{Santa Rosa Beach}

Just a warning...tons of photos in this post.  I did try to downsize them, for those of you with dial-up. *Hi, Mom* :)

We stayed at this lovely little 'bungalow'.  Perfect for a small family, with 2 bedrooms upstairs that opened onto a deck.

The Beach was within walking distance, but I only tried that once, since we took Gobs of stuff out to the beach.  Much easier to drive. :)

Couldn't hardly keep Avery out of the water...they did warn of rip tides, so I was afraid to let her go very far out.  Not a whole lot of relaxing time to lay in the sun with a wild one to watch. :)

And, yes, she ate lots of sand.  You would think after the first time, they would get it that it's nasty and gritty.  Nope, let's try it again.

Sunday afternoon, we got the children dressed cute and went out to the beach, hoping for Christmas card photos...not happening.  No one wanted to look, or smile, or cooperate.  So, this mama gave it up. I was disappointed, though.

A kind lady offered to take a picture for us.  And her camera was exactly like mine! We thought that was neat. :)

Yes, the water is really that blue.  And as clear as you can get it.

Saturday, we went to Bass Pro to satisfy the men of the family.  The rest of us enjoyed it, too...we were just done looking long before they were!  Barnes and Noble was alot more fun. :)

They had this cool 'tube thing' that you could walk into to see the fish in the tank.  The children loved it!

Feeding the seagulls...

The weather was just absolutely perfect!  Warm (70-80), sunny and a little breeze.  Not a cloud in the sky and not a drop of rain to be seen.

Ring-around-the-rosie

Palms along the road by Rosemary Beach.  There were no amusement parks, fast food places, big motels, etc. that you often find along the beach.  This is a beautiful place with alot of private homes, little shops and cafes.

That is pure, white sand, at least 3 ft. thick.  When the tide comes in, this little inlet gets full of water.  When it goes out, you can walk across it to the other side.

Gorgeous sunset.

These little guys exasperate me sometimes, but I sure do love them! And truth be told, they probably wish for a different mommy sometimes, too. :)

And that's the end of vacation.  Amazing how fast time goes by.  I would LOVE to go again for a month.  Ok, that's a serious dream there, since that would not ever happen, but maybe when I'm old and retired. :)  Problem is, will it be as much fun then?  Hmm, I don't want to ponder that too long, I'm not ready to be old and alone.  Guess I'll go enjoy my children. :)

~Amber

 {Anticipation}

While we are waiting to head to the beach, I decided to take time to blog...most everything is packed, but I want to clean up the house, yet.  I do hate coming home from vacation to a house in clutteration.  I made up that word.  We're planning to leave at 6 in the morning.   The children played so well today!  I heard very little out of them, while I packed.

Thank you to all of you who responded to my last questions!  I certainly don't have all the answers, but loved reading your thoughts.  Still not sure that my brain is clear enough to sort it all out.  I'm so thankful that we are not living under the law, but we have been made free by Jesus' blood! Praise the Lord!  I also believe that we can put ourselves under another 'law' by making the church's standards more important than the condition of the heart.  And I know, "What's inside comes out".  I believe that too.  But, when we see someone, who is 'on the line', are we concerned about their heart?  Or more concerned that they 'look right'?  So often we/I think that if someone looks/dresses right, then they are ok.  I have no concern for them if they 'look right'.  I also believe that there are alot of people in the Menn. church, who are godly in dress only.  And that bothers me alot.  I think that in a perfect world, we wouldn't need any guidelines in church.   But, we aren't perfect and I think some of that is good.  It can give security, but too much focus on that and it can make us lazy.  We don't bother thinking about if something is right or wrong for us to do.  We go by what the 'little white book' says.  God may call us to live above and beyond what is in that book!  Follow Jesus, is all I know to say. =)  I know I didn't cover all the questions, but that's all I can think today.

We have been loving this weather!  The children have been playing outside and trying to sneak out barefooted...

Gotta love jackets and bare feet

Poor Avery...her hair is in the eyes most of the time...and she doesn't care.

One day we drove past the cotton fields...Carson was so intrigued. 

He's been singing "High Cotton" ever since.  No idea who taught him that.

We planted turnip greens in the garden for the winter and the children like to go out and eat it.  Brooklyn was trying to feed some to Avery, but she soon discovered those little teeth are vicious!

Avery bit her!

These crazy chickens come up and look in my back door. 

Brooklyn wanted to lick the bowl from the banana pudding...I'll tell you an awesome recipe if you like bananas.  Paula Deen's "It ain't yo mama's banana pudding".  Google it.

She's her mama's girl.  I'd have licked the bowl myself, if she wouldn't have.

Avery is very much into books and plays by herself alot!

These 2 keep me smiling.  

And the buck of the week.

I'd have cleaned his mouth up a little, but he didn't seem too concerned.

Last week, Carson gave us a good laugh.  Well, alot of them, actually, but I'll tell you one of them.  We stopped beside the road to look at deer, and he said,

"Dad, is it a buck or a heifer?"

Have a good week!  I plan to! =)

~Amber

{A very belated post}

I don't even know where to begin... Some of the things I've been thinking about:

• How do we become thankful for the hard times?
• Why do we tell people "Life isn't fair"?
• How do you distinguish between 'religious' and 'spiritual'?
• Can a person have a false spirituality?
• Do church standards limit the working of the Holy Spirit?
• Are we still living under the law or are we really free?

Yeah, my thoughts have been all over the board.  Sometimes my head feels to full to think anymore.   Which is one of the reasons I haven't been updating...sometimes, it's just too hard to think. 

So, what are your thoughts?  I hope to have a follow up post later. 

Brooklyn sees Carson in the tree and wants to get up so badly!

She tries the little trike, but it's not high enough...

Waaa!

This is higher, maybe I can reach...

VICTORY!

Whatever you're facing this week, keep trying!

*************************************************************************

The mighty hunter

Sisters~Best Friends

A wanderer's thoughts...

If I could give advice to youth today, I would tell them:  Get out! Live! Experience new cultures! Eat food you don't think you would like.  Spend time in other countries.  There's more to life than getting married and raising children.  Don't get me wrong, those are good, too.  But, I can't stand the thought of youth never traveling, never seeing a world beyond their back door, being content to do what everyone else does.  I am so thankful that my parents allowed me to go to Asia when I was 18!  It was an amazing experience!  And it makes me wish for more. 

The first time I studied the book by Debi Pearl, "Created to be his helpmeet", I thought, 'Whew! I'm glad Paul isn't a 'Mr. Visionary'!  I would hate to be uprooted because he got a notion to move somewhere else.  Now?  I think I may have a little of Mrs. Visionary in me. :)  I have a huge urge to move somewhere, to be involved with needy people in some way.  We waste so much time trying to 'maintain' where we're at.  I never wanted to move becuase this is where I grew up.  What all have I missed already?  Opportunities that may never be there again!  I told Paul if he wants to move somewhere, I'll start packing.  In my mind I'm thinking, "There are more houses than ours, there are other jobs, there are other groups of Christians to fellowship with..."  He's thinking, "Where will we live, where will I work, etc...." 

Maybe God has brought us through an extremely difficult year to make us willing to go somewhere else.  I don't know.  But, I do hope that I see opportunities when they are in front of me.  And I'm trusting God to show us where He wants us.

Edited to add: I did not mean to imply that Paul doesn't want to go anywhere else. That's not true at all. He is just more cautious than I. And probably for a good reason, since he is the provider and the head of this little family. :)