Graduation 2021 – You Are the Light of the World ✨

David Paul Adams 🎓 & Jonathan William Adams 🎓, Cum Laude

One last blast of the pirate ship, Pirate Proud!

Jonathan, 18 (Auburn University, aerospace engineering) & David, 21 (Gulf Coast Exceptional Foundation day program)… David & Jonathan: biblical best buds, always looking out for each other.

Extended childhood coma, not expected to live past age 4. God always has other plans!

One to Alabama, one to Auburn, one to USA and one to Coastal…scattered to the wind but forever bonded.

The best part of milestones is sharing it with a growing family!

Third milestone – youngest crosses over from 8 years of elementary school (Pre-K-6th), to middle school, having been diagnosed with high-functioning autism last fall and discovering the joys and challenges of his reality…as we all do.

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Whheeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Class of 2021, declared major: Aerospace Engineering, emphasis on jet propulsion. Busch Gardens: Where our top rocket scientists get their start!

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Everyone Should Stand Safely at the Edge

It’s what keeps us alive!

(is no place sacred from Snapchat?!)

May every 12 year old (and the rest of us) climb 10k feet to play in the snow, descend to the desert going 100 mph in a Mustang convertible, perch on the edge of the Grand Canyon and play in the red rocks of Sedona in the span of 24 hours!

Carpe Diem, Baby!!💕

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Secret Ingredient

A pinch of sunshine!

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Great Blue Heron!

Our good blogging pal and author extraordinaire, Betsy, over at the “Parenting Is Funny” blog, spotted this big bird on the beach in my last post and asked about the great blue heron.

This majestic and graceful bird frequents the shores of most coastal waterways in the United States and, thanks to tourists and generous fishermen, they come to be quite used to humans, guardedly looking for handouts. I’ve yet to have one eat out of my hand, but they will politely stand nearby so as not to intrude.

I was promised some authentic Pennsylvania bologna earlier this year which fell through, but discovered a nearby hole in the wall peninsula deli carried a reasonable facsimile, beach picnic’s on!

(They also carried my favorite smoked gouda cheese, something dear Daddy got me hooked on in the 60s, a delicacy then)

Perhaps it is their long beak which doubles as a handy fishing tool that makes their stare-down a bit edgy. And if you stare back, they look away quickly, as if their mother had taught them it was impolite to stare and beg.

For such a tall and seemingly imposing bird, they weigh only 5-6 pounds on average because their bones are hollow, just like the pelican….both have great wingspans and navigate gusts of coastal wind better than any pilot.

We are blessed to share our beaches here with such magnificent wildlife, which we try to protect at all costs. The motto tourists often see when visiting, is “Leave only your footprints.” The heron leaves impressive footprints on the sand!

Here, a laughing gull was not laughing as the heron beat him to the treats every time. Too slow, Joe! Check out those big piggies…need a big foot sprawl to support those lanky legs and tall stature. I estimated my friend here was about 3.5-4′ tall.

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill set us all back in myriad ways (understatement). We did what we could to protect the wildlife – this heron was pulled from the oil spill, given a bath in Dawn dish detergent (I once dated the chemical engineer responsible for the invention of Dawn) and lived to tell about it. Er, I mean the heron lived to tell about it – he got all washed off and released. So did the chemical engineer 🙂

Courtesy of The Guardian

Thank You, God, for all things great and small – You, Lord God, made them all! Thank You for all the creatures You made to keep our earth in balance, that we may live in harmony with Your great creation.

~In memoriam of Elizabeth, former member of the Audubon Society, on this All Saints Day~

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Stuff i saw today

Thank You, God, for Your greatest commandment of LovE!

Thank You for humour, for beauty, for drama, for restoration, for peace and for Your steadfastness in the face of brokenness and change.

We love You, Lord….Amen!

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Morning Run

Scènes de ma course du matin:

Morning fog creeping over low pastures and seeping into the road

Fungal sunrise

Preparing horses for polo season next month

Farmer made hay this week

Dragonfly mating season

Unflappable turkey buzzards

Thank You, God, for the joie de vivre of running, of freedom, of health, of vibrant life. Merci pour my quiet mornings with You.

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Kudzu Season

Erm, what road are we on?

Reaching for Heaven

No stopping it!

Even the little signs

The kudzu growing over the fence blends in with the peanut field behind it.

Thanks, God, for unexpected and exponentiated growth. Let us cling to Your Vine and be unafraid of new heights.

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Found

The 16 year old boy who went missing 3 weeks ago is now reunited with his family at home. He was found in Houston, TX, the same day of the El Paso shootings, safe and sound.

Out of respect for his future, his family, his dignity and his digital footprint, I have removed the initial post about his disappearance.

However, I would like to take this opportunity to implore parents to never underestimate the power contained in the electronic device you put into your child’s hands.

When it comes to their online presence….

Be where they are

Go where they go

Whether near or afar,

Know who they know

Thank You, God, for his safe return. May his parents have wisdom in what lies ahead, take comfort in Your mercy and deliverance, and may we all be aware of how our online presence influences outcomes.

God, please protect our vulnerable children whose parents may be blind, lackadaisical or naive to the very real dangers of others with power, money or psychological pull, who may lure and ensnare their loved ones.

May we all know how to cultivate and maintain a close relationship based on trust, unconditional love and patience.

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Wait

God whispers, “Wait!
I’m not done with you yet!”
Greet the sun’s rise
And wait for its set.

“The full day is Mine,”
So sayeth the Lord;
And rest in the night,
Not fearful or bored.

For night, like the winter,
Seeks not to destroy,
Darkness in valleys
Spawns splendor and joy…

Just when you think
You can’t take anymore,
God shows us the shutness
THEN opens the door.

Faith is an exercise
Not to achieve,
But trod as a journey,
Daily gift to receive.

Pause to see beauty 
Each step of the way,
And God will rain mercy
And grace on your day.

Where today’s poem was spawned…

Thanks, God, for faith, hope and love, the greatest of which is always love.

May we learn to be gracefully patient and guided by Love, each step of the way.

Lord, have Mercy, and thank You for unconditional love and the wisdom in Waiting.

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