Sunset and Snow

Yes, the title says snow. There wasn't really any snow in Florida. However, when we went to the beach to watch the sun set Collin grabbed handfuls of sand, threw it in the air, and yelled, "snow!" I guess the last time he saw everything covered in white it was snowing. Just funny that this little boy from coastal Carolina, who only sees snow once a year and sees sand way more, thought the beach was snow. I'm sure everyone standing around thought this little boy was from way up north and seeing a sand covered beach for the first time. Too funny.

It was, however, a great end to a wonderful day. We concluded our fun-filled day of shopping with dinner at sunset on the beach. It was beautiful and good for the soul.

We live in a Sand Box

Per the previous post you know that Collin has a sandbox. You also know I have some slight obsessive compulsive tendencies about cleanliness. One of those is that I do not like sand. I LOVE the beach, but I can't stand sand. It only belongs on the feet. I constantly brush off my beach chair, am meticulous about having extra towels so I don't dry off with a sandy one. I don't hold Collin close to me when we're at the beach unless he's in a towel. Now, before you go crazy about what a fun draining mom I am, I am working on this. I will say I am getting better. I think even my own Mom (who LOVES sand) would say I'm getting better :) I would think so since we've been living in a sandbox since we got to Florida. While Collin is awfully tidy he has not caught on to the notion of wiping his hands and feet (and face, head, legs, arms, rear end, etc...) before coming in. So, he will play for hours outside and bring it all in with him. There is sand everywhere - and we're cleaning. You can feel it when walk barefoot or sit on the couch. AAAHHHHH!!! The funny part is that we will sweep or the cleaning lady will come and within minutes of finishing here comes our sandman. I don't recall ever getting away with this type of thing when I was child, and yet here is my child trekking "mess" all over the house. Even Papa is in on the action. Note, I am not in the sandbox. I haven't gotten that good yet.

The sins of the father...or, in this case, the mother

I am not the best housekeeper in the world. I don't like to unload the dishwasher, so sometimes dishes pile up, rinsed of course, in the sink. A few times a week toys don't get picked up before bed time, and clothes aren't put in their rightful place immediately. Important mail can, every so often, make a temporary home on the kitchen counter. With all that said, I have come to realize that I do have some obsessive compulsive tendencies when it comes to cleanliness. I have learned these things through the tendencies of my own child.

We are spending some time with my parents and they have set up a play area for Collin in the backyard, complete with a sandbox. Oh boy!

When we first arrived he would not go outside without his shoes on. When he finally did, he kept saying, "oh messy," "it's dirty." I can hear my words coming back to haunt him. My child has no clue how to play in the dirt b/c everytime he has gotten dirty his mother rushes in to clean him up. Then, we caught him sweeping the ground around his sandbox. Aaahhh!!!! While, I love his tendencies for tidiness and truly hope they will stay with him throughout his years in my home, I am also convinced that all children need to play in the dirt. So, we have worked very hard at making the mess ok. Though he still enjoys sweeping the ground, he does it with sand and dirt and mud from head to toe

The Red Barn

The name surely implies a big barn full of different types of farm animals. The perfect outing for a two-year-old boy, right? Well, I'm not sure that a series of stores full of home decor and antiques is exactly what Collin had in mind.











At least there was a little reprieve for him. He really enjoyed the open, "garden" area around the pond behind the barn. He was such a trooper.











He behaved so well. I surely didn't expect anything less, but all of the ladies working at the Red Barn were impressed. One of them even gave Collin some M&Ms for his excellent behavior. It was a great afternoon, at least for me and my mom. Collin was just relieved when we got home and he could play in the sand box.

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming....

We have spent the last few weeks with my parents, at their home in Florida. My mother loves all things ocean. So, it is no surprise that her favorite Disney movie is "Finding Nemo." She has been watching it with Collin almost everyday since we got here (not in its entirety of course since my two-year-old doesn't have that long of an attention span). Needless to say, at this point, he loves Dory, Nemo and Nemo's Daddy. Thus, our trip to the aquarium took on a whole new meaning as he desperately searched for Nemo. If you look closely enough at the first picture, you see he found him :)

Collin loves the aquarium. He went from tank to tank singing, "just keep swimming. just keep swimming." I think the blowfish enjoyed the song. He followed Collin all along the wall of the tank. I'm not sure what Collin would have done though if the blowfish had actually "blown up." It was amazing though how accurate the Nemo movie is. Collin was able to point out each fish. There was a tank of sea anenomes with little clown fish hiding in them. It really was incredible, and even more so to see it through the eyes of an ever amazed toddler.


