rest. relax. rejoice.

High Five. We went on a rockin' vacation.

If we think about it for too long, we get really happy because it was so fun and really sad because it is over!

Last week we went to Palm Coast with my wonderful parents. And Mr. Turtle.

Can't forget Mr. Turtle.

Will may have been loved on a little...

...or a LOT :-)

Seeing the ocean from the viewpoint of a child is mesmerizing.

He stared at the magnitude of it, and I stared at the magnitude of him.

It never gets old. I simply can't stop staring at him. He is so fun!

What is this sand stuff?

This is one of the many pictures that confirm that Will looks just like Clay.

People can't get over it. I can't get over it.

He looked like Clay as a baby and now he looks even MORE like Clay.

How is he already this big? Oh my word!

He really is our little man now!

Family shot on the beach. Will wasn't interested.

Love this.

Trying out the (cold) water for the first time.

Mimi found Will this awesome floatation/canopy. He LOVED it. Can you tell we got lots of pictures of Will and Mr. Turtle? Can you tell we got lots of pictures in general? Dude, our poor second child is going to wonder what happened. There is no way we can keep this up!

Sweet.

Mom and Dad also brought adorable Max and Maggie down to the beach.

Riding off into the sunset.

Will with his awesome Mimi and Poppy.

We had such a wonderful week. Thanks to my generous, thoughtful parents, Clay and I were able to instantly relax, have fun with our dear family, and even go on a date (admittedly something we don't do nearly as often as we should). Will loved the water, loved the long walks, and especially loved all of the quality time he got with his grandparents. This trip was the perfect vacation at the perfect time with perfect weather and perfect company. We will treasure the memories forever!

Now we are back into the crazy schedule that is our teaching life. While I love love love teaching and love my job, I have to confess that spring break got me more and more excited to focus on Will without having the stress of planning and grading and writing comments. Clay and I have said on multiple occasions, "We just can't keep this up forever." Our daily life is exhausting. That's why we find ourselves looking forward to a change of pace for a year. Sure, we will be living on rice and beans and will be far from our dear family and friends, but there is a freedom in knowing that we won't be just trying to "get through" like we often feel this year. I find myself plagued by the knowledge that I am not the colleague nor the teacher nor the wife nor the friend nor the daughter nor the sister I want to be. There just isn't the time--and if there is time, there just isn't the energy. I pray that shifting my focus a bit will be energizing and will help me discover what is really important. I know I can't do everything, and I especially know I can't do everything at the same time, but I do feel like God is calling us to something different.

So now my job is to simplify our stuff. I started today by taking a whole load of clothing and accessories to a women's consignment sale this week.

My job is to finish teaching well at my school.

My job is to show my colleagues how much I admire, support, and cherish them.

My job is to love on my husband and my son.

Next year only one of the above jobs will exist. And I am starting to be okay with that.