Photo Shoot: Take a Million to Get a Couple Good Ones

Since we were at the beach last week, I thought it would be great to photograph my children. After all, the beach at sunset is spectacular and provides great light for portraits. What the beach can't provide is cooperative attitudes from grumpy little boys.

Not five minutes after being on the beach, our son let us know he needed to use the bathroom. This really frustrates me, because the bathroom is not just a few steps away.....and the "good light" on the beach is dwindling fast.


Can't you just hear him saying, "I neeed to use the bathroooom!"

Once we made it back from the bathroom, he was more cooperative....for a four year old boy. Just check out his expressions in the following series of photos:



I could show you a TON of pictures with funny or unhappy expressions from our son. Instead I'll settle on one of my favorite "good" ones:

Oh, and I like this one, too:

Maybe it was worth all the pain of cajoling him.....

OK, So We're Really Fascinated by Marine Wildlife

If you could care less about the creatures that live in and near the ocean, then don't read this post. We are really enjoying our stay at the beach, and we are all learning so much.

I have never seen a jellyfish in person...ok maybe at the aquarium...but in its natural habitat, never. Last year, I saw these jellylike things in the sand.


There are many of them in the sand left behind by the water, making the sand look shiny and shimmery.

After our daughter's incident with a jellyfish yesterday, we all had a renewed respect for them when we returned to the beach today. Instead of playing in the water, we walked along the beach searching for the treasures left behind by the ocean.

We found this:



I assume it is a jellyfish, but it is not at all like the one I saw sting my daughter.

And then we saw this:


It is what got a hold of my firstborn baby yesterday. Look at those tentacles! I don't know if its because we were on the lookout for them or if they were more in abundance today, but we saw a LOT of these jellyfish in various sizes.

And look what else we saw!


The dark thing under the water is a stingray.

Too Much Marine Wildlife

We spent some time today on the bay. The place we are staying allows us to check out kayaks and life-jackets and take a little jaunt around the bay. We enjoyed paddling through very shallow water and seeing the little critters that live there. We collected lots of hermit crabs:



and this very strange creature that our friends said was a slug. This is what it looked like when it would move outside the shell. It was slimy and icky, but fascinating.


Our son loved paddling the kayak as well as wading around in the murky water.


Our daughter, however, wasn't so excited. She had left the house without her sunglasses which is a big mistake for her. Bright sunlight is really hard on her light colored eyes, so she sat on the pier with my sunglasses on and a towel draped over her head.


Later in the day, we went back to the state park we had enjoyed so much yesterday (I took my camera this time...hope to share pics later). The water was not a calm as the day before, so it wasn't possible to see any wildlife in the water. The kiddos liked the choppier water, because they could jump in and/or ride the waves.


That is, until our daughter got stung by a jellyfish! I saw it being washed toward her by the surf, but was unable to warn her in time. It was about the size of a grapefruit with six to eight inch tentacles. This was a much too close and personal encounter with the marine wildlife!

You can probably imagine the screams that ensued! This just wasn't her day! While screaming and crying she said, "I don't ever want to do this again!" I thought (but didn't say), "yeah, that's what I said right after you were born." Later she told me, "tomorrow, when we go to the beach, remind me not to get in the water."

I'm happy to report that she is fine now. The appropriate creams worked their magic and it wasn't long until she was back to herself. She's even almost let me convince her that one bad event doesn't have to ruin her whole trip to the beach.

The Beautiful Beach

The kiddos and I are staying with friends at their beach house in San Destin, Fl. this week. My hubby was unable to come, because he is at youth missions camp. We wish he were with us.

Today we went to a different beach than we usually go to when we are here. This one is part of a state park. We had such a great experience there.


When we arrived at the beach, we were the only people on this long stretch of beach. As a result, we were able to see some great wildlife up close and personal. The water remained shallow for a good distance away from the shore allowing us to see fish, jellyfish, stingrays, dolphins and even a shark. All of these animals were close enough for us to notice and observe which was so amazing to us. We also saw seagulls (of course) and pelicans. We caught hermit crabs and sand crabs and chased a few of the larger crabs. We combed the shore for driftwood and shells. We built sandcastles, rode/jumped the waves and just sat and enjoyed the day.

