A few beach photos... to remember the summer by

I think I may say this every year, but it seems even more true this year. Summer went by waaaay to fast!

Although it has still been well over 100 degrees around here, our "fall" routine has officially started and life seems a bit crazy at the moment! I have about a million blog posts swarming around in my head and zero time to type them out or even make sense of my thoughts at all! So for now I just stick to reading other amazing blogs whose writers put it SO much better than I ever could (like this one, or this one, or this one or this one are my favorites right now) and I'll end up posting a few pictures or a video or whatever strikes my fancy for today! (P.S. If you actually click on those links- you will notice a theme here with what I am reading!) Hopefully soon I can process all that is happening in my heart. But not yet. God is still giving me the words. The Lord has been stirring me and changing me in a crazy new way. And I have a feeling that a month from now I will be even different than I am today. In fact I expect it. Because a funny thing happens when we start begging God to break our hearts with the things that break His. We can't remain the same.

More to come on that topic... you can count on it! :)

But for now, today I am reminiscing of our little vacation at the coast... and feeling in the mood to post pictures. And because it's my blog- I can do that!

So, I have had a few friends ask about the beach pictures that have been popping up here and there on my blog and facebook- wanting to know who took them. Well I am proud to say that I did! I was determined to get all 9 of the cousins in a decent picture while we were at the beach, so with the help of my sweet sis-in-law we figured out the right clothing, planned it for early into the trip, and just got 'er done!


We steered away from the TRADITIONAL "beach portrait" look of everyone matchy matchy in white and khakis or jeans.


And I LOVED it!

I think it just "pops!" against the muted sand and ocean backround. I know, not everyone's taste- but it worked for this crowd! :)




When did he get so big?


A favorite of my nephew Samuel


It's the twins!


This one could quite possibly be my favorite of the entire week. I LOVE their expressions and everything else about it! Elliana simply adores her cousins!


A few strong men!


Sweet sweet Makenna


Noah- always photogenic. Always.


ANd this one cracked me up! It's the popeye face!

Yes, the dads were there too! I managed to get a few family shots.




And after a little bit, I just made sure the camera settings were correctly adjusted and then handed it off. Aren't you proud of me?! First was Randy. I think he did an amazing job with this one- I love this photo.



And then Allyson took over. She did awesome- I am so glad we got a few of our family. You know the "really important shots" that you don't want to miss. Like this one. hee hee.


No really, I love some of these that she took




If you normally receive Christmas cards from us- forget you ever saw these! lol

Just wanted to relish in the lazy days of summer for a little while longer. So much to be thankful for and to praise the Lord for. Even as we get into the next crazy couple of weeks (only two more weeks till Africa and LOTS to do still!)I don't want to get overwhelmed by the tasks and forget that I am serving the Lord and not anyone or anything else. Looking at all these kids together makes me so thankful that we homeschool and have such a great relationship with the cousins. The truth is- summer doesn't have to end just because school started! In fact today we headed to a local park with water to splash around in and there were dozens of other awesome friends there to play with! Should have brought my camera, but it was a bit too wild!
Anyway, thanks for bearing with me through all these photos!

And speaking of wild...




Next post: Update about our trip to Ethiopia- and another way you can be involved! Stay tuned!