Swimming with the sharks!

 We swam a lot at the beach.  Every day!!  Rain had been predicted for the whole week, but it mostly rained at night.

 

 

The people who rented the house behind us were from our sister state, Missouri.

They really enjoyed fishing.

We could see fish jumping out of the water at times.

But something else too!

They invited Hannah and Eli to reel in

 SHARKS!

 little sharks and supposedly ones that don't harm people.  There were LOTS of them!!  They were swimming all around us.  I was just hoping the Mama BIG SHARKS would stay away from us!!

And this girl had no idea.

We didn't tell her.

She was a little freaked out that there were 

just some fishies swimming out there.

 

Lost on Dauphin Island

After most of the family had gone to bed that first night after arriving at Dauphin Island, Mindy drove in.  She had flown into Mobile and rented a car, stopping at Wal-mart for a few items that we needed and didn't pack, like milk.  That just took up too much room!  Because the Utechts and Josh Graber families drink a lot of milk!

We joke that Mindy is nocturnal.  

It's true.

She is a nurse and works the evening shift so she stayed awake that night while we all slept.  Then she tried to sleep during the day (not an easy task with noisy children! and with us banging around fixing lunch or whatnot, although most of our days were spent outside).  She would wake up in the afternoon and join the family for swimming and dinner.

A start to our mornings.

Some people felt compelled to exercise.  (didn't get a picture of Josh and Adam)

That first morning, Al and I decided to walk to the mile-wide chasm on the west end of the island that Hurricane Katrina had opened back in August of 2005.

It is called the Katrina Cut.

We walked a LONG time.  Our house was located at about the bottom of the above picture.  It doesn't look like it is very far, does it?  But it sure felt it!!   I almost gave up but wanted so badly to see it.  So we plugged on.  Not easy to walk on sand.  Distance wise, maybe it was only 1 1/2 miles, but on sand, it is hard.  

We followed a sandpiper along the way.  After you pass the houses, it is just sand dunes.  We only saw 1 person the whole way.

Then we got to the end.  

.  

"After the BP Oil Spill of April 2010, the Katrina Cut was closed with rocks and other material by the Army Corps of Engineers, in an effort to protect the mainland coast and the salt marshes in the Mississippi Sound from oil contamination.  An added benefit of this project was to help combat over-salination in the Sound, which had been present since the island was breached in that location by Hurricane Katrina in 2005."   

I have read that this is pretty controversial.  Some people think they should have let nature take it's course and that it would have been better for the fishermen.  

We turned around and walked back to the house.  The family had already set up the umbrellas and were swimming.

When we were out walking, my hands had gotten swollen so I had taken off my wedding ring and diamond and put them in my pant's pocket.  At the house, I put on my swimsuit and set my pants out on the deck as they were wet from wading in the beach on our walk.

Clink!

I looked down to see my diamond on the deck.  Oh my goodness!  But where was the wedding band?  Allen joined me in the search.  No where to be found.  Nada.  We checked the deck over and over.  Then we went below and searched too.

I posted on Facebook that I had lost the ring.  Several made comments about getting a metal detector.  Then one guy from church called to say that he had an aunt who lived on the island.  She contacted some friends from her church there and found someone with a metal detector.  He came out and...

It was found!!!

Thank you, Pete and Mrs. Stockton for your help!

The Fourth

I will take a little break from writing about our trip to Dauphin Island, 

to post about July 4.

On the evening of the 4th, we went to be with my parents at Kidron.

Kidron was having a celebration - a pulled pork dinner, bluegrass music groups, silent bids on baskets and fireworks too.  

 Aunt Belva - she was a fellow missionary in Japan and a good friend to my parents and to us.  Even though we are not really related (well, I guess we are very distantly) she feels like family.

Aunt Belva and Uncle Verney were my very first dorm parents when I was in the 1st grade.

 Line up for the pulled pork.

 Friends from church came to enjoy the evening.

  I thought this was very creative!                                        

 This guy was wearing a hat with a $2 sticker attached.  I love to people watch!  He was very interesting and really bounced to the music!

 Do you see the patriotic people behind Al?

  Quite a few people dressed in red, white and blue, but this couple really stood out!

Good job, Kidron!  We enjoyed the evening!

I appreciate the freedoms we have had in this country.  It seems more and more those are being taken away. 

                                       We all enjoy personal independence don't we?  

"Craving political or personal independence is one thing; daring to pursue spiritual independence is problematic.  What we need instead is a recognition and acceptance of our deep spiritual dependence.  Jesus said 'I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.'  John 15:5

Far from being self-reliant, we are totally and eternally dependent on the One who died to set us free.  Every day is our 'dependence day'."   --  The Daily Bread