Let Freedom Ring

The 4th of July is one of our favorite holidays here at the Becklund house. The freedom we have to practice whatever religion we choose is one of our most valued freedoms. Along with all of the others this is the one freedom that dominates everything we do, how we choose to live our lives, and the people we are. As well, Brett is currently a part of the Air Force and his desire to be able to protect his freedoms and his family is such a huge part of who he is. We are so grateful for this chance to be able to celebrate the wonderful day in history that put our country on the course to provide us with the freedoms that are so essential to who we are as a nation, as a family, and as individuals. 

To start off the day-- we both got the day off!! Yay! That never happens. So I gratefully slept in, like way in and Brett played a game while I slept and slept. When I finally decided it was late enough that I absolutely needed to get out of bed we were able to go downtown for the Liberty parade and then we went out to my parents house to have a classical American backyard BBQ to celebrate my mother's first Independence Day as an American. After we ate lunch we watched a selection of the HBO series called John Adams about the debate and the final Declaration of Independence and our separation from England. It was great to be able to experience that and celebrate with my  mom and help her see and better understand the details that were at the foundation of our freedoms. 

  After dinner we went downtown and chose a spot to watch the fireworks with some of our friends. We waited, played games, ate yummy food, caught up with our friends Melanie, Danny, and their puppy Dexter, and had to evade the sprinklers that came on right before the start of the show... twice. 

  But, when the show finally started it was great! Well, minus the music that was not at all to our taste but the actual fireworks were great, as always. I love a good party and especially to celebrate one of our favorite moments in history. 

 

 Also thanks to Brad and Michelle for joining us right before the big show! (We are glad that you decided not to go out of town and got to join us instead) It was a perfect day! We had such a blast and we are so grateful that we got to spend it together not just with each other but also with other members of our family and our friends.