Encouragement

Ya know, it is just one of those days. I feel down and discouraged. I feel like there is always something. And there is, and there will continue to be. But today I am focusing on the King of Kings because I know that no matter what we face here on this earth it will get better.
Mass murders, wars, famines, fires...the list goes on and on. It is time that we wake up and recognize and be responsible for the mess this world is in.
I am going to leave that there and just share a little encouragement from Clayton Jennings because it was what I needed today. Hopefully it can help someone else.

Check this out...it is good stuff!

50!

My sweet, sweet Momma turns 50 today! And yes, I am telling everyone! My Momma is 50! After the loss of a lot of precious people way too young I am proud of my Momma turning the big 5-0 and I'm pretty sure she is too!

My mom has been the most supportive person in my life from day one. Through some of the hardest struggles, from financial, family and medical issues, my Momma has always been the strongest person I have ever met. It doesn't matter what she was faced with she has always handled every situation showing the love of Jesus even when you knew it was hard by the tears rolling down her face.

One of my greatest joys in life is dragging my mom on random road trips and to fun vacation destinations. She always makes life fun and has given me more than I could ever repay her for.

Momma, I love you so, so much. I cannot be more thankful for having you as my number one role model in life. Thank you for always teaching me to do what is right, not necessarily what is easy. Thank you for leading me to Jesus. Thank you for being the best Momma and "Ganma" in whole world. My babies and I love you more than we could ever express.

Happy 50th Birthday!!

"I don't want to go to Mexico because..."

But really.
Pinterest

"I don't want to go to Mexico because it's a desert and they grow crops and they have salvation and democracy!"

My oldest foster child yelled this at me on our way home from our mini vacation this past weekend. 

We were discussing a cruise that I am taking Miss Priss on in November and I told Big and Little Sisters that if they were still in my home I would take them if they wanted to go. Little Sister immediately got excited and started planning her trip to Mexico. Big Sister just shook her head no and stayed quiet. I asked her why she didn't want to go and that is when she yelled the craziness quoted above (It is honestly too crazy to type again, it hurts my heart and my brain a bit.).

Of course we all busted out laughing at this statement from Big Sister, not just because of how ridiculous it sounded, but because she legit thought that her statement was grammatically, religiously, geographically and historically correct. She actually got offended that we laughed and tried to reason with her. 

Now I will be the first to admit that I found this whole conversation completely hysterical when it first went down, and I still get a little chuckle out of it when telling friends about the look on her face when she yelled the nonsense, BUT I'd be lying if I said it doesn't concern me a bit.

What has this child learned in school!? What has she learned just from the general public, TV, Internet, etc. Maybe I'm over thinking this and should just consider it a teenager being a teenager, or summer brain, or whatever. Should this lack of basic knowledge concern me?! I'm still fairly new to the being a momma to a teenager thing, is this normal? Help!

Ahhh...the Bay!

Quaint. Beautiful. Friendly. Quiet. Relaxing. Perfect.

That is Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

I honestly never even considered Mississippi when thinking about a beach escape, but legit, I have found the Mecca of picturesque small beach towns. 

So let me tell you how this happened. I was cruising through Pinterest one day and ran across this absolutely precious photo of a naked baby on the beach and immediately thought I needed to recreate it with my baby boy. (Because who doesn't love naked baby booty, seriously the cutest thing in the world!)

Pinterest photo (Not my babe)

So, we had no summer plans because I'm taking Miss Priss on a cruise in November. And then I ran across the picture...and a vacation was born. For real. 

Now, on to how we ended up in Mississippi. Basically, I pulled up VRBO.com and started looking for fun beach houses up and down the gulf coast, mostly Galveston and Orange Beach areas. I didn't really see anything that struck my fancy so I just cruised clicked all down the coast until I ran across this super cute 3 bdrm/2 bath home in Bay St. Louis, MS. I had never heard of this town so of course I turn to Google and one of the first photos I saw was amazing! 

Google

After seeing the house and then the beach, I was sold. So I contacted Rachel, who owns the home in BSL, and she just reaffirmed to me that this was my next vacation destination. She told me all about the super fun cafe's and little hole in the wall restaurants, antique shops and boutiques and I was double sold (is that a thing, double sold?). 

I quickly recruited my parents, aunt and uncle and best friend to join me and the kiddos and we decided on dates and then I booked the house. 

I have officially been home for two days and let me just say, I cannot get back to BSL soon enough! The house was perfect! Beautiful home on a canal with a dock, plenty of patio furniture on two awesome decks, and more than enough room for all 10 of my traveling circus.

We drove overnight so we were exhausted when we arrived at the house at 6:30 am but of course the kids had slept all night and were ready for the beach so we unpacked the cars and quickly headed out to explore the coast. 

I was beyond shocked to find the most beautiful white sand I have every seen, and I've been to a lot of beaches! Not only was this sand perfectly white, but it sparkled! Like God shook a little glitter here on this beach just for me to find and rejoice over (a little dramatic maybe, but glitter is bomb). 

The kids ran right for the water and started splashing and having a grand ole time. And then one of the other three people on the beach (yes, there was only three other people on this perfect beach) motioned for my dad and I to come over to where he was standing to look at the most massive jelly fish I have ever seen! Yes, my kids had just ran in to water infested, and I mean INFESTED with jelly fish, and not one of them got even the tiniest sting! 

We ooh'd and aah'd over the massive jelly fish and then some of the tiniest jelly fish and then packed up to look for a better swimming spot. We drove maybe 10 miles down the road to Pass Christian (second favorite tiny beach town now) where the sand was just as beautiful and the waters much less jelly fishy (again, is that a thing?). The kids splashed around in the waters while the grown folk worked on our tans. After a couple of hours we were all sun exhausted and just needed a nap so we headed back to our sweet little house to relax. 

Before the trip was over we had explored Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Waveland, Gulfport and Biloxi. I am in love with this little strip of gulf coast. 

We spent one day celebrating my Momma's 50th Birthday early with a cake made by the fabulous Cakes by Karen and one day celebrating Miss Priss' One Year Anniversary at my home with some frozen yogurt from the Pink Octopus in Pass Christian. Bay Fest was taking place in downtown Bay St. Louis so we explored the downtown area a bit and met some of the sweetest shop and restaurant owners. 

All in all, after this trip, Galveston has been dethroned (barely) as my favorite small beach town and Bay St. Louis is the new King of the Beach. If you are looking for a fun place to just getaway, this is it! 

*Side note: We drove through New Orleans on our way back home. Not impressed, at all, in the slightest. I'll be cruising out of NOLA in November so I'm hoping it can show me some of the charm everyone talks about, but for now I'm slightly bummed by the lack of uniqueness and the overwhelming-ness (word?) of the ghetto. If you have any specific places I should see email me!

Stolen from Tab's fb!

My Momma's beautiful cake by Cakes by Karen!

Just arrived at the house after driving all night...yea we look rough!

Swamp just outside of Yazoo City, MS

Stolen from Tab

New Orleans, stolen from Tab

Ran across this little guy while taking pics of the kids at the beach! We saw two sharks too, but I didn't get a good picture. :/

Don't judge my nastiness!

Nothing like kissing some fresh shrimp!

Bridge back in to Arkansas