I especially loved how natural the view was. The view was unimpeded by hotels or other buildings. As a result, we were able to see the emerald color of the water contrasted by the blue hues of the sky and the white of the clouds and the sand dunes. It was spectacular beauty! What a great reminder of God's awesome power and creativity. I love being in the great outdoors that He created!

(I would have LOVED to have had my camera with me today, but I was afraid of the sand and water getting in it and damaging it.)

National Flip Flop Day

A friend of mine called today to let me know that today is National Flip Flop Day. Did you know there was a day to celebrate flip flops? I didn't, but I can sure understand why. I love flip flops! In fact, I just spent some birthday money purchasing flip flops.



And I used a $10 money back certificate that Old Navy sent me to purchase four pairs of flip flops for my kiddos (I use the term "purchase" rather loosely since the flip flops were 2 for $5 and after the coupon, I paid nothing!).


In honor of this holiday (which BTW I don't think its a real holiday, just a marketing tool invented by Tropical Smoothie), I want to take a little time to tell the the story of the flip flop bandits. I did after all, promise here and here to tell you about this. My hesitancy is that I won't properly recount the tale and you'll be left saying, "what's the big deal?"

The Story of the Flip Flop Bandits

Once upon a time, there were six friends who loved to get together for each others' birthdays. They would meet at a restaurant or someone's house to eat, laugh, open gifts and enjoy some girl time. On one particular spring night, the six friends were enjoying a birthday meal on the patio. The night was quiet, the breeze was soft, the food was good and the companionship was comfy. All wore the cutest pair of flower-adorned flip flops in various colors given to them as souvenirs from the recent travels of one of the friends.


It just so happened that the small town in which the six friends lived was in the midst of a mayoral election. There were four candidates running for mayor and all were members of the same church that the six friends attended. The idea was hatched that since the pastor of the church couldn't really advertise his choice for mayor (as not to offend any candidate or family member of a candidate), it would be hilarious if campaign signs for each of the candidates were to mysteriously appear in his front yard.

Heads conferred (amidst lots of giggles), plans were made and the friends waited for the appropriately late hour to work their mischief. At the appointed hour, all pranksters squeezed into a vehicle and sneaked into the streets. Their first stop was a family member's house to pick up the first sign. Problem was, they didn't have the three other signs they needed. To avoid being accused of trespassing or theft, they must find the signs they needed on right-of-ways, not on other people's property.

Some of the friends were having a blast, other's were scared to death! At one stop to get signs, one of the friends was plastered to the floor board for fear of being seen. This, of course, was the source great fits of laughter from the other pranksters.

Finally, signs were secured and phase two must be initiated. The friends drove to the pastor's neighborhood, parking their car several houses away, of course. Then one must imagine in the mind's eye what happened next: Five flower-adorned flip flop-wearing mischief makers walked down that neighborhood street (the "plastered to the floor for fear of being caught" flip flop wearer was too afraid to join in the prank; she designated herself as the driver of the get-away vehicle). One would think that the ladies carrying out this dastardly deed would have the presence of mind to be quiet while working out their plans, but that was not the case. A severe case of giggles had erupted long before arriving in the neighborhood, and they were unable to keep from laughing.

With hearts racing and giggles escaping from their lips, the bandits carried the signs to the pastor's front yard and hurriedly placed them in strategic places for all passers-by to see. The "plastered to the floor for fear of being caught designated driver" swooped in for the pick up. She was so flustered, she practically dragged her cohorts down the street before they were able to jump in the vehicle. As one can imagine, the ride back home was loud with uncontrolled fits of laughter and boisterous recountings of the escapade!

The six friends have never forgotten their adventures that night and have dubbed themselves the flip flop bandits. Their prank lives on in small town lore and is often alluded to with covert winks and lots of giggles.

Epilogue: The pastor received a card from the bandits the following Christmas. On it was a group photo of the pranksters. The photo was altered to show a yellow smiley face in the place of the ladies faces and the caption read, "Merry Christmas from the flip flop bandits."

