and away we went

a few weeks ago, we went on a family vacation. this was our first big vacation since little man was born, and we had been planning it for quite a while. we came very close to canceling after all of the flood mess, but we have great friends who encouraged us to go. and in the end, we figured if we ever needed to just get away, this was it.

so away we went!

we went with two other families who are very good friends of ours. we all stayed in one big house right by the beach on Tybee Island, which is just outside of Savannah.

first of all, let me say that whoever invented portable dvd players for the car is a genius.....


we had as smooth a car-ride as one could expect with a two-year-old on board.

as soon as we got into town, we drove down the cutest streets with all of these little shops. they were lined with these trees.....


.....which i think are just gorgeous. when i think of an old southern plantation, these trees are on it. of course, usually in the movies the plantation ends up being haunted, but they're still beautiful to me.

miss Paula Deen's restaurant is down there, so we all ventured there to have lunch. it was very busy there, and even though we had reservations, we still had to wait for a table for quite a while. we opted to wait outside with little man, since it was too crowded inside.

the look on his face pretty much tells you what he thought about the wait, and the heat.....


we all had the same look on our faces after the meal. Paula's great and all, but it was a typical southern buffet lunch, and that's all i'm saying!

a few more pics around town.....



this was Caleb's first time to the beach. we were a little worried about how he would do with the sand and the water. he doesn't really like to walk in the grass, so we weren't sure how he would feel about that much sand; and he really didn't even like bathtime, so we definitely did not think he would like the water at all. but he really surprised us! he was walking around on the sand like it was nothing, and he was jumping the little baby waves in daddy's arms and loving it!




showing off his muscles and throwing back a cold one.....


and this pretty much sums up how he felt at the end of the day.....


we literally took over a thousand pictures while we were there. here are 999 just a few of them.....















we had a great time, and we are so glad that we went!

by the way.....

with all of the flood hupla, we failed to mention that this.....


.....is scheduled to arrive this November.

we are completely overjoyed!

i will tell more of HER story thus far in a future post. for now, we just wanted to be sure that bloggyland was in the know!

life these days

.....is busy. hectic. full.

we have been living with my parents since the flood.

we are so grateful that there is room here for us. little man already knew this house so well, so it wasn't as big an adjustment for him as it might have been. he has his own room here, and although the house was already slightly baby-proofed, he has shown us that we had a lot more work to do in this area!

we have gotten as settled as we can for now, and have gotten into a new routine here.

our house still sits with the lower floor completely gutted. still no walls. still no flooring. just concrete and studs.

most of our things that we were able to save sit in a storage unit.

there is a lot to do after a flood. a lot of meetings, applications, paperwork, phone calls, and on, and on. some days we feel ok. some days we want to scream.

we have learned how this whole FEMA thing works. we never thought we would be using any kind of program like this, but here we are.

we always thought that we were completely covered with all the various insurance coverages: medical, car, homeowners, life.

we didn't have flood insurance.

we didn't think we needed it.

we were wrong.

we have yet to meet anyone affected by this flood who was covered.

we refer to our life as "before the flood", or "since the flood".

we will think of something, or look for something, only to remember that it "drowned".

we are in a state of not knowing exactly what is ahead. we are not exactly sure of when we can start rebuilding, or how long it will take.

we are not sure of when we will have a home again.

if you know me well, you know that this is driving me crazy. i want a plan. i want a timeline. i want to know what to expect. i am a nester. i need a house to clean, and decorate, and love.

it's a good thing that i have a God who knows the big picture. i am asking Him to remind me of this a lot these days.

i also have a wonderful man by my side, who helps keep me calm, and focused, and sane.

not to mention a bouncing 2-year-old, who keeps me smiling, and laughing, and busy!