Hope

I couldn't help but think about the CT tragedy over the weekend and today when I was helping with preschool. I am sure the thoughts will continue for a long time. I don't know if I can even find the right words to express what I'm feeling. My heart hurts for the children, families and school staff. Hopefully some good can come from the horrific event that occurred. I hope it will shine some light on mental illnesses; the people who are struggling with it cannot just be pushed aside like nothing is wrong, they need love and help! I pray that all those involved with the tragedy are able to find support and peace.

This past weekend was our church's Christmas program. The kids replayed the story of Jesus's birth. When you think of His story it also involved tragedy but thank God the story doesn't end there. There is hope for something so much better.

{my little K sheep on the right}

{photo of Kaelyn by her Grandma Cindy}

Kaelyn was thrilled to have her cousin and grandparents come to her Christmas program. She said the only bad part of the day was when everyone had to go home. :)
Little ones are so precious... family, time, love mean more to them than any "thing" could.

Jesus said,"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

The Snow has Arrived

I was starting to wonder if we were going to have a white Christmas or not since the weather has been so nice lately. Well, early Friday morning I awoke to Kaelyn yelling, "Mom it snowed! It snowed! Look out the window!!!" She was so excited and couldn't wait to get home from school so we could play in it together. :) Then Saturday morning she played in the snow with her neighbor friends. (I lucked out and didn't have to get out that day and be a target for snowballs.)

 

Then Sunday we had a blizzard...

 

You would think it was finally calming down and then another big gust with snow...

So thankful to have a nice warm house, electricity and time with my family. K and I played lots of games this weekend. Junior Monopoly and My First Skip-Bo were a couple of our favorites. :)

 

Hope you had a great weekend and stayed warm!

The Unknown



Be still and let God... sometimes that is all we can and should do.

 

Little did I know how much my own work of art was telling me. I'm not sure I'll ever get over trying to control things in my life. It is so hard to sit back and just let things happen. Sometimes moves have to be made in order for change to occur. I guess I'm not the best at knowing when to make a move and when to be still. Our family had some huge plans in progress but something else recently came up and everything has been thrown up in the air. I realize once again, I am not in control. All we can do is be still and let God show us His way. Our journey continues...

Corolla

I'm not quite sure what happened to November? It was a whirlwind to say the least... a roller coaster of emotions. Hopefully December will be a little more laid back and we can enjoy the Christmas festivities. To get myself thinking of more relaxing things I can at least turn to these photos... second best to actually being there.

Here's Corolla Beach...

We originally headed up to the northern part of Corolla to find the wild horses. Little did we know you had to have 4 wheel drive to get there and hiking wasn't an option. Since I like to watch my pennies we didn't go with the spendy tours to get there so we opted for some beach fun.

Corolla Beach was beautiful but it was a lot more crowded then Coquina Beach (farther south) and it didn't have any of the amenities that Coquina had. Your car was the changing room.

Horses or not, Kaelyn was thrilled to get back on the boogie board...

 

Right across from Corolla Beach we found Currituck Lighthouse.

and we were all for climbing the 214 stairs to see the views from the top.

Once back on the ground level we found a fun little nature path.

Even though we didn't see what we originally planned we had a lot of fun and spent very little. Can't beat that! :)

From the princess...

 

Happy Halloween!!!

 

♥ Kaelyn {age 4}

Quote to Ponder

 

"Healing does not mean going back to the way things were before,

but rather allowing what is now to move us closer to God." ~ Ram Dass

Life Lately

Just a few random things from our life lately...

{K loves having visitors!}

{Our pastor told K she could pick a pumpkin from their patch... she was so excited!}

{Fire Safety at preschool... she was one of the few girls who wasn't afraid of the trucks & firefighters.
She tried on some gear and even got to spray water. She had so much fun! Photo taken by her teacher.}

{Hubby ran the Jack 15 ~ 15 mile run from White to Brookings}

{Still having fun at 10+ miles}

{K loves to cheer on her daddy and finish races with him.}

{K got a medal for finishing too! David did a fantastic job and beat most of the relay teams!}

{Pumpkin party at Grandma Cindy's}

{Riding horse with cousin Laney}

Bless Her Always Prayer

 



I remember days of searching everywhere for a good kids Christian gift. There weren't many stores nearby that gave me many options and rarely did something say just the right thing... so down the road it led me to create my own items. Thank goodness etsy has made shopping so much easier! :) Here is my newest prayer that is currently available in my shop. The print comes from my original acrylic painting. I've always liked to give the letters a bit of a vintage/worn look to represent a lasting faith. Here's a cropped shot to show the detail:

 

Due to special requests, boy versions (like this one) of the prayer are also available.

Manteo

Manteo fit our family perfectly. The island had so much character, was quiet yet offered a wide variety of things to do. Definitely a family friendly place. Straight out from where we stayed was the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse and to the left of there was a Maritime Museum. Yes, my husband liked that! Pretty sure he stopped by at least once a day. :) Very close to the museum were lots of shops and galleries. I love browsing through art galleries and Kaelyn really enjoyed them as well because most had a pet inside! Win, win for the whole family. Here are a few of the highlights from Manteo...

Maritime Museum

{this sailboat had just been built, Roanoke Lighthouse in the background}

North Carolina Aquarium

{Kaelyn's favorite part ~ petting the stingrays}

Elizabethan Gardens

A very unique garden. I wouldn't say the flower gardens were all that impressive but the statues sure where!

Amazing!

North Carolina bees are enormous!

Seriously, they look like they could eat you!

Roanoke Island Festival Park

A great spot for kids to learn and play.

We were lucky to be able to look around the ship before a storm came.

 

There were several more things we could have done on the island but these were the bigger things we chose to do and they were all very affordable.

 

I kinda wish I had a job reviewing different destination spots... of course my family would have to join me to really test them out. :)

Do you have a favorite place you like to visit? I would love to hear about it!