Tobin and His Onion

After faithfully watering and excitedly watching his onion grow in his little part of our garden, Tobin couldn't wait any longer.

 He HAD to pull up his onion.

I know just how he feels.

Harvesting is SUCH a good feeling!  :)

SVCC Tour: Day Three, Part One

The first post in this series is here.  The second is here.  The third is here.  The fourth is here.

Since we've returned from tour, I've asked myself--particularly when I spend time working on blog posts about the trip--which day out of the four was my favorite.

Guess what?  That's a REALLY hard question to answer.  :)

All during the trip, it felt like treat upon treat was coming our way...delight upon delight being served up to us...golden moments like a beautiful string of pearls, each one lovely and treasured.  Choosing a favorite day would be a little like choosing a favorite pearl in a pearl necklace: they're ALL wonderful!  :)

With that in mind, I wouldn't exactly say that Sunday was my favorite; but I really, really loved this day.  :)

Our schedule in the morning was relaxed, and I think we were all grateful for the chance to sleep a little later than we had the previous morning.  After breakfast, those who wanted to had the option of gathering on the beach by our hotel to participate in a brief devotional...or to take a walk on the beach...or to simply soak in the sights and sounds of a part of Virginia that is so different from our home area.

My own dear Josiah had brought his Bible along.  What joy it gives to my heart to see him soaking in the words that bring LIFE!

Joy Anderson, our assistant director, and Maurita Eberly, our accompanist--my respect and admiration for these two is sky-high.  The SVCC wouldn't be the same without them!

Tonya led the devotional, and shared an interesting story about, among other things, George Lucas getting in a car accident and how that changed the course of his life.  She encouraged us to meditate on God's plans for our lives--plans that are not always obvious to us at first.

Shortly before we left on tour, a kind and generous lady, Wendy, who reads the things I write on my Alzheimer's page on Facebook, bought this bracelet (part of the proceeds went to support Alzheimer's research), and she surprised me by giving it to me.

I wore it gratefully all during the tour, and smiled when I thought of her kindness!

 It was a deep joy to me to be able to go on this tour with Josiah.  Watching him grow and mature and handle himself in new situations makes me a proud mama, that's for sure!  :)

 "My" girls - Kate and Angela.  I loved getting to know them better!  :)

 I really liked staying here, away from the hustle and bustle of the Virginia Beach strip.  I was amused, as well, when I realized that several years ago, when Jeff and I had brought the family to the beach, we had ended up staying here, too!  Just like at the BBQ restaurant on Saturday evening, I felt like, quite by accident, I was retracing my earlier steps in the Virginia Beach area.  :)

 Well, after our relaxed morning on the beach, we headed to the Freemason Abbey Restaurant for an early lunch.  This was SUCH a neat place!  The food was delicious, the building stunningly unique, and the conversation with the chaperons who sat near me was fun and inspiring.  A+ all around.  :)

The time at the beach and the meal at this restaurant really were delightful, but the best part of Sunday was yet to come...  :)

A Family Portrait of Sorts

While most of my family played outside this evening in the soft summer air, and then gathered on the front steps for an impromptu photo...

 ...two members of the family were off doing their own thing.

 Jeff and David get The Most Hard-Working award for tonight, and the big pail of peas they picked gives evidence of how much they were able to accomplish while the rest of us were goofing off.

It's a good thing somebody's responsible around here!  :)

SVCC Tour: Day Two, Part Two

The first post in this series is here.  The second is here.  The third is here.

If I'm ever going to finish this series, I'd better get myself in gear and move a little faster with this!  So, the speedy version...  :)

On Saturday, June 14, the SVCC went to the beach.  See?  :)

I actually didn't take very many pictures there, mostly because I was having too much fun playing in the waves.  I do love the ocean.  Sometimes I felt a little irresponsible, because there were the chaperons, standing on the shore, keeping track of the choristers' bobbing heads in the water, calling and gesturing to them when they got out too far, and generally making sure that everyone was safe and accounted for.

And then there was me, out in the ocean, having a blast.  :)

In my defense, I DID keep an eye on those around me, and I DID know where my two girls were, and I DID keep an eye out for Josiah's bright swim shirt (note to self: never, ever buy a dull or dark swim shirt again; a bright one is 100 times better!).

But I also had a ball playing in the waves...and yes, I felt like a big kid out there.  ;-)

Anyway, that's why I didn't take many pictures.

  Just a few here and there, randomly.  Like Josiah and Matthew playing in the sand...and Lauren and Lauryn doing the same.

 I need to say something about these two lovebirds...  :)  Many years ago, when I was in junior high, Eric and Sandy taught my Sunday school class; but as happens, time went by, and we were no longer in contact with each other.  And then, the SVCC brought us back together, and I am grateful.  You just never know what will happen when your children join the SVCC!  :)

Well, that's it for the beach.

Time for these hungry folks to get some food!

To take care of that need, we headed to Beach Bully BBQ restaurant for a delicious, hearty meal; and while we were there, I suddenly realized that I had been there before--about 8 years ago, when I was attending a conference in Virginia Beach.  I haven't spent much time in Virginia Beach and certainly haven't eaten in most of the restaurants in town, so the fact that we happened to eat in a restaurant I had been to before actually surprised me.  :)

Again, I didn't take many pictures; but what I remember most from this evening was sitting at a table with some of the adults that I had not spent much time with before this night, talking about churches, family connections, and more.  After playing like a kid that afternoon at the beach, I was glad to talk like an adult that evening at dinner.  :)

Our after-dinner treat was a visit to Doumar's, a restaurant founded by Abe Doumar, the man who invented the ice cream cone (in 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair).  After listening to one of the Doumar family members give us a brief history of their establishment (I found it fascinating), we all got to enjoy a taste; and I've gotta tell you: I'm usually not a big fan of ice cream cones because they sort of taste like cardboard to me, and all I really want to eat is the ice cream anyway.  But that waffle cone at Doumar's?  That was GOOD.  :)

As the bus carried our tired but happy selves to the hotel, the sunset painted the sky with color.

Ice cream and sunset = a sweet and beautiful way to end the day.  :)