Rebekah's kite is so fun that even Grandaddy had to try it out.

Poor Taryn. Having to do her online Spanish class while on vacation. Then again, being able to do school AND be at the beach? Awesome!

After full day at the beach, birthday celebration. Bekah likes her cake, I think.

Practicing panning technique

And David was practicing riding a 2-wheeler

Rebekah loves to fly a kite. For her birthday we let her pick out a new kite from Klig's Kites. She got a simple stunt kite which means it has dual lines for controlling the kite.

Broadway at the Beach

Watching the taffy being pulled:

Loved this sign. It reads

This machine is called a KISS WRAP It was purchased new in 1917. The last one produced was in 1939. It cuts off a piece of taffy, places it into a piece of wax paper, then twists the ends. It cuts and wraps 150 pieces of taffy per minute IF IT FEELS LIKE IT

And funny that the guy was there working on it.

Swings for the thrill-seekers:

Carousel for the less adventurous among us:

We had a fun girls' day out at the Mall of Georgia for Mom's birthday.

John and Tina are laughing at the size of Tina's belly. She was so fat... which isn't that unusual for a baby of that age. But it was all in her belly!

This may not have been the actual picture they were looking at, but it was from this same beach trip (Sep. 2004)

Taking a break from schoolwork. Human knot game:

Kids confiscated my camera again:

Cool pine cone:

This sums up laundry in a big family. Four matching socks but in four different sizes.

Church picnic at the lake today. Kids playing ball in the water:

Playing in the sand:

Rebekah's very special friend. Rebekah was having a pretty bad bloody nose and needed to rest out of the water. Her friend would not leave her alone and was comforting her when Rebekah was scared and crying. So very kind and thoughtful.

Headed back to the shelter in search of food to refuel:

You know the saying, "If you find it, it's a treasure". No? Well,for kids, it's true. The kids dug this up in the woods behind our house and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Whose is it? How did it get there? How old is it? These are the questions that make imaginations light up.

This is a girl with more than beautiful blue eyes. Her thoughts are deep, her prayers so Spirit-led.

There was an older gentleman who was part of our church who was obviously nearing the end of his time here on Earth. We had been praying for him nearly every night for weeks. One night she prayed that he would be able to eat and his food would digest properly. The next day on the prayer chain we were asked to pray for his eating and swallowing. Later she prayed one night that he would have peace in "his last days". He passed away the next day. We also pray almost nightly for the child we sponsor through Compassion. John had encouraged the kids to pray for more than just that he "would have the things he needs". Rebekah began praying that Billy Nard would be able to share God's Word with those around him. A few weeks later we received a letter from Billy which said:

One of [the activities] is the short mission trip happened in Elnido Palawan. We enjoyed so much and we experienced sharing the Word of God to the people living in Elnido through house to house visitation. I learned from our mission trip that it is not easy to share the Word of God. It requires so much prayer and patience to win their souls.

I get tears in my eyes all over again to type that out.

Unusual sight in our yard today: wild turkeys.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Just having fun playing with my new lens.

Sometimes things get busy or a little chaotic around here. Sometimes somebody's birthday sneaks by unnoticed. Not a big deal. And when we finally celebrate, it is all the more a surprise. Today we all, along with the girl's friends, went to the Greek Festival in Anderson to celebrate my birthday (and all food Greek!!) The festival is at the Anderson Civic Center, so there is a playground and small pond with ducks. After eating, we enjoyed the evening by walking and playing.

My birthday baklava:

My gift was a new fixed prime lens for my camera. I love it!! Here is Rebekah with my kit lens:

And here she is with the new lens: