Confessions, Surprises & Snapshots.

Here are a few confessions, surprises & snapshots (and even a few unsurprises)...all thrown together into a lovely smorgasbord of a blog post.
 
Snapshots:  a few from our time at the beach (just in case you were wondering:  no, we don't get enough of the ocean even though we live on it/see it everyday...it never gets old....and there's a bit of a difference in being at the ocean in a vacation spot on the East Coast of the United States vs. being at the ocean in an industrial port on the West Coast of Africa ):

Confession:  we have not  taken nearly as many pictures as one (namely me)(dianna) may have hoped that we would take. I don't have a clue why the camera was not used more often.  The pictures above and below capture only a smidgeon of the wonderful moments we've had and a few of the amazing memories that have been made these past few weeks.

Confession/Surprise: being "home" is a strange mixture of AWESOME and surprisingly challenging.  Not sure if the thoughts will ever come together to fully be able to explain this...maybe.  We'll see.

Snapshots:  Caroline got her ears pierced!  She is one fun/brave/excited/tough cookie.

Surprise:  after spending plenty of time talking about what foods we were most looking forward to and pretty much mapping out our meals (not really....but kind of), it was shocking how "not hungry" I was for a few days.  In some ways I'm just starting to really want the foods that I've missed the past year...

Unsurprise:  God has blessed us with so many delightful friends and it has been a joy to spend time with so many of them (so many of YOU!).  I wish it was possible to spend a few hours (or better yet, a few days!!) with each and every one of you who make our lives so rich and full. 

Confession:  My plan has been to get an "extra" Polynesian and Chick-Fil-A sauce from CFA every time we've gone so that I have a little stockpile to bring back to the ship.  So far I only have one of each...there's some work to be done (is this completely unethical?!  I really like their sauce....)

Snapshot:  Emma and the bear that Grandaddy & Yaya helped her make at Build-A-Bear.  The bear's name is Squooshy (though no one is quite sure how to spell it). 

Confession:  there are a few things we'll do differently next time around.  We'll make sure we have cell phones lined up to use (so grateful for Nick's dad and aunt's willingness to let us use their's spur of the moment)...we'll hire a professional events coordinator to plan and schedule all of our get togethers and to line up our transportation (not really...but man, that would be nice!)...we'll actually put our clothes away instead of having them strewn all about our rooms...

Unsurprise: we love questions and don't get tired of answering them!  It's fun getting to answer your questions and talk about the past year of our lives....feel free to ask anything you'd like!

Snapshots:  fun at the Chambliss' house/pool

 

Surprise:  it's amazing how comforting familiar smells can be.  Not sure it's this way for everyone...but there are certain smells that bring comfort to my heart (and sometimes tears to my eyes).  Christ Community's "smell" has that affect on me....as does certain people's perfumes (Pam, Janet...did you know you fall into this category?!)...as does certain people's homes (here's looking at you, Molly)  So grateful for familiar smells. 

Confession (unsurprise):  we have consumed entirely too many cherry cokes while we've been here. 

Confession: it's hard knowing something we've looked forward to for so long is almost over....we are equally dreading and excitedly anticipating next Saturday when we'll board the plane and head back to the ship.  In some ways, it's nice to think about getting back to our "normal" on the ship (crazy to think that this time last year our "normal" was so very different than it is now).  In other ways, there's no way I'm ready to leave this place. 

For now (as Sarah Young wrote in Jesus Calling), we'll try to "look neither behind nor before...instead we'll focus on the One that equips us fully for whatever awaits us on our journey...."

AND we'll seek to enjoy ALL that He has for us in the coming days - there are plenty of meals to be eaten, sleepovers to be had, conversations to be shared and memories to be made (and hopefully pictures that will be taken!!). 

Surely there will be more to come.