Castles in the Sand

To the beach we come again

by the grace of God's great hand

We eat, we play, we jump in the waves

ride bikes, watch movies & walk each day

Castles are built everyday in the sand

and decorated with shells by small tiny hands

So it goes, our time at the beach

Away from life and the struggles that reach

Yet I notice that each dawn brings

plain, white sand with no castles to be seen

Where went our hard work down on our knees?

Shoveling & filling our buckets with glee

Much like real life we work hard each day

shoveling & decorating in many different ways

There's a lot of work to be done

Much like those castles out in the sun

But, each day brings reminders of God's love

Love that is faithful, constant & from above

We wake in prayer for each new day

with castles gone but sins washed away

The waves pound upon the shore

Small or big but always more

Every day life begins with demands

too constant & too much for our small hands

We feel so overwhelmed

when the tide of life begins to swell

So loving and faithful, God begins to reshape

The shores of our lives by His amazing grace

Another day has just begun

Let's start with praise on our tongue

For the One who loves us so

castles to build and waves to roll

Photos from the beach!

new bathing suits :)

Me and my girls!

Hunta and Lizzie!

Beach Pictures

Anna Claire knitting her first scarf!

This is the jellyfish that Anna Claire picked up thinking it was a shiny toy!

Spring Break!

For our pre-spring break (that's what I call it since it won't technically be spring until Monday) we went to the beach with my mom and my good friend from college, Claire. The girls have been anxiously waiting for this trip. We headed out on Monday morning and returned this afternoon. We had a fun trip except for the 30 minutes right after Anna Claire picked up a jellyfish in the water thinking it was a shiny toy!

Claire packed lots of craft activities for the girls to do on our trip including knitting, fusion beads, and making pot holders. Anna Claire LOVED the knitting and Lizzie LOVED the fusion beads!

We also ate yummy food from my favorite beach places, rode bikes, went on sea shell walks and jumped waves!

A lady we know was staying a couple of doors down from us and Anna Claire ran over to pet her puppy and to talk at her. When I went over to retrieve Anna Claire the lady said, " How did I not know you had a 3rd daughter? Anna Claire said she is taking a nap up in the beach house and that she is 15 months old." I quickly told her that Anna Claire is obsessed with calling her new favorite baby doll my 3rd daughter and that I had no plans for number three!

We are happily settled back home and Lizzie is so happy that I moved out her winter clothes and put her spring/summer clothes in her closet!

Soccer Super Star

Despite her wishes we signed Anna Claire up for soccer. She did not want to play but Russ and I knew she would love it after the first practice. Thankfully, we were right! She had her first practice last night and loved every minute. She talked incessantly at her coach. I'm not sure what he thought of that since he only has sons. The highlight of the evening was the fact that she has another Anna Claire on her team! She is very excited about her first game next week!

Blue Jean Queens

Amazingly enough, Anna Claire, who HATES buttons and blue jeans picked both to wear to school one day this week! She looked adorable. Lizzie, wanting to match, wore a similar outfit but held fast to her signature color: pink.