Happy 4th of July

Good morning.  I hope y'all had a great night's rest.  With Independence day just a few days away, many of the challenge blogs and my DTs have a 4th of July theme.   237 years ago  group of men got together to establish the Declaration of Independence for this amazing country we live in.  "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."  are probably some of the most famous words ever uttered in our country.  Many of our ancestors came to America because of those words.  They wanted better lives for their families and a chance to make one.  Many people have given up their lives for these words.  We, here in America, not only need to celebrate our freedom on Thursday, but every day.  We need to remember why we celebrate the 4th of July and not just enjoy the fireworks, parades and picnics.  We need to pray for those who don't know what life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is all about.

Here are some quirky facts about the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence:

5 of the signers were captured by the British and tortured as traitors.

12 had their homes ransacked and burned down.

2 lost their sons in the Revolutionary War and another 2 had their sons captured.

9 of the 56 fought and lost their lives in the Revolutionary War.

24 were lawyers, 11 were merchants and all knew that by signing this document, they were placing their lives and the lives of their families in jeopardy.

Carter Braxton, of Virginia, lost everything he had and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was forced to move his family constantly and keep his family in hiding.  He served in Congress with no pay and died a pauper.

Thomas Nelson, Jr. had his home taken over by British General Cornwallis and died penniless.

Francis Lewis had his wife jailed for treason and she died shortly after.

These were not ruffians.  They were soft spoken men of means who believed in the document they risked their lives to sign.  Standing tall and unwavering, these men pledged , "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honour."

Now that you have had your history lesson for this morning..:) I have a card for you.  This morning's card is for the Digi Darla challenge for this week: Stars and Stripes--Red and White (Canada) or Red, White and Blue (USA).

I used two of Digi Darla's images to make this card..Your Cheerleader and July Fourth with three stars.  Both can be found in the shop.

To begin this card, I made a standard card base from Gina K's Heavy base weight White card stock.  I used a combination of Recollections and card stock and DCWV All Year Stack for the background.  I added two die cuts that my friend, Jan, sent to me.  The images are printed on Neenah card stock and colored with BIC Markers and Sakura Glitter Pens.  I cut out the cheerleader and popped her up after adding the sentiment.  Adding a few Queen and Co gems finished off this celebration card.

Thank you so much for staying around to listen to my ramblings this morning.  As you go through your week, remember to be thankful for the big things as well as the little things that living in America allows us to have and do.  God bless America and God bless y'all.

Challenges:
Chocolate, Coffee, Cards--#42 4th of July
Simply Create Too--#40 Use the colors in your country's flag.
Tuesday Throwdown--#154  4th of July
Shopping Our Stash--#108  4th of July