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erin

erin

I'm Erin Jo. I'm thinking, writing, dreaming, mothering, loving, living, praising, BLESSED to be Fiona to my Shrek and Mommy to my four amazing kiddos.

dave

dave

Shrek is "like an onion with many layers" but has a heart of gold. He's my husband and my friend, and we just get better all the time.

lily

lily

Lily is my first baby and only girl. She's smart, funny, tall and kind. Keeping up with this girl is a challenge and a joy. She's terrific!

max

max

Max is one part ogre, two parts lover and all boy! Our little man has a temper but gives the best hugs of anyone I know!

colby

colby

Colby is as ornery as he looks. He flirts shamelessly, even with strangers. He's all mouth and curls and the loudest by far.

luke

luke

Luke is the baby of the family, but holds his own. He's happy and adorable. And he's a terrible sleeper. =)

Footprints in the Sand

The Roberts family went to the beach, and it was amazing. Really. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. I am so glad I finally convinced Shrek to do it. Going to the beach with babies is supposed to be so much work. But you know? It wasn’t really that bad. We were right near the beach, with kids who helped carry everything and kids who didn’t bawl about repetitive sunscreen applications. We didn’t haul them all around the town. We stayed in and cooked for ourselves. We took flashlights to the beach in the evening, chased hermit crabs and ghost crabs around and played in the sand. The kids enjoyed God’s gifts and each other.

Is it time to go back yet??

For me, the trip to Cherry Grove was a reminder, again, that God is awesome. The waves crash on every shore around every continent around the world every second of every day. And here I sit, in Ohio, in a beautiful, yet landlocked state. The sounds and smells and textures of the beach transport my spirit in so many ways. I found peace at the beach that I’ve been needing. I heard myself in the surf, saw myself in the sunrise and felt alive as I surfed waves and skinned my knees on the rough sand at the end of every trip.

It rocked. Life is a beach, and it is wonderful.

So now I’m back, and way behind on lots of things. Work is pouring stress already, school starts tomorrow, and my body aches and craves sleep.

But none of these things were true last week.

Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.

5 Responses

  1. Karen Rutter says:

    Sounds like a fantastic vacation! The pictures are great, because the kids look absolutely happy. When work and life gets crazy now, you can close your eyes for a second and have a flashback. 🙂 So glad you guys got to go to the beach, and so glad everyone just enjoyed themselves. Most of the time the stress of trying to get everyone cleaned up and ready to go out to eat or go see some local attraction just isn’t worth it in the end. Good choice on staying in and letting everyone just enjoy the vacation.

  2. Patti Miller says:

    Sounds like it was wonderful and needed. The pics of the kids really show how much they are growing up! That’s the kind of vacation more people need to take. Glad everyone enjoyed it and made many memories to last a life time.

  3. Anita says:

    Love, love, love it!!!!! My feelings about the beach exactly. We have returned every year but one since our kids were babies. It is an integral part of all our lives, and I hope it will be for you guys too. Such a grounding place…. and for me, the one place where I can believe, just for a moment in time, that when I stand and look out at the waves with my back to the rest of the world, it doesnt even exist…. the one place I truly live ‘in the moment.’ I hope I have passed this on to my kiddos, as I am sure you do too.

    Thanks, as always, for sharing…

  4. Jessica Yost says:

    It was wonderful! So glad we made it happen. I love this piece. The beach is magical, even when you are married to Clark Griswold:) lol The week went way too fast! Thank you for all the memories. You have a wonderful family:)

  5. Julie says:

    I’m glad all was great for you all. And, if making that beach trip yearly becomes the norm for the Roberts family, feel free to make spending a night here part of it if you’d like! We enjoyed the visit, loved watching the kids enjoying themselves and playing with D and Gus. Love the beach pics!

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