What a Wednesday!

7 AM, and our condo was shakin' this morning! Steve got the girls up and they had breakfast together! By 8:30 the girls and I were on the beach catching some sun and shells! The water was a little rough and the girls' healthy fear of the water seemed to disappear today, so we didn't stay at the beach too long! We went to the pool for a little while, but then Reagan had, ummm, should I say a difficult time, so we headed up to our room to work through things and regroup! We watched a Blue's Clues and got ready to go on a lunch "date"!

When I was little we would go to this restaurant that had fried pickles. I used to love them! Steve showed me a menu when I got here for a little place that has fried pickles (along with fried everything else!) so my mouth has been watering since I saw the menu! So the girls and I went there for our little "date". We had so much fun! The girls had fried pickles, fried mushrooms and fried pickles! (Along with a very cheesy grilled cheese sandwich and French fries!) Everything was great and the service was wonderful! We just took our time and laughed and laughed and laughed. We sure did wish Daddy-O was with us, though!

By the time we got back home, I thought the girls would be worn out, but they weren't! (It must have been the cake with the yummy chocolate topping!) So, I put Sydney to bed and then Reagan and I grabbed our own rocking chairs on the balcony and read our books!

It was so beautiful outside that I packed up a picnic and we had dinner on the beach! The girls just couldn't stay out of the ocean! By the time we were done they were both soaked! They were so cute!!

Ahhhhh...It's off to relax for a little while!

Tuesday - Ahhhh...Another Beach Day!

Well, I think the pictures say enough about today! The girls had a blast! They were in bed before 7 tonight! They were so tired by the end of the day! The little boy in the pictures is their new little buddy for the week, Carson!

Reagan and I colored and Sydney and I played once we settled back in the condo. Reagan and I also began working on these verses today:

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100

Topsail Island

Here's where we are staying! It's lovely! I couldn't take pictures of the girls room because they're asleep, but their room is very "beach condo like", too! Reagan loves it because there are Nemo fish all over her bed!

Monday!

We've had a great day so far today! As you can tell, I'm enjoying having my computer back, although all I've done with it is catch up blogging! The girls and I were at the beach by 9 AM and played in the sand for a couple of hours! We met a lady with her two year old and her Mom down there this morning and had such a fun time with them! Sydney even ventured out today and played with her sister in the sand. The beach is so wide and it is so cool how there will be little pockets of water all up and down the beach. The girls (and I!) love that we don't actually have to go down to the ocean to get a little wet! I forgot to put my card in my camera, so I don't have any pictures from this morning! Then we cooled off in the pool and enjoyed tater tots for lunch. (Don't worry, we had some other stuff, too, but the tater tots were the hit item!!)

So, after lunch I put the girls to bed and went outside to read. I came back in and heard quite a bit of chatter...not totally unusual, just louder than normal!! So, I quietly turned the doorknob and this is what I saw...

Sunday Fun Day!

Steve had his day off yesterday and we were all so excited! We had so much fun! We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then went down to the ocean! It was an absolutely beautiful day! Blue skies as far as the eye could see! We played in the sand, relaxed and then all enjoyed the pool for a while. Steve had to do a little school work while the girls napped and I just lounged around the condo. Then we headed into "town" (Jacksonville) to get a new computer for me, do a little more shopping and enjoy dinner at Chilies! It was wonderful having Steve all to ourselves for a day! We are looking forward to next weekend already when we get to have him for another day!!

Sanctifying Saturday!

Saturday we woke up to beautiful weather! As soon as Steve left we loaded up all our stuff (well, at least all I could think of at the time) and made our way to the beach. Try to visualize this...

One mom, a 3 year old, a one year old, a large beach bag with sunscreen, towels, etc, a brown paper bag full of beach toys, a camera bag, two swim rings, a baby float, a beach ball, and I think that's it. What a sight to behold, huh?!?!

We made our way down the elevator and to the beach. Once down there Sydney whined, and whined and whined. Poor girl, she fell right in the sand and then wiped her eyes and got sand in her mouth...at that point (about 8:40 AM) she was done! Reagan loved the beach and found a couple of friends to play with. Thankfully their mommy and daddy let us visit with them under their tent! Sydney calmed down a little bit and then I realized I forgot all snacks and drinks! Once again, thanks to the lovely couple with the tent - the other mommy broke out a bag of pretzels! Sydney was happy once again!! Then we headed for a nice refreshing swim in the pool. Reagan decided at that moment she was in no mood for a swim. After working with her, we headed upstairs to call it a day! (It's about noon now!) We all went down for a good nap...something we all needed! The girls were challenging all day, and by that evening I was in tears, too! Thankfully Steve got home around 7 and we all went for a walk on the beach. It was wonderful having time to talk with him and be encouraged and reminded of the Truth by him that evening.

