Our Beach Staycation

A few months ago we decided to take advantage of the beautiful beaches in our backyard and book a beach vacation over the 4th of July. We found a cute little condo with a gorgeous view right on the gulf side of the island. We checked in Tuesday evening for the week. It was so nice being away from the daily grind, but still being local. Tuesday night we went out to dinner at the Sandbar. We realized that we hadn't been there in almost 3 years!

Wednesday morning Brian went to work (he's taking off next week for me to go to El Salvador and didn't want to take off an entire week again) and the kids and I headed down to the beach. It was slightly overcast and pretty windy which made the temperature really comfortable. We played in the sand for a few hours, then headed back in for a snack. Good thing we did, because a storm rolled in and blew everything and everyone off the beach! After a Publix run, lunch, and naps we decided to venture out to the library to get some entertainment for the week. Thankfully when Brian got home the weather cleared up, so after a quick dinner in the condo we rode our bikes down to the city pier and got some ice cream.

Thursday Brian headed to work again, and of course we went back down to the beach! The kids did a great job playing together and we had wonderful weather again. We have this funny trend where we coincidentally plan vacations to the same place at the same time as the Johnsons, so of course they were staying out on the island this week too! After lunch the kids and I headed over there to swim for the afternoon. When Brian got home went back out to the beach again. The kids got to fly their kites and Brian spent some time in the kayak. Unfortunately he couldn't convince any of them to go with him! We had another dinner at home and put the kids to bed early since the night before there was lots of crying and not much sleeping. Then Emily and Dave came over and we hung out for a few hours.

Friday was July 4th, and filled our day with fun! In the morning we got donuts from Anna Maria Island donuts. They were as amazing as we heard they were! Then we spent the morning on the beach with the Johnsons. We came back up for lunch and to rest before an evening full of fun! We invited friends out to the condo to watch fireworks and to eat some delicious Hickory Hollow BBQ. We definitely fit a lot of people into a tiny space! When it was time for fireworks we went back to the beach. We enjoyed some small fireworks and sparklers while waiting for it to get dark. We were surprised by how many people were setting off legit fireworks up and down the beach. We were just planning on watching the ones put on by the Sandbar, but were thrilled with the extra bonus! Caroline wasn't quite thrilled though. As soon as a loud one went off she got scared and started crying. Brian had to take her back inside.

Saturday morning we woke up and opted for a change of scenery. So we decided to take a bike ride! But after discovering how hot it was and how much traffic was still on the island we only made it to the library. The kids had a great time climbing on the stuffed animals, doing puzzles, and listening to stories. Then we hit the beach again in the afternoon. We spent a lot of time finding coquinas!

Saturday was also our 11 year anniversary, and Emily was super awesome in finding a babysitter that could come to the condo so Brian and I could go out for dinner! Brian made reservations at Beach Bistro, and since it was only a few blocks away we were able to walk down the beach to get there. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and some dessert, then walked back on the beach while the sun was setting.

After a little more beach time Sunday morning we got ready to go out for lunch. The weather was looking questionable, so we opted for the car instead of bikes and headed to Rod 'n' Reel pier. Then Sunday evening we invited our church small group out to the beach. We enjoyed some frisbee, kayaking, and chatting on the beach until the sun went down.

Monday was our last day at the beach, and unfortunately it was really rainy. It rained pretty much all morning and wasn't supposed to stop so we decided that if we were going to be stuck inside we'd rather be stuck in our house. So we packed everything up and checked out a day early. But before we left the island we stopped at Poppo's Tacos for a delicious lunch.

Trip to El Salvador

This post is way overdue, but I wanted to share a little about the amazing trip I took to El Salvador at the end of July. I actually shared my testimony at church Sunday when we returned, so in an effort not to repeat myself I will just link the video below. We did one of our ministry dances first, then my testimony is next.

El Salvador

They aren't in chronological order, but here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip!

This girl attended a school that Castillo del Rey hadn't been able to enter in their 19 years in ministry. We were the first team allowed in.

Bubble blowing on the streets

The first day of ministry I was one of the clowns. I think I had a little too much fun.

