We did a lot of visiting and had a lot of fun. It did rain pretty heavily every afternoon, except maybe one or two days, but at least it wasn't all day, so it wasn't really a big deal. The only bad part about all the rain is Florida has mosquitos the size of small birds and they were really, really bad this time. We couldn't walk from the house to the car without spraying Off on us or they would've carried us away, never to be seen again!
We went to see Uncle Norm's band play. They play at a restaurant with a big patio deck at the Port in Cape Canaveral where you can see cruise ships coming and going. They really drew a BIG crowd! They play very well. We wanted to stay longer, but all we could do was have a quick appetizer and I gave Uncle Norm a quick hug and introduced him to Chana during the band's break and then we had to go. The music was really loud for the kids, but I'm so happy I got to at least hear a few songs! Next time we'll go without kids now that I know what to expect. I wanted to get a picture, but it was just too crowded!
Dawn and I went to La Bella Spa in Merritt Island and had deep tissue massages and polynesian pedicures. We paid a little extra for lounge amenities, so we were able to hang out in the lounge in robes and enjoyed cheese and crackers, cookies, and blueberry tea. We both enjoyed the whole experience. It's a very, very nice place! Afterwards, we went to lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. It's my favorite kind of food because most of it has lots of fresh herbs and vegetables and is very light and healthy. Dawn had never eaten Vietnamese food before, so it was fun for me to help her choose her food and see her reaction. We had summer rolls and different vermicelli bowls, hers with shrimp and mine with pork and shrimp. She really liked it a lot, but I knew she would! (-:
Katelyn turned 16 on the 3rd! She's really growing up and becoming an amazing young lady. She has an incredible gift for music..when she plays guitar and sings, I cry because it's so moving for me. She played her guitar and sang an old hymn from the early 1800's. I'm putting the lyrics below. It's a nice hymn, but to hear a SIXTEEN year old girl sing it so beautifully and with her whole heart while strumming her guitar is incredible to me. It's also beautiful to hear her play piano. It's hard to believe she's old enough to drive now! We got her a cookie cake with a guitar on it...I thought that was fitting since she loves her music so much! I took her shopping at the mall one day to buy a new outfit for her birthday. We had fun shopping together, just the two of us. Here are those lyrics...I'm hoping she'll let my sister make a video of her singing it (hint, hint)...if she does I'll put it on my blog:
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Come, thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of thy redeeming love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.
Come, thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of thy redeeming love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.
Mikayla and Evan got along very well on this visit. They had fun playing Dance, Dance Revolution together. I didn't take the time to remove Evan's red eyes from this picture, but it's still cute!
We did go to the beach all together and Chana had her first ocean experience. I took her to the water and sat with her and let the waves lap up over her feet and legs. She loved it! I think she could've sat there watching the waves all day. We went on the perfect day. We got there at about 8:30 a.m. and stayed until 11:00 a.m. and it was overcast the whole time, so it was a great temperature and we didn't have to worry about the baby getting burned or too hot. We met a huge group of moms and kids from Dawn's church...all in all there were probably 50 or more kids! They had a ball. I did bring my camera, but guess what...I had put the battery on the charger and forgot it! GRRRR! But, Dawn took these with the camera on her phone.
Dawn has a pool in her backyard, so that's a constant source of fun for all. Look how dark Trinity is! She's definitely a Florida girl. (-; I went out there the day before we left all by myself and floated around while the kids were napping and relaxing so I could get a little sun. It was sooo nice to just float without kids jumping all around me. I really enjoyed it, but later that evening I realized that I got too much sun. I was beet red. This morning it looks better. It wasn't bad enough that I'm going to peel, I was just really red for a couple of days...now it's tan!
I didn't take enough pictures on this trip, which is normal for me on vacations, but at least I got a few and can share this much. Also, I'm going to do a separate post of my visit with my cousin Wanda and Uncle Leland. It was a special visit that requires its own post!
