These are the types of things I want to remember about my kiddos.  When I see that the things we talk about with them and teach them really do stay in their heads (and not just one ear and out the other ) it makes my heart glad ~ and Lord willing, it will soften their hearts towards the things that really matter in life. 

My glimpse of this today:  (a homework assignment)

translation (for those of you not used to reading Kindergarten handwriting):

I would buy food.  I would give it to Jesus.  He can give it to the people.  Some people never get to eat. 

AHHHH ~ the beach in January.  What could be better than that?

We had a snap of colder weather.  It was a nice break from the norm, but our house doesn't have central heat (it does, but it doesn't work) so I was really cold.  I carried my little space heater around with me everywhere trying to warm up.  I didn't mind it too much, but I am glad it has warmed up. 

Martin Luther King day we took advantage of the warmer temps and went to the beach.  Just needed a break.  Needed to get away from reality.  I guess going to the beach for us isn't really escaping reality.  We live very close to the beach - but it still feel like an escape sometimes. 

I LOVE to take pictures of my kiddos at the beach.  I think they love it out there more than we do.  It is fun to see them play, run, jump, scream with excitement, imagine, pretend - no worries, no frustrations, no grudges, no hurts, not a care in the world except for having fun.  Oh to be a kid again! 

Got a little sun, rest and time with my sweet family - goal accomplished!

Freedom!!

"Mommy, take a picture of my shell!!"

So we were out at the beach, minding our own business, and just enjoying our time together. 

side note:  most of the time, people here are pretty standoffish, to themselves.  You can't get much interaction with strangers and lots of people are just down right rude (I guess that can be pretty much anywhere :)  But then you encounter an occasional stranger who just can't help him or herself, and feels the need to intrude in your business without being invited at all. 

I guess that's the other side of the rude coin.  It's either ignoring or intruding - where is the happy medium?

My hubby and I were sitting in our beach chairs, watching Ben and Luke play in the water while Ty looked on from the edge....

Ty was eating sand.  It's just something he does.  Most babies I know at this age put everything into the mouth.  I refuse to try to keep him on a blanket out of the sand.  All of my kids have eaten sand, probably more than I know, and they have never gotten sick from it, and are healthy, alive and well.  It comes right out the other end, along with everything else that goes in .  He is also a third born child, which pretty much means WE DON'T CARE! (haha, just kidding.  Those of you with more than two kids know exactly what I mean! )

So this woman, a complete stranger, was walking on the beach past the boys.  She stopped at Ty and looked down at him with this look of disgust.  She looked back at us and said "He's eating sand!"  I just smiled and said "ok", shrugging my shoulders.  That obviously wasn't enough to convince her that we had the situation under control.  She then proceeded to lean down and scrape the sand out of his hand, telling him no and looking back at us like "why don't you do something?"  I'm thinking "this lady can NOT be serious!!"  So I had to get up (heaven forbid) and walk up to convince her that it was fine and that he was ok.  I said something silly like "I guess he needs the minerals in the sand."  HA!  What I wanted to say... well I won't write it here, and really I am like the most non-confrontational person in the world, so I would have never said it anyway!   But COME ON!!! 

Kids are kids, they do crazy things!  Most parents are just doing the best they can and it is totally not my place in the world to judge others or to tell other people what they should or should not do with their kids.  I guess it's an area where I am a bit sensitive right now, being judged by others for what we do with our kids (or don't do).  So this poor woman just stumbled up to us and picked at a raw scab at the wrong time.  Funny how that happens.

Overall, it was a great day though.  We are learning we can't get away from people, and the Lord doesn't want us to get away.  He wants us to deal with other people, to love, to forgive, to get over offenses, to move on.  He wants us to be more like Him, above all.  And then show His love and light to others.  Period. 

I'm learning... aren't we all?

Ty, enjoying his snacks:

Crackers with sand dip, yummy!

Yes, he was eating shells too!  hehe.

The water was COLD, but this little fish didn't mind!

Pretending to be sea turtles...

 Not only does he like to eat the sand, he also enjoyed practicing his walking in it.

I give up:

The Laney Christmas Part 2 ~  

So it was on to Baton Rouge to celebrate Christmas with my family!  The boys were so excited that they were getting more presents, excited to see their grandparents, aunts, uncles, other family and friends, oh and very excited to see Prissy!

These are some of the pictures from our time as a family:

This is the sweet poem that Laura had written for my mom and John to tell them the big news!

I love Craig's face!  I think he was a bit overwhelmed! 

"Yes, we were just as SHOCKED as y'all are!!!"

The other side of the family came to hang out the next day.  We enjoyed time with them, and the kids had a great time together.

Opening presents from Grandmommie and Papa John:

"Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old" -Mary H. Waldrip

"Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.  Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children."  -Alex Haley

Craig is brushing up on his kitchen skills:

Just Kidding!  The guys were great about helping out, cleaning up, and Papa John even roasted our Turkey for us!

My mom got a great new bike:

The kids hangin out:

We had a sweet new addition to the family this year:

And out of 6 grandkids, there is only ONE girl!!  Hopefully Laura will be adding to that number with the 3 she is having!!  I just can't resist taking pictures of this little girlie when we get together!  She's a doll!

I think Grandmommie and Papa John had fun with their crew of grandkids!!  I can't believe that next year, there will be 3 more added to the bunch!

"One of the most powerful handclasps is that of a new grandbaby around the finger of a grandfather"  -Joy Hargrove

Grandmother - a wonderful mother with lots of practice. -author unknown

"An hour with your granchildren can make you feel young again - anything longer than that, and you start to age quickly." -Gene Perret

We also had more great times with family and friends!  There were many other people we would have loved to see and hang out with.  But as usual, time got away with us and we had to come back to Florida.  There are only so many days, so many hours, and only so much time that Grandmommie will let us out to play!

Our visit with the Smith family was fun!  We finally go to meet little Luka.  He and Ty were sitting in Jason's lap and he must be wanting Ty to get off! 

Our friend "Kitty" aka Anna Kate!

  Luke LOVES Prissy!!

Prissy and Ty begging for treats:

This is another baby I can't wait to meet - little Jack Ramsey!

We had a wonderful visit to LA!!  Thanks to our family for making it special!