Back again

We have been away at the beach for the last 8 days. We had a wonderful trip. Lydie had never been to the beach before and was the perfect age to fully appreciate the beautiful Gulf. She loves the sand and the water. I'll post picture highlights tomorrow.


Our trip ended with the news that a very close family friend had died suddenly on Thursday morning. We made a detour through Alabama to attend his funeral. It was a very sad day for our family. We had seen our friend last Saturday on our way down to the beach. It is so much more difficult to mourn a sudden, unexpected tragedy. After so many days away and long hours in the car, we are so glad to be back at our own home.


Home, sweet home! It looked so beautiful in the moonlight as we drove up tonight. And God gave us so many small, gracious blessings on our trip. Thankful children, great sleep for every one, and peaceful car rides. Many new, precious memories... catching crabs, fish, jellyfish, and any other small aquatic animal that would fit into a sand pail, so many "Mama, look at me..." memories, tanned little faces at candlelight dinners, reading together, ice cream after mini-golf, their first trip to the water park, and so much more.

"The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21