What can I say.... it was surreal, it was a long drive, it was a short time, it was priceless, it makes me cry thinking about it.

We took Max on a trip to the sea. 

He had the idea, I found a beach, Josh found a condo, he raised the gas cash, we scrimped and saved, God kept our van running, we did the driving, God gave us perfect weather, we spent almost the entire time on the beach, we found a thousand shells & 1 live crab, we learned a lot, God united our family closer together and sealed in many things He taught us at Faithwalkers.

We went to Gulf Shores, Alabama.  I chose this place because: it was closest (we wanted to drive it in 1 day and we're OLD, no 24 hr drives for us!), it had been a while since a hurricane hit (Ivan in 2004, Katrina in 2005, and since we weren't going to help we didn't want to get in the way), it had a Sea Lab (so in theory, no matter what, we would have sea creatures to touch), we could take a ferry to an island nearby, and those commercials late at night on Fox made it look beautiful! 

But let me tell you though, I was honestly expecting the worst... terrible weather driving, terrible weather there, a car accident, bugs in the condo, no picturesque beaches, crowded places, getting sick from FW, expensive gas... however, we were determined that even if we had to buy ponchos for the family and be drugged up on NyQuil, this was our shot to go the sea.  Even still, I honestly had to continually trust that no matter what happened, God continued to be good and He knew it all.

The location was a huge blessing too in that Josh found a super cheap (but surprisingly beautiful) condo on Craig's List (thanks to it being "winter" and temps were to be low 40's, high 60's) and outside of the ocean, touristy attractions were closed (we are not into that kind of thing) and there were no massive crowds.

We got great gas prices the whole way down, leaving MO at $1.36/gal.  On average we paid $1.46 for gas and got 24.8 mpg in the van (the cheapest paid was $1.31 and most expensive $1.56).  Josh had Max pay for gas every time from his piggy bank which brought mounds of smiles out of people who normally don't.  The kids traveled great, sans this one hour of complete loopiness coming home through Mississippi, and didn't complain about the long time in the car.  The rainstorm that was suppossed to hit the Thursday and Friday we were going to be there held off till Saturday and the weather was absolutely beautiful.  We actually made the drive in 14.5 hours down from MO and 17 hours up to IC, oy! 

How did he like it? 

He loved it!

He couldn't get enough of the ocean and the hunt!  He was up and dressed and ready to GO each morning as soon as possible and he stayed out as late as possible each night.  He was continually smiling and looking at me saying, "Mom, we're at the sea!"  "Mom, look at this!"

He learned a ton about the sea when we were at the Sea Lab that we didn't know before and got to touch all the creatures we couldn't touch due to the water being too cold to dive under.  He got to experience the power of the sea and play in the waves.  He found barnacles and oysters.  He got to see a pod of dolphins swimming in the ocean just a stone's throw away (we just happened to be in the right place at the right time).  He got to see two kinds of jelly fish up close and personal.  He got a dead, but in one piece, ghost crab.  He got to eat fresh grouper, mahi mahi, alligator and oysters.  He brought home a TON of shells and 1 live tiny sand crab (though sadly, the crab died last night). 

He was literally and figuratively swept away by the ocean and all its power. 

I know there are more beautiful places in the world, I know there are more beautiful shells in the world, I know there is more beautiful weather in the world... but honestly, we could not have asked for a more perfect time for our little clan of five.  The excitement of the kids far outweighed all the other factors and they (and us) soaked up each and every minute of it to the fullest. 

Without a doubt, he wants us to go back and without a doubt, we would love to take him there.  It may not be for a long while, but if the Lord wills, we will.   And like this time, no matter what our circumstances may bring, we will praise the Lord for He is good!