All Together Lovely

We welcomed home our son from his second seven-month deployment this week. I will not even try to describe the emotions with words for words are not needed – our first hug, captured by a photographer, says it all.

At the first sighting of his ship the tears began pouring out. Then there was a somewhat long pause in the tears as we waited for his ship to actually dock and for them to debark.  It’s a slow process, friends.

Once we spotted him walking toward us, the tears poured out again.

They were tears of relief.
They were tears of pure happiness.
They were tears of praise.

Another deployment is behind us – four deployments are now behind us. Praise God neither my husband nor our son has another deployment looming before them.

For the first time since June 2016, our family would spend two full days together.

Of course, throughout our son’s deployment we prayed for his (their) safe return. As the months became weeks and the weeks became days, I found myself praying more earnestly for God to fill me with courage to speak His truth to our boys once we were finally together.

Truthfully, I prayed not only for that but for a “perfect” two days together.

I prayed for us to be a light – to point our boys and the women in their lives to Him. I prayed for our words to be praiseworthy and uplifting. I prayed for our conversations to be filled with love and joy.
I prayed for our conversations to reflect patience, kindness, and gentleness. I prayed for those conversations to be open and to simply overflow with goodness. I prayed for everything to be perfect!

I am sure it will not surprise you to hear our time together fell short of perfection. Go figure, right?

That is not to say we were not a light, or our words were not praiseworthy and uplifting. And certainly there were many moments where the fruits of the Spirit were displayed. At least I hope so.

But when I climbed into bed those two nights, I wrestled with questions like: What could I have done better? What could I have said differently? What should I have said that I didn’t say? What should I have done that I didn’t do? In what way(s) did I contribute to our time together being less than perfect?

After almost twenty-seven years of parenting our boys, I am still a work in progress on parenting and loving them well. I know we will never arrive at a state of perfection this side of heaven. Regardless of this knowledge, there’s a continual plea to God to help me parent and love them better.

Please, don’t let me (or us) be the one(s) to cause them to stumble.

Oh how I pray for God to help me to love them so well they would see and experience His love.

I know I can often be too hard on myself. I am frequently guilty of believing the “you messed up again” lies from the enemy. I know our children are aware of how much they are loved by us, whether or not we parent and love well all the time. But the deepest desire of my heart is for them to know how much they are loved by God.

Therefore, I will never stop praying for the things I pray. I think I shall stop praying for perfection though.

Instead, I will trust our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness, everlasting, ever-present and never-failing God (Isaiah 9:6-7) to carry out His work in me to completion.

And I will praise Him for the grace upon grace He pours out on me every single day when I don’t do this parenting and loving thing well because there surely are plenty of days when I do not.

Most of all, I will keep looking to Jesus and I will love Him most so I will love our children best.

****

By the way, the two days our family spent together were in so many ways all together lovely.

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Planting Seeds

On Easter Sunday I returned home from spending four days with our oldest son, who lives in a Southern California. We had much needed mother/son bonding time.

We took in a sunset.
We hiked.
We were lazy at the beach.
We visited the small town of Julian and ate its delicious pizza and devoured its famous apple pie.
He cooked for me and I cooked for him (the one and only meal I know how to make).
We jet skied.
We met up with my sister and her family.
We relaxed via mostly decent TV entertainment.
We chatted.
We had our way of bonding.

It makes me sad that he lives in a different state but I wonder if he lived closer whether would we have weekends like the one we had. The distance forces us to be intentional.

Our youngest son lives only 15 minutes away. When he shows up without my prior knowledge of him coming, I get all giddy. If he was only stopping through briefly my reaction usually convinces him to stay longer than intended. Then there are the days when he sends me a text inviting me over for dinner. Umm. Yes! Absolutely, I will come. I willingly change other plans to be there.

One of my younger brothers (I have three younger and one older) asked me recently what similar traits my boys have. This question stumped me at the time as they are different as night and day. I ponder this question again and would have to say our boys are both kindhearted people you can count on to be in your corner.

