The Beach!!!

Hello all!
Sorry for the lack of postings lately. Life's been busy, and, as they say, "time flies when your having fun"! :) Well anyway, waaaaay back in July (can you believe July and August are gone already?!) we went to St. Augustine Beach to spend some time with Dad's mom. We made two seperate trips down there because we are not able to leave the farm for any length of time. The first time Mum stayed home to look after things around the farm while the rest of us went down there. :( We missed her a lot, but it made the second trip seem more special because we were all able to go! Papa offered to watch the farm so that we could all go together. But alas! We had so much fun just being together and relaxing that I didn't take very many pictures. But here they be, few though they are.



Trip #1

Both of Dad's brothers and their families were there when we arrived that afternoon, so we had a big crowd at lunch. Everyone left sometime that afternoon, so it eventually dwindled down to just us and Grandma. We went for a swim and then just had a relaxing evening curled up on the couch with cookies and ice cream.

Sunset

"Now my dear, you must remember to always point your pinkie when you drink...What? I don't care if it's not tea, you should point it anyway!"

No, I know what your thinking, this is really not the same picture.


My family and me were once wild an free, but now we ain't doin' so great. We used to go down and stay at the beach, but now we're all on the couch by eight.
LOL. Interducing Grandma to Tim Hawkins. I wonder what she thinks of us now?




I can see it! We're almost there! I have been waiting for this moment for a whole YEAR!




Ah, the beach.

Nautical painting "The Shrimp Boat"

Playing frisbee in the water

Dive!!

One point for you!

Now you see me...

now you don't!

We always love watching the pelicans fly over the water

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." Genisis 1:20

Father and son

We found this really cool jelly fish, I had never seen one quite like that before!

Just me an' my bro


Trip #2

It was so nice to be all together at the beach! We did a little more exploring around town when Mom was with us, there are a lot of quiant little shops that are fun to visit.

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:11

Da Vue

Mom found this awsome shell washed up on the shore. :)

T.J.'s birthday is in July, so Grandma always gets an ice cream cake to celebrete!

(:It really doesn't look big, but it really does seem bigger when your eating it:)

BEHOLD, our high-tech movie theater.

"Welcome to Surf Flics. May I have your ticket please."

And I shall leave you with a picture of St. Augustine's fort, Castille de san Marcos.

I snaped this picture as we were leaving so it is kinda blurry.

Adios, mi amigos!

Angela

Sunrise...

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

- Psalm 19:1

I took this photo last week as the sun was rising over St. Augustine Beach. - LH

Mother

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there! Mothers are such a blessing, and we do not seem to appreciate them as much as we ought to. Just think, if there were no mothers the world would end, there would be no future generations born!

So here's to all the mothers out there. Thank you for being what God designed you to be, and for being an example to us younger girls so that one day we too can fulfil that wonderful role: Mother.

And here she is, mine own wonderful mother. Proverbs 31 in the flesh! What a wonderful example and encouragement she has been to me.

These words I dedicate to her:

And suddenly theories and speculations ended, and she knew. She knew that faithful self-forgetting service and the love that spends itself over and over, only to be renewed again and again, are the secret to happiness. For another world, perhaps leisure and beauty and luxury- but in this one, "Whosoever loses his life shall gain it." Margaret knew now that her mother was not only the truest, the finest, the most generous woman she had ever known, but the happiest as well...

All her old castles in the air seemed cheap and tinseled tonight beside these tender dreams that had their roots in the real truths of life. Travel and position, gowns and motor-cars, yachts and country houses, these things were to be bought in all their perfection by the highest bidder, and always would be. But love and character and service, home and the wonderful charge of little lives- the "pure religion breathing household laws" that guided and perfected the whole- these were not to be bought; they were only to be prayed for, worked for, bravely won.

-Excerpt from Kathleen Norris' book "Mother"

I love you Mom!
Angela

No the map really wasn't that entertaining.




Across the river

Daddy

So much beauty

Ditto! (Dad's caption additions are in blue)

We visited the horticulture center next. Daddy and I had

never been in there before, it was so neat! The flowers and cacti

were so beautiful.

Yours truly - also very beautiful!

Blossoms

Isn't she beautiful?

Through the waterfall

I thought these lilies were so pretty and unusually large,

but when we went to the store the other day I saw some

that were just as big!... I think I need to get out more.

my wonderful daughter!

"There's a church in the valley by the wildwood..."

I love the stained glass windows at the chapel! All the

stained glass windows had flowers etched on the glass which

I found so unique and pretty.

We went to a Mexican restaurant with the Deckers Saturday night;

I think about a fourth of the people at the F&D retreat had the same idea!

Friends a few tables down

We stopped at a local convenience store and to get some ice cream for dessert.

Due to the lack of an ice cream scoop I had to use Dad's pocket knife to serve

the ice cream. Talk about primitive conditions!

Hear ye, hear ye! For the first time in F&D retreat history Mr. Phillips and
his daughters had to play the infamous "help your daddy get ready for work" game.
Little Virginia was such a cutie. Though she was the one that volunteered, she mostly just stood there scratching her head in wonderment as Jubilee did all the work! LOL.

Her audience.

When Virginia jumped on the stage Saturday night, a lot of the little girls that were still

there plopped down on the floor with cameras. After babbling on for a little while she

looked down at her little audience and said, "now I'm going to sing a song for you." LOL

Father - Daughter Retreat 2010

Here are a few pictures from the Father Daughter Retreat:

Angela displays very good form in "Correction Croquet:"



Joel and Kennedy D. display extreme expertise at the three-legged race; the reason there is no one else in the picture is that they were leaving everyone else in their dust - they were the best team out there!

Here, Angela and I try our hand (or should I say leg?) at the three-legged race. We did pretty well, but were nowhere as good as the D.'s.

SNOW!!!!

Whoo-hoo!! It started snowing here about an hour ago! I just went outside and the snowflakes were an inch or more in diameter. Way Cool! Standing out the back door, we could hear my 10-year-old cousin Matthew, who lives just up the hill, yelling at the top of his lungs, "THIS IS SO COOL!" LOL.

"For he saith to the snow, fall thou on the earth.."

-Job 37:5

(Can you find my shoes?)

White has never looked so beautiful!

Thank you LORD for this beautiful snow!!

We were so excited, it was quite a happy change from all the rain. Even the cat wanted to go outside. He has been inside all afternoon because of the rain, but as soon as he saw the snow out the door he went. He is pure white so I guess he figured that this was the only time he would ever be camouflaged!

Farewell, until next time,

Angela

Porporate Progeny

Here is a positively perfectly posed picture of my porporate progeny:

One thing you will find hanging around the Hagen Homestead:

an absolutely amazing amount of alliteration abounds around our abode.

~ Mr. Larry