August 2020

August started out with the end of our beach week. We had said goodbye to Grammy&Papa, who would later tell me that this vacation was the best one they had been on in a really long time. Who knew the beach would be so restorative for us all? I read the book 'All Things New' by John Eldredge, and the Lord really spoke healing over my heart. I can remember sitting on this deck and having a good cry. The idea that heaven will be the restoration of all things was one that I was just cracking open. I am thankful for all the ways the Lord has begun to teach me more about how He will make all things new.

Our last Saturday at the beach house, Mimi&Grandpa came back up with John&Kelsey's family! Little baby Evie was so cute, and Nora got to enjoy the beach with us for a few hours. We took a pirate cruise together in St. Augustine, and it was a fun day!

Good bye beach house- Thank you Lord for all the ways you blessed our little family and our big family through these days with this view. I am so grateful for these memories and for all the sharks teeth!! Our grand total was just shy of 400. Trust me, the boys tried to find those final three, but it didn't happen. I still was amazed at how many we took home!

I finished my covid sudoku book. I had never really played this game, but started during this season of isolation. This book was a great way to learn, because if I got a part wrong, I had to solve it all over to find my mistake! ha!! The digital versions are way easier. The boys started fishing the creek more often, and I am thankful for all the things we have at our fingertips to do where we live.

Hermione went for a haircut, but I really didn't like it. So we took her back for a re-do. It was short, but so much better.

    

Matt found the perfect vehicle for us to buy, hello Cadillac Escalade! Of course the radio was playing the song 'savage' which just made me embarrassed for how fancy this car really is, but it has been such a lovely blessing. I love it so much now.

My Mother's Day gift came in!! I had wanted to have silhouettes of the boys made for a few years, and it was time! I have prints hung in our bedroom, and I wear this locket almost every day. I absolutely love how much it looks like each of them, and I will treasure it.

Well, we found out our tickets for Disney (from our march spring break trip) were only going to be good through the end of September. So  we took advantage of the delayed start to school (thanks covid) and went! The boys had an absolute blast, and so did Matt&I. The new Star Wars rides were really great, and we all had blast. The masks weren't so bad, and the lines were social distanced. Disney did a good job about their covid protocols. 

One of the highlights of the trip: shoulder porg!!

Matt gave us the special treat of eating lunch at the Beast's castle! I had always wanted to do that, and my boys were good sports. They loved the lightening and seeing the beast's face in the painting. We got to eat in the prince's chamber, so it wasn't too girly for them. And daddy bought them light up cups- you couldn't have a better lunch. "try the gray stuff, it's delicious"

We had just binge watched all the pirates of the Caribbean movies while we were at the beach house, so we were very ready for the ride at Disney. The boys all wanted swords and James picked the Jack Sparrow hat. They got to pick one souvenir each day, and it was so much fun.

Our last day we went to Epcot for the first time. I had never been, and Matt had gone years ago. It was more fun than I had thought!

Matt bought this golf cart from a coworker, but I didn't want to keep it. He sold it to his brother Mike, and their family has really enjoyed it! My boys were a little disappointed, or maybe a lot.

Hello school year 2020-2021! The boys started the year off doing virtual school, and we let them return in person for the Spring semester in January 2021. They were really good sports about it, but it was hard. I actually loved having them home all the time, and I cried when it was time for them to go back. It was a really lovely season, but boy were they happy to see their friends' faces again. Well, at least their masked faces.

Hayden accidentally put on David's shorts. ummmm I was amazed he could actually do it! David and I had many many hot chocolates.

We took the boys and Zac on a hike to see the 'rapids' in Florida. It was a pretty little drive across I-10, and the first thing they enjoyed seeing was the bat house!

and the pigmy dusty rattler. that was run over before we saw it from the car window. But we did see one or two on the trail. I am glad to know they are poisonous now, and not then.

David was practicing eating his lunch for VPK. I wanted to make sure the lunch box wasn't took hard for him to open.

Thank you Lord for all these days. These sweet faces. The beauty captured in the frames. The memories preserved by the image. The memories the photos recall for me. Thank you for all the ways you brought us joy in these days filled with more than normal anxiety. Thank you for all the ways to blessed the boys during online school. For their technology skill and for the time together. Thank you for the blessing of being with them everyday for that semester. The 10 months total they were home. It is hard to remember the days now, but I remember the feelings well. Thank you Lord for this one life. Amen.