Because they have such different personalities, I find my relationships with them to be different.

The youngest will talk my ear off and conversations with the oldest require me to take the lead. He knows I will come prepared with discussion questions to keep our conversation moving along.

The youngest is not so much a hugger and the oldest allows me to fully wrap my arms around him and linger. It might have something to do with the number of see-you later moments we have had. He's grown to know his mom needs those hugs. With the youngest no longer living at home I have a feeling he may catch on to my hugging needs.

The youngest has a joyful spirit and comfort in his own skin which made it a tad bit easier to send him out into the world. The oldest does not as easily see the decent man he is (a trait he inherited from his mom). To compensate, I am guilty of attempts to protect from the sinfulness of the world.

The youngest did not test our parenting abilities quite so much (yet still had his moments) while the oldest too often saw our inability to parent well when tested.

The youngest likely does not remember the hard, hard seasons. The oldest has always been more sensitive and acutely aware of my sadness when hard seasons come.

Maybe another similar trait our boys share is they both know their parents are always in their corner, despite all the times we messed up parenting.

Time with either one of our boys usually leaves me somewhat sentimental afterward. The together moments are fewer and farther between. I have discovered a profound love though for being a mom to adult children. It fills my heart with joy to witness the fine young men they have become.

On a recent drive home after a day at the office K-Love played on the radio. The host referenced the importance of planting seeds in the early years of children.

I have thought of this before in terms of our lack of planting good seeds in our children's lives. We certainly did not plant faith seeds as we did not become Christ followers until our early 40s.

While I certainly agree it becomes harder to have a proper influence (or to instill meaningful values) in our children's lives after a certain age, good seeds (and faith seeds) can be planted at any age.

I am not sure if I am referencing this planting seeds phrase correctly. You understand what I am trying to say, right? The early childhood years are crucial development years.

But I consider how God makes all things new. I am not the person I once was. My mind has been renewed to a new way of thinking. God is making me to be more like His son with each passing days. The same applies to my husband.

We messed up in many ways during the early years of children's lives. Heck, we were messing up in their teenage years too. We are imperfect people who sin daily and still make not so smart choices in our parenting decisions. However, there is a profound difference in the way we parent our children now compared to back then for we are different people.

My point being, we now have a more positive influence in our children's lives. We plant good seeds. We focus on planting seeds to draw them closer to Him knowing our role is in the planting. God ultimately determines when their hearts our softened to know the truth and for the truth to set them free (John 8:32).

Maybe the point is really this: I don't let go of hope. I hold on to Him. I allow Him to continue to do the work He is doing in me.

"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion." ~ Philippians 1:6 

I trust Him to work through me, and others, to win the hearts of my unsaved children for our God "is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20).

As I give thought to the differences in our children and the differences in my relationship with them, I find another similarity… hints of our Almighty God moving in their life. They may not yet know Him the way we know Him, but I see His light beginning to shine through as He transforms their way of thinking.

With this, I fall on my knees and say, "Thank you, Lord."

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He makes all things new

I married my husband again this past Saturday and our special day was everything we wanted it to be and more so.

My cup runneth over.

It’s hard to decide where to begin. How could I possibly describe our day from start to end in one post? Maybe it does not need to be one post.

A little side note: it feels strange to return here with it being so long since I last wrote. But now is not the time to talk about the uncertainty of this blog's future. I shall continue to leave it in God’s hands.

When my husband and I first met with our Executive Pastor to tell him of our desire to renew our wedding vows, we expressed how we wanted the day to be all about God. The renewal of our vows was not about us but about what God had done in our lives and in our marriage since we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. All praise and glory for the twenty-five years we celebrate together must go to Him.

And all praise and glory did go to Him.

He shall even receive all praise and glory for working out every single detail as we planned for our special day. As I look back, I see how He filled the gaps by sending just the right person at just the right time to come along side of us to think of the one detail we had not yet thought of. He guided us in the decision making process and kept us free from worry… with Him at the center our day would be everything He wanted it to be. It would be what He always intended for this day was written in His book long ago.

