A Day in the Light

After days and days of abundant rainfall, but trying not to complain since the south needs relief from the drought, we finally had a day of sunshine. I understand more every day why Jesus is called the Light of the World. Just realizing how much I enjoy sunshine and realizing how much the sun shining for miles along the coast lifts my spirits, helps me know why I need the LIGHT!

Our day at the beach was the light I needed!

 I have desperately wanted to take the boys for the first ever trip to the ocean. Alas, the sun was shining, but I had no one to help me keep an eye on FOUR little people in the ocean water. As I pondered on Sunday evening if I might could take them to the beach on Monday, a sweet young lady in our church said, "Mrs. Robbie, if you ever need a babysitter, please give me a call." Hoping she meant it, I asked, "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Brittany was wonderful with the kids! She played in the water, she dug in the sand.....

 and she even joined in a mud fight with Ellie!

 Speaking of Ellie, she does love to make a mess. So, of course she loves the beach! That's one place where she can get as messy as she wants and her mother doesn't complain.....well, until it's time to wash the hair.

 She did have ONE moment where she tried to be a "prissy" girl.

 But, of course, Josie-Tatum could strike that sort of pose any time.

 She has seen a every episode of H2O on Netflix. She enjoyed running and jumping to the water, H2O mermaid style.

 But the joy of the day was watching the boys!!!! Oh, how much they enjoyed the day. I thought we might be there for 2-3 hours. Boy, was I wrong! We were there for 5 hours, and I had to force the children to help me get ready to go home.

On Sunday night, I showed the boys photos of the ocean and beach at Jekyll Island where we were going. They grew excited, and Zeke surprised me when he walked away from the computer. But...
then he came back.

With a photo in hand.

He brought me a photo of Whitney, Caleb, Brandon, JT, and Ellie...

at the beach!  Yes, he was making connections.

 Now, for this little man, I really needed an extra pair of hands. He cannot swim, but I spent much time yelling at him to come back closer to me. But, he did have a grand time with his mother running FROM the waves as they came to shore.

 But, the most fun I had was watching Zeke. He had so few experiences outside of the SWI in China that he enjoys every experience we offer. As we got close to the beach, he thought we had arrived when he first saw the marsh. He kept asking if we were there yet....not like the usual child in a car...

Whine...."Are we there yet?"

He just could not fathom was a never ending body of water would look like. He thought the intercoastal waterway might be the ocean and beach.

But, when we really saw the beach, and saw the ocean....his smile lit up the partly cloudy sky. Now, I know why the clouds parted and the day ended bright and sunny. He smiled and smiled and smiled. He splashed and ran, swam and dug in the stand.

He played Power Rangers.

Really.

He told me.

He put on his warrior pose as each wave approached., and kicked it when it hit is feet.

 When he landed in the water, he came up with a smile!

Now, if you are as crazy as Brittany, and you'd like to offer your services, we are extending an open invitation to join us for a day at the beach. There are only two stipulations:

• You must be willing to be a body guard for at least one precious Asian in the ocean water.
• You must be willing to be covered in sand as you participate in sand sculpting.
• Participation in mudfights is optional.