Happy Birthday America!

Our neighborhood had its Fourth of July parade early this morning, and Little Miss Sunshine came over

to wave to the crowds in her Poppy's '56 T Bird.

The dogs came out for the fun

as so did the kids,

when they heard there was a promise of ice cream at the end of the parade.

Back home at the house, there were watermelon treats,

red and juicy,

putting smiles on faces.

Of course, there was some grillin'

by father and son.

Cousin time was fun,

and we're counting down the days until the new baby cousin Aiden makes his appearance!

This little fellow was a firecracker,

until we tried to take a cousins' photo,

and then his little heart was broken over it all.

He pondered it a bit,

thought about a backwards shot,

and then smiled his little grin to show who was in charge.

He's head over heels in love with 

his mama,

and thinks his daddy is pretty special too.

And there's no little girl who adores her daddy more than this sweet one.

Hope your Fourth of July was full of celebration!

Surprises on the Fourth of July

Mike and I made our way back from London to Houston Friday night. We went immediately from the airport to Cristen's (Jason's wife) grandparents' house for their annual Fourth of July celebration. All the family was there, as well as my sister and her family. Being the last ones to arrive, we were the last to hear the surprise news of the day. My very special niece, Megan, had just accepted the wedding proposal of Kevin Murphy just hours before.

Here are photos of the newly engaged couple. Megan is attending Harding University and Kevin is in the Air Force in flight training school, after graduating from the Air Force Academy last year.

Now here's where the fun begins. Kevin is Cristen's brother. It makes for a lot of interesting scenarios, like Jason's cousin will now be his sister-in-law, and their children will be first and second cousins. It goes on and on from there. How fun to imagine!

Megan and Kevin first met a year ago at Jason and Cristen's wedding, and the sparks flew that night. They have continued to date since that time, most of their relationship being a long distance one, since Megan goes to school in Arkansas, and Kevin is stationed in Enid, Oklahoma.

The proposal took place in this swing, a replica of the ones on Harding University's campus where couples begin falling in love and often end up committing their lives together. So convenient that Kevin's grandmother had the replica in her back yard, and Kevin was able to keep up with the Harding mantra of "Three swings and a ring" tradition.

I'm so happy for them both and wish them God's blessings on their new adventure together.