I realized the evening before we would marry again that we were about to do the very thing Satan had tried to prevent for twenty-five years. Satan decided to step up his game, friends. But our God is stronger.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

After a difficult night, on the morning of our vow renewal day I gathered our family around an oak table in the living room with our hands held tightly together and declared to Satan, “You are not welcome here. You will not steal our joy. We know how the story goes… God wins. And He wins here today too.”

A few hours later I stood in the dressing room of our venue in a wedding dress God had chosen specifically for me with my eyes closed and listened to family and friends in the room next to me join our worship team in singing:

“Let our praise be Your welcome
Let our songs be a sign
We are here for You, we are here for You

Let Your breath come from heaven
Fill our hearts with Your life
We are here for You, we are here for You”

Here For You, by Matt Redman

We welcomed God into that place. His presence filled the room. It was all about Him, just as it should be.

Then our two children, now young adults, each put an arm in one of mine and together we took the walk I had been anxiously waiting to take toward my husband. As we walked across a lovely white runner, which included the words from Mark 10:9 thanks to my mother, our voices continued to give Him praise as we sang:

“For all Your goodness
I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons
For my heart to find”

10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord), by Matt Redman

Oh yes, God. There are ten thousand reasons and more for my heart to find.

How do I describe the emotions which came as I reached out my hand to take my husband’s hand in mine with our boys standing beside us, with family and friends surrounding us and with God in our midst? I loved my husband so very much on the day when we first said “I do” but never did I imagine how my love for him would grow over the next twenty-five years. Only God could write such a story.

There is so much more to share with you. Isn’t that so like God? With Him, there is always more. And I will share the “more” with you as time allows and as we receive photos from our photographer.

For now, can you guess how our ceremony ended? From the moment we decided to renew our vows, we knew the ceremony could end only one way. We turned toward our family and friends with joy overflowing and sang, “How Great is Our God!”

Our special day was much more than a renewal of our vows. God gave us a new marriage; a transformation only He could do. All praise and glory went to Him and will continue to go to Him.

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{An} Old Oak Table

My husband and I recently completed a nine week Financial Peace University (FPU) course with Dave Ramsey. It's a course our church provides a few times a year. If you have never heard of FPU, I highly suggest you check it out. It will change you. And when you go through it with your spouse, it will have a positive impact on your marriage.

It's powerful stuff. It’s so powerful we have shipped off copies of the CDs to our eldest son to encourage him to go through the course. Afterward, our younger son will receive the same encouragement.

Mostly, I hope our children see a change in how their parents handle money. I pray we also reflect the truth to them: everything we have comes from and belongs to God. He has simply entrusted us to be wise with what He gives and to treat it with open hands. In other words, become like Him and be givers.

Dave Ramsey began and ended the nine-week course with reference to an old oak table. You see, it was around his old oak table where he and his wife declared bankruptcy. Around that same oak table they made the choice to be obedient to God’s instructions by following biblical principles on how to handle money. God actually has quite a bit to say on the topic.

I left the last week of our nine-week course reflecting on the old oak table which sits in our home and serves as our dining room table. The table has been in our home for at least 15 years. And life has surely happened around our old oak table.

The table is battered and worn out. Several years ago hubs started to strip the stain off to prepare it to be re-stained or painted. For the most part, it sits there as bare oak waiting on us to decide. At times, mainly when we entertain, I throw a white table cloth over it for a prettier look.

Like Dave Ramsey, there are good and not-so-good memories which surround our table. Of course many meals were served and eaten around our table but there’s so much more to this table…

Toddlers became middle-schoolers.

Boys became young men.

Homework was fought over.

Art was birthed.

Fights were fought.

Fists were pounded.

Hard decisions were made.

Hearts broke there.

Tears fell.

Forgiveness was given.

Smiles formed there.

God was found.

The Bible was opened and read.

Prayers were lifted.

Grace was said.

“See you later” and “welcome home” moments were spoken and lived.

Love letters were written and mailed.

