My Favorite Vintage 4th of July Display is............

my Mother. She passed away exactly 1 year ago tomorrow, June 30th, and you guessed it....she was born on the 4th of July! She would have been 89 years "young" this year (as she would say)! Amanda Catherine Lehman was a minister's wife, a teacher, a grandmother and a great grandmother. But most importantly, she was my MOM! The 4th of July was much more than just a celebration of freedom and fireworks at our house. It was Mom's birthday and she always chuckled about how EVERYONE in the WHOLE country celebrated her birthday! She was born in Pittsboro, Indiana and always remained a "Hoosier Gal." She loved coming to Florida as in her latter years she was always cold and loved how warm Florida was most of the time. She was also on kidney dialysis the last 6 years of her life which continuously lowered her body temperature and liked the dialysis center here better than up in Indiana because down here they played Bingo and let her eat cookies and popcorn while receiving treatment! She loved to wear red, white and blue so when someone would compliment her she could explain that she was a "Freedom Fire Cracker" Baby! And here is one of the reason's I wanted to share this. I don't know about you, but when I lose someone that is close to me, it seems I am always looking for a sign that they are OK. Well, I was feeling kind of low in April as that is my birthday month and also my daughter's who is named after Mom. I was missing her terribly and just wanted to know that she was OK and I went out on the back patio and looked up in the sky. Here is what I saw....a huge kiss from Mom!

So, see.....our Fire Cracker Baby is doing just fine! Enjoy your Holiday and be sure to say a little prayer of thanks for those that have gone before us and know they ARE OK.

In honor of the 4th of July Vintage Tour, I am going to give to one lucky winner this approximately 14" x 14" Colonial Needlepoint that I bought at an Estate Sale. The center square is needlepointed in a deep rose, so this is really a rose, white and blue prize! I have no idea how old it is or where it come from but I thought it would make a fabulous cover for a journal or even something as simple as a pillow or tote. Just leave me a comment telling me how cute my Mother is and I will have her namesake draw the winner's name on the 4th of July so you can comment up until midnight of the 3rd. I will post the pic right under this post as I don't know how to get a picture down here! I NEED CHOCOLATE!! Happy 4th everyone!