Come to Me and I will give you rest

This weekend the Lord gave each of us a chance to rest in our own way. We each came needing to be recharged from our daily life. Some of us needed sleep, some joy, laughter, togetherness, renewal, nostalgia, peace, and yet we received so much more.

Our family arrived late Friday afternoon, and started to get everything setup and ready for the weekend. We had supper ready for when Didi and Nanny Wanda (Who Emma affectionately calls Wanda) got there. Supper was great. We cleaned and everyone got ready for bed.

We woke up fairly early, and were on a hunt for a good crabbing spot. Most spots get taken before the sun even comes up in the morning. The sun had been up a little while, making spot searching a little harder. We finally found a spot near the Mermentau River as well as another group AND an alligator. After staying a while we only caught a whopping 1 crab. We decided to "cut our loses" and move on to a new location. We made our way to Joseph's Harbor praying all the while that we would have enough for supper. I guess the Lord was giving us a message...what did we have? 2 crabs and now 2 new alligators. With little success Eric took us to the other side of the landing which turned out to be more successful. At this new location we caught 11, totalling a baker's dozen. We decided we would head back to the camp.

There is a ferry to take you across from Cameron to Holly Beach. It is always so much fun and excitement. Emma was just so excited to see and be on a boat. We were excited because the Lord blessed us with the opportunity of catching a glimpse of a school of dolphins. The water was absolutely beautiful, I guess they couldn't resist. Once over the river we drove a little down the road to Holly Beach. We decided to make a stop to Meaux's Seafood, at which point the Lord multiplied our catch from one dozen to four dozen and some LARGE shrimp. We finally gathered up a pot, boiler, utensils, and some very hungry stomachs. Eric started the boil, and we were able to just spend some good quality time together laughing at the girls, remembering the past, and just enjoying each other's company. We all agreed the crabs and shrimp were an awesome treat. After supper, we started cleaning, some inside some outside. After cleaning, we all got ready for bed.

We all woke up refreshed, and full(thanks to DiDi's delicious breakfast). We went to Mass, an awesome way to start the day!! We then headed over to the Hackberry Rec Center and had a yummy lunch. Once back at the camper, we started picking everything up, cleaning, and packing our vehicles to head home.

We didn't want to go home empty-handed so we decided we would try and crab at our favorite spot. At first when we drove up there was a couple crabbing. We were bummed but did not give up. We went to fill our cars with gas, and went back on the hunt for a spot. I loved our little spot, and asked Eric to go back to see if the couple had left. We drove up, and they were leaving. The couple was so friendly, and they even left us their bait and string. We were very eager to get started. It wasn't long before we had another visitor....you guessed it.....Mr. Alligator decided to visit us once again(how thoughtful). He did not damper our fun though. We all switched turns...crabbing, netting, Emmaing, and Madelineing. We spent a good time crabbing over there, and were very successful!

I am realizing with age that the amount of crabs you catch, though exciting, does not make the trip successful. What made the trip successful was the blessings God shined upon us, the faithfulness, the sharing, the giving, the happiness and joy, the teamwork, and most of all the love we had for each other. In that case, our trip FAR surpassed the amount of crabs we caught. I think I can speak for everyone that we had a very enjoyable, relaxing time.

I am very thankful to my in-laws for their extreme generosity. They provide us with places of retreat, something that can't be bought. I also thank Nanny Wanda and Didi for their generosity and helpfulness. They were very selfless, allowing Eric and I special time of our own as well. I thank my girls for providing us with laughter and entertainment, as well as unbelievable behavior. I also thank Eric for being amazing. He always thinks of little details to make the weekend special. He works very hard to make sure we are happy and taken care of. This weekend made us feel like we were "dating" again. It helped me realize how much I love my best friend. Most of all, I want to thank God. This weekend was AMAZING! He provided us with beautiful weather, beautiful nature, beautiful company, beautiful rest, but most of all beautiful memories! Thank You!!!

**More pics posted at the bottom of page