We had a great independence day celebration at Nana and Grandpa's! They really did a lot of preparing and planning to make our time together special and had lots of great themed food, decorations, and crafts for the boys. The men also did a little firework show right in the backyard - James was a little uneasy with the fireworks as close as they'd ever been to him and said he "liked it a little loud but not very loud"but still seemed to really enjoy it and Jude slept straight through it all. Aunt Leah and Uncle JP were in town, and the three big boys had the best time playing together! I thought I'd share a few pictures of the festivities.
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| Nana made an Angry Birds watermelon. |
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| We found a recipe for red and blue deviled eggs! |
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| Fourth of July crafts :) |
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| Stephen and I played some outdoor games. I said we needed a picture to document that, six years and two kids later, "we still do things together!" ha! |
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| Meeting Aunt Leah! |
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| And Uncle JP! |
Side Note: I wasn't able to get a picture of James and Jude together (I tried quite a few times!) or of all of the five cousins together. James is going through a time lately of not wanting his picture taken (and he's had them taken a lot lately between maternity pictures, newborn pictures, life with a new baby brother pictures, etc.) and when we got him alone, after a little meltdown (that was probably a long time coming after the last few months of photo taking), he was able to express to us very clearly that he had taken enough pictures that day and did not want to have any more taken of him. I felt very convicted that I've tried at times to capture the "perfect" picture or moment and after our talk decided that it is something I'm not going to push anymore, and that I really want and need to respect him in that area. There are lots of nonnegotiables in parenting, but this is surely not one of them and I hope moving forward from this that he will feel like his voice has been heard. Of course, as parents we can't say "yes" to every request and there will be certain things that he may not enjoy but as parents we know what's best for him. But I hope that as we strive to keep the lines of communication open, that we will consider his requests and his voice and say "yes" when we can and should. So, from here on out on this blog (and not that there's been many pictures that he was against taking!), there will only be pictures shared of James that he's excited about taking. They may not be the cutest pictures (because we just go with the first one!) or there may not be any pictures of him at all for long stretches of time, but it will definitely be a true picture of reality. And that's what I've always hoped to portray here on this blog anyway - an imperfect pair that is seeking daily the Perfect One in parenting and in whatever else He calls us to. (Some of these lessons in parenting sure sting a bit, but I hope we're learning and growing as we go!)
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