Simple Woman's Daybook

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FOR TODAY:  Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Outside my window...  It's been very hot & humid for way too long now.  I really really dislike humidity.  I dislike having to run the a/c & I dislike not being to go for walks & to parks & just spending time outdoors in general.

I am thinking...  How tired I am of feeling so locked up in my house.  Going a tad stir-crazy.

I am thankful...  for having air conditioning; I know there are folks who don't & I REALLY feel for them right now.

In the kitchen...  made chicken, rice, & asparagus last night for dinner......tonight will be a night of left-overs I think.

I am wearing...  grey tank top, denim shorts

I am working on...  getting Lil J's baby book updated--need to print out some pics

I am going...  to my niece's birthday party this weekend

From the learning rooms.....  still just daily Bible study & reading lessons for Lil J, next month will be starting Preschool

I am reading...  just Bible, but will probably start a novel soon, been craving a good novel recently

I am hoping...  this weekend works out well; Lil J has swimming lessons & my niece has a birthday party, but hubby has a business meeting that has to get squeezed in there as well-I just hope it all works out

I am looking forward to...  ahhhh, a wedding next month!  I've been craving a good wedding for quite some time now; and not only do we get to go to a wedding, but my Lil J is going to be the ring bearer!  I feel so honored.

I am learning.........  how to have more patience & understanding with difficult people

Around the house...  did laundry & floors & bathrooms & dusting yesterday; still gotta do the kitchen & then some work outside (weeding & hosing)

I am pondering...  how so many people are so focused on the splinter in other people's eyes while looking past the log in their own & all the while they have no clue they are doing so......makes me wonder how many times I am guilty of the same & why it's so easy to see someone else's sin but not your own.......and makes me wonder why we can't just all help each other (& why we don't all WANT the help) by lovingly sharing with each other when there is visible sin.

A favorite quote for today...  Love the Lord your God--Matt 22:37

One of my favorite things...  fun time (free time) with my hubby; this last weekend was really great between swimming lessons, going to Bass Pro Shop & to the pool

A few plans for the rest of the week:  to the pool tomorrow & probably Friday too; not sure about Thursday yet

I am praying for: my stepson (been very sick), my hubby (seeing an ENT soon), Lil J's appetite, my own health issues, lots of family & friends

Simple Woman's Daybook

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FOR TODAY:  August 7, 2012

Outside my window...it's hot & muggy & ugly; I don't like this weather & hate that it's so hot that I need to turn on the a/c--I hate a/c, love to have doors & windows open & fresh air

I am thinking...about life, once again, have dealt with 3 unexpected deaths in the past 3 months

I am thankful... my husband, my family, my life

In the kitchen... made a turkey tenderloin roast for dinner last night, yummy!  making chicken tonight

I am wearing... a yellow top with spaghetti straps & denim shorts

I am working on... getting more creative, especially with dinner planning

I am going... to my niece's piano recital this Saturday

From the learning rooms..... will be starting preschool next month for Lil J, will be starting swimming lessons for Lil J this Saturday

I am reading... just my Bible for now

I am hoping... to do something fun with my hubby soon, getting tired of being stuck in the house so much

I am looking forward to... cake decorating classes next month!  I can't wait!

I am learning......... how to teach Lil J to read......it's not how I remember learning & not what I was expecting, but it's working & he's enjoying the process, so I guess that's all that matters

Around the house... did most of my cleaning chores yesterday, still gotta clean the kitchen & detail the stove, hose down outside, & weed the garden.

I am pondering... addiction & why some people can beat it while others can't

A favorite quote for today... if you always do what you've always done you'll always get what you always got

One of my favorite things... having lunch in a park

A few plans for the rest of the week: got some errands to run, probably tomorrow, the rest of my cleaning chores that I already mentioned, & taking Lil J to pool since it's too hot to go to a park, swim lessons, piano recital

I am praying for: Josh's family, my hubby's throat, my bladder & toxic body, & lots of family & friends

I've been "tagged"

I was tagged by Danielle

RULES:

Name 11 random facts about yourself.

Answer the 11 questions the previous person tagged for you to answer.

List 11 random questions for other bloggers to answer.

Tag 11 bloggers in this post and spread the word.

11 Random facts.

*I am a total bookworm, have been since I first learned to read

*I love to drive stick-shift (manual) [& yes, my hummer is manual!]

