THE BEACH!!!!
May 12th, 2008I don’t know about all of you non-Southerners, but it’s Summer time down here already. And Summer means, swimming pools and the beach! I personally won’t be trying for a tan this year for two good reasons. First.. I’ve decided that I’d rather have healthy skin than sun-damaged skin. Secondly, I’m on a medicine that creates higher photo sensitivity so I’m more susceptible to sunburn anyways.
Walter and Debra recently bought a little place from a family friend down in Fairhope which is close to Mobile. It’s just a small single-wide trailer in a private park, but it’s a really affordable way to take a break from life up here. Unfortunately, most of their trips so far have just been for maintenance. But this week, we finally get to go down for long enough to call it a real vacation. Debra and Amanda left yesterday after church with Ethan and the girls. I’ll be joining them next week.
Ever since we decided on doing this weeks ago, the girls have been really excited, but as the day got as close as it did this past weekend, it was nothing but begging for time to go faster, and squealing with excitement whenever we talked about it. Saturday, Chris was laying down and was half asleep. I was fixing the girls’ lunch and asked them, “Where are you going tomorrow?” “THE BEACH,” the screamed. It scared Chris to death! Then all day during the Mother’s Day program yesterday, Lydia kept persisting, “Momma… is church almost over, I want to go to the beach.” Even when we came home to change clothes and finish packing up, they were continuing in their lack pf patience, though gracefully. Finally Mae-Mae pulled up and honked, and a hurricane of girls rared up in the living room and began to make it’s way out the door with kisses and hugs and squealing until finally coming to rest in the back seat of Amanda’s Expedition. Even then they were wired with excitement. Chris and I are missing them already, but it hasn’t reached the miserable stage yet.
Next week, I’ll be going down for just a couple for days, and then coming back with the girls early while Debra and Amanda take a few more days by themselves and Ethan. I’m coming home early, because Mom, Dad and the kids are coming out for a little visit on Thursday. This will be a short relief for chris since he’ll finally have his girls back, but when Mom and Dad leave Sunday, they are taking the girls with them! It’s not that we want to girls to be gone so much, it just so happens that two chances to visit and vacation are back to back like this.
While Mom and Dad are here, we’re planning on going to the McWane center. Then on Sunday at church, we’re having a special outdoor service. We’re going to set up instruments and a PA system on the front poor of our church and set up chairs and tents in the church yard. We’re going to grill hot dogs and have refreshments. We’re making flyers and inviting the community to come out and join us. Even if we don’t have a big turnout, the point is to make a mark on the community, by doing something public right in our area. Mom, Dad, and the kids are the special guest, and we’ll having singing while everyone eats. Then we’ll gather everyone’s attention and Dad will do some preaching, or whatever other kind of exhortation he’d like to give. It’s going to be fun, and the whole church is really looking forward to it.
