Tonight from my living room window (let's be honest: from all of my windows) I can hear a stadium full of patriotic revelers applauding the nearby Miley Cyrus performance.
It's the Fourth of July.
We celebrated with family.
And with sparklers.
And if you're a good mom, you think to warn your three-year-old that the blazing magic at the end of her silver stick is H O T.
So sorry, Lucy, that your Fourth of July bedtime routine featured fingers plunged into cold tap water and an ice bag instead of a stuffed animal.
But as I laid by my tired, hurting little girl tonight, as I watched her singed, sleepy fingers clutch the cold bag I held near her, and as I complied with her request to sing songs about "country's birthday," there was a hot kind of fire inside my heart. Different from the dancing fire that suprised Lucy's fingers. Different from the booming fires sounding overhead.
Deep fire. Fueled by the sight of my child's sleeping face. Fueled by the words of her patriotic lullaby:
Our fathers' God, to thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light;
Protect us by thy might, great God, our King.
A fire fueled by gratitude for family and freedom. Two glorious blessings. And as I looked at Lucy's face, I thought of the vital connection between the two. I was stung afresh by the realization that our success as a proud and prosperous nation depends entirely on what happens inside our homes (cue Barbara Bush quote that I'm too lazy to look up). And I remembered these very moving, important words from President Hinckley. Important.
Lucy's quiet now. I'm off to the lawn to conclude this year's Independence Day celebration with our family and the husband I love.
But I'll take my little heart-fire with me. A fire of hope that God will bless all the families of this nation.
It's the Fourth of July.
We celebrated with family.
And with sparklers. 
And if you're a good mom, you think to warn your three-year-old that the blazing magic at the end of her silver stick is H O T. So sorry, Lucy, that your Fourth of July bedtime routine featured fingers plunged into cold tap water and an ice bag instead of a stuffed animal.
But as I laid by my tired, hurting little girl tonight, as I watched her singed, sleepy fingers clutch the cold bag I held near her, and as I complied with her request to sing songs about "country's birthday," there was a hot kind of fire inside my heart. Different from the dancing fire that suprised Lucy's fingers. Different from the booming fires sounding overhead.
Deep fire. Fueled by the sight of my child's sleeping face. Fueled by the words of her patriotic lullaby:Our fathers' God, to thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light;
Protect us by thy might, great God, our King.
A fire fueled by gratitude for family and freedom. Two glorious blessings. And as I looked at Lucy's face, I thought of the vital connection between the two. I was stung afresh by the realization that our success as a proud and prosperous nation depends entirely on what happens inside our homes (cue Barbara Bush quote that I'm too lazy to look up). And I remembered these very moving, important words from President Hinckley. Important.
Lucy's quiet now. I'm off to the lawn to conclude this year's Independence Day celebration with our family and the husband I love.
But I'll take my little heart-fire with me. A fire of hope that God will bless all the families of this nation. 
8 comments:
Beautifully said! I love the 4th and all it stands for. Thanks Lori.
I'll never forget walking down Muholland Street in Nauvoo and hearing Lucy say "hand over heart". way to keep being patriotic trumans! love to you.
I felt so bad for Lucy's little fingers! Burns are the worst, but she was so brave!
It was such a fun week up there with you guys and everyone! Thanks for hosting the party week! We love you!
Lori, I can't thank you enough for the words that you share. You are always so sincere and the thoughts you have are pure inspiration. I'm moved often when I read your entries. Thank you. I too love those moments of holding a little one close and realizing how amazing life truly is.
Poor little Lucy. Glad that you had a wonderful fourth other than that though!
Interesting how Mark and Wes resemble each other in the sib picture.......... What a handsome group!!
looks like you guys had a great time in provo. classic skating and wyview! can't get any better. :)
Oh my, I can hardly believe it! Lori Packer! It's me Meredith (Little) Lam. You know from F. Smith? Wow, how are you? I stumbled upon your blog when I was looking at Amy and Jon's. Your family is beautiful!! I can't believe how time passes. You look great and your little girl is SO adorable! Okay, our blog is set to private (thelamfam.blogspot.com) so you have to email me your email address (the one you use to log into blogger). Send your addy to merduslam(at)gmail(dot)com.
I really want to keep in touch with you it's been SO long! I really miss all you girls and often wonder where you all are now. Love you tons! Mer :o)
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