She loves Jesus, and America too.

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. 

(Actually, I lied. It's tied with Thanksgiving. November means college football, scarves, my birthday, and fried turkey. But July means no school, tan lines, ice cream sandwhiches, and fireworks. And I see no problem with having two favorite holidays.)

My family and I agreed that this was the best Independance Day yet, so obviously I'm going to blog/electronically scrapbook about every single detail. 

We kicked off the holiday weekend Saturday night with a precious patriotic party that was hosted by Emily's beautiful and fun loving family. 

Erin's family was also there, and they are also beautiful and fun loving.  

I've known these girls most of my life and they have been nothing but a blessing, especially this summer. Love y'all.

Emily, Elizabeth, Erin, and I all dressed up for Uncle Sam.
(Photo credit: Julia. She doesn't have a blog...yet.) 

Chalkboard painted pantry door. TPFW.  (Too Presh For Words)
(Photo credit: Erin and her awesome camera)

Nothin' says America like pie!
(Photo credit: Erin and her awesome camera.)

We enjoyed a fantastic night of Arnold Palmers, Bananagrams, and Erin's famous guacamole.

And laughter. Lots and lots of laughter. 

On the actual 4th of July, I rose before the sun to enjoy a little fishing sesh with Dad and JB.

There are few things more beautiful than watching the sun rise above the Atlantic ocean.

Besides my first bout of seasickness ever (incredibly random and incredibly unappreciated) and a practically broken toe, it was a lovely morning. 

You can't eat bonita, but they sure are fun to catch and release!
 (Makes me think of Nemo every time)

Upon returning home, Mom and I spent an entire afternoon/evening cooking up a feast fit for a Southern king. 

My 'Merica playlist was blasting and the Diet Coke was flowing. 

Quality time with Mama? Check and check.

At least I'm not awkwardly holding an ear of corn or anything...

Our menu included:

Mason jars filled with layers of pulled pork/baked beans/cole slaw

Mississippi corn bread salad

deviled eggs

corn on the cob, on a stick

American flag cake

Thank you, Bowers Family Craft Closet, for providing everything in this picture.

This is me trying to be artsy fartsy and take a cool artsy fartsy photo with my non-artsy fartsy camera.

The finer things in life.

Hard-boiled eggs, boiled peanuts, and the beginnings of sweet tea. 

Yums.

Even the deviled eggs loved Ol' Glory.

Adding the final layer to the baked beans/slaw/BBQ jars.
We are pretty fond of Mason jars 'round here.

Can't take credit for this idea.
However I did make the decision to use lemon cake, which nicely complimented the berries.

We didn't know how the menfolk of the family would feel about our burst of patriotism. 

A few eye-rolls were slightly expected. But they pleasantly surprised us with compliments out to wazoo and an impromptu costume contest after supper. 

Awesome? Yes.

Check it out...

Clearly my entire family is as silly and over the top as I am. 

To polish off the day, we drove the ragtop Jeep out to watch fireworks with the rest of the town. 

"Smile boys, I'm forcing you to pose for yet ANOTHER picture. You'll thank me one day"

You can't see it in the picture, but the Stuart Feed Store is in the background.  #Americana

By the end of the day, I felt like this:

Exhausted, giddy, and bursting with pride 

for the red, white, and blue.

 And yup, that's Stevie boy.

Between patriotizing (if that wasn't a word, it is now) my outfits, scavenging through my Paula Deen cookbook, and disgustedly watching ESPN's broadcast of the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, it was easy to get caught up in the pure joy of it all. 

Since I love 'Merica and all.

But sometime during the four or five hours that mom and I spent in the kitchen, I realized the cost required to enable that kind of true, abounding freedom that I usually take for granted.

The bloodshed of one Savior and over a million American soldiers.

That's what it cost. 

I am free, and I am thankful. 

Happy (belated) Fourth of July everyone!

I hope you enjoyed America's birthday as much as I did.