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Summer is finally here and backyard parties are in full swing! We just wanted to share with you how you can wow your friends with a stunning backyard 4th of July party! When you think backyard party, you don't always have to pick up plastic linens and plastic silverware. Wow your friends with gorgeous linens, easy, yet gorgeous florals and simple touches to make it appear like you’ve been planning parties for years! Linens are such a quick way to transform a party. You can turn a boring, plastic table into a glamorous party with a linen and a runner. These linens, provided by Creative Coverings, help achieve a new look! We picked a red and white stripe linen with a runner that gives pops of silver firework feels to our table! One of our favorite things to wow your guests with that is so easy and fun is champagne with a 4th of July twist! Take your favorite bottle of chilled champagne and pour it over a red, white and blue popsicle of your choice! This festive, fun twist will wow your friends and bring a pop of red, white and blue to your party!
SuperheroesandChocolateDonuts My dad is an excellent dishwasher. My parents have a large family and they hold regular Sunday dinners with all 32 of us. This makes for lots of food and loads of dishes. Each Sunday night my dad puts a dishtowel on his shoulder and plunges his hands deep into a sink filled with warm soapy water. He washes every last remnant of our happy mess. As a little girl I used to pull up a stool next to our kitchen sink and with freshly washed hair, dressed in a clean nightgown, and my favorite book of jokes on my lap, I’d sit next to my dad and tell him jokes while he washed our plates. He was my captive audience as he scrubbed the bowls, and I’d giggle as he rinsed the cups and laughed at my little girl jokes. Then he’d carry me to bed and tuck me in. This is a routine I’ve been familiar with since before I can even remember. For me, dads and dishes go together like peanut butter and chocolate or slurpees in July. Those early days etched important lessons onto the waiting canvas of my soul. I unknowingly began to learn what real fatherhood looks like. As I grew older, I began to outgrow those nightgowns and our nightly jokes. But I never outgrew the need for my dad’s attention and companionship. Each Saturday night my dad would wait on the living room couch as my mother wrote out a shopping list for the next day. He’d inevitably fall asleep for a few minutes, and then wake up in enough time to make one more trip to the store before the Sabbath. I took it upon myself to go along with him, to make sure he didn’t fall asleep on the way home. But really, it was a time I craved. More often than not, I had just returned from a date just in time to head out with my dad for our late night store run. We’d talk and laugh, and then on the way home he’d stop at the gas station and buy a
chocolate covered chocolate donut. He’d cut it in half and we’d share it as we drove the rest of the way. These simple rhythms in my life became a checking point. I remember thinking to myself that I never wanted to do anything on a date that I wouldn’t feel comfortable telling my dad about during our trip to the store. I wanted to be the kind of person I knew he always believed I was. The night before I got married my dad called me into our kitchen. It was late and the lights were dim and warm. He handed me half of a chocolate covered chocolate donut and we ate it together as happy nostalgic tears slipped down both of our cheeks. As I’ve transitioned into womanhood I still need my father. I still need his strong hugs and his strong testimony. I cherish every time he calls me and tells me how he’s seen God’s hand in his life, or how a prayer has been answered. He’s one of the first people I call when I have good news to share, or my heart is hurting and I need someone to listen. I know he prays for me and my siblings and our families, every morning on his way to work. I’ve needed those prayers, and I’ve felt their power on many occasions. That is the influence and power of a righteous father. Now I’m a mother, and there’s another father who holds a sacred place in my life. My husband, the father of our children. It was always clear to me as I searched for the man I wanted to marry, that I was also choosing the father of my future family. I’ve been thankful every day since, that I was wise enough to look for someone who I thought would honor the sacred role of father. Especially now that we are the parents of six sons. With a house full of little boys we talk and play and breathe