Florida

Times of Refreshing

Florida was good.  Really good.  We arrived at the house late afternoon on Sunday.  Took a quick inventory of the things we would need for the week and drove into Panama City Beach to get the needed supplies.  After dinner, we stopped at the beach for our first look at the Gulf.  It was a nice first impression.  :-)  The girls waded into the water just to get their feet wet.  (We put Cupcake into a swimsuit based on our experience with "just getting your feet wet".)

Panama City Beach Pier 

 

At Seacrest Beach, the sand was fine and white.  The water was warm (and a little seaweedy).

Seacrest Beach

 

 

God sends times of refreshing in various ways.  Florida was that for us.  I suggest the following ideas for allowing Him to refresh you if you find yourself at the beach.

Rest and enjoy His beauty.  Spend time with family and friends, laughing and talking, playing games until the wee hours (like 10:00 pm).  Listen to soothing guitar music wafting down the steps.  Let the warm sand squish between your toes.  Peek under the water with your kids, looking for fish (and seaweed) around your toes.  Jump waves until your whole body is a wet noodle.  Build sand forts as high as you can before the waves take it down.  Dig a deep hole in the sand until you reach water.  Try boogie-boarding.  Belly laugh.  Ride bikes on flat streets, plowing through the standing water.  Buy a coconut monkey for your son.  Eat ice cream cake late at night.

May God refresh you in simple, unexpected ways.

  

Blessings to you,

Mamita

Why My Post-Vacation Purse Weighed More Than 7 Pounds!

For your entertainment this morning, please read the following list of purse contents.
 

• 3 Boxes Orange TicTacs
• 1 Granola Bar
• 2 Pkgs. Mint Gum
• 2 Pkgs. Cinnamon Gum
• 2 Packets Fruit Snacks
• 1 Travel Pill Case
• 1 Stain Stick
• 3 Pens
• 3 Sharpies - One in Each Size
• 2 Travel Bottles Hand Sanitizer
• 100 Reciepts
• Miscellaneous Coupons
• Cupcake's Wallet
• My Wallet
• Checkbook
• Phone
• 1 Pile of Trash
• 2 Lipsticks
• 2 Chapsticks
• 1 Listerine Spray
• 1 Hair Brush
• 1 Wide-tooth Comb
• 1 Regular Comb
• 1 Kleenex Pocketpack
• 1 Headband
• 3 Sets of Keys (Van, Car, Church)
• 1 Broken Necklace
• 1 Business Card Holder
• 6 Cough Drops
• 1 Guitar Pick
• 2 Chinese Finger Traps ---- Huh?   Don't ask.  I have NO IDEA?!?!
• 1 Cootie Catcher
• 1 Large Pile of Change  - $6.70 Worth.
• 4 Bandaids - 3 new/1 used ----EWWW!

This doesn't explain where my tape measure and credit card pocket knife are.

It does explain, however, why my back and shoulders hurt so much.

Blessings to you,
Mamita

Golden Anniversary

The night before we left for vacation, we had big plans. 

One of Steve's brothers and his wife came in to town to help celebrate his parent's 50th wedding anniversary.  All three brothers went together and had a beautiful flower arrangement made.  In the midst of the bouquet, we placed gift cards to some of their favorite restaurants, one for each decade of their marriage, along with a matching photo of them during each stage of their lives.  It turned out perfect!

Then, they took us out to a nice Italian restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious meal and wonderful company.

 

After dinner, we came back home for a photo shoot.  I have two camera shy sons and two hams (or divas, depending on the mood) for daughters.  (On a side note:  Sugar is becoming a beautiful young woman right before our eyes.  YOWZA!  And Cupcake fixed her hair and mine for the evening.  She did a fabulous job, don't you think?!?!)

 

This is one of my favorites, Cupcake and her Aunt S cracking up...

It was truly a special night to celebrate a dear couple.  Fifty years is noteworthy and honorable.  Faithfulness runs deep in this family.

 

Congratulations to the happy couple, and may God bless you with many more years together.

Blessings to you,

Mamita

Back From Vacation

I'm back...I have lots to blog about...much laundry to do...jumbled thoughts in my head...hope to write something coherent soon.

We had a great time on the Gulf Coast.  We stayed at Seacrest Beach (near Panama City Beach) with some friends who invited us to share a house.  Both families survived the week, and we are all still friends, I think. ;-) 

We swam and had adventures, hunted shells, and got sunburned. 

Good. Fun. Stuff.

Two thumbs up to Seacrest Beach.  It is a high-end community, but very affordable with two families footing the bill.  Someday, when we're all retired and the kids are grown, it would be fun to share a house with several of our best friends.   

For now, I will leave you with a picture (or two...)

 

 Blessings to you,

Mamita

The Devil's in the Details

So, I met a new bloggy friend today.  I've been reading through her blog when I should have been cleaning or packing or parenting.  ;-)  But she has a beautiful heart and I just had to introduce myself and leave a few comments on some of her posts.  I will probably introduce her to you soon.  I think her thoughts are very important to adoptive parents who have biological kids as well.

But, while I was leaving comments, this came up...

We all had a good laugh. I hope you do too.

Blessings to you,
Mamita

This and That

Breathe, Julie, breathe.

Life continues to move at break-neck speed. 

Vacation is coming up.  Everything is not in order.  We do have house-sitters and dog-sitters.  Hotels have been reserved.  Meals planned.  Mail is stopped.  Van is up-to-snuff. 

Laundry...not so much.  Clean house...ummm....no.  Things to keep a little girl busy for 13 hours in the car...hmmm...where to  begin?

Oh, yes...we celebrated Luke's 16th birthday yesterday!  By the way, you might have noticed the bloggy change.  Sunshine is now known as Luke.  I still can not get him to smile for the camera.  I have threatened to just put Justin Bee*ber's picture on my blog, cause Luke is just as cute...but Justin will smile for a camera...but I digress.  Anyway, my sweet little boy is 16!  He's taller than everyone else in the family!  He is my kind-hearted, gentle, unselfish, hard-working, godly, guitar-playing young man.  I'm proud to call him "son".

Cupcake starts soccer Thursday.

Steve's brother and his wife are coming to town Thursday to celebrate his parent's 50th anniversary this weekend.  :-D 

Thursday?     ...    That's tomorrow!   ....  YIKES!  I've got a ton to do! 

Talk to you soon....

Blessings to you,
Mamita