Under Construction

If you have known us a while, you may know that we started (or rather I) a blog during our adoption of Maria. The site I used was not a true blog site. And that shows when I look back at it. (www.geocities.com/hunterjsmom) Anyway, about a year or more ago, the site I used (geocities through yahoo) raised the cost a little for maintaining the site. It isn't a lot, but it seemed silly to pay when I am using blogger for free. However, life got busy. And so did I. Well, I just got a notice that geocities is going to change to a new site, and that is my incentive. So slowly (and painstakingly) I am moving the posts over to blogger (they are going under their original date which is why I have posts for 2006 even though I didn't start on here until 2007). It is a slow process but I hope to get it done before school starts. Then I will shut the old site down...save a few bucks. All that to say, if you get any updates on "new posts", it may or may not show a BUNCH of new posts. Well, they are new to blogger but not new but rather recycled for me. :) It has been kind of fun reading them as I transfer. I had forgotten just how many emotions I dealt with in our adoption of Maria. And yet we chose to do it again...

More tomorrow...
Reba

The Lazy Days of Summer...

Okay, so not really. It is never "lazy" around here though I try. We actually have a very full schedule for the next few weeks of doctor appointments, garage sale (and the prep that goes into that), music camp, visiting with friends, etc. However, the last couple of days we have enjoyed some lazier days at home.

Joshua has really been into his blocks recently. He likes to build. (and then knock it down of course) His blocks are foam for those times he gets a little frustrated and decides to toss them across the room or at his mother. :) And many bear teethmarks. But he has fun with them anyway. He actually builds some neat things; maybe he is a future architect? Anyway, the last couple of days, Hunter has wanted some playtime with Joshua...no girls allowed. And the second picture is a building they built together. I had to snap the picture quickly because Joshua was itching to knock it all down...

Oh, before I forget, I have to mention the pacifier. When we first met Joshua just about this time two years ago, he was using a pacifier which is actually very rare in Guatemala for babies. I was thrilled. Pacifiers are so much easier to give up than thumbs. When we picked him up at 8 months, he was no longer using the pacifier. Well, apparently Joshua didn't need it. When he woke up (which was several times a night), he was used to having a bottle put in his mouth. Our family doesn't function quite like that, so we reintroduced the pacifier. It became Joshua's friend. His best buddy. We only let him have it in bed, so he would run to bed each night, excited about his pacifier. He had a name for it, but I have no idea how to spell the word he used. Anyway, I have thought for a while we needed to give it up. It was around the age of two that our dentist gently told me that Lauren needed to quit the pacifier before it hurt her teeth. I decided with Joshua to wait until after the trip. When we got home, he was SOOO tired, I thought it would be a cinch for him to go to sleep without it. Unfortunately for me, there was an extra one sitting out on his chest of drawers. He spotted it just as I said "No more pacifier, pacifier bye bye". I quickly hid it, but there was a moment of wailing. I patted his back and he rolled over to go to sleep. The next morning when I got him up, he told me, "Pacifier bye bye". He told his daddy later that day. He asked for it one time and that is it. I was afraid it was going to be very traumatic. It wasn't. It has just been very matter of fact. If only all of parenting's trials were that easy to solve...

Anyway, today for a brief while (and I do mean brief), my kids were playing together...nicely. All four of them. I was in my bathroom getting cleaned up. I heard them over the monitor. They were playing in Joshua's room, alternating between animal games and playing "family". For just a little bit, there was no crying, no screaming, no tattling, no children hanging on my leg. I wanted to freeze time.

However, had I frozen time, I would have missed the evening. It was my turn to take Lauren to gymnastics (she is getting SOOO much better on the balance beam). Afterward, we picked Hunter up at my mom's house then headed home. Mark was making tacos...yum. I threw together some homemade salsa (double yum), and we had a nice little fiesta. Everyone eats tacos, even Hunter, the "I don't eat Mexican food because I got sick once" kid. It was very tasty. Then we went for a family walk around the neighborhood. Well, some of us walked. Hunter rode his scooter, Lauren her bike, and Joshua was pushed around in a stroller. Because of the hills in our neighborhood, it truly is a workout to walk it. When we got home, we made some snow cones and headed to the back yard to eat them. Snow cones are my new pampering tool...I sometimes sneak into the kitchen after the kids are in bed and make one for myself. :) Afterwards, we tried to catch (I use that term loosely...it was more like "watch") fireflies and played with a poor terrified toad on our patio. Later, everyone went in but Hunter and me. We watched the sky and stars. We didn't have terribly deep conversation, but we just enjoyed that time and the view. It was just one of those almost perfect summer nights (other than a meltdown or two by various children). And again, I just wanted to freeze time. I know we won't always have nights like that. But for just tonight, we enjoyed it.

