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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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July 4, 2011

4th of July Recap and Remembering Why

It’s been fun spending this last week getting the Picket Fence ready for the Fourth of July! We had to admit getting to share all of our holiday décor with you all is definitely incentive to go all out!

We have made it easier to eat outside by creating a Dining Caddy out of a Goodwill find
DSC_0224_edited-1
We made super simple No-Sew Patriotic Pillows of Bandanas!
[no-sew-pillow-9%255B10%255D.jpg]
Then tried our hand at an even easier No-Sew Bandana Pillow using rubber bands and ribbons! You could make these the morning of the 4th for easy, instant holiday color!
Up next we took the Bandana idea one step further and created a No-Sew 4th of July Pennant

4th of July Pendant Banner
Of course it wouldn’t be summer without flowers! We tried our hand at this fabulous Flower Tower which couldn’t be easier to make!
We welcomed you into our home at the Fence with a fabulous and easy addition to a wreath for that perfect patriotic touch!
And, last but not least invited you to join us at The Blooming Hydrangea where we are guest posting and serving up this easy and fantastic festive dessert: Layered Berry and Lime Glazed Cake!

We hope you enjoyed visiting us at the At The Picket Fence where Vanessa

2011-06-272
and Heather are celebrating the Fourth in full force…say that three times fast! grin!

2011 06 01
We want to wish Americans everywhere a Happy Fourth of July and remind you to take a moment to remember the WHY behind this holiday!
We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.  ~Robert J. McCracken
illustration_rockwell_freedom_of_religion

We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights.  ~Felix Frankfurter
Graves at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery San Diego, California, USA

One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for All! ~United States of America Pledge of Allegiance
MP900305844

Happy Fourth of July
from the picket fence…
dual signature
This post is partying at:

Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday 
Itsy Bitsy Paper: Red, White & Blue Party

24 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Good Ideas, Good Thoughts, Holidays

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Previous Post: « Welcome to Inspiration Friday No. 21
Next Post: For when you are neither “Shabby Chic”… »

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Comments

  1. Val says

    July 3, 2011 at 12:57 PM

    What a great post!! Made me feel very proud!! Ladies, I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July weekend.

    Reply
  2. Crystal @ Ordinary Days says

    July 3, 2011 at 12:58 PM

    Happy 4th to you as well!! Love those features and photos. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Anita says

    July 3, 2011 at 1:44 PM

    Lovely post, with lovely ideas! Thanks for remembering!

    Reply
  4. poppilinnstudios says

    July 3, 2011 at 2:13 PM

    What a nice post, and some great decorating ideas. Have a great 4th of July weekend!

    Reply
  5. Pattie says

    July 3, 2011 at 2:40 PM

    Great features guys hope you and your families have a great 4TH weekend…

    Pattie

    Reply
  6. Sweet Young Journey says

    July 3, 2011 at 3:15 PM

    Thanks for sharing all your wonderful tutorials! Happy Fourth from our family to yours!
    xo Cheryl

    Reply
  7. The DIY Show Off says

    July 3, 2011 at 4:54 PM

    Beautiful post, you two. And your DIY – so festive! Happy 4th!

    Roeshel

    Reply
  8. Rene' says

    July 3, 2011 at 8:03 PM

    Thank you for sharing all your wonderful ideas! Happy 4th of July and God Bless America!!

    Reply
  9. Pam - diy Design Fanatic says

    July 3, 2011 at 9:02 PM

    Loved the post! Happy 4th of July!

    Reply
  10. NanaDiana says

    July 4, 2011 at 1:30 AM

    Wonderful post! You girls are doing a great job…and I am really tickled to see all the interaction you are getting! Love it! xo Diana

    Reply
  11. KAT says

    July 4, 2011 at 1:55 AM

    happy Independence Day and I hope you have a great weekend!
    KAT

    Reply
  12. Cottage Rose says

    July 4, 2011 at 1:57 AM

    Happy 4th of July,,,, I love the photos,, and the pillows are really fun…. will have to give it try…

    Hugs;
    Alaura

    Reply
  13. ℳartina @ Northern Nesting says

    July 4, 2011 at 2:14 AM

    Hi girls have a wonderful 4th of July!! I love all your summer projects. I can’t believe I missed your flower tower I LOVE it!! Martina

    Reply
  14. Deborah says

    July 4, 2011 at 2:41 AM

    What a wonderful post! Love the pictures and projects. You make it seem so simple! Thanks for reminding us of the true meaning of the 4th! Best to you and yours!

