Fun in the Sun (and Mist!)

We had a wonderful time at Bethany Beach the last few days, where the family of my mom's special friend Margaret opened their beautiful beach home to our family. We weren't sure how it would go (with the girls having chicken pox) but figured it would be a blessing just being together.

I'm amazed at how God provides in big and little ways for us. The first day there the older kids and Daddy enjoyed some time at the beach while the younger ones took naps and later we took an evening walk on the beach all by ourselves. It was beautiful, and a joy to introduce Sean to the ocean. The summer has not officially hit yet so the beach wasn't at all crowded. The next day we were able to take the whole family there in the afternoon...there was a heavy mist or fog so you could not see very far in any direction and the sun didn't come through very much but it was warm enough to be able to wade in the water. Again we were the only ones there except lifeguards and the kids enjoyed the sand and running around in the water. I was glad the sun wasn't hot with their chicken pox, and the girls were feeling much better and their playful selves, and weren't at all bothered by the sand or the salt water. The next day we went back in the morning, as a thunderstorm was coming, and when we went the sun came out, warmer but still not too bad, and there was only a few groups there at a distance. All the children had so much fun collecting shells and building sand castles--I'm glad we had the opportunity, as they had really hoped to go to the ocean while we were back East. We're so thankful for the kindness and generosity of our friends. We ended up being able to stay an extra night--which again was a blessing because there was a bad thunderstorm our last night there, which is when we would have been driving home. Praise God for the way He takes care of us.

Sean really loved the sand. We knew he would as one of his favorite things to do was to play in the dirt at the orphanage -- I think he would've been content to play in it all day, if he hadn't discovered THE OCEAN! He was really enthralled with the water. We had a lifevest on him (just in case) that had a strap that John held on to. John thought it was a great workout for his balance :) He also enjoyed playing with a cooler filled with water--washing is hair and getting inside it too. He also thoroughly enjoyed getting icecream and french fries at the ocean.

It has been a blessing to see our (biological) children so loving and welcoming to Sean--he truly is seen by them as their brother. Elsie and Annabelle will often give him hugs and kisses... it is precious. Haylee, Naomi and Jonah so willingly play with him and help "watch" him and help him with things. At times I have felt a bit overwhelmed at having 6 children with the newest addition so active and curious and having absolutely no fear; but God shows me again and again how it is our entire family that He called to adopt Sean and that all of us are a part of meeting his needs. Sean has been very sweet with the children-- occasionally a push over a toy or something but so far nothing serious, and he seems to really enjoy everyone in the family. It is a blessing to me to see him with my husband and the relationship they have formed through this. He is learning to listen and obey, to eat what we give him, to go to sleep in his bed (now a pack-n-play), to make some basic signs, and to be a part of a family. Its been neat to open his world to new things--places we've gone and things he's gotten to see and do--but the absolute best part is his learning that he belongs to our family.

We had to postpone our flight back to SD a week just to make sure the kids are able to travel. Their blisters are healing well and we expect within a day or 2 that they will no longer be contagious at all. Though we'd hoped to have some time back at home together before John returned to work, we hope to make the best of it and take the children on some great fieldtrips here this week before we fly home on Saturday.

My goal now that we're back from the ocean is to finally get some pictures on here!!!