I better get to bed. I have been challenged by a friend about quiet times. What do I usually do when I wake up in the morning? Turn my computer on. What should I be doing? Starting my day off with the Word rather than the words of Facebook. I am trying to get back on track. Hold me accountable!

More later.

Reba

Quick Prayer Requests

I have two prayer requests this morning. Both involve young men named Jeremy. One Jeremy has been dealing with cancer for quite a while. He has had some recent setbacks and has to be in the hospital right now. Please pray for his pain to go away and that he can be at home. He and his wife have an amazing strength that awes me. I am praying for God's healing touch for him. The other Jeremy was just diagnosed with cancer. He is young, married, has young kids. I doubt that cancer was on their life plan...is it ever? Again, they both have a strength and faith that awes me. He is having surgery this morning to have a "port" put in that will make his cancer treatments easier. Please pray for them as they start this "new normal" in their life. God has shown Himself in amazing ways already as far as their doctors, timing, etc. Please pray for his complete healing and for the testimony they have throughout this experience.

Thanks!

Young Entrepeneurs

On the trip, L. brought along a Nintendo DS (something I myself had thought of getting at times). Hunter and Lauren LOVED it. They would beg him all the time to play it. Suddenly their Leapsters didn't hold the same appeal. So of course, their question on the way home (not a smart thing to do when facing the costs of vacation) was "Can I have a Nintendo DS?"

In the past I have always said, "Add it to your Christmas list." (Hunter informed me he has before and still never received it.) However, this time I said, "Well, save up for it!" They looked a bit shocked to hear such foreign advice, but they started making plans...

Monday morning, I was groggy and just trying to figure out where I was (as in home, no longer at the beach...). Hunter was already busy making a sign to offer some products and services. He was offering to do detective work, sharpen pencils, and sell candy. Then Lauren got involved and decided to sell seashells (which I cannot say fast for anything) too. They set a table up outside and waited for customers.

I will admit. I am going to be honest here. I cringed a little. I wondered, "What will the neighbors think?" I don't know why I was a little embarrassed...I did these things as a kid too. I guess it is because I always feel guilty when I drive by little stands in our neighborhood and don't stop. I didn't want anyone else to feel that same guilt. (I rarely have cash on me and usually if I am going, I need to be somewhere fast...) Plus, I know it doesn't sound too noble to raise money for a DS as compared to charities and such. (Both kids do have generous hearts though and have contributed in their own ways throughout their young years) But...it is what it is.

Regardless of all my doubts, I didn't stop them, though I suggested that the candy might not last long in the sun. And it did end up in the fridge not long afterward. :) But as the morning progressed, business started to pick up. Know what the best seller was? Shells. They sold well. Oh, the shells were not from our recent trip but past trips. Anyway, a little while later, L. came over with some lemonade, and the kids sold that too. I got tickled when L.'s mom and I were talking via Facebook. She said that L. had just come in and said Hunter had given L. a 25 minute lunch break. (I informed Hunter later that I was pretty sure law dictated a full half hour :)

In the end, the kids made $18.50. I think some of our neighbors were a bit generous in their payments. I suggested that they needed to give L. some money for the lemonade, but they insisted that he insisted that wasn't necessary. Wasn't that sweet?

A bigger shocker than selling shells by the sidewalk was that they decided together to go in TOGETHER to buy a DS to share. Really? Did they really decide that together? I was shocked. I told them they would have to have a plan for sharing, and they informed me they were already thinking about that. Lauren even told me that she got to choose the color as long as it wasn't pink (per Hunter's request). So I went from embarrassment/discomfort to a little bit of joy in knowing that my two oldest children were working together for a common goal. That is a rare thing around here!

