beach.1

I love the beach.  I adore taking pictures of my family there.  It's beautiful.  I am learning how to apply the principle of finding joy in such beauty- at the beach its easy.  At home it can be done the same way.  Stepping back and admiring the scene before you.  How is each day filled with so much trail. obstacle. pain. grief. stress. anger. frustration. repetition. But also filled with grace. blessing. joy. innocence. beauty. awe. gratefulness. humility. comfort.

I am so struck by how easy it is to miss the gifts and still be overwhelmed by the mess of this life.  But, a beautiful picture like this, of my husband and my son in our own paradise, this make it easy to see the gift of this moment.  May I take this lesson and apply it...  'always on vacation'?? haha

tenderness.

my sweet little guy & me.

Favorite hobby: chasing the birds.

Loves the beach.

A Gulf sunset. such beauty.

Simplicity & wonder & joy.  Flying a kite.

Definitely my favorite vacation we've ever taken.  Having a chance to rest, enjoy, eat, rest. maybe eat some more.  Boy do I love fried sea food. wow.

They had a kiddie pool as well- which was kinda awesome for us.  James poolside.

These two sitting side.by.side.  I got so many great shots of them both side by side.  just fun.

A popsicle break with Jack.  We were so lucky to have the Prose/Lyon clan over for a cookout at the beach.  It was great to see most of our extended family- James loves his Nana. ;-)  Matt hadn't seen them since Christmas, but we are so fortunate that the boys and I have been able to see the family more often- so that he knows them.  Thanks ya'll for coming- especially Nikki who was 'great with child' and has now welcomed their new addition: Alexander Lyon!! :-)  Welcome little guy, we were hoping to meet you in person, but you got an awesome birthday: same as your great Uncle Jim!