We topped off the day at the toddler splash park the aquarium has. It's perfect, and the most genius idea. With no standing water, children can run through misting water that comes out of every step, corner and plank. Then there are water guns (think cannon:), water spouts, water slides. Everything perfectly sized for the little guys. Though Collin is a little wary of shooting, falling, misting or splashing water - he loved it. Once he ralized the fountains wouldn't hurt he was jumping on each one, laughing. What a great day!!

We ARE Family

What is family? I am surely not the first person to contend that often times family may consist of more than just those people who are related to you by birth. Though there is no denying those, often times crazy people, who are your flesh and blood are family :)
I spent last weekend with my mom and a dear friend of ours (who IS family) at a women's conference. The topic of the conference - you guessed it - family. It was amazing to sit there and realize that just to my left was my own mother and another woman who has been with me for so long that she could be. A woman who, if needed, would step up and step in. Even more amazing is knowing she is not the only one.
We (my biological family) have never lived closed to either side of our family. I don't believe it was ever intentional, but speaks to the need in all of us for family, that we ended up seeking out people to fill the void that was left by not being with family. As a young couple my parents forged a friendship with an older couple in their church. Little did they realize at the time that this couple would become our family. This couple needed children (theirs had moved away) and my parents needed, parents. Sam and Martha Kraft would become my grandparents, as real and close and loving as my biological grandparents. We developed a relationship with them as strong, if not stronger, than any biological family has. What a loss I still feel to this day that they have both passed.
Then, there is our Summerville family. Though most of us don't even live there anymore. It is where we, all separated from family, created our own. This is where we met the Burkes, Dwyers, Woodhams and Seases; families that have walked with ours through joy and sorrow, triumph and defeat. These are people we could run to in a second to celebrate a victory or find comfort in a time of loss. These are people who we can go weeks without speaking to, pick up the phone and never miss a beat. We ARE Family.

Of course, there is no denying my own family - as crazy as I feel it is sometimes. Though I am not naive enough to think that I am not a part of the craziness. But, despite the craziness we are as close as they come. We would move heaven and earth for each other. As children my parents used to tell my sister and me that as long as it was the 4 of us, we would be fine. How true that has proven to be. While there have only been a handful of instances where we've circled the wagons and pulled in to support each other, closing off to others, there is such comfort in knowing we WILL do that for each other and WANT to do that for each other. There is also comfort in knowing that we can have fun - just us.

Now that "just us" includes my own beautiful family; the wonderful man that God has so graciously blessed me with and the precious child we were given. I can tell my child the same thing I was told, as long as we have the 3 of us, we're ok, and we ALWAYS have the 3 of us. We, in the same fashion as my parents, do not live near either of our families. We are so fortunate to both come from such close knit families, that we maintain those close ties in spite of the distance. We know that is where we can find guidance, refuge, support and unconditional love. We can be ourselves with family and everyone loves us anyway - in spite of their frustrations with us sometimes :) We ARE Family.

So it is with the family of God. We, I believe as Beth Moore said this past weekend, all have roles that need to be filled. Some of us need mothers, some of us need to be mothers. Some of us need sisters or brothers, and some of us need to be a sister or a brother. Thus, the family of God is maintained and flourishes. In the end though, one was never meant to be a substitute for the other. Both are vital in each of our lives. Both need to be fostered and sustained, regardless of past trangressions. In the end, after God, family is all we have.

HAPPY EASTER!

Collin enjoyed dying Easter eggs this year for the first time. We opted out last year since we were traveling and because Collin didn't really get it. This year, he definitely got it. He figured this was the coolest thing he had done in weeks. I'm not sure if it was because he was allowed to make a mess or if it was his fascination with cracking the eggs. He first realized that the eggs would break when one accidentally fell on the floor. His, "oh, no" was quickly followed by "oooh..." Colling really enjoyed peeling the eggs, so he began to bang them on the countertop. My mom and I were able to rescue most of the eggs from Collin's torturous destruction. By the time he finished we had a huge mess. Gentle is not an adjective we would use to describe Collin. He had dye sloshed everywhere, a few cracked eggs, some half-peeled eggs and a few that made it successfully through the whole process. Fortunately, my mom was there to assure me that the mess was easy to clean and that Collin was having a blast. He did think this was his latest and greatest project.

The next morning Collin was very excited to see that the Easter bunny had come to visit. It's so much fun to see him begin to understand what a present is and what a surprise is. He was thrilled with his new choo-choo train, books, sidewalk chalk and, best of all, jelly beans. Collin loves jelly beans. Then it was off to church for a great service. Collin enjoyed playing in the nursery and coloring pictures :) Kaka made a great Easter dinner and we enjoyed a laid back afternoon. The day was perfectly complete with an after nap Easter egg hunt.