Irene, We Will Not Forget You

As disappointed as we were to return home early from the beach, it was a blessing. It gave us a day to "prepare" for the storm. I bought a few groceries to get us through the weekend and a bag of ice. I also managed to do a majority of the dirty laundry. Little did I know our power would go out before the storm really started. By 10 a.m. Saturday morning our power went out. EJ ran out and got more ice. We stocked some coolers for our makeshift fridge.

We had plenty of daylight to find all our flashlights, headlights, lantern and candles etc. By dinner time the storm was still calm enough for EJ to run and get a pizza. 

We decided it was wise to have the boys sleep downstairs. Their bedrooms have a HUGE oak tree next to them. To make it a little more exciting and less "scary" we set up our tent. They have slept in it all week. Ryan slept in the guestroom b/c there are no trees surrounding that room.

 

Sunday, we had french toast on the grill for lunch.That's a first!

 

Our kitchen has gotten a little out of control. Here is our "fridge"

We have played games by lantern light before the boys went to bed.

I have fallen asleep on the couch almost every night trying to stay awake for the sake of it. Sitting still in the dark doesn't lend itself for staying awake. I finally give in and head to bed at 9. Ha! 

This week feels like a void. It is sandwiched between vacation and the start of school. It's actually a perfect week for a void. The weather has been truly delightful. Such a gift with no A.C. We are so thankful our house and yard remained in tact. We have enjoyed playing games in the evenings. Funny meals on the grill. Even the boys have found random things to do.

Such as "flag" soccer.

Just a friendly game in flip flops :)

They opened their first restaurant

  The fridge has never looked so clean!

My parent's power has returned so I did laundry at their house yesterday.

I am not sure what this says about me, but I have only missed 2 things. 

1. Ice in my water 

(so thankful to have running water and hot for that matter)

2. blogging

Of course, working traffic lights and our nearby grocery store would be nice.

I DO NOT miss blow drying my hair. And I find I have hardly looked in the mirror all week. I still try to flip the light on in the bathroom, but at mom's house found I wasn't even reaching for a light. I am so glad I am not trying to get to work every day and that school has not started yet. 

I will NOT miss the constant hum of a 1000 lawnmowers  a.k.a generators. We did join the noise and air pollution. Having debated since Isabelle in '03, we finally broke down and bought a generator. We now have a cold fridge, cell phone charging, the internet, a lamp and coffee. What more could a girl need? Certainly not an oven because then I'd have to cook :)

Highlight

Our last night at the beach was by far my favorite. We knew we would be leaving early in the morning, a day early, so we soaked up all the last minutes we had together. I kept thinking, I am blessed. Our families all get along so well. I love how God has placed us together.

 

We could have been bitter about cutting our vacation short. We did that last year :) 

This year, we knew better, we didn't take for granted the extra day we were given. We were thankful.

 

It was a little eerie being one of the few groups who stayed Thursday (day the evacuation was issued) and left Friday. But I am so glad we did!

Family Photos

One thing I miss about beach trips with little kids is not being on the beach in the late afternoons. I suppose we could, but it's just our routine to go only in the morning and clean them once.

Group photo night was an exception. Afterwards, Mason kept referring to that night as his most favorite part. Although I assume he was referring to the soccer game, pop rocks, glow necklaces and s'mores!

Our family of 5 (we didn't get one last year)

 

The kids got to play a quick game of soccer afterwards.

Pool Side

We spent a good deal of time at the house pool.

Salty Tears and Sandy Toes

As I have alluded in many recent posts, I am feeling so much better. Sometimes I am amazed when I've done something I haven't done in a long time without even realizing I am doing it with no pain. It's as if my body as already forgotten. And then there are times, when I am overwhelmed with thanksgiving and am able to reflect and be in awe of God's grace to me. This was one of those times. One morning while we were in the OBX, I spent almost 40 minutes on Joshua's boogie board.

Memories of being in the ocean with my sister and cousins every summer came flooding back. 

The waves were gentler than I remember and thankfully I never took a nasty tumble.

The smile on my face is pure JOY, but it is also gratitude. I actually started crying out there in those waves. Tears of joy b/c I felt good enough to be out there. I don't think I have fully realized just how bad I felt the past 3 yrs until I starting feeling better.
I pray my appreciation for what I've got now, doesn't fade. That I will take with me forever, what God has done.
And yes, I am sporting a rash guard shirt. I figured with 3 boys it was worth the investment. Who knows when I'll take up surfing or white water rafting ;)
My arms are just now feeling back to "normal" almost a week later. They were so sore. And my lips felt funny for days with all that spitting salt water. But it was totally worth it.

More beach shots

 Levi

 

Levi and Courtney

 

Beach Buds

Last week, was our final beach week of the year, at least until Hurricane Irene made her threat. We left 1 day early. Far better than the previous summer. We go every summer with college friends.

The four of us, (from left to right) me, Leah, Peyton and Courtney have been vacationing together for all of my motherhood years. 

The Grangers could not be with us this year as they will be adding twins to our clan any day now. (We missed you Cheri and family). Since our yearly tradition began when Owen was 1.5 yrs old, 11 children have been born and 2 adopted.

These ladies are such a blessing to me. Our week at the beach with this group is something we look forward to all year long and then mourn when it comes to an end. It takes a lot of coordinating, but the moms manage to sit at the pool for almost 2 hours in the afternoon without children. We read and chat and soak up rays. I actually read an entire book. Something I wasn't sure would be accomplished.

