Happy 4th!

Hope you have a wonderful ... and safe ... Independence Day!  As you are celebrating this weekend, think about what this holiday means to you.   The meaning behind the 4th of July Independence Day holiday came about as the result of the valiant efforts and strong commitment of our American forefathers not so very long ago.  Brave and restless people uprooted their lives, left everything behind, and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to come to this land where they sought freedoms and rights not available to them in their homeland. They formed settlements and organized into various groups of towns and colonies with their own local laws and rules, while still under the authority of the King of England. The country was being born and the ideals of just how and what those freedoms would entail were ironed out through controversy and cooperative efforts of the differing opinions of the day.  We, as recipients and inheritors of their magnificent efforts, must hold our heads up high as we express our thanks and jubilation  that we live in such a great country, and we should be encouraged to work together to resolve our problems and differences in order to maintain the integrity and values that the great and famous document, the Declaration of Independence was founded upon.

We went out on our boat this early in the evening and found a good spot to watch the fireworks.  This is the first time we have taken the boat out at on such a busy holiday weekend.  Usually, Sonny does not like to be out after dark and when the lake is so full of crazies!  But it was wonderful to practically sit under the fireworks and watch them explode above us.  They were just beautiful.  It is hard not to smile while watching fireworks, don't you think?  It doesn't seem to matter how old you are, you just love them.  Although I can remember a time when my daughter was young and was scared to death of the loud noises of the fireworks.  While we sat outside watching them, she curled up in the back seat of the car covering her ears!  Now, she buys her own fireworks for her 4th of July party. 

I want to share a card I made for last week's Monday Mailer.  I saw a card similar to it in Paper Crafts magazine and had to give it a try.

I made the flag out of grosgrain ribbon and used half-pearls from the Pretties kit for the stars.  It is layered on a black card.  I used my white gel pen around the edges and stamped and embossed  "thank you" in white craft ink!