Independence Day!

Last year, Ryan and I were having day #2 of our final Kokomo garage sale on July 4th. It was blistering hot, we sold almost everything in our garage, and then we packed up the leftovers to drop them off at our church, since they were about to have a big sale. 

And for the first time in our entire marriage, we did not go to a fireworks display. There were some around us, but we were just a week away from our move to Grabill and our first day at WillowBridge. We felt it was important to stay home and watched fireworks on TV so we could be healthy and ready for our big move. . 

And we vowed that would be the ONLY year we would miss fireworks.

But then as you know, we ended up on duty this year. It was still a good day, but boy do we have a story!

Since the 4th came on Sunday, we started our day with church. Our church actually had a combined outdoor service, complete with baptisms and a few little fireworks at the end. Ryan and I loved it. It was hot, yes, and sunny, yes, but it was an amazing service. We took lawn chairs and sat with our tenants and declared it a great morning.

Since the service was a combination of all the services, they did a blend of hymns, patriotic songs, and contemporary songs, and I thought the worship team sounded great!

Our pastor was on vacation, but the guy who preached had a lot of note-worthy things to say, and I was scribbling in my church journal the entire time.

I cried over the baptisms, even though I didn't know anyone getting baptized. One of our tenants leaned over to ask me if I was okay. I'm not sure why...just hiccupping and losing mascara at a rapid pace, right? 

The last song had extra spark...literally!

The church provided lunch after (hamburgers and hot dogs) but we brought ours back to WillowBridge to eat in the air conditioning. 

That was when I learned something I DID NOT KNOW about my husband! Apparently he is quite the fan of the annual hot dog eating championship? I was sitting there trying to figure out how I didn't know that about him since we've been married almost nine years, and then I figured it out! He always worked on the 4th! He always watched it at work! 

We settled in to watch it, and you guys...I literally can't even. He said my face was the BEST all the way through it. I just can't. 

Apparently neither could ESPN, because it cut out and he missed the end! He was not thrilled. I was not heartbroken. 

Instead, I made this pretty Dashing Dish recipe, which we did not eat at world-record-breaking speed. But we did declare it delicious!

We worked throughout the rest of the day, and then that night, we took one of our tenants to see fireworks. Enter...the story.

I've seen Fort Wayne's fireworks before and thought they put on a good show. Downtown Fort Wayne was the only place around (that I could find) actually doing a show ON the fourth, but because we were on duty, we didn't feel like we could go all the way downtown and risk getting stuck and unable to get out if a tenant needed us. 

So we asked Rob where we should go to see them that would give us a clear view - and an exit strategy. He told us a parking lot that would give us a good view, so we packed up and went. When we arrived, a little after 9, several people had already set up camp in the parking lot, so we took that as a good sign. We joined them and waited for 10.

And then 10:05.

And then 10:15. 

All the while, we could see random fireworks from this direction or that, but nothing that was ever more than two at a time and nothing that could remotely be called consistent.

Finally, about `10:30, all the people who were there first just abruptly stood up to leave. We waited about 15 more minutes and then followed suit.

We never saw the show. Apparently it happened, but we could not see it. 

I was EXCEEDINGLY sad.

These are literally the only fireworks I captured:

I know. Pitiful.

So I'm thankful for a good day with Ryan and our tenants - and all the good food and the great church service. Those things matter and I'm glad for them! 

But we have already picked out our camping spot for next year so we can be at the water for fireworks on the 4th!