Remembered Joy

"For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day" John 6:40


...an Irish Prayer by Shannon Moseley

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
I'm following the path God laid for me.
I saw his face, I heard his call
I took his hand and left it all.
I could not stay another day
To love, to laugh, to work, or play;
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
If my parting has left a void,
then fill it with remembered joy
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
Yes, these things, I too shall miss.
My life's been full, I've savored much:
Good times, good friends, a loved-one's touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief-
Don't shorten yours with undue grief.
Be not burdened with tears of sorrow,
Enjoy the sunshine of the morrow.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God called me home and set me free.

Nancy Kelly McGuigan McGinn
1927-2007

May the road rise up to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall softly upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4

St. Augustine

Kevin and I spent last weekend in the "the nation's oldest city", St. Augustine. The boys were lucky enough to have Grandma down from VA to spoil them rotten without the prying eyes of parents to ruin a good time. We all enjoyed the break. It is amazing how much adult conversation occurs without interruption from the back seat- I forgot I had that much to say!

We started our Saturday with a stop on the way for BBQ. YUM! This place did not disappoint.
We drove the rest of the way to the hotel where we were able to check in early and after a short rest from the long drive, we proceeded into historic St. Augustine. We made a pit stop at the San Sebastian Winery for a tasting and a tour then headed over the Bridge of Lions to the St. Augustine Lighthousewhere we braved all 219 steps to the top. That was some climb! The lookout was amazing, the view breathtaking, and I was a little nervous. I'm not usually afraid of heights but standing on a small balcony with a VERY thin metal barrier between me and the extremely long drop to the ground was intimidating and made me grateful that the kids weren't there. That would have been enough to cause a panic attack in the Dali Lama. Unfortunately (or possible fortunately due to our next adventure), we forgot the camera for this portion of our trip- all the photos were taken on Sunday.

We left the lighthouse and walked around the historic district, which is a hot tourist destination. We didn't go to the fort or any of the museums, as we've seen most of them during previous visits with the kids. Instead, we moseyed over to our favorite pub for an early dinner.

Kevin had fish-n-chips and I ordered a scotch egg- and again... YUM! But what a bummer, the pub's for sale so it might not be there next time.

As we were sitting down enjoying our very British food we were watching the sky grow dark. Before we were able to settle up and get out of there, the bottom dropped. We waited and waited for the rain to stop and once it had slowed significantly, we decided to make a run for the car. Did I mention the car was several blocks away? And we heard the waitress mention how quickly downtown floods? And I didn't plot out our course before we took off running? And the map got wet and fell apart? And ALL the streets look the same when you are drenched and running knee deep through water praying that lightening won't strike you dead? Thankfully, lightening did not strike and we made it to the car safe but wet. We've had quite a "stormy relationship", as many of you already know, so this only adds to our repertoire.

The rest of our trip was less eventful. We browsed outlets and turned in early. Then in the morning we sampled the hotel's continental breakfast and enjoyed frozen cappuccinos during a quick stroll around the city. We didn't stay too long on Sunday and managed to find the car just as the drops of rain from this storm started.

On the way home we decided to stop at The Lone Cabbage for atmosphere and a bite to eat. We did not go out on an air boat because of another pending storm.

What an awesome weekend! Thanks Mom, for watching the boys. I know they had as much fun as we did. In closing, here's a couple of pictures of the boys and Grandma before we left to take her to the airport.

When did Sully get this tall?

Trouble in a Chair, Revisited

Wordless Wednesday

Visiting Granny

The boys (all 3 of them) and I just returned from visiting Granny's condo down south... south Florida that is. Granny is Kevin's grandmom who loves to treat the boys and is a lot of fun to hang out with. Sully and Nathan enjoy yummy things like doughnuts at breakfast and jello for dessert after lunch. One of their favorites from Granny is berries with whipped cream. During a previous visit, Nathan wanted to make sure I went home with that recipe. The kids and I were fortunate to spend several weekends down in Boca last year before moving to Virginia but haven't had as much opportunity to go since we've been back in Florida.

Granny always takes the boys to the pool and sometimes even the beach. We were able to do both this time. The beaches in Boca are really nice, the water is clear and there are usually interesting shells to collect. The weather was lovely while we were there. One small storm cleared quickly so we were able to go to the pool in the morning and the beach in the afternoon.
I didn't take any pictures of this trip but I'm including one of my favorite pictures from a visit last year.

Music Makers

Today was the first day of band for Sully and recorder for Nathan (and me). For Sully, this is old hat and he predictably did a good job. He's taking beginning band to brush up on theory but is also playing sheet music with the concert band. It seems to be a good combination for him. Nathan was very excited about class and did very well. His class is a very gentle introduction to recorder and music theory. I really like the instructor. Nathan can now tell you what a staff, quarter note and quarter rest are and he can play a B and C. We practiced this evening and he didn't want to stop. There are 5 lines of music on his practice page and after playing line 2 he emitted a belly laugh and said, "That was SO fun!"

Belgian Malinois?

