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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, 2012

A Picket Fence 4th of July!

pennant-banner-11_thumb2 (1)
Can you tell how much we LOVE celebrating our nation’s Birthday?!!
As we are busily preparing to enjoy this holiday with family and friends, we thought we would do a recap of all of our 4th of July Projects we have shared with you over the last couple of weeks. Some of them are so simple that you could still get them done in time for your own celebrations!
So, let’s take a look back at
A Picket Fence 4th of July!

“4th of July Jello Firecracker Shots”
jello, shots, 4th of July, desserts, firecrackers, patriotic, alcohol
“Patriotic Pool Noodle Firecrackers”
4th of July, pool noodle, craft, patriotic, firecrackers, Dollar Tree
“Tissue Paper Firecrackers”
Tissue Paper Firecrackers
“4th of July Paper Wreath”
4th of July Paper Wreath
“Tissue Paper Ball Topiary”
Tissue Paper Ball Topiary
“Mod Podge Flag Hurricane”
Mod Podge Flag Hurricane
And here are some of our projects from last year!
“No-Sew” Patriotic Pillows
no sew pillow at the picket fence patriotic 4th of July
“No-Sew Pennant Banner”
pennant-banner-11
“4th of July Flower Tower”
“4th of July Bandana Pillow”
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


Thank you so much for joining us as we celebrate this very special day and we wish all of you and your families a very
Happy 4th of July!!
dual-signature_thumb2

21 Comments Filed Under: Crafts, Fourth of July, Good Ideas, Holidays, Recipes Tagged With: 4th of July

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Comments

  1. Carmel @ Our Fifth House says

    July 3, 2012 at 7:39 PM

    Happy 4th to you both! Hope you have a wonderful day celebrating with your family and friends! Loved all of this inspiration!

    Reply
  2. Shelia says

    July 3, 2012 at 7:49 PM

    Wonderful post, ladies. Love seeing all of your projects and I too want to wish you and your families a fabulous 4th of July!
    Be a couple of sweeties,
    Shelia 😉

    Reply
  3. ℳartina @ Northern Nesting says

    July 3, 2012 at 7:51 PM

    Happy 4th to you both!!!

    Reply
  4. Patty (Patty's Pretty Things) says

    July 3, 2012 at 8:29 PM

    You did a beautiful job with this post. Love the picture of the front porch – lovely. Have a fun time with family and friends.

    Reply
  5. FABBY'S LIVING says

    July 3, 2012 at 8:41 PM

    Gorgeous everything in your post, I love it!!..so, have a wonderful 4th. of July!! Yes, I can tell you love the celebration..and so do I!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!
    FABBY

    Reply
  6. Coastal Cottage Dreams says

    July 3, 2012 at 8:57 PM

    Beautiful post…Happy 4th!

    Reply
  7. NanaDiana says

    July 3, 2012 at 9:18 PM

    Wonderful project. I especially love the banner. I hope you have a wonderful 4th. xo Diana

    Reply
  8. Honey at 2805 says

    July 4, 2012 at 12:32 AM

    Gorgeous! Have a wonderful 4th of July!

    Reply
  9. Kelly says

    July 4, 2012 at 2:32 AM

    Y’all featured some wonderful patriotic decorations! Hope y’all have a great 4th tomorrow too.

    Reply
  10. Heather says

    July 4, 2012 at 1:07 PM

    Happy Independence Day Heather and Vanessa! Wishing you and your family a wonerful July 4th celebration today! Wonderful inspirational projects featured here and as a miliary spouse its fantastic to see your remiinders of the true meaning of the day! Heather 🙂

    Reply
  11. Dewdrop Gardens says

    July 4, 2012 at 2:19 PM

    Happy 4th of July to my friends south of the border!! We just celebrated our equivalent on the 1st of July, Canada Day, marking the day we became a nation. Our countries are close in so many ways…and I am proud to call the United States a friend and neighbour. 🙂

    Reply
  12. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    July 4, 2012 at 5:10 PM

    Loved the recap….have a very safe and fun 4th with your families!!!

    Reply
  13. Linda @ it all started with paint says

    July 4, 2012 at 5:22 PM

    Love your projects … love the reminder (yeah, I teared up) … and happy 4th to two of my favorite bloggers! Hope you have a wonderful day surrounded by friends and family!

    🙂

    Linda

    Reply
  14. Sue says

    July 4, 2012 at 5:57 PM

    Happy Independence Day Heather and Vanessa! You two are amazing!

    Reply
  15. Yvonne @ StoneGable says

    July 4, 2012 at 6:46 PM

    Happy 4th girls! Such great ways to incorporate a little patriotism in our everyday lives!!!

    Reply
  16. Cindy says

    July 4, 2012 at 8:40 PM

    Have a great 4th! Lot’s of inspiring projects! Cindy

    Reply
  17. Vicki Shead says

    July 4, 2012 at 11:45 PM

    Happy 4th! Stay cool and be safe!!

    Reply
  18. Maggie Ann says

    July 5, 2012 at 2:01 PM

    What a beautiful and touching post! Loved it…

    Reply
  19. Cocalores says

    July 5, 2012 at 6:36 PM

    Happy 4th July! Love those pillows =)

    Reply
  20. Dixie Delights says

    July 7, 2012 at 1:01 AM

    Hi ladies – I nominated y’all for the Versatile Blogger Award. I find inspiration every day on your site and have thoroughly enjoyed becoming your “virtual friend.” All the best! Amanda
    https://dixiedelights.blogspot.com/2012/07/blush.html

    Reply
  21. Four Marrs and One Venus says

    July 7, 2012 at 5:11 PM

    Great Post- loved all the photos and projects! Hope your 4th was Amazing!

    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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