    Reply
  15. Karena says

    July 4, 2011 at 12:19 PM

    So many great projects featured.

    We must all remember those who died for our freedom and cherish our independence!!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

    Come and join a very Fashionable Giveaway from the Shabby Apple!!

    Reply
  16. Courtney ~ French Country Cottage says

    July 4, 2011 at 5:30 AM

    Happy 4th girls~ What a great patriotic post! Hugs, Courtney

    Reply
  17. Courtney ~ French Country Cottage says

    July 4, 2011 at 5:30 AM

    Happy 4th girls~ What a great patriotic post! Hugs, Courtney

    Reply
  18. Lindy@Itsy Bitsy Paper says

    July 4, 2011 at 1:05 PM

    What a great post with all those wonderful ideas

    I’m having a Red, White and Blue Linky Party and would love for you to join in on the fun by linking up.
    https://www.itsybitsypaperblog.com/2011/07/red-white-and-blue-linky-party.html

    Reply
  19. ⚜ ↁℯℬℬᴵℰ⚜ says

    July 4, 2011 at 2:07 PM

    Happy 4th to you girls, and family!~

    Reply
  20. LDH says

    July 4, 2011 at 3:21 PM

    A lovely post! It warms my patriotic heart 🙂 Hope you are enjoying your 4th!

    Reply
  21. Sherry @ No Minimalist Here says

    July 4, 2011 at 8:16 PM

    Hi Ladies, I hope you and your families are having a fabulous
    4th. Thanks for all the inspiration.
    Hugs,
    Sherry

    Reply
  22. Debbie@refreshrestyle says

    July 5, 2011 at 3:51 AM

    Hope you two and your families had a great 4th!
    Debbie

    Reply
  23. Simply Bungalow says

    July 5, 2011 at 2:55 PM

    Beautiful Post. I love all the patriotic decor.
    ~Heidi

    Reply
  24. Lindy@Itsy Bitsy Paper says

    July 7, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    Thank you so much for linking up to my Red, White and Blue Linky Party!

    http://www.itsybitsypaperblog.com

    Reply

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I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 y I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 years now and every year I ohhhh and ahhhh over the blossoms like it's the first time I've ever seen them. I gush and I take photos (that look exactly like the ones I took the year before and the year before that) and I make my family come outside and look at them with me which you know they just LOVE to do. 😉 I think that is one of the main reasons why I love spring so much. On the one hand, it's predictable and yet, on the other hand, it still feels like such a surprise after the long months of barren branches.

And yesterday, as I was staring at the gorgeous blossoms for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help but think that I hope this is how I feel when our lives return to some semblance of normalcy.

I hope that the predictable feels special and that the typical feels anything but. I hope that I ohhh and ahhh over the simple things I've realized I've taken for granted. And, most of all, I hope that feeling doesn't go away for a very, very long time! 💗
Are you living with great expectation friends? Bec Are you living with great expectation friends? Because He is risen!

Happy Easter from my home to yours!
Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to be a different kind of Easter for sure but some things don’t change. Have you been baking and getting ready for tomorrow? What’s one thing on your menu that you have to have every year?
If this is Good Friday, why doesn’t it feel so “good”? It all seems backward doesn’t it?

What could be good about the unspeakable pain he suffered? What could be good about the shame and betrayal?

Easter Sunday is so joyful, bright and cheery. Shouldn’t that be the day we call “good”? It just feels so much better!

But, I don’t know how to rejoice over His resurrection, unless I have felt the pain of His death. I have realized that in life the sweetest victories are the ones which were realized after a pain-filled journey.

And, so it is with Good Friday. I know there will be victory over death, but I can’t skip ahead in the story.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he would experience. And he knew why he would go through it. He did it for me. He did it for you.

Do you know that? Have you felt it down in the very core of your soul? 
Sometimes it makes me squirm a bit. Why would anyone do that for me?

Well, because, I can’t do it for myself!

There is nothing I can do to earn that kind of love and mercy.

That is why it is called GRACE.

His grace is freely given. We don’t have to pay for it. He paid the price for us already.

Do you remember that movie from years ago called “Ransom”? A couple’s young son was kidnapped and the parents went to hell and back trying to find him and pay the “ransom” demanded by the kidnappers.

Well, Jesus is our “ransom”. (1 Timothy 2:6) His life was the payment.