Our team ready to leave on the first day

These girls were not quite sure what to make of me

About to trapeze into a volcano lake!

Hanging out during one of our many gas station bathroom breaks

Missy and I slept out in the lobby one night to keep cool

Some sweet girls!

We spent our free day at the beach and I had some great naptime in this hammock!

My view from the hammock

Pupusas!

Brando was one of our Master's Commission students. He was amazing! 

Lily Grace is 2!

Dear Lily,

Last year your birthday was bittersweet. We were halfway around the world, missing you and wishing that we could celebrate with you. But we were thankful that it was the only birthday we would be missing out on. We sent you a cake and some gifts, and received this picture that still makes me smile. 

Last year when I saw it I thought that maybe you were upset because you were shy and didn't like the attention or maybe the massive amounts of flames scared you. Now that I know you, I am pretty sure that the reason you are crying is because someone told you that you couldn't have the cake yet. 

Now this year on your second birthday you seem a world away from that girl. And I suppose you are. It has been so much fun watching you grow and change over the last seven months. Not only do you have a lot more hair that hangs in your eyes unless I put it on a pony on top of your head, but you have an even more beautiful smile, a twinkle in your eyes, and a cute little tan. 

The tan can be partly attributed to all the swimming you have been doing lately. You LOVE the water! You have absolutely no fear and will literally walk right in. At least you have learned to wait until I put your floaties on and ask permission before taking a dive now. Most of the time you just float around the pool, but you also love to jump in (especially with your big brother), be thrown in the air, and stick your face in. And you don't just love water in the pool, you love it in any form! The first thing you do when you get in the bathtub is fill up a cup with water and dump it on your head. Then you splash like crazy, lie down like you are floating, and flip over and pretend to swim. Recently you even stuck your head in a bucket of water repeatedly!

As much as you love the water, I think that your absolute favorite thing is food. I'm pretty sure that you would eat all day long if I let you! While you have yet to meet a food that you didn't like, your favorite foods are rice, raisins, graham crackers, mandarin oranges, and yogurt. You actually feed yourself with utensils remarkably well, although you prefer to use your hands. It is pretty difficult to eat around you though. No matter what food you have in front of you, you want what everyone else has. Even if it's exactly the same, you seem to think that the grass is always greener on someone else's plate! 

I definitely think that you have a gift for and love of music. Any time you hear music you start dancing, which is super cute! My favorite is when you are eating and do your little happy dance moving back and forth in your seat because you like your food. Most of your dancing is swaying back and forth, but sometimes when you really get into it you move your arms up and down. The ice song from Frozen gets you dancing like that every time! You also enjoy singing along to the entire Frozen soundtrack. Not with words, but with a cute little humming sound that may not be in tune but definitely changes pitch. And you have started singing along with the little lullaby that I've been singing to you ever since we came back from China. Songs with motions of course hold a special place in your heart as well. Row Your Boat, The Wheels on the Bus, and Itsy Bitsy Spider are the most popular with you. Now you even ask for Row Row by name!

Ever since your palate surgery you have been saying new words every day! You say "na" for snack, "wa wa" for water, hot, out, off, help, up, Mama, Daddy, ball, bowl, bow, boat, bath, woof woof, meow, car, and I think there are more but I can't remember what they are right now. This is of course in addition to all of the signs you learned from watching Baby Signing Time. 

You are inquisitive, adventurous, brave, determined, independent, mischevious, and busy! I feel like I turn around for one second and there you are on top of the table with scissors, or removing the back off the remote taking out the batteries, or trying to balance on top of something. You also try to do everything that your brother and sister do, and you don't realize that you are much smaller and younger than they are! When you see something you want you go after it. You definitely have no qualms about leaving my side, and I have to work hard to keep tabs on you! I've been amazed at how brave you've been through all of your hospital visits and surgeries. I was most impressed when you had to have an entire vial of blood taken and you didn't even flinch. You just watched the nurses with this look of "what's the big deal?".

