Best Beach Day Ever ....

This past Tuesday I was able to take my nieces and nephew to the beach one last time before school starts next week.  This beach trip was a lot more exciting because we were able to join up with my 6 other sweet nieces who were vacationing at the beach … well they aren’t really my nieces BUT they do all call me Aunt Amy and I am proud to claim each and every one of them!!  When we arrived at the Matheny condo we were able to watch the dolphins swim for a bit which was pretty awesome!!  Once everyone was “rounded up” and got their sunscreen on we hit the beach ….

We had a pretty awesome surfing instructor amongst us … Bridgett worked with any of the kids who wanted to try it.  I didn’t get any pictures BUT Hayley and Jake BOTH were able to get up on the surfboard … I was so proud of them.  The water was perfect – it wasn’t too rough - so that they could really learn how to stand up on the surfboard without being afraid and having the waves beat them up.

Some of the other kids got bored while the surfing lessons were going on … so Jake came up with the idea that they should bury him in the sand … so they did!!  I can’t even begin to tell you how well these 9 kids get along … and the part that I LOVE the most is that Jake is the ONLY guy but it DOES NOT bother him one bit!!  Between the beach and the pool the kids were able to play hard and have LOTS of fun!! 

The best part of the day for me is always the ride there and back ... I enjoy spending time with Brooke, Hayley and Jake  … just listening to them talk about whatever THEY want to talk about … after all it is all about them isn’t it?  We were all so tired on the way home … Brooke was trying to sleep and I made the comment to her that I was too tired to drive and I thought SHE needed to drive us home … I then told the kids a story about one time when Brooke was little she had been with me for the day … I was taking her home and she kept dozing off in her car seat so I would say or do something to keep her from falling asleep because we were only about 5 minutes away from her house and I knew if she fell asleep she would NEVER stay asleep once she got home AND then she would be cranky … so when I got to the end of their small dead-end road I got Brooke out of her car seat and sat her in my lap and told her to help me drive … she looked up at me with the most serious look on her face and said “Do you think that is a good idea Maymie?”  So that story led in to why Brooke called me Maymie … I explained to the kids that each of them at one point called me Maymie … the best we could tell was they were trying to say “Aunt Amy” and it came out “Maymie” … eventually Maymie became Aunt Amy.  So the rest of the way home the kids kept asking to hear stories … so I would tell a story about one of them and then one of the others would ask to hear a story about their self …  I love that family is so important to them ....

Here are some pics from the day … please note that the CRAZY pictures are because Hayley and Jake entertained themselves with my camera on the way there and back …

Blessings ....

This week has been a bad week for various reasons …

It seemed EVERY time I turned the corner Satan was there hurling his darts at me trying to bring me down …  I will be honest that he was winning the battle for a little bit …

HOWEVER after a LOT of time in PRAYER, a lot of time in HIS WORD and a LOT of wise counsel from my husband and my BFF; Satan is no longer winning the battle with ME!!  As my VERY dear husband and BFF reminded me ~ I have way too many blessings in my life to let the Satan bring me down!!  God continually showers me with blessings ~ and for that I am ever grateful ~ however I need to be more aware and open my eyes to ALL the blessings HE has given me!!

What if your blessings come through raindrops?

What if your healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you’re near?

What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?

The longer we hold on to injustices done against us, the more the bondage will strangle the life out of us.  Forgiveness requires our deferring the responsibility for justice to Christ and deciding to be free of the ongoing burden of bitterness and blame.  I have finally come to the place where I feel sorrier for my perpetrators than I do myself.  DO NOT let the enemy steal one bit of the victory God has in store for YOU!!  DO NOT allow intimidation or fear to imprison you in any area.  Remember, Satan can presume no authority in your life … he will do his best to bluff you … do not let him!!  God NEVER misses a single groan or cry of His children.  He ALWAYS has a rescue planned.  When the time is right, God will move in on behalf of His children. 

Are you counting your blessings or are you counting your injustices in life? 

My Man Had A BAD Day ....

Anyone who knows my man knows he is a HARD worker and he IS NOT a complainer and that it takes A LOT to bring my man down.  He has suffered some pretty severe ailments or injuries in his life ranging from anaphylactic shock due to seafood allergies, E.Coli (on our second anniversary), and dropping a “dirty knife” (on my birthday) in his leg and missing his femoral artery by less than an inch. 

My man was much younger when he went into anaphylactic shock from eating smoked mullet dip.  His mother and I talk about that day often – especially since my man has decided he wants to “experiment” to see if he is still allergic.  Unfortunately my man “grew in to” his seafood allergy ~ he KNOWS he LOVES it BUT he CAN NOT have it!!  We have honestly had MANY conversations with him saying he is going to get some shrimp and check in at the local ER and tell them that he is going to require their assistance very soon … I keep assuring him that this would not be smart. 

