EdelWeiss: "Made In America"

This is one of the current patriotic songs on Country Music stations these days, one of the many by Toby Keith. I just love it. It makes me think of my Grandpa (who I've been thinking about a lot recently). My Grandfather was one of the most patriotic people I knew, and I think nearly every time a Republican President was in office he would have a big 8X10 photo of him sitting at his desk. He prayed for our nation relentlessly and appreciated being able to chase The American Dream starting as a boy who came from a very, very poor family. He worked literally from sun up to sun down, many times 7 days a week, and made a name for himself in the midst of doing so. He had the support of one of the best wives in the whole world...and this song is a tribute to their thankfulness for America.

Anyway, it's also a tribute to how fortunate we are to live in the United States. I've had some very intense conversations with God over the past several months about why we are so privileged when so many are not. I remind Carly all the time that she's so blessed to be able to take a bath in clean water or eat food even when she's not all that hungry. We are so richly blessed.

This 4th of July (like every 4th of July that we are in Iowa) was celebrated with the Weiss clan. We stayed with Brian's folks and both of his brothers, our sister-in-law, niece and Nathan's girlfriend were all at the house that day. We hit the Ames parade with two very cute girls who just happened to have matching outfits! Aren't they sweet?

And our attempt at a family 4th of July pic and a pretty good one of our American girl...

The parade was the perfect length, and Carly enjoyed watching the action. She fell asleep in the car ride home and after a very long nap was ready for more play time with her cousin, Cora. There was a spread of snacks and desserts laid out, along with my favorite food to eat at the Weiss household, a frozen fruit cup. I think I had one each day we were there. :)

The girls had a lot of fun swinging and playing in the pool and whatever else they were doing. Carly followed Cora around at all times, I nearly lost track of what activity they were at minute by minute. I hope my two kiddos, who will be similarly spaced in age as these two cousins, enjoy each other as much as these girls did. It's way easier to get things done/relax a bit when a very trustworthy 3-year-old takes your 1-year-old by the hand and plays with her. :)

The 4th was a day of relaxation...but hey, most of the trip was! It came at the PERFECT time for a mama who was feeling nauseated and uncomfortable with a growing 9-11 week old babe in her tummy.

I think, besides the great food, what I enjoyed most about my time with Brian's family was time I spent laying on the couch or on a blanket in the back yard while Carly's Grandma played all sorts of games with her, and chats/walks with my sister-in-law. The older we get the more we have in common. Just this summer her and I have both experienced similar feelings with raising strong-willed girls and moving to new homes.

We were blessed to get to see Brian's Aunt Crystal & Uncle Dick, his Aunt Paula & his Aunt Dawn, who came at different times throughout the week to say hi. Here are some of the photos we took throughout the week.