My Summer Vacation

This year, our family visited Isle of Palms, South Carolina for vacation.  While we were there we.....



...saw the ocean...

...splashed in the waves...

...dug in the sand...

...aaaannnndddd we might have eaten a little sand.

One of us checked off #23.

We also had some male bonding time watching football...

...and communed with nature.  (From a distance, that is.)

We walked barefoot on the beach...

...and made sweet little footprints in the sand...

Okay, I know you're thinking, "Enough with the pictures of his feet, already!" but they're just too cute!!!

We picked up seashells...

...and built a sand castle...

...all while looking very cool, if we do say so ourselves.

All of that was exhausting...

...so we made sure to rest plenty, too.

We acted a little silly...

...and spent time with people that we love.

We caught up on some reading...

...and practiced a new skill.

We ate some REALLY good food...

...and saw some beautiful scenery.

But the best part was seven gloriously uninterrupted days with my favorite people.

P.S.  I want to give a big shout-out "Happy Birthday" to my wonderful husband!  I hope God blesses me with many more of your birthdays!

Meet Molly

You know, it's a funny thing about plans.  They just have a way of taking on a life of their own.  Take this week, for example.  We had planned on being at the beach.  I had not planned on getting another dog any time soon.  But some circumstances that were beyond our control came up and we postponed our beach trip.  We're hoping to reschedule later this summer if we can work it out with our employers.  We were both a little bummed about our change of plans, so we decided to do a couple of fun things this week.  We went to the zoo (more on this later), had friends over, and decided to just visit a local dog rescue.

Meet the result of that visit... 



Molly is an 18 month old lab who was surrendured to the Somerset Humane Society because her previous family was moving.  Can you believe this sweet girl was going to be euthanized because the shelter was too full?  I'm so glad the Kentucky Lab Rescue came and took her away so that we could make her a part of our family.  

Sam is quite smitten with her.  They have spent hours chasing each other around our house, and they have exchanged thousands of kisses already.  In fact, I'm pretty sure if we were to do DNA analysis on Sam right now, we would discover that he's part lab.  She's a big couch potato, and she thinks she's a 70 pound lap dog. 

To be honest, I was reluctant to bring another dog into our home because we were just heartbroken when we lost Maddie.  But Molly has somehow wriggled her way into my heart just like she wriggles a little closer to me on the couch, and we are already crazy about her. 

Congratulations, Molly.  You have hit the pet jackpot. 

40 by 40

I have decided to do a 40 by 40 list--forty things that I want to do by the time I'm forty years old.  Here's my plan:  I'll post the list, then as I complete each one I will update it with the date completed, and I'll also do a separate post about that accomplishment.  Fun, right?  Some of these things are big things, others are not so big.  Regardless, my plan is to do each and every one of these things by the time I hit the big 4-0. 

Oh...one more thing.  One of these things is going to be checked off very, very soon.  Now do I have you interested???

Joe's 40 by 40 List

1.  Make a quilt.

2.  Read one of the classics.

3.  Go on a mission trip.

4.  Purchase (and learn how to use) a really great camera.

5.  Invite someone outside of my family to Thanksgiving dinner.

6.  Organize the junk room in our basement.

7.  Learn to crochet.

8.  Learn to snow ski.

9.  Run a 5K race.

10.  Adopt a shelter pet.  Done 7/19/11

11.  Get a hot stone massage.

12.  Camp out in my back yard.

13.  Go on an overnight girls-only trip.

14.  Go on a picnic.  Done 8/27/12

15.  Fly a kite.

16.  Go for a sailboat ride.

17.  Cook a meal with ingredients purchased entirely at a local Farmers' Market.

18.  Have a movie marathon day...complete with pajamas and popcorn.

19.  Shop in New York City.

20.  Pay my respects at the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

21.  See the Nutcracker at Christmas time.

22.  See a show on Broadway.

23.  Drink a fruity umbrella drink on the beach.  Done 8/28/11.

24.  Make a  gingerbread house.

25.  Spend a day volunteering.

26.  Throw a coin in the Fountains of Bellagio.

27.  Read the Bible cover to cover.

28.  Swim with dolphins.

29.  Sing karaoke.

30.  Take a helicopter tour in Hawaii.

31.  Get super dressed up and go on a date with my husband.

32.  Spend Christmas in a far away place with my family.

33.  Fly first class.

34.  Tour a vineyard.

35.  Go ice skating.

36.  Find a ministry at my church and get involved.

37.  Take a class just for fun.

38.  Wear a hat and drink a mint julep on Derby Day.

39.  Get my make-up done at one of those fancy make-up counters.

40.  Hike in the Grand Canyon.