When my man had E.Coli he spent a week in the hospital … he was pretty much comatose that entire week.  On my second wedding anniversary I sat in my man’s hospital room while the doctor told me “there is NO antibiotic to treat this … he has to be strong enough to fight it on his own.”  It was THE scariest week of my entire life!!  5 days later my man was released from the hospital, although he was very weak he made a scene refusing to ride in a wheelchair!!  My man had a 2 week recovery period … he got a little stir crazy but we were just thankful he was still alive!!

Just 4 months later my man was at work slaughtering cattle.  He was up on a platform and his knife slipped out of his hand.  He tried to “catch” the knife and pushed it right into his left leg.  Instantly he thought he had hit that main artery.  Fortunately he had not hit that artery; however he came VERY close.  The big problem was they would not stitch his leg up because the knife was “dirty” and if he got an infection the infection would have nowhere to go.  He was the patient all the residents wanted to be in on because of how unique the case was.  My man had about a 4 week recovery … he got VERY stir crazy and spent a lot of time with his Papa recovering.  Again we were just very thankful he was alive!!

About 2 weeks ago my man was working outside and got stung by a wasp on his left hand.  Within just a few minutes his hand began to swell.  By the time we went to bed his entire left arm was swollen up to his shoulder.  Sure is a good thing I recommended he take his wedding band off (which is a no no for both of us).

Tuesday night my man was outside changing the blades on the mower when he got stung by a wasp AGAIN this time right between the eyes.  Y’all that wasp hit him so hard he was bleeding when he came in the house.  I immediately got concerned because of how quickly and how much he swelled up last time he got stung!! 

This is a progression of his swelling in photos (he asked me last night if his “sting pictures” had made the blog)  …  

You can already see the bridge of his nose and eyes swelling ...

Now you can see the swelling under his eyes ...

 

Now you can see his entire face is swollen ...
Y'all that is ALL from ONE WASP ...

Of course my man wouldn't go to the ER or urgent care center ... his sister and I tried to convince him that his airway was going to look like his face if he didn't go.  He assured me that he knew EXACTLY what anaphylactic shock felt like and was perfectly fine ... I then had to convince his mom and my mom that he was fine ... that's a hard job to do when you aren't 100% convinced yourself. 

My man stayed home yesterday all drugged up – AND if you know my man he DOES NOT miss work for ANYTHING!!  He said that he felt like he should not go to work and cut meat since he could not open his eyes - I agreed.  Needless to say we have an appointment set up to see an allergist - maybe now we can find out the “safe way” if he is still allergic to seafood …

Beach Day Take 2 ...

I don't have a lot of time to devote to a post BUT I did want to share the fun from Beach Day Take 2 ...
Brooke, Hayley, Jake and I were able to escape for a fun day at the beach last week ...

These are a few highlights from our trip:

~  We stopped along the way for breakfast at McDonald's ....

~  We arrived at the beach at about 9 am ....

~  The weather was PERFECT ....

~  We walked on the beach and found lots seashells ....

~  Brooke, Hayley and Jake ran through the sitting seagulls and made them fly (several times) - I     wish I had taken my phone and got a video of it ....

~  Hayley and Jake buried themselves in the sand while Brooke and I sat in our chairs with the waves at our feet talking ….

~  We saw huge schools of fish swimming like a stream in front of us and no matter how hard we tried we couldn’t touch them ….

~  We saw some sort of LARGE animal frolicking way far out – it wasn’t a dolphin and it wasn’t a shark – I told the kids I thought it was a whale and after doing some research online I’m convinced it was a Right Whale ….

~  The water was FREEZING!!  Hayley’s lips turned purple EVERY time we got in the water ….

~  We ate lunch at a GREAT beach side café ….

~  Jake said 2 AMAZING and THOUGHTFUL prayers for us …. You know – not the same recited prayer you say before every meal ….

~  On the way home when I received some bad news I silently began to cry and all 3 of them comforted me ….

If all goes as planned we will make one more beach trip before school starts ….

God has truly blessed me with these wonderful nieces and nephew … I have been fortunate enough to watch them grow in to such kind, sweet, caring and loving children!!  I enjoy EVERY moment I spend with them!!  I pray that the Lord will bless them with MANY more years on this earth ….

Here are just a few pictures of the day - most of which are taken by Jake & Hayley on the way ….

Hayley Bug

Jake

Brooke

Brooke texting while I was pumping gas ....



Brooke striking a pose ....

Hayley Bug ....

Jake being silly ....

Jake and Hayley ....

Brooke and Aunt Amy ....

 Jake in the sand ....

 Hayley Bug in the sand ....

 Jake after the sand ....

Hayley Bug after the sand ....

Our feet in the sand and waves ....