MIA but Not Dead

There are times when I wonder how so many people are able to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. I know we all have the same number of minutes in a day, but I don't think I can account for as many of those as the average bear. I don't know where October went, but I can tell you this for sure: It blazed a burning path right past me and I didn't even feel the heat wave. I'm looking around at the disaster that is my house with half the beach on my floor and I must admit, this has been the best October on record!

I've decided to name Babe #3 Boo until he/she arrives sometime in April, for the sheer fact that I'm trying to talk Todd into letting me name this kid all by myself and I'm really wanting something exciting from one of my favorite books... like To Kill A Mocking Bird (side notes, pretty sure he won't go for anything crazy like Scout or Atticus, so this is as close as I'll get but I can still hold on to hope!). Anyways, Boo has been nice enough to make the sheer exhaustion that's been the last few months start to ease up. Thank you Boo! The lack of needing 20 hours of sleep (but getting only 6) made the vacation we just got back from that much more enjoyable.

We went to a beach on the Indian Ocean. The drive was a bit far for the kids and the slightly morning sick mom at times, but it was totally worth it when we had not one but two coves all to ourselves. The kids loved the water, I LOVED that they could literally run for miles without line-of-sight being broken or noise to drown out Em's screams of, "MOM-MEEE! Look, shell!!!" The local Xhosa village had some really nice people who seem to be more than a bit entertained by the crazy white people who kept swimming when it was more overcast than not and who spent hours and hours looking at the tide pools and never once taking things back with us to eat.

Pretty sure there's nothing better in this world than seeing wonder and awe in your child's eyes and your spouse's heart overflowing with gratitude to your Lord at His majesty and abundant blessings.

Em tentatively poking a fish... until she saw a crab and FREAKED OUT!

I think he looks sweet... sort of.

Poor Coop slept through most of the fun, but he woke up a bit abruptly when some of the ocean spray caught him in the face :(

When he did wake from his nap, Cooper was all-hands-on-deck. He splashed the life out of more than one ecosystem, which made the rest of us laugh out loud. He couldn't figure out why the fish and crabs kept running from him.

It was a real treat for me to be able to share something I really love and that was really part of my childhood with my family. We were able to see barnacles, crabs, fish, sand-suckers, chorals, sponges and those really fun things that you can stick your finger/toe into and they suck on it. Todd and Coop really liked those, but Em was more than a little wary of them.

As most family vacations, I spent most of my time behind the camera, but I must say, watching my three musketeers combing the beaches and pools for interesting things to point out was really fantastic. I was so thankful it was a bit cool and the sun stayed hidden. No one got hot and tired, so curiosity was our limit... that, and my sand-bogged legs!