Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Happy Independence Day!
I took a couple of months off from posting on this site, which may mean that no one will ever check back again. I understand; Why feed the immense dissapointment that you surely feel when you see May's posting still on the front page? Hopefully, this quick post will remind you that sometimes dissapointment is thwarted.
If you are reading this site and you still find yourself dissapointed, then I have nothing much to offer you.
Let's start with a photo of Mia:
Though she is not yet walking without assistance, Mia goes where she wants and plays with a smile on her face. This is the first of a series shot at the St. Paul's Neighborhood Festival on June 22. My sister, Diane Hawkins, took these photos (Bock!).
Mission Week: Every year just around my birthday, our church hosts Mission Week. These days, "our church" means Marvin UMC, Pollard UMC and St. Paul's UMC Children's Foundation join forces and try and do a little bit of good in this all-too-dark world. People form crews and the crews do all or part of several mission projects right here in Tyler. Three years ago, I got to work with "The A-Team" when they converted an old house into a dental clinic (to go along with the medical clinic, food pantry and clothes closet that were already established in the St. Paul Neighborhood). There is something that is satisfying on the most fundamental level about working hard and sweating and actually building something with your hands--and with wicked power tools!--all for someone else's benefit. Working like that always makes me reevaluate life.
All around me, people work hard. We were all tired by the end of the day, but there was not a person involved who did not have a smile on his or her face. People gave up their vacation time for the year to work like this...it was nothing short of amazing, if you let it amaze you.
Each year, Thursday night is the Neighborhood Festival, when we shut down streets in the St. Paul neighborhood and set up games and food booths for the area children. This year I had to work, so I didn't get to go, but Mia went with my mom, my dad and my sister. I think everyone involved had a blast!
Mia plays with her favorite playmate at the neighborhood festival.
Check out this dramatic photo of Mia
Mia really enjoyed eating lunch with Papa during Mission week. Here she was impressing herself with her ability to spear an entire slice of cantalope with her plastic fork.
Mia shoots the tube on the playground
In a pinch, Mia will happily drive a big firetruck to help her uncle Terry get to the site of the fire.
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