXTREMELY passionate about politics. We don’t have cable, so other than praise music, the only thing we really listen to is talk radio so we can stay informed. Between that and watching a few documentaries here and there, it is really enough to get your fire going!! By the way, if you haven’t registered to VOTE, do it. Research the issues, educate yourself on what’s going on, and take a stand.

So…on a lighter note…

We kept it pretty simple this year for the 4th.

 

We met my parents for a parade in town and walked around some of the booths they had set up in the park. I really think that was Jase’s dream come true. He loves being around a lot of people and he loves waving at everyone!

This is my new favorite picture of my two sweet fellas. You can just SEE the love & adoration Jase has for Jonathan. So thankful for the awesome Daddy that Jon is and for all the TIME he gets to spend with him. Jase sure has a great role model to look up to and model his life after in the man Jonathan has grown to be. My heart is so full looking at this picture!

Jase has a pretty strict 8:00 bedtime, so we knew we wouldn’t be able to stay for fireworks. They started around 9:30 pm which is just way too late for him right now. Totally fine with us….we know this is a season and will figure something out as he gets bigger and we keep adding to our family. We decided to have dinner with my parents and head home to watch the fireworks on our front porch. We live on the lake so they are ALL around us! We had dinner at the cutest little place on the square. They had the coolest menu and everything is homegrown, local, and organic. I definitely don’t mind paying more for that! The food was delish, but the company was even better.

My parents are truly the BEST people I know and I love them more than words. They are awesome grandparents to Baby Jase (as are Jon’s parents- we are super blessed in the grandparent department) & he loves them so very much.

Happy 4th of July from Butler, Party of 3!!