The Little Chapel

We recently enjoyed a worship service at this little chapel. A variety of pastors are invited to give a message to the community on the island. I was pleasantly surprised that the church was packed on this particular Sunday morning. Come on in and let me show you how special this chapel is.

Look at that wood work! Isn't it beautiful. I see why many brides want to get married in this chapel. It was more than the beauty that touched me. It was the minister's message that morning. He spoke on the passage (Luke 15:11-32) about the prodigal son. I have read this passage many times. It always touches me that the father welcomed the prodigal son with open arms. But one thing the minister said that I had never thought about was regarding how lost both sons were. Not only was the prodigal son lost but the "good" son was just as lost. In the past, I always thought of the prodigal son being lost and how we should welcome lost ones with open arms. I love how the Lord opens our eyes and hearts with a scripture and teaches us new things even after we had read the scripture many times.

Keenan coughed a few times during the service. It was echoing so loud. It sounded like we had brought an animal into the church. I almost took him out but he was being so good that I thought he would start crying if I took him. A scream from him would have been much worse than a few coughs. A lady approached us after the service and asked if he was the one coughing. I apologized to her that it was so loud. She asked if she could pray for him. It was the sweetest thing. She knelt down to his eye level and held his hands and prayed for him.

We have been away from our church family most of the summer. You know the friends that you lean on and ask them to pray.....or the ones that pray for you even when you don't ask them.

So the lady praying for Keenan was like a sweet hug from the Lord.

It was a sweet time at the little chapel.

This gem is outside of the chapel.

The sand has been swept away...the beach towels are cleaned and stored away...the beach toys are packed up...the sheets are clean....the golf cart is unplugged....the memories are forever.

Back to reality!

Turtles, Monsters and Movies

My intention was to post a couple of times a week. We have been having way too much fun during the day that I am pooped by bedtime.

The nice thing about the island is the lack of commercialization. No tacky t-shirt shops, no putt putt, no movie theatre, no fast food...the list goes on. Don't get me wrong. We love to do those things as well. It is just nice to have a break from it all. So you ask. What do you do besides go to the beach?

We and several others go watch baby turtles trying to make it to the ocean. They take turtles serious here. Loggerhead turtles (big turtles who live in the ocean) make their way up on the beach and lay 30-40 eggs. The nest is monitored daily by the conservancy. Once they believe the eggs will hatch, they post a sign to let everyone know a nest is about to hatch. Everyone shows up for the fun and experience.

The nest had already hatched earlier that day but we got to see this little guy make his way to the ocean. The conservancy actually rescued this little turtle after some foxes had gotten to the nest. They released him to the ocean Tuesday night.

Saving the environment, one monster at a time. We take recycling serious. I may not use environmental, reusable, whatever they are called grocery bags (which is a market in itself!), but we do make monsters out of paper bags. That is recyling. Right?

After we saw Toy Story 1 and 2 about 749 times, I thought it was time for some new movies. The kids favorite pick was Sound of Music. Oh wait...how did Season 5 of 24 get in there?

When all the paper and tape for crafts is gone...when we are tired of movies...when the afternoon is at a turtles pace...we learn to tie.

Our Toes Are Still In The Sand

Greetings from the shore! After a quick trip back home, our toes are back in the sand. Before we left home we had to say goodbye to this sweet family (there is a daddy. he's just not in the pic). Oh how will they be missed. I met them for the first time after their baby girl was born. I took them a meal not realizing she is about the best cook ever. She remained my friend despite my cooking abilities! Many blessings to my sweet friend. I want to see all three kids in cowboy boots on your Christmas card.

Our family time has been a true blessing this summer. The big guy has been able to be with us most of the time. We have also enjoyed visits from friends.

Between the amounts of sunscreen we put on the kids and their umbrella chairs, you would never know that they have been on the beach. They are about the whitest kids on the island.

I am not exactly sure what he is telling her but it looks serious.

Buzz Lightyear has remained with us. There were some close incidents in the ocean but he held on. He is Buzz, you know. Infinity and beyond.

Yes, that is a jacket K is wearing in the picture. I promise I only let him wear it inside.

We miss our playdates with our friends but I am thankful they have each other.

We have more fun ahead before Big Sis starts kindergarten in TWO WEEKS. So let me run and drown my emotions in a bowl of cereal.