There you have it: the event that deepened my love for flip flops and made me thrilled to find out that now there's a holiday for celebrating my favorite footwear.

My Herb Garden

I've had an email request to share more about my herb garden. This is a new venture for me, but one that I've wanted to undertake for quite a while now. Thanks to my friend, Connie, I have been able to get one going this summer. Connie gave me several plants from her garden to get me started. I have rosemary, chives, oregano, thyme. I love making trips out my back door to get the herbs I need for my cooking. What a feeling of satisfaction. I asked Connie to write about herb gardening for anyone wishing to start their own garden. You can find her article here. She also provides a link for even more info.

Happy Father's Day!

(My dad and me 1973)

To my Dad!

Thanks for training me in the ways of the Lord.

Ah, Summer (part 2)

coolin' off with popscicles!

Summer activities are keeping me from blogging!

Our church had Vacation Bible School this week. It was in the evenings, so we were busy every night. Hubby is the Children's Minister, so he had many duties, I taught a 4th grade class and of course, our children attended! Due to past experience, there is a running joke that it will rain the first night of VBS at our church; and it did! But around here, rain has been scarce and no one was complaining! VBS went great... I love working VBS; it's so fun and rewarding.

During the day, we've been spending time with friends. Connie and I have been going to our town's square to walk. On the days we can go, we get in a good hour of walking while our children play together on the square. Of course, we go as early in the morning as possible to avoid the heat and humidity.

Another activity has been going to the pool as much as possible. Connie is kind enough to invite us, and our children love to play together in the pool.

my daughter with one of Connie's sons coolin' off in the pool!

Other activites include tending my newly planted herb garden, photographing summer sights, cooking summer fare and much more!

my herb garden

Next week is another busy one. It includes a couple of activities related to my homeshow business, a trip to the beach (also related to my business) and a birthday gathering.

I hope your summer is as enjoyable as mine has been so far! And I hope you are managing to blog more than I am. lol!

Garden of the Gods

Another stop on our Colorado adventure was Garden of the Gods. This is a fabulous place where I could see myself going once a week if I lived nearby. It is a free park owned by the city of Colorado Springs, and has much to offer its visitors: hiking, rock climbing, wildlife viewing and awesome vistas!

This is Balanced Rock and of course, we had to do the tourist picture of us "holding up" the rock!

This formation is called The Three Graces. There are many of these unusual formations here. They are a beautiful red/orange color which contrast beautifully against the Colorado blue sky.


We noticed a lot of these large black and white birds. It turns out they are magpies. I don't think they are a very well loved bird, but they are very pretty to look at.


This is one of my favorite pictures. It shows my adventurous husband hiking at Garden of the Gods with Pikes Peak in the background.


Our son got so excited about any wildlife he saw. This time it was a chipmunk in the bushes that had him enthralled.


This place was spectacular and I had a lot of fun with my camera. To see more pictures of Garden of the Gods, check out my photo blog...the one where I play with my camera and photoshop so I can avoid doing the dishes!

Let Me Tell You About a Little Girl

This little girl was born with a severe problem at birth. Doctors told her mother that she would probably never be able to see or hear. As the girl grew, it became evident that she could indeed see and hear, but she was having difficulty learning to walk. However, even though countless doctors told the little girl's mother she might never walk, she eventually learned to walk.

When the little girl entered Kindergarten, it wasn't long before teachers came to the girl's mother to tell her that they were afraid the little girl had a serious learning disability. The mother refused to believe it and worked diligently to help her little girl. The mother asked for prayer from her church about this issue and a special prayer meeting was held. One person's prayer stood out as particularly memorable. This person prayed that God would put this little girl at the head of her class.

God didn't work a miracle overnight, in fact each year of this girl's schooling, teachers would go to the mother with great concern about her abilities. But the mother and her little girl persevered. They trusted God.

This past Friday, that little girl stood before her graduating class and delivered her valedictory speech. And best of all, she gave God the glory!

**We attended the graduation of an area high school this past week. Some of the graduates were students who attend our church. What a delight to hear this amazing story about God's work and grace. The young lady received a standing ovation after her speech and many people (including me) were in tears.