Care packages were assembled and shipped.

Friendships blossomed.

A marriage proposal prepared for and extended there.

The growth of a family was witnessed.

Losses mourned.

The gifts of redemption and transformation were received.

God’s miracles are still seen daily.

The above memories only scratch the surface of the life lived around our old oak table. Nonetheless, the process of writing down the memories makes me wonder how I could have ever considered saying good-bye to our table. Yes, maybe it's just a table. The memories would not disappear with the table. But I have suddenly grown founder of our table.

I find myself sitting at the table on one of the four chairs slowly falling apart, one being held together with a yellow bow, humming the lyrics to a song by Colton Dixon:

There are days I've taken more than I can give
And there are choices that I made
That I wouldn't make again
I've had my share of laughter
Of tears and troubled times
This is has been the story of my life

I have won
and I have lost
I got it right sometimes
But sometimes I did not
Life's been a journey
I've seen joy, I've seen regret
Oh and You have been my God
Through all of it

Watch video here: “Through All Of It”

Through every event which transpired around our old oak table God has been our God through all of it. Maybe we didn't always see Him. Maybe we went most of those years denying Him. Yet, He was always there knocking, waiting for us to open our hearts to His everlasting love.

Hard stuff didn't stop being lived around our table once we did let Him in for we live in a fallen world. But God continues to be our God through all of it. Instead of waiting on us to respond to His knock, His Holy Spirit now dwells within us.

I think we shall keep our old oak table. Whenever we gather around our table I think we shall take a moment to thank God for being our God.

“You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.”
Psalm 118:28

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His love and grace compels me

Every time my eldest son sends me an email he ends with three words: LOVE YOU MOM. He types them in capital letters while everything else remains as you would expect. He makes it stand out. Oh, how they do stand out. I love those three words. With him on the other end of the world in enemy territory they are even more meaningful to me.

On Sunday morning I woke to an email from him. He stated they went a few days without Internet due their ship’s support of a particular mission.

Words I am not fond of are “in support of a mission.”

My son remains on his ship when these “missions” take place but his use of the word serves as a reality check of where he is and what and who he stands ready to protect and defend: America. You. Me.

The knowledge leaves me speechless. If I pause too long in these thoughts it brings me to tears. It’s different to experience a deployment as a mother verses as a wife. But the same promises God spoke to me during my husband’s deployment are the same ones God speaks to me now.

“So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10

Fear diminishes with the knowledge that the same God here with me also watches over my son.

My son does not know Jesus. At least not the way Jesus wants him to know Him. The more I pursue Christ and allow Him to transform me, the more Christ will be seen in me. If I continue to seek Him and live a life which reflects Him, I believe my son will come to know Him through me.

This compels me.
No, wait. God’s love and grace compels me.

It compels me to seek Him first and to seek Him often.
It compels me to pray for both of our children without ceasing.
It compels me to never let go of hope.

If not through me, God will use another. God knows the desire of my heart (Psalm 37:4).

How can I be sure our children will come to know Him?

He wants us all to know Him.

So I can approach Him confidently knowing what I ask for pleases Him. And I know He hears my prayers. (1 John 5:14).

I believe.
I trust.
I hold on to hope.

I seek Him with all my heart. Before God can use me, He must first have my heart, my whole heart.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

As I grow in knowledge and wisdom of who He is and reflect on all He has done for me, it compels me to obey his commands. Not because I am under the law but because His grace compels me.

When His word tells me I am to have no other god’s before Him and I realize I still have this one god, this love idol, I am compelled to let go. I have held on to this love idol for far too long. My worth is not found in the number on a scale. God, the one and only God, wants so much more for me and for you too.

 “But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.” Exodus 20:6

I choose Him and His unfailing love.

I will throw off anything that hinders my relationship with Him (Hebrews 12:1) and I will give Him my whole heart. I pray for Him to continue to change me so I may reflect His glory, just as He intends, to lead others – especially my children – to Him.

