Learning To Let Go.....

It's been very hard for me this week to "let go" of my first born child. Jacob isn't a little kid anymore, he's almost 12 and he's maturing emotionally so very quickly....too quickly for his Mom....I'm learning this week that sometimes, I have to put the well being and safety of my children in the hands of others. For a parent, that's one of the hardest things to do.

I spent the first day or two of this week in utter worry...why? I have no idea, I have nothing to really worry about, except for the fact that my soon to be 12 year old is 45 minutes away....in a place that I just loved for three summers of my life...a place where if i could go back in time...I would go back to 1987-1989...Twin Pines Camp....those were the years where I learned to have confidence in myself, where I taught other children about the love of Jesus Christ, and where I made some of the bestest friends...friends I've lost touch with...and have now reconnected with in some way because of...you guessed it...FACEBOOK!

Jacob is now half way through his first full week at Twin Pines...in the woods...with a good friend from Church..and I'm hoping they are having a blast with all they get to do this week.

I've gotten over my worry and it's only Wednesday! I look forward every morning to signing on and viewing the photos from the previous days events, anticipating seeing Jacob in the photos.

I'm learning this week...learning to adjust to the fact that my 11 pound first born baby is now an almost 12 year old middle schooler who can do alot without his Mom....

9 years ago today

My sweet Emma was born. Nine years has gone fast...faster than I would have liked, but she is growing up into such a neat little girl....she gives us our fair share of minor torment, but she is such a sweet heart, from her caring side of always asking about a friends little girl named Caitlyn, to her giving side when she is "looking" for things to do around the house for mom, to her adventurous side of checking out the mulberry trees in the yard for berries...she is my little sweet Emma.

We knew Emma was a girl from the start. We wanted a girl to complete our little family. Our experiences during the pregnancy were scary none the less....from the umbilical hernia surgery while 6 months pregnant, to two hospital stays once she was here.....and then the whole insulin dose every day...she was worth it, well worth it.

She's grown up so much the past two years alone, I can hear her voice changing, her questions becoming more serious, her reading becoming more intriguing.....she's definitely forming her own little personality...one that I will enjoy watching mature over time.

I'm going to surprise her tonight with a little store bought cake, since we already celebrated her birthday this weekend and I put most of my effort into making her cake already, I think she would enjoy a little cake on the actual day of her birthday.

Happy Birthday little Emma, I love you so very much...you have no idea.

One more day....

At the beach and then we head home. It's been eventful, I can say that for sure, changing by the day, that's a fact....but it's been spent with family, and nothing can compare to spending quality time with your family.

It's been nice and cool with no humidity the past two days so yesterday we visited the OC MD boardwalk. Had our lunch on the boardwalk, came home and Scott made us dinner. Mixed a few bike rides in there and some walks to town. Last night we played on the beach while Pop and Wendy listened to the band concert on the boardwalk.

I went for another walk to town this morning, I think this is one of my favorite things to do here. Town is so darn close and everything is within walking distance, I love this place. Spent the day on the beach again today, wasn't real hot so it was nice to just sit and relax.

Scott took his new "old" video tape recorder out and used it a bit to practice shooting while I took the bike for a spin. Later in the evening we walked up to town and listened to the army band again, saw dad go up and stand while they sang a song to the veterans. Had some really yummy ice cream and custard at dickies....yummmmmm.

Now were back at the house and were tired, especially with getting up early in the am, I mean, a girl needs her coffee...right?

Day 3...and the heat continues

It's wicked hot here on Bethany Beach. This isn't always a bad thing if you plan to spend your days on the beach and in the ice cold ocean water. That's what we did today again, there was a cool breeze off the ocean which made it nice to sit...but the kids got bored yet again and we ended up leaving in spurts....It was still a nice day at the beach and once again I think I look like the indian that my parents brought home from the hospital...lol.

Tonight was eat out night, so we went over to Harpoon Hana's for dinner. Once we sat down the storms started, it got pretty windy and we saw some pretty cool lightning, but by the time we left it was all over. The fun began when we got back to Bethany and realized we had no power and the streets had some pretty nice size puddles!

