Independence Day Celebration

We went to a 3rd of July fireworks celebration, and the kids loved it. Sophia was frightened by the loud popping noises, but she was a trooper.

Zack was in awe wondering where the fireworks were coming from. He said, "Mom, is God doing this for us"? "I see His hand"! (He saw smoke in the shape of a hand and assumed it was God's hand creating the colorful explosions.) He assumed that God was doing a cool thing for all of His people. I like that train of thought, and I realized that it came from his being in the Christian school where he learned most of what he knows about God and the Bible.

I tried to explain to him where the fireworks were coming from, but a few minues later, he said, "Mom, I think an angel did that one for us." So, I figure if the kids can believe in Santa and I'm okay with that, I can also be okay with them thinking that God tosses fireworks out of heaven for His children.


What do energetic kids do while waiting for it to get dark? Well, these two wrestle. Zack introduced himself to some kids and ended up playing soccer and took part in a game of volleyball with some teenagers. He can be shy, but he is very social and makes friends easily. For sophia, that goes without saying. She is just a little chatty patty which is why I keep her very close. By the end of the night, Sophia was exhausted and Zack was covered in grass stains.

Tonight we'll go to another fireworks show since the kids loved it so much. As I watched, I had a couple of thoughts:

First, I was thinking that being American is absolutely incredible, but I have grown so fond of other countries that I wondered if I was being ethnocentric. I figured that most other countries have had at least some history of dictatorship and severe hardships, but for America, we've been free all along which is a blessing to those of the past and those yet to come.

My next thought was that I am so glad that Zack and Sophia are Americans! The thing that goes deepest for me is that in this country, they will not be discriminated against for being "orphans". In Russia, they would have carried on their identification some type of marking that would signify that they were orphans as children. This marking would keep them from getting certain types of jobs, and it would change the way people viewed them and their worth.

Here in America as Americans, they can enjoy life to its fullest, and as I seek to give them every opportunity to succeed, the sky is the limit! So this 4th of July, what I appreciate most is the freedom that my kids have to do life on a level playing field with every other American kid around them.