A Special Fourth of July Memory

In July 2005, we were blessed to be in Elko, Nevada visiting our daughter and son-in-law. We had a truly special day on July 4th. My daughter called last evening while we were out and left a message telling us something of their plans for today. That triggered the memory of our own special Fourth of July with them, so I went back and looked at what I'd written in my journal about that day. I thought I would share some of it here.

We began the day by going out to breakfast at a wonderful place called the Coffee Mug. Breakfast was delicious. My son-in-law and I both ordered the "Pancake Sandwich" which included 3 pancakes, 2 eggs any way, and sausage or bacon. It was only $4.25! My daughter had a Mexican omelet and Mr. T had the "sink omelet" which included everything but the kitchen sink. It was a fabulous way to start our day. We love going out for breakfast!

Then we went back to our daughter & son-in-law's apartment where the guys did some work on projects. Mr. T helped Clay build a tea rack to hold boxes of tea. He had made one for me years ago, and so they cut and measured and built another one now. They also installed some shelves for spices on the inside of the pantry door.

Meanwhile, Jo and I worked on sorting out some things in their storage area in the basement. After we had been working there quite awhile, we were interrupted by a lot of noise and yelling in the basement. When we looked, we found the guys stomping through the basement in a protest march. They were carrying signs they'd made out of cardboard boxes -- with slogans such as "Forced Labor on Independence Day!" and "Feed the Slaves!" Needless to say, we quickly took action to feed them.

We had a wonderful day as we spent time with some of their friends and church family throughout the day. In the evening, we went to the home of friends for a cookout. We enjoyed a bountiful meal in their beautifully landscaped back yard, from which we could later have a wonderful view of the fireworks being set off at the fairgrounds. But for us, the highlight of the evening was when they brought out a "Happy Birthday America" flag cake complete with candles, and the entire group joined in singing "Happy Birthday" to our country before enjoying cake, ice cream, and s'mores. What a meaningful moment! And how blessed we are to have such truly marvelous memories!