Our July 4th Weekend

Believe it or not, this will be a long blog with pictures so sit back and enjoy! Angie, make sure you have a whole pot of coffee going!!
I will start off with my thoughts on July 4th as a whole! This picture probably doesn't mean a lot to anyone but me! However, it speaks volumes to me as I look at it almost 3 months later.

I have always considered myself to be a "good ole American" and have loved July 4th and all the things surrounding that holiday. However, almost 2 years ago, my feelings changed somewhat when I became the mother of a United States Marine! I will NEVER be able to hear the National Anthem sung again and still feel like I used to. Then last September, I pulled away from a barracks in North Carolina, knowing that a day or two later, I would have a son heading off to fight in the war in Iraq. I cannot explain to you the sickness in the pit of this Momma's stomach. There are no words to describe it really. Over the next 7 months, the phone calls were sporadic, the emails didn't exist and letters from "over there" never came. We lived from day to day just waiting to hear from him. Oh - and we packed and mailed boxes ALL THE TIME!!! :) I don't think I will EVER forget the day I was able to use Yahoo and IM him and what to our wondering eyes did appear but his face!!! After at least 5 long months of not seeing him, the screams of pure delight were deafening! The picture above was me - just waiting for the bus! I knew that my son was on that bus! We had somehow managed to survive that 7 months and he had, by the grace of God, lived through war. So - now the reasons I celebrate July 4th take on a whole new meaning. Yes, I really and truly am thankful for the ones who died to gives us the freedom "way back when" but to be honest, I am more thankful today for those who STILL fight for the freedoms we enjoy! I am so proud of that boy that sometimes it hurts! Even though we have no idea what the future holds, I for one celebrate this day a little differently than I used to!!
Ok - onward we go! This past Monday was my husbands last day of work and so we were able to get a huge project done this week that has been on my wish list for close to 3 years - which is when we moved into the house!! Thanks to a wonderful, dear friend and her husband who thought of me, I was on the receiving end of a roll of carpet that I just KNEW would go perfectly in my living room! You may need to see this to recall the color of the previous carpet! Doesn't it match my furniture so well?!?! I am sure that Ashley won't be thrilled with the picture but at least you can see what I am talking about with the small corner of the couch and the carpet!

Ok? Got that picture in your mind? Thursday, Dave, along with some help from 2 daughters, one boyfriend and the famous Matthew J. Thompson, moved ALL the furniture out of the living room and out of Carrie's room into the dining room, our bedroom and Ashley's bedroom! It was quite the sight to behold! We thought the carpet would get laid on Thursday night but there were some issues so we were up and anxiously awaiting the carpet layer on Friday morning! And - LOOK!!!!!!!!

Want to talk about excitement!! I am THRILLED beyond words!! We were able to do the living room and Carrie's room with a small piece left over! We were so excited to get it done and we are all very happy to get it all done. It took awhile to get all the stuff put away on Friday but we did and even had time to have a few friends over for some small fireworks in the backyard!
In order to tell you about Saturday, I need to back up a bit! Last Wednesday, a young man walked in the door of the office and wanted to see two different people who were both on vacation. So, I became the recipient of free tickets to the St Lucie Mets ball game for Saturday evening. There were enough for our family and the Kline family minus 1 so that was the plan for the evening with fireworks at the end of the game. I got online Saturday morning to check into some things and saw that the game started at 4 instead of 6 like I thought. I called them to find out for sure and was told that the game from Friday night had been rained out and so there was a double-header and our tickets were good for both games! Our family (which of course included Josh) headed out at about 2. Dave was going to leave from there and head to Summerfield to preach on Sunday and then off to PA on Monday so we took 2 cars! We had an absolute blast!!! This is the scoreboard at Tradition Field, home of the St Lucie Mets, a farm team of the New York Mets.

I am going to safely assume that you all know that this is a batter for the Mets team! If you need any further explanation, find a local 5 year old!!!

This is Doug & Crystal - parents of the now famous "Carrie's boyfriend"!

This is my most favorite little boy in the world! This is Josh's little brother Timmy and man, the things he says would crack you right up!!!! For instance, he has been heard saying that Carrie was his girlfriend before Josh stole her away!!

This is Esther, Josh's youngest sister and such a treat to have around! She is a hoot!!!!

This is Ashley, then Anna Kline, Brandy (a cousin of the Kline's) and then Rebecca Kline.

This is - DUH!!!!! Josh and Carrie!

The coolest thing is that the Mets were getting beat and ended up tying the score on a home run and winning the game on a player sliding safely into home! It was so awesome! When the game was over, they had a great fireworks display which was a fantastic way to end the evening!

Dave left early to head to Summerfield and when the game was over, we ended up at the Kline's for ice cream which was simply wonderful! Sunday was a great day of rest and now, it is Monday and so ends the busy weekend in this house!!