They have a ways to go to get enough money. We are going to reinstate allowances which we have been miserable about paying in the last two years which should help. And I have informed the kids that at our upcoming garage sale, any money they make from their toy sales is theirs. Hopefully they will keep the momentum going and reach their goal together. (I did tell them I would buy them their first game once they bought one)

As for me, I am going to start keeping some change/small bills in my car...you just never know when you are going to pass a lemonade stand...

Reba

Nearing the End...

of our vacation photos that is...I think I have been putting off blogging about the last day because it is like saying goodbye to our beach all over again...sigh.

Since it was the last day, we decided to enjoy as much time as we could. The water was a little rough (red flag) but we decided it was our last chance. Red flag doesn't mean you CAN'T go out, you should just be cautious. And we were. Notice how green the water is though...it was beautiful the whole week. After our lake trip, Joshua decided that he had had enough of the water. He liked the lake much better...no waves. Here he was knocked down over and over again by the waves. He finally gave up and decided to hang out on the sand instead to play.

We spent part of the morning searching for shells and other wildlife. This was when I wished I had a snorkel/mask. I am pretty sure I saw more of those little sharks. Plus things kept brushing my foot... I did dig my net in the sand underwater at one point and pulled out a blob of jelly. Thankfully there were no tentacles. (We buried it anyway) That was the closest thing I saw to a jellyfish. That was a nice treat after last year where we saw them everywhere...
After a while, Lauren tired of the waves too and decided it would be more fun to build and create in the sand. So she got to work...

One little person was in a very foul mood. He was tired and not crazy about being out in the sand and sun. I finally asked him if he wanted to go night night. I rolled him up in a towel and he pretended to sleep...for about two minutes. He loves to pretend to sleep though he gives himself away with a smile every time!
One of the last times to hit the waves...Some of our townhouse neighbors were creating all sorts of things with sand (grown ups, very detailed) and one of the ladies spent some time with Maria and Lauren creating this turtle. It was so nice of her to do that...my job was keeping Joshua away who wants to do nothing more than jump in the middle of it!

L. also created his own sand creation...a whole fort I think. He also made an "A" for "Arkansas". :)

Maria enjoys a last romp in the water. She really enjoyed playing in it this year.
Later that day, the big kids went out to ride the waves one last time (and play in the sand) as well as visit the swimming pool while I stayed back with the other two. Then we went to dinner (seafood nachos...yum). Afterward, I promised the big kids one more time to crab hunt since rain had thwarted attempts the night before.
We saw several crabs but only caught a few. One was a good size (maybe the size of my fist) for crab hunting. I asked for volunteers to carry the bucket which was kind of shallow. Nobody. So being the mom, I picked it up and carried it. A few minutes later, I felt the contents of the bucket shifting on my arm...I knew what was happening. That big crab was crawling out. I screamed, dropped the bucket, and ran. I was not the only one to scream. :) Of course, Hunter's first response was, "Mom, why did you let it get away???" Sigh. I cannot win...
As we went back in to pack up for our departure the next morning, we all had a moment of silence to say farewell to the beach. Thanks for the memories!

Reba

Random Reba Thoughts from the Road

Okay, so I am not ON the road anymore. But these are random thoughts I had throughout our vacation that didn't necessarily fit into any of our daily updates (which I haven't quite finished)...

