Our beach trip!

WOW! WOW! WOW!!! We just got back last night from an amazing weekend at the beach thanks to some wonderful friends of ours. I have to admit this was a selfish trip for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the beach. I grew up going to the beach every summer. I have wonderful memories of the beach with my family. We stayed at the same place every year. We even stayed through a hurricane (someone will have to remind me of which one it was) when the beach was evacuated because mama & daddy were friends with the owners. Mama is still intrigued by hurricanes.

I remember loving the beach and the ocean. I remember those times with my daddy so well. So this weekend it made me even more thankful for Marlee Anne to make those memories with Mike and I. There was not handicap accessibility to the beach where we were so Mike & I traded off and spent time on the beach with Marlee Anne. Everyone else seemed to enjoy there time in the condo. Maybe with the exception of Michala. My brother seems to think it was because she didn't have all her toys. To help our neighbors at the beach continue to enjoy their vacation we chose to leave Michala's drum at home. Didn't make for a happy camper in Michala though. This trip did remind me why we started going to Disney. Everyone can enjoy it all together as a family.

The beach and the ocean were beautiful! My ideal time at the beach is to get up around 7, make a pot of coffee, take my chair, book and coffee to the beach and enjoy several hours. Well Friday morning at 7 Marlee Anne is wide awake and ready to go. I sighed and thought there goes MY time. How VERY selfish is that?! However when I got to the beach tears welled up in my eyes and the joy I felt was unreal. Here I am with my anything but "typical" daughter enjoying the sand & sun.

OK bear with me here. We were the only ones on the beach that early playing in the sand. The others were out walking, running or riding bikes. Some were walking their dogs. Soon people started to come out and more and more families appeared. Once again I was reminded of our different family. Here I am on the beach with Marlee Anne while Mike is in the room with our other three children. Please understand I am not complaining, I am not asking for it to be different, I am only saying even here in this perfect setting that God created it's still not right. I would have loved to have had a family picture on the beach but there was no way to get all of us out there. Some of you understand those feelings and can relate, others try to, thankfully God has blessed me with a man that not only understands and relates but also puts me back on the road of joy that I should be on.

So thankful for the time with Marlee Anne. I love having indepth conversations with her about God and why He created this and that. Usually these conversations are always started by my deep thinking girl. We had fun covering each other up in the sand, jumping the waves, finding seashells and building sand castles. I think I better practice before next time because I was quickly informed that Mike builds better sand castles than me. Imagine that!

We had 2 full days of fun like that. Mike even got treated to a round of golf which he really enjoyed. We ate some delicious seafood. Just the change of scenery, beautiful at that!, really helps to rejuvenate you. I am thinking Michala & Abe's seizures were a little better and we should probably consider moving to the beach or at least giving them a break at the beach at least once a month.

Our last day there Marlee Anne decided she didn't want to go to the beach. So off I go with my book, coffee, & chair. OK 2 hours of that and I was ready to take on the world. Seriously I do not know what it is about the ocean and the soothing powers it has to the soul. It truly does though. Once again a reminder that God thought it all through. Whether I think it or not or possibly sometimes question or doubt, it is all perfect in His sight. He makes no mistakes!