25th Anniversary and Beach Adventures!

October 31, 2021 / Anne (Grace is my Superhero) / 2 Comments

We celebrated 25 years of marriage in August 2021. Our oldest daughter, Areli, with the help of her siblings, planned a surprise party for us. I was amazed by how they planned, cleaned, decorated, made a superb chocolate raspberry cake, arranged for food, and created a fun diversion to keep us out of the house (shopping at TJ Max).

We were so blessed by our friends, family, and neighbors!

Chris and I had planned for a beach getaway for our 25^th ,but decided that October would be the best time to go. The weekend we had chosen months before became the most beautiful weekend of the entire year! Perfect sunny weather with a nice breeze, not too hot or too cold.

It was the best getaway yet! We had learned the lessons of past vacations. In Cape May last year we learned to revel in His goodness and enjoy the good life everyday of our lives as in Ps.128. In Virginia this year, we learned to be alert and awake, for although the enemy is like a lion looking for someone to devour, we will not live in fear for we have overcome the evil one!

This time we were able to stay alert and awake while enjoying the gifts of God in our lives to the fullest!

Our first stop was Dewey Beach. The town was small and quiet and there was no boardwalk.

Dewey was my favorite beach of the trip because of the nice, soft sand and the peaceful atmosphere.

We sat down to enjoy the sun and surf and were immediately thrilled by a show of dolphins jumping among the waves.

We continued to drive and stopped at Delaware Seashore State Park. We thought we would scout it out for a future camping trip. This state park was not what we were looking for, being just a large parking lot full of campers. We didn’t even get out to explore the seashore. Apparently, Delaware charges a day rate to enter their state parks, even though there was no attendant present.

We drove on to Bethany.

Bethany was my favorite town: lovely neighborhoods with wooded lots, a beautiful downtown with flowers and shops.

The boardwalk was very short and did not offer a view of the beach. The beach was lovely. We got into a conversation with a couple who has lived in Bethany for years and they love it!

We stopped briefly at Fenwick Island State Park. It was lovely but not that different from the other beaches we had seen that day. Because Delaware wanted us to pay to be there, we continued on to our destination, Ocean City, MD.

We had rented a condo on the bay side of North Ocean City. We were right up to the water, and it was quiet and peaceful. We enjoyed our supper out on the balcony and watched the sun set.

We got up early and relished the sunrise on the beach. I really like the beach at Ocean City, MD. It is so wide and so long. In the off season there is plenty of room to spread out.

The city is packed full of high rises and every square inch seems to be developed for making money from tourists. I am sure it is a zoo in the summer with driving and parking being an issue. That would explain why the major stores repeat themselves every few blocks, most visitors wanting to walk from their rental to the beach. In October we had no issues and enjoyed the large city.

We spent many relaxing and rejuvenating hours on the beach. I had been looking forward to basking in the sun while reading a good book for months! Chris did suffer from boredom after a while and wished that the boys had come with us, so he had someone to throw football with.

We spent many hours shopping for souvenirs, one for each child. I was sad when we exited no-sales-tax Delaware but was pleased to find that Maryland had cheaper prices. And if we couldn’t find the perfect clearance t-shirt in size 8 and XL, we just had to drive a few blocks to the next shop.

We walked most of the boardwalk. I loved seeing the display put on by a kite club. I loved the playgrounds and the older buildings with history. Again, the shops seemed to repeat themselves every few blocks. All the restaurants were bars or grills, reinforcing the fact that this is NOT a dry town. It is not a quiet town either. Many shops would be blaring loud music, competing with music from another shop farther down, competing with live music from the Sun Fest at the end of the boardwalk. It still was lovely!

On our way home we stopped at Rehoboth. It was a very beautiful town with charming rental homes in abundance. It wasn’t as small and quaint as Bethany but had much more of a small-town feel than Ocean City. The boardwalk looked much classier. The beach was beautiful, and I walked up and down, looking for shells and enjoying the sun. I had to leave Chris sitting in a small, shaded gazebo because his feet and ankles had gotten as red as a lobster. I couldn’t stay very long without him.

