Our condo had no connection. I was able to go to the lobby area twice to connect, but it wasn't easy or really what I wanted to spend my time doing during our vacation, kwim? We spent a fabulous week with my family - my Mom and Dad and my sister and her family. We've done a week long vacation for the last 4 years and it's a great tradition. One I hope we'll keep going for many, many more! I treasure this time together and know the children love it too!
I have a lot of photos to go through, so this will probably come in pieces. Here's the youngest set. We didn't have any formal or group photos done this year. We should probably try that next year.
We saw some amazing examples of God's handiwork while we were at the beach. While walking on the beach one day, we saw a crowd gathered. As we got closer, we were able to see that they were all staring at the ground. A man had dug a small pool and had placed 2 rays in there that he had caught.
When we got onto the pier, we had more things to see. First, were lots of jellyfish! It was hard to get a good photo due to the movement of the waves.
Next was a fun surprise. We saw something I've never seen in all my years of going to the beach (this same beach!). We saw a sea turtle! Isn't he neat. He surfaced very briefly and then dove back down to a depth where he couldn't be seen.
I was thankful that sharks didn't make the list of things we saw. We also saw crabs and small fish. The kids had fun catching them and then releasing them.
One afternoon, Isaiah came yelling as he entered the condo that there were tornados and that I needed to come look. When we went out onto the balcony, we saw "wind tunnels". I'm not sure what these are called and they did look like small tornados. It was wild seeing the water spray where they hit the ocean. There were up to 3 at a time in the ocean - though one bigger than the rest. Here are some photos which don't look nearly as neat as it was too see them!
There are some highlights of some of the wonders we saw. The ocean is such a beautiful place to see examples of God's work. Honestly though, His work is all around me - each day. More than the wonders of the sea are the people He has made in His very image. Now that, is amazing.
God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
Blessings
Leslie
P.S. Please check out the blog giveaway I've posted below for beautiful Tonya. Please let me know if you post about this giveaway on your blog or FB as you'll get an entry for that too! Thanks!
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Wow! Those water spouts are amazing! What great pictures you got. I wonder if the sea turtle is moving north to get away from the oil spill? I am glad you had a blessed and restful week..
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Dawn
Leslie, these photos are AMAZING! We've seen some of those things at NC beaches, but not all of them, and never never gotten pictures like that! Thank you so much for sharing! This is an awesome go-along for Night of the Moonjellies!
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful you all had a good, safe time and saw so many wonderful things. God has truly given us a bountiful, beautiful, breathtaking gift in nature. As far as the beach trip, we did the same thing with about five or six families, all of us cousins and our kids, for years and years. Times change and we don't do that regularly anymore, but it gave us some wonderful memories!
Love you,
Lynn
Leslie,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had a lovely vacation. We need to get to the beach too. The funny thing is it is only across town. :)
I am so impressed with all the creatures you saw esp. the sea turtle. I think they are really amazing. We have a sea turtle sanctuary and hospital near here that we really want to go visit some time.
glad you had a wonderful time and I can't wait to see the rest of your pictures!
Blessings,
Bronwyn
Sounds like a wonderful time! Love the pictures, thanks for sharing them. :) Those waterspouts are incredible! See you soon.
ReplyDeleteAngela
Those are water spouts and yes, a form of a tornado. They usually die out once they hit the beach though and are mostly right over the water. They are frightening and amazing to see, especially if you are lying out on the beach and happen to look over and see one with no way to round up the kids & get to the car in a hurry!
ReplyDeleteNC Beaches are famous for our turtles. Go out at night and look for tracks. Sometimes you get blessed and see the hatchlings making their way to the water for the very first time. Amazing to watch. Go out with the flashlights but don't shine them directly on the turtles, just in the area. You are supposed to mark off the area when you find them, they are protected.
Last week we also saw several dolphins swimming near the breakers and that was lovely to see as well.
I'm so happy you had a chance to steal away to the beach with your family and pray it was relaxing as you unplugged but reconnected! Beth Moore said the most marvelous thing once, we are the most connected generation as far as technology, but so out of touch with each other. Blessings to your family for getting back in touch!
Ginger
aka: iadopted3
I LOVE these pictures. Looks like you had a wonderful time. My kids would love to do this--esp after our study of Jeanie Fulbright's Zoology II last year--but we are landlocked here in MO! chuckle
ReplyDeleteWhat amazing pictures! I'm so glad you were able to have this time away!
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