Independence Day

Mom and Dad are home on a visit from Israel.  I can't really say that they are "on vacation" because they are both still working hard, Dad on his translation work, and Mom on writing music for the Hebrew psalms.  But it is nice to have them here, and to hear more about Israel and the work they are doing there.

This week has been an unusual one in some ways.  It is comforting to have my parents here at this time.  Besides prayer, there's not much I can do, but to "keep calm and carry on" as the British say.

Carrying on, then: last Monday was Independence Day.

If I were an ambitious blogger, I might tackle a nice controversial topic appropriate to the holiday--for example: is America really a Christian nation?  Or, were the colonists justified in rebelling against the British government?

But I'm not feeling particularly ambitious today, so instead I will post pictures of adorable little children enjoying The Quintessential American Independence Day.

(Adorable, right?) 

What is The Quintessential American Independence Day, you ask?  Why, a beautiful sunny day on which you go to a barbecue, of course, and eat hot dogs and hamburgers and watermelon and corn on the cob and brownies on paper plates, and drink sweet tea and coffee, all while sitting in lawn chairs beneath shade trees with friends and relatives of at least three generations,

from grandmother

to youngest grandchild,

and the children ride trikes and wagons around in the driveway,

and swing on the tire swing,

and run laughing through the sprinkler in the sunshine.

And in the evening (if the kids aren't too tired) you head downtown to hear the free outdoor concert and see the fireworks.  The concert has to include Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. Yes, we are fully aware that the 1812 Overture doesn't have anything to do with American independence, but it's an Independence Day tradition anyway, especially when accompanied by live cannons and followed by a fireworks show.

Here's a video of the 1812 Overture.  I had a hard time selecting a video from Youtube, but in the end I went with this one because it had the best cannons.  Elijah reads my blog, and I like to cater to my audience. :) Enjoy!