Just as we were about to leave, I remembered the high socks I had in my suitcase. Chris put them on with his sandals, so he could walk the next beach with me. Very Sexy! I was excited to check out Broadkill Beach which was highly recommended. Once we got there it was clear that the only beach access was through renting a home on the beach. We continued until we reached Beach Plum Island State Park. It is on a huge Nature Reserve and rather secluded. As soon as I got out of the car, I got a painful fly bite. The flies continued to munch on me as we trudged to the beach and sat down to have a picnic lunch. The beach was littered with trash and debris, the sand hard and grayish.

Beach Plum Island won the prize for the ugliest beach of the trip!

It was on the bay so the waves were gentle, but I missed the sound of the ocean waves. I could look to my left and see Broadkill Beach, perfect for children because of the small waves and privacy. I wondered if the flies were as bad there and decided that it would not be on my list to visit next time. Those vicious flies finally drove me to finish my lunch in the car as we made our way back home.

It had been a wonderful adventure together, and we were in awe of God’s goodness.

Just two weeks later the forecast was calling for an 80-degree day. Wouldn’t it be fun to take the children to the beach? My original plan was to just take my homeschoolers. All the other children wanted to come, so they were able to take an educational trip and miss school. Chris couldn’t be left out so he took off work.

My three oldest had to work, but the rest of us were really going to do it! Take a day trip to the beach!

We had only ever attempted that once in the past, back in 2008 when we were visiting family in Florida. Much packing, preparation, and driving had led to 20 minutes on the beach. Quickly a thunderstorm blew in with torrents of rain and lighting. We ended up back in the van, soaked through and covered with sand.

This time we decided on Ocean City, NJ and listened to Lamplighter Theater all the way to 5^th street. We found free parking in the lot there and were able to enter the boardwalk at 6^th street where there were large public restrooms.

This beach was very different from the others: narrower and the sand was darker grey and not very fluffy. So many shells! Most were broken but still fun to look through. The older children made straight for the waves and enjoyed themselves in the water. The sand on the bottom was covered with broken shells that hurt their feet. The younger ones began by building in the sand but ended up in the water as well.

The boardwalk was very nice: family friendly without any alcohol at all. We explored a fudge and taffy shop before we headed back to the parking lot for a long ride home and more audiobooks. The younger children had sand everywhere, even after spraying off and wiping down. We gave showers at 10pm and all went to bed happy.

God’s goodness was hunting us down again! Chris was able to play football on the beach with his boys, and we all captured a bit of summer in the middle of October!

The Glorious Now

October 11, 2019October 11, 2019 / Anne (Grace is my Superhero) / 4 Comments

It was a lovely Sunday in August. A perfect day! It felt like the kind of day that would be wasted if not spent out of doors. We decided to be spontaneous and head out for a picnic at Gifford Pinchot State Park rather than go to church.

It is so hard to be spontaneous with 8 children! We had to think about clothes and swim suits and towels, diaper bags and nursing pillows and bibs, strollers and chairs and food. The children were all excited to help, so the preparations went quickly. Probably the biggest hurdle was myself. My very non-spontaneous self. I fretted about this and that, what I would wear that I wouldn’t feel ugly in at the “beach”, what I would feed the baby, how much of the day we had already wasted by sleeping in and taking our time.

Chris took me and looked me in the eyes, “You don’t need to stress. Just enjoy this day.”

I was determined to put all worries out of my mind and sincerely try.

The drive felt incredibly long because of closed roads, a crying baby, and a screaming teenage girl (who acts more like a three year old with her special needs). Chris and I decided to laugh through it, hoping it wasn’t an indication of what to expect on this outing.

The park was beautiful! We found a half circle of picnic tables under a tree and staked our claim. Then we went down to the lake to watch the children swim in the murky water. They had a wonderful time! I stuck my feet in but didn’t relish the slimy feeling of the bottom. We took a break and ate our lunch. Everyone was still happy, so we went back to the water. This time we took camping chairs and sat under the shade of a tree.

I looked out on the lake, full of joyful children. The sounds of laughter and splashing floated through the air. The sky was blue. The sun was shining. The trees surrounding the lake were beautiful.

