Fun on the Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July!! 

What an exciting day! Everyone is running around, preparing for family (or going to see family), getting those last minute food items, and making sure there is enough ice and charcoal/propane for the grill. In Florida, those last two are a necessity because it is the perfect time for grilling and it is HOT! 

Unfortunately, the new house did not come with a grill, and we have not been able to retro-fit one yet (it has a beautiful cabana with a prep sink and area for a built-in grill). Our previous grill rusted out the bottom, so the Viking and I no longer felt it was safe for cooking. Rust is not commonly a welcomed spice for chicken :/ However, my dad was gracious enough to let us borrow his charcoal grill for the day, since they would not be using it on their vacation, in another part of the state. The Viking is only really comfortable with propane so he was a little nervous about using it, but he did a wonderful job cooking up some hot dogs and hamburgers! 

While he was getting that prepped and helping to get the house presentable (which was a feat in itself, since we were still working out of boxes!), I was having some fun with some Pinterest-inspired creations of my own. Since I haven't mentioned it before, I am a little Pinterest crazy, so expect to see a lot of posts centered around things I have seen there. I think it helps that the Viking appreciates it too! I will have to post pictures of my creations a little later, since it is so past my bedtime!

We were having my family from Georgia over for an early dinner and break time in between one of their trysts to the beach, and the fireworks on the water. They were a perfect test- run for hosting parties in the new home and it was a home- run! Even though they are my family and all, and there should be no judgement because we all love each other and what not, I was still a little nervous. I wanted to make sure that we had plenty of everything and that there were enough options for 14 people, including a 2-year old. It didn't help that I was woken up early to the fur children throwing up. Apparently lizards do not agree with their tummies, and that is sooooo not a way that you want to be awoken. But, we persevered and I was on my way to making a list of things that I still needed to get and things I still had to do. 

I headed out to Publix, who by the way was having some killer sales on just the stuff I needed, and tried to recenter my thoughts and work on my personal challenge. One of the best ways that I find to focus is through music- it will tug at just the right emotion at just the right time and put everything in perspective. So with that I popped in my Sheree Michele CD and I was on my way. I went to high school with Sheree and I am so amazed at her talent. She is a remarkable song writer and vocalist with a really island/bohemian feel to her music that always seems to relax me and make me reflect on Christ's love. The song that I tuned to was, Wait for You and the lyrics that hit me were "there is nothing better than being wrapped in your arms, and I know that there is nothing that you can't fix." Trusting and whole heartedly knowing this to be true, I knew that I had to relinquish my day to Him and allow Him to work through me with the time that I had with my family.  

The time with them went beautifully- it didn't rain, there was enough seating/food/drinks for everyone, and most importantly we could all laugh and love each other in the comfort of our new home. What an unbelievable opportunity we have to live in a country that is free: free to meet with our loved ones at our leisure and celebrate the blessings in our lives, celebrate the growth in our faith, celebrate the freedom to make our own choices and the freedom to go where we want without fear of strife and conflict around every corner. God Bless America and may the Stars and Stripes always fly proudly in this home. 

Happy Independence Day, friends! 

xoxo,

Katie Beth