*I absolutely LOVE motherhood

*Being a SAHM is hard for me, I need to get out of the house more

*I am totally addicted to working out

*I love learning about health & alternative medicine

*I love to garden, just have a hard time keeping up with the weeds!

*I love to play guitar & sing

*I love to bake & cook, but sometimes I get stuck in a rut with dinner planning

*I absolutely adore the weather (very breezy) where I live & I know if I ever move I will miss it badly

*I want a pool BADLY yet I don't even know how to swim, LOL

Winners Questions

1.) What's your favourite TV show?

hhhmmmm, that's a tough one, I really don't watch much TV.  I used to be addicted to General Hospital, but haven't watched in a lot of years now.  I guess the show I watch most often is "Know The Cause", although I do usually follow American Idol when it's on.

2.) What do you consider your scary age? (for me, it's 30)

I was having a really hard time as I approached age 30, but once the birthday came & went it wasn't such a big deal anymore.  But when I turned 30 I still felt like I was 19.  Now, as I'm fast approaching 40, I really can't say that, too many health issues these days.  And I am definitely aging.  But I really don't fear any age at this point.  My goal remains to try to stay as strong & independent & healthy as I can no matter what age I am.

3.) Do you have any regrets?

I have really tried hard to live my life with no regrets.  But now that I'm older, looking back, I don't actually think that's possible to do.  I think there will always be "some" regrets in anyone's life.  I do regret some of the choices I made when I was young.  But then again, the results of those choices have shaped me & made me who I am today.    

4.) Favourite meal?

That would have to be dinner I guess.  Most days I just do a protein shake for breakfast & a lot of days I just do cereal (raisin bran) for lunch.  So dinner is typically my most elaborate meal.

5.) Favourite summer drink?

ice water--I know, I know, I'm wild like that

6.) How is your summer going?

pretty good, just wish we could take a real vacation & do more fun stuff than one day at the beach

7.) Dream occupation?

hhhhmmmm, that's a tough one, I guess it would be a microbiologist or something along those lines.  Microbiology was my favorite class in college.  

8.) How many children do you want?

I would've loved to have been able to have 2.  But I had my first at 36 & it was already a very high risk pregnancy & I would not want to push my luck & risk my own health to have another now that I'm even older.

9.) Celebrity crush?

really, truly, none

10.) Current relationship status?

very happily married

11.) Do you vote?

YES, I'm very passionate about it, it's very important to me to get my opportunity to do so, however, it's tough being a conservative in liberal California, my vote doesn't count for much.  And then when the people vote down same sex marriage & one judge overturns our vote & forces it upon us it makes it a little hard to swallow.  How is that a democracy?  When we voice our opinions by voting & yet it doesn't stand?  Just so totally wrong.  Our govt is really upsetting me more & more all the time.  

Questions for Tagged People to answer:

1) How many best friends do you have?

2) What are your favorite hobbies?

3) How many siblings do you have & do you have a good relationship with them?

4) Do you have a good relationship with your parents?

5) What is your relationship status?

6) How many children do you have/want to have?

7) What's your dream job?

8) What is your favorite form of stress relief?

9) What's your dream vacation?

10) What's your favorite summer weather activity?

11) What's your favorite rainy day acitvity?

11 Friends I've Tagged

http://titus2woman.wordpress.com/

http://countryroadsleadmehome.blogspot.com/

http://dairydaze.blogspot.com/

http://holly-lifeinthebighouse.blogspot.com/

http://ourpeculiarlives.blogspot.com/

http://www.lifeonmanitoulin.com/

http://silverpencils.blogspot.com/

http://throwingtheballtonaturally.blogspot.com/

http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

http://www.childtrainingbible.com/

Addendum to the Child Training Bible Blog Post

I have already been using this tool with my son.  And I really love it.  I cannot say enough good things about it.

As I said in my previous blog post on this topic I felt there was some room for improvement in my opinion.  There were a few areas that I felt could be improved, but a big one to me was that I feel there is a big need for the topic of "purity".  In this day & age I believe this is a big issue that needs to be taught to our children straight from God's word.  So I did a study today for verses pertaining to this topic & added my own tabs/highlighting on my Child Training Bible for this topic.

