The Big (and then even BIGGER!) Reveal!

So, for those of you who were dying to know what this little treasure is, here is the big reveal...

A baby sea turtle egg!

Now, I wish the picture above was my own. Wow, that would have been SO cool. But I snagged the image above from the web. The egg picture above, however, is mine. Where we stay, it is sea turtle haven! Unfortunately, it is not nesting time- which is from May-October. During that time, it is not uncommon to run across a mama sea turtle nesting or her babies scurrying out to the sea after hatching.

What we ran across, up above, is the remnant of a little sea turtle that hatched. The shell is now dried and hardened and almost resembles a sea shell, if it weren't totally round like a ball (which might be hard to tell from the picture)

As I was saying the other day, my Mom being here has been a bit of a good luck charm. We ran across the sting ray, the baby shark, the sea turtle egg. And then... and THEN... would you believe we ran across THIS!??!

It is not a dolphin, though I realize it resembles one. It is actually a whale called a Beaked Whale. She was 15 ft. long and 2,000 lbs. Beaked whales are deep water whales living 50+ miles off shore rarely seen by humans. So, for this beautiful gal to find herself beached was quite an extraordinary event. So extraordinary that it ended up on every major news channel in FL. And so extraordinary that Orlando news interviewed me since I'm such an expert on Beaked Whales and all.

Okay, I'm not really an expert. I didn't even know there was such a species as "Beaked Whales" until this amazing event occurred. But I happened to be a bystander with my family and I suppose having my cute little baby boy in my front carrier pack sealed the deal for the interview. ;)

The whale came to shore alive around 3 PM on Tuesday. Believe it or not, this occurred about 100 ft. out our back patio door. Our neighbor and his buddies tried to push her back out to the ocean (which I later learned is the worst thing you can do... so, note to all of you readers who may run across a beached whale- remember- don't push her back!) Anyway, they did get her back, but she beached again and was alive on the beach struggling for about 45 minutes until she finally perished. The scrapes you see all over her are actually from the breakers slamming her back down to the bottom when she was close to shore. That's actually why marine specialists tell you not to try to push the whale back because it actually adds to their suffering when they get slammed around and beach the second time... once is bad enough... twice, even worse for the poor creatures.

Early the next morning a team of Marine Biologist came and performed a necropsy on the whale right there on the beach to determine what caused her to come so close to shore and die. The kids and I walked back a few hours into the necropsy, but didn't stay long because it was quite gruesome. They actually buried the whale right there in the sand on the beach.

This was a once in a lifetime experience. Not one I am soon to (or ever!) forget. I feel so privileged that I was able to see and touch such a spectacular animal up close, though of course I wish it had not been due to the poor little ladies demise.

It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad my kids were able to experience it as well.

You know why I'm smiling this big? I'm SO HAPPY BECAUSE...



My Grandma is HERE!



She's not afraid to get right down in the sand with us and help build sand castles.



She's even been a bit of a good luck charm for finding cool stuff on the beach. While she's been visiting, so far we've found 1) A huge stingray 2) A 2 ft. long baby shark washed up on the sand 3) This cool thing below...



Any guesses to what it is?

I know. Do you?

I'm Yours...

There is a song (that you should be hearing on your computer right now playing automatically) that I absolutely loved the first moment I heard it. And, for whatever reason, after my little sweetheart was born, it just reminded me so much of him that it kind of became my theme song for my little guy.

I sing to him and dance around singing this song (or playing it in the background).

My little baby boy is just such a blessing. He brings me SO much incredible joy.

I'm just so crazy in love with him.

He may just be 17 lbs. and 2 ft. tall, but he's got his Mommy wrapped around his little finger!

Temporary Relocation

We've had a temporary relocation.

I can't say that I mind... in the least.

Considering that this is (temporarily) our backyard.

Here I stand on our deck (behind the lens)- and here is what I see just over the bushes...


Yes, there is a good reason why my blog says "beach party on the side.

Ok, it may not be a party- but it's definitely the BEACH!

She likes it here...


They like it here...

And so does he.



Although I realize his face may suggest otherwise.
Personally, I think he looks a little confused.

He may be wondering why his mother put (as Daddy calls them) "leg warmers" on him.

And despite the fact that Daddy says, "no son of mine is going to wear leg warmers" - his mother will continue to put them on because a) they keep his legs warm and b) she finds them adorable because c) anything this little guy wears would look cute on him.

Plans...

Happy 2010! I had planned to post on New Year's Day. And then I had planned to post on the 2nd (since I didn't get around to posting on the 1st). And then I had planned to get around to posting every day after that.

And here were are 16 days later.

So much for my plans!

But the delay in my posting actually fits perfectly into what I want to write about... which is, if you hadn't guessed by now... PLANNING.

If you don't know me personally, let me tell you- just by my nature, I am a planner... I am a NEED to know kinda gal. Like, the kind who mapped out every single pit stop, bathroom break, meal stop, sight seeing stop and hotel stop- to the minute, and to the mile- on every long distance trip we've taken so far. Like the kind who has list after list of what I plan to do that day, week or month. I like lists... CHECKlists? Even better!

I don't always get around to completing my to do lists. And as a matter of fact, I ususally don't accomplish even half of what I'd planned on doing for any particular goal. I didn't say I perfectly execute my plans... I just said I like to make them.

But when you peel back the layers, it's easy to see that it's not about it being fun for me to organize or map and plan things out...  the point is not even about having plans or accomplishing them... it's about c o n t r o l.

Who's in control of my life? Of course, everything in my fleshly self says- I AM!
Yet everything about what I continue to learn says- I am NOT.

If there is just ONE thing I learned in 2009, it's that I can make all the plans I want... they just might not play out how I intend.

Last year, was both one of the most challenging and one of the best of my entire life. How can I write "and" instead of "but yet"?Because it took me going through the challenges to learn the gift of release. The gift of relinquish. The gift of what it really means to hand over the reigns and let Him make the plans.

Last year, in our family, we faced some serious scares over things I'd rather not share. But in the end- I learned to give up my fears and to embrace trust.... trust that He's already got all the plans figured out, not because of me... but rather in spite of me. The beautiful truth that as long as I acknowledge Him in all my ways- He WILL make the path straight- (Prov 3:6) has given me the freedom to be released from needing to know all the plans... all the time. No matter what He has in store, whether I see it "coming" or not, whether I understand it or not, or whether I "agree" or not is really inconsequential because we know that God causes EVERYTHING to work together for the GOOD of those who LOVE HIM and are called according to HIS purposes." - Rom 8:28

Now... all that being said- I do have a few plans this year. I didn't say ALL plans were bad... I just said that being obsessed with controlling them is!

As for this coming year, I plan to thoroughly and completely enjoy this sweet little angel...


This funny and charming little "Princess"...


This caring, sensitive, mom's little buddy...


And this girl with a beatiful heart who challenges me to be a better mom everyday...

What are your plans for this year?

Angela

Happy New Year!

I have much more to say than, simply, "Happy New Year!"

The problem is, finding the time! This last week has been a whirwind of activity (and challenge)- including a car accident & another surgery for Christian (thankfully not in the same day!)! But rest assured, all is well. I intend to find time in the next day or two to blog a better post than this. But I didn't wnat anyone to think I'd disappeared!

So, I'll leave you with this picture of my sweet little bug taken on Christmas. If I ever need a pick-me-up from lifes challenging days, all I need to do is take a look at my little baby boy and his smile just melts my heart.




More later!
Angela