A Grateful Heart

I had the most delightful Mother's Day last Sunday. I always tell the kids to go have fun. They are moms and dads too! However, they all came over in the afternoon and we had a nice visit. We grilled some hamburgers and hotdogs, made baked beans and indulged in ice cream sandwiches for dessert. Simple and fun. Lindsay and Tyler came by boat and Miles was treated to riding in their boat with Tucker and Palmer. Tyler and Palmer drove them around for a bit and all were happy.

All things that make this mama heart sing with joy. Roses which I have shared with them are an amazing gift even more now that I have no roses in the yard or deck. They however gave me even more clever gifts. Lindsay came across some pink and green "OH so preppy" Adidas tenney shoes which was enough for me to squeal, but then you found me another unique gift. These were given as a unit by all the kids. 

Now, let me tell you about the cool bag. It is called a brailer bag and made in Alaska by a company called Nomar.

Here is part of the description of the bag...

Our Brailer Basket with Handle is the perfect companion for foraging, beachcombing, or collecting whatever other treasures you might find on your outdoor adventures! 

What drew Lindsay to this bag? Well she heard on SmartherNews that the company had made the tote bags for the Artemis II parachutes. Easy to lift them out of the water. You can read about it here.

My kids know me well! I could not have asked for more intriguing or Sandy like gifts. Oh and BTW, the Adidas sneakers are amazing. I forgot how much I liked them and went promptly out to the outlet store and bought me a white and black striped pair. All have been on repeat this week.

 

Here are the boys on the boat.

The weather has been truly amazing lately. I know the heat is on its way, but even today I have been sitting out on the deck in the bright sun and it is such a nice breeze. 

I made it out to the beach this week for one walk...

It was absolutely gorgeous. Not too crowded, a wonderful breeze. I could have just parked myself all day there. 

Next up is a view of one of my other top walking spots. 

The land across is the barrier island but this part is owned by the military so no tall condos. I do love where I live. Even in the heat of summer. 

Palmer graduated from his VPK which I didn't realize was a Florida term. It is preschool. They are expected to go to kindergarten in the fall. Lindsay has always planned to do it twice for Palmer because of his late summer birthday and his small stature. His teacher says he is ready for kindergarten but I don't think Lindsay is going to change her mind. The plan was always for him to attend the one Tucker had attended and Miles will be attending in August and then go to one closer to his house in Destin next year. She would used her voucher from the state for that one. I don't think she is going to change her mind. She would rather him graduate at 18 rather than 17 from high school. 

Let me just say the little stinker had a speaking part (one of 3 kids). He did amazing. He hopped down and knew his part and did it with complete confidence. I almost had my mouth opened.

This was him at home after Tyler got his hair done. Let me just say though that shirt did NOT stay tucked in long and he was quite anxious to get the belt off.

I am going to try and round this post up and come back next week with patriotic season around the house. I got my sampler back from the frame shop. I will tell more about it next week, but I love it!

Close up...

I will share more around the house later this week.

I have begun but have not finished deciding where to put some patriotic touches.

I am going to end with a personal note attached to the next picture...

This was an Instagram post by my church. You can see Paul Allen with Valerie and Miles and Jeff over to the side. This picture represents so much. I don't want to make Paul Allen sound bad, but he was a tougher teenager than I was prepared for. Let's just say the Lord did a work in me and HE needed to as much as did in Paul Allen. He never got into really bad things that would have been hard to make a comeback from like drugs, but for this perfectionist mama he had a lot of "fun" and didn't have a ton of ambition. 

I spent a ton of time in prayer for those years. I even remember thinking if he didn't go to college how was he going to meet a nice girl? How shallow of me!!! I was a first generation college graduate and had a history of alcoholism on one side of my family, so I had set high expectations that he was not meeting. I tell you I prayed a lot, but I also had a point where I realized I needed to work on myself about trusting God. 

Let's just say when I got to the point of surrender that God put on a show for me. Paul Allen doesn't have a college degree, but he has an amazing wife who we love like a daughter and he has 2 of the sweetest littles THAT ADORE HIM. Miles always says he wants to be just like Daddy. 

I write all of this to remind anyone out there to remember God hears out prayers and works in both the parent and the rebellious "Having Fun" child and they do grow up. Keep the faith.

I will try and get my house in order so I can take some pics for next time.

Happy Spring,

Sandy