While you definitely love your Daddy and run to him when he gets home, you are still a Mommy's girl, especially when you are in unfamiliar settings. You love to sit on my lap and snuggle with me. And you definitely still get jealous when I hold or snuggle with Caroline. I love listening to you laugh and seeing your scrunchy nosed smile. I love watching you entertain us. I love watching you copy and play with your older brother and sister. I love watching you learn and grow into our family more every day. And I love that I got to spend your second birthday celebrating the precious gift that you are. I love you Lily Grace!

Love,
Mommy

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Well buddy, it finally happened. You turned 5! I told you and told that you weren't allowed to get any older or grow any bigger, and you did it anyway. Every time I tell you that I don't want you to turn 5 and I want you to stay little forever, you tell me that even when you're big you'll still love me and you'll still want to snuggle with me. I love how sweet you are. You have such a loving and sensitive heart. You will often tell me that you're worried about something and I can see that your little mind is always thinking about things that are often bigger than you are. You are also a great problem solver. A lot of times you say "I have a great idea" and then tell me how you are going to do something. Usually there is lots of detail involved in your explanation, which I love. I can already tell that you are going to be a lot like me! Sorry about that ;o) You are a perfectionist, very detail-oriented, and a slight control-freak. While these characteristics may not sound like the best, I see them as some of your strongest attributes. And since I share them, I hope to teach you how to use them to your advantage as you grow up.

It has been so amazing watching you grow in your relationship with your sisters this year. I know it must be hard to have two little sisters at your heels, but you have definitely grown to be best buddies. You and Caroline love playing puppies together where you both pretend to be puppies and bark and chase each other around. Your new favorite game is to play baby. I think you like this one because one of you pretends that you need a diaper change and you get to say words like "stinky" and "disgusting". You love to teach Lily how to do things, and it's so cute to watch you get excited when she finally learns it. You have done a really great job of playing with her even though I know you don't like your toys to be messed up. When I told to keep your door closed when you have something set up that really helped, and you even told me that you like your new little sister now ;o)

You still love anything with wheels. Trains, cars, planes, trucks, even skateboards. Speaking of wheels, we got you your first real bike for your 5th birthday and you learned how to ride it in 10 minutes! Now you are whizzing all over the place, and ask to ride your bike all the time. You are usually pretty cautious, so Daddy and I were so proud of you for being brave and trying it right away with no training wheels. Now you are proud of yourself too. I know because you told me :o)

This year you went to school five mornings a week. I was a little nervous when the school year started because you didn't really like school last year. Thankfully this year was great! You loved your teacher Ms. Lynda and made some really sweet friends. I am impressed with everything you learned too. In fact, I'm still discovering things you already know! I'll try to teach you something and you quickly let me know that you already know that from school. In addition to learning lots of things, your work ethic and fine motor skills have greatly improved. You will sit and work on something for a long time until you think it's right. Sometimes I have to remind you that only God is perfect so it's ok if your coloring goes a little outside the lines or if your circle isn't perfectly round. You've also become quite the artist. You enjoy drawing cars, trucks, buses, trains, houses, rainbows, and flowers.

One of my favorite times of the day is when we get to snuggle together in your bed. You are still pretty much a mommy's boy, although you have recently realized how much fun it is to do "boy stuff" with Daddy. When we snuggle I get to hear about your day, pray with you, and rub your back while you very sweetly rub mine. You always ask for one more hug and one more kiss when I leave, which I love. There are so many things that I love about you and I am so proud of the big boy you are becoming. Happy birthday little buddy!

6 months of love

What does 6 months look like?

It looks like 12 visits to four different doctors. Five visits to the hospital. Three major surgeries.

It looks like five pounds and two inches. Growing two sizes in clothes. A few more inches of hair.

It looks like trips to the playground. A vacation to Disney World. Music and movement classes.

It looks like hugs and kisses. Giggles and squeals. Tears and tantrums.

It looks like a baby growing into a toddler. A child learning to love her siblings. An orphan becoming a daughter.

It looks like the gospel.

6 months ago there was a baby who had no idea we were coming for her. She had no idea what it meant to have a family or to know the love of a mom and dad. She didn't know what she was missing. She did nothing special to deserve a family's love, and there is nothing she can do to lose it.

We love you Lily!