Also, all day, even though I was battling with my own impatience and anger, the Lord kept reminding me of this verse:

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Ahhh...how grateful I am that we serve a merciful and kind God. How grateful I am that He is faithful to forgive me when I ask Him. How grateful I am that He is allowing me to train my children to see their sin and experience freedom from having a guilty conscience by leading them to the cross through discipline and repentance. Even after our challenging day, we were able to walk on the beach as a family - healthy, happy, and loving each other all the more!

Cloudy Friday!

So, Friday we woke up to cloudy skies and cooler weather. Steve woke the girls up early so we could all spend about an hour together before he had to leave for work. (That's our game plan - up at 7 AM so we can see him before his long day at work!) Then we went grocery shopping (woo-hoo) and played inside. I bought the girls little pumpkins for them to decorate so Reagan enjoyed drawing on both hers and her sisters! We enjoyed the indoor pool and the girls took a nice long nap! I devoured the new Mahaney girls book on time. (I highly recommend it, by the way!) I am really asking the Lord to use this time that I have away to really hone in on some areas with the girls. It's nice not having many distractions and being able to work with them more and have lots more game time/play time, too!

Thursday: North Carolina Bound!

At 5 AM on Thursday morning I jumped out of bed. That is extremely unusual for me! But I couldn't wait to get on the road and see my husband. And since I wasn't sure how the ride would go, I figured we better get an early start! We packed my van the day before with a ridiculous amount of stuff and the girls slept in their outfits so all I had to do was move them from their beds to their car seats! We had a GREAT trip. Reagan stayed awake for all but about 30 minutes of the entire drive! She was so excited about going to the beach, but her concept of time is that it only takes an hour to get to the beach! So, from about 6:30 AM on, I heard "Are we there yet?? Are we there yet??"

We stopped for breakfast at Chick-fil-a and lunch at Cracker Barrel and that's it! I couldn't believe we didn't have to make any other bathroom stops! Thanks to Dena and the many DVDs she lent us, I hardly heard a peep from the backseat! We arrived at Topsail Island around 5 PM and got all settled in before Steve came home from work. Our place is pretty nice! We have a two bed/two bath condo on the beach! I've been sitting out on the balcony reading during the day and we've enjoyed a beautiful, quiet beach and a sweet indoor pool! The girls are sharing a room and from the amount of chatter that I can hear at nap time and bed time, I believe they are enjoying themselves!

My computer broke (my new one this time) the day before I came up here, we have no phone in the condo, and my cell phone gets no reception here at the condo, so I've had lots of quiet time and have been able to rest when the girls do and have been able to add some extra exercise to the day!

So here is the adorable view I was able to see as I looked in my rear view mirror on the way up to NC!

Celebration South 2007!

We just returned on Monday from Celebration South 2007 which was held at the Word of Life Conference Center in Hudson, Florida! Steve, Reagan and I headed over there last Friday and had a wonderfully full 4 days worth of teaching, worship, fellowship and fun! Sydney was able to stay with her Citi and Grandpappy, and from the likes of all of her babbling since we picked her up, she had a great time as well!!

Friday evening began with worship and a message by Brent Detwiler. The entire theme of the conference was on reconciliation - our reconciliation with the Lord, with one another and there was even a specific message and time of ministry for teens and their parents. Brent spoke on justification and election, Danny spoke during our missions night (which was amazing by the way!) and Jerry Cisar gave an outstanding message on peacemaking amongst one another. They are all messages I want to hear again and again! By Monday afternoon I felt like I had sat down at a table that was set with a feast and I felt like my heart and soul were fed morning, noon and night!

We were able to spend so much time as a family, which for me was a huge blessing especially during this season. With Steve traveling so much and trying to finish up school, it was nice to have time with no work, no school, no yard, etc.! We had an absolute blast watching Reagan running around more hyper than we've ever seen before! Her favorite part of Celebration...staying in our "new home" - the Days Inn!!!! She also loved her class, making crafts, singing worship songs, watching the puppet show, racing Brianna, the popsicles, having a pop tart for a snack, and swimming in the pools!

OH, and I know I never finished posting while Steve was gone this last trip! My computer is growing old and losing its steam! Hopefully my new one will be here in the next 2 weeks! (Hopefully sooner!!) I'll try to post when it is working!

Daddy: Urgent Note from Reagan

Daddy, I think you better hurry home! Mommy and Grannie started shopping today!!

Oh, and thank you for our punching balls. Sydney has an orange one and I picked a blue one. They are so fun and we both can punch them hard! Mommy said she'll blow the other 2 up tomorrow for us!

FRIDAY'S BIG EVENT...PANCAKE PICNIC!

Oops, I forgot to post last night! Yesterday we kept it low-key again during the day. When JJ got home from work she let Reagan help her make chocolate chip cookies and pancakes!

