Created To Crave

The sun came out today!!! And it was warm! It was a much needed break from the rain. We were so excited that we packed a picnic lunch to take with us and we planned to hop in the van and explore a new beach. We got all our gear ready and went out to the van but I couldn't get the remote car starter to unlock the doors. Finally I realized my battery was dead. Thinking I would deal with it later, the girls and I changed plans and decided to try and discover a new beach by walking. We walked for awhile and realized it would take too long, so we followed a trail until we reached the far side of the beach we normally go to. The tide was out so we were able to walk out on the rocks quite far.  Later we walked closer to the sandy part of the beach and met another mom with her two little girls. The girls had fun playing together and discovering hermit crabs (no crab is safe with Giselle's eagle eyes!) and making their own little tide pools...

"The Missing Day" Today seemed to be the day when all the kids were hit with the homesick bug. There were tears shed, moaning about how LONG this is going to take, and some blatant misbehavior by one little cutie pie that was very trying. So, it's been a day of talking about how we get through this with hope and even joy, instead of moaning and complaining.  I already see God working in our lives here. Amara has overcome some pretty major fears that were crippling her joy. Th at's amazing! She has had to face them and overcome them - and now has more freedom to enjoy the outdoors than she has in years. Giselle told me about how she often feels unloved by me - and so now we have a foundation in which to build on - and I have lots of time in which to do that.  Kylar might or might not have been told by his teacher that he ranks up there with some of the most gifted of her students.  😀  He is loving his classes, but missing home in the free time.  Except m...

A few days before we left for the island, I was trying to quietly creep into bed and not wake Amara who was sleeping on the floor (this was at my parent's home). I miscalculated where on the bed I was and actually fell out of the bed, on top of Amara, but more so on top of my left hand which was holding my phone. I heard a loud "crack!" and had a lot of pain in my middle finger. I was so worried that I had broken it! Amara woke up and said "What are you doing?"  I told her I had fallen out of bed and she sweetly says "I'm so sorry that happened to you."  💗 Anyway, my finger was very swollen then next morning and I debated on going to the ER... but decided against it as there weren't any bones jutting out and it wasn't bent strangely.  It's doing a lot better now, but I still wear the splint a lot. And I have committed to not complaining about my fat knuckles anymore after seeing how fat it got with the swelling!  Just another...

Today was the first day that it has rained all.day.long. Up until now, the sun has generally come out in the afternoon. The girls handled it really well though! Amara listened to an audio book for "quiet time" while I crocheted, and Giselle played quietly on the floor with her toys. We did some school work and Amara started working on her embroidery kit that she received for her birthday. We went for a short walk in the rain just to get some fresh air, but everyone is ready t o go to bed early tonight.  Every time Kylar came in from his classes, he was beaming with another positive story to tell. It makes my heart so happy to see how much he is enjoying this!  So far I would only have had access to a hot plate and a toaster oven for cooking - but I brought my Instant Pot and I'm SO glad I did!! I have used it at least once per day and it's so, so handy. I think the stove is propane and she is a bit worried about us using it.  Tomorrow we might take a drive to ...

First Day of Dog Training School! So Giselle decided to add a little "spice" to my day... After 3 kids, I can honestly say that not a lot embarrasses me anymore. But Giselle definitely managed to prove it's still possible! We were in a little shop of health food items and books. We were in the back where the produce was and the store keeper came to ask if she could help us with anything. Giselle pipes up "Nope we're fine! We're just stealing stuff." And she looked so serious!!! I was mortified and offered the store owner to check my bag and the girl's bags as well. I don't think she quite knew what to say, lol. Needless to say, I'm not sure we will go back there! Oh Giselle  🤦🏼‍♀️ 🤦🏼‍♀️ 🤦🏼‍♀️ Other than that, it was basically a pleasant day. The girls listened to an audio book for a few hours today while it rained. In the afternoon when the sun came out we went to town and later back to the beach. I was able to take some m...

Today was spent finishing unpacking, stocking up on groceries, and exploring the nearby beach. The girls scootered outside on the super quiet street, had some "getting adjusted" tantrums and general not behaving quite as usual... and I might or might not have had 1 or 2 little tantrums as well - and caught myself counting how many more sleeps until home. Ha! Probably not a good idea to go there quite yet. Our new "Tiny House" for the next 5-6 weeks It was stressful and chaotic here until we had the groceries packed awa y, had lunch and then walked to the beach. The beach close by is very rocky and wild. There are a lot of tide pools to explore - and just sitting on the rocks, watching the wild waves crashing onto the outlying rocks is amazing, and gives great perspective.  As usual, Giselle was in there with all her Giselle enthusiasm - finding dead crabs and then some live ones, gathering a crazy amount of shells in her pockets and running all o...