Fourth of July landed on a Sunday this year. Our Kids Church leader was gone on vacation and he asked if I would mind running Kids Church for him and I said yes. One of our deacons came up and asked if I would like him to talk to the kids about the American Flag and how it's folded and what each fold stands for. My mom helped John hold the flag while he folded it. It was very interesting! I'm sure it went over some of the kids heads, but it's important that they have the opportunity to hear about our wonderful flag.
- The first fold of our flag is a symbol of life.
- The second fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life.
- The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veteran departing our ranks, and who gave a portion of his or her life for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world.
- The fourth fold represents our weaker nature; as American citizens trusting in God, it is Him we turn to in times of peace, as well as in times of war, for His divine guidance.
- The fifth fold is a tribute to our country. In the words of Stephen Decatur, "Our country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right, but it is still our country, right or wrong."
- The sixth fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that we pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
- The seventh fold is a tribute to our armed forces, for it is through the armed forces that we protect our country and our flag against all enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our republic.
- The eighth fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day, and to honor our mother, for whom it flies on Mother's Day.
- The ninth fold is a tribute to womanhood. It has been through their faith, love, loyalty and devotion that has molded the character of the men and women who have made this country great.
- The 10th fold is a tribute to father, who has also given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since he or she was first born.
- The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- The 12th fold represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies God the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost.
- The 13th and last fold, when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost, reminding us of our national motto, "In God We Trust."
Our church was having a BBQ after service, but we always go to my parents on the 4th of July and I wanted to get down there quickly. We needed to go to the fireworks stand to buy some for the kids. I thought my parents weren't going to stay at church, but they changed their mind and decided to. We ended up beating them and so did the Kuch's.
Uncle Ry and Aunt Stephie came to the 4th this year so Michael was able to relinquish his cooking duties to Ryan!
Papa & Ms. Ruth!
These sweet boys!
Richie and Michael trying to stand up taller than each other!
Aunt Stephie & Ga-Ga!
Gail, Al & Cathy!
Last year we didn't do a craft because we had the make up Easter Egg Hunt. About 3 days prior to the 4th it dawned on me that we should do a craft this year. I went on Pinterest and searched until I found one that I thought would be fun and useful!
I called Christina and talked with her and she was on board with it. I went to Costco and bought a 6 pack of white bath towels. I then went to Wal-Mart and bought a huge pack of Tie-Dye supplies and a bunch of travel water bottles.
The first thing we had to do was ask the kids what they wanted on their towels and then use duct tape to spell it out.
Instead of using the normal Tie-Dye we put the dye into spray bottles and sprayed it instead.
Most of the kids decided to have their name spelled out.
Caleb was very particular about how he wanted his name done. It really turned out great!
Addison's name is so long we weren't sure it would fit so I suggested that she do her monogram instead.
Jack decided to go with his favorite colors...red & black!
Ella did red and pink!
I love color and I think Anna's was my favorite!
Caleb did a fun camo look!
Addison did such a great job of getting hers thoroughly covered with color!
Owen went with the Seahawks colors.
I found all the photo props we used last year so we could have fun with them again this year.
I love these kids!
Happy 4th of July from the Martins!
Lovely ladies!
Happy 4th of July from the Kuch's!
Sister from another mister! :)
Zeke couldn't wait to make a volcano with a smoke bomb like Owen did last year!
Happy 4th from the Grants!
Our family friend Ellen was up from Arizona to spend almost a whole month with my parents. Her grandson Lathan is in the Army and he's stations at JBLM. He was able to join us and so was his girlfriend Paige.
So fun to have them join us!
Happy 4th of July from Papa & Ms. Ruth!
After the dye had sometime to dry we decided to pull up the duct tape to see how they turned out.
I love how bright white the letters were. This is why we used the spray bottles. The traditional way of doing tie dye would soak the whole thing and bleed through under the tape this way the area under the tape was unaffected by the dye.
So cool!
Addisons turned out so nice! I love a good monogram!
Zeke did the two-toned approach!
Owen's Seahawk's colors turned out so nice!
Didn't quite get a full picture of Jack's since Owen stepped into the picture, but his looked so great too.
Zeke was the only kiddo that didn't get a new towel. The Costco pack came with 6 and I didn't want to buy another pack for just 1 more towel. I happened to have a few old white towels and they were actually smaller than the newer towels which is totally fine since Zeke is smaller than the other kids. He didn't seem to mind at all.
Anna's is definitely my favorite! I love her use of so many colors.
So happy with his creation!
Ella's what so pretty as well. I love the stripes that she did!
Addison ever the ballerina poser!
Such a fun colorful craft!
We ended up leaving the kids towels at Ga-Ga & Pa's to dry out for longer and then Ga-Ga washed them on cold. They did lose a little bit of their color, but they still look great. If I were to do it again I might let them dry outside for a few days instead.
Happy 4th of July from the VanWagners!
Happy 4th of July from Ga-Ga & Pa!
Such a fun time celebrating with good friends!
Me and my Mama!
Out to the street to play with the fireworks!
The kids are still kind of freaked out by the Morning Glories.
It's always shocking that first couple seconds when they finally light up.
After they get them lit though they have loads of fun!
Matchy friends!
The neighborhood by my parents is normally crazy, but it felt even more so this year. This year we had fireworks exploding right over our heads. In fact we could feel little bits of debris landing on our heads. It was crazy nuts and so much fun!
This year we spent almost $100 on fireworks and didn't even get very much. I think I need to start going to the actual reservation and buying them instead of shopping at the TNT place in the grocery store parking lot.
We did buy one pretty big fountain and it was awesome. Also Bill & Christina got a legit areal one that was so cool. We felt like we actually contributed just a teeny bit to the action all around us. :)
The more I think about it the more I realized that the 4th of July is honestly my favorite holiday of the whole year. I get to celebrate all the things I love. My freedom from sin and the grace and mercy that my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ bought for me on the cross. The freedom and liberty that I'm able to enjoy by living in America. My family and friends that God has so richly blessed me with and yummy food and fun festivities that make the day last into the night. Best day ever in my opinion!
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