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Present over Perfect

The morning begins with three missed calls and an email from our son. He calls from the other side of the world while he floats out at sea. Opportunities for him to call home are few and far between. I could tell from his email that he misses home. We are missing him too.

I respond with what may be my longest email to him so far.

Because my heart longs for him to know God, I end the email with the verse from Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

After pressing send I crawl back into bed next to my husband with tears in my eyes. He wraps his arms around me and we lie there for the next thirty minutes holding each other. There are still tears as we lie there for how much I miss our son and for how happy I am to have my husband home.

We let go of one another but we are not quite ready to leave the bed. Instead, we scan the TV stations for something to watch. Taking the day slow sounds like a wonderful idea. We land on “Cheaper by the Dozen.” Tears find their way to my eyes again. This missing stuff doesn't get easier.

The feeling of sadness will not lift. Plans for the day include putting up our Christmas tree. I tell my husband, “We need a new tree. Our tree is small and lopsided.”

I open up my computer and log on to Pinterest and start searching Christmas decorating ideas. Of course the pictures are all shiny and perfect. Nothing I could do would ever compare.

With “Cheaper by the Dozen” finally over and tears semi dried up, yet I know full well it wouldn't take much for them to fall again, I decide to join hubs for a morning workout confident it will lift my spirits.

As I ride a stationary bike, I finish reading the book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. In the book Donald Miller talks about a bike ride he took across country. Friends of ours have a son who recently did the same so I sent them a text to suggest their son read the book. I add to the end of the text message, “Let’s do dinner soon.”

I open up the audio version of Bob Goff’s book Love Does next. I’m now on a treadmill as I listen along. I hit the pause button after Chapter 3 because this time around I want my husband to follow along too.

I scan through my library of eBook’s. A while back I started Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist so I decided to carry on where I left off.

“I sometimes hate this house for not being what I want it to be, and I sometimes hate myself for not being that either. But little by little, my funny old broken down house is teaching me that good enough is good enough.” – Shauna Niequist

Shauna’s words remind me of our Christmas tree; the one I told my husband was small and lopsided.

I did not get far in the book before my phone rang.

“Hello Mom.”

My cup runneth over. God is good, ALWAYS.

He tells me that he started reading Love Does again. I sent the book to him in a care package early on in his deployment. “The Jesus stuff is hard to read but it’s funny,” he says. Maybe it’s wishful thinking but I imagine Bob Goff’s words leading my son closer to Jesus. Always have hope, I say to myself.

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

Hubs and I return home. I look up at those gorgeous eyes of his to inform him how wrong I am about our tree. Our tree is enough because it’s ours. Present over perfect . . . that is my wish for this Christmas season.

What is your wish for this Christmas season?

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Three Word Wednesday: Faith ~ Hope ~ Love

Three years and three months ago I wrote my first blog post. This will be my 382nd post. There is nothing significant about this post other than a desire to share with you how the journey of becoming a military family and faith in God collided.

I began writing under a different blog name ~ From an Army Wife and Navy Mom. (The writing was bad . . . very bad.) My first post was written while my husband was completing his training to become a soldier and my oldest son was preparing to leave home to become a sailor. The intent of my blog was to share the journey of being a military family.

At the time I was not a follower of Christ — my husband and I were not followers of Christ. We had never been a church-going family.

The words from 1 Corinthians 13:13 were spoken on our wedding day but they were just words . . . just a verse. Doesn't everyone share the verse on their wedding day?

I started my sixth blog post by writing, "I wouldn't normally talk about faith…." I ended that same post with two words: "Have faith." God had begun moving into our hearts. With those two words a new journey began.

"Have faith in God." ~ Mark 11:22

It was a new journey not only for me but for my husband too. We were miles apart from one another yet God planted a seed in both of our hearts. The journey of becoming a military family became a journey of having faith in God. I had no idea how having faith in Him would change our lives. He really does make all things new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

We became what I believe is a testimony of the miracle only God can perform: a transformation of two hearts. We were a couple joined by God but never really knew God. And then suddenly, even though we were miles apart, we were led down a similar new path of allowing Him to become greater in our lives.

