Common Ground

Lately  Logan  needs some grown-up eyes to attend his evening fishing trips on the beach.
Here is what I do:

...and this is what he does:

It is so calm and beautiful while the sun is setting, and I thoroughly enjoy my quiet time embroidering letters on.

At water's edge, rest in the serenity of His promises...

I know nothing about fishing, but that's okay.  Logan doesn't need me for that.

I have come to look forward to this time of the day.  We don't even talk that much, but we have found a common ground.

The ocean brings both of us peace.

These photos make me happy.

“The waves of the sea

Help me get back to me.”
-Jill Davis

 

"One learns first of all in beach living the art of shedding; how little one can get along with, not how much."

- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Some Family Pix

These pictures would be perfect if Carson were in them, but he was away on another trip.

When I was looking through them last night I was filled with such a deep love for my family.  I am so proud of them.  So proud to be Mike's wife, so proud to be these kids Momma.

I know it's corny, but I get carried away so easily with the day to day that sometimes I forget how blessed I am.

I hope you are feeling blessed too...Have a wonderful day.
xo,
Chrissie

Our lovely vacay

We are home from our yearly trip to the beach.
I got up this morning and did my last walk on the beach, taking some photos as I did almost every day.
We are so blessed that we can make this trip every year.

I must go tackle a mountain of laundry and do some grocery shopping.
See you soon:)

Guess what I learned to do today? (sort of...)

I know I look like a total dork, but man, I had fun!

“Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.”

-Alan Alda

Boogie Boarding

If I looked up joy in the dictionary of my life, this little's girl face would be there...

It doesn't matter how many waves she catches,

she laughs and giggles every time.

She is so proud to be a surfer girl like Daddy and her brothers.

Joy.

One of many memories I will always treasure.

Footprints

One night I had a dream--I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord and across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints, one belonged to me and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of my life flashed before me,I looked back at the footprints in the sand.I noticed that many times along the path of my life,there was only one set of footprints.I also noticed that it happened at the very lowestand saddest times in my life. This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,you would walk with me all the way,but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my lifethere is only one set of footprints. "I don't understand why in times when I needed you most,you should leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child,I love you and I would never, never leave youduring your times of trial and suffering. "When you saw only one set of footprints,it was then that I carried you."...Mary Stevenson

My Summer Surroundings

I've never participated in this before, but I found her blog through Kammy's blog. I love all the beautiful summer surroundings. Here are some of mine right now...

We love to find the tiny shell wings...

Here you see the storm clouds coming in over the blue skies...
We call this brain coral. I don't know the scientific name...

Palm tree silhouettes... Sea grass...

Some sort of pods. I think they are so interesting looking.

The beach is beautiful...

I love God's handiwork.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

xo,

Chrissie

Slowing Down (and summer reads)

My Mom took the kids and I on a weekend get-away to the West coast beaches this weekend.

I love to watch the kids at the beach. It forces me to slow down. There is nothing to clean. I can't cook. There is no art on the beach. No television or ipods. Just the sea, the sand, and us.

Jax was listening for the ocean in a shell!;)

Ava likes to pour water in and out of various buckets. Add a shovel, a barbie doll, and some shells, and she's occupied for a good two hours!

We are beach people. My grandparents took us to the beach every single summer growing up.

My husband is an avid surfer and loves the water.

We have raised our kids to love the beach.

And still...

every year I make my first swim out to the ocean with a little fear and trepidation.

I don't know exactly what I'm afraid of. Sharks maybe? Or being pulled under...

But as soon as I get out there, I remember what my older brother taught me as a little girl.

When the waves are big, swim under them. As soon as I do that a couple of times, I'm okay.

I'm instantly filled with some peace. I'm a mermaid again.

We are blessed to be going to the beach for the whole month of July. We will be back and forth to home a few times for some dance classes and doctor's appointments, but I'm going to take this month to try to slow down a little. Don't worry, I still bring my sewing machine and paint with me. I usually work on things at night while my littles are sleeping, so I'll still be posting pretty regularly. I've got a couple of new tutorials to share with you as well. But there will also be lots of doing nothing.

Now, I need your help. Any summer reads you can recommend? I need some good books to bring with me...

Happy Tuesday (and it's my 34th!!) How in the world did that happen?:)

xo,

Chrissie

The Power of a Praying Parent

They are not perfect, but we are blessed with very healthy, happy, well-adjusted kiddos. They are even smart, funny, and adorable (okay, I may be a little biased...:) However, they are the apples of my eye!

But lately, I've been worrying about my kids. I see the world around me and I want it to be kind to my kids.

I've been worrying about how they will fare in this world. Worrying that they will grow into compassionate, productive adults. Worrying that they will learn to stand up for themselves and do the right things. I worry that everyone will see what I see in them. That they will enjoy themselves and work hard. That they will remain safe and healthy and cared for.

With five kids we have five different personalities. Every child needs something different. I worry that I don't give them all they need. I try, but I am human. I know I will inevitabley fail them in some way. My biggest prayer is that they always know that we are family, and know what unconditional love is. That they know that we will always be there for them. That they know they always have God on their side.

So to ease my mind and soften my heart, I have been reading The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian. Sometimes my mind cannot conjure up the words I am feeling, but I can read some of these prayers and I feel like it has already been articulated for me. This book is divided up with prayers that are appropriate for all age levels, from infant to adult. One of my favorite prayers from the book is for parents:

I believe, I hope, I pray. I know we are doing our best. I am so grateful for everything we have.Does anyone else go through this? What do you do when parenting becomes a little overwhelming?

It was a Gorgeous day!

I told you before that we are a family of beach bunnies. Today was Jax's first time at the beach. He loved the sand and his hat!

Sissy made lots and lots of sand castles...

Logan had his skinboard out in the water before I even had my flip-flops off!

Ashton didn't care that the water was 62 degrees...no sir-ree...

I hope your weekend was as lovely as ours:)