sports highlights

before March break it was a week of bliss for Jeff.  time off work to travel to first, the Ontario Winter Games with Hannah, and then, OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) with Joelle and Hannah.  he made it back just in time to unload the van, re-pack the van for Florida, catch a few hours sleep and hit the road again.  he loved it all~ but for those that know him well, that's a no-brainer...

i hated missing these two big events, yet much carried on here while they were gone with the five of us that stayed behind.  i was sooo happy for matches on video, pictures and texted updates.  kept me going.  proud of my two for even showing up.  these two tournaments are big, surely nerve-rattling, and physically draining.  they wrestled with character and strength.

Hannah with other Sarnia Winter Games competitors below...they connected, made fun memories, and loved the hotel lifestyle a whole bunch.  making your own bed at home isn't nearly as glamorous...plus the in-room coffee maker was put to good use too, i'm quite sure.  knowing Hannah.

 great team support with a strong podium finish for a friend of Joelle's~ she clinched a silver medal for all of Ontario to finish off her highschool career! 

  

 

so funny, because ten years ago i wouldn't have believed i'd have two daughters in the above photo, for wrestling....hockey, maybe, but wrestling stills surprises me... :)  if wrestling had been an option when i was in highschool, i think i'd have gone for it like they have.  fun to see them experiencing it.

 

florida

sigh.....we're back....settling in, trying to stay warm and positive in the snowy North...actually, i'm having to practice what i've preached to the kids.  i told them "don't be sad it's over, be happy it happened!"  and so it is, i repeat this to myself multiple times a day as i get back into my groove carefully and gently.  last week's March break is already feeling a bit distant, however, thankfully this blog will forever allow me to remember the wonderful time away we shared together.  i know i talk a lot about being grateful~ and i definitely don't always get it right, but on Friday as i walked alone to the pool to meet my crew there, i was so consciously grateful for the amazing opportunities we (our crew of eight) have in this life, and Little Harbor, Florida being just one of the many.  Layla and i had just been talking about how many people worldwide never even take one vacation, and how sweet Yonas would probably not even understand the concept.  that many people never even leave the city or village of their birth.  really, we met people in Africa like that.  it is inconceivable for them to consider a vacation ever, let alone every year.   last year we skipped a family vacation and it made this one feel long overdue,  but imagine never having that luxury?  so, the walk to the pool in the warm sun with palm trees at every turn :) brought all these thoughts to the surface and i whispered a prayer of thanks for such extravagance we enjoy in North America. 

to sum it up, Florida trip #1 was refreshing, fun, and adventurous family togetherness which restored all of us, i do believe.  our rented condo began to feel like a second home, and it was all we had hoped it would be!  it was restful and warm and extra great to meet up with Jeff's dear parents as well.  thanks to their knowledge of the area, they showed us around and just spent time hanging out with us.  our kids have all said how much they enjoyed that, B&C!  it was great to laugh more, slow the pace, sleep in, hang out together minus the distractions, and even the thirty-six hours on the road were so much better than expected.  for the record, the kids are travelling champs!  they didn't like the long drive, but weren't complainers at all, and eight in the van went far smoother than i had envisioned.  anybody have the Little Critters book "The Trip"~ well, that's more what i was imagining! haha...nope, no frazzled nerves or disasters in or out of the van~ i guess the kids are getting older now, but even still, that's thirty-two limbs in a minivan....

so, here are a few pictures.  all from my phone, so not amazing photography but still, it works...

 

oh, how we loved the hot tub~ especially in the evening after dark.  one of my favourite things was watching the kids go from cold pool to hot tub, over and over again. 

 

 

Joelle driving me around in the golf cart at the trailer park where Jeff's parents are.  on an alligator hunt.....five were found~ and the biggest is below, slipping into the water....eeekkk!!!

 

 

my three fish...

 

 

 real flowers!! everywhere!  it was so good to see....



i know, i should take up photography in my spare time :)

 

whose legs are these??  Layla, mastering the hand stand.

 

this is what i loved this week~ chillin' together.

 

supper at the restaurant on the last night...

 

 

at sunset, a view of the hotel and marina.

 

Little Harbor beach.  i. want. to. go. back.

Steak 'n Shake on the way home.  fun place with good food.  all eight of us for $23??  ummm, why doesn't this chain exist in Canada??? 

 

all tuckered out.  was really smooth driving at that point so we decided to keep truckin' home.  it was great to climb into bed, even if it wasn't the king size bed i'd gotten used to :)

 

that's a wrap!  my tan is fading but my heart is full! 

 

deny

the link below is from Molly, a sweet young girl who has worked at God's Littlest Angels (GLA) orphanage in Haiti for many years.  we had the pleasure of meeting her when we picked up Hudson in 2006.  talk about the kind of girl you hope your son meets some day....wow, she is real-deal beautiful and the picture of grace and mercy to the little lives she touches there every single day.  read her blog post about Deny.  consider how you can help him by sharing his story and simply holding him up in prayer.  imagine if Deny finds a forever family because of Molly's post?!!!  that would be so amazing....
while you are there, check out GLA's website too and maybe you'll get the urge to support this life-changing ministry in one way or another.  my dream?  to return and volunteer there with my own older kids one day.......someday perhaps.