01.18.14 The last 24 hours……….. Thank You Lord Jesus!

I’ve finally had enough of goodbyes.  This goodbye today, when Madisyn and Chip left, was the pits.  Our son and granddaughter are the best things we’ve ever helped make in our lives. They got to experience our RV lifestyle first hand this weekend and we enjoyed every single second of the time we spent with them.

We spent yesterday evening outside gathered around the fire pit for hours.  Chip and Madisyn took bags and searched for wood and pine cones for our fire pit.  Roy and Chip went down to the beach and cut some wood. Madisyn made friends with the little girl, Emma, next door and they ran all around the lawn, squealing like little girls do so well!

I love Madisyn taking a bath and spending the night with us because we have so many fun routines we’ve done since she was born.  I’ve always picked her up from the tub  in a towel and we go to the closest mirror and we giggle together.  She’s quite heavy now compared to when she was much littler but she still remembers it and we both have fun doing it.  When she was little she gave me such fits drying her hair  and now it is just a breeze, she’s very cooperative and so sweet with her smiles.

Before she goes to sleep she’s always said her prayers. Last night was different, her love for the Lord has matured this last year and her prayer reflected that.  She has such a pure, honest relationship with Him.  I told her mama that if I could capture and share the feeling in my heart when I heard her pray straight from her heart that it would be the best thing the world has ever known.  It is a beautiful thing to see a little heart blooming as she learns more and more about the Amazing Grace that only God can give.

This morning we did something unusual for us, we went out for breakfast.  Chip treated us to breakfast at Waffle House on the beach.  There is nothing like a Waffle House meal and I say that quite seriously.  They have the best food and when we left we were all stuffed!

We went over to Walgreen’s to pick up some photo collages I sent there to have printed.  Madisyn and I picked out polish for me and some fake “beach” pink, lavender and light blue nails with the white tips.  She left here with hers stuck on and my nails were polished. She showed me this adorable hat with a tail on the back that flips up when you squeeze one of the tassels hanging from the side.  The pictures below show front and back.  The other colored ones did different things when you squeeze the tassel, but of course we had to get the purple and pink one! So adorable I couldn’t pass it up and it was perfect for our next stop in our morning adventure.

We then headed out to the beach for some fun – even though the temperature was right at freezing.   We were all dressed warmly and the beautiful sun just added to the enjoyment  We walked out on the sand dunes (I really don’t know if that is what they are called but that’s what I’m calling them) and she got to feel that the water was too cold to go swimming.  Sometimes you just have to let them get out there and feel it to really understand why you have to say no!!!   Roy isn’t a sand person, as you can tell from every beach picture we take that he is never in, so he waited for us on the pier.

Once we had our fill of the sand we walked, skipped and ran down the pier together pausing every so often to see  the water getting deeper a little at a time. We were very surprised to see how shallow the water was a very long way down the pier.  It was fun seeing Madisyn and Chip playing together on the sand and on the pier.  It’s a joy to see them together!

We headed back to the campground for more playing and doing our nails.  Roy and Chip worked on Chip’s Jeep and went to Walmart to pick up some of the lunch fixings.  Chip and Madisyn went with the neighbors and their daughter to the campground playground and Paw Paw and Grannie stayed at the RV BBQing hamburgers and getting ready to eat.   We ate our burgers and Madisyn enjoyed a slice of Paw Paw’s birthday cake we froze from last week along with, of course, her ice cream!  She didn’t care if we were having any, just that she had some of his cake and ice cream.

After a sad goodbye, Grannie (me) spent the rest of the evening wimpering and sniffling like a ninny.  Thus, I have had my fill of goodbyes.  I know we’ll be back through here in several weeks on our way west and I know if we were here we wouldn’t see Madisyn and Chip very often but the splendor of God’s blessings on us this last 24 hours is hard to let go of.

Our son has matured greatly this last year and is growing into a strong man of God.   Madisyn is just simply amazing and seeing how much she has grown in all aspects since we left in April brings such joy to my heart that I don’t think I could describe it if I tried.   The adults in Madisyn’s life, Liz, Billy, Chip and Kim are doing an awesome job loving and growing her, sharing their love for the Lord with her every single day.  We’ll be coming back through here in a couple of months, more or less, so we’ll be doing the goodbyes again.  I think we’re just going to say “see ya later” from now on!

We’ve met several really neat RV couples during our stay at this resort on the coast and have enjoyed the beauty of this place.  We’ll be heading to Hudson, Florida tomorrow morning.  It’s a long drive (almost to Orlando) and we plan to break the drive up into two days.  We’ll be there about 5 days getting our windows repaired.  I plan to blog about that for other RVers with the same window fog we have.

I apologize if my grammar is worse than usual and if my emotions show how raw they are right now but I had to get this out now so……. ya’ll have a great weekend and please come back now, ya’ hear!