Someday we're going to vacation in Florida!

Life in the fast lane...

Two and a half months have flown past since I last posted and in my mind I've written at least six updates.  Funny how writing and posting in your mind doesn't get it done online! :)

 

So very much water has gone 'under the bridge' in the past several months:

This time of the year in Florida has been compared to a freight train;

"You either get on or get off."

I say "You either get on or get mowed over!"

 

It begs the questions:

How do you maintain a sense of privacy

in a public world? 

How do you withdraw into a quiet place

 when you have to search hard

to even find a quiet place?

I'm still searching for the answers...

 

Last Sunday we celebrated Dustin's 23rd birthday in an unusual way.

 

We have all been feeling the need of finding some way

to find some place of privacy.  A place of just 'us' in a city of people.

We discussed it, prayed about it, and tried to work with the children who were putting in

six-day work weeks, leaving only Sunday as a day when we would all be home.

I would not recommend using Sundays habitually as a day for family privacy because

the Scripture definitely directs us to meet together as a church body

on the first day of the week.

But as an exception, we chose Sunday. 

Actually our day of R and R began Saturday

evening after the boys got home from work.

We went to the mall and enjoyed some delicious Thai food (one of our favorites).

Then, being at the mall, we "had" to shop for just a bit!

No earth-shaking purchases but still being together.

 

Sunday morning we all slept until around 10:00,

had a time of sharing God's Word together,

went to Firehouse (another family favorite) and got sub sandwiches

and then headed for Siesta Key where we rented two scooters and

a scooter car "for the more aged in our family"!

What fun!

For four hours we rode around Siesta Key,

finding streets we didn't know were there,

putting the "older folks" on the scooters, too,

while the younger drove the scooter car,

and laughed together alot!

Laughter does a body good!

 

Dustin wanted to finish his birthday off with some

special "Meany's Mini-Donuts" on Siesta Key,

so we topped it off with donuts.

Delicious delicacies but Oh, so sweet!

 

We came home wind-blown but happy!

Nothing like a day outside to clear your brain!

 

For dinner we made soup and salad

and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

We were all tired but felt refreshed!

 

It was interesting....

Dustin is an 'out-door' type of guy and loves

doing things outside.

When we were planning our day, the weather forecast

was for an 80 percent chance of rain

which was dashing all of our ideas for a day outside.

We talked of taking our camper and going away for the weekend

and trying to find  a woods without people to park it in;

but soon discovered woods without people also means no

electricity or water!  Wouldn't work!

And if it was going to rain all weekend it would not be relaxing

to have six adult people in a small camper.

So we decided to do a stay-at-home-vacation

and use the money that we would have spent on a motel or campsite

to do some things locally that we have never done.

 

We were so thrilled that God blessed us with a day of

blue skies and sunshine!

Couldn't have been more perfect!

 

We are unanimously agreed that some winter

we would love to vacation in Florida,

live like tourists, and do things we never have time to do

because we live here!