This Belle's Blessings

Whew! Vacation was a whirlwind of fun! I found it difficult to keep up with my blog during that time though so this one is going to be long and packed with pictures! My goal is to have 365 blessings blogged by the end of the year and by golly I'm gonna do it!

There will actually be two separate entries tonight, here goes entry 1:

July 20: Waking up to the blessings of the ocean! The sounds of the waves crashing, the smell of the salt air, the dolphins and pelicans larking about, it's a little morning paradise. My bed was right beside a sliding glass door that opened up to a wrap around porch looking out at the ocean. It was very relaxing.

July 21: Fort Sumter and Aquarium day! If you've never been to Charleston, SC I strongly suggest you go. Granted SC is hotter than the equator we have a lot to offer. It's beautiful and history wise you are in for a treat. The first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter and that's just part of the historical side. As long as I've lived here and as many times as I've been to Charleston I had never actually visited Fort Sumter. It turned out to be quite a memorable experience. The night before, around midnight, some other members of our vacation extravaganza arrived. We had been sitting on the fact that one of our nearest and dearest was expecting for a few months. The week before our trip she had some testing done that included in some high tech new test that can identify the sex of the baby a little earlier. She thought she may get a call with the results sometime while we were at the beach. Sure enough, right in the middle of the Fort Sumter museum the phone rings! Our families will be blessed with another little girl to enjoy in January! The other tests came back good too! Being a part of that wonderful moment was so special and the fact that it was in a historic location like Fort Sumter made it even more memorable. We followed it up with a visit to the SC Aquarium where we were blessed to see...wait for it....TURTLES!!!!!!

July 22: Beach Day! Sometimes you just need a play day on the beach! And sunscreen, don't forget sunscreen. Reapplying is helpful too! It was a good day watching everyone relax and play. The blessing of a carefree day was just what everyone needed. We made sand sculptures and participated in plenty of shenanigans.

July 23: Bone-yard Beach! This entire experience was a blessing! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves but the bleached out trees are a result of an ever-changing beach constantly battling incoming surf.

July 24: She's here!! Having my cousin Kimmy in SC was a huge blessing! It was nice having family in our neck of the woods. It's always nice to talk and text but sometimes you need an actual person in front of you!

July 25: A carriage ride, some rain, and beach football! We got up and headed to downtown Charleston for a carriage ride Friday morning. Historical tours are always good but in a horse drawn carriage they are pretty awesome! Afterwards we went to a nice lunch and made it back to the house in time for some storms. You would think at the beach storms would be a negative but it actually turned out to be fun. The power went out (not the fun part) but we grabbed the football and headed to the beach. It was sprinkling but not bad by then. I've wanted to play ball with the family like that for a long time and was blessed to get to do it. The power came back on and we got to relax in the air conditioner again.

July 26: Headed home! It's good to go away but it's always nice to come home. The fur babies were happy about it too. As yummy as vacation food is, I was ready for dinner at home. My cousins came home with us for another night and we were blessed with a nice crab cake and macaroni and cheese dinner around the table and great conversation...and more shenanigans ;).

July 27: Last day of vacation. It was sad that everyone went back home but it was nice knowing we had a good time and got to spend time with everyone that was a part of it. The entire trip, the memories, the jokes, and the quality time was truly a blessing. All families are different, made up of different dynamics and personalities, some by blood and some by the Grace of God. My family is a unique blessing and I love them all!

July 28: Back to the grind. Getting back in routine after relaxing is good. It gives me a different outlook on things. I was blessed with a fresh take on projects and didn't even realize it till I started to think about what I actually got done my first day back.