I have quite a few verses for this particular topic, more than this tool has on the other topics it covers.  And a few of them pertain specifically to marriage & one of them pertains specifically to homosexuality.  Obviously which ones I choose to go over will depend on my son's age at the time.  But I do plan to continue to use this tool for many years to come in the future & I also plan to start discussing purity in general at a young age.  I think the world has waged war on this particular issue & we need to fight to reclaim it by teaching our children from a young age straight from God's Word as I already said.

Diva Cup update [warning: TMI for some]

Ok, so I posted this blog post previously about the Diva Cup.  And I will once again warn that this may be TMI for some readers.

I have now gone through 3 cycles using the Diva Cup.  And I am happy to say that I am still happy with it.

The first month was a little rough I will admit.  I had a lot of leakage issues during the first month I used it.  It wasn't until the end of that period that I realized the cup wasn't even full when I was leaking & so the problem had to be that I wasn't inserting it properly.  I must also say that during this week I was also dealing with the loss of my brother in law & focusing on this new diva cup was really not a priority at that time.  I felt a little numb overall, like I was in shock, as his death was VERY unexpected & VERY sudden.  I was tempted to just go back to tampons for this time, but I didn't want to be a quitter & continued with the cup, leaks & all.

During the second month I used it I had some leakage issues on the first day I used it.  But I quickly started learning how to insert properly & that went away.  I'm sure the learning curve for everyone is different, but for me I struggled with getting it to fully reopen once inserted inside.  So it was a matter of fixing this issue & then I no longer had leakage issues, except when the cup is full & needs to be emptied.  I will say, though, that even though I learned how to insert properly this month, it was still taking me a really long time to get it inserted & fully reopened properly.  But I persisted.

During the third month I feel I have become a real pro.  I can quickly remove, clean, reinsert, & fully inflate in a very short time.  I had no leakage issues this time around, with the exception of when the cup is full & needs to be emptied.

So for now I feel like inserting, removing, & cleaning is a piece of cake.  What I am still working on is knowing when to empty.  My flow varies greatly sometimes & it makes it tough for me to gauge.  I'm hoping to improve in this area.

I did get a pan to boil it in when my period is complete each month.  I hadn't boiled it yet, to be honest, & felt that I definitely should be doing that.  And I really couldn't stomach the thought of using one of my kitchen pans to boil it in.  So I bought a separate pan & will be storing somewhere outside of the kitchen, just so there's no confusion & no one ends up using it for food, LOL.

I did also get a second Diva Cup.  I was having a hard time dealing with having only one cup & no other form of back up.  I kept worrying about all these "what if" scenarios where I would need a back up.  So I went ahead & got one.  Now I keep one in my bathroom & one in my purse.  So no matter where I am I have one available in case I start unexpectedly.

I have also mastered the public restroom issue with using the Diva Cup.  That was one of the first things I thought of in regards to the cup, how on earth do you deal with it in a public restroom??  I found a video on youtube where a woman says she carries a peri bottle of water with her, in her purse, & uses that to rinse off the cup & her hands & then when she's done she washes her hands again at the sink outside the stall.  I have done this, in the public restroom at church, & it worked great I am happy to say.  You can also hunt down places like Starbucks where it's one person at a time with a sink right there with the toilet, if that's doable for you.  But I know that there will be times, like at church, where that's not always doable, so I needed to find a good way to handle it without that option & I did & I am quite pleased.

The only other issue I am wondering about: when I initially switched from pads to tampons I was amazed at how much easier my periods were using tampons.  I had less cramping, less mood swings, bloating, nausea, etc.  But I had thought that using the Diva Cup would be comparable to using tampons in regards to this.  But it is not at all.  I am having bad cramping, mood swings, bloating, the list goes on & on.  All those ugly things that went away when I switched to tampons so many years ago.  I find that both odd & interesting.  It makes me wonder what exactly is in the tampons that causes that effect.  I have learned even more now than I knew when I first made the choice to give up tampons & switch to the Diva Cup.  I now know that tampons have dioxin in them & that it is a carcinogen.  Just knowing that alone makes me never want to insert a tampon internally into my body ever again.  I am hoping that my body is just going through some sort of adjustment period to the cup & that it will pass & things will settle down & my periods won't be so difficult once again.