• One of the gifts the kids each received in their travel gift bag was a disposable camera. I number the gifts and made sure that one was given shortly before our arrival. The camera had 27 exposures on it. Before we even got into the beach area, Maria had taken all 27. I am pretty sure at least 25 were of L., Hunter's friend, sitting beside her...can't wait to get those developed. :)
• Things I missed while on vacation: recycling (I felt like such a terrible person throwing bottles and boxes away!), my pillow, wireless Internet, and my bathtub. I like to read in the bathtub. However, I have yet to find a beachplace with a reclining bathtub like my own. Things I didn't miss: cleaning up the house constantly, cooking (I actually like to do it but it is hard to do with J-man), and parenting on my own when Mark is at work. It is just nice to have a backup plan when I am tired of answering questions. :)
• I am hoping eventually we will get a beach house with my parents and my sister/family. I think that would be a neat time for all!
• We did laundry all the time there. I only brought back a few dirty clothes. I typically hate doing laundry, but for some reason, folding it while I looked out the back door to the beach made it more fun.
• When we took Hunter's friend L (a first for us to take someone else), I worried about whether their friendship could survive that much time together. They did very well and actually played together today. That is a good thing because they are going to be in the same class next year!
• Remember that debit card I lost two weeks ago? The store (where I last used it) called today to let me know they had it. Of course, I have cancelled it by now and got a new one instead. Oh well...
• On the way to Mississippi I got bored (southern Arkansas/Louisiana). So I decided to spend a couple dollars to buy Internet for my phone for the day. I got on Facebook and put that as a status, though I worded it "broke down and bought an Internet day pass for my phone...pathetic." The first couple responses were jokes about my Internet addiction. But apparently the broke down part (meaning my will) sounded like we broke down in our car because the next comments were asking whether we were on the road again. Sorry if I worried anyone...I never thought of it being taken that way!
• L's mom gave us a "treat bag" for our trip full of yummy snacks, bandaids (which we used), and children's tylenol (which I ended up using on the way home when a headache developed). I found out that I LOVE Chex Turtle bars. Yum!
• Joshua is not a good traveler. He just isn't. He doesn't sleep more than a cat nap (which is very different from what he does at home) and he demands attention constantly. I had downloaded my first movie to the i-Touch. I got a "girl" movie, and I couldn't wait to watch it. I rarely watch movies. I ended up having to stop it 20 or so times with questions, bathroom breaks, and most of all, a little boy screaming "Mommy!" over and over. The bad thing is that he has nothing to say. He just wants my undivided attention. I welcome advice on how to fix that one. Anyway, I ended up watching it later at Mark's parents' house after everyone went to bed. It is cool to watch one on there though. It is like having your own personal T.V. that fits in the palm of your hand.
• We ate seafood a lot in Destin and honestly I could eat it most every night. (I don't always get the same thing which helps) But I have yet to find hush puppies as good as Catfish Hole right here at home!
• We get asked a lot about our favorite beach. Not that we are beach experts. We have been to three beaches now. Our favorite beach by far is Destin. And specifically Santa Rosa beach which is where our townhouse was. It was beautiful and hardly populated...very quiet. Much different than our experience in Gulf Shores. Plus the sand is almost white and the water is a beautiful green/clear color. I have heard it is the closest thing to being in the Caribbean while in the States. We really like visiting the Gulf because the water is a bit calmer, usually is warm, and is fairly child friendly. The kids can go out several yards and still reach while standing. We loved our townhouse, but our favorite place we have stayed was the house in Galveston which I am guessing is gone now after the hurricane. I will say Gulf Shores food was our favorite as far as food goes, though I had some good meals in Destin. My favorite meal in Destin...Pompano Joe's. My favorite appetizer...toss up between sauteed crab claws (Pompano Joes) and the seafood nachos at Elmo's Grill. Oh, those things were delicious!
• When we asked the kids about their favorite parts of the trip, their responses were...Hunter (fishing at the lake and eating at Johnny Rockets), L. (kneeboarding), and Maria (splashing in the ocean). Okay, I will have to ask Lauren again. I do not remember what she said; I think it was going to the lake. My favorite part...looking out the window and seeing dolphins swimming along the shore. That was a first for us and it was breathtaking!
• Regrets: I wish I had seen a rainbow (we did last year). I should have taken a bag of peas when we went snorkeling. I wish I had brought a mask and snorkel to snorkel in the water right behind the townhouse. I know there were little sharks down there by my feet but they were hard to see since they hovered near the bottom of the water. I wish I had seen more dolphins and gotten good pictures of them. It wasn't for lack of trying! And I wish I had been a calmer mom one day when one of the children frustrated me. I just told my sister tonight that parenting is the hardest job I have ever done and it makes me feel like a failure unlike anything else in my life!
• One of Joshua's newest "tricks" is to say "Hush!" as he holds his finger up to his lips. Oh, wait, did I say "say"? It is to SCREAM "HUSH" over and over while he holds his finger up to his lips.

I am sure there is more but that is all I can do for now. I am wiped out. I still have a little more to blog about the trip but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Nighty night!

