Our Celebration

Yesterday was glorious. We went to a neighborhood festival. But, even before that, the day started wonderfully.

Deanna and I went up to our church to pick up a pound of barbecued pork we ordered. Our church does a fundraiser each year for the 4th - they roast a pig and sell the barbecue. We wanted to support our church, even though we live only a few blocks from one of the best, nationally-known barbecue restaurants. We planned on getting hash and sauce from Sconyers, but Don ordered and paid for our barbecue from church. It had to be picked up between 9 and 1. While Deanna and I were gone, Don and the boys worked on the oven, finally fixing it. We got to see some friends and socialized with a few folks from our church. Then, on the way home, we stopped at a fireworks stand. I knew they recently changed the laws for our state because I've seen fireworks being sold in stores like Wal-Mart, but I didn't know what was now allowed. I asked the gentleman at the stand (all older men, which relieved me. I would have been concerned if it was just young, pyromaniac hippies working there) who explained that Georgia now allows fireworks that stay on the ground, rather than being shot up into the air. He pointed out lots of different types to me that are all allowable under Georgia State law. Deanna and I began adding to our selection and keeping a running total. We decided to stop at $10.00 worth but had quite a few nice, legal firworks.

By the time we got home, the boys and their dad had already left for the festival. Deanna and I fed the dog and put the barbecue away, then ran across the street to the party! One whole area was set up with carnival-type games for which you could win tickets. The tickets could be cashed in for prizes like visors, funny masks, balls, boomerangs, and other assorted cheapie junk - the stuff all the kids LOVE. They had a duck pond, a bean bag toss tic-tac-toe game, pop the balloon with a dart, a treasure chest full of pennies and bird seed where you had to find as many pennies as possible in 30 seconds, and several other fun games. There were also two pinatas for different age groups. Another area hosted the water games. There were baby pools for very small children, a slip and slide, a cool sprinkler that was like a volcano that erupted water then blew it into a fine mist, and a big, inflatable 2-laned waterslide. There was also a dunking booth and a few of the men had signed up to work in 1/2 hour increments.

In addition to the inflatable waterslide, there was an inflatable moonwalk and this cool inflatable thing that involved bungy cords. Then, there was the snack area. There were free snocones, a popcorn machine with GREAT popcorn, as much cotton candy as any of us could eat, and a soda machine. This all went on from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. At 2, they started a tug-of-war through vanilla pudding. All-in-all, the festivities went until around 3. Then we came home for lunch and a cool-down break. At 6:00, we returned for dinner - bring your own meal and a dessert to share. Following dinner, we cleaned up and took down the tables, then the entertainment started. We had a talent show to end all talent shows. The only thing that could have made it better would have been if it had been longer or the weather was cooler.

Towards the end, Neil Diamond showed up!! (Or, at least, a pretty good impersonation of him.) One of the men donned sunglasses and performed to "Coming to America". He ended it with setting off a curtain of fireworks across the stage. It was wonderful.

We came home from the festival hot and tired. We had a chance to cool down before some of our invited friends came over to set off our fireworks. At 9, we moved out into the driveway and began setting off our small, legal firecrackers. The people two houses down on the other side of the street were setting off huge, high-in-the-sky ones, so we watched inbetween our own. By 10, we were finished and getting the children settled down for bed.

While all of us were in the kitchen and the children were taking their medicines before bed, Dane said he thought we should spend sometime praying and thanking the Lord for our freedom. My heart jumped a beat - in the busyness and excitement of the day, thanking the Lord was something we had missed. Deanna chimed in and asked if we could also thank the Lord for the wonderful day we had had. We moved into the living room as a family, snuggled on the loveseat, and thanked the Lord for the sacrifices that led to this wonderful day of freedom. Then we thanked him, one by one, for all the blessings of this day. I sat and listened to my children, pouring out thankfulness to the Lord, and silently thanked Him for them. I'm so thankful that they understand the part the Lord plays in their lives and want to show their appreciation to Him.

It was a wonderful day, in every sense. Thank you, Jesus, for all your many blessings.