A Horse, Of Course!

We took a road trip past Norfolk,VA and around the coast to Chincoteague and Assateague Island to try to catch a glimpse of some wild horses on the islands....the drive was beautiful....so many bridges and tunnels.  We even saw a battleship and an aircraft carrier...that was cool!

There was a beautiful lighthouse on the island...only 175 steps to the top on a freaky, see-through spiral staircase....conquer my fears, right?! :P  

A view from the top....we didn't spot any horses, so it was time for us to search through the nature trail and at the beach...

THE EXPECTATION:

THE REALITY:

There are 150 wild horses that live on this island....I'm thankful we did see one wild horse, but it was quite a ways off the road.

BUT....we got to spend some time at the beach :)

All the girls have worked on reports leading up to vacation for the different locations we are visiting and Karly's report was on the ponies at Assateague Island.  We had an opportunity to attend a workshop about owls while we were on the island and the girls got to dissect owl pellets....random, but interesting!  Anyway, Karly wanted to present her report to the other people who were in the workshop, so we asked the instructor if Karly could read her report and he asked the other families in the room.....everyone agreed....so he changed the background picture from an owl to a pony and Karly presented :)  She did a great job!

The sunset on the way back to Williamsburg, VA

Into The Fray

"My Ears Had Heard Of You, But Now My Eyes Have Seen You" -Job 42:5...and what does seeing GOD....I mean, really getting a glimpse of Him lead us into?

REPENTANCE....

WOW!  JOB 38-42 is so strongly spoken by God and so humbling!

Our humility and submission is a such beautiful thing to God.  The only way to restoration of right relationship with God is through humility and repentance.  If only we could learn to love the humbling....but, our spirits are much like the wild horses....we resist God's training and instruction.

Today, we are following a dream the girls have had for quite some time.  They had heard about an island with wild ponies over a year ago....We are headed there to see it with our own eyes...I hope it will be everything they have dreamed it to be :)  Actually, I am SUPER excited as well....I love horses....they exhibit so much power and beauty at the same time!

...incredible creations of God!

Touring Colonial Williamsburg

We had a beautiful day for touring and learning more about the 18th century in Colonial Williamsburg.  The Governor's Palace and the gardens were breathtaking....I was amazed with the way the grand foyer was decorated!

Looks like a postcard :P  I wanted to take sooooo many pictures.

I LOVE THIS GATE PICTURE!

Grandpa Foster and Karly under a tree canopy in the garden

Learning about basket weaving

This was an awesome moment....this man invited the girls to a lesson in the proper way to have tea....he spent time teaching them manners.  Karly is trying to have perfect posture :)

Then we were off to the races...

Kassi came in second place in the first heat among a bunch of kids.

We heard from an actor portraying Robert Carter III....that was a pretty incredible monologue regarding his faith and how he came to the decision to emancipate all his slaves.  It was a very moving story of how he believed God brought him to an understanding that all men are created equal.

Now Brad wants to live here and work as one of their actors :)  I think he is wondering if the role of Patrick Henry will be available any time soon.

I could live here...it is quite lovely!

Six Days Shall You Labor....And Then...

One of the oldies (for Traffic Jammin') that we brought along with us on our trip is Take 6....

I forgot how much I love their music.....Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdYYCUoKH9M
I seriously think this song makes me float a little bit!

Yes! We Have Arrived To Williamsburg, Virginia!

This is why we do not vacation often :P

KIDDING!  We all did a great job packing Iron Van and didn't even need to use our luggage topper....I read somewhere that you should lay all your vacation clothes and money out and then cut the the clothes in half and double the money....I get it....I think....only do you have to double the money because you will need to buy more clothes on vacation?  Just something I wondered during our 12 hour trip :P

It was a GORGEOUS day for the drive....so I can't complain!...well, I can, but I won't because there were more oooo's and ahhhhh's than UUUUUHHHGGGGs!  And, we only had to take 3 quarters away from Karly the whole trip.  We give the girls a roll of quarters for the trip....then, if they ask annoying questions or fight with their sisters we start taking quarters away.  I wish I would have known about this gem of wisdom a long time ago, but this is the second long trip we have used it for and it is amazing for our girls!

Some awesome friends from church blessed us for our adventure and brought us this humongous bag of snacks for the trip.  It included all the new Lay's flavors so we could sample them all....we sample two flavors today and we liked these the best of the two so far.

Around Washington DC we started encountering traffic jams that lasted almost until we were to Williamsburg....lots of stop and go, but I brought some traffic jammin' music...some old CDs so we were all good.  At one point Brad got pretty frustrated so I reached for a nice mellow Jim Brickman piano CD and he asked, "Are you trying to calm me down?".....:P  Savannah told him if we were the seven dwarfs, he would be grumpy :P....But, he did a great job....the last leg of a journey is so tiring anyway without all the traffic.

We had a surprise for the girls once we arrived.  We actually have 5 other people joining us here that they did not know about....so we got all checked in and then there was a knock at the door and Uncle Kent showed up....he lives near DC, so that wasn't so weird for the girls.  But, then a few minutes later there was another knock at the door and Grandma and Grandpa Foster showed up....now things are getting weird, right?...because they live in Horton, MI.  Then, a few minutes later....another knock....Savannah said, "I'm not getting it this time!".... and all the girls ran around screaming....my parents came to our door all the way from Carmel, IN...FUN TIMES!....making memories, right?!  

Are We There Yet?!

Happen Upon A Clear Retainer

After the marching band preview the other night, there were some people walking around the field....obviously looking for something.  I walked out to see if I could help and asked. "what are we looking for?"...I was a little taken aback when they said, "a retainer" :)  Okay, I guess I am now looking for a retainer and if I find that I will stand as if I am a hunting dog and POINT at it :)

We looked for a while....I even prayed the "lost things" prayer that someone taught me a long time ago, but we did not happen upon a clear retainer.

I was thinking more about my post from last night...especially the idea that GOD finds us.  I guess we do not really have to find HIM....He is never hiding from us....and He doesn't really have to find us because He always knows where we are.  It is an irony in a way like LOSING A RETAINER....something that is made for KEEPING.....We do TRY to hide....and even though He knows right where we are....it's almost like He whistles while He walks near us, so that we can feel like we found HIM....it's not like He is playing some game just to mess with us or that it is not meaningful to Him, but it is part of our relationship...and His way to show us love and patience.

You know how after Adam and Eve sinned they hid from God and God still walked in the garden and called out to them....I think He already knew right where they were, but, in His great patience, He played their hide and seek game to give them time to understand what it means to win....He wants us to win, so He throws our own self-destructive games to our favor whenever it isn't contrary to His nature....which is almost all the time because He is loving, merciful, forgiving, gracious.....not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to the saving knowledge of Christ....how much more of an advantage could we receive than that?!  There are still consequences to our sin...I don't want to overlook that, but His mercy is so great!  I wish there was a faith retainer I could put in when I was at my very best spiritually to keep me there....but that would also hinder me from moving forward as well.  It is all so that we will lose the desire for all the silly games that take us away from Him and just want to be with Him.

Being lost and found is more about where I allow or desire my obsessive heart to venture....is it on a path in line with or straight to God or away from Him...trying to avoid Him?

Anyway, I don't know if all of this makes sense, but I am so thankful for this relationship.....that He doesn't completely lose patience with me after a few games of hide and seek....but. He does challenge me to mature in Him, so I will take the most delight in meeting Him face to face and having fellowship with Him.