In closing, just let me say how happy I am with the Diva Cup overall.  They say they can last 10 years easily, if cared for properly.  Ten years from now I'd have to guess that I'll be well into menopause & probably not having periods anymore.  And so this will be my final purchase, final expense as it were, towards my periods.  I think that's pretty cool, although I sure do wish I had learned about them & started using them at a much younger age.

Simple Woman's Daybook

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FOR TODAY: July 31, 2012

Outside my window...  It's a very warm day but not hot enough to need the air conditioner on, thank goodness.  The breeze is finally starting to pick up now also, which really helps.

I am thinking...  about life, the past, the present; I sometimes seem to struggle with reconciling my past with the present

I am thankful...  for my husband & kids & our life together

In the kitchen...  I need to make a big batch of almond milk, I'm on my last quart of it right now, but I'm feeling too lazy to do so.....will do it before the day ends

I am wearing... a lavender tank top & denim shorts

I am creating...  been working a lot outdoors, making our yard nice & neat & clean; it used to ALWAYS be this way, but it has been let go here & there over the past couple of years, life's just been very busy since Lil J was born

I am going...  to try to spend less time on the internet

I am wondering...   about how a friend from my past can approach me some 15 years later & act like all is peachy between us when the very last conversation we had was him telling me exactly what he thought of me as a person & that I was basically pond scum in his eyes

I am reading... lots of Bible & not much else really right now, just haven't been in the mood I guess

I am hoping...  to kick this sinus problem FAST, it's been lingering for a while now & it's REALLY killing me; it usually means I'm eating too much sugar or too much grains (well, since sugar is a grain it's all the same really)

I am looking forward to...  my hubby coming home from work

I am learning.....  to teach Lil J to read, I am finally starting to get the hang of the method of the book I'm using.  I didn't like it at first & I'm still not thrilled about it, but Lil J sure does love it, so I'll stick with it for his sake

Around the house...  did all my house cleaning yesterday--bathrooms, floors, dusting, laundry--still gotta do the kitchen, probably on Thursday

I am pondering...  how this line is different from the "I am wondering" line..........it seems a tad repetitious to me....

A favorite quote for today...  Micah 7:9 I will be patient as the Lord punishes me, for I have sinned against him.  But after that, he will take up my case & give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies.  The Lord will bring me into the light, & I will see his righteousness.  I saw this scripture when I was making my Child Training Bible & was surprised that I don't remember noticing it before.

One of my favorite things...  Teaching my son about the Bible

A few plans for the rest of the week:  grocery shopping, more playtime with my Lil J, hopefully some fun this weekend with my hubby

I am praying for:  my health, hubby's sleep, lots of family & friends, for Israel's protection

The Child Training Bible

This is one of the best parenting resources I have learned of since becoming a parent.  More info can be found at the website for this product.  Especially good is the how-to video they have at that website.  My cousin told me about this product & I immediately ordered it & it arrived about 2 days later (very fast IMO) & I ordered the tabs & highlighters from the links on the website (which is through amazon.com) & they arrived the very same day.  So I sat down that afternoon & put it all together.  I saw some comments on their website that the shipping was too pricey for what you're getting, BUT I don't think those people are realizing how FAST it will arrive.  To me it was worth it since it did arrive so quickly.  It took me a few hours (maybe 3-4 hours) to put it together, but I absolutely love it & feel it was a totally worthwhile project.  Since I only have one small child (& my husband was home on vacation & was able to help watch him while I was putting it together) it was doable for me, but I could actually see where some people might want this & not be able to find the time to get it put together due to having several children & other demands in their lives.  I do think it would be great if they offered the option of paying more money but receiving the whole thing already put together for you.  I personally would still choose the option of doing it myself, but I think it would be nice to have the option available to others.

After I finished I went back through & double checked myself.  I found a few mistakes.  Verses I had highlighted but not tabbed.  Verses I had skipped altogether.  Verses I had tabbed, but not highlighted.  More than one verse of the same color (but different topics) on the same page that weren't labelled accordingly.  I am glad I invested a little extra time to double check myself & know that it is complete.  I do highly recommend double checking yourself afterwards.  It's very easy to miss things without realizing it.