Reba

Walking on Sunshine...

Okay, I had a patriotic background for about 12 hours. And it isn't that I don't love patriotic backgrounds...I do. It just felt kind of strange posting about the beach without a beach background. So patriotic will wait. :)...

As for the title, I tend to view life through music. Not sure why since I am as nonmusical as they come. But this song was running through my mind as I downloaded pictures.

I apologize in advance. I am sure (if anyone is reading) you are sick of vacation pics. I know I take too many pictures. I cannot seem to help myself. I love the beach. I love my kids. And I treasure those pictures and the memories they hold. Well, after our snorkeling adventure and another seafood meal at Bayou Bill's, we dressed up a little bit and went out to the beach for a picture taking session (a very unprofessional one...not fancy like last year) on the beach at sunset. I had a hard time picking and choosing, so there are a lot of pictures in this post. I have said before, this is the closest my kids get to a scrapbook or baby book at this point (though I do hope to do a photo album soon). Anyway, here goes...oh, you will notice few pictures with Joshua. He wasn't really feeling very cooperative that day. And I have learned, four kids later, you have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them...

Anyway, here is a picture of the four cooperative children...not sure how I got all four of them to look at me at the SAME time, but I never look a gift horse in the mouth (whatever that means :). One of the downfalls with taking pictures in Destin, and I remember this from last time, is that when you first turn your camera on, the lens fogs up. At least with digital cameras, you know this and can fix it. When we visited seven years ago, we didn't have digital. I took several sweet pics of Hunter and Lauren (just a baby) by palm trees. When they were developed, they were all "fuzzy" like this one. It was kind of a cool effect though...I framed them and still have them hanging.
Isn't she beautiful? She literally takes my breath away at times. (Sometimes from her beauty and sometimes from her feistiness...oh my word. That is all I will say. :) A girl picture...I didn't look my best but I always think, "If something happens, I want my kids to have pictures of me." So sometimes you have to swallow your pride and go with it...
We asked one of our kids to take a picture of us but Mark prefers the old "hold out the camera and snap" shot...I have decided that I look a little younger on the beach (well, my face). Hmmm...wonder if they need any teachers there? I wonder if it is the tropical air/salt water breeze or the fact that I am so less stressed because I am not in my constantly messy home which drives me crazy???
This is what Joshua did the whole time I took pictures...ran away. And if you chase him, he thinks it is a fun game!
Yes, totally posed. They don't normally hold hands. But it is such a sweet picture to me...one I can look at wistfully when the arguing gives me a headache...

My handsome fella. I love that man.
Another beautiful daughter. I know, I am a bit biased. It is funny. At times I think she looks so much like me (though her hair is darker and her eyes are brown), but she is like an "enhanced" me...she has the good parts and makes them look even better. Does that make sense?
A typical Maria look. We can rarely get her to look AT the camera.I always love pictures of my boys together. So handsome. And, yes, I hear daily how much they look alike. And they do in some ways. However, there is SOME of me in Hunter. (for one thing he has my fair skin tone)The one and only close up we got of J-man. And I was happy to get that!
Me and my daughter

Me and the other daughter...
Me and Hunter (yes, I realize that is not grammatically correct...my mind is still recovering from vacation)Hunter's friend L. He was so photogenic.I love Daddy/daughter pics. So sweet.I love what one of my friends posted about this pic on Facebook. She said she was beautiful (meaning Maria) and bets she is full of mischief and fun. Can you tell that by the look on her face?

Sunset at the beach. I just love the colors. He (being God) is such an artist!

I think I look a bit younger but definitely not thinner. Ugh. I have a lot of work to do to lose that "vacation" weight!Hunter loves the beach almost as much as I do. After the kids tired of a photo shoot, I let them play in the sand for a while. Here, L. is digging a hole. That is the moon in the sky. It was so beautiful against the backdrop of the beach!An artist at work...I am guessing he is thinking, "Enough with the pictures, Mom!" Not that that ever stops me...Sand creationsThe girls in a rare moment of working together...

Hunter has "smiley" eyes like me.

I love to take pictures of Lauren. She is a good "model" for me even when she doesn't know I am taking her picture...

