Beach Trip Number 2!!

We were sooo blessed and fortunate to be able to go to the beach not once, but TWICE this September! We had a week at home inbetween and the second trip was with Brandon's side of the family.
Definitely a smaller group, but oh so fun! :)

Brandon had the ENTIRE week off of work! It was his first true vacation with this job so it was wonderful that he didn't have to carry his work phone around with him all the time and he was able to just enjoy NOT working all week.

The only downside was that Brandon got sick. He felt like he had pneumonia coming on and he felt LOUSY just about all week. Even on his birthday :/. He had a cough, fever, headache and was so fatigued. Thankfully he is on the mend now!

We went to the Sand Dunes one day....and hiked up the huge dunes. It was beautiful!! To your left you could see the Sound and to the right-the ocean!

The ocean was different on this section of the beach. It's amazing how just a few miles can make such a difference. More shells and the water came up higher and there wasn't such a steep drop off. There was also hardly any other people on the beach! :)

There was also ALOT more wind to be felt that week. Sometimes it was painful when you went on a walk and the wind whipped up every few minutes and stung you with sand!  Not very fun, but hey, it was the beach.  And I would probably do it again :)

There was lots of sand castles being built by Ken and Corban. :)
We were also once again blessed with beautiful weather for the whole week. Even the rainy day was gorgeous in it's own way. As my dad says, "any type of weather is okay at the beach" :)

We will have to remember to make a little kiddy pool like this next year when we bring our little baby with us! It's such a clever idea!

I just loved the sunsets while there. God is just so creative!!

Brandon celebrated his birthday on the last full day we had at the beach. He is 25 now! Crazy. :)
We went out for lunch at 5 Guys Burgers and Frys and had a dinner at the house with his new birthday gift-hot sauce :)

This was the last morning there. SO gorgeous!!!

 Erika, Jeff, Corban, Hannah, Ken, LouAnne, Brandon and I

It was such a wonderful week and I can't wait to go again next year! :) (Next time with a 10 month old baby!)

Before we left for the beach for the first time, we got some sad, yet joyful news. The lady that my family took in over two years ago, Miss Martin, passed away early Tuesday or Wednesday(?) morning. It was something we all knew was coming, but it still came suddenly to me.

There she is :)
She was so precious. And lived such an amazingly prayerful life. She always told me she was praying for Brandon and I and the baby.
Before she went Home, she always asked me how the baby was doing and that she couldn't wait to meet him/her, but she really hoped she would go see Jesus too. She got to see ultrasound pictures but wasn't going to meet this little one in person. I am so happy she is PAIN free and with our Jesus.
Even though I miss her.

The funeral/celebration was on Saturday, the day before we left for the beach. 
I haven't been to my familys house since she has been gone, so I know that first time will be strange. Not getting to go into her room and give her a hug and a kiss on the forehead and just sit and talk with her.
But I am happy.
She was such a sweet heart and my mother is a saint. She gave up and sacrificed so much to take care of her every single day for  2 1/2 years.

We love you Miss Martin and I can't wait to see you again one day soon!!

Beach trip number 1!

September 2-8 Brandon and I went to Nags Head, NC with my family for the week.

The week was so relaxing and quite alot of fun. Brandon had to bring his work with him, but was able to have a few slow days/afternoons so he was able to enjoy the beach. He had Labour day off so that was an entire free day for him.

Bobby and Bency were able to join us with their precious baby, Zachary. Bobby had to work as well, and dad did a few things work related too, so everyonce in a while they all three worked "together". :)

I reallly took it easy that week. I got up to see the sunrise once, maybe twice? :P I also slept til 8 or so almost every morning besides the mornings I got up for the sunrise. It was great :)

Usually, around 9-10 AM everyone would head down to the beach to play in the waves, sand or just relax.

We were blessed with such great weather that whole week! Even when they called for rain it was no big deal. It would rain for a few minutes and then clear up amazingly after that. So we were able to enjoy alot of good quality time in the sun.