Why is it called “Good Friday”? Because that wasn’t the end of the story….
.
…It was just the beginning!
Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house that’s become the landing zone for ALL THE THINGS! 🙋🏻‍♀️🤪 I’ve never been more thankful for our rarely used dining room table as it’s become command central for school books and laptops and games.

Where are things collecting in your house right now?
“Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every si “Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every single one of these emotions has made their way through our home in recent days and, my guess is, they have in your home too.

I SO needed this reminder today from the new book ‘Adore’ by @sarahagertywrites.

Adoration isn’t just sitting at His feet gazing longingly with stars in my eyes. It’s bringing my fears and my sorrows and gray roots in my hair that desperately needs to be colored and my messy house and all of the things that threaten to send me over the edge right now and laying them down before Him, soaking up His word and His presence so that when I stand back up, I am changed for having spent the time adoring the ONE who is... Healer, comforter, peace-giver, deliverer, redeemer.

What do you need to bring to Him today? I’ll share mine in the comments and I’d love to hear from you too!
I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole lockdown thing began, I’ve come to appreciate this time of day even more.

It feels the most...normal. Daytime is strange and foreign right now. My husband has taken over our home office, I’m suddenly taking over the responsibility of managing my kids’ distance learning and let me just say that teaching 7th grade algebra to my daughter is hugely ironic since I struggled with math all the way through school. I’m trying to do my own work but it feels utterly futile with the constant interruptions which take precedence right now. In the daytime, I’m constantly reminded of how upside down life feels.

But, in the evening, I cook dinner like I’ve always done and we gather around the table like we’ve always done and we laugh and tell stories and then clean up and play games or go on a walk or watch a show. And that feels SO gloriously normal.

So now I love evenings even more than I ever did before and I’m so grateful for this little chunk of time where the rhythms we established years ago are helping to sustain us now when so much of life feels outside of our control.

What feels ‘normal’ to you right now? Whatever it is, keep doing it. 🌿
When I was in college I would frequently call home When I was in college I would frequently call home and pour my heart out to my mom, sharing with her all that was happening in my life in that completely unfiltered way that you can talk with the person who potty trained you. These phone calls usually took place at night and my mom would patiently listen as I vented frustrations about professors, roommates, boyfriends and the food in the cafeteria. And, inevitably, they would end with my mom saying, “Everything seems worse when you’re tired. Try not to overthink things or make any major decisions tonight, especially when you are feeling emotional.” Dear friends, may I pass along this advice to you today?

If you don’t absolutely HAVE to make a decision right now, I want to encourage you to wait until life gets back to normal. If you are finding yourself over-analyzing relationships and family dynamics, I want to encourage you to remember that everything seems more dramatic when looked at under a microscope. And, let’s face it, being homebound with our loved ones non-stop makes us all feel like lab rats in an experiment.

If you are tempted to quit a job, start a business, start homeschooling permanently, stop homeschooling permanently, move to a new city, buy a farm, quit pursuing your dream, join a commune or make any other major life decision just…wait. Because, if it is in fact the right decision, it will be made even clearer once our lives return to their ‘regularly scheduled programming’. Instead, in this strange season, let’s all just take a deep, collective breath and let it out slowly, releasing the anxiety that threatens to overtake us. Let’s help each other maintain some perspective and not slip into a posture of over-thinking every little thing in our lives. Let’s remember that the enemy of our souls would love nothing more than to use this time when things feel dark to manipulate us into thinking that aspects of our lives are worse than they actually are.

My prayer for you in these days is that you will have the clarity to know what is true and that you will be filled with peace even while we live in this season of so many unknowns.
Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking thes Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking these days! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m trying to avoid gaining the #corona15 but my daughter and I LOVE baking together and it does help to pass the time plus it counts as a science lesson right?

If you’re able to find flour in the stores (for the love people please stop overbuying!) and you’re doing more baking at your house too you need to add this apricot bread to your list of new recipes to try!

Normally I’d point you to my blog for the directions but I’m going to do you a solid and leave the full recipe in the comments.

What have you baked so far during this time of social distancing? I’d love some new ideas!
There are a LOT of people out walking in our neigh There are a LOT of people out walking in our neighborhood right now (but still social distancing!) and she decided that she wanted to bring them some joy and put a smile on their face when they pass by our house. Also, the square with ‘say no to coronavirus’ is priceless. 😂 I just love her so much!
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