A lot more progress was made on our deck this week, but it still feels like it’s been slow going. We’ve had a bit of rain to contend with and a lot more predicted in the next few days. Hopefully in another week we’ll have it completed.
The cedar smells so good and looks gorgeous!
So weird to see bodies just outside our living room windows!
Today was our last and best day at the beach by far. We were out early by about 8:30 and it was clear, the water was warm, and we saw lots of sea life. We saw dolphins, dolphins and more dolphins. I guess that’s a pod? Anyway, it was just breathtaking and exciting to see them jumping and flipping and playing around in the not so far distance. We oohed and aahed for quite some time. We also saw a huge school (?) of large manna rays swimming by just 6 or so feet from where we were jumping the waves. The kids also caught a large crab and a small hermit crab in his tiny shell. So fun!
We did our usual lunch break and then headed out in the air conditioned van to do some geocaching. After three strikes we decided to get ice cream and cold drinks before heading back to the beach in the late afternoon. It was hard to leave the beach this afternoon since it was our last time there. We will head out early tomorrow for Kentucky to catch up with some friends there. We’re looking forward to visiting with them and then heading home on Saturday.
If you look closely you can see a black spot that is a dolphin
We took a break from the beach and spent most of our day in Pensacola. As much fun as we are having at the beach, I think everyone was ready to do something different.
Our first stop was to check out a dealership where we are hoping to purchase a larger conversion van. It was nice to see things in person and meet the folks we’ve been working with. We then spent a good bit of time at the National Museum of Naval Aviation. The highlight for the kids was the Blue Angels flight simulator. It was cool, but oh my. My hand was so ready to hit the emergency button due to claustrophobia. I think it was worse being shut up in that little thing than the pod that goes to the top of the STL arch. Fortunately I held it together and didn’t embarrass the kids!
Of course we couldn’t stay away from the beach all day, so after supper we headed out for a stroll at sunset. It was so peaceful and beautiful. The campground beach is quite long and we only saw a couple of other people.
We have one more full day here and are looking forward to getting in our last hours at the beach. The kids are loving it and we are making great memories.
Another great day at the beach. We went in the morning for a couple of hours and then took a break for lunch at our campsite. We met some friends for ice cream in the afternoon that are also vacationing this week. Then we headed back to the beach for a short bit later in the afternoon. When we got back to our campsite for supper it started to rain a little. We are thankful to have our gazebo for some shelter for cooking (yes, Kate, I did fine with the camp stove!). It didn’t rain for long. Hopefully we’ll have another dry sunshiny day tomorrow.
We even fit 3 scooters in the van. They've been great!
The low waves at the Gulf are great
We are SO glad we had a hotel last night. There were major downpours and thunder that kept us awake a bit during the night. We also had rain almost all the way to our campground. We got here mid-afternoon and it stopped raining just before we arrived and the sky has been clearing up ever since.
We got camp set up and then enjoyed a walk to the beach. The kids were not supposed to get wet, but you know how that goes. Ami was just about soaked from head to toe within two minutes. Elijah ended up with sand everywhere, even in his ears. Let’s just say that Dad and Mom were the ones that stayed dry!
We’re now looking forward to a good night’s rest and clear skies tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll be hitting the beach early.
I wish all places of business posted a sign like this!
Woo hoo, we made it to our campsite!
Finally at the beach
Thanks to my husband and five treasures for a nice relaxing Mother’s Day! I am blessed to be called “Mom”, “Mommy”, “Mama”. My kids help me grow in so many ways. God uses them to shape and stretch me to be more like Him. It is a journey, a lifelong commitment, a “job” that I hope to never take for granted.
Happy Mother’s Day to my mother and mother-in-law as well. Chris and I are who we are because you raised us to love Jesus!
We took a field trip with some home schooling friends of ours on Saturday. Just a short drive away is the small town of Fulton where Winston Churchill gave his famous “Iron Curtain” speech. We have been studying modern history this year (1850 – present) and this field trip was a perfect follow up to our most recent studies of WWII and the rise and fall of the Iron Curtain. The museum is really first class and it’s actually in the basement of a Christopher Wren designed church building that was brought over piece by piece from England. This little town has hosted the likes of Churchill, Ford, Reagan, Gorbachev, Bush, Truman, and Thatcher (and now the Wolfes and Johnsons….ha!). They also have a portion of the Berlin Wall as a memorial.
Thanks, Johnsons, for a fun day!
We knew when we bought our house eight years ago that we needed to replace the deck. We’ve had dreams of expanding it across the back of the house, but our funds have been spent in some other major areas over the last few years. 
Now the time has finally come and we’re more than excited about expanding our living area to the outdoors. It will be a work in progress, but I thought I’d show some of the excitement that’s been going on at our house in the last couple of weeks.
Before....
Out with the old
So glad to see this unsafe deck come down!
My helpers hauling off the old deck boards
Expensive, and exciting entertainment
New retaining wall in prep for expanded deck
Today’s Memorial Box story is very similar to another Memorial Box story I previously posted about when we were able to take a trip to Florida. In the year that Chris and I spent praying about where God was leading our family, we had several selfish things that we weren’t sure we wanted to give up in order to adopt. We loved to travel, and also visiting family that lived distances away was a priority to us. We thought that with adding another child to our family it would make it much less likely that we would be able to continue our regular traveling. It took a lot for us to us humble ourselves to God’s bigger plans and allow Him to have total control.
Well, in the year that we were waiting for our travel to China to get Ami, God not only provided one vacation in March 2006, but a second one in July 2006! Chris had to travel to Chicago for work and rather than flying up, his company paid the gas instead so that we could drive up as a family. We were also all able to stay in the hotel room that his company provided, which included free breakfast each morning. While Chris was busy during the day, I took the kids to several sights in Chicago. It was a wonderful break in the middle of summer when we were waiting, waiting, waiting for word from China. All told, we spent less than $200 for another week long vacation for a family of five.
Is our God good, or what?! Despite our unwillingness to give up our selfish desires right away and follow His plans for our family, He showered us with not one, but TWO very cheap vacations in just a short amount of time. He blesses us way beyond what we ever ask or imagine. He knew the desires of our hearts and gave us gifts we had not requested. Thank you, Father!
Tonight we placed a ticket stub in our Memorial Box from one of the museums we visited on that God given vacation. Johanna said, “Our Memorial Box is getting full! That’s a good thing!” Yes it is Sweet Pea, yes it is.
There are a couple of people that are very dear to us that I don’t think I have mentioned on this blog.
One of those is our newest nephew/cousin, Sean. He just recently turned one and is my brother’s son. Because they live in CA we have yet to meet him, but we are hopeful that they will make it out to celebrate the 4th with us this summer. Currently Sean and family are in Japan visiting both sets of grandparents. Unfortunately Sean has had a high grade fever for too many days and has had to be hospitalized. As of yet they still have no diagnosis. I am asking that you please lift little Sean up in your prayers as well as his Daddy and Mommy, first time parents. We love them and want the best for them.
Another couple that are very dear to us are Grandpa and Grandma Cumbie. They are part of our church family and having always loved on our kids as if they were their own grandchildren. With both sets of our “real” grandparents living so many miles away we have so much appreciated their love towards our family. Today Grandpa Cumbie is celebrating his 80th birthday and we wanted to make special mention of it. We are very grateful for our church family, what a blessing they are to us!
Grandpa Cumbie was even wearing his panda tie today that we brought back from China for him.
We have an exciting opportunity to share our Memorial Box story tonight and I will post more about it tomorrow. Stay tuned!