Deep thoughts by Maria
Experimenting with the black/white settingSigh. I miss the beach.Still creating...

Funny kid. That is what I wanted to do on the last day...throw my body down and "hug" the sand.

If you made it to the end, give yourself a big pat on the back. I think I am going to take a little snooze. More to come later...

Reba

A Snorkeling We Will Go

We thought a snorkeling trip would be fun for all, so we booked a snorkel/dolphin cruise combo. We originally were scheduled to set out at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday but thankfully the snorkeling company called and asked if we could come at 11:30 instead. We were all relieved. After our big day at the lake, everyone slept in Thursday morning. We needed a little R and R before our snorkeling adventure.

You would think with all the extra time, we would have arrived at the boat in plenty of time. Instead we ended up rushing out the door. Part of the way to the snorkeling boat which was on the other side of Destin, Mark remembers that he has left the towels back at the condo. However, we were already pushing the time, so we decided airdrying wouldn't be bad. We flew into the parking lot and ran down to the boat and then...waited. A lot of waiting. Apparently the crew (which looked to be about age 20 and younger) was running behind. Mark ended up going to some of the shops nearby to buy a couple of towels (they are special towels...as in way too much money :) while we waited. And my job was to contain Joshua who is NOT a good waiter. That was fun...

Here is a picture of Lauren and Mark waiting on the boat Maria didn't mind the wait. She enjoyed watching the boats come in and out.

A rare happy waiting moment. Joshua is about as immediate as they come. As. In. Right. NOW. For everything. It is such a fun quality to have...Hunter didn't really care for the wait either. He was itching to go snorkeling.
Notice Joshua's facial expression has changed...as in not happy to be waiting.
Me with my kid crew. Sorry about the bathing suit pic...it is what I was wearing at the time.

More waiting...

Finally we left the dock and headed over to a jetty. The boys couldn't wait to put their gear on.
Lauren was happy she was able to find a "girlie" set. Matched her outfit. :)

All dressed up and waiting to go...

Mask. Check. Snorkel. Check. Swimsuits. Check. Flippers. Check. All systems are a go...

Maria and Joshua cannot swim quite well enough to snorkel but we let them try on the apparatus anyway.

Since we have a couple of nonswimmers, Mark and I took turns. I went first. I jumped out of the boat to swim up to the shore to walk over to the jetty. And the first kick of my foot sent pain shooting through my ankle. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to snorkel at all. Thankfully the water was pretty shallow and I was able to walk over to the jetty. I did snorkel (using my foot as little as possible), though it took me a while to get a hang of the breathing. It just doesn't feel "natural" to breathe under water. But once I got my bearings, I did enjoy seeing some fish. They weren't the bright colors like you see on Finding Nemo, but there were some pretty ones. One of the young crew members found a bag of peas. I wish we had thought to bring some. Hint: if you ever go snorkeling, you should take some frozen peas. The fish love them. They eat them from you hand and will actually fight over them. Yes, a fish frenzy over peas. Lauren loved that and charmed the guy into letting her feed the fish a little too. Here is where we snorkeled:
After a while, I swam back to the boat. Since our boat was so close to shore, I had Hunter bring the little ones to the beach area. Then we hung out on the sand/in the shallow water while he went out to snorkel. (He had been entertaining them on the docked boat) I feel bad. I apparently took more of my fair share of the snorkeling time. I don't think he got half of the time I did. However, he took it in stride. I owe him snorkel time in the future!

After we loaded back on to the boat, we set off for the dolphin search part of the cruise. I will say that it was the roughest boat ride I have been on...ever. There were a lot of boats out and the waves were really choppy. Thankfully nobody got seasick, but it would have been easy to do. I enjoyed the boat ride but we only spotted one lonely dolphin and it was from a distance. The dolphins I had spotted outside our townhouse were much more entertaining. Here are a few more pictures from the boat ride...

Peek...

a boo!

Chilling with a juice bottle...

I am thankful we got the snorkeling tour in; it stormed a little bit later. Such is life on the beach!

More to come-

Reba

Barring Any Unforeseen Circumstances...

...we will return to our regularly scheduled blogging (including more vacation) as soon as I return home and have Internet access again...