Would Not Change the Rainy Day

We woke up to a rainy morning. We were all thankful for the rain because it gave us an excuse to stay in today. We have been outside so much that my skin is beginning to feel like leather. It does not help that I forgot to put sunscreen on my back the other day. The kids and the Big Guy were all lathered up from head to toe. I remembered after 3 hours in the sun that I had forgotten to ask the Big Guy to put lotion on my back. Oops! Well it is better than putting baby oil on like I did when I was a teenager. Enough of that. Onto our rainy day.

I set up a craft cabinet at the beach. It is a little messy right now but it is a drawer the kids can just open and decide what they want to create. B's creation usually consist of lots of tape, markers, paper and scissors. K's creation usually consist of.....well hmm....not sure. He really isn't into crafts but just wants to be included. So this drawer is free range to them.

Today they decided to paint. I would hear B say "Great job K....." and "You are doing great." I would then hear K say "That's cool Bayee." I love to hear them encourage one another.

I looked up on Martha Stewart's website for summer crafts. I promise that I am not Martha and that was my very first time to go on her website. I found a very cute shell craft. You glue shells together a certain way to make a koala bear. However, you must have perfect size shells and a glue gun, which I did not have. That is why I am not a Martha. It was very cute but we decided to do our own shell craft, which is throw a bunch of shells and paint on the table and tell the kids to start painting. That is my kind of craft! I was surprised to see what B painted. A bird! I thought she did a great job of painting one. Better than I would have done. K...well hmm...like I said he just wants to be included.

This is what our table looked like on this rainy turned to sunshine day. It stayed like this all day. The kids would come and go. I want even begin to tell you what it looked like on the other side of the couch. I would not trade this mess for anything.

Thank God for moments like this.

Memories at BHI

We stayed wet all week. So wet that our fingers still look like raisins. The kids had so much fun at their swim lessons this past week. K decided he would be the clown of swim lessons. He kept the teachers laughing with his dry sense of humor. Bailey is working hard on getting her face wet. The big accomplishment this year was that she jumped off the side of the pool without holding anyone's hands. Ok, I know this may not sound like a big deal if you have little swimmers in your family. But for a girl who use to SCREAM at swim lessons, this is a BIG deal.

I know you are not suppose to teach your kids to hold their noses but we are trying anything at this point!

The great thing about swim lessons is that it wears them out. K even put on his pajamas for the afternoon. They are not just any pair of pj's, they are Woody PJ's from Toy Story. Life is great with K as long as he has his Buzz Light Year.

Making memories at BHI!

It's A Parade!

One of the traditions at BHI is the July 4th Golf Cart Parade. This was our first and it was obvious! I spent all of $10 on decorations for the parade. They all came from the $1 section at Target. I handed the Target bag over to the big kids and told them they were in charge.

They did a great job making our golf cart patriotic. The little kids REALLY wanted to be in the parade. So the big guy was a great sport and said YES.

We were all surprised to see the creativity in all the golf carts. There were probably about 80 carts in the parade. I had fun watching with our friends while the big guy and the kids were in the parade. We were laughing so hard thinking that he was driving our $10 decorated cart along with these master pieces.

Here is the NC Battleship.

This was my favorite. A golf cart turned ice cream truck. He actually sold ice cream during the parade.

Here is Mr. Potato Head and the cart after him was Mrs. Potato Head. Who would have ever thought?

Jaws was part of the parade. This cart had the music from Jaws playing.

The big guy and the kids were all smiling at the end of the parade. Our friend's 13 year old son walked up on the patio and said (while laughing) "That was degrading. Let me go work on my self esteem." We all laughed and said this has got to be a new tradition for all of us. The big question is....Should we continue with the $10 decorations and be known as the poor little golf cart or should we start sketching our plan for next year?

Now that was a parade!

From GA to BHI

We have been burning the rubber on the road lately. The kids and I went to GA for a summer visit. We packed in lots of fun in just a few days. I was able to catch up with old friends and enjoy lunch with my dad.

We drove back home for less than 24 hours. The kids had the afternoon to play at home and then we hit the road the next morning. We headed back to the sand and sea. This time we had a few extra toes in the sand with us.

After 2 days of fun, it was time for an ice cream break. I skipped on the ice cream so I could take some pics. I have learned in the past that it is hard to eat ice cream and snap pictures at the same time! So I made the sacrifice and was able to get this cute pic of the kids. There was some serious ice cream licking concentration going on.

Our friends packed up this morning and departed on the ferry. It was a special time for all of us.

More fun is ahead!