Liberty

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! 

Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island

Thankful for freedom today and every day. Freedom of faith. Freedom as a woman. Freedom. And today I am thinking about those who do not share that same freedom. And praying that as it is written on the Statue of Liberty that those who are yearning to breathe free will be embraced. That they will find their place. A place of freedom from tyranny, from prejudice, from hatred, and war, and poverty and crime.

These photos make me laugh. They make me smile. And they make me thankful. If you can, scroll in to see the facial expressions. That is the best part! I hope that my kids know how blessed they are to live in a country where they experience such great freedom, and what a privilege that this is. I like to celebrate the Fourth of July maybe not for the specific independence we gained the first time they established the holiday, but for what it symbolizes. Freedom and liberty.

To start the day off right and have some fun, I made these red, white and blue pancakes. I just added a drop of food coloring gel to our favorite pancake recipe. If you prefer a more natural solution, divide the batter up into three bowls and add a little blueberry juice to one and raspberry juice to the second, and leave the third plain. Add some colorful red and blue berries, and some white powdered sugar and you have a festive breakfast to start your fourth of July off right. We sat down to the table, said grace and thanked the Lord for the freedoms that He has allowed us, and prayed for those who do not have those same freedoms. And then we ate our delicious pancakes.

Hope your fourth is full of joy, and family and fun! And I pray that you enjoy the freedoms that you have in your life and that we can learn to use those freedoms to show kindness and bless those around us! Happy 4TH!!!