October 26, 2012

• Just for Us

  Blake took off work yesterday and we took one last trip to South Padre. We REALLY, REALLY wanted to be able to swim in a pool after we went to the beach, so we splurged and spent the night in a hotel. We were gone for 24 hours, and it was worth every penny.

  

  When we finally got to the island, checked into our hotel, and dragged all of our stuff down to the beach, I plopped into my chair, watched the kids race to the water, and immediately began praying about our fundraising. It is on my heart and mind constantly. We know that God has shown us that He wants this process to be a learning experience for us….learning to hear His voice and be lead by the Spirit. He has shown us that He alone will show us how to raise the finances that we need. We will not find the answers in a book or a formula or a person. We will find the answers through Him. So all that to say, for my mind to go straight to praying about fundraising is common these days. But yesterday as I began to pray, God spoke to my heart and said, “Let it go for now, Christina. Just enjoy this time.” So that’s what I did. I rolled onto my stomach, closed my eyes and focused on the sun soaking into my skin, and the sound of the waves and the sea gulls, and the smell of saltwater and sunscreen. The next thing I knew I was waking up with drool running down my chin. I’m sure I looked just lovely to the people strolling the beach.

     

  Camden and Hope had a blast. I think it was good for them to see us relax. One time Camden just looked at us, smiled really big, and said, “We are on vacation.” I wanted to eat him up.

   
  
  

  We had Subway and DQ Blizzards for dinner. We went for a late night swim in the heated pool. Why it was heated is an unsolved mystery. Spending the night in a hotel was so exciting that none of us slept well. But excitement is worth it, and the kids will be ready for bed early tonight. Double Goodness! Our stay included free breakfast and it was super yummy. I think we were the only people under 60 staying in the hotel. We felt like we were eating breakfast in a nursing home or retirement community. We sat with 2 sweet old ladies. They were sisters and both loved to talk. We all thought they were adorable. Then one of them cussed and my kids’ eyes got big. It was a little funny.

  

  Three hours into our beach time today, a rainstorm came in. I might have been bummed, except that I knew it was bringing in a cool front. An arctic front that is actually going to make it all the way to us. The high tomorrow? 65 degrees. OH MY WORD!! On the way home our temperature reader thing dropped to 69 degrees and I squealed until Blake told me to quiet myself.

  
  

  Anyway back to the vacation, we ran from the beach, but took a long dip in the heated pool, and then changed clothes to head to our favorite restaurant before heading home.

  A story from my past: When I was 18 my parents took us to South Padre for our last family vacation while all 3 of us siblings were still living at home. It was a wonderful week of the beach, good restaurants, fun family time, and even a shopping trip across the border into Mexico. The night before our last day, I told everyone that it had been almost a perfect week. All that was left was that I would really, really like to see dolphins. The next morning; our last morning on the beach, I look up from the book I’m reading to see a group of dolphins playing and jumping out in the ocean in front of me. It was a fantastic moment of knowing that God had done that just for me.

   
  
  In all the times we have been to South Padre the past three and a half years, we have never seen a dolphin. And then today (drum roll for real please) as we sat down at our favorite restaurant, and all turned to look out the window, there in the water was a DOLPHIN. It swam and jumped right outside our window the entire time. How gloriously incredible is our God. It was our last time. Our last day at the beach. And God did it just for us.

   

  • 9:19 pm
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