"He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less." ~ John 3:30

Having faith in Him united us in the way God always intended.

***

Here my husband and I are again miles apart from one another. While my husband may be on the other side of the world, the same God here with me is the same God with him.

We both have moments when we are weary from the separation and wonder why He chose this path. The moments of doubt don't draw us further from God — they remind us of how He did choose this path for us and He will surely bless us for our obedience. Our hope is in Him.

"He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name." ~ Psalm 33:20-21

We depend on Him. He is everything we need.

My words at times may reflect a weary heart but I hope they also reveal how God is moving in my life in ways that leave me in awe. He chose this path of becoming a military family for us because it was the path that led us to Him. The time we spend apart is teaching us to lean on Him for strength. Absolutely nothing we experience in this journey will be wasted. He will use it all to show His glory.

"And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory." ~ Colossians 1:27

When I reflect on this truth, it brings me to my hands and knees singing . . . "Here am I, all of me, take my life, it's all for Thee…"

***

In January 2013 I launched my current blog ~ withlove-simplybeth. My writing may have begun with a plan of sharing the journey of being a military family but God had another plan. His plan? For me to simply share how He has transformed my life.

What I hope you find here is love . . . as this is what God is teaching me: to love more and more. I pray you find encouragement here no matter where you are in your faith journey.

I often wonder if my posts are to inward focused but all I know to give you is my heart — so I share my heart with love. It’s a love He planted in my heart three years ago — His love. I pray you see Him and His love for you through the words I write.

"God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them." ~ 1 John 4:16

And the words from 1 Corinthians 13:13 . . . they are no longer just words. They are so much more.

Three Word Wednesday: Your Great Grace

His great grace found me.

His great grace found my family.

As our church family prayed for us on Sunday,

His great grace covered us.

This I know...

It's His great grace that fills me

and gives me the courage and strength to say good-bye.

So I'm breathing in His grace

and I'm breathing out His praise.

His great grace is there for you too.

Will you breathe it in?

I promise when you do
you will be breathing out His praise.

"Your Grace Finds Me"
by, Matt Redman

It's there in the newborn cry

It's there in the light of every sunrise

It's there in the shadows of this light

Your great grace

It's there on the mountaintop

It's there in the everyday and the mundane

There in the sorrow and the dancing

Your great grace

Oh, such grace

From the creation to the cross

Then from the cross into eternity

Your grace finds me Yes,

Your grace finds me

It's there on a wedding day

There in the weeping by the graveside

There in the very breath we breathe

Your great grace

Same for the rich and poor

Same for the saint and for the sinner

Enough for this whole wide world

Your great grace

Oh, such grace

From the creation to the cross

Then from the cross into eternity

Your grace finds me Yes,

Your grace finds me

There in the darkest night of the soul

There in the sweetest songs of victory

Your grace finds me

Yes, Your grace finds me

Your great grace

Oh, such grace

Your great grace

Oh, such grace

So I'm breathing in Your grace

And I'm breathing out Your praise

I'm breathing in Your grace

Forever I'll be Breathing in Your grace

And I'm breathing out Your praise

I'm breathing in Your grace

Forever I'll be

Breathing in Your grace

And I'm breathing out Your praise

Breathing in Your grace

For our God, for our God

Yes, Your grace finds me

Yes, Your grace finds me

Snapshot Love—a family together again. {part 2]

***Snapshot Love — capturing both the small and big everyday moments.*** 

Our day's our not meant to be rushed. As Jeff Goins writes in his post, Three Reasons You Need to Slow Down, "When we race from one thing to the next, we end up leading busy, but insignificant lives." 

While in San Diego I took some advice from Jeff and slowed down to appreciate what each moment had to offer. It was all about being present with my family. We had a beautiful few days together. (For some Snapshot Love from Part 1 go here.)

A leisurely stroll in La Jolla, CA

La Jolla is blessed with lots and lots of sea lions.

