Who is excited about a day off on Monday??? UGGGH. I said it and I know that many are working over the holiday serving their communities but HOPEFULLY everyone has SOME snippets of free time and hopefully some vacays to enjoy this holiday weekend! And thanks IN ADVANCE, to those of you that ARE working this weekend!!
So, What do YOU think about when you think of Fourth of July? For me, it is kind of nostalgic.
I immediately think back to when I was a kid. My daddy, was just a big kid himself and LOVED shooting off fireworks in our very big backyard! He would get the biggest and best fireworks he could. He loved it when hoards of neighbors, including “neighbors” that we didn’t know, from who knows where, gathered on the hill in our yard to experience the sights and sounds of the spectacular firework display. I remember he got my brothers involved in lighting many of them, at one time, for the grand finale and how proud I was that this was in MY YARD. (And if I must be honest, a little worried that something would happen to my dad or my brothers in their shenanigans!)
When my parents got older, they moved to another home that fireworks were frowned upon due to the marshlands behind their house but his big kid, still ever yearning to get out, had now become even more ambitious and decided it was a GREAT idea to go shoot off his fireworks on the YORKTOWN BATTLEFIELD. I was grown then, and on a family vacation so I missed this spectacle, gratefully, since my dad(and perhaps even my brothers??) were ARRESTED for shooting fireworks on federal property!! This will always make me smile. He was kind of a stinker sometimes! I miss him dearly though. I wonder if there are fireworks in heaven? If so, I suspect God would put my dad in charge!!!
I also always think about the film Independence Day. It was a Sci-Fi that came out in 1996 starring Will Smith who I thought was ever so handsome back then ( ha, who am I kidding, I still think he is handsome despite the fact he was a bit of a stinker, himself, recently!! ) If you recall, Independence Day was a film about aliens coming to overtake our planet and how in the knick of time, Will Smith and armies around the world, defeated them. It was an edge of your seat type of film that left you full of pride for our military and our country.
Now as an adult, with children of my own, I think more and more about how blessed we are to live in a country that has so many freedoms. YES, I am often so frustrated with how things have changed from when I was a young adult but no matter how frustrated I get, I am still so proud to be an American and will continue to pray for healing for things that seem a bit out of whack now and again. I also will continue to say prayers of thanksgiving for all of our many blessings and especially for things that have changed for the BETTER!
What a great opportunity for us, the SCRAPBOOKERS, the HISTORIANS of TODAY, to get down in WRITING, along with our cook out, boating, picnic, hiking, dinner out, pool side, and FIREWORKS photos from this weekend, some things that dig a little deeper in our hearts to make our scrapbook pages even more meaningful like:
-what freedoms do you value most?
-If you are old enough to remember how our freedoms have changed over time, SHARE THAT!
-do you have someone that is serving in our military or served at one time? What a great way to honor them.
-what is YOUR special memory from growing up! It’s ok if it doesn’t go with your current photos!! Tell YOUR unique stories from fourth of July’s past!!
If you follow me on youtube, you know that I love making simple but out of the box scrapbook page layout ideas but you often don’t see how important it is to me to capture the STORIES that go along with those photos. I suspect you enjoyed my story about my daddy and I know YOU all have those stories too. We tell them so often but sometimes don’t write them down. When you are pondering what to say on one of your scrapbook pages, always think about what is in your heart and it will come out beautifully!
Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful weekend and I hope these scrapbook pages, using the Stars and Spirit Paper pack and stickers will be an inspiration! (Also GREAT for Memorial Day, Armed Forces events as well as Fire Fighters stuff, Flag Day celerations, and more)
If you need supplies, please give one of our advisors credit for your order 😉 There are many of us out there, offering workshops, demonstrations, retreats and such and we would love to be rewarded with your purchases 🙂 If you don’t have an advisor and would like to use me, click here!
Thanks for reading.
I am grateful for the words that sometimes come to mind and give God the glory for those words and any talents that I have been gifted with.
Blessings to you, and HAPPY 4th of July!
Beckie Belote
“You Lived it! Let’s Capture & Celebrate it!”
Follow me on facebook!
Check out my upcoming events here!
great pages!
thanks Delinda 😉 Hope you are doing well 😉
Thanks Beckie
you’re welcome 😉