Virginia Beach or BUST!

Before Shaun started his new job Monday, we thought it would be nice to take a little break from the reality we call life, and head to the beach for the weekend.  Growing up, my family went to the beach every summer for a full week, so I feel like the beach is in my soul, and not making it there for some part of the summer just doesn't feel right.  So it was a quick three day trip, but it was wonderful!

The girls had a great time.  Ella was a champ on the boogie board and Shaun taught her how to ride waves into the shore.  Amelia preferred the pool more, but she and her daddy built a sand castle and every once in a while she'd venture into the ocean, clinging strongly to her daddy.  And me, well... I just enjoyed what a seven month preggo woman should.  I sat and I read, looking up from my amazing Dan Brown book to see the girls in the ocean with their daddy, or let them cover my feet with sand.  Really, it was quite perfect!  It may not have been as relaxing for Shaun, but he loved the break from work and the time to de-stress and be together as a family.

 Our first day at the beach, the girls were ready to get out on the ocean.  We had a really great view of the ocean from our room, and the boardwalk always offers plenty of entertainment for two busy girls.

 I sported my new fantastic hat. 

 Amelia continues to amaze me with her cuteness!  She can wear anything and be as cute as a bug in a rug, but the thing she seems to always wear is that classic smile with attached dimple.  I could just eat her up.

 Speaking of cuteness, this guy claims she gets it from him.  He is pretty cute, and he sometimes even got to sit beside me and talk with me before the girls dragged him off into the ocean.  

 More cuteness

 And Ella, well she amazed me this weekend!  She took on the ocean like it was nothing.  She and her boogie board were one with the waves, and she could have stayed out there all day every day if her little sister had let her.

 Even after getting ready for dinner and going for a walk on the boardwalk, the waves enticed her back.  She was soaking wet by the time we left the beach to head back to our room, but she was happy.  Look at that smile.

 Day 2 at the beach proved to be no different.  We bought the girls some sand toys and Amelia enjoyed using those.  Ella made friends with the children around us, and I loved watching her be so grown up and so helpful with others.  She can be the most loving and gentle kid sometimes, only to then be a fireball the next second.  Gotta love her.

We only had two days at the beach, and Amelia ended up getting swimmer's ear, cutting our third day there a little shorter than we had initially planned, but that probably wasn't bad since we needed to head home for Shaun to start his new job Monday morning.  We said goodbye to the beach, that beautiful, soul renewing place, where the air seems to get into your soul and help you breathe a little easier.  One day, I need a beach house!

So goodbye beach, till next year!

Blessed

June is typically a time of of celebrations.  Graduations for many, new beginnings, transitions onto newer and better things.  Maybe it's all of these commemorations and celebrations that have me thinking and reflecting, or perhaps that's just me all of the time, but I've been thinking a lot about where we've been and how far we've come over our last ten years together as a married couple... well, almost ten years.  Shaun was in school the first five years of our marriage while I worked and furthered my career, obtaining my clinical licensure, and provided for our growing family.  I remember thinking when Shaun graduated in August of 2009 that we were going to be set!  He would get that fancy shmancy career that all Business Marketing Majors got (ha ha ha... I laugh about that now), and I would be able to stay at home and raise many more babies.  Oh how foolish and naive I was.  It was humbling and often times depressing to struggle and fumble through the next three years of underemployment, unemployment, and listless wonderings of what Shaun should do, where we should go, and feeling like we hit a void when we searched for answers through prayer.  We did what made sense.  We stuck it out in the basement because I have a good job, and it didn't make any sense to move across the country and leave that job, only to face the unknown.  Shaun was anxious to seek out a government job, and it then took three to four times as long as we expected for the necessary paperwork to be processed.  Two years ago he finally started with his current company. Again, I thought it would be a quick and smooth process, that within a year he'd be making bank.  Why do I keep doing that to myself?  Setting myself up for disappointment?  He has struggled with this current job feeling underutilized, getting up most days at 4am and not making it home until close to 7pm.  It has definitely not been easy for either of us.  Because his long hours mean I still work, take care of the kids, and basically do everything else.

Okay, so there's a brief and rather depressing summary of our last ten years together, at least when it comes to our professional and financial lives, so why on earth would I title this post "Blessed"?  Because I have come to realize that it's sometimes in the waiting that all the growing occurs.  We have learned patience, humility, gratitude for blessings that perhaps aren't as obvious to those who aren't looking for them, and to recognize the tender mercies of the Lord in our lives.  We have learned to do our best, and then rely on the Lord to fill in the gaps.  We have learned to let Him lead us, to let HIM be at the helm of the ship of our lives.  Sometimes that means waiting, sometimes that means acting, always it means recognizing His love and His blessings.

In two weeks Shaun will be starting with a new company.  His pay will go up only slightly, but he will be on salary, and he will earn in 40 hours what he's currently been working 60 to get (and that's meant a lot of Saturdays gone from us).  And best of all, this company has offices here in town, so his four hours of commuting will be reduced to about a half hour, round trip.  Shaun and I didn't even have to pray to know if this was the right opportunity.  It just felt right, and made wonderful sense.  I know the Lord is blessing us and helping us as we prepare to welcome our third little one into this world.  Since much of the time I feel like a single parent, I was very concerned about how we were going to manage all the demands that come with a  newborn.  But with this new job, we'll have Shaun around a lot more to help, and that will make such a huge difference.  The quality of life, not to mention the savings in gas, will be a huge blessing.  So all this week I've found myself taking a moment here or there to say a prayer of gratitude.  I know this doesn't mean the end to trials or that he will miraculously be making double by next year, but it is progress, and very good progress at that.  So I wanted to take time today to post about our journey, and to express the blessings that I see and recognize in our life.  Will I be able to stay home?  No.  Will we be okay?  Absolutely!  The Lord loves us.  It is my strong testimony He is aware of us.  He knows our needs.  To our weakness, He is not a stranger.  I'm grateful to see his hand of love and mercy extended towards us as we try to live our lives the best we can.  We are truly BLESSED!