Kelaiah received her yellow belt

We have had some crazy health issues around here the last few months, but we have made it through.
Thank the Lord!  Not something you really want to blog about. Today, I have something cheerful to blog about.  Kelaiah has moved up from being a white belt to a yellow belt. She is so excited!  She's been dancing around the house, with a big smile on her face, singing (literally) about her triumph. We are so proud of her too. So, as usual, I have some pictures (and a video) to show you her BIG moment. I hope you all enjoy this moment, have a blessed day!

Birthday morning wake up

After a horrible two days of dealing with a major sinus headache, my family let me sleep in. Of course that might have to do with it being my birthday today, instead of sympathy for my head, either way, it was nice.
 At around 8:30 am , my youngest daughter came into the room and kissed me saying, "mommy wake up, we have something special for you." I kind of had a clue, but it's better not to say anything and go with it. I dragged myself out of bed and into the dining room where I was met by a sweet site.

 The girls made me breakfast, it tasted really good too! I guess another gift from them would be showing me that, through all the kitchen hours we spend together, they have been paying attention to more than I expected.  Things like this always make a mother proud. The eggs were cooked perfectly to my liking, the sausage was done, no pinkness what so ever, the iced coffee was so yummy,  and the toast , as you can see, was a nice golden brown. Yes, I feel very proud of my girls accomplishments this morning. Glad to know that they won't starve when I'm not around.

After breakfast they lead me over to the fire place , where two bags of handmade gifts were sitting. I love handmade gifts, don't you? ( I didn't get any pictures of those. I do apologize.)

Yes, I would say I am a rich woman with many blessings in my life. The best gift I have ever received were my children. I thank God everyday for them. (Even on days when I'm tempted to hide behind a locked closet door.)

Jekyll Island

Hello all, we just got back from a wonderful 5 day Island trip. We drove 6 hours down to the South Georgia Coast to a beautiful little Island called Jekyll. My husband had a company trade show down there, so we turned it into a family beach trip.

 I wish I could say our trip was all sunshine , but it wasn't, tropical storm Beryl came pouring down on us... off and on. Did we we complain? No, we just waited for breaks in the weather and took those spots for granted. When it was raining we just took some much needed rest.

Our first day, after driving the 6 hours, we unpacked and then headed to the beach to watch the children play , and explore.

It was so beautiful.

We were surprised by how many whole sand dollars we found, I mean one is usually a rare find in itself.
We were also surprised to find a few live ones, and see some burrowing down into the sand.

(Changing the subject for a second) You see that little dog? It was so cute! It wanted Hannah to pet it so bad, but she was literally oblivious of it.

In this picture it seems she may have actually noticed it , but she was in her own little world of exploration. She was talking non stop to her daddy about finding Sand dollars, and moving from side to side in the process. She seriously did not see this little dog trying to get her attention. 

I kind of felt bad for the little thing. It looks like daddy noticed, but he has better things to do. ;c)

Well I guess the dog gave up, and the children found a good digging spot.

Let's see, what else did the children find? Oh, yes....Hannah found a baby ray.

Of course she let it go right after the picture was taken.

Kelaiah found a baby shrimp, but she let it go before the picture was taken. So, I don't have that one.

We also found the shell of a horseshoe crab. :c(

And ,of course, my children's favorite little crabs to chase around the beach, rocks, drift wood, etc.

There weren't as many out as usual. I'm guessing they were hiding from the storm.

After our exploring, the children and I headed to the pool.

The next day was a bit windy and the water was definitely not safe, so the children decided to hunt for crabs amongst the rocks.

Kelaiah managed to catch one, but the others got away.

After they finished chasing crabs, they played on the beach for a while. 

After that we headed back to the pool to play for awhile. Then it rained, and so we waited.

After the rain we went back down to the beach, but it was high tide.

So, guess where we went...The Pool!

 The children met some friends and had a lot of fun.

After we finished with the pool, it rained.

We did get another break from the rain, but planned on going out for dinner. So instead of swimming to get rid of energy, the children climbed a tree that they had been eyeing since we got there. (Their daddy wasn't back from the trade show yet.)

 The girls also found a puddle to play in.

The next day we drove to St. Simons Island. Hubby wasn't feeling well, so we didn't stay long.

 When he felt better we headed to the beach, but didn't stay there long either, cause the wind was about to literally blow us away.

I'm glad we took this small vacation from home, it was much needed.