This week is the Fourth of July so in honor of that event here are thirteen of my favorite patriotic videos and quotes.

1.

I learned to play this on piano when I was 11.

2. The cement of this union is the heart-blood of every American.  ~Thomas Jefferson

3. The Battle Hymn of the Republic

4. Do not regard the critics as questionable patriots. What were Washington and Jefferson and Adams but profound critics of the colonial status quo? ~Adlai Ewing Stevenson

5. Trace Adkins’ Arlington

6. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America. ~Bill Clinton

7. Dustin James’ America

8.We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.~William Faulkner

9. James R. Duty, Jr.  Land of the Free Because of the Brave

10. These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated. ~Thomas Paine

11. America the Beautiful

12. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ~The Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776

13.  The Star Spangled Banner

Spring Fever is running rampant at my house. Our entire household has been affected. Do we want to work? No. Do we want to do our homework? Oh No. What are we doing instead… 13 thing I have done this month instead of write.

1. Baseball. Game, practice, catch in the back yard. My 8 year old is playing baseball this year. And he is good, not just that is my baby and I think everything he does is wonderful, but parents and coaches of other teams asking about him kind of good. So we have practice about 4 to 5 hours a week plus 1-2 games per week plus taking him to the batting cages once a week for an hour.

My Baby, The Catcher.

2.  Yard work. We built a new house last year, and there was zero landscaping. Now, I’m not a real outdoorsy kind of person, but I want some plants in front of my house. So, off we go the greenhouse. There are now 4 trees in the yards and a half a dozen shrubs, as well as some flowers. We are measuring for a patio in the back.

3. Homework. I have to almost sit on the kids to get them to do their homework right now.

4. School pageants, awards, end of year activities. Case in point, my oldest is having a luau at school tomorrow. I spent the better part of today driving to the nearest party store and purchasing leis and a grass skirt. Tomorrow I have to make fruit salad and deliver it to school.

5. Teaching my daughter to ride a bike. I adjusted the training wheels last week. They no longer sit on the ground. We have be wobbling around the cul de sac. Only one wreck so far.

6. Work. Everyone at work seems to need a day off lately. So I have been working extra shifts. I have covered for a high school graduation, a wedding, and tomorrow a kindergarten graduation.

7. The weather. It has either been gorgeous or horrible. On the gorgeous days, I just want to sit on the porch and read. On the horrible days, it is dark and rainy, and the perfect weather to just crawl back into bed and take a nap.

8. Gymnastics. This picture is the only explanation needed.

Makes all the guys cringe.

9. Planning our summer vacation. All any of us want is to just get away for a while.

10. Graduations. We have to go to several graduations. Two are out of town. Close, but still out of town. Thanking God that my twin nieces are not graduating for another year, but next June, I will be in Ohio for the Southeast High School graduation. Even if I didn’t love those girls, I would do it for my Dad who would have wanted to be there. Will be back for the twin nephews the year after.

11. Reading. Something I have been neglecting, but the porch and sunshine have been calling my name.

12. Strawberry jam. It is strawberry time in Tennessee. I have been making strawberry jam, strawberry pie, and strawberry shortcake. Not to mention dipping a few in chocolate and not waiting for it to cool before eating at least one.

13. My daughter. With all the stuff the boys have been doing, the little munchkin has been feeling left out. But I don’t need an excuse to enjoy this…

It is absolutely gorgeous today. My kids are out for Good Friday, and we are going to the park to play. Packing a picnic lunch and taking my notebook, maybe I can get some plotting done while they run around like wild children.

My daughter’s kindergarten class has been focusing on reading for the last few months. I finished up her March reading log last night. Most of the books were simple kindergarten appropriate books, Seuss and the like. But I was thinking about reading some much longer books to her. These were some of my favorites, and I hope they might become some of hers, too.

1.  Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

2.  Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

3.  Heidi by Johanna Spyri

4.  Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

5.  Bunnicula by James Howe

6. The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

7.  Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

8.  Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

9.  A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

10.  The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

11. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

12. The Borrowers by Mary Norton

And last but certainly not least.

13.  The Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This is by no means a complete list. These were really the first ones that came to mind. So far my daughter loves to read, and I want to keep it that way.

My website was one of the many things I let slip through the cracks after we got the kiddos. There were so many things that were more important that first year.  We have learned a lot about being a family. My little munchkin is celebrating her 6th birthday today. They have been with us a little over a year. The adoption has been final almost 6 months. This is my first real step back into the writing world, but it isn’t my last.

And for those dying for pictures, here you go.

Munchkin earlier this month during our last snow of the year.

Manchild, my 8 year old.

The Moody One, 10, going on 20.