Just a big mess...

It is hard to believe how much this oil spill has made an impact on our area and the people who live here. It just gets worse and worse. It really breaks my heart. This is our home - lived here all of our lives. The beautiful beaches are going to be brown, there are many, many people without jobs, and the animals are dying daily. There was a young dolphin out in the water near Ft. Pickens yesterday. It was crying for help. A tourist tried to help it. The animal rescue crew got it out of the oil and in transit to Gulf World in PCB, that poor baby died.

I know that God is still present. Today there are north winds helping to push it back some. It is going to get better, but only He knows when. We were talking about in church last week how He can take everything away until there is nothing left but Him. As much as we hate that, we are seeing it right before our eyes. I pray that he gives us all the strength to know what we can all do to help.

I have provided a link to a website that will help to remind us to pray without ceasing: http://www.oilspillprayer.com/

The Doobie Brothers & Kenny Loggins are coming to the Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island for a free concert on Sunday. It is a benefit concert, and hopefully it will bring a few more tourists here to help the local economy.

In His Love,

Michelle

One more day of school...

It's hard to believe how big my kiddos are getting. Grant & Anna are finishing out their school year with awesome grades and huge accomplishments. Grant has made all A's and just a few B's for the year, and Anna made all A's. Grant is learning "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits and "Free Fallin" by Tom Petty on his guitar. He also finished his first year as a Webelo, and is very close to earning his Arrow of Light. Anna has earned her green belt in Taekwondo and has a mean kick! She can do the splits as well - very flexible. She finished her last year of Daisy Scouts and will become a Brownie in the fall. She is so excited. I will continue to run her troop. Even though it can be exhausting at times, she loves it, and it is rewarding to see how much the girls love it. We will have a short summer this year. They go back the first week of August. They will be attending Summer Camp at Destin Life Center for several weeks. Grant is going to Camp KidJam this month in Deland, FL (Stetson University). They will both also visit my mom in AL for a week. We are trying to enjoy the beauty of our area while the oil is still looming out in the Gulf and not really washing up on shore yet - God is good!

Hope everyone has an awesome summer!

Enjoying our area before the oil & Memorial Day in Orlando

So, Grant got to go fishing with PaPa Steve last week. He skipped school - I know, bad mom. But, before you scold me too much, keep in mind that we have massive amounts of crude oil slowly inching our way, and it may be 10-20 years (or more) before anyone will be able to fish here again. It breaks my heart as this is home - I've been in Florida on the Gulf coast my whole life. So, yes he skipped school, but I think it was well, well worth it. He caught several fish, but his blue fish were the biggest.

We decided to head south for Memorial Day to visit my sister and her kiddos. It was a long drive, but it is bittersweet to think we had the freedom to just get up and go because of all of the soldiers who have given their lives and service for our country. My nephews are getting big, and "B" (the littlest princess) is doing very well for being a preemie. She is walking around, getting into things, and has the wildest ringlet curls ever.

We spent time playing, swimming at the pool, shopping at Ikea (that place is like a mall, and yes, I got lost in there several times), and having yummy food. Karen is a good cook and enjoys fattening up her guests - LOL! :)

Ten more days until Thomas comes home from Glynco - his training is going well, but I miss him like crazy!

School will be out next week - hope everyone has a fabulous summer!

Praying for the oil to stay away and what does come to cause as little impact as possible...