I love these next few photos of the men in my life lending a helping hand to the girls.



One of my favorites—my military men!

This next photo would be fabulous if the men were actually smiling like I am.



I should note if you happen to be on our holiday card list don't be surprised if any of these family photos reappear on our card for the upcoming holiday. With the few times the entire family is together in a year that is just the way it goes. I was too excited to share and undecided on which one's I'd use for the card so consider yourself as potentially having a preview of what's to come.

After our time in La Jolla we headed to Carlsbad, CA for lunch. We had plans to make several stops along the coast on the way back but our plans were changed due to a slight emergency.

I will share more later in this post.

Since stops along the coast did not happen for us we eventually ended up back at one of our favorite places—Coronado Island. We walked up and down Orange Street to do some window shopping and then the girls choose to do some beach bumming while the boys played Frisbee.

We returned to Coronado again for some more beach bumming the day before we departed CA.

A great action shot I must say.

This is another favorite! I love my boys and love how they have become friends.

There was a mom and two girls who thought it might be fun to feed the birds.
Nearby birds quickly caught on as this got much worse than the picture shows.
My family was also guilty of trying to contribute but the birds weren't a fan of pretzels.
They did love the little bean bags we had in our possession; we had a few less before we left.



It was only matter of time before Jeremy ended up buried in the sand. It's so him!

This is about as far as he got even though he had hopes for a grand ole' sand castle.

I'm not fond of cigars but since my husband was overly happy with this photo I figured it was only right of me to share. Apparently he and my oldest son like to have one every now and then.

It's the simple moments we had together that won my heart most.

The simple moments:

Hugging my son after six months apart.
Praying together before every meal.
Lunch with the girls on a rooftop.
Watching the men play Frisbee together.
The many walks we took.
Evenings by the pool.
Taking my son to his dentist appointment.
and the list could go on.


Two of my favorite moments:

We made a somewhat speedy return from Carlsbad when our younger son (Jeremy) realized he left his insulin back at the hotel. (He has Type 1 Diabetes.) Later that evening he apologized for ruining our plans. I ensured him his health was what mattered most and how it's all about how we respond in those situations. Apparently God had other plans for us that day. He surprisingly said to me, "God was with us, Mom?" My response was obviously, "Oh, yes He was. He is always with us."

After a difficult morning on the golf course for my oldest son (Zackary) I had the opportunity to give him a hug. It was a hug that lingered longer than a normal hug. The way he held on told me he needed it. A part of me wishes I had prayed out-loud with him before letting go but I hope God spoke to him through that hug.

My children are not followers of Christ. I'm not sure what prompted the comment from Jeremy. He could have been slightly teasing me for believing God is always with us. My gut tells me God is working in both of them and  will one day win their hearts!

Oh my, this went longer than I intended so I will end here. My friend Shannon is busy preparing for her move from an old Victorian home to a 200 year-old farmhouse so she is taking a break from blogging. I'm sure she would appreciate some encouragement and prayers so hop on over to her page won't you please?

And don't forget to link-up something from your week. 

Snapshot Love—a family together again.

I wasn't sure if I'd get around to sharing some photo's with you this week as I'm in San Diego visiting my son and his wife. But sharing at least a few was too exciting to pass up.

The last time I had my entire family together was over the Christmas holiday so I'm sure you can understand how excited I am. We will only have a few days together but I will be grateful for every moment. We haven't planned for any grandiose adventures. All we care about is being together.

Off we go...
(More pictures than words as I must go be with my family.)

From the plane...we are getting close.

First time flyers.

We finally get to hug this son of ours!

Cheers!

You know I love some Red, White and Blue.

We spent a beautiful evening together. 

They are so silly but I love them.

Day 2

The men headed out for a morning of golf.

The two of us shopped!

Dinner on Coronado Island.

There will be more to come but I love ending here for now. My cup is overflowing!

Don't forget to visit my friend Shannon. This is our combined effort to get you to join us in sharing the small and big moments from your week. It is so much fun. Won't you please join in? It's a blog hop!