We are heading out this morning and driving partway. Please pray...I have had two sick children the last 12 hours. Driving with them is not sounding appealing.

We had a wonderful week. I am sad to leave. :(

Reba

Lounging at the Lake

I am supposed to be crab hunting right now. I was all ready to go. Then flashes of light filled the air. Lightning. I am listening to the roll of thunder outside. So I will work on blogging instead...

A few months ago when I said something about our beach trip on our blog, I was contacted by a couple of families we have made via adoption about possibly getting together. We met both families visiting their babies in Guatemala the week we picked up Joshua in December of 2007. We weren't able to meet with one of the families due to a busy schedule...we are hoping to catch up with them soon. The other family, the Melvins, invited us over to their lakehouse. They are spending the week there, and it is less than an hour from where we are. We thought it would be a good way to break up the week, so yesterday we stopped at Johnny Rocket's for lunch (if you will remember, we ate there in Georgetown...Hunter thinks it is incredibly good :). Then we headed over to the lake.

I have to say, when I think of lakes, I think of murky water, rocky bottoms, debris and trees brushing my feet in the water. This lake completely changed my view. It had clear water near the shore and even better...a sandy bottom. It was beautiful. I don't think Joshua was ever more than a few feet from the water once we went down...he was in heaven (especially with no waves to knock him down). I am very thankful that he had so many people watching him...he has no fear. If he falls over into the water, he doesn't panic. I have learned panic, at least a little, is a good thing. He doesn't really try to get up OUT of the water. Oh, he is going to give me a heart attack yet.The boys were able to do a little tubing. I don't know if L. had done that before, but my crew hadn't. They caught on pretty quick. They had a great time doing it. What a neat experience. Thanks, Melvins!

This is one of the daughters holding Joshua and the other daughter (also from Guatemala). I think Joshua was smitten with I. (who is just a couple months older), but he didn't know how to show it. So he would hit at her or push her. She in turn was NOT that crazy about him. But they were cute together...

The boys were also able to do a little canoing. At one point, they found a dead turtle in the water, and they took it out a little ways to dispose of it deeper in the lake. (I am not talking a little turtle either) Boys!

My kids had never ridden a sea-doo (sp?) either. They thought that was really cool. I got to take a little spin on it too. It was fun.

There was also a kneeboard available. Lauren tried it but had some trouble with the "take off". Then L. tried it and was successful after a few attempts.
Hunter is preparing to tube...

Do you see who is riding in front with Mark? That would be Miss Maria. I didn't know if she would be willing to do something, and she was a bit nervous. But she decided to go for it. The ironic thing was I had asked Mark if a sea-doo could tip. He said it could but it would be hard to do. Well apparently it CAN tip. They found out when Mark was out with Maria. Needless to say, she was done with it after that. Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream...
Joshua found a little "baby" float and loved it. I love this pic because here he is in that little float looking at the mighty sea-doo...

Toward the end, the boys decided to do a little fishing. Hunter was in heaven. In fact, he didn't want to eat dinner or anything. He was so happy fishing. (He caught one little large mouth that became bait for another fish that got away) He has already told us that we must come back and hopefully be invited to the lake...he wants to fish all day!
This is the view from the porch of the lake house. Absolutely beautiful.
After several hours of waterplay, we headed up the hill to the house for dinner. Our gracious hosts served a most delicious dinner...steak, baked potatoes, rolls, corn on the cob, and a salad that I could have eaten by myself...it (and the dressing) were scrumptious! For dessert we had brownies and homemade ice cream. They outdid themselves with the meal; we loved every bit of it.

Below you can see another picture of our little Guatemalans.

We gathered all the kids together for a group shot (the Melvins do have other children who weren't there). I forgot to mention, their son is just a little younger than L. and Hunter, and one of their daughters is just a little younger than Lauren. So that was even more fun for the kids. Here is our "serious" shot...
and then the "not so serious" shot...

We had such a wonderful visit. Thank you so much, Melvin family, for opening up your vacation home and all of the fun water equipment (as well as a wonderful meal) to us. We enjoyed it so much and hated to see the day end.

Reba

PS On the way back to Destin, all but one child fell asleep. The kids were WORN out from the day, and nobody woke up before 8:30...