Several of the days the yellow flags were up and rightfully so. It meant that the currents were strong and dangerous. Even though the flags were up we still went in the water, but were careful to not go too far out.

It's amazing how little balance I had at the beach. I was easily knocked down by waves, but being IN the water was so very relaxing. Nothing hurt or was sore, it just relaxed my body.

Mom was able to do quite alot of letter writing :)
Every night each couple would take turns making the meal for the clan. We did a Mexican casserole with mashed potatoes and green beans with a yummy dessert. The last night  was the traditional shish-ka-bobs.
Dad and Brandon did those :)

One day all of us girls also went on our annual thrift store hunt. We hit about 6 different consignment /thrift stores in a few hours. We found some pretty good deals :)

Brandon's little sister, Hannah was able to come to the beach with us for a week. Everyone loved having her there :)
We really missed having Maddie, Stephanie and Zach at the beach with us this year. Maybe next time we will be able to ALL go :)

We spent times hanging out, playing games and going out for late night coffee and much more.

Over all it was such an enjoyable week. And God was so good and kept everyone safe while we were there.

Next post will be beach trip number TWO! :)

Sister Maternity Shoot

Back in July our friend Kelsey graciously took a few photos of all three of us sisters while we were still pregnant. It's so neat that we were/are able to share in many of the same experiences at the same time!

Stephanie gave birth a month after these pictures were taken and Amy Joy will probably do the same any day now! :)

So far, we know that out of the three of us there is a boy and a girl. The third and last (mine) is unknown for another month or so. Can't wait to find out whether our sweet baby is a boy or girl.

I love that there will be three cousins with in three months of age running around in the next year or two! Kinda crazy :)

of life

I have tried posting sooo many times on this poor blog. Every time I would click "new post" I would get a blank page with the Blogger symbol in the top left hand corner. That's it.

So, I gave up for a while. The thought of trying a different browser other than Chrome never even occurred to me. Until Brandon mentioned it and until I remembered it just now. :P

And lookie here, it works. :)

I have several posts that I want to do, but it's too late at night for me to be sitting here in front of the computer uploading pictures and making multiple posts on my blog, so those photo posts will wait til tomorrow or Thursday. Or maybe both. :)

I've been doing alot of letter writing recently, and have caught up at last! Now the letters are starting to arrive in my mailbox so I need to keep up with them this time around. :) My mother is the one who inspired me to finally tackle my stack of letters to respond to. You should definitely check out her blog for some inspiration.

Today I led the girls meeting, that my friend Samara and I lead together, by myself. We had a wonderful two hours together today laughing, playing games, eating food, talking about memorizing scripture and praying. These are all girls that go to our church and are in the 14-18 age group. They are such a delight to be around. We were challenged to memorize Psalms 103:8-14 by the next time we meet. I paired everyone up with a buddy, so we are inspired encouraged to keep at it.  I love that passage tho-wouldn't it be a great one to be able to pull out of your mind at any time of day? I am looking forward to memorizing that passage and more to come!

I am also 32 weeks pregnant. It's kinda surreal to think that in 6-8 weeks we could have a teeny-tiny baby around here. I have officially gained 36 pounds and I am not even 140lbs yet! But I definitely weigh the most I have ever weighed in my life. Feels weird. My midwife is very pleased though with my weight gain and told me today that usually from here on out she usually sees women  fluctuate with their weight gain and so I might not really gain anymore. She thinks I have gained just about all I will gain. I am ok with that. :)

This week is Brandon and I's off week from the beach. :) It's okay, you can be jealous.
We went from Sunday to Saturday this past week with my family to Nags Head, NC, and this coming Saturday to Saturday we will be spending a week with Brandon's side of the family in Kitty Hawk, NC. I love the beach, but I also love my mountains. Driving home from the beach on Saturday we saw the most spectacular sunset right as we were getting back into mountain land-and that sealed it for me. There is just nothing that compares to the mountains.

Well, I want to get back to my book and get a heating pad on my back before I head to bed. More updates to follow :)