Now that Everyone Else Has Posted ...

about their 4th of July celebrations, we'll be happy to bring up the rear. It's not that we didn't want to share, just that we had only limited access to the Internet while we were at the beach. Next week, we'll get around to posting about Lily's second trip to the 'lotion.' Sorry Laine, a little busy this week!

Check out the cool slideshow below. Austin and I took the pictures, mostly during the Athens Fireworks show, but some while we were in New York this year and last year with the Beta Club. We visited Ellis Island where during the height of immigration to America in the early 1900s, some 20,000 people a day came ashore to join our great country. How cool is that! We learned that taking pictures of fireworks can be tricky, but if you overexpose and move the camera slightly while taking the picture you can get some really cool results!


As Americans who have traveled to a foreign land and who have been witness to how millions of God's children are forced to endure life, we pledge to never again take for granted the freedoms that we enjoy. And we pledge to pray for and support those who labor without appropriate appreciation to make sure we are privileged to enjoy that freedom. We lift our soldiers, male and female, up in prayer and plead Psalm 91 for their safety and quick return home to their families. We pray also for our leaders, that they may be granted the wisdom needed to chart the course for our great country and that, as a result, God may be glorified by a Christian nation, begging all who seek Him to come. God Bless America.

Now, about that celebration! Every year, it is our family tradition to attend the fireworks show at Athens High School. We've been going since before Austin was born and we haven't missed a year since he was born. Even after the first year of absolute terror (we had three 7 month old babies in the cab of the truck, all crying ever louder with each exploding firework). The 4th of July celebration and Christmas parade. Traditions that cannot, will not, be broken as long as God allows us to attend.



It's funny, as we've gotten a little older (just a little, mind you), our little town of Athens has seemingly become more and more the sleepy little town of Doc Hollywood, without the pet pig. Oh wait a minute, we did have one of those once - a pot bellied pig. No, not us, the local animal hospital kept one as a pet 'til someone decided it wasn't right to keep a pet pig. I think a city ordinance banished the pig to a farm on the outskirts of town, where he was last seen earning $2 per ride from snaggled-tooth toddlers! Ah, the joys of life in a small town. And to think, as teenagers, we once thought how cool it would be to live in the big city where our chances of being mugged on the metro were in inverse proportion to the number of travelers left on the train! Why, just a few weekends ago, we closed up the streets downtown and settled down in the middle of Market Street to enjoy some music on the courthouse square - that would have been a good spot for the pot-bellied pig to reappear! But I digress, ...





So, on this 4th of July, we arrived early so we could get a choice spot by the football field. The Bryants and Scotts had saved us a place where we'd be sure to have a great view. And since we were there early, why not ride the pony (while simultaneously avoiding the spent fuel left behind by the miniature mare). And slide the slide - twice. And crawl through the belly of the worm. And bounce in the big balloon thing. And of course, what 4th of July celebration would be complete without cotton candy, shaved ice, and a $5 T-shirt to mark the occasion.





Austin and Kaitlyn enjoyed the evening chasing Lily Grace and then settling back for some fireworks.Lily Grace also enjoyed the fireworks. Lily has never been frightened by them and appears to be intrigued by all the different colors and loud noises. It may go back to her days in China. When we visited her orphanage, the director and assistant director set off a few rounds of choice Chinese firecrackers to welcome us (Lily) back home. The louder the better according to her point of view. We took lots of pictures at this years festive occasion.

And to top it all off, Lily Grace finally received her US passport from Dept of Homeland Security! Yea, now she can travel as an American!

If you didn't get to watch the slide show above, go back and check it out!

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, and Lia Faith
Green, Party of Five