So, during a very loud thunderstorm we had the Perfect Pancake Picnic! We had gingerbread pancakes with this super yummy cranberry, apple & something else sauce on it. Let's just say "OH MY"!! It was a lot of fun and Reagan really enjoyed it! Sydney started eating more, too, which I was grateful for last night!

Daddy, Daddy, I'm Sending You A Note!

Reagan likes looking at different blogs with me and when I explained to her that I am posting lots this week so her Daddy can keep up with us, she wanted to send him a "note"!

The girls are eating dinner right now and Reagan is going to tell me what she would like me to post. Here goes. These are her original words!!! =)

I Love When My Daddy...

ummm...plays with me

ummm...I like when he eats dinner with me

and I like when he plays something new

I like all those things.

ummm...I like when he watches movie with me. I like it when both of ya watch a movie with me.

I like when he ummm plays with me.

I like when he giggles with me.

I like when he gets me donuts.

I like when he teaches me to swim and when he splashes me.

I'm all done with Daddy now I want to blog you.

Ummm...I like when you read me a story.

I like when you help Sydney.

I like when play with me and make dinner because it's so good.

Ummm...I like when you put me on a movie and stuff and make lunch.

I like when you put me in the bed.

So that's all about mommy. =)

I like when Sydney plays me and that's all about her.

Buttons and Switches Galore!

Steve is in Jacksonville, NC putting together a simulator at the base there. He and Ben are working many hours and things are starting to come together. Here are some pictures of what they are doing and what they have to have working by the end of November!

This is an action shot inside the cockpit of the trainer...
This is where Ben and Steve are living most of the time right now. This is the little box that is like 56 degrees inside. Where Ben is sitting is where the instructor sits during the training...
This is kind of what you see out the window of the trainer. They have all the lights on in this photo and they will only have one projector turned on that is not set up correctly yet. It will look really cool when it is all done....

Some of the knobs and buttons they have to get working. All of these have to work!!...
More buttons and breakers on the ceiling of the helo...
Ben working...
Steve looking at a night scene while sitting in the trainer...

Slowing Down

Today we had a MUCH slower day than the last couple. We stayed home and just lounged around most of the day. JJ and I even managed to watch a movie in the middle of the day! Not a normal midday occurrence around here! The girls were pretty tired and Sydney had a low grade fever this morning when she woke up, so I thought it would be good to just hang out in the cool A/C! I also thought she was just teething. When I went to wake Sydney up from her nap she was burning up. She had a 104.4 temperature. The doctor wanted to see her so we headed up there about 5:30 PM! Poor little girl had to have a catheterization which was no fun for either of us. Thankfully while the nurses and I were taking care of her, the doctor on call was letting Reagan play in her office! What a blessing to have such sweet, caring doctors. Sydney has a really red throat and a virus, but thankfully that's all. No strep, and nothing else either. Praise the Lord! So, it looks like the rest of our week has just become a lot more laid back! We'll be hanging out around the house and praying that Reagan doesn't come down with the virus. Sydney hardly ate or drank anything today, so please just pray she will at least drink a lot of fluids tomorrow. We don't want her to get dehydrated.

A Busy Day!

Today was quite a busy, fun-filled day! This morning when Reagan and Sydney were eating breakfast Steve called and sent Reagan on a hunt for a gift he had left her. I don't think I've seen her move that fast in a while!! She found her new Hi Ho Cheery-O game and it kept her busy 'til we left the house about lunch time! Sydney became a little possessive of new book her Daddy left for her, too. They were so cute playing with their new toys!

We packed up and headed to Dena's for lunch. Reagan was so excited to play with Mia and Ella and I so enjoyed visiting with my sweet friend! I went to get my hair done (Yippee!) and then came back to pick up the girls. Reagan did not want to leave her friends, but we had other adventures to finish out the day with! We ran home, made dinner and went to visit some of our other friends! Reagan and Sydney loved playing until 9 PM - yes, they went strong all day long and were absolutely wonderful for me! We had a wonderful time visiting and by the time we were out of their neighborhood the girls were passed out in the backseat. They didn't even budge once we arrived home!

For about the last year or so Reagan has had so much fun finding things she can do to help me around the house. This week she has been particularly interested in helping me in the kitchen! So yesterday morning she cracked the eggs and helped me make breakfast. Today I found out she is an excellent green-bean-snapper! Which is good news for me! I don't really enjoy that, so she has won herself a new job in the kitchen! It's amazing to me what a 3 year-old can help with...and she enjoys it! It is exciting for her! I love using it as an opportunity to encourage her in serving and thank her for what a big helper she is to me!

Here she is snapping beans...

While He's Away...

Steve is away working, so while he's away we are going to post a little snippet of what we do so he can keep up with us! Please be praying that he will have a productive trip and they will get so much working on the simulator by the time he comes home!

Tonight we had a yummy dinner at Citi and Grandpappy's. Reagan and Sydney played, watched Toy Story and then curled up with Grandpappy for a couple of good bedtime stories...