Lest I Forget

Thinking of this...

As we're experiencing another snap of cold, rainy weather right now, it makes me pause to think about our wonderful Florida vacation this last winter.  I can feel the sunshine and the warm water by just looking at these pictures once again.  For our two youngest, it was the first time they had ever seen the ocean.  It had also been many years since the four oldest had been to the beach.



I only wish I'd had the video camera with me to record the expressions on all of their faces and the sounds of joy coming from them...



There's no way to describe to someone the power and majesty of the ocean when you're seeing it for the first time.  When we first arrived in Florida after a 2-day long drive, it was our 9 year old's birthday, and the first thing he wanted to do was go see the ocean, which is just two blocks away from their grandparents'.  I will never forget how COLD it was that day!  If I remember right, it was in the 40's...very unusual for Florida.  We all walked to the beach, with our winter coats on.  It's so comical to me now to think back on the "talk" we had with the children ahead of time, telling them that we were only going to look at the ocean today.  When it was warmer, we would get in and swim.  Ha! What were we thinking??!!  Before we knew it, they were all running in the water with their winter coats and jeans on, squealing and loving every minute of it. 

 A very sweet woman who was passing by offered to take pictures of the children with her cell phone...

Even though the pictures aren't the best quality, the memories that they bring back are priceless!  I have to be honest...for many years now I haven't been much of a beach girl.  I was pretty happy to move away from it several years ago and get more into the mountains.  All that to say, I was pretty awestruck after being away from it for several years.  It reminded me of how the power and majesty of God is so strongly felt in the ocean.


This little winter trip will forever be etched in my mind.  It came on the heels of a very dark time for my husband and I.  It was only by God's grace that we were even there. 

We embraced every moment as a gift from God.

May you see His gifts today made with you in mind!




  

It's a quiet morning here...


My husband has taken the five oldest children to the dentist this morning, and little Gabriel is still in bed (he loves sleeping in...yay!).


It's been a steady rain all morning, which I normally enjoy.  However, we have five children of some dear friends coming over in just an hour, so now we're needing to switch gears and plan for some indoor activities for the day!

A Special Evening...

This is a bit of a random post, but I wanted to add a few pics for memories' sake of some special moments.  The three older children and I were so blessed to get to go to a concert back in February by Casting Crowns, Royal Taylor, Matthew West, and Lindsay McCaul.  The really special part of it all was that Lindsay McCaul (pictured w/us, below) has been a dear friend of ours for many years.  She  was a close friend of our oldest daughter growing up, so it's so exciting to see the Lord using her talents for Him.  If you get a chance, I highly recommend her latest disc, "If It Leads Me Back".

Getting to visit with Lindsay

The kids with Mark Hall from Casting Crowns

The other day Noelle wanted to try rolling Annabelle's hair... so that it would be nice and curly for the following morning.  She got the idea from the internet to use socks.  I was skeptical of how well it would turn out, but as you can see, they looked lovely the following morning. 

Just like sponge curlers, the curls stayed in for a couple of days.

All of our children have gone through this stage of being very silly for pictures!

Easter Celebration

We had a wonderful Easter/Resurrection Day!  I hope you did, too. 

The weather was just beautiful...sunny

 and a little bit cool.

I had hoped to get a picture of everyone dressed and looking so handsome and pretty for church...but, I've learned, when you wait too long, and little ones begin to have "meltdowns" as we call it, it's more stressful trying to force a picture.

Later on in the day, I got a few of these while the kids were having a good time having our annual Easter egg hunt.  I don't think it matters how old they get...they never outgrow it.  We like to put not only treats in the eggs, but add a little note in some of them, such as "movie night with movie of your choice"...or "hop on right leg three times and run around house five times!" 

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.”


In a few weeks, our yard will look like this...
(pictures taken last year)

God's creation never ceases to amaze me!


Always a symbol of hope and new birth.  Always an opportunity to share with the children what an awesome God we serve.  I can't wait to dig in and work on some very untended gardens...Welcome, Spring!