Let the games begin! The kids pulled out their games and Scott and Jake and I ran to the grocery store for some food and candles. I would say all together we may have been out of power two hours, not bad..especially with this heat.

We didn't go anywhere tonight, pretty pooped from being in the sun two days...tomorrow is always another day.

Day Two...the adventure continues

Jacob and I started out day two at the farmers market two blocks up...how cute that was! Lots of homegrown produce, the fresh peaches smelled awesome so we had to grab some, we bought some fresh organic cheese and tomatoes and cukes.....corn was $1 a piece, so we passed on that.

We readied for the beach after that. Spent the whole day there, Jake ended up with a headache, but we think it was more him wanting to rent his bike, Aunt Wendy ended up taking the kids up to the boardwalk to look for sunglasses and stuff so Scooter and I caught a nap on the beach. By the afternoon the wind picked up and we were actually a bit chilly...but it was nice.

Once we arrived back at the house everyone showered and I drove the boys up to rent their bikes for the week. I drove home and they went for a ride. Pop Pop even went for a few rides with Jake once we were all home!

Aunt Wendy make us a yummy pork loin for dinner tonight, she's a good cook! The kids all went to the park after dinner and then Scott and I took all the kids for a walk around town so they could look at all the stuff they wanted but couldn't afford.

While up in town tonight we noticed people running to the beach, we walked down to see what the excitement was and found out that someone caught a shark on the beach, it wasn't a big one, but a supposed shark none the less, the police were keeping people back, pretty exciting....

Vacation Day One-Bethany Beach

It was smooth sailing the entire trip down, traffic was null and void, nothing on the road caused a problem.....that could have been the problem. Once we got to Bethany beach and figured out where the house was, we ran and grabbed lunch...it was a little later, but we were hungry. The kids were anxious to see inside, so we waited for Aunt Wendy to arrive with the Key and off they went exploring the house.

The kids are in love, it's a big house with lots of room for them to have fun in. The adults on the other hand are wiped out. Scott so much so that he felt faint...achey...kinda concerned cause we just went through something like this with him last month and we still, or rather, the doctors still can't figure it out. We all have our theories, but we have Nurse Wendy with us this week to see to it that he's ok.

We were not starving for dinner and we want to keep Scott's meals kinda mild, so we explored town a bit and took a walk, the beach is two blocks down, as are like 4 coffee shops, pizza shop, subway, surf shops, french fries, you name it, it's here.

Tomorrow morning bright and early there is a farmers market that will set up in the bank lot two blocks down , you can bet were stopping down there to see what we can find.

We found a few seafood places where we can get fresh seafood and cook here at the house, that's always fun.

Right now every one is back and vegging...Emma is showered and the Shook girls are watching a movie, it's been a long day and I really just want a night where I can sleep (in a king size bed this time) and not wake up at 5am...I think I get that from my dad...thanks dad....ugh..an entire week of waking at 5 am for no reason whatsoever...no alarm, nothing...hate it.

Wow...April?

Yeah, that's the last time I blogged...been to long yet again.

It's been busy since April. The second job has let up a bit, so I have more time with the kids and the house...not enough with the house but at least that means I'm with the kids.

The vegetable garden is in, I have tomatoes already , kinda early I think but, I'm not complaining. My cucumbers are taking off like crazy and my pepper plants look really healthy, crossing fingers that nothing invades. I put three raspberry bushes in and am hoping to put my five grape vines in tonight. I also cleared off part of the hill and have that planted...along with two strawberry plants...they are already producing fruit!

The tractor has been giving us issues for a while now, but we have realized that prayer works...even on a tractor!

The kids have gotten over the "I want chickens" phase, especially since the pool opened.

This week were preparing for vacation, this time with Scott's sister and her family as well as Scott's dad......should be nice, the cousins get to "hang" for an entire week....

Today was also the kids last day of school, they are relieved...and mommy fears they will want to stay up as late as me....ugh...