We joke about the future, when our children go to bed after we do and actually sleep later than we do and when we will actually sit uninterrupted on the beach. We joke, but I know we will all miss this. These 3 mothers ENJOY their children. Yes, we get tired and cranky and sometimes bitter when our peace is not so peaceful. But overall these friends of mine believe as I do, that God is gifting us this time. We try and make the most of it. Together, we talk about all kinds of things. We encourage one another and we share with one another our burdens.

I would entrust my children with any of these families. We look out for each others children as if they are our own.

We may only see each other a handful of times during the year, but living with someone for a week creates an amazing bond. We are able to pick up right where we left off. Our children are just as close.

 

My heart and arms (some good hugs) were very blessed by Lincoln (above) and Levi(below). This time last year we were praying they would be home to join us for our 2011 beach trip. God is good. It was a treat to spend so much time with them. Now each of my boys has a Cassada their exact age!!

We also went out for girl's night. Stacy, on the far left was in Duck the same week and joined us for a night out.

Powerless

I am dying to blog about our beach trip last week.

We have been without power since 10 a.m. Saturday morning. My parent's power came on last night, so I brought our dirty laundry over and let the boys watch some t.v.

I have such fun pictures of our powerless days, but they will have to wait too.

Going to bed at 9 every night instead of sitting in the dark is kinda nice.

I really miss blogging!

Give Thanks, Be Happy

from a children's book, The Secret of Saying Thanks by Douglas Wood

"The heart that gives thanks is a happy one,
for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.
The more we say thanks, the more we find to be thankful for.
And the more we find to be thankful for, the happier we become.

We don't give thanks because we are happy.
We are happy because we give thanks."

Just a random book I picked up from the library, I loved the ending.

I am convinced that being thankful is something we have to learn. Something we have to practice. It just doesn't come naturally.
Growing up, my mom stressed the importance of thanking people. I am forever thankful she did. 
One summer when I was in college, I decided to start a prayer journal in which I would specifically write reasons I had to be thankful. It was such an amazing experience. In the beginning, my attempts were short and generic. By the end of the summer, my entries had grown tremendously. I had "learned" to "see" what I had been missing. Like the quote above, " The more we say thanks, the more we find to be thankful for."
I want my kids to be considerate and say "thank you." Probably for a lot of wrong reasons: it will make me look like a good mom, it will help them win favor and get places in life, so that my gazillion reminders to them each day won't be in vain.

But deep down inside I think it's because I know they will be happier with a thankful heart.

Owen is catching on and it's precious. He doesn't always remember for the everyday little things (when I nag him to say thank you). But he is genuinely saying it for the big things. And boy, does that do wonders for my heart.

Music to my Ears

MOM...MOM...MOM...MOM...

When Ryan needs me, he walks around chanting, MOM...MOM...MOM...MOM...MOM... Kind of to the beat of his footsteps, until he finds me. When he finds me, he turns around with the same chanting... MOM...MOM...MOM...MOM... to lead me where he needs me. And then he looks at me and points to whatever he wants or needs me to do. 

the "MOM" is pretty loud. he knows his place in this house. he has to be loud to be heard ;)

I don't remember the other 2 saying Mom, quite so matter of factually.

His Goodness

Our most recent word study was meekness. A tough concept to describe and explain, but I thought the book's definition and teacher's info did a good job. Meekness, "is being willing to give up my rights in order to put others first. Meekness waits for God to bring about justice." This is not the definition you will find in the English dictionary. Quite the opposite in fact.

I recently learned of this acronym J.O.Y (Jesus, Others, You) in a book and have been teaching it to the boys. It was great for our discussion on meekness. Something tangible for them to remember. I have been using it a lot.

Today we cleaned the van. It's a great way to love EJ. He loves a clean car.

Cleaning the car for daddy isn't exactly being meek, but it is acknowledging what another person would like and doing it for them. The more we talk about the words the more they get it. I am realizing (I guess b/c my kids are bigger and can carry on conversations) that I can bring up the Gospel in everything. The pastor at our church does an incredible job at finding the gospel in everything: literature, movies, life events, etc. He has been a great example to me.

I have also realized that I have to be IN the Bible in order to "see" the Gospel in everything. If it's on my mind and in my heart, I "see" it everywhere. When I see it, my kids learn so much more.

The most common phrase this summer was, "that's not fair." I hated it. It became an ugly habit for Owen and Mason. You know the phrase, "well, life's not fair." That kept coming to my mind, but I would stop myself from saying it. It didn't feel right. What does that really teach them? I didn't want that to be my response. I knew the gospel could be put there instead.

Sure enough one of the Psalms from my summer study says this, "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities." Psalm 103:10. So technically, the boys are right. "it's not fair," we deserve far worse. The wages of sin are death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

Is it "fair" that Jesus had to die on the cross for YOUR sins? Do we deserve to go to heaven? What do we really deserve?
Of course, the boys don't totally get it, but I have heard a lot less "it's not fair." And I pray that the gospel will take root in their hearts and that they would know the love the Father has for them.

As for this mama, I am so thankful He is giving me the words. Plus, I am learning as I teach. God is so generous ;)

It must be mentioned. The reason I posted pictures of myself (looking so fantastic, ha) is because washing a car is hard work on my upper body. I would not have chosen this activity 3 months ago. Praise God, I am feeling well enough to do this! He is GOOD!