July: A Month for Patriotism, Romancing and Such

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July: Patriotism to Romancing

Needless to say, we have been busy as usual! Isn't July a wonderful month? It's almost always beautiful, sunny, warm and all the other great things that make a perfect Summer...
Whitley was home for the past week and 'us' girls had a ball together! From hanging just out, to shopping, eating at our favorite local spots, playing at BouncerTown or even the Playroom, right here at home! What a grand time...

On Friday evening, (the 3rd), we ate with the family at Edwards Drive In and spent time at the Rehab Center with Mamaw "Who". Later that night, Greg, Aly and I drove over to ("Unky") Mark and ("Aunt-Nita") Anita's for the town's Firework show. Aly wasn't too sure about the noise at first, but the bright colors and flashing lights finally won her over! She has turned into quite the 'Firecracker' girl! On the 4th, it rained ALL day, so we just hung out at home and enjoyed lots of quality time together. That night, the 'Media' guys said the Downtown Fireworks were to be a 'go', come rain or shine. SO! We jumped in the car, (in our 'Jammies') and headed down to see "Freedom Blast 2009"! WELL! We were very disappointed an hour later, to find out the Grand Fire Marshall would not allow the show to go on! There were many tears on the way home, that night...

I woke up on Sunday, under the weather and not feeling well, so Greg left us girls home and headed out to Church alone. By that evening, I was well on the mend, so I stopped by to check in on Mamaw S. When Greg and Aly picked me up, we made a last second decision and drove back downtown for the postponed "Freedom Blast". We had an excellent parking spot for ourselves and our lawn chairs. It was a gorgeous night and once again, Aly loved those fireworks to pieces...
For the Show, we were parked near a place called, "Peewinkles Puppet Studio" and it sparked my interest, I wondered what it could be and why I'd never heard of it. When we arrived back home, I 'Googled' it and found it to be a charming old world style, 50 seat puppet theatre (only a few blocks south of Circle Center in downtown). Ideal for school groups, scouts, birthday parties and reserved parties. Peggy Melchior, Debbi Stutzman and Heidi Shackleford, of MMHP Puppet Productions Inc., present captivating and creative puppet shows for children (incl. puppet making day camps and workshops). "Peewinkles" specialize in a variety of creative puppet shows year round, while using marionettes and special effects. Their shows are sure to delight those of all ages! We look forward to taking Aly for a Birthday Party in her very near future...

On a bit of a side-note, Greg and I will be celebrating our Anniversary toward the end of the month, so be on the look out for a Wedding Photo Album, coming very soon!!! Also, we have been anxiously awaiting the return of Mama and Daddy, from their General Assembly trip, for what seems to be an 'eon' and they WILL be back tonight... We, (especially Aly) can hardly wait, either! We've missed them something terrible, but pray they enjoyed their LITTLE time away! Well, it's on into the rest of another busy week for us, now. We trust each of you will have a marvelous one...

Happy July 4th, Everyone! (ONLY 3 Days Away...)

It's about time for sparklers and fireworks, again!!! The time of year that we feel those 'chills' run up our spines as we listen to a moving Patriotic song, gaze upon "Lady Liberty" as she stands boldly on the New York harbor, see a member of the Military in full uniform walking along the sidewalk or simply watch as an American flag sways gently in the evening breeze. We are truly a blessed people to live in America. Our Nation is changing and it's becoming more and more important that we beg God to once again BLESS America and REVIVE us as a CHRISTIAN Nation. "WE WANT AMERICA BACK"! (In order to view this video clip, you will first need to scroll down to the right, to our 'Penn Palz Favorite Online Music' and press 'Pause'.)

Well, our company from Louisiana have already headed back South and we only wished we'd gotten to tag along! Our family is entirely too close to have this many miles lay between us and these Good-Byes are always tearful! We are so thankful the trip home was made safely, though! (Thanks, Suzanne, we couldn't have made it without you this week and Mamaw was even more thrilled to have a 'new' nurse!!!)

Whitley has been with us since Saturday and plans to stay for the rest of this week. Aly thinks it's pretty incredible having someone 'dote' on her 24/7! Where, you may ask are the pictures of these precious moments together? Well, the lovely camera has been tucked away in the back of the computer armoire, since our Father's Day blog! However, it is now out on the shelf and we hope to put it to use over the next few days!

Until next week, may God bless YOU and may God bless America... Happy July 4th, everyone!

May the Summer Fun Continue!

July 4th weekend was a very exciting time around our part of the fair city...
Greg's parents arrived on Thursday evening (the 3rd), just in time to head to "Chicago's", for a little of their tasty pizza!
We spent the morning of the 4th relaxing with the 'in-laws', Wes and (friend) Devin. This, after a week in our wild, wooly, wonderful "Boys Dorm" and what fun that has been!!! It's always great to have the chance to spend time with Greg's family!
Around 1:30 p.m., on the 4th, we drove to (our Church's) "The Hope Shelter" to meet the rest of the family for an afternoon Picnic... everyone pitched in on the menu and it was to DIE FOR!!! Pork Chops on the grill, Corn on the Cob, Italian Bread, Ceasar Salad, 5-Cheese (homemade) Macaroni Casserole, Multi-Bean-Baked-Beans, Homemade Cheeseball-n-Crackers, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Strawberry Cake, Texas Sheet Cake, and SOOOO much more!!! There were even Hot Dogs on the grill, Chips-n-Dip, P.B. Brownies and other snacks... just for THE KIDS!!!
Speaking of kids, here is a photo of our Alyson with her Mamaw "Who" (S.) taken at our 4th Family Picnic. The two of them always have a great time together! We've been too busy with company to try and keep up with picture taking... (guess we need to take a lesson from dear Ronda and Danny, huh?) Maybe it'll get better when we're out of the 'baby stages' and there's not so much to remember every time we walk out the door? (Like 'Did we bring the camera?!?!? LOL)
Due to little rain and clouds, we had our meal in "The Dwelling" (the Church Youth Center) and when the sun came out a bit, we headed out to the Shelter for even more fun!
That evening, we drove downtown for the blast of Indy's famous Fireworks, they were great BUT the Finale' was AWESOME! Once again, (much like our day at the Zoo), Aly wasn't all that interested in the fireworks, but she enjoyed looking at all the people! LOL
Our guests went to Church with us on Sunday morning, then for the evening service, "The Perry's" were in Concert (also at our Church) and God came in a very special way.
As you can tell, we had a wonderful weekend, trust ya'll did as well and we just want to say how thankful we are for the family God has granted us! "Thank You, Jesus... You've been better to us than we ever deserved!!!"
We'd also request special prayer for our Nation, not only during this Patriotic season but for the upcoming Election season, as well?!?! Without the much needed prayer of Christians around the Country, there is NO hope!!! Our plea is that God will continue to BLESS America!!!