By mid-week, we began feeling like Ishmael from Moby Dick. In the opening of the novel, he writes, "Whenever I find myself feeling grim about the mouth, whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul...then I account it high time to get to the sea as soon as I can...while Cato throws himself on the sword; I quietly take to the sea..." When we walked into our hotel room and looked right out to the ocean, we both inhaled and with that one breath felt all anxieties and stress slip right out of our minds...now if we could just bottle the scent, record the sound, and paint the scene...or move to the beach. :)
Believe it or not, this trip to the seaside was one of the first times we have ever gone away for the weekend, and definitely our first family mini-vacation! In addition to feeling a bit of heaviness and exhaustion from the last several months, we had reason to celebrate! Among the many things we are thankful for, we were celebrating God's provision for us in the form of full-time teaching position. What a rare and wonderful opportunity D and I have to work from home, doing two things we love: raising our son and teaching students! (and reducing our adoption expenses!). :)
This past weekend, we also celebrated our three month anniversary as a family. It was November 9 that a judge in Semey legally declared us Asher's parents. Three months - can you believe it? When I think about the changes we have witnessed in Asher and in ourselves, I find it hard to believe that it has just been that sliver of time. I suppose that three weeks in a foreign country, four weeks with different guests staying with us, one week's worth of family birthdays and holidays, and nearly two weeks of traveling for work have contributed to our sense that time is fleeting and our lives a whirlwind!
And so this past weekend, like Ishmael, we left the comforts of home for the lure of the sea...to rest, to just be together, and to celebrate all that is going on in our abundant (albeit often crazy) lives...and it was wonderful. :)
The view from our hotel room
Watching the waves roll in
Getting our toes wet 
Snacking on the sand