I have observed parents who tell their kids what the Bible has to say.  But the child themselves never actually opens their Bible for themselves.  So as a parent I knew it was really important to me to actually train up my son to open up his Bible for himself & be comfortable with using it & knowledgable about the Bible in general as well.  I want him to know that it's where you first turn when making any sort of decision in life as well as for any issues/problems in life.  But I also believe in order to instill this as firmly as I desire in my heart that I must be the one who teaches him the how-to & the habit of doing it & I must do so starting at a young age.  I want to show him firsthand what the Bible has to say & where & how to find that info.  My son is only 3 as of now, but I have been thinking this over in the back of my mind since I was only pregnant, trying to think up a logical & systematic way of accomplishing this.

I have always struggled with creativity.  Oftentimes I see a need (like needing an approach to teaching my son the Bible) & I go to my husband & he is the creative half of us & he often comes up with solutions for me for a lot of things in life.  He is totally amazing like that.  It's a gift that I really wish I had.  And occasionally I do have that ability, but it's very limited & only in certain areas of life.  

I do think there are areas where this product could possibly be improved, BUT overall I think it's REALLY amazing & far better than anything I had come up with so far myself.  I will admit that I don't think it will work for EVERYONE out there.  While it seems very well structured & organized to me, I know that not everyones minds' work the same way.  So I'm sure there are some people out there that this would seem confusing to.  It's just a matter of knowing yourself & what works & doesn't work for you & your family.

My hubby was a little confused about it, even after watching the video on the website.  And especially while watching me put it together.  But once it was done I showed him how it works & he does get it now.  I told him to feel free to use it with his 18 year old son if he feels led to.

You need a  9x6" Bible to use for this.  On the website they use the ESV pew Bible, but I really prefer the NLT, so I ordered this one.  I do wish it had Jesus' words in red, it doesn't, but I wanted to keep this project affordable & not buy a fancy, expensive Bible.  So I feel it does the job for this particular use.  

Overall I am absolutely THRILLED with this project & tool & cannot recommend it highly enough.  If you have it or do get it & use it I would love for you to leave comments sharing your thoughts & experiences.  

I wrote an additional blog post on this topic here:

Simple Woman's Daybook

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FOR TODAY:  Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Outside my window...  the temperature is very comfortable today, but I do wish we could have a breeze

I am thinking...  about life & how short it can be sometimes, how unfair it can "appear" at times, although I know in my heart that in God's eyes it's not unfair, but actually the best for us, even if we can't see that

I am thankful...  for life, for my family, for my God

In the kitchen...  cooked black beans last night, nothing going on today until dinner time--chicken, salad, & black beans most likely for dinner tonight

I am wearing...  a flowy white see-through top with a long white tube top underneath & denim shorts

I am creating...  I'm always stumped on this one.........

I am going...  to start teaching preschool material to Lil J starting this fall

I am wondering...  how long it's going to take me to get my garden weeded......uuugggghhhh

I am reading...  I read in one sitting "when a mother follows Christ", it's a free kindle book I got & it was a good read

I am hoping...  to be able to attend my friend's funeral, we've been friends for at least 20 years, he passed away last night

I am looking forward to...  next week, as my hubby is taking the week off from work

I am learning....  about the invention related process

Around the house...  yesterday I cleaned the bathrooms, dusted the whole house, swept & vaccuumed the floors, & did the weekly tons of laundry; plus I spent some time on swagbucks building up my points as I'm hoping to get a dehydrator.

I am pondering...  what God has in store for us & why life always has to be so hard

A favorite quote for today...  Do unto others as you would have them unto you

One of my favorite things...  stealing Lil J's "buddy" (teddy bear) & running through the house yelling "I got your Buddy!" & he's on my heels screaming his head off :D

A few plans for the rest of the week:  grocery shopping on Thursday, park day (or pool maybe) on Friday.....

I am praying for:   Mark's wife Tammy, my stepson, my hubby, & lots of little ones



Simple Woman's Daybook

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FOR TODAY:  Friday, July 13, 2012

Outside my window...  It's humid, hot, & muggy.  Supposed to start cooling off on Monday, I can't wait

I am thinking...  about life & how we grow & mature & make mistakes.....it's so hard as an outsider to differentiate from that normal process & what's dangerously wrong at times

I am thankful...  for having been married 7 years now  :)

In the kitchen...  I thoroughly cleaned my kitchen this morning.  I try to do that once a week, but don't always get to it I have to admit

I am wearing...  a black & white halter top with a black tube top underneath, denim shorts

I am creating...  hmmmm, here I am stuck again on this one.....I'm working on my son's memory book, that's creative for me!  There I did it!

