4th of July

Our favorite 4th of July tradition is to go to the Monument, CO parade. It is a small town parade. It was held on July 3rd this year. So many people attend. It feels homey and "American" and fun and patriotic to be there. Our adventure in Swaziland actually began 4 years ago at this very parade when Rick was offered the opportunity to go on a Swazi Vision Trip. I signed him up for it on the spot, and now, 4 years later, Isaiah and Laila have been in our family for a year. We were standing across the street from a large group of friends that God opened up all of these doors through. We didn't plan where we would stand, but were so excited to see so many people who have supported us in this journey right there face-to-face with us through the whole parade. This year felt "monumental"(pun intended) having Isaiah and Laila there for the first time. It was kind of a "Full Circle Moment" like God closing one chapter and opening a new one. I have no idea what that means, but this whole year has kind of felt like that for me. It has a lot to do with us settling in to our life as a family of 8. We reached the milestone of having them home for a year. Who knows what God has for us next?!?!

The parade always starts with really loud guns. My kids aren't really very fond of that portion. We just plug our ears and wait for that part to be over.

Reaction to the guns.

Isaiah's first parade. He was thrilled about the candy!

Laila was not impressed at all with the parade. Our friends across the street said that they would watch her and she would just sit there the whole time. Something would drive by and her face was very stoic. I think the guns made her mad and she wasn't going to be entertained after that. She sat in my lap the whole time. It was like having a heater on me. I was soaking wet when she finally got up.

Abby

Love this expression on Isaiah's face!

Once again, Laila with an attitude.

All the kids want to get as much candy as they can. Sometimes they aren't as careful as they should be so we had to continually remind them to stay behind the white line and not go too far out in the road to get candy. At one point, Sam's friend, Luke, came up to me and said, "Where is Sam?" We lose a kid for a few seconds often, but usually it is not a big deal. It is just a matter of glancing around and finding them in the near vicinity. Everywhere I go, I find myself counting to 6 all the time to keep up with everybody. This time was different. Sam was NOWHERE around us. You know that sick feeling you get in your stomach when you can't find one of your kids? Well, I started feeling that. Then I started panicking thinking of all the stories I have heard of missing children. I am looking at the large crowd of people all wearing red, white, and blue and thinking, "Where in the world could he be and how are we going to find him?"

Rick started walking one direction, our friend Karen started walking the other and I was scanning every person around us. I was nearing the point of running out into the middle of the street, stopping the parade and telling everyone to look for my child. About 15 minutes later(that is my guess. It may not have been that long. It seemed like an eternity to me.) Rick comes walking back holding Sam. Sam is crying and scared.

Sam was running to get a piece of candy. He walked away from us to get it. When he stood up, he got turned around and didn't see us. He started walking in the wrong direction and then was lost. He had the wits about him to find a police officer. Rick found him with the officer. I was so glad he knew what to do. It scared him, and it scared us. Thankfully the story had a very happy ending!

Waiting and watching for candy

We are so thankful to live in this country and have the freedoms that we do!!

We are so thankful for all of the men and women who sacrifice for our freedom!!

Our day continued after the parade with a cookout at the Mortensen's house. The kids had fun exploring the woods. We ate lots of yummy food! We knew it was time to go when the kids came screaming through the woods! We thought there was a bear or mountain lion, but oh, no, it was a dog. Scary, but not nearly as dangerous as we thought. From that point on, everyone reached meltdown. It was a good day, but all good things must come to an end!

Our July 4th was spent at the Fowlers' house with lots of friends. Of course I didn't take any pictures there. We enjoyed eating, talking, and watching some fireworks in the cold rain. Only in CO.