HAPPY (Late) 4th OF JULY!!!

I was lucky enough to be on-call at work all day, so I got to enjoy the day with my family. We had a neighborhood block party with lots of food, alcohol, and of course fire-works. Elaine and Micah did great with the fire-works. Elaine use ot FREAK OUT and cry hysterically, but this year she was Joe Cool.

This year has really made me think about the word "independence". We are so blessed to be an independent country... To be able to make choices, say what we want, express our opinions about our government, etc. Since we're adopting form Korea, I have been following the North Korea conflict closely. It's scary to think about #1 Arie being so close to North Korea, and #2 traveling to Korea and leaving our other children here. It's scary to think that something could happen to us while Elaine and Micah are still at home. This mess with North Korea is worrying a lot of us that are in the process of adopting. There are so many concerns, I can't even begin to explain them all.

I wish that all of this crap would just go away, and that the leader of North Korea would grow up and quit trying to prove whatever it is that he's trying to prove. I wish that little Arie, Micah and Elaine could grow up in a world that is more concerned with feeding starving families and helping the environment than it is with war and the like. I know that will never happen, but I can't help hoping for it.

Happy 4th of July everyone... please appreciate the freedom. There are soldiers fighting for that freedom right now. Take a moment to remember them and their families. They have given you more blessings that you can count.