I am going...  this is normally the day of the week that I take Lil J to the park or the pool, but it's too hot for the park & I just don't feel like going to the pool today.....hopefully later on when it cools down I can take him for a walk or something.....I did just take him yesterday to see the train (we have a train track running by us, just outside my community, it's walking distance for us)

I am wondering...  if I have what it takes to raise my son according to God's will......I sure am trying my best, but don't most parents & yet it doesn't always show in the child once they are grown.....

I am reading...  I finally finished the 4-A epidemic book by Dr. Kenneth Bock--I highly recommend it; I have a few books lined up that I want to read, some on my kindle app & some actual books, but haven't actually started as of yet

I am hoping...  to get outside & weed my garden soon.  I am soooo bad about that.  I had planned to do it this week, but then the heatwave hit & I was busier than usual with our anniversary falling this week.

I am looking forward to...  hubby taking some time off work coming up soon

I am learning......  how hard my body is capable of working out, been pushing hard for 2 months now, plan to keep it up for another month or two & then will drop it down a bit

Around the house...  did a lot of cleaning this week, but there's always still more that needs to be done, hopefully I can get to it soon; my goal is always to get to it before my hubby does, he works hard enough outside of the home that he shouldn't be cleaning at home IMO

I am pondering...  the dangers of life as a young adult, scary stuff sometimes

A favorite quote for today...  If He is not Lord of all then He is not Lord at all

One of my favorite things...  playing with my son, with no scheduled agenda, just free time to play whatever he desires

A few plans for the rest of the week:  going to an inventors' fair tomorrow, church on Sunday

I am praying for:  my stepson, my hubby, my health, for Ryan & Brandon & Carson & Deborah & Madison & lots of little ones

Independance Day

It's been quite a while since we've really done anything for the 4th of July.  The holiday is special to us, in the sense of the meaning behind it.  But life is busy & my hubby doesn't get the day off, it's typically a big sale event in his line of work, so it's easy to put the celebrations on hold. 

I should add that it can easily not seem so important to see fireworks when you don't have children.  Most of the time my stepson was with his mother for the holiday & my stepdaughter was already an adult, off celebrating it on her own.

I can remember going to a park to see fireworks with my stepdaughter once.  My guess would be that it was in 2006.  So for 2007 & 2008 we didn't go anywhere to celebrate. 

In 2009, 2010, & 2011 it was too difficult with Lil J.  He was typically already asleep by the time it's dark out.  Plus the loud noise of the fireworks would certainly have startled him.

But this year he's 3.  And he's able to stay up late on occasion.  And he now actually knows what fireworks are.  Well, he's seen them on TV & he is able to recognize them on TV & tell me what they are. 

So this year I really wanted him to see fireworks in person.  I didn't want to go to a big fair or anything like that.  Just some simple fireworks.  I told hubby I didn't even care if we just watched from the car. 

But we ended up going back to the same park we went to in 2006.  By the time hubby got off work it was tough to get parking.  We actually ended up moving someone's trash cans (we did move them back when we left) & parked there & still had quite a hike to the park.  The event just had a few tents up, selling kettle corn, funnel cakes, a couple of businesses promoting themselves, & a smoothie stand.  We brought our beach chairs & Lil J's umbrella stroller & we took our dinner to go with us (I made hot dogs).   There was  a live band playing & lots of kids playing with balls & running around.  It was very nice.  At 8:45 the tents/booths shut down & at 9:00 they began a 20 minute procession of fireworks while the live band played patriotic music (a live rendition of the star spangled banner & then well known recordings of other patriotic songs). 

Hubby video'd the fireworks, but my phone is broken right now so I didn't get to take any still photos.  By the time 9:00 rolled around Lil J was quite sleepy.  When they first started he was trying to sleep through it on hubby's shoulder.  But the loud noise of it all forced him to wake up & look.  Then he started getting into it & even counting all the loud booms from the fireworks.  And then before it was over he was just too sleepy & went back to sleep on hubby's shoulder. 

So all in all we had a great 4th of July together.  My stepson is now an adult & even though he lives with us full time he was off with his friends just as my stepdaughter has been all these years.