Independence Day word art freebie

I love the 4th of July! I love the spirit of patriotism. I love the reminder of the spirit of our forefathers. They were men of inspiration. Men who sought divine guidance as they lead our new nation. America is still the land of the free. It is still the promised land sought by many seeking refuge and peace. I am so thankful for great leaders; for freedom. I am thankful to have safety and security for my family.

I have been working on several projects and can't wait to share them with you. Hopefully I will get to it this weekend, iIn between holding my newest niece. She was born last week but has been in the NICU. After a rough start she is doing well. I can't wait to see her and my sister. Thankfully we are only a few hours away rather than days. Maybe I will do up some fun word art in her honor! We are going to try going north again this weekend. This time sans camper.

For now here is something to add to your parade pages! Just click the picture to download.

Enjoy!

America

I have been a cub scout leader in various ways for the past 8 years. My 8 year old was serious when he said he had waited his who life to be a cub scout. He has grown up being part of cubs but not really yet. 

One of the great things of scouting is the lessons of patriotism. There is something about starting each meeting with a flag ceremony; pledging allegiance to this great nation. Sometimes that flag ceremony is simply the boys forming a color guard and presenting the colors of our nation. Sometimes though, I like to instill a little spirit in the meeting. One of my favorite flag ceremonies is to turn off all the lights and have the flag in spotlight. Then I play this by Red Skelton.

Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance

Think about how you say the Pledge. How do you feel about our nation? How do the words move you? How do we teach our teach our children to respect the flag and the Pledge of Allegiance? Do your children recite the Pledge in school?

My children still do for which I am grateful!

Land of the Free word art freebie

I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July.

We had a grand adventure this past weekend. Although not one we hope to ever repeat. 

We had planned to visit family in Idaho. Plans changed several times before we were finally able to leave town. On the way out we ran into a road block. They were letting some cars through but not others, confusing!! The car in front of me went through but when I proceeded through the officer waved both arms in every direction and gave a quite a tongue lashing. I apologized saying the other car went through and I couldn't tell which way he wanted me to go. "Oh, FINE JUST GO THEN!" Holy Cow! So we went on our way. (There was an over sized load that had broken through the trailer hauling it. Yikes)

Then 10 minutes down the road we blew a tire on our popup trailer. UGH! These were newish tires too. After changing tires we stopped for gas...now the card reader wouldn't read our card! 

Not getting the hint, we managed to work through that as well and continued on our way. 

30 minutes later we cross a bridge on the freeway with quite a dip after it. Our trailer bounced hard enough to come unhinged. (We discovered later my son and I had not locked it completely on the ball joint.) It started to fishtail worse than a trout pulled from the Snake River! The cars behind us instantly pulled back and away. I slowed as quickly as I dared but the trailer still hit the cement barrier. I think this jolted it enough for the safety chains to come off. The result was a trailer spinning toward the gutter. It took out the fence, shredded the wiring, snapped the propane connection and sent the battery flying!

Thankfully no one was hurt, including the cars following us. I was shaking like a leave. As a nurse I can handle stress but by the time we stopped I was on the verge of tears. My dear 5 year old thought it was grand adventure. He couldn't understand why he couldn't get out on the road too!

We called for help, lead the tow truck to our house, and unloaded our poor trailer. 

7 hours later were back home climbing into bed. OK!! We got the hint!!

We stayed home the rest of the weekend.
It turned out to be a good weekend just relaxing and taking it easy; BBQ with friends, parade and our own fireworks display. 

As for our camper....no more camping this year. Hopefully, we can get it fixed. As long as the lift system didn't get damaged we should be ok.

I am so thankful for this wonderful land and my family. I hope you had a memorial and safe weekend.
I love America! So to celebrate I am sharing some word art each day this week. Come back to check it out. They will be perfect for your 4th of July memories!

A day without Laughter....word art freebie

I am known for providing incentives, usually in the form of baked goods, for things I want. When my coworker offered to help me with some fonts I had to bake brownies. 

They were a hit among all the staff. No sleepy eyes tonight, just great sugar buzzes. hehehe

So now I get to play around with some new fonts. I am so excited. We will see how they work out and you will get to enjoy the ride with some freebies. Gotta love it all around.

When I saw this quote on pinterest I thought it would be perfect for all those pictures of my little guys just laughing and enjoying life. So many of my pages aren't centered around an activity other than to show the growth and day to day life of my family. I love documenting our life, the house, the fun things we do each day. A bit of word art like this is perfect for them! I hope you enjoy it too.

Click the picture for the download.

Gardening...make a difference in 15 minutes!

 We had a great weekend outdoors with family. We played and picniced then cooled in the house for a bit. After a nice rest I became restless. Ironic, I know. I need to keep moving and keep doing. Evening was coming but it was still so hot. Thankfully there was wonderfully inviting shade around front. I had already trimmed my shrubs this year but holy cow, they are growing. I decided it would be a good time to take a few minutes to clean up.

 My flowers had busted out with great glory but now they were looking heat worn, browning and tired. I love the blossoms; enjoy them while they last then clip them back to start over with fresh blooms. Yep, it was time to get some trimming done.

I grabbed my clippers and started with the shrubs. They are full and lush. I haven't gotten my power clippers yet but still manage to do a good job. Just like farming or making garden rows I eye a spot on the house and trim even with it. I actually want the shrubs a little shorter so they go just under the window but have a hard time getting them there. Trimming front to back and left to right I trimmed those shrubs nice and neat.

Then to the rose bushes. I love them but they can easily get overgrown. I am rather generous with my rose trimming. I want the bush to stay small because it will grow long branches before reblooming.
It didn't take long but has a big impact on my curb appeal for my house. I love how clean things looked when I finished. Now I feel better. A little activity and tidying up before the close of the day...just makes my heart smile.

See, what do you think? Gardening doesn't have to take all day or be sweat inducing. Just a little shade and 15 minutes. Look what you can accomplish.