A cool breeze kissed my face, and I felt the presence of God.

“He is right here, right now,” I thought to myself. “He is filling me, surrounding me.”

Then it struck me – THIS IS IT!

This is what I had been longing for all spring and summer. I had hoped for a getaway to the ocean. True, this was no ocean with pounding waves and sandy beaches. There was only a small cement embankment to separate the grass from the water. But it was perfect!

THIS WAS IT!

This was the rest.

This was the vacation I had been envisioning, praying for, hoping would come. I didn’t have to wait for a perfect moment in the future. I had my heart’s desire RIGHT NOW! I wanted to just sit in the peace, to enjoy it as long as I could. I sent up a quick prayer that none of my children would get hurt and come running to me with shrieks and bloody appendages. A few more minutes passed and the peace remained. The park was crowded with people on such a lovely day, but everyone was friendly and having fun.

Then a new group arrived and set up a very large speaker which began blasting hip-hop music. “No big deal, it is still a perfect day,” I tried to tell myself even as my annoyance grew.

“Why do these people think that everyone here wants to listen to their music,” I thought to myself. “I would be so embarrassed to intrude on everyone’s gorgeous day like that!”

Just then a new sound came through the speaker. A ukulele. The sweet and soothing ukulele version of “Somewhere over the Rainbow,” which had always been a favorite of mine. It brings the joy of dreaming and the contentment of dreams come true. In a season of broken dreams, I had avoided the song, as it had become very melancholy to me.

But today it was the finishing touch on this “dream come true moment” that God had orchestrated for me.

No, I wasn’t at the beach. I didn’t have all my goals accomplished or all of my concerns taken care of. It was simply…

THE GLORIOUS NOW!

I was present.

I was content.

I was deeply blessed.

The Golden Days of Summer

August 6, 2014 / Anne (Grace is my Superhero) / Leave a comment

Ah, those glorious days of summer, kissed by the golden sun!

I was sitting on the back steps under the sunflowers. My children were running barefoot in the green grass. I wanted to drink it all in and not miss a thing. Summer won’t be around much longer. The sunflowers only last for a few weeks.

We will never be exactly the same as we are right now. My children are growing taller and getting smarter every minute. Soon the toddler will be a little boy and the little boy will be a young man. As I watch my children playing in the summer twilight, I think back to the summers gone by, memories now faded and misty with time.

The absolute glory of the end of school. The days suddenly full of free time, balancing between excitement and boredom.

Discovering new things.

Riding bikes.

Playing in the cool creek water. Catching fireflies that turn the dark into a magical fairy land.

Picnics outside.

Birthday Parties.

Fun and laughter.

Get-together with friends.

Now I am grown, and my friends are grown, and we have children of our own.

We still feel like we are teenagers. Full of fun and adventure. Youthful and energetic (at least during the first half of the day)! Still trying to figure out what we want to be when we grow up.

Yet we see that some of our babies have become teenagers.

Mature and responsible. Standing on tiptoe to peak out over the horizon to catch glimpses of adulthood. We realize that we are teenagers no longer. We are adults barreling down the road of life to middle age.

And look at the fruit our lives have produced!

Nineteen children who play in the golden days of summer.

Soon these days, now crisp and sharp, will fade into memories. School will start again. The air will become cool. The leaves will change.

But God’s goodness is unchanging, unwavering. We can savor every drop of summer while we look forward to the glories of autumn.

The radiators turning on for the first time. The nippy air, permeated with the smell of wood smoke. Children romping in the leaves. We can treasure the past, revel in the present, and joyfully anticipate the future. We are pursuing God and dwelling in His love, day in and day out. We are going from glory to glory, going from good times to even better times. We are confident in the promise that these golden days of summer will come around again.

Before we know it, a summer will come when children will go off to college. Someday some of them will get married in the summer…perhaps to each other! We may be gathering as childhood friends turned into family, watching our grandchildren playing barefoot in the grass. And we will be different too. Our hearts will be stretched and expanded to contain more love…more of the goodness of God…more golden days of summer.

grace is my superhero

Grace is always there to catch you!

vacation