Count it all as JOY!

Saturday we decided to go to Huntington Beach. I just love our consistency and determination as we tackle the beaches of So Cal. We WILL be victorious, we WILL visit each and every one in search of a beach that beats the beauty of Wrightsville Beach or the charm of Carolina Beach.  Charm comes in many forms, in CB's case, charm = donuts and I could eat about half dozen pieces o' charm right about now.  George and I both like Huntington Beach the best so far.  Its a little farther down south and takes a little over an hour to get there but to us, it was worth it.  To park was easy and relatively reasonable in  price and availability.  There were LOTS of surfers and I just love that feel. There's something so magical about it.  I guess it comes from my daddy but the feel of a surf town just gets me, down deep inside. And to add to that wonderful feel, about a mile away is Dog Beach. Dog Beach is this oasis of life as it should be. Dogs run free, play in the water with their masters and are not restrained in most cases. Its like a little piece of heaven on earth. Big ones, little ones, gorgeous breeds, loyal mutts and some dogs who are so ugly they are cute.  We went for a run on the boardwalk first thing because it was a little too chilly to be on the beach. For some reason, the mist hung charmingly heavy and we did not mind because it added to the heavenly feel.  And plus,  that's perfect weather for a run.  I saw this RV camp farther down the beach and could not tell if these people had been parked here since the 70's or if they are just So Cal's version of rednecks (no offense- I love rednecks- they make me feel at home).  Man, they had the SET-UP. Seriously, campers everywhere- doors open, charcoal grills out front, a little fence for the dogs, some even had satellite, almost all had a surf board or two and a little contraption so that you would not have to put your board on the sand to wax it and I would not have been a bit surprised if I had seen potted plants on the steps of an RV.  These people are livin' the life, I thought!  So cool, dudes, hang ten, gnarly....keep it real.

Then we sat on the beach and played, read magazines, made sandcastles, etc.  I was extra cautious about our snacks and the seagulls.  Lauren and I fashioned a new way to keep them away from our goodies. They inch too close,  we throw sand toys at them.  Its pretty fun. These birds are gonna find out what kind of arms they grow in North Cackalacky.  Mid-afternoon we decided it was time to go. The beach town was hopping by this time.  It took us a while to get home but George got a good nap.  We let him sleep a little more once we got home and I worked on supper while George went out and about. He had my car cleaned, inside and out. This is my love language.  Not "Acts of Kindness" but specifically the act of ridding my car of molding goldfish, paper towels and juice boxes and who knows what else, the act of washing the grime away from the cross country tow.  This man is a good one. This made my day. And to top it off, he picked up a piece of Mahi Mahi on the way home and grilled it. I made rice, a salad and some Lavash crackers and we ate like kings and queens.

Sunday we went to Oneonta Church again.  First George ran off into the nursery and never said goodbye, never turned around. This is a good thing.  Secondly, the pastor delivered a wonderful sermon. I mean, truly inspirational to both of us and to the point.  To the 'Jesus' point.  I love that this pastor talks so much about Jesus.  It refreshed us immensely.  We both left with a word from the Lord and a some courage to speak of the beauty of the gospel in the week to come. After too many cookies and coffee we left with the preachers wife's phone number in hand, ready to make a plan for our kiddos to get together this week.  She has a little girl George's age.  Score! She even mentioned the words "share my sitter".  Those are golden words for someone from out of town with no Grammy or Nana around.  Music to my ears. "Share my babysitter" that's better than "share my cookie" or "share my car" or "share my ice cream cone".  The pastor talked to us for a long time after the service and we got such a good, down to earth vibe from he and his wife.  It was their sixth anniversary today (George and I share six years as well), their little girl is almost three, and she is a full time Mom also.  She said she would introduce me to all her friends with young ones.  What a blessing!
We ate lunch, and all took a nap.  When George woke up, we took a family walk to the park.  George scooted and Dean even got to come.  Dean was most definitely the star of the show tonight.  Everyone wants to pet him and talk about him, sniff him (other dogs of course, Californians are not that weird) or play with him.  Young, old, male, female, he attracts them all. Its really special to have this again. I guess everyone back home was used to him and his huge beautiful self.  And he handled it well too.  For an old man he did great as young little ones ran up to him and other dogs barked at his size.  I think he liked being the center of attention again and I am happy for him. Sometime the big old boy just gets shoo'ed away or banished from the room for his stankyness (spell check, have fun with that one).
We stopped at Bristol Farms (the fancy grocer) for dinner and I had lobster ceviche and a power energy salad. George had chicken tacos and little George got chips and a couple bites of turkey sandwich.  I got some Kombucha "live" tea soda thing that claimed to have- count them- one "billion probiotics". Ha! George promptly spilled about four million of my four dollar billion probiotics.  After a long walk home with full bellies George asked so sweetly, "Mommy can we build a fort" as he motioned to his daddy.  His daddy looked at me like he was five and seriously, how could any mama say no to TWO pairs of doe eyes? So a fort was constructed while I cleaned up another mess from previous activities. Another great day as a family.  I love all the time we have together. Its is so special and dear to me. I will cherish this time because I know life will get busy once we meet more people and find ourselves committed to more activities. But for right now, I will cherish these moments and "Count it all as joy" James 1:2.

This is the fort, and even Dean got an invitation