My super-sleuth son Sully (I must be into alliteration lately) figured out after studying the dog breed poster at obedience school that Duke is not a German Shepherd mix but what we believe to be a Belgian Malinois (MAL-in-wah). He sure looks like one especially when compared photo to photo with a German Shepherd. And he seems to fit the temperament description- one website calls them Mali-nuts because of their sometimes obnoxious behavior... that's definitely our dog!

Speaking of obedience training...
My high expectations were almost dashed about 30 seconds after walking into the training center last week when "devil-dog" showed up- that's Duke's alternate personality. He gets a little excited with the prospect of playing with other dogs and when faced with around 15-20 dogs, he was beyond wild. In no time, I was standing there bleeding from the gashes in my arm caused by his behavior. Okay, they were really just scratches and I now know he needs his nails cut but we were very close to turning around and walking out with no training. Luckily he calmed down enough for me to pull him out of the corner and into the ring. After so much difficulty with him, I was thrilled to find out that a class requirement is to maintain the same trainer for the duration of the 8 week course. Actually it's probably good for me to be the one "in control" because he already seems to listen to Kevin better that to me. Once in the ring, however, he completely redeemed himself, which seems to be another pattern with him. He is a dog made for training! After what I'll call "the episode" he got down to business and was heeling like a pro! Next week I'll just wear long sleeves!

Here he is playing with the toys sent home for him today.

Roseate Spoonbill

I had seen this guy hanging at the park earlier this week so when I went yesterday I tossed my camera in the car hoping to get a shot. The first time we saw these birds was on a trip down one of the birding trails along the nature reserve. There was a huge flock of them. I've never seen a solitary spoonbill but maybe he thinks he's an Ibis? I love these prehistoric looking birds- Florida is a great place for birdwatching.

The foggy looking shots are just my camera lens fogging over because of the heat.

Say Tomato

We finally went out to pick our tomatoes this afternoon. Actually the boys picked while I took pictures then I went through to get those they'd missed. I can't wait until our "regular" big tomatoes turn red. We have several and they are getting bigger every day but all are still green.

How to Occupy an Unruly Dog

Wordless Wednesday

Masterpiece

Here are two of the pictures the boys worked on last week during their art classes.

The seascape is Nathan's handiwork and the portrait is the one Sully did and didn't like. I think he did a fabulous job. Both done in watercolor, which isn't the easiest medium to work with.

Happy Father's Day

To all the fabulous fathers out there especially those whom we know and love. We appreciate all you've done and continue to do for us. We, as a family, are blessed to have several fathers and grandfathers, here and in heaven, who are all irreplaceable.
As for Father's Day at our house, Kevin enjoyed presents and breakfast in bed this morning- made by the boys who did an excellent job. He's now grilling out, a favorite weekend pastime.

Also, a special hello to my dad who (of course) is the greatest dad around! Love you Dad!!!!
Now for the photo montage...

Here's Dad way before kids and grandkids.

And although this didn't scan in as well as I'd have liked, here's my dad as I remember him when I was small... he was always the one behind the lens, and rarely in front of it.




And here he is as Grandad... as we get to enjoy him now- at the park, Busch Gardens and the zoo.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD!!!!!

Ingenious Organizing Strategy...

... or REALLY dumb idea- you decide!

I'm not sure what made me think organizing Lego's would be a great family activity but here we are.

Kevin pulled out the camera to record our fortune in Lego's but after looking at these pictures I feel the need to explain the gross multitude. First, both boys love Lego's thus they are a popular request for Christmas, birthdays, and outings with grandparents as well as the end to the "I'm saving my money for" goal. So a portion of this pile is a 7 year collection. We were also blessed to be the recipients of a huge (and by huge, I mean HUGE) bin of Lego's from our former neighbors when their son went away to college.
We worked and sorted for a little over 4 hours (no I'm not kidding), the boys were getting tired and I was Lego-ed out but believe it or not as we were picking up Nathan asked if we could sort Lego's again as soon as we get up in the morning!!! Oh my! Needless to say we are not finished yet but the ultimate goal is to put all (or most) of the sets together, decide if any are past their playing prime and then have access to the favorites to hopefully end (or greatly decrease) the "I can't finds". We'll just have to see if it happens as soon as we get up.


I also want to point out the not-eating-Lego's-dog in the background. Good boy Duke!!!

Simple Fun

After reading this post over at Musings of a Housewife, I was reminded of all the simple things we used to love to do when I was a kid. Feeding the ducks, tossing rocks into the creek, climbing trees... So today was a day of simple fun...

Sprinkler fun...
Running...

Jumping...

And it wouldn't be complete with out a crazy pose!

Then there was serious sandbox fun...
Scooping...

Digging...

Dumping...

Then there's the "I'm 12 and too cool for the sprinkler or sandbox today but ask me tomorrow because I may just change my mind" fun...

Clear for Take-Off

Shuttle went up yesterday and the boys drove up with Chris and Cori to watch it from across the river. Kevin got some good photos- too bad that pesky tree was in the way!

Can't we go to Puppy Class EVERY day?

Here's the tornado now...

...snoring LOUDLY